What is the Spiritual Path and am I on it?

The path of inner work/personal development takes many forms, such as mediation, philosophy, psychology, dream work and spirituality, just to name just a few. All of which, involve learning about the self and our place in the world.

Intrinsically, 'psychology' means a study of the mind and 'spirituality' is a study of the mind, heart, ethics and philosophy combined. The spiritual path, consequently, is a way in which to find inner peace and a sense of completion through this sublime synthesis. Technically, we're all on a 'spiritual path', but many may not be familiar or resonate with such terms.

The spiritual path is an individual, internal, sacred and highly personal one, meaning it can't be organised or regulated.

Each individual has their own path that calls for them to discover and listen to the truth of who they are and confidently march to the beat of their own drum. Often times, a person may be introduced to this path through a series of 'Ah-ha' moments, incremental life-lesson revelations or via a more sudden and dramatic awakening...

A spiritual awakening can happen at any moment or period in life and quite often being spontaneous in nature. They can be triggered by major life transitions, illnesses and/or traumas, creating a psychosomatic response within a person. This psychosomatic response, results in direct physiological changes throughout the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual bodies of a person.

In Sanskrit, this response is known as Kundalini, which is an Indian expression for a sudden upsurge in energy. This energetic upsurge works tirelessly to reformat all layers of one's being. It does this to prepare them for ascension to a higher state of consciousness, which enables new connections between the energetic and physical body and allows for higher levels of functionality. When this process has begun, the person senses that something is not quite right and begins to question old beliefs, ideals and habits, and discovers, there is much more to life than what they had previously been taught.

Things drastically start changing in the person's reality, as they are quite literally ‘awakening’ to life and who they truly are. They stop living their life as if they were under anaesthesia or it were all just a dream. Once this process has begun and the quest for a sense of wholeness has been initiated, it leads the individual to embark on a journey of continual deep inner work. This work is where deep emotive states and learned patterns of behaviour are brought into their awareness and transmuted to assist a sense of completion.

Those who experience a sudden awakening feel a epic shock that is described as having their whole lives turned upside-down and inside out and may feel as if they are ‘going crazy’. This shock is often referred to as Dark Night of the Soul, or more commonly referred to in traditional psychiatry as ‘altered' or 'dissociative' states of consciousness.

The symptoms of Dark Night of the Soul are quite similar to those of depression, however, there is a distinct difference between the self-centric nature of Depression and Dark Night of the Soul's more existential essence.

Depression itself is usually psychological, biological and neurological in nature and, upon completion, there are minimal changes in their life in terms of beliefs, values, and habits. In contrast to this, Dark Night of the Soul is accompanied by deep existential reflections such as “What is my purpose in life?” and “Why am I here in the world?” These reflections tend to produce a deep change within the individual and alter their life completely.

This change is where the mind releases the person's old identity and slips into a stage of renewal, while simultaneously unleashing an intense hunger to find a greater meaning in one's life and a 'higher state' of being. This deep occurring change is known as 'Spiritual Transformation'.

This period in a person's life can be shocking, painful and extremely unsettling, placing them in a state of dissociation, as the mind attempts to process multiple realities at once.

As a person's old consciousness begins to die off, inner knowledge and outer experiences, which are anything but ordinary, expose them to side of reality that others are oblivious to. Phenomenally though, when this psycho-spiritual emergency has come to an end, everything in their life is transformed and their life becomes a rich and pleasant experience once more.

Each step of this immense journey is honoured by following the wisdom of one's own heart, braving the unknown and choosing a deeper knowledge in contrast to following the crowd.

The spiritual path is an individual, internal, sacred and highly personal one, meaning it can't be organised or regulated. Each individual has their own path that calls for them to discover and listen to the truth of who they are and confidently march to the beat of their own drum. While some take the leap fairly easily, not all of us are as steady in the process and require the support and encouragement to navigate the path through its spontaneous throws.

If your hunger for a sense of wholeness has been initiated and are finding the awakening process to be challenging, you can find gentle support at www.thivibrantsoul.com.

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- With deepest gratitude, Jessica.

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