Having a Spiritual Awakening Doesn't Always Feel Good

Sometimes I get really mad at spiritual teachers like Eckhart Tolle.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve learned a lot from him and I respect the work he does.

This reaction of mine comes from the fact that he’s a man who doesn’t have kids. And as such, he simply doesn’t know what it’s like to give birth, be a parent, or constantly juggle the needs of small people along with one’s own spiritual journey.

So sometimes when I’m reading his work I say out loud, “DUDE! You're not a mom!”

And I think to myself, “Yeah, that’s nice, but how the heck is that going to work for me? I’m over here with three dogs and one kid and a rare genetic condition. Plus I’m running my own thriving business while single-parenting a good bit of the time, so … how am I supposed to surrender to the present moment in THIS environment?”

If you’ve ever had a spiritual breakthrough only to find yourself feeling lost and wondering, What happened to my peace? – I get it. I’ve been there! And I’m going to tell you all the things I wish someone had told me when I was going through my own hard times.

Here’s the thing. One of the biggest myths out there is that “waking up” is going to feel good. That spiritual awakening is going to be pleasant.

It’s not. It's like being ground into a diamond.

When we get our training as healers, it sucks. It's like training to be a ninja; it’s notoriously difficult.

So when you’re in a really hard season, it may help to remind yourself: You’re in consciousness training right now. And once you go through it, you’re going to be so good at your skills! You're getting refined now, so you can be a leader for others later. This is the way you come into your own voice, your own power.

OK, but I can hear you asking: How, Abigail? How do I wake up in whatever incredibly difficult environment I’m in? How do I create peace inside of me when the circumstances are really tough?

This is where the paradox comes in. When we’re hurting and upset, our tendency is to think that we need to override our true feelings and force peace. But actually, the opposite is true!

Instead of trying to feel peace, tune into what you're actually feeling. Come right back to the body, the sensation, the tears, whatever it is that you’re feeling.

Why? Because when you drop the fight with your emotions, your whole system relaxes. Even when you’re still feeling a not-so-fun emotion, you’re no longer in resistance to it, and that automatically increases your experience of peace.

So now you have a new baseline peace, and, you feel the emotion too. Good news, that's the hardest part already done!

From there, you make the decision that you are creating the magic in your life. You keep that as your focus. Your attitude is, “This is what I want, and, I am creating it.”

You decide that you are going stay conscious even in the midst of this circumstance. And, you have plenty of self-compassion for the moments when you can't. It’s all part of the process.

Lastly, watch your mind. Stop looking for your circumstances to be amazing all the time (that’s a kind of perfectionism, FYI). And instead of constantly criticizing or victimizing yourself, actively look for evidence of another story.

To be specific, look for evidence that, “Good things are always happening for me.”

I know this is a tough one, so let me show you how this played out in my own life recently.

Around my birthday, I put a video out in my community inviting people to join me in a fun challenge. In the video, I coached you to say, “Good things are always happening for me,” and to look for the evidence that that was true.

Then, BAM! I went on a walk with my dogs, slipped on a patch of ice, and fell hard. I hit my knees and dislocated my shoulder too.

As I lay on the ground, I remembered the affirmation. “Good things are always happening to me.” I thought, Hmm, how is that true now?

Here’s what I noticed: I didn't break a bone! I can still play my music! I have an amazing team to help me with my body, and I already have appointments scheduled with them. And my dogs are so well trained now, that they stayed with me as I lay there. They didn’t run off.

As it turned out, there were plenty of good things happening to me, even on the day I fell. And as I noticed them, my experience began changing for the better.

This is some serious Zen training here: Once you can find that deep down peace – such that your environment doesn't matter – then the environment itself will change. And you wouldn’t believe what big magic flows from there.

If you’re “in training” for your calling right now and you know you need to get the magic flowing, come and join my group program.

This is not your typical business building program. Instead of making your life harder, we make it easier. Frankly, good things are always happening here. 😉

From the start, you’ll get my intuitive Celtic Seer vision for your niche (it’s highly accurate!) and have that goosebumps feeling of alignment that tells you you’re on the right path.

Then I’ll help you dive into action with support at your back so that you can start growing your business as quickly as possible. I’ll guide you through designing a signature program and preparing to put it out into the world. My team and I will give you supportive feedback for your messaging and content every step of the way.

Meanwhile, you’ll be learning my manifesting practices that shift you into ease and flow mode and out of hustle mode!

You can learn more about this program here.