Your Stages of Spiritual Awakening: Step 4
Here is Step 4 in crafting your own stages of spiritual awakening from the direct experiences of your life.
Steps 1 and 2 were excavation journeys, bringing imprinting to greater consciousness. In Step 3 you claimed your revelations, those awakenings that emerged directly from your life journey. Now, in step 4, you will intentionally gather the support of spiritual allies.
Exploring your own map of spiritual awakening doesn’t mean “doing it all yourself” or having to “make it up” as you go along. Spiritual traditions and practitioners the world over have charted stages of sacred development in diverse ways. Those spiritual maps can provide invaluable perspectives that help you contextualize and integrate your direct experiences. And, they can offer well tested pathways of practice that ignite greater expansions of consciousness. It is wise to let resonate spiritual community provide you with stable ground and good company along your way.
But please remember that no one else’s map will ever capture or encompass the electric presence of your living wisdom. Be wary of comparison, ranking, or conforming to someone else’s path in order to validate yourself. Ideally, influences from others are consciously used to more deeply inhabit yourSelf.
Onwards Together into the Steps of Your Spiritual Awakening…
Step 4: Harvest inspiration from other models of Spiritual Awakening.
Bring out all you have archived so far: Your initial excavation of imprinting around The Stages of Spiritual Awakening, your sacred eruptions, and the revelations that arose form them. As you harvest inspiration, you will probably want to refer to these, especially your initial list of imprinting,
Have pen and paper ready. As in the other steps, it is important to give your inner experience a physical body through writing, drawing, or somehow grounding the energy onto a physical surface. There are 4 parts to this step. Trust your timing. Take pauses when you feel full. There is nothing to get done. This time spent with yourself is intended to evoke not “produce.”
When you are ready, ask your Intuitive Wisdom to light up awakening experiences of others that “match” your own.
Look back over your initial list of imprinting to start. Is there anything that you heard about Spiritual Awakening that matches your sacred eruptions and the revelations that came from them?
Maybe there are very similar experiences, or recognizable archetypal encounters. For instance, perhaps you heard that an important part of the awakening path was finding a Spiritual Teacher. And it so happens that on your path you also have experienced the revelation of meeting your Spiritual Mentor. Harvest that match.
Or, maybe the experiences are not similar in appearance but you Know there is a resonance. For instance, you might have heard that one stage of Spiritual Awakening is a state of unity with all things. Perhaps you also have experienced a state of unity along your way. Now maybe you heard someone had that in a silent meditation retreat. But you had it swimming in the ocean with friends. No matter where or how it occurred. That state, regardless of the context, is one of resonance. Harvest that match.
Whatever your Intuitive Wisdom lights up, let it be what it is. Allow matching experiences to validate that you are indeed on a Spiritual Awakening path, a path that is shared with others.
Then, ask your Intuitive Wisdom to light up experiences of others that really interest you, but that you have not yet encountered directly.
Again, take a look at your initial imprinting and let yourself rift from there. Rather than having to figure out what interests you, let your Intuitive Wisdom guide your awareness and see what comes. These may be things you thought were out of your grasp for whatever reason. And yet, there is something there that calls to you. If you bring them to consciousness and claim your interest you are more likely to come to your own direct encounter with the material. Harvest these pieces.
Ask your Intuitive Wisdom to light up for you forgotten inspirations from spiritual allies that want to be consciously harvested now.
Now that you have substantially reshaped your landscapes around Spiritual Awakening there are likely treasures just waiting to be remembered. No need to try to remember anything. Again, you already intuitive Know what is important to become aware of at this time. Allow yourself to open to forgotten inspirations that shined greater light onto your spiritual path.
Lastly, ask your Intuitive Wisdom to light up wild card visions from unexpected sources.
This is an invitation to explore far beyond the logical mind. Spiritual Awakening does not always appear so “spiritual.” Or maybe it is so spot on “spiritual” that you reject it flat out thinking, “It can’t be this obvious!” You may have overlooked important inspirations because they did not meet your conventional expectations, or even your unconventional expectations. What is “out there” that you are now willing to see. Harvest it for your nourishment.
Remember you are intentionally gathering the support of spiritual allies. Spiritual allies can be groups, individuals, mountains, insects, stories, images, movies, songs, etc. See what relationships support you in trusting yourself.
You can return to these reflection several times over the next week or two. Have fun and see what comes.
Your Intuitive Wisdom will tell you when you are complete with this step.
Set whatever you recorded aside. In the next and final step you will weave everything together. But for now, give yourself space to integrate all the inspiration from others that you harvested.
When you reach your natural completion, take a moment to invite appreciation for all the other spiritual practitioners who are with you on your journey. Dedicate your revelations to positive expansion for all beings. Then rest for a few minutes before moving into whatever is next in your spiritual awakening journey.