People go through many stages of development in life. But when people think of development, usually, material things come to mind. We typically see growth as getting a better job, making more money, and buying a better house or a finer car. Though those things can also be considered growth, they are surface-level developments. But one part of the human experience that doesn’t get enough attention is the spiritual side.
When people hear the term spiritual, they automatically associate it with religion. Spirituality is a big part of all religious doctrine, spirituality doesn’t equal faith. Spirituality is recognizing the feeling that there’s something greater than ourselves. Even atheists can be in tune with their spirituality. You don’t even need to acknowledge the existence of a deity for that.
And spirituality is not something you reach logically or intentionally. It happens to you most of the time because of specific behavioral shifts or even shifts in perception. There can be many reasons people experience spiritual shifts, and most of the time, you don’t even know you are going through that change. So, here are five of the signs you might be going through a spiritual shift.
Spirituality and What Is a Spiritual Shift
Dr. Maya Spencer of the Royal College of Psychiatrists documented one of the more recent accounts of spirituality a few years ago. In her research, she defined spirituality as the feeling or belief that there is something more significant than the individual. Additionally, she stated that the whole of which people are part is cosmic or divine. That doesn’t mean a particular religion is the answer to every unanswered question humanity has ever asked. Instead, spirituality is not directly related to religion. While it’s true that beliefs appear as a way for people to act on these spiritual impulses, you can be a spiritual person without adopting a religion.
In simpler terms, spirituality is knowing that people’s lives have a meaning beyond the satisfaction of biological needs. Those natural impulses are selfish, and they often lead to aggression. That’s precisely why people live in societies governed by laws and moral codes; so that our biological impulses don’t take over. Spirituality takes a person on a journey of self-discovery, exploring themes like love, death, wisdom, truth, and more. It can guide you towards creating a moral compass and finding meaning in life.
5 Signs You’re Experiencing a Spiritual Shift
A spiritual shift, or awakening, refers to the experience of rising to a higher state of consciousness. This idea comes from psychiatrist Carl Jung, who theorized that spiritual awakening means returning to the original self. He believed that a higher state of consciousness is intrinsic to all humans and needs to be unlocked. This shift changes how you see the world and brings you closer to your true self. Most of the time, this shift is involuntary. But people who possess a more profound knowledge of spirituality can even trigger this shift themselves.
1. You Begin Feeling Deeper Emotions
Before an individual goes through a spiritual shift, they are usually egotistical people who don’t care much about emotions. They care more about material possessions and their image and are not in tune with their feelings. That doesn’t mean they are bad people. It just means that the emotions they feel are shallow. That’s because they never take the time to reflect and understand their feelings to their fullest potential. Or, they are just not connected with their mind and body in a meaningful way.
You will start feeling a whirlwind of emotions when going through a spiritual shift. This can be overwhelming at first, as you are experiencing emotions you’ve never felt before. It can be hard to understand what and why you are feeling. You might find that your mood often fluctuates without apparent reason. You might relive some traumatic events from the past.
But that’s just because you have unhealed wounds, and your body is just trying to guide you towards healing them. All these emotions appear because you start forming a deeper connection with your mind, body, and soul. Even if you can’t make sense of them at first, don’t worry. Just make sure you take some time to feel those emotions. Once you internalize them, you can begin making sense of them.
2. The World Starts Looking Different
A spiritual awakening will fundamentally change who you are. Part of that is that your perceptions and views of the world will shift. If you were a selfish person before the awakening, you would potentially become altruistic. This fundamental change in your core values will alter how you see the things around you.
Depending on their views, people see the world differently. If you make two people with opposite values give their opinion on the same situation, they will provide you with entirely different answers. For example, someone might see a person asking for money and immediately believe they are just a scammer. But someone else could see the same person and help them, no questions asked.
That’s because one believes people need to prove they are worthy of help, while the other thinks everyone deserves support. As you embark on your spiritual journey, you will become more generous and empathetic. You lose interest in material possessions instead of focusing on finding accurate, spiritual meaning.
This will make the word seem like a completely different place. At first, this won’t be very clear. Your wants will change drastically. But in time, you will get used to this new state of being.
3. You Will Want to Be Alone More
People who haven’t yet gone through a spiritual awakening are the ones who always feel like they need to be surrounded by others. That’s because they don’t know how to make themselves happy. It can also be because being alone might seem scary. It means that you don’t have any distractions from your thoughts, and you have to face them, good or bad.
Being forced to think about all the bad parts of your day, or even life, is intimidating. But someone in tune with their emotions won’t feel the same. If you are going through a spiritual awakening, you will find that you’ll start valuing your own company more than the company of other people. That’s not to say you won’t enjoy being around people.
But you are more likely to focus on being with the people you genuinely care for. You’ll find that being around people who mean little to you will drain you. That’s because you realize that your time is valuable. Because of that, you’d rather spend it working on yourself and focusing on family and loyal friends.
4. You Will Want to Have a Healthier Life
Many people who have not yet gone through their spiritual shift are partly hedonistic. That means they primarily care about feeling good at the moment, with little regard for how their future will turn out. They care little about consequences. Most young people go out and party without caring how hungover they will be in the morning.
That’s why people smoke, do drugs, or have other addictions. Because they feel good momentarily, it doesn’t matter to them if they’ll only live until they’re thirty. This also happens because they don’t have a clear meaning in life. But someone who is going through a spiritual awakening will find a purpose. They will start to value living a good life for a long time. They will start having a more holistic perspective of life. They will want to live, not just survive.
Also, your body is practically begging you to take care of it. You will want to care for yourself as you get more in tune with your mind and body. You may start letting go of bad habits. You will drop negative people. You might even feel the need to change your diet and start exercising. If what you’re doing isn’t satisfying you, you might change your career. Your decisions will reflect what you want for your future, not just for the present.
5. You Start Being More Intuitive and Empathetic
You are stuck in your bubble if you haven’t gone through a spiritual awakening yet. You don’t pay much attention to the world around you. You go through the same routine day after day, without stopping to take in the world. You can’t develop an empathetic personality because you ignore details.
As you go through your spiritual shift, you will start noticing more details about the world. You’ll start paying attention to the people around you. This will give you a better understanding of their needs and wants. As you begin understanding people better, you will start being more empathetic. This, along with a better understanding of the world around you, will make you more intuitive. People won’t need to tell you they need help; you will pick up on it yourself and offer your assistance.
Final Thoughts on Some Signs You’re Experiencing a Spiritual Shift
Spirituality is a concept that most people don’t know much about. That’s mainly because modern society values material things over a connection with one’s mind, body, and soul. Still, even if you don’t fully understand the concept, that doesn’t mean you can’t go through a spiritual shift. A spiritual transformation simply means that you start feeling like there’s something bigger than you out there. It doesn’t have to be through religion. The simple belief that something out there can make life meaningful is enough to go through the shift.
As you go through the shift, you will start experiencing apparent changes. Your emotions will be more profound than ever before. You will feel things you’ve never felt before. You will start seeing the world in a different light. As your perception changes, you will begin to value finding a valid meaning over having material possessions. You’ll start wanting to be alone more and focus on spending your time working on yourself. Having a healthy and long life will begin to be desirable. All of these changes might confuse you. But, you will find peace after you make sense of everything going on.
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