7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening Journey Home

by James Traverse of Being Yoga

Spirituality for Begin
Spirituality for Beginners

It is said that the path of awakening to your true nature is a long and winding one, but how do we know when we are making progress? Understanding the 7 Spiritual Awakening Stages of Waking Up to Your True Nature can be a helpful tool in recognizing the stages of development on your journey of awakening. In this blog post, we will explore each of the 7 stages, and how to best utilize spiritual practices to move forward in your spiritual growth.

The 7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening provide a framework for understanding the spiritual journey and recognizing the progress you are making. By incorporating sacred practices into your life, you can move through each stage of your awakening, and ultimately embody your highest truth.

The Warning

“The one who sets off on the journey of awakening will not survive the journey. Such is the radical nature of awakening.”

7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening
7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening

The Vision of Your Journey of Waking Up to Your True Nature

The Journey of Waking Up to Your True Nature is unique to everyone, but the steps of waking up are universal. They are a roadmap for growth and understanding, and provide insight into one’s own personal journey.

The process of waking up to your true nature can be categorized into three overlapping areas, or phases: awareness, inquiry, and integration.

  • In the awareness phase, you begin to recognize that there is something more to life than our everyday routines and the physical world that we are accustomed to. You become aware of your spiritual essence and the interconnectedness of all things.
  • Then in the inquiry phase, you ask yourself honest and direct questions to explore the depths of your being and uncover the truth of your true nature.
  • Finally, in the integration phase, you begin to embody the knowledge and understanding that you have gained, allowing it to become part of your everyday life. This transformation brings you closer to living a life that is more aligned with your true essence.

The journey of waking up to our true nature is an ongoing process. It is important to remember that it is not a race, but rather a journey that requires patience and self-compassion. As you move through the different phases of waking up, we can deepen our understanding of yourself and your relationship to the world around you. Ultimately, this process leads to a greater sense of connection, peace, and purpose.

The Journey of Waking Up Spiritually – What It Is Not and What It Is

The Spiritual Training of Awakening is not a journey in space. It is not a physical journey from one place to another [like from earth to heaven].

It is not a journey in time, which means that you do not have to wait until after death to explore it.

It is not an object that is to be attained – it is not an idea or some subtle form that you have to attain.

This life-changing journey is the journey from ignorance to self-knowledge.

It is available right here, right now, and it is what you already are, yet you do not realize it.

7 Spiritual Awakening Stages
7 Spiritual Awakening Stages

The 7 Stages of Waking Up Spiritually are:

  1. Waking Up to the Void | Ignorance of the true nature of being.
  2. Dark Night of the Soul (Ego) | The error that arises due to such ignorance.
  3. The Sponge | Suffering due to that error.
  4. The Soul Sessions | Indirect, or second-hand knowledge, as learning via a book.
  5. Surrender and allow | Direct Knowledge as Insight and Understanding via Direct Experience – Knowing via Being.
  6. Integration and Reflection | The ending of the error that arose due to ignorance.
  7. Embodiment | The ending of suffering and attainment of Lasting Peace and Happiness.

Stage-One of Awakening Spiritually:

Waking Up to the Void – Ignorance of the True Nature of Being
The first stage of waking up is often referred to as “waking up to the void”. This is the point in your spiritual journey where you have a strong feeling of emptiness and a realization that life is meaningless without something deeper. It is a time of questioning the purpose of life and examining what you believe to be true.

Stage-Two of Awakening Spiritually:

Dark Night of the Soul (Ego) – The Error that arises due to such Ignorance.
The second stage of waking up is referred to as the “dark night of the soul” (ego). This is a period of intense emotional and spiritual pain as you struggle to break free from the limiting beliefs and attachments that have been holding you back from true spiritual growth. This is the stage in which you may feel overwhelmed and confused as you try to make sense of the world around you and your place in it.

Stage-Three of Awakening Spiritually:

The Sponge – Suffering due to that error.
The third stage of waking up is referred to as “the sponge”. At this stage, you are open to new ideas, thoughts, and experiences. You are ready to soak up new information and learn from others. You may also find yourself exploring different spiritual paths and practices to find the one that resonates with you the most.

Stage-Four of Awakening Spiritually:

The Soul Sessions – Indirect, or Second-Hand Knowledge as learning via a book.
The fourth stage of waking up is known as “the soul sessions”. This is the stage in which you are actively working on yourself and taking steps to heal any unresolved issues that are preventing you from fully living your truth. This may include self-reflection, healing, and inner work.

Stage-Five of Awakening Spiritually:

Surrender and Allow – Direct Knowledge as Insight and Understanding via Direct Experience – Knowing via Being.
The fifth stage of waking up is referred to as “surrender and allow”. At this stage, you are ready to let go of control and fully trust the process of spiritual growth. You are open to receiving guidance and wisdom from higher sources and allowing yourself to be guided by your intuition.

Stage-Six of Awakening Spiritually:

Integration and Reflection – The Ending of the Error that arose due to ignorance.
The sixth stage of waking up is known as “integration and reflection”. At this stage, you are integrating the lessons you have learned and reflecting on your spiritual journey. You may find yourself examining your beliefs and values, and questioning the role they play in your life.

Stage-Seven of Awakening Spiritually:

Embodiment – The Ending of Suffering and attainment of Lasting Peace and Happiness.
The seventh and final stage of waking up is known as “embodiment”. At this stage, you are embodying your spiritual truth and living in alignment with your highest truth. You are in a constant state of awareness, connected to your inner wisdom and higher self.

7 Stages of Waking Up Spiritually
7 Stages of Waking Up Spiritually

Spiritual Practices

To move through each of the 7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening, it is important to incorporate spiritual practices into your life. These practices can also include activities such as Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Meditation, Mindfulness and Journaling.

Yoga is a physical practice of postures and breathwork that can help to bring balance and harmony to the body and mind.

Yoga Nidra, also called Wakeful Sleep, is a guided meditation practice that approximates Deep Sleep.

Meditation helps to cultivate self-awareness and can be used to connect with the Divine.

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, without judgement and without attachment. You can practice mindfulness by taking a few moments each day to sit quietly and observe your thoughts and feelings. You can also practice mindfulness by being mindful of your emotions, bodily sensations, and the environment around you. By practising mindfulness, you can become more aware of your inner experience and create a deeper connection with your spiritual self. Mindfulness can also help to reduce stress and anxiety and can be a great way to cultivate spiritual growth.

Journaling is an incredibly powerful tool for mental health and personal growth. It allows us to express our thoughts and feelings in a safe and private space. Journaling also gives us an opportunity to reflect on ourselves, our experiences, and our lives, which mean that works well with the other practices listed here. By taking the time to write out our thoughts and feelings, we can gain insight into our emotions, thought processes, and behaviors. We can also learn about our strengths and weaknesses, and work on developing healthier habits. Journaling can help us clarify our goals and intentions, and provide a space to practice gratitude and self-care. In short, journaling can be a tremendously powerful form of self-exploration and self-care.

All of these spiritual practices can help to create a greater connection to the Divine and can help to bring more peace and joy into one’s life.

7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening
7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening

Here is yet another way to say this…

The 7 Spiritual Awakening Steps are the steps that we take when we’re transitioning from our current state of being to a more enlightened, higher level of consciousness. These stages are commonly referred to as the “stages of enlightenment” and can be divided into seven distinct steps:

  1. Awareness: This is the first stage in the process of spiritual enlightenment. At this stage, we move away from ignorance to begin to become aware of our own spiritual nature and the spiritual aspects of the world around us.
  2. Acceptance: In this stage, we acknowledge our error due to ignorance of our true nature, and we come to accept our spiritual nature and the fact that we are part of something much larger than ourselves.
  3. Exploration: At this stage, there is still suffering, yet we start to explore the deeper questions of what life in all about, which manifests as an exploration of the spiritual world and the various spiritual paths we can take.
  4. Transcendence: This is the stage in which we begin to move beyond the physical world and become more in tune with our spiritual selves as directed by the knowledge we gain from books and from others.
  5. Integration: This is the stage of direct experience, in which we learn to integrate our spiritual knowledge and experiences into our daily lives. This is an experiential stage that transcends knowledge and book-learning, as we see via insight and wisdom.
  6. Expansion: At this stage, the error we had made ends because it has been clearly seen. This means that we now expand our spiritual understanding and experience even further as living truth.
  7. Enlightenment: This is the final stage in the process that flowers as Lasting Peace and Happiness as we live our lives in the light of the understanding that has been realized.

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