If you are a Seeker on the Spiritual path, you may have heard or read the terms “awakening” or “enlightenment” and perhaps wondered what the words meant: is there a difference? If so, what is the difference?
Awakening is most often described as a verb and Enlightenment, a noun.
Not every soul has chosen to become spiritually awakened in this lifetime, it is a choice made pre-incarnate and each soul’s path is unique, none is better or worse than another, they are just different.
Spiritual awakening is a process that can be compared to being asleep and then slowly waking up, it means walking your path towards greater wisdom and knowledge. The onset of the awakening is precisely timed and directed by the High Self.
Questions may arise from the disciple such as: Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? And the seeking continues. There are many ways the process begins, it can be an NDE ( near death experience ), an accident, depression, death of a loved one, a puzzling dream, an encounter with the paranormal, perhaps a “seeing”, you might hear a voice call your name and no one is there, three numbers many show up over and over such as 222, 333, 444, 555.
To awaken means realizing there is more to life than what the five senses give us, the beginning of a sense of the “outer” world and acknowledging Nature in all of it’s forms. It is understanding that the paranormal and metaphysical actually exist. The path of an awakening soul can be very puzzling, sometimes causing confusion and feelings that the world makes no sense, which leads to more questions.
Many changes occur along the bumpy road of discovery. Your appetite fluctuates, weight gain or loss can happen, sleep patterns are different, friends and relationships often change. As you continue along the path, what you once considered normal, now seems meaningless, your world can feel topsy turvy. Your teachers find you, you find your Tribe, you join groups of other like-minded people. Many souls experience an increase in their intuitive abilities.
As the various experiences and situations are presented to you, it’s important to stay grounded. Meditation, Yoga, Reiki and Tai Chi or going for a walk in Nature are a few of the ways to find peace.
Through the awakening process, each time a disciple realizes an “AHA” moment, a step forward towards Enlightenment is made. It is similar to exploring a house, your house, for your physical body is your house, and when every nook and cranny has been inspected and all the treasures within have been found, it’s time to move on to the next door and the next room. As the searching continues something magical and wonderful is achieved and that achievement is a rise in consciousness!
As the awakening process plays out, it’s important to accept the changes, trust in Spirit, your guides, angels and Higher Self. Above all – be kind to yourself.
Many years ago, I was given these words of encouragement from my High Self:
Accept your Challenges.
Forgive your Stumbles.
Celebrate your Victories.
Enlightenment. I love that word – en-Light-enment, it means to bring Light, to come into Light, to BE the Light and then sending that Light to others. It means to attain the knowledge of a Buddha. It means Self-realization, Love, Grace, Oneness, Nothingness, Allness. It is knowing we are truly One, all of creation, the sun, planets, animals, plants, other humans, mountains, we are all a part of our Source Energy, our Creator. It means Self- Mastery, total Ego management.
I once heard it described as: “Doing the inner work and having it reflected in our external reality.”
I like to think of enlightenment as a state of being one with God, with Creator and with our authentic Self, our High Self.
Attaining En-Light-enment is different for each soul, everyone’s Path is different and unique to that Soul, so reaching a state of enlightenment is also different for each.
Bethel
