Spiritual Awakenings: What Are They?

A Spiritual Awakening is one of the most powerful and life-changing experiences one could have. I've compiled a short list where I will discuss what a Spiritual Awakening is and is Not.

1. All human beings can experience these and one's ability to experience one is not tied to religion, gender, financial class, or perceived self-worth.
2. An epiphany is NOT a Spiritual Awakening. An epiphany is one of several symptoms that comprise a Spiritual Awakening.
3. A Spiritual Awakening is also known as an Awakening, Ascension, Dark Night of the Soul, and a Mid-life Crisis.
4. There is no determined length of time that this experience lasts.
5. A triggering event does not have to occur to initiate a Spiritual Awakening.
6. Suicide has in some cases been a person's response to a Spiritual Awakening, as these can be emotionally and psychologically overwhelming experiences.

Who Experiences a Spiritual Awakening?

Every human being has the capacity to experience a Spiritual Awakening, but not everyone will. What most human beings will experience are epiphanies, updated perspectives, new ideas, and some increased wisdom that comes from just living life. A huge factor in who is more inclined to experience a Spiritual Awakening is an open mind.

The Phases of a Spiritual Awakening

There are many names for a Spiritual Awakening. When I was in my master's program, we called this a mid-life crisis or, as Viktor Frankl called it, "an existential crisis." Through my own awakenings and my own training in shamanism and spirituality, I realized that if I were Christian, I'd be calling it the Dark Night of the Soul. If I were talking to my shaman friends, we'd say we were Ascending. Regardless of who you are, we'll find a name that resonates with your background — but it is all the same.

If there were such a thing as phases, I'd say the first phase is Realization — which probably lasts the longest. In this phase, we are beginning to question life and everything we knew. The second phase is Acceptance and Integration. In this phase, we are starting the process of accepting a new higher truth, which typically results in people emotionally and psychologically decompensating. The final phase is Full Integration. The worst is behind you. You are now living in your truth, and you will begin to live the happiest, most fulfilling life you ever lived.

Nothing has to trigger a Spiritual Awakening, but some events can — a near-death experience, getting arrested, going to a spiritual retreat, getting a divorce, or even getting married. But the single most common trait found in people who will experience a Spiritual Awakening is open-mindedness.