Notes From the Universe is an ongoing series of blog posts based on chosen prompts and co-created with the Universe.
Prompt: Why Are Spiritual Awakenings So Confusing?
During a spiritual awakening, false belief systems that you may have been holding onto for your entire life (or lifetimes) suddenly fall away and are replaced by an understanding of the true loving nature of the Universe and your place in it. Your vibration is changing rapidly, the things you are attracting into your life are changing rapidly, and you are feeling the challenge of coming into alignment with your new future.
It has the potential to be a very jarring experience. Things you have taken for granted as fact turn out to be not only false, but directly opposite to the truth.
Confusing spiritual beliefs
And so the layers of illusion begin to fall away. It is a process that takes time, because there are many moving parts. The confusion sets in when two opposing beliefs are warring for space within you. Until you settle on one belief, until you choose one and act on it, the feeling of confusion will persist. But there is no rush, and no danger in the confusion. There is no need to try to push it away, only to begin to understand your new beliefs.
To make matters potentially more challenging, you may begin to understand the concept of duality.
You may see duality playing out in your life, and will have to stretch your mind to understand that on the one hand, we are all unconditionally loving souls sharing One Mind, and on the other, some of you are here on earth pretending to be confused and sad and angry and limited. And somehow, both things are literally true simultaneously. What on earth does that mean?
On the one hand, we are all unconditionally loving souls sharing One Mind, and on the other, some of you are here on earth pretending to be confused and sad and angry and limited. And somehow, both things are literally true simultaneously.
Understandings of this concept and many others may be experienced viscerally through spiritual awakening. You will come to understand things that seem impossible, contradictory, mind-blowing, and bizarre in ways not just intellectual, but emotional. You will know and feel them as wisdom. But getting to that place of wisdom is the part of the journey that may feel like venturing into a labyrinth in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. Try not to fear your natural confusion or to judge it, but rather simply notice how your understanding grows with each passing day.
You will come to understand things that seem impossible, contradictory, mind-blowing, and bizarre in ways not just intellectual, but emotional. You will know and feel them as wisdom.
Your spiritual lessons in Earth School
A spiritual awakening is the process of changing your mind to accept more love. There have been instances of this happening to hermits- you know the classic story of a hermit meditating in a cave and thinking his way to enlightenment. This illustrates a great point- the entire process of awakening is something that happens at the level of the mind. The external world is not technically required.
However, you have each chosen to be incarnated on earth in this lifetime because you were aware that it would be the most perfect opportunity for you to grow in your ability to give and receive love with the physical world as your mirror. So it would be quite ridiculous to insist that you sit down in a cave and meditate for the rest of your life in order to reach enlightenment. You are in Earth School, a wildly vibrant place of opposites and extremes, of tastes and sounds and colors and adventures, of incredible diversity and love, of sensual delights- one big, beautiful, perfect jungle of a world to play in and explore.
During your spiritual awakening, your lessons will come to you more quickly than they have before. They will keep up with your spiritual growth spurt. These lessons may seem very confusing, and some may even seem cruel, as if they are punishments.
During your spiritual awakening, your lessons will come to you more quickly than they have before. They will keep up with your spiritual growth spurt.
We will explain why this is not so in a moment. First, understand the nature of your beliefs in relation to your actions. When you believe something 100%, you act as if it is true, whether or not it is actually true. For example, if you believe that the medicine your doctor prescribes to you will cure you of a disease, you will take that medicine. If you believe you are going to enjoy a day at the beach, you will put on your bathing suit and lather in sunblock. This belief-action cycle naturally serves to further enforce your own beliefs.
A spiritual awakening will shine light on many beliefs that you have been holding that are not true, and will show you what to replace them with. When you start to believe a new belief, lessons will come to you so that you can act in accordance with that new belief.
However, these lessons are never, ever to prove your worthiness to the Universe. Your lessons come not so that the Universe can judge how well you are doing on your spiritual path, but so that you can prove to yourself that you are worthy of unconditional love. In Earth School, everything is for you, to aid your in your journey to unconditional self-love.
However, these lessons are never, ever to prove your worthiness to the Universe. Your lessons come not so that the Universe can judge how well you are doing on your spiritual path, but so that you can prove to yourself that you are worthy of unconditional love.
Your world is your mirror, and unlike the hermit in the cave, you have chosen to have external experiences to reflect to you your inner state. Let’s take a common and straightforward example. Let’s say you have just accepted the simple belief that you are worthy of a bit more love, and you deserve to be treated well by your partner.
As this sinks in, you begin to realize that the person you have been dating for the last few years doesn’t really feel like a match for you. There is nothing wrong with them, but they do not feel like a good fit. Perhaps you have always known this, but now you truly believe you deserve more. Does that mean your partner will suddenly start changing to match your desires? Probably not. In fact, in this and many other cases, you may seem to get exactly the opposite of what you want and now feel you deserve. Your relationship may seem to get worse instead of better. This is your perfect lesson, and an opportunity to act on your new belief in order to bring into your life the loving gifts of your future.
Now in this case, the lesson is to prove to yourself that you are, truly, deserving of and worthy of more love. The action you decide to take will either reinforce that new belief or will go against it- and therefore cause more confusion. And in what may seem a cruel plot twist, your situation may seem to get worse and worse until it nearly forces you to make a decision that empowers your self-love.
The action you decide to take will either reinforce that new belief or will go against it- and therefore cause more confusion. And in what may seem a cruel plot twist, your situation may seem to get worse and worse until it nearly forces you to make a decision that empowers your self-love.
It need never get to this point, however. You can always act on any lesson before it becomes extreme, whether it be a lesson in relationships, health, career, or anything else. If a situation does become extreme, it is also never, ever too late to act in a new way in accordance with a true, self-loving belief and turn your life around completely. Never, ever too late.
How can I make the best possible spiritual decision?
Do not beat yourself up about making a perfect decision. There is no perfect way to respond to any lesson, and no need whatsoever to overthink and experience anxiety in the name of choosing one singular, perfectly correct answer in any situation. Think of your decisions as gentle, experimental course corrections rather than life-altering commitments set in stone.
Think of your decisions as gentle, experimental course corrections rather than life-altering commitments set in stone.
A “correct” response to a lesson would be anything at all that you haven’t tried before that feels better than what you have been trying in the past that hasn’t worked. (Especially if you think the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.)
In this particular lesson of an ill-fitting and bland relationship, among infinite possible “correct” responses, you could sit down and talk about your feelings honestly with your partner, rent a place to yourself for a few days to get away, break up, or even have your first shouting match. The point is that there is literally no new action you could take that would not lead you into further understanding and help you make a better decision in the future. There is no need for paralysis by indecision. Make any decision, for the paralysis is the state of confusion and peaceful clarity comes from making a decision aligned with your self-loving beliefs, even a small one.
Will there be confusing points in your spiritual awakening? No doubt. You, my pioneering friend, have elected to attend Earth School. Just try not to fear the confusion, but to let it lift naturally like a layer of fog over a lake.
In Love,
The Universe
