Spiritual awakening is a goal that everyone seems to be looking for. Ever since the prehistoric period, people seem to be in quest for a divine union and enlightenment. There are different ancient rituals performed by different groups of people worldwide. Indigenous cultures that still exist today, shows us a glimpse of how ancient people tried to have a deeper understanding of the earth and the spirits.
People sometimes refer to this as a great realization. Sometimes it is known as a state of enlightenment. Whatever you decide to call it, the state of spiritual awakening is something that people realize. Some will offer guidelines and by following their steps for spiritual awakening will you reach that state of enlightened spirit. And through these steps, people will soon realize or reach that level of awareness, enlightenment or spirituality. Some will argue, otherwise, saying that the awakening is a deep and often philosophical experience where man realizes his own true nature and finds ways to maintain a balanced life relative to his environment and thus only happens unplanned and often unexpectedly.
Unfortunately, rituals are considered to be of old-world and not accepted in our current times. It is brushed off as an irrational, superstitious and primitive act. The Church has totally rejected these rituals, quoting them as pagan acts and condemned them. Through these rituals, people are able to understand and journey towards spiritual awakening.
Spiritual awakening and enlightenment appears to be part of religious practices. Spiritual awakening is a religious experience where the person who is enlightened had contact with the divine and supernatural. It has been part of different traditions and practices, encompassing different religions.
Enlightenment is subjective since it fits with the individual’s perception and understanding of divinity and religion. It is also something which other people who do not share the same views may find different and sometimes frightening. Even though, different religions have different understanding of the divine and supreme being, awakening experiences do appear to have commonalities, as well as their differences.
Different religions and traditions share that spiritual awakening, and other religious experiences require that the person detach himself or herself from the world and unite with God or gods and goddesses. The person would have a deeper connection to the world after the awakening. They would also attain innate knowledge and understanding of the world and other people.
In the ancient times there were mystery schools dedicated to discovering and exploring the mysteries of life and therefore touching some aspects of spirituality. These schools flourished in Egypt, Tibet and Persia.
Ancient Egyptians have toning of special chants and sounds which took place during midnight in different locations like the sacred man-made lake and the secret chamber below the Great Sphinx. This chanting and sounds stimulate a part of the mind which can open up the brain to universal energy and electrical stimulation. This could unleash or release your psychic gifts and abilities. Once it has been opened, more psychic and spiritual gifts will be experienced by the person. Gifts would include intuition, creativity, clairvoyant abilities, and emphatic abilities.
Aside from that, ancient Egypt recognizes the end of the year as the time of reckoning, reflection and engendering towards spiritual enlightenment. Ushet Rekhat or Mother Worship starts with a meditation ritual which strengthen the understanding and devotion of the follower. Meditation would also draw wisdom and health to those who share the ritual.
Homa is an Indian ancient fire ritual which is done with the intention of helping you have good relationships, find a partner, have children and even remove bad karma or negative aspects in a horoscope.
In Buddhist and Hindu traditions, tantra is used to express and advance spirituality. Tantra is not really a tradition but are rituals that maintain spiritual core. Tantra, the word itself, means web and enlightenment. This has been used in ancient India to attain spiritual enlightenment and advancement. Today, Tantra has evolved into a sexual/spiritual phenomenon. Unfortunately, the ritual which used to be a path to awakening is now used for sexual perversion and scattered among pornography and prostitution.
Ancient Iran also have a unique way of looking at spiritual awakening and enlightenment. To achieve awakening, it is important to attain spiritual perfection and later on immortality of the soul. Spiritual strength is also important in realizing God.
In Tibet, interestingly the making of the thangkas paintings is supposed to lead to developing attitudes like peacefulness, patience, perseverance, concentration, self-development and spiritual enlightenment. Thangkas paintings are similar to the art of pata chitra, which was very well known in India as early as the 1st century. The ancient practices are still being used today.
Whether these rituals are credible and applicable until now, most of the indigenous tribes who started these rituals are still practising and believing them today. Spiritual awakening is not only achievable by undergoing different rituals among different regions, this inner and self-communication should start from the person looking for spiritual awakening.
Just to stress on the point, the transformation that a person undergoes upon a spiritual awakening depends on the how they see and understand divinity and religion. Not all of these personal transformations could happen to everybody who has experienced enlightenment. In some religion, some of these transformations are not acceptable while other traditions and religions would foresee these transformation essential.
Aside from the self-transformation you get from having a spiritual awakening, there are a number of benefits that you can get out of the same experience. Soul awakening and self-development leads to a balanced life. Eventually, the same balanced life will lead you to a happy and fulfilled life. But don’t get me wrong, the ending is great but even the process can be quite a rewarding experience. What spiritual awakening can do for you is more than just the physical benefits. You might not see it now but when you have reached that state of spiritual enlightenment, you will be glad that you went through the whole thing.
In reaching spiritual awakening you need meditation. And meditation itself has lots of benefits. Meditation can relieve stress for one thing which is truly ideal especially in the busy lives we have today. Working in the city and a highly stressful environment can bring a toll to the mind and body. Having daily meditation time can help relieve the stress and can in the long run make you healthier and your life longer. It will lead you to finding your true self and determining your real potential.
The effects of meditation might not be felt immediately. Some might even feel a little stress from the exercise but eventually when you do this on a more or less regular basis you will start to feel the effects kick in. It might take some time before you feel a certain level of calmness and peace but it will come. You will start to feel happier with yourself and with your surroundings. You will start finding the best out of a situation and not feeling depressed or angry all the time. You will become more patient and you can connect with other people more now. And not only that but you will find that you have a better understanding of who you are, a better understanding of your own consciousness. You will find that not only did your physical body improve and become healthier but your overall emotional and spiritual state will have grown to some extent.
Meditation is often visualized as an Eastern tradition where the person sits in a circle surrounded by candles and saying mantras or humming. Currently, meditation and its benefits are recognized and is far from what we had in mind before. Aside from the calming effect that it could bring, meditation is often said to be a path to awaken the spirit and start the journey towards spiritual awakening.
Meditation has different schools. Each school would have its own thought about meditation. There are also different techniques for meditation and it can also be classified based on their focus. There are meditative techniques which focus on a field or a background perception, while there are others which focus on a specific object.
Meditation is used to calm the mind and relax the body. Tension, stress and anxiety can be relieved by performing simple techniques. Aside from the inner peace that meditation brings, it can also improve the body’s total and general health. It is also a great way of improving your concentration. There are studies showing the relation between meditation and other concentration exercises with the performances of athletic and sport professionals.
Health benefits of meditation would include better circulation, deeper level of relaxation, increase in exercise tolerance among heart patients, regularizing blood pressure, reduces anxiety attacks and muscle tension, helps against allergies, arthritis, and shows significant help for those who are recovering from operation or surgery.
With this concentration process, you get to listen to the inner self and separate from the pressures of daily life. Understanding the inner self would lead to understanding of our higher self. This would increase our knowledge and understanding of how the higher self unites with the universe. In meditation, you get the chance to tap into your inner self and get in touch on how it sees your life. Getting in touch with the inner self will provide guidance towards our happiness and fulfilment.
