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Sophia’s latest book The World Is Waking Up explains the global awakening phenomenon and dives deep into the awakening journey.
AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE to spiritual awakening.
Meditation and spiritual awakening are closely linked, in fact, you can’t complete the awakening journey without a regular meditation practice. This article explains how to meditate for spiritual awakening, during each stage.
Meditation and spiritual awakening – why is meditation so important?
Meditation and spiritual awakening are two strands of the same process.
During spiritual awakening our earthbound soul integrates with our higher self who resides in the upper dimensions.
This is done via the mind.
The soul is the conscious mind; the higher self is the super-conscious mind.
To be able to integrate with our higher selves, we first need to gain mastery over the subconscious mind (the body).
The only way to do this is via meditation.
That’s why this practice is so fundamental to Buddhism – in fact, “Zen” means “meditation”.
Strengthening the right side of the brain also speeds up integration with our higher self.
Awakening usually takes two to three years to complete.
Typically we aren’t aware we’re going through an awakening during the early part of the process.
Watch the video below to learn more about what happens during a spiritual awakening.
Meditation and spiritual awakening stages
There are seven stages of spiritual awakening.
These stages do not necessarily follow one after the other, some may overlap and run concurrently.
Stages 1-3 may also occur in a different order.
Some people may spend longer in one stage than another depending on their needs, or they may have a more extreme experience.
However, the majority of awakeners will experience each stage in one way or another.
Meditation is a vital tool to help you through each stage of awakening.
Stage 1 of awakening: Resolution
We strengthen our emotional platform for our future conscious awakening by undertaking deep inner work. We may also take up a creative hobby to unconsciously progress integration with our higher selves. We are typically unaware that we’re awakening at this point.
Stage 2 of awakening: Discovery
We develop an interest in spiritual, metaphysical, and related topics. We may start to have some unusual experiences.
Stage 3 of awakening: Epiphany
We become aware there’s more to life than the 3D reality of Earth and that we’re more than ‘meat-machines’. An epiphany can happen suddenly or be a dawning of realisation over time. The epiphany is the start of our conscious awakening.
Find out more about the spiritual epiphany in this blog post.
Stage 4 of awakening: Connection
We enter a period of intense connection with the universe. We meet our guides and possibly our higher selves. We can communicate with our teams. We experience flow. This is when we should establish a formal meditation practice, if we haven’t already.
Stage 5 of awakening: The Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul
All communication and connection ceases overnight. We feel cut-off and damped-down. The Dark Night of the Soul is an important stage of awakening which we have to get through to complete the journey. Meditation is crucial during the Dark Night.
Stage 6 of awakening: Advanced Learning
Once we exit the Dark Night of the Soul we enter an extended period of advanced learning. Connection is restored. During this period we reach 100 percent integration with our higher self.
Stage 7 of awakening: Transcendence
Once we are fully integrated with our higher selves we then need to learn to use the channel we have built – i.e. to transcend. At the end of the transcendence stage we have completed our awakening and entered into full power.
How to meditate for spiritual awakening in stages 1 and 2 (Resolution and Discovery)
Typically we’re not fully conscious that we’re awakening in stages 1 and 2.
So the best meditation for spiritual awakening at this point is doing activities which strengthen the right side of the brain.
These include things such as:
- Making art
- Playing a musical instrument
- Dancing
- Doing yoga
- Walking in Nature
In fact, these kinds of activities are beneficial throughout the entire awakening process.
If you’re in a later, conscious, stage of awakening, you may be able to look back and see that you were drawn to these kinds of activities prior to your epiphany.
This was your team and higher self encouraging you to strengthen the right side of your brain before your conscious awakening.
During these early periods of awakening it’s also useful to use grounding meditations to soothe anxiety and troubled thoughts.
Here is a guided grounding meditation you can use.
How to meditate for spiritual awakening during stage 4 (Connection)
When I say meditation and spiritual awakening go hand in hand, this is most obvious during stage 4.
Connection is a period when our guides show us what things could be like for us if we complete the awakening journey and transcend.
We are super-connected, so regular meditation in this period means we start to enjoy clear communication with our guides.
Read this blog article to learn more about communicating with spirit guides.
Third eye meditation during stage 4 of awakening
At this stage of awakening you should be establishing a regular, formal meditation practice, ideally daily.
The best meditation for spiritual awakening during this stage is third eye meditation.
The third eye is both a receiver and a sender of messages to the other side so strengthening it through meditation aids communication with your team.
If you still have ‘monkey-mind’ chatter during this stage of awakening, you can combine third eye mediation with a mantra.
The video below shows you an easy third eye daily meditation you can do in just 5 minutes, including visualisations and mantras.
Guided meditation during stage 4 of awakening
It’s perfectly possible to complete the spiritual awakening journey without using any guided meditations.
However, when you’re starting out, they can be useful to get you ‘in the zone’.
You can also use them for specific intentions, such as meeting your higher self or guides.
In fact, these types of guided meditations are very helpful during stage 4 of awakening.
If you do decide to use guided meditations, make sure you also allow time for unguided meditation, such as the third eye technique I demonstrate in the video above.
It’s important because, during a guided meditation you’re concentrating on the words being spoken to you, rather than listening out for messages from your team.
Try the guided meditation below to meet your spirit guides.
How to meditate for spiritual awakening during stage 5 (the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul)
The spiritual Dark Night of the Soul is triggered at 50 percent integration with our higher selves.
We exit it at around 65-70 percent integration.
Read this blog post to understand how long the Dark Night of the Soul lasts.
As meditation is the single most potent tool we can use to integrate, it’s essential we meditate daily – even twice daily – during the Dark Night of the Soul.
However, be aware, even though you are meditating, you won’t feel ‘connected’. Don’t let this bother you, meditate anyway.
(Don’t worry, your connection will come back once you’re through the Dark Night.)
During the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul you can continue to use the third eye meditation above.
This is the single best meditation for spiritual awakening prior to the stage of transcendence.
However, it’s also good during this time to supplement your third eye practice with other meditation protocols.
Guided gratitude meditations are particularly helpful during the Dark Night, when we feel frustrated and disconnected. I like this one:
I also recommend using self-hypnosis which is just a deeper form of meditation.
There are many self-hypnosis videos available on YouTube, personally I like Michael Sealey. Try this video below:
Also, during the Dark Night of the Soul, we should do as many right-brained activities as we can manage.
(Bearing in mind we are often very tired during this stage of awakening – read this blog post to find out why.)
Walking meditation is also a very beneficial practice at this time, especially if you can do it in natural surroundings.
Watch the video below to find out more about walking meditation.
How to meditate for spiritual awakening during stage 6 (Advanced Learning)
By the time you reach this stage of awakening, you will have shed the majority of your Ego and subdued your subconscious.
That means you will no longer have any ‘monkey-mind’ chatter and should be able to maintain a meditative trance for long periods of time.
The best meditation for spiritual awakening during this period is ‘nothingness’ meditation.
During a nothingness meditation you maintain your mind in neutral, without thinking, visualising or using a mantra.
By the time you reach this stage of awakening, you should already have some understanding of what this feels like.
Just try to maintain a state of nothingness for longer each time that you meditate.
How to meditate for spiritual awakening during stage 7 (Transcendence)
During transcendence we need to use a crown chakra meditation.
You can use a guided meditation (see the video below) or I just do it myself.
It’s similar to the third eye meditation above, only in this case, visualise a bright light entering your body via your crown chakra and illuminating your being.
I also use transcendence visualisations, such as imagining my energy body rising out of my physical body, through the crown of my head.
It’s important not to try to use these visualisations in the early stages of awakening – wait until you are ready (your team will tell you when).
By the time you reach this advanced stage of awakening, you will already be very well connected with your higher self and team, and they will guide you if there’s any other specific meditations you should do.
Communication with spirit guides #6: learn to lucid dream
If you want to progress to two-way communication with your spirit guides during sleep, learn to lucid dream.
Lucid dreaming is an exceptionally powerful tool – one of the most powerful available to us on Earth – for communication, healing, and manifestation.
It just means that you are consciously aware you’re dreaming while you’re actually in the dream.
When you attain this state, you are able to control what happens.
It means you can meet with your guides and have a conversation, amongst other things.
(This is true even if you haven’t reached the point where you are receiving verbal communication in your waking life.)
It works because you have accessed a higher dimension in your sleep state.
Lucid dreaming is also a great tool for inner work as it allows us to explore issues and events which might be hidden from us on the earthly plane.
Charlie Morley is the modern-day expert on this technique, I used his book to teach myself during my own awakening.
I personally used lucid dreaming to meet my higher self and it was a game changer, so I encourage you to give it a go.
Watch Charlie’s video below for an overview of lucid dreaming.
Meditation and spiritual awakening – using ‘corpse pose’
While we’re used to seeing pictures of Buddhist monks meditating sitting up, in fact, lying down is the best way to meditate for spiritual awakening.
The ‘Corpse Pose’ in yoga is the most effective position.
Watch the video below to learn how to use corpse pose:
Meditation and spiritual awakening – using binaural beats and frequencies
When learning how to meditate for spiritual awakening it can be useful to use binaural beats.
These help our mind tune into the frequencies of the higher dimensions.
I use theta wave binaural beats to aid communication – see the video below.
You can also use binaural beats for energy clearing.
Energy clearing is important at every stage of awakening, but especially in the early stages and during the Dark Night of the Soul.
The video below uses the tones which resonate with each of the chakras to clear blockages.
I hope this article has been useful to you.
Meditation and spiritual awakening are intertwined and establishing a daily meditation practice is the single most powerful thing you can do to aid your awakening.