How relationships change, the difficulties, and deepening with spiritual awakening
The changes that occur from spiritual awakening experiences change our relationship with ourselves which ripples outward like a stone splashing in water, in circles going outward touching all aspects of our lives.
In the ebb and flow of our lives there are rhythms of going inward compelling the time of change and transformation as motions of remembering into the deeper realms that were always there yet often hidden by the cycles of life that command attention. As these ebbs and flows occur there are losses, steps forward, and movements, taking leaps and standing still in the chrysalis, not knowing the cocoon was even woven. But then there’s finally a feeling of the chrysalis’s presence which is a compelling calling to move through and transform. Ever transforming even if there is a dash of fear it is not large enough to impair the next step. These cycles feel like they are my cycles, but they are the larger cycles of time and the time of transformation, this time in history, our story.
How do all of these cycles transform the relationships we have to our practices, that which feeds our soul, to the people around us, family and friends to old friends, and new connections?
The Impact on Relationships
Integration of Experiences. As we are on our journey we are evolving through our relationships with ourselves, and this evolution rolls onto our experiences, our past, and the people in our lives. As we navigate our own discoveries, adjustments, and changes through micro and macro changes, remembering can occur from suppressed or unaccessed information that can occur as a child or in the dream state, from a parallel or past experience, or while having a spiritual awakening experience. In these moments there can be experiences or segments of an experience we cannot process because it is a system overload or because we don’t have the framework to digest the content. And because the content does not fit into the current paradigm. That is, parts of the experience are difficult to integrate because the parameters of this time hold strong limitations about what is possible, what can occur, who we are and what our limitations are, what we are capable of. In time for some people they will have a moment where the memory resurfaces. For others retrieving the memory can occur through a feeling there is something missing or something that is needed to be known.
As we change and grow with spiritual awakenings some of our relationships with other people can become challenging or there are challenges that can crop up. These challenges are for us to feel and experience the energy, check out our triggers and notice how these challenges are moving into our life. Challenges may be ways for us to notice the quality and the connection and if that is still meaningful. Sometimes these challenges are calling us to be brave and speak our peace in a loving way that allows the relationship to continue. This is often a challenge for us if we are not comfortable with these situations when our comfort zone is not to confront the uncomfortable. Other times we may opt to let the relationship go and make an effort to set boundaries that allow for breathing space to see how it feels to us. And another option that occurs is recognizing the relationship was part of our path at one time, and now part of the past, that it would be a negative experience for both people, and it needs to be let go. In other words, the relationship has reached its apex and is not able to sustain the connection. When this occurs, our direction has changed, we have changed. This does not mean the other person is bad or we are bad. It means there has been a shift in perspective.
About Non-judgmental Relationships
Another layer of our development is learning and knowing different people have different roles in our life and we have topics that are not for them for our deep sharing is also an element of stepping into non-judgement with boundaries. We can still sustain these relationships without giving up who we are. And we can also discover new connections where we can share the subtleties, our awarenesses and experiences in every detail whether those relationships are in person or online groups. While we may be disappointed the people we are even living with or our partners, children, or parents are not able to share these experiences it does not mean we are not close with them. And it does not mean we are isolating or cutting ourselves off from our own experiences. This can happen and is not helpful for our development as we are social beings and need to find like-minded people. There are professionals, social media groups, YouTube channels, and in-person opportunities to meet others who share spiritual awakening experiences which are often surprising and are mirrors for our own state of awareness.
Where does this lead us? Often on the journey of spiritual awakening there are gradations of change that lead us to attracting new connections. As we make these changes there is a natural attraction to people who are aligned with our values, experiences, and direction. Look for sharing experiences groups where others are willing to be vulnerable because this rubs off and gives us confidence like the International Association for Near-death Studies, (IANDS) and the Spiritual Awakening International (SAI) for free sharing groups online that are offered monthly.
Another component of spiritual awakening is our own opening within our heart to compassion, forgiveness, and connection that creates empathy and understanding. These feelings are also components of love and generate kindness and consideration and all of these characteristics allow us to be more fully present, more aware, more loving, and generate deeper connections. When we are able to hold more love, our capacity to hold more love continues to expand. When we are open to connecting with others and creating relationships there can be a deep, loving, and supportive turn. This openness has allowance within it that generates and sustains connections through time and knowing that may never be effected by how much time lapses between meeting or circumstances that change a person. And these connections are not only with other human beings but may extend and include to animals, and all creatures in the water, air, and on land.
And for some people it is the reverse, the extension of a deep passion and commitment in love is easier to animals and creatures, including insects than to human beings. Another layer of this deep connection and commitment can extend to the environment, to the land, and waters as well. Due to these deep changes of feeling and connection the person may change their life path, change their purpose and in so doing disrupt the previous human relationships because they are no longer sustaining the old behaviors that are tied into expectations, so the relationship(s) no longer fit.
Another aspect to consider after a spiritual awakening that is more extreme, is often the person is trying to figure out what has happened, and what is continuing to happen. The continued changes may affect perception of reality, understanding, new perceptions and abilities, different interactions with people, places, and creatures with awareness of the interface in the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. These changes are a new level of sensitivity that can be overwhelming to navigate especially at first. With these changes there may be a need for safety, rest, restoration, and processing. In an effort to manage and understand these changes sometimes people want to isolate themselves. This provides safety, protection, and opportunity for integration but is only beneficial when there is balance and is not for a long time because we are innately social beings. The following two areas offer a deeper explanation of these elements of spiritual awakening relationship to ourselves.
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Communication
-While some advice might be to share openly and honestly with other people after a spiritual awakening experience and while on the journey which can be an entire lifetime, this is tempered with wisdom. Not everyone is able to understand or comprehend the changes a person goes through with a spiritual awakening experience and how that impacts a person’s life in their choices, and in their body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Some people may find sharing scary or want to label a person. Others cannot abide by the changes and will move away. While there are movements to teach practitioners who interact with people who have a spiritual awakening experience and discern mental health issues to become more sensitive to and compassionate, many people do not understand and have negative judgement. Therefore sharing openly and honestly is detrimental to you and the relationship. These decisions to share openly and honestly are all tempered by whether the spiritual awakening experience(s) causes a Dark Night of the Soul, creates depression or anxiety, inability to sleep, or distress. In these situations contacting the Spiritual Emergency resources to find someone near you and making sure you are safe is invaluable and a priority.
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Sensitivity
When people have gone through a single extreme experience or have continuous smaller experiences their level of sensitivity to all things changes. What once was tolerable or even enjoyed may no longer be. Sensitivity to light, sounds, places, intentions, perception, seeing what is unseen by others, odors, synchronicities, symbols, auditory and perceiving people’s energy changes and often is heightened. Within our sensitivity and inner awareness development is learning when it is time to rest, to go within, and time to engage takes noticing on subtle levels and learning cues. This includes learning to say ‘no’ and learning to say, ‘yes’.
Six Ways to Navigate through the Dynamics of Spiritual Awakening and Relationships
- This single one area is above all the other suggestions below because it profoundly influences each of them. When we re are aware of our feeling awareness within our physical body and our multisensory developing awareness that is connected and related to different feelings, we are able to attune within and know what is the right move for us. There is a thoughtfulness about the delivery of verbal information and our behavior that is not destructive or blaming but holds responsibility for the feelings as an honest and appropriate step. Often this is challenging for people because we are not accustomed to this finer attunement. Also people sometimes avoid connecting with and within the physical body awareness due to painful experiences from any time in their life, so they are disconnected and not able to know. That is why practices on a regular daily basis that integrate higher spiritual awakening experiences significantly contribute to positive subtle adjustments in the physical, mental, and emotions fields affecting and heightening our perception holistically which allows us to continue to expand and heighten our awareness. This is because the areas that are affected from a spiritual awakening experience include changes in the neurological system, electromagnetic system, and with our intuition, emotions, etheric, comprehension, and memory and these areas all need integration for refined inner awareness as a daily practice. Also these practices build over time and create a field of integration that stabilizes the changes within in an expansive and stabilizing way.
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Valuing the time necessary for sustaining the connection
to higher alignment is vital for maintaining the connection that was previously attained and gained. Often people who have a peak experience are thrust back into the previous way of life or even grind for work that can be jolting to the system that is integrating and adjusting. Maintaining what is gained whether the experience was from an Intense Musical Experience, out of body, near death, psychedelic experience or other kind of experience is all about having methods and tools that continue to nurture and support those gains. This area can also be called self-care and in this scenario self-care is about sustaining practices that support and sustain this connection. Often for people having a regular connection to nature, or being still, and/or quiet, and through specific transformational sounds connect to deeper states of consciousness. In the area of self-care there are five areas
- Getting regular sleep helps us to integrate through all of our systems that support our physical and mental and emotional functioning. Other areas through our dreams are vital processing areas. Getting good and regular sleep aligns our body as it also gives us tools for deeper connection to our guidance through dreams and different levels of consciousness through sleep.
- Consuming nutritious foods and good water helps us sustain physical, mental, and emotional balance and health. Avoiding sugary foods and beverages, highly processed foods, and foods with chemicals and preservatives is also beneficial. for foods that are good for our digestive system also offer support.
- Connecting with animal or creatures as companions and tending plants are ways we connect with our environment that are nurturing for us. While most people may connect with a cat or a dog others will connect with lizards, birds, rabbits, turtles, and other creatures. Visiting others who have an animal or creature or volunteering with animals are other ways to connect with animals and creatures.
- Self-care also includes regular exercise that creates enjoyable movement. While many people like to walk, other types of movement are swimming, biking, dancing, yoga or martial arts or other forms of movement. This category overlaps with connecting to nature. Many movements are done outside and can include being in nature so two areas are completed at the same time. 3.Staying Connected, Social Connections. Finding people with whom you resonate through spiritual awakening changes can be allowing for adjustments in your interests and what feels right. Past interests may no longer be appealing, or they may have shifted to a different version. Discovering new areas where there is a connection and feeling of acceptance can take time to locate. There are some groups that are available through social media and then other groups that are by invitation only that require to meet with people in person to get invited to these more secluded gatherings. Finding people to meet with in person and online can meet the criteria and also knowing in person meetings have an exchange of energy that is not the same as online. Online meetings cannot be substituted for staying connected in person. Connection with others who we learn to trust, and they trust us, also gives us access to ask for referrals to a trusted person for additional support. 4.Developing Compassion and Gratitude Another component of our relationship within and with others is through compassion. Compassion, an aspect of the heart, and kindness, forgiveness, and consideration. Withholding compassion from ourselves may have been a learned behavior from our families for being compliant meant to be perfect to be loved. Another withholding of compassion is judgement of ourselves and guilt. Holding compassion for ourselves is often not even noticed how we cannot hold compassion. Consider the feeling of compassion you can connect to for an animal or a human baby. Consider the feelings of compassion include forgiveness, kindness, and knowing they are always going to be held, loved, and loveable. Take a moment to not listen or read this but to feel that in your body and hold that feeling so you can say where it is located, which may be your heart or abdomen or somewhere else. Now transfer that feeling of compassion for the animal or human baby is transferred to yourself and hold it. And notice.5 .Mental and Emotional RegulationAlthough a person has experienced one or more spiritual awakenings, their mental and emotional regulation can be or become dysregulated which can become depression or have negative thoughts. Spiritual awakenings do not mean you suddenly become perfect or are released from the human experience. Moving into gratitude can be helpful to shift the energy from negative states for several reasons. One, there is a conscious intervention from previous states, which interrupts negative thoughts and (two) when we refocus there is a recalibration that effects the heart and the feeling centers that are dynamic. This releases the negative energy and allows the positive content. Other methods that are consistent for developing and continuing the path of spiritual awakening are regular daily connection to alpha brain waves and deeper through practices like curated sound healing methods that shift consciousness simply by listening.
6. Intuition. In the spiritual awakening process our intuition is progressing. As Gary Zukov states, We are becoming multisensory beings. Although we may have been born into a time or with a family that was not attuned or aware of these other sensory awarenesses beyond the five senses it does not mean we do not experience them. In 2008 I was listening to the sound wisdom keeper of Egypt explaining that when there are 50 kinds of intuitive categories collected and recorded, it will herald the return of the ancient knowledge. The significance of identifying these 50 categories will help restore lost information and healing to our planet. This sound wisdom keeper was Abd’el Hakim Awyan (1926–2008) who grew up at the base of the pyramids and was keenly in attunement with the underground sound chambers used for healing. I had already recorded 35 kinds of intuition and felt compelled to collect the other 15 kinds, not realizing there are now almost 60 kinds recorded in my book, 50+ Kinds of Intuition.
Becoming aware of how our intuition arises, changes, and how we experience it consistently is a component of our developing multisensory awareness. The different abilities may include auditory, knowings ahas, gut knowing, dreams, whispers, and physical responses that include chills and shivers and other similar experiences, learning our language of intuitive communication develops, evolves and heightens as we grow and change.
Trusting this inherent wisdom as an inner heightened system that you can rely upon sometimes offers challenges. As we continue to expand and navigate through these times more of these abilities are becoming known to us. This growing relationship with ourselves and how we allow, receive permission, and apply the wisdom to our circumstances is also connected to all the areas listed above including, boundaries, friendships and family, our self-care, connection with animal and creatures, our sleep, food intake, daily practices and to all our relationships.
References
Burnett, D. (2024). What Is Spiritual Awakening? Discover the Life-Changing Signs Now.
https://www.psychnewsdaily.com/what-is-spiritual-awakening/
Corneille JS, Luke D. (2021).Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings: Phenomenology, Altered States, Individual Differences, and Well-Being. Frontiers in Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720579.
Dark Night of the Soul. (2024). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul
Hakim, A.H. (1926-2008). Khemitology. https://soundquality.org/2021/03/saqqara-egypt-ancient-sound-wave-healing/
International Association for Near-death Studies. (2024). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Association_for_Near-Death_Studies
International Spiritual Emergence Network. (2024). https://www.spiritualemergencenetwork.org/
James, S.S. ( 2nd edition 2023). 50+ Kinds of Intuition and Exercises for Moving to the Next Level. Book.
https://twi.education/50-plus-kinds-of-intuition/
Spiritual Awakening International. (2024). https://spiritualawakeningsinternational.org/
Zukov, G. (2006). Seat of the Soul. Book. https://seatofthesoul.com/books/
