Spiritual Awakening And The Reshaping Of Identity By Julie Redstone At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

There are certain times in life when one wishes that the limitations of self could be other than they are, and that the personal characteristics and attitudes that have been troublesome in the past could simply disappear.

Often, efforts of will to eradicate these undesirable emotional habits and tendencies are found to be unsuccessful, and after a short time of seemingly positive improvement, one reverts to the old patterns and ways of being.

The tendency to remain in the status quo of who we are is based on the structure of personality – its motivations, defenses, and ways of obtaining satisfaction in the world. Frequently, when such patterns have been long-standing, despite one's best efforts, they are difficult to change.

However, what cannot readily be changed through effort and will, can often be changed in seemingly miraculous ways by a shift in energy which allows new motivations and impulses to move through the self. This is the nature of spiritual awakening and of spiritual life in general – that it awakens the self-identity that lives beneath the external personality structure, and gives to the unhealed self a way to obtain new hope and a new capacity for transformation. This change takes place not through effort, but through the power of new light and new energy entering the situation.

Healing through spiritual awakening occurs when the center of personality, with all its complex interactions within every area of life, becomes influenced itself by a shift in the deeper levels of consciousness. It is at this level that basic assumptions about the nature of reality govern the expression of attitudes and behavior in the world.

For example, if one has been afraid of speaking in public due to embarrassment and the fear of being judged, it can happen that a breath of spiritual air blows through awareness, allowing the self to feel upheld in a new way from within. As this takes place, a sense of inner solidity and safety can begin to make itself felt, so that without any effort of will or any external change, the fear of speaking in front of others suddenly vanishes.

Or, take another example. The sense of self-criticism and blame may have haunted one throughout life, produced by childhood or other circumstances. Whatever the causes, such tendencies are generally difficult to erase, especially as new or challenging situations arise. As the personality-self awakens to its spiritual roots, self disparagement begins to melt in the light of greater love.

Such love is not a concept nor something one tries to apply to the self in a deliberate way. Nor does it need to be reinforced by others. The nature of spiritual awakening is such that the energy of love itself begins to move through the heart, coming from one's own higher-identity that lives and breathes within a different reality. The soft infusion of the vibration of love then begins to break down the deeply held self-critical beliefs, replacing these with tolerance, kindness, and compassion.

When such deeply held tendencies begin to be altered by an influx of new energy and consciousness, we can say that spiritual awakening is taking place, even if a person has not been particularly 'spiritual' before. We can also say that identity is being reshaped so that a new person is coming into being.

This is a great blessing for the embodied self which may have waited a long time to experience deep change and healing. And yet, despite the fact that the self has waited long, there can also be fear of letting go of the old ways of being and the old protections that have felt useful. It is here that a willingness to trust the new is needed - to let it carry one into changed circumstances and a new way of life.

Trusting the new is not always easy, however, though it is simple when one can actually put it into practice. Typically, love and light come gently and insert themselves into the heart in need of healing. They do not announce themselves with force, but seep silently into the heart, creating a sense of hope and the possibility of looking at old situations and circumstances in new ways. In order to allow these forces to work and identity to reshape itself to the fullest extent possible, trust must accompany this shift, emanating from the heart, even when the mind may desire to keep the old structures and defenses in place.

At times, the movement toward a new identity can be frightening. It can lead to periods of time in which one does not know how to 'be' in the world or how to function in ordinary situations.

It can lead to other passages in which one is no longer the self of the past, yet not the self of the future either.

This in-between state can be upsetting and disorienting. It can create a desire to revert to old behaviors in order to hold onto something that is more familiar.

Prayer, and the comfort of others who can support one through the process of 'becoming' and through the times of disorientation is often extremely important in dealing with the upheavals of this time. Through anchoring in Divine light and love, and through associating with others who can help hold the new and emerging sense of truth and identity, even in the presence of fear, the passage through the difficulties of this time can be moved through more easily, and the new identity come into fruition.

In this time of intensifying light on the Earth, many are going through an identity shift, some with fear, some with grace. It is the time for letting go of what has been, including who one has been in the past, and for accepting the new soul-impulses that are awakening within one's consciousness.

This time of awakening is happening collectively, through it is experienced personally. On the other side of whatever uncertainty and confusion exists, what will be able to open out with greater depth and certainty than has been possible before, is a self that knows who it is and what it is here to do, and that finds within itself the stability, love, and hope it has always sought that is its Divine heritage and birthright.

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