Feeling Lost? – You Might Be in One of the 7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening
- Brainz Magazine
- Apr 3
- 5 min read
Sophia Persephone is a spiritual teacher, international coach, and author who coaches people around the world through every stage of spiritual awakening.
Have you ever felt like the life you once knew has started to dissolve beneath your feet? That everything from your beliefs to your relationships to your sense of reality is being rewritten? If so, you might be going through a spiritual awakening.
I know how disorienting it can feel. One minute, you’re just getting on with life, and the next, everything starts to change. You’re riding a mental and emotional rollercoaster, your ears start ringing, strange synchronicities start showing up, and you begin to wonder: Am I going crazy?
You’re not alone. As a spiritual awakening coach who’s worked with hundreds of clients across the world, I can assure you that what you’re going through is more common (and more closely managed) than you think.
What is spiritual awakening, really?
Spiritual awakening isn’t about adopting a new belief system or becoming “more spiritual.” It’s a profound, often messy process of unlearning everything you thought you knew and rediscovering your true self at a soul level.
It affects your mind, your energy body, your relationships, your career, and even your physical health. It’s not a cute weekend retreat; it’s a full-system reboot.
Why a map matters
The awakening journey can feel like stumbling through the dark with no flashlight. But over the years, I’ve seen clear patterns emerge. The vast majority of people move through the same core stages, even if the details vary.
That’s why I created a 7-stage framework to help people understand where they are and what’s coming next. Having a birds eye view makes the journey a whole lot easier.
Awakening isn’t a linear journey. You may revisit some stages multiple times. At times, you’ll be in more than one stage at the same time. But understanding these phases gives you a guidebook through the chaos, and that’s powerful.
The 7 stages of spiritual awakening
Here’s a high-level glimpse of the 7 stages of awakening (you’ll find the deeper dive in my free eBook here.
Resolution: The inner work begins. You’re clearing emotional baggage, breaking cycles, and starting to ask deeper questions.
Discovery: You go down every spiritual rabbit hole you can find. Books, podcasts, past lives you want to know it all.
Connection: Synchronicities increase. You feel supported, euphoric, and deeply “plugged in.” It's magical until it’s not.
The spiritual dark night of the soul: The lights go out. You feel disconnected, depressed, and like everything you believed might have been a lie.
Higher learning: You release what doesn’t serve you, integrate new wisdom, realign your ego to your new identity, and start to design your purpose.
Ascension: You begin to live from a place of embodied higher consciousness.
Actualization: For a rare few, the compartments of the mind dissolve fully, and they become a clear channel for their higher self and the Council of Light. (No pressure.)
Each of these stages comes with its own lessons, initiations, and gifts. While it’s tempting to rush ahead, each one is essential in preparing you for what’s next.
It’s not all rainbows and visions
Let’s be real: spiritual awakening is not always “love and light.” It’s often messy, painful, isolating, and deeply confusing. We’re human; there’s a lot to untangle!
You’ll question your sanity. You’ll outgrow relationships. You may experience strange physical symptoms, emotional rollercoasters, or a total loss of identity. And yet, you’ll also touch moments of awe, peace, and truth so profound they take your breath away.
The trick is knowing which part of the process you’re in so you stop thinking you’re broken and start realizing you’re being rebuilt.
What most people don’t realize
One of the biggest misconceptions I see is the idea that awakening is a quick flash of insight followed by a blissful new life.
In reality, awakening is a process and usually a long one. It rewires your mind, expands your consciousness, and upgrades your energy field. Heck, even your DNA is updated. Ultimately, it teaches you how to be in the world in an entirely new way.
Behind the scenes, three powerful forces are always at play:
Your mind is transforming: You’re reintegrating with your higher self and shedding old belief systems.
Your energy body is upgrading: Chakras, Kundalini, subtle bodies, and everything gets rewired.
You’re learning soul-level lessons: Boundaries, self-worth, forgiveness, non-attachment these are not optional extras. They’re the curriculum.
Trying to bypass any of these just slows the process down. Awakening asks for your full participation.
So, where are you on the path?
Most people are in Stage 3 (Connection) when they realize something’s ‘going on.’ Others notice when they enter the Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul. But the truth is, you can become aware of the awakening process at any time.
That’s why having a roadmap matters.
Once you understand the shape of the journey, you can stop panicking when things feel hard. You can recognize the gifts inside each stage, even the brutal ones. And you can trust that the process is going somewhere even if you can’t see it yet.
Want the full guide?
For a deeper dive into the 7 stages, download my free eBook here.
If you’re ready to go deeper, my online course A Complete Guide to Spiritual Awakening offers a comprehensive roadmap plus teaches the 12 essential protocols every awakener needs to navigate the journey. Find out more here.
Final thoughts
If you’re waking up, you’re not broken. You’re not crazy. And you’re definitely not alone.
You’re part of something much bigger than yourself. A wave of souls remembering who they are and why they came. It’s intense, but it’s exactly what this planet needs right now.
So, wherever you are on the path, keep going.
Read more from Sophia Persephone Ambrose
Sophia Persephone is a Spiritual Teacher, Author, and Awakening Coach.
She was a leader in the business world before her own awakening led her down a very different path. Today, she works with clients around the world, helping them understand and navigate the awakening process with clarity and support. She is a channel for the Council of Light and Source energy, receiving teachings daily which she shares through her writing and social platforms.
Sophia is the author of The World is Waking Up, How to Get Through the Dark Night of the Soul, and Feed Your Soul: A Diet for Spiritual Ascension. She also runs the blog sophiapersephone.com and has created a comprehensive online course, A Complete Guide to Spiritual Awakening, to support others through this powerful transformation. Her mission is to help every awakener unlock their full potential—and in doing so, support the transformation of our planet.
