By Sarah Regan

The notion of spiritual awakening has been around for centuries and can be observed in a variety of cultures and religions around the world. Call it "nirvana"; call it "enlightenment"; call it "bliss"; a spiritual awakening begins the moment a person can step back and "awake" to their life with a new sense of being in this world.

Spiritual awakenings can be mildly unnerving at first, as they often cause us to grapple with questions like, Who am I, and why am I here? But there can also be a certain element of wonder and excitement when we find ourselves suddenly feeling very much alive.

"The idea of the spiritual awakening was popularized in the Western world by famed psychiatrist Carl Jung (who described the process as coming back to the original Self), but the experience of rising to a higher state of consciousness has always been an intrinsic part of what it means to be human."

What causes a spiritual awakening?

A spiritual awakening can be triggered by anything, from the completely mundane to the completely life-altering.

"Spiritual awakenings can be spontaneous," she says, "but for most, they are triggered by major life changes or traumas such as life-threatening illnesses, car accidents, divorces, war, pandemics, quarter-life or midlife crises, mental health crises such as clinical depression or anxiety, or even a near-death experience." spiritual author Shannon Kaiser

21 signs and symptoms of a spiritual awakening.

Here are some signs that you're going through a spiritual awakening or are about to embark on one:

1. You feel disconnected or detached
2. You've reevaluated your beliefs
3. Your dreams are more vivid
4. You experience more synchronicities and deja vu
5. Your relationships begin to shift
6. You feel spirituality becoming an important part of your life
7. You're more intuitive
8. You can sense inauthenticity and manipulation
9. You realize everyone is on their own path
10. You want to be of service
11. Your teachers find you
12. You feel alone
13. You feel more connected to the natural world
14. Your senses are heightened
15. You have more bodily sensations
16. You may have physical symptoms
17. Your outlook on the world feels different
18. Increased empathy
19. You display more compassion
20. You have a newfound curiosity

*to read more about spiritual awakenings, click here

Sarah Regan Spirituality & Relationships Editor at Mindbodygreen.com

Sarah Regan is a Spirituality & Relationships Editor, a registered yoga instructor, and an avid astrologer and tarot reader. She received her bachelor's in broadcasting and mass communication from State University of New York at Oswego, and lives in Buffalo, New York.