I’ve always jokingly said, that a spiritual awakening is like a personality makeover. And it’s true because every bit of who you are is transformed! I want to talk about these behavior changes that occur during a spiritual awakening in more detail today and go into some of the causes.
But before I do that, I want to remind you of something fundamental to your growth:
Every journey is unique, and you may not experience everything that’s listed here. Or there might be things you experience and I’ve missed mentioning (please drop that in the comments so I can edit this article to be more inclusive).
However, many of the things that happen to you, are also what happen to other people. Keeping that in mind, your first takeaway in all this should be that you are NOT alone.
There’s wisdom in all of this, even if you can’t fully understand why right now. And maybe, you and I may never be able to logically grasp the way this cosmos works. That’s okay.
Spirituality is about many things, and one of them is being comfortable in uncertainty. However, this faith in the process and comfort with unknowingness will not happen overnight. Rather, it will become a part of you through a series of events that will prove to you that the Universe really does have your back and that it’s safe to trust this unseen divine force.
Having set that tone and disclaimer of sorts with you, let’s talk about the different ways people experience behavior changes during a spiritual awakening.
#1 – Your Heightened Emotions Pull You Away From The World’s Chaos & Noise
It’s not that you were emotionally unaware before, but now your senses become heightened.
You’re likely to become more sensitive than most of the people around you because you spend a lot of time healing and working toward self-awareness. A lot of time is invested in monitoring our thoughts, emotions, and feelings, making sure we are living as consciously and as off auto-pilot as possible.
So when you step outside your space, you realize that not all thoughts originate from you. And when you’re in crowded spaces or at parties, you may be catching ‘thought bubbles’, as Eckhart Tolle calls them.
Such places are full of stress, anxiety, and haphazardness which can really put your energy system off balance. It’s as if the energy is buzzing around you, and it’s too much to handle. And when you come home, it sucks to have to deal with all that energy you’ve collected for no fault of your own!
As a consequence, many people start retracting from large gatherings and find themselves becoming more introverted in nature. They seek more one-on-one time and quiet spaces, experiencing drastic behavior changes during their spiritual awakening. This introvertedness is especially interesting to observe in people that were once extremely extroverted!
As this happens, it’s natural for us to start using crystals, rosary beads, and other meditative objects as a way to “protect” our energy.
#2 – You Begin To Seek Something “Higher”
For some, there’s a realization that certain foods and places can bring them down. Like bars & parties, alcohol, meat, etc. I have seen numerous people go vegan overnight with their awakening, and many others simply end their years of alcoholism!
Personally, my body developed an aversion to eggs and alcohol after my spiritual awakening. Because of my overnight dietary adjustment, I initially lost a lot of weight! I did regain my love for chocolate chip cookies later on and put some of that weight on, though haha. This is also a way of me telling you – the extreme behavior changes you experience during a spiritual awakening have their way of leveling out.
Related Read: Are alcohol, meat, and smoking bad for our spiritual growth? (it’s not what you think)
The choices in music and movies might change drastically too. My playlist went from loud, rock music to lots of meditative and calmer tunes.
The spiritual journey helps us rapidly distance ourselves from all the noise and outdated ways of thinking, and seek something of “higher” quality in our life. This is called transcending our old patterns and habits.
#3- Your Relationships Evolve Because You Realize The Influence of Soul Contracts
When we start moving across timelines and seeing the relationships we have as a greater purpose, as our soul contracts for learning life’s lessons, they affect us less. This automatically changes how we behave in our relationships.
For instance, during my past life regression sessions, I realized why I really love some people and dislike others. I was able to see people’s tendencies from their past lives carry into this one, and look at them with a broader understanding of why they are a certain way.
In fact, a few years later, I would discover why one of my best friends “ghosted” me: we had a long history of tension in our past lives and it was her pattern to leave. While I did mourn the loss of our friendship in this lifetime, I didn’t take it personally and it didn’t create more karmic debt for me – I freed myself from the cycle by sending her away with love.
Others may no longer feel the need to ‘impress’ their boss, or get influenced by peer pressure anymore. At one point in my corporate job, I started using headphones at work and being laser-focused in a way where people thought I was a workaholic. And the truth was that I was using workaholism as an escape to protect my mind from getting sucked into office politics and unhealthy conversations.
#4 – Some Relationships End & New Ones Take Birth
Being around people who gossip, talk ill, or are ‘energy vampires’ can really drain you. You might feel like an emotional sponge, easily soaking in negativity and experiencing the fluid-like and effortless release of positivity.
This leads to distancing yourself from people who you do realize are hurting you energetically. Sometimes, it can even break marriages, and push us away from our parents or siblings.
In the long run, it is important to realize that being an empath is not a weakness, but a huge blessing in disguise. I talk about the powers of an empath in a separate post, here.
As you continue healing, it becomes easier to share space and time with the people that used to trigger you. You are able to move past the person who loves ‘too much’, towards being a more unconditionally loving and compassionate being.
Remember – we want to be able to break free from this dualistic experience and live with oneness. NOT fuel our separation by projecting the blame on other people for how they make us feel. Thus, a big part of the journey for us becomes about learning to live in harmony, in a deeply dualistic and diverse world.
Also, remember that it’s not all about losing. You will eventually meet lots of new, like-minded individuals that support your spiritual growth.
Here’s a resource I have been nurturing and can recommend if you’re looking for a spiritual community:
We’d love for you to be a part of the MSS Tribe and meet like-minded spiritual seekers from around the world. We are an intimate bunch that loves self-development, listening to each other, and laughing at eye-rolling humor. I also offer the tribe exclusive tools, deep discounts on additional resources, and teach them the latest psycho-spiritual stuff.
You can come to our next monthly Zoom call using the button below and see how you feel!
#5 – You move from materialism to mindful consumerism.
We subconsciously become aware of primal tendencies such as hoarding, binge-eating, and shopaholism, realizing the impact of our carbon footprint. On one hand, where people pick veganism to save the fauna, many of us pick minimalism to save the flora.
We also realize how futile it is to focus on the fleeting joys of life, by chasing cars, clothes, or cuisines. And as we do that, we gravitate toward choices that reflect this.
The idea of minimalism originates from the combination of a couple of factors:
- A general sense of contentment and not needing more,
- Detachment from physical reality (not finding much pleasure in impermanent things),
- And also, a deeper sense of love for mother nature, and all of existence.
This behavior change can be of shock value to your loved ones because the very fundamental actions that defined your personality are beginning to shed. It’s okay – this too is a part of the process!
Concluding Thoughts
At the beginning of the spiritual awakening, it’s difficult for us to explain what’s going on with us, and why we are undergoing behavior changes. However, when questioned, it helps to have a resource in hand to share with others.
As a starting point, you may consider sharing this article with your loved ones and help them get on the same page as you.
Another resource: Renee, a concerned sister for her ‘awakened’ brother, reached out to me, trying to understand how to help him. And I can tell you that just like her, every single person that loves you wants to help you through this, even if they can’t relate to you right now. I’ve put together a comprehensive guide for you and your loved ones, which you can read on Kindle, or through the PDF version here.
All of these resources will affirm to them (and you) that you’re not going crazy, you’re simply waking up.
Vasundhra is the Founder & Writer of My Spiritual Shenanigans. After seeing 11:11 on the clock one fateful night, her life turned around. Ever since, she has been blending modern psychology and ancient spirituality, to help herself and people around the world elevate the quality of their lives.
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Everything I’ve read is spot on, at first I thought it was me. But the sacred numbers , signs now make sense, thank you.
It can feel weird at first because no one else around is experiencing this way of living. Which is why, it’s so important to talk about our spiritual experiences and normalize the awakening process. Happy to know you could relate and be reassured, my friend! 💜