What are spiritual awakening, spiritual development, spiritual growth, and spiritual transformation?

 

Before discussing the three master keys to spiritual awakening, spiritual development, spiritual growth and spritual transformation, let me start with three quick definitions of them:

(1) “Spiritual awakening,” is defined here as “beginning to experience and becoming aware of one’s spiritual, divine, or transcendent nature.”  

(2) “Spiritual growth” or “spiritual development,” is defined as, “becoming more in touch with one’s spiritual, divine, or transcendent nature.”

And (3) “spiritual transformation” is defined as “being able to integrate and bring that spiritual, divine, or transcendent nature into the world.”

By spiritual, divine, or transcendent nature, I mean the experience of a sense of inner peace or stillness, a sense of unity with the world the universe or the divine, a deep heart connection with human beings the environment and the divine, the stilling of thoughts and mental noise, a capacity for subtle senses perceptions or in contact with spirit guides, a non-ordinary positive or blissful feeling, a religious experience, a close sense of the divine within or around oneself, the dissolution of mental or body boundaries, a deep unshakable ground clear awareness, or that which is beyond the ego.

 

But what about your ordinary experiences? How are spiritual awakening, spiritual growth, spiritual development, and spiritual transformation related to them?

What about your common everyday human experiences such as functioning in the world, interacting with people, having meaningful relationships, having children, realizing a fulfilling career, making money, and enjoying life? Is spirituality separate from these?

To live a spiritual life while being fully engaged in the world requires expanding our view of spiritual awakening spiritual development, spiritual growth and spiritual transformation to encompass all areas of our life.

The goal is for us to make the divine, or transcendence, infuse our whole being, so even when we are in our everyday activities transcendence will permeate our actions, expressions, and relationships.

This is spiritual transformation.

 

The three master keys to spiritual awakening, spiritual growth, spiritual development, and spiritual transformation.

 

For spiritual transformation to be comprehensive, spiritual awakening, spiritual development and spiritual growth need to pervade the totality of yourself: mind, heart (feelings/emotions), and body.

For that to occur, we need to use, three master keys: mind awareness, feeling/emotions awareness, and physical/sensation awareness applied on three progressive levels:

(1) mindful awareness of content of mind, feelings, and sensations (being able to be consistently aware of thoughts, feelings, sensations)

(2) mindful awareness of transcendent consciousness experienced through the mind, feelings, and sensations,

(3) the integration of transcendent awareness with the content on the mind, heart, and body. 

The first stage is the spiritual awakening of mind, body, and heart, the second is the spiritual growth of mind, body, and heart, and the third is the spiritual transformation of mind body and heart. Here is a simple example,

 

• The Mind (in spiritual growth, spiritual development, and spiritual transformation): You could have a good capacity to connect or abide in your spiritual nature through mind awareness when you are alone and your body is still.

Your mind awareness may become expanded or boundless and may have clarity and insights. This means that your mind is spiritually awakened and now is spiritually developing.

However, the moment you interact with a person, use your mind for complex tasks, or you begin doing physical activities, you lose that spiritual connection as if people, or physical movements, were preventing you from living in that state.

You have realized the important step of mind transcendence; yet, there is room for spiritual development, or spiritual growth, in the mind and relational area to learn how to interact with people from this mind awareness boundless state.

For this to happened, you need to let thoughts (the content of your experience) be pervaded by your transcendent awareness. This is the spiritual transformation of the mind.

 

• The Heart (in spiritual growth, spiritual development, and spiritual transformation): You could have a natural capacity for spiritually communing with people because your heart is open and can experience a sense of union, and expanded feeling awareness, or merging with people and the environment. Your heart is spiritually awakened.

However, the moment you begin to experience painful or negative feelings, you loose your spiritual heart connection. Or, the moment you begin to use your mind more, thinking, planning, talking about the past and future, your experience of union with people and the environment decreases, or disappears.

You begin to experience a subtle sense of mind haze, or a lack of clarity, due the thought-curtain coming down.

You are able to open your heart and be vulnerable to the world; but, there is room for further spiritual development, or spiritual growth, to learn how to use your mind while keeping your heart open, boundless, and engaged and be able to feel painful feelings while remaining in contact with your spiritual heart nature.

For this to occur, you need to undergo the spiritual transformation of the heart and its union with mind.

 

• The Body (in spiritual growth, spiritual development, and spiritual transformation): You could have realized the rare capacity to feel subtle awareness flowing through your physical body, permeating ordinary physical sensations and bodily tensions. You have awakened your body.

However, when you begin interacting with people, moving your body doing life tasks, or use your mind and are swept up by it, you lose your connection to the subtle bodily awareness.

Being able to feel every inch of one’s physical body, and having reached the sensitivity to feel this subtle flow of content-free body awareness (by that I do not mean chi, prana, shakti; see below) is a great step; of course, there is room for spiritual development, or spiritual growth, to learn how to remain aware of this particular type of bodily awareness while living a busy life in the world, and actively keeping an open heart, and a boundless mind awareness.

For that to occur, you need to transformation the body. Transcendent bodily awareness needs to pervade all of your physical sensations–positive and negative–and continue to flow unobstructed while your are fully engaged in your life’s activities.

These are three examples that show you how a person may be experiencing his or her spiritual nature only to a certain degree of what is possible—different levels of spiritual growth.

Living in the world requires the active use of mind, heart (the feelings and emotions), and body; therefore, if you want to live in the world while being in contact with your spiritual nature you need to let transcendence infuse all three of them: this is spiritual awakening, spiritual development and spiritual transformation and these are different stages of spiritual development or steps to spiritual growth. Otherwise, the moment you use an undeveloped part, it will cause you to disconnect from you spiritual nature.

For more information on specific methods (or a spiritual development and spiritual growth plan) on how to develop hands-on mind, heart, and body, go to the Home page and download the Free Report (for advanced).

 

Hold On…

 

• I thought spirituality was about transcending the world and attaining the ultimate reality, and not about stages of spiritual development, steps to spiritual growth, or spiritual transformation. Well, there are different views on this matter… One view focuses on the realization of total transcendence and sudden enlightenment where the person experiences him or herself (specifically awareness itself) as being completely beyond the world. This approach focuses less on gradual stages of spiritual development or levels of spiritual growth and spiritual transformation. Another view focuses on transcendence plus bringing what’s beyond the world into the immanent physical world by going through gradual stages of spiritual development, steps to spiritual growth, and spiritual transformation. In my approach a help people realize both transcendence and immanence. For details you can read about spiritual enlightenment.

• It sounds difficult. If by difficult you mean something that only few people can realize I would say no, it is not difficult. I believe that most people can realize their spiritual nature in varying degrees. If by difficult you mean taking time, dedication, and perseverance, then yes. This is why for spiritual awakening, spiritual development, spiritual growth, and spiritual transformation to occur in a deep way external support is often helpful.

• Are you sure a person can bring transcendence into the physical body? What do you mean exactly? Yes, it is definitely possible. A person can practice meditation and/or prayer by paying attention to one’s physicality, by going deep within the felt bodily sensations (as opposed to the more common practice of paying attention to mental content, or “thoughts”) for spiritual development, spiritual growth, or spiritual transformation to occur in the body. In so doing, the person can reach a depth of bodily awareness where he or she experiences a new type of physical sensation that possesses specific characteristics, which when discovered need to be cultivated (this is similar to going deeply within one’s mental awareness and discovering a luminous all-pervasive awareness that is beyond thoughts). By doing that the person goes through stages of spiritual development or levels of spiritual growth and spiritual transformation of the body.

This subtle physical sensation is an all-pervasive awareness that is felt through one’s physicality. It is a physically felt awareness that is distinct from the feeling of solidity, tensions or feelings and emotions in the body, and it is different from prana, shakty, kundalini, chi, jing, shen, or orgon. In the East, this subtle bodily awareness is called the “nectar of the gods” (amrita, or soma, dutsi) or “sweet dew,” and in the West it is called “the water of life,” “the living water” and or “the anointing oil.” For more information on the spiritual development or spiritual growth of the body, you can read about the Spiritual Transformation stage by  Sri Aurobindo or, about other traditions soon to be published on this website under the tab spiritual enlightenment.

 

I Can Help You Unleash and Integrate Your Spiritual Potential

 

How will I exactly help you develop spiritually in a therapeutic setting? Well, my therapeutic approach to spiritual awakening, spiritual development, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation is tailored to your needs, and it is centered on using the wisdom of the Eastern and Western spiritual traditions and the latest cutting edge discoveries of psychology.

But, what’s more important is the way I use the spiritual ground for therapeutic guidance, healing, and support for you to develop and explore your spiritual nature in a safe environment and realize a steady spiritual development and spiritual growth.

By me being deeply present, grounded and embodied in the spiritual ground during the therapeutic session, you will be naturally able to connect to your inner ground of intrinsic goodness, expansion, and mental clarity. I know, it sounds magic, but it is easier and simpler that you may think. The spiritual ground can be easily evoked by pointing to it if one of the people embodies it. By exploring hands-on the ground together, spiritual growth and gradual spiritual development can be realized. In addition to that, during this spiritual growth process, sudden realizations are also likely to occur.

During therapy, once your spiritual nature becomes available to you, you can explore it and become more familiar with it, learning what has allowed it to arise and what was in the way. All of this will occur while relating to me, which is a different skill than connecting to your spiritual nature when you are meditating or praying—it is a different type of spiritual development and spiritual growth that necessary to bring your spiritual nature into your daily life.

This means that you will learn (1) how to relate while having your spiritual experiences, (2) you will learn to move your body while experiencing your divine nature, and (3) you will learn to let your heart abide in its spiritual nature while relation to me. Through this process, you will be able to experience your spiritual nature in your relationships and physical body while maintain a mental clarity so to live fully in the world while connected to the spiritual ground—this makes possible a comprehensive spiritual awakening, spiritual development, spiritual growth, and spiritual transformation.

If you want to know practical methods on how to enhance your spiritual development and spiritual growth, download the Free Report for “Advanced” in the upper right hand corner of this page. Or, you can click below on the “Get Started Today” button for a free 20-minute consultation, to ask questions about spiritual awakening, spiritual growth and spiritual development, spiritual transformation or to brainstorm ideas on the next step you could take to deepen in your spiritual work.