The Guide To A Spiritual Awakening – Meaning, Symptoms and Courses

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven. 

By embarking on the beautiful journey inwards and connecting with the self, “the consciousness within”, you’ll be able to experience the true beauty of life.

In other words, if you have awakened spiritually, you’ll be able to see heaven wherever you go.

However, if your mind tends to make a hell of heaven, it’s time to make some changes!

And we’re going to help you with that!

In this post, I’ll show you everything you need to know about the phenomena of ‘ spiritual awakening’.

I’ll also show you the best online spiritual awakening guides/ courses that can help you on your journey towards true inner joy.

Table of Contents

What is a Spiritual Awakening?

lotus in pond

So, what is a spiritual awakening really? A spiritual awakening happens when you start to realize that you’re not seperate from creation, but actually a part of it. So the meaning of a spiritual awakening is a newfound awareness of a spiritual reality. 

Just like the tree outside your window is a part of creation, so are you. Just like the ants in your backyard are a part of creation, so are you. We’re all part of the immeasurable intelligence of creation. 

And when you’ve grown spiritually, you can see that your body is actually a piece of earth that you’re borrowing. We’re able to grow and expand our bodies by converting pieces of earth (pieces of food) into a human body.

So the phrase “you are what you eat” is actually pretty accurate, well… at least the body is. And there will come a time when we’ll give our bodies back and it’ll become part of earth once again.

Your mind is just a collection of impressions you have gathered through your life. Your mind just repeats what it has seen. All your likes, dislikes, opinions, personalities… it’s just an echo of your past stored impressions of life. 

So, in other words, the person you call “me” is just a constantly changing collection of thoughts, emotions, impressions, and… food.

When you realize that you are not your mind or body, but actually the consciousness, you have set yourself up towards the path of spiritual enlightenment. Your consciousness has awakened.

Michael Singer And The Untethered Soul | Living From A Place Of Surrender | Course Review
Michael Singer

We get separated from ourselves mainly because we believe we are separated from creation. We get so lost in the stored impressions of the external world (ideas, opinions, people, places, events etc.) that we forget that we’re actually part of the whole.

When you get to the point where you stop over-identifying with everything around you such as your job, your car, your house and even your own body and (anxious) thoughts, you’ll reach a state where you’ll be spiritually awakened.

From the perspective of the mind, a spiritual awakening provides you with a clearer understanding of what is real versus what is not. You’ll start to see that many of the things that you perceive as real is actually just a concept that only exists inside the mind.

If you want to learn more about what a spiritual awakening is and all the spiritual awakening stages, i’d advise you to read this article.

Spiritual awakening quotes

Sadhguru spiritual quote

Here you can find my top 10 spiritual awakening quotes from Michael Singer (the author of the #1 New York Times best-seller “The untethered soul”) and Sadhguru (founder of the Isha foundation).

There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind – you are the one who hears it.

If you’re willing to be objective and watch all your thoughts, you’ll see that the vast majority of them have no relevance. They have no effect on anything or anybody, except you. They are simply making you feel better or worse about what is going on now, what has gone on in the past, or what might go on in the future.

Problems are generally not what they appear to be. When you get clear enough, you will realize that the real problem is that there is something inside of you that can have a problem with everything.

The more you are willing to just let the world be something you’re aware of, the more it will let you be who you are – the awareness, the self, the Atman, the Soul.

The spiritual journey is one of constant transformation. In order to grow, you must give up the struggle to remain the same, and learn to embrace change at all times.

As far as the laws of existence are concerned, there is no good and bad, no crime and punishment. It is just that for every action, there is a consequence.

Fear and anxiety are a consequence of your imagination running wild. You are suffering a situation that may never happen.

Do not worry about your furute. Do your present well, and the future will blossom.

As a human being, you should not think about where life will take you. You should only think about where you want to take it.

Words and meaning exist only in human minds- Sound has an existential presence.

What is an online spiritual awakening course/ guide?

Whether you want to call them self-help courses, mindfulness courses, personal transformation courses or spiritual awakening courses, what matters is they can help you improve your (mental) health and provide you with the necessary insights to interact with the world in a completely new way.

As someone who used to struggle with a (very) anxious mind and a lack of confidence, I can tell you that the problem isn’t outside, and neither is the solution.

In order to overcome these negative mental states, you will have to take the journey inwards.

This spiritual journey is all about becoming aware of who you are and of the moment that is unfolding in front of you.

The truth is, we are all blessed with the most sophisticated piece of technology that exists on planet earth, the human body. But as the famous spiritual teacher Sadhguru likes to put it, have you bothered reading the manual?

By taking the spiritual journey inwards, you’ll learn to look at life in a completely different way.

Luckily, we don’t have to find out everything ourselves as there are people who have walked the path of spirituality and have made it their duty to help others do the same.

That’s what these courses are all about!

Spiritual Awakening Symptoms

How do you know when you’ve reached this spiritually enlightened state? Well, here are a few of the most common signs of a spiritual awakening:

1. It’s easier for you to let things go

You will start to look at things objectively and see that most things you tend to worry about only exist in your mind. You will notice it’ll be easier to let go and not to force things to happen.

2. An inner sense of joy and a lot more smiling.

When you’ve awakened spiritually, you can’t help but feel joy and a sense of well-being, as negative emotional states are a thing of the past and you’re able to appreciate life on a whole new level.

3. A certain feeling of “one-ness” with everything around you.

You’ll see that, just like you are a part of this incredible creation, everything around you is too. The trees, the animals, the people, everything is a part of life.

4. Being very appreciative of everything, even the small things.

Everything will hit you on a different level. You can be blown away by the smallest things, like seeing a bird sit on the tree. 

5. Your actions and thoughts are no longer led by fear or anxiety 

As you are liberated by the mental drama generated by the mind, you’ll see that you are no longer driven by compulsions, but rather by excitement. Excitement to experience life.

6. A sense of inner well-being and an ability to appreciate the moment that is unfolding in front of you just as it is.

Instead of going along with the mental dialogue that wants every single moment to be one particular way (based on impressions of the past), you’ll be able to love and appreciate the moment just the way it is.

7. A clear mind that’s unfazed by the external drama.

You’ll start to feel a sense of calmness and peace in your mind. It’s less reactive to things that happen on the outside.

8. A loss of interest in conflict and anger.

You’ll lose all interest to fight with people or to be angry as you are no longer susceptible to external or internal drama.

9. You stop worrying about what other people do or think of you.

When you are no longer susceptible to the drama created by the mind, you’ll definitely not be susceptible to other people’s mental drama.

10. You stop judging others.

You’ll realize that judging other people is just your mind trying to make conclusions based on past impressions of life. When you realize this, you’ll start to lose interest in judging and start experiencing.

11. You stop judging yourself.

Similarly, you’ll see that judging yourself is just your mind trying to make conclusions based on past impressions. When you’ve awakened spiritually, you’ll outgrow this and learn to look at things objectively.

12. You’re able to unconditionally love the world.

You will start to feel like a mother to the world. Unconditional inclusiveness is the result.

Do you think you are experiencing a spiritual wakening? You can do the spiritual awakening test by comparing your own experience of life with the symptoms on this list.

What Are The Benefits of a Spiritual Awakening Course?

man standing on the beach freely

There are a lot of so-called self-help courses out there.

The problem however, is that most of them aren’t focussed on tackling the problem at its root.

Some might give you advise on how to compliment yourself more on little achievements and avoid stressful situation, others will tell you to exercise more and eat healthier.

While these tips might make you feel a little bit better, they don’t actually solve the problem.

That’s because these kind of courses are focussed on the outside, while the problem is going on inside.

A research paper written by Steve Bradt from Harvard, concluded that our minds are lost in thought almost 47% of the time. That’s almost half of our lives!

This constant mind wandering also happens to be a direct cause of our unhappiness.

That’s because we’ve (unconsciously) put our minds in charge of coming up with ideas to make us feel safe and okay.

Ironically, this is actually doing (way) more harm than it does good.

Feeling ashamed because of something that happened 3 years ago, or feeling anxiety for an event that hasn’t even occured is not going to make you feel any better at this moment, does it?

Yet, that’s exactly what our mind tends to do.

Our mind uses its memory and it’s imagination to guess what’s going to happen and come up with a way to respond in order to feel okay.

In other words, your mind is creating an alternative reality with endless different problems (and solutions) in order to protect itself.

As you might have guessed, this ‘protection’ actually severely limits your ability to interact with the world and can make you feel anxious, depressed, angry at any given time.

The goal of a spiritual awakening course is to help you realize the predicament you’re in, provide you with a roadmap to let go of the alternative reality created by the wandering mind, and put you in touch with the real you.

This will enable you to evolve your anxious mind into a calm and clear mind that’s free from any mental drama.

Where to start

I’d advise anyone who is starting the spiritual journey inwards to have an open mind.

As you’ve probably noticed, so far i’ve been describing the mind as if it’s seperate from you.

And if you’ve already familiarized yourself with the core concepts of spirituality, you’ll know that it actually is.

You are not the mind, nor the body for that matter. You’re actually the consciousness that is witnessing the mind and body.

While I know this might sound a bit wishy washy for people who haven’t immersed themselves in the world of spirituality, it’s quite easy to prove.

If you are the mind, you’d have full control over it right? Well… try not to think of monkies for 3 minutes straight, starting now.

Let me guess, you can’t do it right?

That’s because you’re not the mind.

Your mind has to be seen as a tool. It’s a great tool that can help you read these words, and do a million other things on top of helping you stay alive.

But that doesn’t mean it’s you. It just responds to internal and external stimilus.

The same goes for your body, with modern technology, they could go pretty far with removing your body without you actually dying.

The thing is, even without your body parts, you’d still be you.

You are the consciousness that is witnessing everyting, such as your mind, your body, people, places and events.

But don’t take my word for it. The journey inwards is all about finding things out for yourself!

A spiritual awakening course can guide you on the journey inwards and help you kickstart your spiritual awakening process.

Many of the courses in the list below can provide you with key insights that will enable you to enhance your perception of life.

Just have an open mind and observe the thoughts that arise in your mind as you go through the lessons in this/these course(s)!

Try to apply what you learn into your daily live and you’ll find that there’s way more to life than meets the eye.

What is the Best Spiritual Awakening Course?

We’ve searched high and low through many different spiritual programs and chosen five great courses to compare. Have a look at the summaries for each one to find your best spiritual awakening course.

Living from a place of surrender is a truly inspirational inner awakening course created by the famous spiritual teacher Micheal Singer. 

Michael Singer has been a spiritual teacher for more than four decades and has written two books: “The Untethered Soul” (#1 New York Times bestseller) and the New York Times bestseller “The Surrender Experiment”.

The teachings in his course are meant to set you firmly on the path of spiritual surrender, in order to liberate your inner energy and live in harmony with the flow of life.

The course contains 8 intensive sessions with over 9 hours of spiritual teachings.

Some of the benefits that can be derived from this course are freedom from anxiety and stress, a clear and calm mind, spontaneous joy and harmony in relationships.

spontaneous joy living from a place of surrender
clarity and calmness in mind living from a place of surrender
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Personally, I really really like this course as it is one of the first and most important sources of information that has helped me overcome anxiety. 

Michael explains that we experience so many negative thoughts and emotions because of our constant need to have everything aligned with our internal expectations. 

These internal expectations are created by the wandering mind which bases everything on past stored impressions of life. These stored impressions have nothing to do with reality and heavily influence the quality of your life.

By letting go of these stored impressions and surrendering to the miraculous reality that is unfolding in front of us, we are able to reach a state of complete inner well-being.

This course is especially useful for people who are new to spirituality as Michael covers every subject (including the basics) thoroughly. 

In addition, the course provides unique information that is very interesting and easy to follow.

Check out my in-depth review of the course living from a place of surrender if you want to know more!

Body and Mind are One is an in-depth online retreat for healing, insight, and transformation led by the famous spiritual teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.

For those who don’t know, Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen master, scholar, poet, and peace activist, renowned for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. even called him “an apostle of peace and non-violence” when nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.

The spiritual awakening course “Body and Mind are One”contains over 7 hours of teachings over 8 different sessions.

Thich teaches that when your body and mind work together as one, you are fully and naturally present in the moment.

Throughout this online training program, Thich Nhat Hanh will guide you through the core concepts, meditations, and daily life practices for experiencing presence, healing, loving connection with others, deep insight into yourself, liberation from suffering, and the discovery of the ultimate realm of peace and wonder, in the here and now.

Some of the benefits that can be derived from this course:

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The power of awareness is a truly enlightning online mindfulness training created by Jack kornfield and Tara Brach, both of whom hold a PhD in clinical psychology and are experts in the area of meditation.

In fact, Jack is one of the key teachers to introduce mindfulness practices to the West. He is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California.

Tara is the Founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC (IMCW), and the author of bestseller Radical Acceptance.

The power of awarenes course contains 26 videos with approximately 10 hours of teachings.

Jack an Tara teach that by becoming more aware, we enhance our capacity to cope with life’s challenges with full confidence and sophistication. They show us that complete awareness can transform your life and your world.

In this course you’ll learn valuable mindfulness skills and tools, develop a regular meditation practice, receive community-based mentoring throughout the course, and obtain a certificate of completion from the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and the Awareness Training Institute.

In The Power of Awareness program, you’ll begin to nurture the following qualities within yourself:

Powerful Beyond Measure is an inspirational 8-week course with two recorded Q+A sessions with Marianne Williamson designed to help people connect with their power and purpose.

As you might know, Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed lecturer, activist and author of four #1 New York times bestselling books. She has been one of America’s most well known public voices for more than three decades.

Marianne shows us that many of us lose our connection with our true selves through trauma, negative programming, and over-identification with the body and mind.

As a result, we start to believe our minds when it tells us we’re not good enough or that we don’t matter.

When we surrender our judgments, preconceptions, and inner criticism and can accept the form of the present moment as it is we’ll be able to gain access to the limitless power that is our birthright.

Over the course of the program, you’ll explore how to turn your attention inward and open to divine guidance; learn of the different ways to surrender and let go of what does not serve us; learn to accept what is, while moving toward what’s possible; use your authentic power in the world for change and good and learn some simple daily meditations and practices to stay aligned

Some of the benefits that can be derived from this course are:

The Shadow Course is an eight–week transformational learning experience created by the famous spiritual teachers Caroline Myss and Andrew Harvey.

Caroline Myss is a five-time New York Times bestselling author and an internationally well-known speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition.

Andrew Harvey can be described as a poet, writer, teacher, and mystic. He has taught at many different universities and is the author/editor of several spiritual books, including:

What is the Shadow, you might ask.

The Shadow is that which is unknown to our conscious minds. It is natural and universal, capable of creation and destruction.

Within ourselves, the Shadow will show up as our unconscious patterns, addictions, motivations, and triggers. In many ways, it’s the force that runs our lives.

The shadow can manifest itself in the form of greed, power, a lack of empathy, and a disconnection from your consciousness.

The Shadow Course guides you through the process of illuminating the unconscious forces that drive our lives. Caroline and Andrew show us that once these forces are illuminated, we can engage the power of choice to heal and transform both ourselves and the world.

In the shadow course you’ll learn to uncover the most typical patterns that underpin your life; to investigate hidden drives—such as the need for control, a fear of loneliness, or jealousy—and become conscious of how these forces influence your behavior; to own your own projections about others and the world, and start to see with greater clarity; to unravel the stories that your ego tells you to keep you from seeing the truth in your life and to embrace your “golden shadow” (that part of you that contains your greatest gifts and talents)

Some of the benefits that can be derived from this course:

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Frequently asked questions

You can read some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers down below.

What does awakening mean?

To awaken or to awaken spiritually means that you have come to a point where your actions are no longer dictated by compulsive thoughts and emotions, but rather by conscious choice.

After you have awakened, you’ll see things more clearly. You’ll be able to make a clear distinction between existential reality, and the psychological “reality” created in the mind. 

How is it possible to have a spiritual awakening?

As we have discussed in this post, there are many different ways to awaken spiritually. Some experience a deep inner awakening by observing their own thoughts while others awaken by doing any number of different activities.

The truth is, it’s not about the content, but about the context of the situation. If your intent is to enhance life and grow spiritually, you will find a way.

Any of the courses in this post will go above and beyond to set you up on the right path if you’re willing.

How do you know if you are spiritually awakened?

When you can clearly see reality and the ‘one-ness’ of it all, you know you have awakened spiritually.

When I say “clearly see reality”, I mean the moment that is unfolding in front of you, and not the alternative ‘reality’ created by your thoughts and emotions.

How long does a spiritual awakening last?

The perceived time of the spiritual awakening process will differ from person to person. For some, it might happen in a moment of complete surrender to reality, while for others it will be a very gradual process.

However, it’s best to look at it as a time-free process… because it is. Time actually only exists in our minds. We tend to look at time as a linear phenomenon that goes from past to present to future.

But if you take a closer look, you’ll see that there is only now. The past is simply this moment that has become a memory in your mind. It does not exist anywhere else. 

Similarly, the future is simply an expectation of how this moment will be, based on past impressions. That’s why for all things spiritual, it’s best to let go of time and focus on this exact moment, you’ll never be able to be anywhere else anyway!

What happens after spiritual awakening?

After you have awakened you have the choice to do whatever you want! Right now you have no choice, as you have become a compulsive creature that has to act on its tendencies.

When you’re free from the compulsiveness of your thoughts and emotions, you’re free to build the life you want. Whether it be totally joyful or totally miserable, the choice is up to you! 

What is spiritual enlightment?

Spiritual enlightenment is different from a spiritual awakening. This is something that is achieved only by the truly dedicated. 

We say someone is enlightened when they have reached a state of complete understanding of both the relative mode of existence (the way in which things appear) and the ultimate mode of existence (the true nature of these same appearances).

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many different courses that can help you overcome your negative mind and find true inner peace and confidence!

Our #1 pick is Michael Singer’s Living From a Place of Surrender, but I know for a fact that every spiritual awakening course on this list can have a profound impact on your life and help you with the spiritual journey inwards.

Whichever course you choose to pick, I respect you deeply for trying to improve yourself and taking back control over your life.

If you stay committed, I have no doubt that you’ll experience a spiritual awakening sooner or later.

I can say without a doubt, if you start the journey inwards and commit to your own happiness you’ll find out how beautiful life can really be!

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About me

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Hi, my name is Mike Wilhelm and I run the confidence HQ!

Looking back at my journey through life, I can say without a doubt, that anyone is capable of reaching a state of true inner confidence.

All it takes is perspective. And I am here to help you get there!

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