Awakening - The Journey to Enlightened Conciousness

If you are a Soul who has been touched by a crisis, a loss, illness or despair and you find yourself seeking answers to life, the universe and everything else, then you may be undergoing a Spiritual Awakening.

There are many definitions of what this means and the internet has many lists of 'Awakening Symptoms', 'Ascension Symptoms' and the like.

The journey though, is a personal one and one that is very unique to each individual. Of course, we may draw parallels between some of the experiences people appear to share along their own paths, but at the core of your own Spiritual Unfoldment, is You.

Some people would have you believe that all is rosy in the garden of enlightened awareness, but this is not the whole truth.
From my own experience of walking a more Spiritually Awakened Pathway (a journey, that I must emphasise, will never be finished, for it is eternal, like ourselves), life without the blinkers of illusion is mostly incredible;
But it has had it's moments.

When we talk of moving into an 'Awakened State', what we are talking of is an amazing amount of new growth and death simultaneously.
The death of the Ego or Constructed Idea of Self is at the centre of this great shift in an individual.
In order for the Real Spirit Self to rise up to the surface of one's consciousness, the Ego Self finds itself under threat.

Since the moment we entered this reality, we have been labelled, moulded, pigeon holed and gradually constructed. Firstly through the love and nurturing of our primary carers, our immediate family, then usually an education system. Our 'Self' or at least, our ideation of Self, is refined, restrained and reshaped continually as we receive more and more subtle or subliminal messages from our social and cultural norms and values, our societal laws and belief systems.

At last we represent all that we have been taught and learnt, even from the most obscure and miniscule observations, of HOW and WHO we should be.

We call this accumulation of information and social, cultural and psychological cues 'I'.
We have names, jobs, homes, hobbies, families and friendship networks, belief systems, political affiliations, sports affiliations, our own tastes.

But this is (for the main part) not The Real You.

This is the apropriated, learned, socially created 'You'. It is the Ego.

Before you were born, you were perfect, powerful, creative, Sacred Life Force Source (God) Energy and you came here to gain physical, individual expression.
Unfortunately you learnt (as we all do) to become what was considered 'appropriate'.
Obviously that differs from individual to individual, depending upon the cultural and social mores by which you were raised.

All the time, beneath all of the borrowed identifications and habits, names, occupations and interests, mannerisms and tendencies, Real You still existed. It still does.
The Spirit You is indestructible, expansive, progressive, wondrous energy.
You are made by the Great Mind that bought All into being.

We came here for the experience of inhabiting a physical body, for without such a lifetime (or lifetimes) we would never experience physical, mental and emotional pain, tears, heartbreak, grief, depression, perseverance, tenacity, degradation, decomposition, illness, old age..... We could not have those experiences back home in The World of the Spirit, because that is a place where none of these things exists.

It is also true, I believe, that as the Great Spirit is a living, intelligent, energetic Consciousness, our own experiences add to The Whole. Our emotions and lessons create an expansion and evolution in that which we call God ('He is in Us as We are in Him').

When a crisis of some sort happens in our life that is big enough to test us, our Constructed Self or Ego may go to great lengths to protect itself. That is, if we start seeking answers about the 'Meaning of Life', the existence of Source, Life after Life or whatever our Spiritual search prompts us to seek answers to, the Ego may sometimes, bite back.

This is such a hard lesson for Spiritually Awakening souls everywhere.

(it is also a reason to ALWAYS err on the side of caution when sitting for Spiritual, Psychic and Mediumistic Development, particularly if you are or have ever been treated for any Mental Illness).

We begin to understand that we must release the burden of the ego if the Spirit is to be allowed to bubble up from within.

That may mean quite a seismic shift;
from who you believed you always were to who you've actually always been.

The falling away of our old ego driven habits is usually very gradual, but it does not make it any less painful. If you walk a Spiritual Path it is often one of solitude.
As my own Teacher taught me;
'You may be surrounded by people, but still feel very much alone.'

I myself have found friends fall by the wayside, relationships changing, family connections and dynamics being re-ordered. Even more physical, practical aspects changed for me; I became a vegetarian after my tastes changed over a course of months, I haven't drunk alcohol for years and I find it physically unbearable now to be in a room where there is lots of loud noise. I cannot watch the news anymore and find being alone by myself for periods of time as essential for my wellbeing.

Perhaps these changes are easier if you are a hermit, but in modern 21st Century family life, they can be extremely difficult and painstaking.

Your Spirit Self has always been the Real You and one of your greatest purposes here, if not the number one Meaning of Human Existence, is to re-awaken to the knowledge and understanding that you are an Eternal Spirit Being who is connected to The All at every moment.

When we act from our Spirit we often do so from a place of calm, unconditional love and compassion for all things.
When we act from the Ego we often find fear or a Fear of Lack is our motivation.

Envy is a fear of lack; that we do not have enough of something. (Ego)
Guilt and Shame are from a Fear of Lack; that we are not enough as we are. (Ego)
Anger is a Fear of Lack; that we may not have enough control of ourselves or others. (Ego)

I believe that usually, when we React we do so from Ego Self. When we Respond, we do so often from Spirit Self.

If we are Standing in The Power of our own Unique Spirit Self we will often come from a place of benevolence and understanding:

Compassion is limitless and all encompassing (Spirit)
Unconditional Love is without boundaries or segregation based upon any physically perceptible difference. (Spirit)
Kindness is a generosity that seeks to do what is right and asks for nothing in return. (Spirit)

In these second examples, Ego is lesser and Spirit is More So. That is what the Spiritual Journey is really about.

More Spirit, Less Ego, makes Jack a far more Enlightened and Emotionally Intelligent Human!

I wouldn't want you to think that it's all doom and gloom along the way to enlightenment.
Of course, there are truly wonderful moments, most of which are totally inexplicable to others.
Those who I have talked to about this as we've discussed our own 'Light Bulb' moments, usually say that they cannot believe how hollow and illusory their lives formerly were and how they wouldn't go back to being in an unawakened state for all the money in the World.

Once you have experienced the depth and  purity of the love and understanding that The Great Spirit and the People of the Spirit World have for you, you could simply not imagine life without it.

Are you walking a Spiritual Pathway? What changes have you noticed in your own experience? Would you say that your Spiritual Journey so far been easy or difficult?

Please feel free to share your own experiences in the comments section below.

Love and Blessings.

All Copyright IA Austin 2019©

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