Three Stages to Awakening
Spiritual awakening requires you to experience three significant phases of growth to help you evolve from ego based consciousness to soul consciousness. Much has been written about the process of enlightenment but Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist of the 19th/20th century, called this process of awakening 'The Three Births of the Human Spirit'.
According to Jung, we undertake a journey of three “births” throughout our lifetime. The first of them being our physical birth which gives our soul its first tangible form. This is then followed by the birth of our identity- the birth of our ego. Then the third birth is of our spiritual consciousness, our spiritual self.
As I read about Jung's theory I quickly saw how these three births are mapped out in the chakra system. Our first two births is represented by the development of our survival centre- the base chakra, followed by the formation of our identity and ego in the sacral and solar plexus chakras. Following this we are are usually guided into experiencing divine chaos that serves to test the ego construct of our consciousness. The third birth is represented by the journey into the upper chambers of our energy anatomy, with the heart chakra acting as a divine channel for our rebirth in developing heart-based soul consciousness.
Our first two births shape us to face the outer world and develop a 'healthy' ego and the third spiritual rebirth serves to bring any over or under expression of our ego back into balance. This third spiritual birth is experienced by taking an inner journey to explore our internal map of self esteem and identity as soul. Usually this means we need to recalibrate our self esteem as it is our core of our spiritual state. If it imbalanced we cannot fully realise the power of the heart. It is our third birth that we come to explore our true potential as integrated beings and strive towards experiencing a spiritual birth of consciousness.
When I describe this sacred journey to my clients and students, I often describe that we must go through a process of inner review so that all our tools are in order for us to walk the path of the the sacred warrior. Our journey is towards wholeness within and communion with our true divine nature which needs to be activated if we are to become fully 'spiritually' empowered beings. That requires dedication, faith courage and a commitment unlike any other.
The issue with the world at present is that much of humanity is 'ego' empowered instead of soul empowered and hence cosmic divine chaos is hitting our lower chakras to destabalise humanity and all the worlds systems that have been running with an over expression in ego based consciousness. This is shaking things up so we can come back into balance and those committed to their ego will feel it most.
Just as we individually need to journey and be spiritually reborn, so to does the world collectively right now. Our collective spiritual potential will only be realised if we bring the over expression of greed, separation, personal power and materialism into balance. When we are too caught up on the material world we do not allow room for the spiritual world to fill us and allow us to experience true wholeness of being. The chaos that we see int he world is helping us collectively recalibrate and set our compass so that we can finally break though into the higher echelons of our consciousness and activate our true spiritual potential.
If we resist entering into the gateway of own heart, we are delaying the process of awakening the univerSOUL consciousness and are stifling the shift of the entire cosmos. We individually have a significant role to play in acting as channels for grace through this process. That means reviewing where you are living in an over expression of ego consciousness in your own life and do the inner work to help you come into balance. This is the basis of my life work and coach training. I am passionate about helping empower people with the tools they need to work on this in their own lives.
Although our ultimate aim is to be more spirit than matter. more soul than ego, it is not that ego must die s some believe. Ego simply needs to be 'trained' on how to serve the soul rather than work to serve itself only. This is how I see wholeness and the mark of walking a healthy spiritual path. Ego can only be trained by allowing your higher self to clear out all the false and fearful conditioning that is running as a program of our mind- both personally and collectively.
Our limited and negative programs place the empowerment of the ego itself as the ultimate goal in human life but that is the illusion. We get caught into a trap of believing our physical survival is all that matters and we become devoid of sustaining our spiritual survival.
Our various systems of beliefs and patterns do not get challenged until you are ready to go through the third birth. It is in your third birth as Carl Jung puts it, that you are finally initiated into learning how to tune your spiritual eyes to see truth. You no longer blindly believe everything your mind thinks or believes. It is then that you are ready to go within and critically review everything that was handed down by our parents, society, past experiences or media. This inner renovation of our inner most rooms is what allows for what I call spiritual transmission. It is at this time you finally clear the junk and make way for the Divine to express within you what needs to stay or go, what moves you need to make and what shadows you need to clear and integrate to reach your final destination. It is here that you develop FAITH and finally surrender to the sacred power of the Divine to lead you. It is then that finally you can here the sacred whispers of your soul.
You will experience resistance. It is not an easy journey but it is the most important journey to take. Be mindful of the fact that there are forces both inner and outer that will try to limit your progress and keep you trapped to the lower ego based self. Reinforcing the ego in us collectively so that we never reach our spiritual birth or activate our spiritual potential does not serve the interests of society. Consumer-focused consciousness and poverty consciousness keeps us trapped in a negative societal matrix because the basis of our so called 'social development' is of course nothing other than economic growth and they need us to be consuming in order to keep the cogs turning. Of course an unhealthy ego is the one with the insatiable appetite for 'stuff'. You can read my blog on Affluenza to read more on this disease of the soul.
If you are serious about your spiritual growth and spiritual survival, then you must dedicate yourself to doing the inner work required to expand your consciousness. You can fast track your third birth and develop soul consciousness by diverting your attention from ego, from fear based consciousness and the over emphasis on physical survival, by concentrating on your internal spiritual development instead.
The chaos we are experiencing both personally and collectively brings with it a hidden blessing of antagonising the mass ego consciousness so we can shake off our obsessive love of money, greed and power and finally, finally turn to the Divine and value our spiritual currency instead. This can only happen if we crack through our universal heart chakra and tap into the Divine power that sustains all of life both in the physical and non-physical realms.
I will stress here that a huge ego trap is ego disguised as spiritual. The spiritual ego is probably one of the most dangerous of all. True spirituality is a healthy ego not a building up of ego in disguise. Spiritual superiority coming from a place of inner pride is a huge barrier to awakening. Spirituality has to be focused on the whole of humanity not just you as an individual. We must ensure that our spiritual progress does not just serve the further increase and eternal happiness of our own ego. And be on guard because the consumer society is very excited about the surge in spiritual interest and the birth of a multi million dollar industry. It is serving the needs of our ego by making us want more and more books, crystals, knowledge and gurus. The focus might be off shoes and the new focus might be on personal growth but the excess or obsessive consumerism of this is also feeding the machine. Nothing is different in this space, our pattern of excessive consumption is still active, just replaced.
True spiritual birth and awakening is simple and triggered by your ability to divert your attention from the outside world to your internal world. That is the only way soul consciousness can be developed and no amount of books and courses will give you that if you are unwilling to step within. To really activate what I call your SOUL POWER, stop allowing yourself to be distracted by what the ego wants and focus on what your soul needs instead.
The tools to help you activate your soul consciousness and being your ego into healthy balance are:
1. BE IN TUNE WITH THE MOTHER - Be in nature regularly. Walk around with bare feet. Touch the earth, the sand, the soil. Commune with nature by paying focused attention on the beauty and perfection of all that is. Be in awe of the whole of creation. Connect with animals and admire them.
2. BE IN AWE - Look at the stars, the moon, the sun. Ponder existence. Look for the interconnection in all things. Feel yourself part of the whole. Take time to be amazed by learning more about the cosmos in general. Understanding the sacred thread that connects all things will help you enter your inner universe with a deeper connection with the eternal aspect of yours true self- your soul.
3. CONNECT WITH FATHER SPIRIT- Engaging in prayer daily or multiple times a day. This can be a gratitude prayer or a prayer for courage, strength or guidance. Invite in a connection and relationship with the Divine.
4. TUNE IN - Meditate frequently to help you turn your attention away from the outer world and focus on reviewing the inner.
5. BE ATTENTIVE - Practice mindfulness by being very present to all that is and being in a state of receptivity in the present moment. Pay attention to detail and be aware and awake.
6. OBSERVE WITHIN - Practice inner watchfulness so you can be on guard to the ego based workings of the mind and learn to consciously choose your thoughts and state rather than your mind choosing it for you.
When you make the commitment to experience the deeper dimensions of your inner and outer being you develop a new state of attention and alertness and this is where the magic lies. You lose connection with your personal stories and past and you stop searching for you. You realise the truth of you cannot be found in your belongings, your title, a book or in another human being.
When you finally call off the search, you know you are close to the light. You are no longer enticed by the world of form but you are engaged in consciousness. You cannot force this shift but the points I mentioned above can encourage the transmission because you let ego take a break more often and organically you will begin to experience something from the deeper dimensions of your inner being that is holy and mystical in nature.
This is not something for a few chosen beings. It is available to all of us right here and now. You may have experienced moments of it without even realising what you were experiencing because it is highly likely you simply were not present or alert enough.
In those moments of sacred connection, it is like a flashlight is lit and you can momentarily truly see the reality of all of existence. You cut through the idea of the illusionary self, and your consciousness expands so that you can connect with the real you that is free of form. This experience is not the result of the analytical mind, it is inspired by the inner most chambers of your heart- your soul and it is in this moment we experience Divine sight and develop soul consciousness.
© ERYKA STANTON // SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING- SOULBLOG A passionate teacher, author, coach, a modern psychic, healer and soultreupreneur, Eryka is genuinely passionate about helping people experience inner and outer transformations that empowers their soul.
