So, there I was. Living my life as usual...
hiding deep emotional pain in nightly alcohol binges
desperately seeking validation in my relationships
hating my job, my co-workers, my customers, and myself
and just “making it work” the best I could.
I had the emotional maturity of a toddler, I was extremely reactive, and I instantly became enmeshed with my closest loved ones – not exactly ideal characteristics in a friend or partner!
After my final break-up which followed the exact same pattern as the previous five, something in me woke up. The pain of his abandonment triggered something deep inside me that couldn’t be unseen or unfelt.
My discontent with the trauma bonds and dysfunctional relationship dynamics in my life forced me to take a long, hard look at myself.
Thus began my Spiritual Awakening, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.
This journey has taken me to the depths of rock bottom and also to the heights of transcendent ecstasy. It can feel like a roller coaster at times, so do your darnedest to show yourself grace and compassion along the way.
Though everyone’s experience is unique, I will outline a few common signs of a Spiritual Awakening and then tell you how EFT can lighten the load for each one.
For an overview of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and how it works, go here.
1. A New Awareness
Whether this awareness results from massive discontent or a major life change (such as job loss, break-up, diagnosis, death of a loved one, mental health crisis, pandemic, war, natural disaster, or Dark Night of the Soul), you are beginning to see things differently. Your awakening may have even been initiated by reading a book, listening to a podcast, or having a conversation.
It’s as if the blindfold and earmuffs and emotional armor have been taken off. You’re starting to see beyond the veil of 3D space and time. This can be very unsettling as you begin to question everything that you once held as truth.
You are no longer resonating with your lifestyle, habits, or friendships. You may begin to feel isolated as you realize that you haven’t much in common with those in your life. Your friends and family may not fully comprehend what you are going through, leaving you feeling even more alone and misunderstood.
Conversations begin to feel superficial and empty, and the inauthenticity of those around you (including yourself) becomes undeniable.
Not only will EFT hold the gentle space for you to explore this new awareness, but also it will allow you to maintain a flexible mind as you continue opening up to new ways of seeing yourself and the world.
I found that EFT initiated even more awareness as I explored the recesses of my subconscious mind. It also allowed me to see things as they really were (apart from my ego’s interpretations and assumptions).
2. Inward Focus / Ego Transcendence
Whereas you may have once found your mind focused on money, other people, and achievements, you are now finding personal fulfillment and meaning to be more important. You’re also acutely aware that material aspects of this existence will never be able to provide you with authentic joy.
You are beginning to notice your ego’s insatiable drives and conditioning. According to Eckart Tolle, the ego is simply the “false self, created by unconscious identification with the mind” so, if you are basing your identity on anything mental or material, you are operating as the ego.
The ego keeps us separate from others and our own divinity. It is composed of our conditioned thoughts, emotions, behaviors, wounds, patterns, reactions, preferences, expectations, desires, and attachments.
When this part surrenders, the True Self (or Original Spirit, according to Taoism) can emerge.
A return to authenticity requires that we see beyond this limited version of ourselves to the eternal nature of who we truly are.
This awareness can be extremely disconcerting, as we begin to question ourselves and the meaning of life. It can feel like the rug has been pulled out from underneath us, leaving us feeling like a baby giraffe as we try to find our footing.
It’s completely normal for people to go into a cocoon phase as they sort out their true identity from the false ego. Honor your need for solitude as you navigate this and all phases of your awakening.
This “threat to self” may cause your nervous system to feel dysregulated, leading to feelings of anxiety and depression. EFT sends a calming signal to the brain and stops the release of cortisol and adrenaline. In this way, you can approach your ego transcendence from a place of safety and serenity.
EFT also creates a place for you to acknowledge the truth of the situation (“I'm not sure who I am anymore”) and accept it with compassion and unconditional self-love. In doing so, we can hack the mind-body to create a smoother (and more permanent) transition from ego-driven to Spirit-driven.
3. Reevaluating Values, Beliefs, and Priorities
You may find yourself experiencing less resonance and alignment with the way you’ve structured your inner life. You may begin to value human connection, a slower pace, fulfilling work, and spiritual practice more than being accepted by the crowd or holding a high-paying position at a company with no heart.
You may notice the cognitive dissonance between your biases, beliefs, and behavior. There are inconsistencies that need to be reconciled, limiting beliefs that need to be reprogrammed, and priorities that need to be adjusted.
Connecting with your intuition through journaling and meditation can help you get clear on how you want to show up throughout the rest of your life on this plane.
From there, EFT can help reprogram your thoughts, emotions, patterns, and beliefs by utilizing neuroscience to tap into the mind-body’s natural ability to rewrite the stories that limit us and prevent long-lasting transformation.
By acknowledging the truth that our beliefs and behaviors are incongruent, and showing compassion to ourselves for why this dissonance exists, we can actually retrain our neural pathways to support a more empowered process moving forward.
4. Getting Curious about the Past
During an awakening experience, you may start to recognize the need to explore your past and what made you the way you are. You may have a desire to process, integrate, and alchemize your unresolved traumas.
As you explore your past, you realize that many of your automatic assumptions and behaviors can be traced back to your earliest years of life, from conception to around 7 years old. There may be a longing to nurture and reparent your Inner Child as you begin to redesign your life from a place of self-compassion and self-love. Many people find it easier to have compassion and love for their younger selves before they can transfer this acceptance to their adult selves.
You may also begin to feel as if you are carrying around more trauma than just that experienced in your lifetime. You may notice similarities between your life struggles and those of your ancestors. This is a wonderful time to begin exploring your family’s history and making distinctions between what trauma is yours and what’s been inherited.
EFT facilitates Inner Child Work and Ancestral Trauma Release by allowing the body to reach calm regulation, thereby giving you even deeper access to your subconscious mind. Once in there, EFT can gently and effectively encourage you to meet the unmet needs of your inner child and your ancestors. In this way, you can alter how your past shows up in your present state of being.
5. Radical Responsibility
The ego transcendence stage of awakening can lead (and sometimes force) you to take radical responsibility for your choices, trespasses, and mindset creation. You may start to realize how you’ve wronged others, with a deep desire to make amends and prevent this misbehavior in the future.
Your triggers will show you where you still have deep inner work to do. Our triggers are our treasures, and you may begin to notice them more and humbly dissect them. This is what we call Shadow Work, and it’s an essential ingredient in the awakening process.
As a result of this sometimes grueling self-reflection, you will slowly begin to bring awareness to your judgment and resentment. You’ll begin to realize that other people are simply mirrors, and you’ll begin to see yourself in everyone you meet. We each are capable of the best and worst in humanity, and everyone is on their own unique path. In this way, your fellow humans become your teachers, and you will notice an increase in your empathy and compassion.
One of the most magical parts of the EFT Basic Recipe is the Acceptance Statement. This can vary from session to session, but it generally sounds something like this :
“I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“I choose to show myself compassion.”
“I’m open to accepting how I feel.”
As you go down the rabbit hole of Shadow Work, it can be very easy to internalize feelings of shame, regret, and even self-loathing. EFT corrects for this by acknowledging the existence of the shadow trait while pouring a whole bunch of love and acceptance onto it.
I’ve found EFT to be the most gentle way to pull the skeletons out of my closet, have compassion for why they ended up in there, and integrate them back into my whole and worthy self.
6. Lifestyle Changes
The new awareness that results from a spiritual awakening transcends your inner work and will show up in your outer life, as well. You may experience a desire to purge habits that are no longer serving you. You will start to notice the impact of your choices on your mind-body and the impact of your actions on others and the earth.
Choosing to treat your body in a more conscious way (with food, activity, and sleep) seems to be an inevitability of an awakening experience. Your body may insist on healthier choices by responding negatively to the unhealthier ones.
You may even find a new willingness to feel emotions rather than numbing or escaping them through mind-altering substances or other distractions.
EFT works wonders on cravings and unwanted habits. By getting to the subconscious root of why we crave the junk food, alcohol, social media, sex, etc., EFT can quickly and permanently change your relationship to your craving and/or unwanted habit and give you back your power to choose.
7. Emotional Maturity and Flexibility
Throughout childhood, we learn about attachment, boundaries, and communication from our parents and caregivers. Oftentimes, though they may have meant well, they weren’t able to model emotional maturity for us. It’s definitely not something that comes naturally, and it can sometimes be an excruciating process to learn.
You may begin noticing how you show up in relationships. There may be patterns for you to analyze and process. As you work through them, you may be called to reassess your attachment patterns, start setting more boundaries with yourself and others, and learn how to be a conscious communicator.
These are all such powerful and fundamental steps in your awakening! They can also feel terrifying, if you’ve never set boundaries before and have always avoided confrontation or “rocking the boat”.
EFT can help ease the terror as we develop compassion for where it came from. It can also help to feel the terror and create a mindset that enables you to do it anyway.
True healing happens each and every time that you choose a different action, assert and maintain a boundary, and communicate your needs in a mature and loving way. Tapping with an EFT Practitioner on these instances of fear and growth will help to normalize this new behavior and make it a part of your new Way of Life.
8. Oneness with Everything
One of the most beautiful gifts of the awakening experience is feeling the interconnectedness with all of life. You will feel more connected to nature and other human beings, and you will begin to see yourself as a valuable participant in a meaningful universe. You’ll be endowed with a deep sense of self-worth, as you realize that you have unique gifts to contribute. You’ll be able to finally embrace your own divinity, surrendering to inner peace and authentic joy, knowing that the Universe is conspiring in your favor. This will give you the ability to trust and surrender to a force larger than yourself.
My favorite way to savor this connection is through meditation. The peace and presence that can be realized through meditation is like nothing this 3D reality can provide. Due to the fast and distracted pace of our current space/time, it can be difficult to truly surrender to this divine connection. A few rounds of tapping before meditation can accelerate this transition to peace and presence.
9. Desire to Serve
As you return to your True Self and experience Authentic Joy, you may feel a strong calling to help others on their journey. By utilizing your unique gifts, you can be of great service to humanity, and this may become your new life’s purpose.
The process of answering this call and getting clear on your contributions can be a challenging one, as you are drawn to a variety of causes. It may feel overwhelming as you decide where, when, and how to share your unique gifts.
EFT can help you sort through your desires and goals by holding space for many different options and giving your mind-body an opportunity to chime in on the decision. A sense of clarity can emerge as you patiently allow all parts of yourself to have a say in what may provide you with the most meaning and fulfillment.
10. More Energetically Sensitive
As a result of this deep psycho-spiritual inner work, you may notice that you are becoming more sensitive to the energies of other people. It may become very clear to you when others are operating outside of their authenticity and integrity. This is not a time to revert back to judgment and resentment. It is simply a signal to protect your own energy by making conscious choices about what (and whom) you allow into your life. You will learn to honor your intuition and its natural state of discernment. As a result, you may feel more tuned into the present moment, and you may begin to see more clearly the synchronicities guiding you toward more trust and surrender.
As your sensitivities increase, EFT can aid you in honoring your own energetic boundaries while still having compassion for those around you. It can help you continue to sort through your traumas, triggers, and tribulations, so that you can hold the highest frequency for yourself and your loved ones.
Final Thoughts
It’s important to know that the awakening process is not linear. You may find yourself bouncing from one step to the next and then right back to where you started, as the past begins to resurface.
This is simply another opportunity to reflect, forgive, and integrate. Be patient with yourself throughout this process.
Even if it feels like you are at times moving backward, extend compassion toward yourself and the process.
You will likely hear loud calls from your intuition to continue your self-reflection and healing journey - to keep clearing out old beliefs, habits, and relationships to make room for the new. Heed the call.
This work is not always easy, but it is always worth it.
It’s also important to note that voluntarily surrendering your ego will become your life’s work, and it will require a certain level of devotion. There's a learning curve, so be kind to yourself.
***Awakenings are only the beginning of your spiritual journey.***
As much as we may all desire a quick-fix or instant enlightenment, it rarely pans out that way. We will experience glimpses of Unity and Transcendence, but only through doing the work will we experience them more often and for longer.
EFT has been absolutely fundamental in easing my awakening, and I encourage you to try it on everything. Through each step of this process, tapping can help you feel safer and more resourced. It can reprogram your neural pathways for fast-acting and long-lasting stress relief and transformation as you awaken to Who You Truly Are.
See this process as a Gift.
Continue to love yourself unconditionally.
And find more ease in the work through EFT.
If you'd like to work with me to Nurture your Inner Child, Integrate your Shadow, or Release Ancestral Trauma, feel free to book on my website. It is my mission to help ease the awakening of humanity through EFT, Meditation, and Yoga.
And, if you're a woman interested in reclaiming your power and resetting your life with EFT and more, I invite you to attend a Wake Up Weekend Intensive Retreat! Come experience a delicious synergy of EFT, meditation, and yoga in breathtaking locations with two experienced facilitators, holding the space for you to wake up to your magnificence. Our next retreat is taking place at White Eagle Lodge in Montgomery, TX. We have an awesome deal going on if you subscribe, so check it out!
In love and gratitude,
Amanda Wonderland
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