A Wildly Practical Guide to Authentic Spiritual Awakening
by Scott JeffreyWhat is spirituality? Are there actual signs or symptoms of spiritual awakening?
Of all the topics we cover here, spiritual awakening is perhaps the most misunderstood.
Let’s resolve that confusion now and ensure that we’re on the path to authentic spiritual awakening.
Table of Contents
- Let’s Start with a Few Definitions: Spirituality and Enlightenment
- What is Spiritual Awakening?
- Spiritual Awakening versus Psychic Awakening
- What is the Ego and the Spirit?
- Here’s What Happens During Spiritual Awakening
- Spiritual Traps: False Signs of Spiritual Awakening
- Beware of the Spiritual Bypass
- Ten Spiritual Awakening Signs
- Sign #1: A Noticeable Change in Your Behavior
- Sign #2: A Deepening in Your Emotional Wellbeing
- Sign #3: A Tendency to Slow Down and Reflect Back
- Sign #4: A Shift in Priorities and Values
- Sign #5: A Transformation of the Inner World
- Sign #6: Holding the Opposites Together
- Sign #7: An Experience of Okayness and Inner Freedom
- Sign #8: A Deeping Sense of Self-Honesty and Personal Responsibility
- Sign #9: A Massive Change in Lifestyle Choices
- This is about Energetic Sensitivity and Awareness (not ideology)
- What happened when millions of people tripped on acid?
- Does this mean you can’t eat meat and be spiritual?
- But isn’t animal protein essential for our survival?
- Sign #10: A Sense of Interconnectivity or Oneness
- The Role of Religion of Spiritual Awakening
- Inflation, Deflation and The Center
- How to Approach Spiritual Awakening
- Recap: Spiritual Awakening Signs
- What Do You Think?
Let’s Start with a Few Definitions: Spirituality and Enlightenment
One of the reasons there’s so much misunderstanding around the topic of spiritual awakening is that we often fail to define relevant terms.
In A Sociable God, for example, Ken Wilber provides nine valid definitions of spirit and spirituality.
We often link “spirituality” to the context of religion, but in my experience (as we’ll see below), this is problematic. For now, let’s define the spiritual as a quality of being beyond the physical or material domain of existence.
Enlightenment, too, can mean many different things, but it’s most often associated with cognition. You can have an “enlightened mind” through disciplined study of higher spiritual principles. But this enlightenment doesn’t mean you’re spiritually awake or psychologically aware.
What is Spiritual Awakening?
Spiritual awakening, then, is an awakening of a dimension of reality beyond the confines of the ego. The ego is our exclusive sense of self or “I.”
This awakening occurs when, for whatever reason, the ego somehow let’s go so that a Higher Self or Spirit can arise within.
The average individual is more archetype than human. That is, the ego is mostly a collection of archetypes, programs, or set patterns of behavior. The Taoists call this series of programs the acquired mind—a set of mundane conditioning we collect since birth.
Spiritual awakening implies the return of what the Taoists call the Original Spirit, or what Jung called the Self. And it’s this return of Spirit that makes us truly human.
Spiritual Awakening versus Psychic Awakening
Another common confusion is between the terms spiritual awakening and psychic awakening.
Psychic awakening relates to the activation of the pineal gland. With it, you open up to other dimensions of reality beyond this limited three-dimensional realm of space and time.
Spiritual awakening, in contrast, involves opening the heart center. It’s a process more closely associated with one’s psychology, the emotional body, and the soul.
What is the Ego and the Spirit?
The ego, or what the Taoists call the lower soul, believes it’s in charge.
This ego is our sense of self or “I.” When you say things like:
- “I am [your name].”
- “I have a [job, house, car, mother, father, spouse, child, headache].”
- “I think [insert a thought].”
That’s the ego. It’s possessive because it experiences itself as separate from everything else.
This lower soul is driven by base pleasures, negative emotions, and trying to meet Maslow’s basic human needs. The appetite of the lower soul is insatiable and, if left unchecked, it goes on for eons.
When Maslow said, “Man is a perpetually wanting animal,” he was referring to his ego.
Thankfully, there’s also a Spirit, Higher Self, or higher soul. And this divine spark isn’t driven by these basic needs. Instead, this Spirit is calm, neutral, compassionate, understanding, and intuitive.
While the ego accumulates knowledge through learning, the Spirit intuits reality by virtue of what it is. The ego thinks. The Spirit knows.
While the ego is always doing, the Spirit remains eternally in a state of being.
Here’s What Happens During Spiritual Awakening
We tend to identify exclusively with the ego.
As the process of spiritual awakening unfolds, the ego begins to sublimate to the Spirit. In the language of Taoism, the lower soul gets refined into the higher soul.
Arriving at this Spirit, or psychic wholeness, was the goal of Jung’s individuation process.
But despite popular belief, this doesn’t generally happen in a single “moment of awakening.” While we can have “peak experiences” that open us up to Self-transcendent reality, these experiences tend to be fleeting.
Instead, the developmental literature explains that there are stages of psycho-spiritual growth. And these permanent stages tend to develop over time.
And this is part of the reason many people are confused about spiritual awakening. Walking in nature or on a psychedelic substance, they may have a beautiful experience of oneness, for example, but this experience is momentary. The individual’s structure of consciousness hasn’t changed yet.
Spiritual Traps: False Signs of Spiritual Awakening
So before we go into authentic symptoms of spiritual awakening, let’s review common false signs.
Trap #1: Thinking You’re “Good” and Others Are “Evil”
This belief is deeply rooted in most of us as it’s a typical program taught in all Western religions.
To uproot this belief requires shadow work. You’ll know you’ve undone this limiting belief when you stop judging others and instead see yourself in everyone you meet.
Trap #2: Identifying Yourself as a “Spiritual Person”
This false identification is universal in both religious and new age circles. You are neither spiritual or material. You transcend and include them both.
Identifying yourself as being spiritual is a sign of a spiritual ego or inflation (discussed below). Again, shadow work will help you see that you’re no different or better than anyone else.
Trap #3: Seeking “Love and Light”
Pursuing “love and light” or “goodness” is another deep-rooted program in religious and new age teachings that block authentic spiritual development. Acting “spiritual” creates a persona or social mask that gives others the impression that we’re “good people.” While this persona might elevate our status and increase our self-esteem, it does not promote psychological or spiritual growth.
In truth, spiritual awakening comes from the opposite direction where we face the fear, anger, guilt, and grief stored in us since childhood. Coming to terms with these experiences paves the way for authentic spiritual development.
Trap #4: Acting Nice
Acting nice and being innocent isn’t a spiritual awakening sign but an indication of psychological immaturity. We are told by our parents and various institutions (school, religion, etc.) to “be nice” and behave ourselves. And we comply with this demand, to varying degrees, thereby reinforcing the shadow side.
If you’re acting nice, it’s a sure sign that someone is manipulating you. (The original manipulator or Trickster is usually a parent, but now it’s in you.) In contrast, a mature adult acts assertively without seeking the approval of others.
Trap #5: Secretly Believing You’re Better Than Others
Perhaps you see a pattern here: all of these traps points to ego inflation. Spiritual awakening grounds us in our humanity, and yet, more often, spirituality becomes another tool for disassociation, judgmentalism, and grandiosity.
This trap often occurs when you:
- Read a lot of spiritual texts
- Join a spiritual or religious group
- Start a spiritual practice
- Find a spiritual teacher
Specialness is yet another ego game.
When you think you’ve “found it,” be on high alert. This belief is a symptom of a specific early stage of psychological development, not a spiritual awakening sign.
All of these subconscious signs also point to emotional vampirism.
Beware of the Spiritual Bypass
Perhaps the biggest trap in the spirituality game is called the “spiritual bypass.”
Here, we use spiritual ideas and practices to avoid unresolved emotional or psychological wounds. These wounds must be addressed to proceed in our psycho-spiritual development.
We often resist this process because addressing these wounds requires going through the discomfort they represent.
These wounds are mainly childhood traumas. In fact, virtually every emotional trigger you have in your present environment is likely from your past.
As Heidegger puts it, “The Dreadful has already happened.”
A great many individuals in various Eastern and Western religions fall into the spiritual bypass trap. I did too for most of my 30s.
Ten Spiritual Awakening Signs
Now that we’ve looked at some of the false signs of spiritual awakening, let’s review some of the authentic indications.
Sign #1: A Noticeable Change in Your Behavior
Perhaps the most essential and authentic signs of spiritual awakening can be observed in your daily behavior.
Compulsive, neurotic, and addictive behaviors are symptoms of the ego or lower soul. The Spirit or Higher Self has no such tendencies.
The Spirit isn’t driven to meet basic needs because it’s already whole and complete right now. So when you feel this completeness or okayness, moment to moment, it’s a good sign of spiritual awakening.
And as a consequence of this okayness, you may be genuinely kinder (and less reactive) toward others without trying to be.
See also: Impulse Control: How to Change Any Behavior
Sign #2: A Deepening in Your Emotional Wellbeing
Disruption in our emotional body is perhaps the main thing that blocks spiritual awakening. The Jungians call it a wounded feeling function. In resolving emotional trauma from childhood, we undo this wound, enabling us to feel more deeply and genuinely.
Re-engaging this emotional flow influences every area of our lives. Now, instead of being possessed by a host of archetypes, we become more authentically human.
As such, there’s less resistance to feel (even negative emotions we resisted before). Instead of sedating yourself and running from your feelings, there’s a growing willingness to confront emotions like fear, anger, and guilt.
Sign #3: A Tendency to Slow Down and Reflect Back
For the above signs to unfold, self-reflection is necessary where you turn back to understand the present. This reflecting back is challenging in modern times due to the fast pace we tend to run. The drive for achievement, productivity, and peak performance have their place, but they quickly become signs of neurosis. For spiritual awakening, laziness can become our friend.
So another spiritual awakening symptom is that you begin to slow down more often and reflect back. An impulse comes alive in you to more clearly understand yourself and your behavior. The Buddhists call this Stopping and Seeing.
Reflecting helps us access repressed memories in our unconscious that cause irrational behavior in the present. But this self-reflective drive doesn’t judge, blame, or criticize, as the Spirit is neutral yet curious.
Sign #4: A Shift in Priorities and Values
Locating authority within ourselves changes our values. Religion provides a moral code based on a system of rules. “Don’t do this; don’t do that.” But now we can develop our personal ethical framework where we evaluate what’s best in the context of the moment. The ego is unable to do this because basic needs drive it; only the Higher Self can.
This shift toward higher spiritual values is why our behavior changes during spiritual awakening. Maslow called these spiritual values “being values” or B-values, and they include wholeness, perfection, completion, justice, aliveness, beauty, truth, and self-sufficiency.
Sign #5: A Transformation of the Inner World
In the average person’s waking state, an individual’s ego is almost exclusively focused on their outer world. Work, money, achievement, family, friends, and social life are all elements of the external environment.
Another spiritual awakening sign is a profound shift from this external world to one’s inner realm of thoughts, feelings, dreams, and imagination. In Buddhism, this dimension is called the subtle realm, and it’s considered more real than the gross dimension of our waking state.
Sign #6: Holding the Opposites Together
Most of us have a rather rigid, fundamentalist mind that sees things in black and white. Red and Blue, Democrat and Republican, Male and Female, Good and Bad, Left and Right … you get the idea.
To avoid the ambiguity inherent in mature adulthood, we cut off one pair of opposite and identify exclusively with the other. For example, as parents, we might think we unconditionally love our children without acknowledging the wellspring of hate and resentment we have toward them.
And while dissociating from one pair of the opposite seems to resolve our ego’s tension, in truth, it only re-enforces our shadow. With our spiritual awakening, we begin to hold the tension of opposites within us, putting us on the road to psychic wholeness.
Sign #7: An Experience of Okayness and Inner Freedom
The ego is our source of fears, desires, and constant tension. When the ego is no longer in control, there’s an inherent sense of okayness—regardless of what’s happening in our lives (good or bad).
When the Spirit is at the helm, we naturally relax into ourselves, providing a sense of inner freedom we once sought in the external world. In Hinduism, they call this moksha or self-liberation.
Sign #8: A Deeping Sense of Self-Honesty and Personal Responsibility
As you begin to locate more authority within, there’s a willingness to be radically honest with yourself. You simply can’t tolerate the Magic’s shadow game of self-deception anymore.
Now, you feel a growing sense of responsibility and accountability for your thoughts, emotions, and actions. It’s for this reason that psychotherapist David Richo says the last gateway to mature adulthood is guilt.
When we’re unconscious to our behavior, there’s no accountability. And when there’s no accountability, there’s nothing to feel guilty about. But the guilt that comes from spiritual awakening isn’t from someone else shaming you; it’s from your conscience, driven by a desire to correct your way of being.
Sign #9: A Massive Change in Lifestyle Choices
Update: August 15, 2019. As expected, this particular sign is polarizing for many readers and triggered reactions in the comment section below. I’ve expanded this section to address these concerns.
Another noticeable sign of spiritual awakening is that you become highly conscious of your lifestyle choices.
Most notably, there arises a complete aversion to eating meat or any animal products.
Now, I realize this statement can trigger many readers, so allow me to explain. This is not about vegetarianism, veganism, animal rights, or any other ideology of any kind. I understand that most of us have been raised on animal products for many generations.
This is about Energetic Sensitivity and Awareness (not ideology)
This aversion to eating animal occurs from a combination of a deeper connection to one’s body and an expansion in one’s internal awareness.
As a meat eater for most of my life, I too would have revolted against this notion.
But like millions of others, after following certain practices for many years, this realization became apparent: when you eat animal you are consuming and assimilating the consciousness of the animal.
That is, you begin to feel, at a visceral level, the emotions and life of the animal. Usually, the feeling is aggression or fear—the last emotion the animal felt before being slaughtered.
And when this experience occurs, there’s a good chance that you will stop eating an animal.
So again, this lifestyle change is not a function adopting any ideology or opinions; it’s an internal experience that comes from an expansion in one’s consciousness.
What happened when millions of people tripped on acid?
Millions of people stopped eating meat in the late 1960s. Why? They were tripping on LSD and other psychedelic substances available at the time and expanding their consciousness.
All of sudden, many individuals became vegetarians and had a strong drive to live in harmony with the land.
Then, the government classified LSD as a Class 1 substance, making it illegal. See Terrance McKenna’s Food for the Gods and Martin Lee’s Acid Dreams for a complete breakdown.
Many individuals in the plant medicine community also report losing their desire to eat meat when they are on the substance. (It can become a revolting idea.)
And it’s been documented that the ancient Taoist practitioners only consumed meat when someone became ill (in the form of chicken or fish soup). See Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford.
Does this mean you can’t eat meat and be spiritual?
Of course not. There are many levels of progression in any line of development.
And just because you don’t eat meat doesn’t make you spiritual either. You can be a vegan and still be a horrible person.
We’ve been culturally conditioned to eat meat for centuries. So this pattern isn’t likely to end overnight.
If you’ve developed energetic sensitivity to your body and you avoid eating meat for a period of 90 days and then eat it again, you’ll likely be amazed at your experience.
NOTE: Without performing this experiment with an open mind, despite any discomfort that might arise, the individual is not in a position to evaluate what’s being stated here.
With spiritual awakening can come the understanding that eating meat is a form of cannibalism, an act you most likely wouldn’t have chosen if given the choice when you were a child.
The question that often comes next is: Well, aren’t plants also alive? Aren’t you consuming their consciousness by eating them too?
The answer to both of these questions is yes. And this poses the next level of internal tension one must resolve along one’s path of spiritual awakening.
But isn’t animal protein essential for our survival?
And in case you believe you need meat protein to thrive, watch this interview with a vegan strongman who only eats one meal a day.
Or, as Nikola Tesla wrote,
“Many races living almost exclusively on vegetables are of superior physique and strength. There is no doubt that some plant food, such as oatmeal, is more economical than meat, and superior to it in regard to both mechanical and mental performance.”
Changing your lifestyle in this way is just one sign; it’s not the only sign.
Sign #10: A Sense of Interconnectivity or Oneness
The ego, or as Alan Watts calls it, the superficial self, feels separate and alone. It fears for its safety, clinging to life while fearing death.
The Original Spirit has no such fear or sense of separation. It doesn’t play the ego’s game of “us versus them.” The Spirit doesn’t identify itself with gender, race, nationality, religion, or a species. It simply is. And it exists outside of space and time, so death isn’t a relevant concept for it.
I’ll leave it to philosopher Alan Watts to drive this point home:
The Role of Religion of Spiritual Awakening
In reading the works of thinkers like Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Ken Wilber, you begin to see a clear distinction between being religious and being spiritual.
While I won’t say that you can’ be both religious and spiritual, I will say that they are VERY different ideas. Perhaps in its purest form religion could help individuals develop spiritually. However, observing around the world, the opposite is more often the case.
That is, religion (both East and West) more often inhibits one’s natural spiritual progression as it tends to keep us fixated at a low level of psychological development. Many individuals must transcend their religious upbringing to begin their psychological and spiritual development.
Inflation, Deflation and The Center
Psychological development and spiritual growth are so closely tied together that developmental literature uses the term psycho-spiritual development. We just can’t separate psychology from spirituality.
The primary block to spiritual awakening is the ego’s tendency to be inflated or deflated. Inflation means grandiosity. Many spiritual teachers and their students fall into this trap.
Feeling of superiority—or god-like qualities—are signs of ego inflation. And this grandiosity triggers the active shadow archetypes Moore and Gilette discuss in King Warrior Magician Lover:
- The Tyrant
- The Sadist
- The Detached Manipulator
- The Addicted Lover
And the other end of the spectrum is ego deflation. Here, the ego feels small, less than, and inferior. Ego deflation leads to depression, anxiety, envy, and hate. Deflation activates the passive shadow archetypes:
- The Weakling
- The Masochist
- The Denying “Innocent” One
- The Impotent Lover
The ego tends to toggle between these active and passive shadow archetypes. The Spirit, however, is in the Center. And it’s this Spirit or Higher Self that brings organization to the psyche so that these shadow archetypes no longer run the show.
How to Approach Spiritual Awakening
From my experience, a practical approach to spiritual awakening works on multiple levels: physical, emotional, and energetic.
While those pursuing spiritual awakening often meditate, it’s a means, not an end.
What do I mean?
Sitting meditation practice is a tool to calm and quiet the mind, but in itself, it doesn’t foster spirituality or psychological development. (In fact, more often, meditation is used to promote inflation for the spiritual ego that feels superior because it meditates while others do not.)
Meditation is important, however, if your mind is always distracted or if you’re anxious. Being calm and quiet allows us to reflect—one of the signs of spiritual awakening.
And this reflective mind supports shadow work, which from my perspective (and transpersonal research), is one of the most essential practices for those of us on a spiritual path interested in realizing mature adulthood.
The barriers to spiritual awakening are very simple: fear, anger, guilt, and grief. Cultivating self-leadership and building emotional intelligence is the natural path toward authentic spirituality. (See How To Be An Adult by David Richo for more instruction.)
Spiritual awakening comes down to self-awareness and consciousness. With this increasing awareness, we’re able to shift beyond self-actualization into the realm of self-transcendence.
Your identification begins shifting away from your ego because there’s less internal tensions and self-identification. And this process happens naturally without “trying” to make it happen.
Learning to abide in our Center, without succumbing to inflation or deflation, we can support the process of our natural spiritual development. And to access this Center instinctively, it’s most helpful to reforge your connection to your body.
Finally, I highly recommend learning about Spiral Dynamics and familiarizing yourself with value stages many individuals disconnect from along their “spiritual journey.”
Recap: Spiritual Awakening Signs
The false spiritual awakening signs all have to do with ego inflation. They are symptoms of grandiosity and self-delusion.
Authentic spiritual awakening signs are similar to characteristics of mature psychological development and what we can call humanness.
Here are some positive signs:
- One locates authority within themselves. (See this guide on psychological projection.)
- There’s a growing sense of responsibility for one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
- Spiritual values begin to supersede (but not replace) the values of this material world.
- Things slow down, allowing you to reflect back and understand your past.
- As a consequence, your mind is calmer and you have a deeper connection to your emotional state.
- You begin to focus more on your inner experience than your outer environment (but the outer is still important too).
- When the Self is at the wheel, there’s a feeling okayness and inner freedom. You feel light and free.
As they explain in the wisdom traditions, the primary key to accelerating spiritual awakening is to hold to your Center, again and again.
From the ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi:
Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.
What Do You Think?
We covered a lot of ground in a short distance in this guide.
Share your thoughts and comments below.
Traps #1 & #5 are my nemesis. Any tips on avoiding / transcending those specifically would be appreciated. Thank you Scott!
I think that’s the case for most of us. First, remember this “us vs them” belief system is a program that was installed in us. We didn’t think we were “better than” others in the beginning. It’s a collective programming that reinforces dualism.
Second, come to see how the program was installed. Sometimes it came in your mind directly by someone telling you that you’re better than someone else. But often it came in as a subtle, subconscious program.
Third, feel the belief in reverse. Meaning, reflect back on how it felt to have someone else look at you as inferior. We’ve all had this experience, whether we recall it or not. And if we can’t recall it, then we’re certainly making others feel inferior (without even knowing it). Connecting with this feeling brings more consciousness and helps us change the underlying belief and resulting behavior.
Thanks for the comment, Tony.
Hi Scott,
Thank you for this wonderful article and your website, From all the subscribed mail in my inbox, your emails are the only ones I ALWAYS open to read.
This article came at the precise right time for me.
After making a huge shift in lifestyle (me and my family moving to an off grid farm in the mountains, taking our kids out of school, quiting our jobs with the intent to “heal” or you can say become more awake) I have found in my inner journey and spending time everyday doing “inner” work that It has became very difficult for me to be the social person I use to be, in fact I recently prefer to be at home on the farm doing as little as possible and focusing a lot of time on myself and educating my kids. When I am social I am so aware of all my emotions and judgements that it makes me feel uncomfortable to just make conversation. At the same time it worries and scares me and I think a Combination of the “traps” and actual awakening is taking place within me.
I would like to know if you do coaching or which of your courses you would suggest to help to get down to more practical work with relation to shadow work, and connecting with those early child hood traumas to be able to access and express repressed anger, fear and guilt.
Once again thanks for you site.
Regards
Sonnet (south africa)
Hi Sonnet,
I can relate to your experience. Perhaps it will provide some solace to know that what you’re describing is quite common on one’s individuation path. Most socializing is conditioned behavior from the convention we’re born in to. We subconsciously learn that it’s not okay to be in solitude and that we must live active, social lives (and now we’re supposed to document how “good” we’re doing in social media).
The more steady your home environment becomes, the more your mind will likely begin to reflect back on your past. (It sounds like you’re making many external adjustments all at once, so your energy will naturally go to this first.)
If you haven’t already, check out this guide:
https://scottjeffrey.com/shadow-work/
I don’t have any courses on this topic at present, but I’ve been contemplating developing one.
Thanks for your comments.
Hi Scott
I must admit really enjoying this journey that i am on (I think it is called life). The conversations that you generate are at time known to me and other times a challenge.
I could feel myself cheering with the ‘good and bad’, ‘right and wrong’ conversation. For some time now these opposites have bewildered me. I would like to know why we have to stand for one. Why can’t we appreciate the differences that all bring to this existence.
I was confused about the removal of meat from our diet. Man as a creature has usually had meat as part of their diet. Is it only animals that have a consciousness, do plants?
Look forward to the next post
Hi Jan,
We can develop our minds to not get stuck in the opposites. Traditionally, this is called transcending duality. But everything in our environments is designed to reinforce dualistic thinking. And so a different stage of consciousness is required to “hold the opposites together.”
I understand the confusion about meat. I shared it in the past. I’ve come to learn that virtually everything we’ve been taught about the subject is wrong. (For example, that we’re carnivores.) It’s certainly a topic worth exploring online (with an open mind).
And yes, plants do have consciousness too. And ideally, we wouldn’t eat them either. But animal consciousness is closer to our own. And plants generally aren’t tortured through their existence like animals are. This topic is going to be emotionally charged for a lot of us, mainly because of our prior conditioning. It’s for this reason that I offered the experiment of not eating it and then eating it. Otherwise, we get stuck in beliefs and conjecture.
Thank you for your comments.
Another fantastic piece, Scott. Always look forward to your insights.
A comment and a question:
I have no religious affiliation, per se, though I do acknowledge my Christian bias/culturalization. And after years (decades?) of disavowment and disgust (at least, from the more fundamentalist “turn or burn” point of view), I have begun, in the last few years , to read Scripture anew through what might be thought of as a Jungian lens. In other words, as more of a treatise on shadow work. And understanding and navigating (and integrating!) one’s own psychological landscape. And I have to say, it’s been nothing short of illuminating.
That said, one of my monumental life struggles seems to revolve around the idea of “being in this world but not of this world”. I continually feel the call (pull? urge?) to back out of the world and do deep inner work. And the inner work I am able to do makes me very satisfied and complete indeed. However, like the rest of us, I have to “pay the bills”, and I have employees who depend on me to run a successful business. I also feel (an obligation?) to teach whatever it is I’m supposed to teach so as to hopefully leave the world better than I found it.
Let’s just say that balance is tough to pull off. And I get this life isn’t supposed to be smooth sailing, lol… but still!
I also know from Human Design and Gene Keys work that “disassociation” is one of my major shadow-self “traps”. But it seems that it’s only through disassociation that I get the distance I need to do the internal work that my soul craves. In other words, “disassociation” seems to be my go-to mechanism for dealing with “being is this world, but not of this world”. And even though I believe I could do the “monk in a cave” thing and be perfectly happy, I “know” that I was put here to get down-and-dirty in the material world, and figure out the balance.
I know that’s the stuff of 10 years worth of intense therapy, lol… But if you had a thought or two on this, that would be much appreciated.
Hey Keith,
There’s certainly a lot of juicy topics here to comment on. :-)
Let’s see…
I intend to do a guide on Spiral Dynamics in the future as it addresses a number of challenges you’re addressing here.
https://goo.gl/images/QiCt1h
The Orange value structure seeks achievement (the Achiever Self) while the Green value structure seeks the human bond (the Sensitive Self). Both are aspects of our being.
Yellow (second tier) represents the integration of Orange, Green, and all the value structures below them. And this integration is achieved by a tiny portion of the world’s population — and almost never accidentally.
In the absence of this integration stage, we are left with dissociation. Keep in mind that dissociation occurs as a consequence of our mind not being able (or willing) to hold the opposites together. That is, our minds seek comfort and order. And the process of integration requires periods of ambiguity and inner tension.
For example, yes, we need to pay the bills. But we rarely define exactly what that means. Instead, our Achiever Self is aimlessly trying to achieve more, with no end goal, for even if it achieves a goal it quickly replaces it with a new one. (And without self-reflection, it isn’t clear what drives this behavior.)
The same goes for Green. It’s always on a mission: to do more, serve more, be more, help more, etc. (And again, without self-reflection, we don’t catch the hidden motives behind our “good intentions.”)
The aim of our psychological development is to contain all of these drives. And to rebalance the scale. Meaning, while the Achiever Self has likely fully possessed us through the first half of life, now we begin to draw more energy inward (Jung’s “inward turn”), which facilitates the emergence of Yellow.
The “monk in a cave,” btw, is another extreme — one that has infected the minds of many of us Westerners who were introduced to Eastern ideas. Most spiritual adepts, in fact, lived “normal” lives (the so-called “household path”). Caves and monasteries arose for social and economic reasons. They were designed for individuals who lacked discipline.
I appreciate your comments, Keith! :-)
Excellent points to ponder. Thanks, brother!
Excellent study very informative and easily understood well done , brilliant.
Thank you, Nathan!
Well written. Thanks.
Thank you for these emails. I find your writing to be refreshingly direct and succinct. Thanks for synthesizing so accessibly.
Sure thing, Sean.
You hit the mark on my goal for these guides: to synthesize complex psychological ideas into accessible and practical methods.
Thank you for your feedback.
There is no Spiritual Awakening. Awareness (Witness to Self) IS. All else is unreal. Awareness is the Balance between the ONE (All) and the NOTHING (0). The Witness observes both Simultaneously and is a part of neither. Awareness is Complete and Non Existence. Nothing else exists.
Indeed. And then you would need to ask yourself: Who read this article? (Although I’m not certain based on your comment that you did.) And who wrote your comment about there being no spiritual awakening?
It appears you have fallen into the trap of misinterpreting the message of nonduality. The nondual must by definition include the dual. The Witness observes the collection of “mundane conditioning” called the ego, mind, or conscious spirit. And all this conscious spirit may not have any reality in an absolute sense, it is “real” from the standpoint of the experiencer. And it is this experiencer that awakens by stripping away the layers of its programming.
But if all that were literally true, we would all already know this. And if nothing exists or is truly real except awareness, and the latter is non existence, then this solely real thing does not exist either. And this is still a form of dualism or multiplicity – i.e. Awareness (Witness to Self) versus literally anything else. It fails on its own terms.
There is duality and there is nonduality.
While we can say that duality is contained or enfolded within nonduality, any attempt to reduce duality (or denial of it) is a form of “mixing levels.”
What I’ve found from my experience is that most individuals interested in this line of thinking are stuck in a “spiritual bypass” where they are avoiding their own inner work.
We can’t arrive at oneness, for example, by denying the experience of multiplicity within our psyches.
The way it is explained in integral theory and transpersonal psychology is: “You have to become somebody before you can become nobody.”
I found this extremely helpful thanks! Except for the comments about eating animals being a form of cannibalism. If all that exist are One, then no matter what we consume we are cannibalizing Our Self. Who are we to say that plants and minerals have no feelings and memories. It is so true that the cruelty and conditions these poor animals suffer is an ABOMINATION. The extremity of your statement regarding eating animal products however reveals prejudice rather than enlightenment. The very “cutting off one pair of opposite and identifying exclusively with the other” that you spoke of. Just wanted to help you see that because I do believe you are blind to it. Peace to you ❤
I once shared your viewpoint, Traveler. But it’s an ideology, more than a reality.
I didn’t suggest that plants and minerals weren’t “alive” or conscious in my statements. I simply stated that we are assimilating the consciousness of what we consume. To say the consciousness of a cow and the consciousness is the dandelion are the same is simply a mistake.
If you had the sensitivity to feel the consciousness of what you consume, the error in your statements becomes apparent.
This is so interesting thank you!
Yes I agree that this is a question of ideology, perhaps that is why the reference to the complete aversion to animals and animal products as a sign of spiritual awakening truly had a different vibration to me. I found this entire thread extremely beneficial and useful and it resonated with me except this one idea.
Not to say the Vegan ideology is in any way inferior, it is beautiful! But the path to God isn’t only paved with Vegan footprints.
After reading Charles Eisenstein’s “The Ascent of Humanity”, I found myself yearning for our ancestral existence. I realized I didn’t even know that this was something deep within my soul, primal. Agriculture, mathematics, language, will never be the same to me now!
It is possible to take the life of an animal while honoring it and its gift of life to those it will sustain. It is a solemn act heavily laden with layers of meaning. The warmth its fur provides in winter, the sustenance of its flesh etc are SACRED aspects of life.
It is entirely possible to be on the path while being an omnivore. It felt like an exclusion in a way, perhaps a simple paraphrase would be “only Vegans can be on the true spiritual path”. This stood out to me loudly, honestly! Loud enough that I posted a comment which I never do lol.
Be well, I really enjoyed your work thank you ?
Time and experience have taught me to put little stock in ideologies of any kind. Our mind can confirm whatever ideology we align with. Veganism as an ideology would be the same.
But when you develop the sensitivity to feel how we assimilate (take on) the consciousness of the animals we consume, you may find it difficult to make the statements you have made and hold to those beliefs.
It has more to do with “energetic sensititivity” than it does about “spirituality” — which can easily become another ideology.
I find the idea you are expressing very intriguing I confess! Energetic sensitivity.
I’m not sure what spiritual path you are on, where our subjective truths fork and merge.
I have always been riveted by the puzzle of truth. Define truth. Is there absolute truth, or is all truth subjective. Can anything we perceive as Truth on this plane be anything but subjective? Do we make our own truth simply by the utter conviction we experience? If we believe a thing so completely, does it not manifest itself in our lives? Can we 100% refute or endorse anyone else’s truths?
I have no doubt that you experience energetic sensitivity in the way you described, and I really do find it interesting!
I come from a long line of hunters, and farmers. I believe in the symbiotic, cooperative dynamic between man and nature. I eat lots, and LOTS of eggs. But! They are eggs from happy, healthy, free roaming, pampered chickens. I mean pampered lol, plus they are protected from the raccoons and coyotes, we provide that for them. And oyster shells and worms that they eat like ice cream. And dirt baths for the bugs. We only have hens, we do not slaughter them. They provide us with delicious protein rich healthy eggs.
There are sooo many other examples of healthy and happy relationships with animals. It is civilization turned malignant, that created the exploitative slavery and misery our poor little friends experience now. Their bondage is ABOMINATION there is no other word for it. This does not have to be, and is not always, the case.
Yes, if you’re going to consume meat, doing so in the manner you’re describing would, for many reasons, be preferred.
In terms of truth, if you examine it from the lens of the Three Jewels (in Buddhism), you have the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The Buddha represents a direct subjective experience. The Dharma is the teachings, philosophy, or injunction (method). Sangha is a community of others to verify the experience.
So ideas alone aren’t enough. The injunction I’m suggesting here is to develop sufficient energetic sensitivity within your body, quieting your mind so you can feel inside yourself. Go at least 90 days without eating any meat (including eggs). Then, eat whatever meat you want, but with your heightened awareness. This may be the only way to test if what I and many others are suggesting to be true.
Alternatively, look deeply into an animal’s eyes so extended length of time. Then, kill it and prepared. Then, eat it with the image of the animal’s eyes imprinted in your mind. This may also reveal a similar experience. (But I don’t know for certain because I haven’t done this.)
But ultimately, changing these patterns and even testing them with an open mind is no small feat. The conditioning of our beliefs is deeply rooted.
This is a very interesting discussion.
I believe my journey of self-realization (which I am still on), started with a simple interaction with a cat that my wife got a few years ago. I was never a fan of cats. One thing lead to another, I became a vegetarian, then a vegan, which was followed by feelings of nihilism. I found myself becoming apathetic towards humans, while still connecting with animals on a deeper level.
Fortunately, recently this feeling of apathy has somehow given way to a state of mind where I’m feeling empathetic towards all life and not seeing myself as being any different. I still get sad and depressed at times, but there’s a lingering feeling of excitement that I’ve never felt before.
We now have 4 cats in our apartment and I am actively getting more involved in animals rights activism.
Yes, Rizwan. It seems to often happen this way. Connecting directly with the consciousness of an animal (usually through its eyes) can radically alter one’s perception about meat consumption in general. I’ve heard numerous cases like the one you’re describing. Some former hunters recount this type of experience too.
While I became a vegetarian as a child, and remain one to this day, I do not believe that this marks me as either especially spiritual or especially sensitive; it began as an emotional dislike to the thought of eating animals, and is now simply a part of my life that I am not emotional about, and has never required any real sacrifice of me; I did not really like meat as a child, and many vegetarian meals are delicious!
Abstaining from flesh in another sense (i.e. remaining a virgin for one reason and another) IS very much an emotional issue to this day, and not always in a remotely healthy or spiritually mature way! The combination of wanting to remain patient, respectful of and friendly towards women with Asperger’s Syndrome and Christianity seems to make commencing any sort of requited romantic relationship virtually impossible, and I can be and have been very envious, resentful and judgmental towards other heterosexual men, whether philanderers or those in steady relationships. I can also at times shamelessly and obsessively idolise both the idea of being in a relationship as well as individual women.
Nowhere in the article does it say that vegetarian marks an individual as “spiritual.” Please read the article and the comment responses more carefully.
I fear I have overstayed my welcome lol, truly it is against my nature to ever be more than a fly on the wall of any given room at any given moment. I’d like that to resonate with you for a moment, you are hearing from a genuine wallflower.
I would like to leave you with this urging. Please, !? look up Charles Eisenstein, The Ascent of Humanity. He provides it free on line, he is a true human being and pilgrim in this dark world.
I also lament that we will not be any time soon, donning loin cloths and dancing around the campfire ululating. I lament this loss!!!! If that book taught me anything, it was that primeval, primitive man was anything but primitive. And that living off the land, including animals, in their nomadic foraging state was the end all be all bees knees human existence. Ooooh woe to man, in his lofty endeavors. In his pride and arrogance, he lost his soul. He gained nothing. Peace tou ALL my brothers and sisters! ✌
Great, l think that one will not experience spiritual ego and bypass if you accept, allow and surrender yourself to undergo the process of the dark night of the soul in total obedience which often leads to spiritual awakening because you will be able to recognize in your behaviour when the ego is speaking and will be able to silence it and won’t be afraid of letting go.
In my experience, Chary, trying to “accept, allow and surrender yourself” is actually effective to any form of awakening — mainly because we generally aren’t conscious enough to what we are accepting, allowing and surrendering.
As a result, we can easily delude ourselves into believing we’re surrendering while various parts within our psyche (the dimensions of our personality we don’t really know) clings to their beliefs and inflated/deflated identity.
So acceptance, if used too early in the process does become a spiritual bypass. First, we have to develop an orientation towards our real personality where we can actually see our shadow (developing consciousness). Then, acceptance and allowing can come into play.
Wow. Thank you! I would love to say more but speechless.. Thank you & God bless you.
You’re most welcome, Monica.
Thank you so much for this article. I have been stumbling around in the dark for such a long time feeling drawn along by something that I didn’t understand. What started off as a quest to finally get to the bottom of my self limiting behaviour patterns because I felt stuck and thwarted by life has led to some profound revelations about myself and seems to have put me on a path that I didn’t understand. At times I felt like I was losing my mind, but it seemed like the more I followed the inner pull the more stable and peaceful I felt. I now trust it completely without knowing why. Until now. I was drawn to your article and read with a shock of recognition each of the points raised to varying degrees. So it seems I am a work in progress on a path I didn’t consciously choose, but the rewards have been transformative.
May we all have courage, fortitude and peace on our journey.
Kirsty.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Kirsty. That’s what happens when you turn towards your Inner Guide.
Feeling crazy is normal — actually, if you don’t feel a bit crazy along your path, you’re probably stuck in conformity.
As Jiddu Krishnamurti said, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
Great article such a pity you had to get on your vegan soapbox and lecture us omnivores about the sins of eating meat when it is the most natural thing a human can do this is after all a human experience. Being awakened is about acceptance I am awakened and am able to master my inner world yet I love eating meat but I also love animals its called duality try telling a tiger not to eat a deer tigers are spiritual beings also
Jim, first off, I’m not a vegan, nor did I claim to be one. Veganism, like any -ism, is a political agenda that does create yet another polarization.
Not that I expect you to return to this post because your intention was to reinforce your beliefs so you don’t have to feel the discomfort from the ambiguity within you. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t have taken the time to write your comment; you have just exited the page. But for anyone else reading this, see my comments above to “Traveler.”
This issue comes down to energetic sensitivity. It’s not about morality or right/wrong. If you reach the sensitivity to feel the consciousness of the animal you consume, you likely will lose your drive to consume them. And if that never happens, that’s fine too. What I’m describing is a common experience that many others have experienced–and they are often surprised when they do.
Whilst reading this I had a lovely feeling come over me and I felt calm x
:-)
Thank you for this wonderful article. I feel way different now. I’m just a 13 year old boy who wants to find his “self” in this so called “life”. I’ve always wanted to find peace in this world full of good and bad. I know that i can learn more and this article helped me a lot.
That’s awesome, Raf. 13? And you’re interested in this material? Amazing …
Wow
Hello, I am more aware of my feelings and thoughts. And the words others speak. I am more emotional(crying a lot)especially when listening to some music,do not care anymore or get angry when someone says something bad to me. Peace
It is webbed together with such efficiency!
Been on this path since late teens and now have reached a healthier being.
Thank you for this amazing website! It helps me to really connect the missing pieces.
That’s great to hear, First timer. Connecting the missing pieces brings the puzzle all together! :-)
Hi Scott , I totally enjoyed reading your article and want to learn more , i am needing guidance, would love to know where I can go to read more of your stuff.
Hi Eduarda,
The place to start is here:
https://scottjeffrey.com/guides/
And subscribe for updates and new guides here:
https://scottjeffrey.com/join/
I have experienced all the traps and am experiencing the 10 signs at the present and one bonified miracle (I have photographic evidence) for those who will accept it …. Currently doing some shadow work and trying to be patient … I’m an old flower child and I’ve loved Alan Watts for quite a while now … Good article !!! I sent it to a friend today who expressed his interest in the subject of the Awakening .
Yes, Cecil. It seems like these traps are part of most of our journeys. Thank you for sharing the website with a friend.
I’m very thankful for finding this website. I learned a lot especially about the difference between the ego and the spirit and being religious and spiritual. I will share your website to my children, friends and co-workers.
That’s great to hear, Lusita. Thanks for sharing this material!
Wow best article I’ve read on spirituality and the awaken process. I am actually going on the right path and my intuition has gotten me to this. I am so grateful to have found you and in the right moment when I have been doubting myself now for few weeks. Thank you ❤
You’re most welcome, Isabella. Thank you for your comments.
This is such a wonderful guide. It explains the spiritual awakening wonderfully.
Glad you found the guide wonderful, Coventore.
Thank you all. Does anyone or can anyone give a viewpoint on The Law of One? Listened to the ‘channeled’ 106 sessions. I.E. : (Excerpts) : “I am Ra. We communicate now. We are not those of the Love or of the Light. We are those who are of The Law of One. In our vibration our polarities are harmonized, the complexities are simplified and the paradoxes have their solution. We are One. That is our nature and our purpose”… It is to my limited understanding they are a 6th dimensional group of beings with a single consciousness. They mention Love/Light/ Light/ Love, to which they paradoxically state they are not those of Love or of the Light. I.E. “There is the same difference between love/light and light/love as there is between teach/learning and learn/teaching.
Love/light is the enabler, the power, the energy giver. Light/love is the manifestation which occurs when light has been impressed with love.”
Thank you for any feedback.
John, that all sounds like cryptic nonsense to me — the language of the Trickster archetype designed to confuse people and take them further away from their center, from the here and now.
This is awesome! Wonderful clear cut, and easy to understand!
Thank you, Robin. Glad you found the article clear and understandable.
Hello!
Thank you very much for this informative article for it have successfully cleared most of my confusion.
I’m still young, not even an adult and I have often wondered why I am like this. I was only introduced to this topic a day ago, reading about things regarding how I am a starseed and whatnots and I’m afraid that I have been trapped into thinking that I’m special, when in the end, all of us are special that it becomes normal that we are unique in our own way.
I am just concerned about this one thing that have been making my heart guilty ever since I started changing. I have always thought that I have to treat others this way so that they will also treat me in the same way, I have also been following the Golden rule and I think I really did change for the better but there is this thought swirling inside my head that says “you’re only acting nice so that the others will like you.” Unfortunately, this is true, and I can’t help thingking that I’m only faking my kindness, I really don’t know… but does wanting to be liked by others a spiritual trap?
(Please excuse any mistakes I have, I’m very new to this and English is not my native language.)
Hi Aljema,
I sincerely think that if wanting to be good and nice to others produces a good feeling, something like joy because we see the effect of our actions, that is only a great feeling, though we might unconsciously want to receive similar treatment in return and that is only natural and good, as long as we do not feel angry or worse if we do not get same treatment from others, but rather we reflect on the whole thing. I often do not get good o same treatment in return, but, though I feel some sadness I also feel sure that is because somehow I have that something more to give, then I “have to” continue doing good , it is an odd feeling, I don’t feel superior, I just have a feeling as if I am richer and I have to share. I know, it is funny , but I will continue my self development, I hope and I encourage you to do the same.
Hi Aida,
You will likely feel differently than you describe as you get to better know your shadow. Until then, you will likely assume you are doing good while remaining unconscious to your true motives and feelings.
Hi Aljema,
Yes, you are correct. This is what most often happens in the Green wave: people act kind, but it’s inauthentic. To truly be kind, you have to get to know your shadow first. Before that, most so-called positive emotions are fake.
(Just watch how people pictures of themselves for social media. They smile for the camera and then the frown returns.)
Wanting to be liked is intrinsic to a specific stage of ego development. It’s normal, especially if you’re young. As you individuate, this drive will lessen.
Hello again!
Thank you very much for the reply. Though it’s quite sad that my suspicion was correct, I’m still glad that I learned the truth.
It seems that I still have a long way for a ‘true’ spiritual awakening, but surely it’ll come.
Thank you again, and may God bless all of us.
Very well explained! Thank you.
I found this very informative and helpful. I hoped for more on the difference between spiritual and psychic awakening. I also wonder if we are more open to evil attacts while going thru a awakening and does the awakening end, if so how do u know its over? Is our awakening just the beginning to becoming our higher self and from there does it just evolve til we die? Thank u for the article, its very insightful and appreciated.
Many dimensions of the “new age” do leave you more susceptible to psychic attacks. Astral travel would be one example of this.
“Awakening” is a common term that’s used, but really “development” would be more appropriate. You might “awaken” to an aspect of yourself, but that doesn’t mean you’ve changed anything.
You don’t “become your Higher Self” and there’s no evolution for it either. Your Higher Self already is what it is. You can develop and evolve your ego/personality. And you can stabilize your mind/energy and allow the Higher Self to take the driver’s seat (transcending beyond your ego). But the Higher Self doesn’t require any work or development. It’s just waiting for us to return to it.
Resistance has proven futile. My awakening to what may be starts and stops with a regularity that has me either crying at the enormity of it or digging my heels in, in a fit of childish pique. I feel as if I’m alone in a dark room trying to find the light switch by feel. Your words have allowed some light to seep in under the door. I still can’t see anything yet but the point of reference is invaluable. Thank you. I now know that if spiritual awakening was akin to full body immersion in a warm body of water, I definitely have my big toe submerged.
Just make sure the experience goes from the “general” to the “specific.” Otherwise, there won’t be any forward momentum. But it does often start with the big toe …
Scott, about locating authority within oneself. It seems to me to be more about internalising the abiding principles behind the rules (the spirit rather than the letter of the law to use somewhat biblical language) to the point of being able to more consistently and meaningfully apply these to all aspects of one’s life, rather than requiring a plethora of rules covering a vast range of contingencies, but still leaving gaps. Contrary to popular belief, the principles in the Sermon on the Mount are much harder than the Law of Moses (though keeping that would be a challenge alone) to the point that many would dismiss the former as impractical.
I am a bit wary of a hard and fast distinction between “religion” and “spirituality” unless what a person means by each term is very precisely defined; it often seems to me to be a subconscious code for either regarding some religions as inherently more “spiritual” than others for no apparent reason (as with one or more faith-traditions being closer to or further from the truth, this may well be and probably is the truth, but the attitude does tend rather towards tribalism and spiritual infancy) regarding oneself as “spiritual” and most others as merely “religious” (which I realise that you specifically warn against) or both.
Alexander,
I’m not certain why kind of response you’re looking for from your comments. Both terms, “religious” and “spiritual” are loaded terms and potentially problematic.
My comments in the guide about religion are well-documented in the works of Jung, Campbell, Wilber, and many others. Too much to go into here.
For additional clarification, see the Spiral Dynamics model: “religious” generally is an expression of Blue values while “spirituality” is more closely representative of “Green.”
https://scottjeffrey.com/spiral-dynamics/
I’m flooded with emotion. I can almost see my path from now to where I came from with clarity. I know I have a long journey ahead of me but distance and time do not operate within the same realm of existence. Knowing that is important – I feel.
Hi Meli, emotions are mainly only useful when you come to understand their source — that is, the original experiences where these emotions were evoked. Most of the time, our emotions are reactions from the past. Clarify comes when we connect the emotion with the original event and come to terms with it.
awesome. such inspirational arguments into a real insight to the spiritual way of living. thank you for awakening long hidden knowings and values. i so found myself . x
Glad you found the insights valuable, Jeanne.
The most appropriate blog I have read so far about spiritual awakening. I never went through spiritual traps because I read in psychology that everyone lives their adult life with the child they were brought up as. So most people are going through difficulties of life without ever paying attention to it. Moreover even one sad or discontent being on the planet, no one will be truly happy. We are all connected, individuality loses when we see ourselves as part of the same universe (the creation and the creator itself), at the quantum level everything exists and doesn’t exist at the same time (Schrodinger). Time is relative, news, entertainment has led us all to look for things outside us when everything is inside us. But we are not ready to listen. My awakening has been laziness, seeking answers, curiosity, questions like why i have to do something which I don’t feel like doing and emotional maturity; reflecting on my emotions regularly every time I felt uneasy. It has been a long journey into self discovery of 6 years and even now I am learning a lot more things. Thank you for writing this blog Jeffrey.
Well said, Ila.
Thank you for sharing your reflections and observations.
It’s as if you are right but are not. You should branch out your library with a few more book shelves. That sounds egotistical but you miss out on crucial aspects of connectivity with source. Eating certain plants still destroys the protecting energy intelligence of that plant.
Life feeds on life. Sentience is broader than one night think and you fully underestimate meditation. You speak as if you were indoctrinated into a religion and then “grew up.”
All is relative (saying this all while knowing it’s a platitude). Many ways up the mountain and your experiences are just a point of view, as valid as they might be lack ultimate truth.
It’s a natural reaction, Chris, to attack what conflicts with your worldview.
I knew that adding that one segment (Sign #9) about not eating animal would trigger many individuals like yourself. It’s understandable.
As I’ve said, it’s not about reading another book or any new piece of information or ideology. All your sharing is YOUR viewpoint (one which I shared several years back).
If you open up your body and develop sufficient energetic sensitivity, you just may confirm what millions of others are starting to confirm only in the last decade.
You can FEEL the emotions and consciousness of the animals you can consume. Period. No debate. No rhetoric. No opinions.
And if you CAN’T verify this statement in your experience because you haven’t followed the injunction offered or reached this level of sensitivity required than you’re simply not in a position to argue against it. If you attempt to refute it without testing the injunction then you are simply communicating in ignorance. All you can simply say, “Hmm, I don’t know about that.” And that would be a true statement.
It’s not about a “point of view” or a specific ideology; it’s a visceral energetic experience that cannot be denied. I don’t know how else to describe it.
In my 30s, I would have reacted similarly to how you did. It’s a natural reaction — especially if you currently consume animal while defining yourself as spiritual. If so, then my statements can seem offensive. Without that identity of “being spiritual,” however, my statements wouldn’t offend you. You’ll just disagree, and that’s everyone’s right.
NOTE: I have updated that segment of the article (#9) to provide more context to this polarizing topic.