Aysha

I know what its suppose to be. I am not sure if I have ever had one. Chances are..probably not since I always keep relapsing.

I am however noticing some huge changes in just my integrity and perception on alot of things.

I dont have so much of that criminal mentality anymore.

I like to go by the book and obey the law for the most part.

Ok so I speed sometimes still.
but I just feel like Karma is goin g to bite me in the azz if I dont do like I am suppose to.

I have believed that anyway ever since I can remember. And recently after my last relapse, I noticed it didnt take long for Karma to kick my azz.

No coincidence in how things went..Not even close.

But the big spiritual awakening. I am working on mine. I am not pushing it. I am just hoping it hits me out of nowhere, or even just look and be like.."OOOOH, I get it!!"

I am curious what others awakening was like. How you kn ew and how you felt. And how it has helped you still.

wpainterw

Mine didn't come all of a sudden, like in a flash of light. Just a growing feeling of happiness, gratitude, and feeling that things were going to be all right. If I continue to work the program. And also a growing feeling that it's time now to give something back and to try to help other folks. And a feeling that I'm no longer alone. Actually I don't think I was alone but I didn't realize that. If I'd been alone I doubt that I would be here today.

W.

LaFemme

I never break the law because I always get caught...I can't even speed...lol:-)

Regarding a spiritual awakening...I've never really had one because I have always felt at leaast some connection to God regardless of how bad I was. I will tell you though, that for me, God resides within each and every one of us...he is not something we find outside of ourselves, although sometimes we can see his reflection in others. But for a personal experience we need to go deep within ourselves, where we are infinite and that is where we connect to our own personal connection to God. Everyone's path though is unique, but we all are able to get there if we believe.

At least that's my hippie,liberal Christian take on it;-p. But it works for me...and even though I didn't have an "awakening" I certainly needed to remember a number of times:-)

Boleo

I have had many "awakenings". Some of them are satori (understanding). Some are like moksha (release). Some are like nirodha (end of suffering).

If you want to know how they feel, read the AA promises.

DayTrader

Sheesh.... I could write a novel and I don't think I'd give it justice. It's a bit like trying to describe a color, or a taste, or what it feels like to be in love. It's probably better for me to leave the description of a spiritual experience up to someone far more able to do so than I am: http://self-helpsoftware.com/system/files/BigBook.pdf - scroll down to page 568 and 569 the "Spiritual Experience" pages.

I think our first "awakening" comes when we realize we're killing our bodies with alcohol and we do what we do to stop. Whether you want to call that a "spiritual" awakening or not is up to you. In a nutshell, what Bill wrote about above is summarized in one line, "Most of us think this awareness of a Power greater than ourselves is the essence of spiritual experience."

I've had a lot of them.....some bigger than others.....some I didn't even notice until after they happened. The main thing to always be open-minded, willing to change, and seeking the next awakening.

BrightLine

There's no such thing as a sudden spiritual awakening, where magic lights point the way to the answers, and you become a saint overnight. At least that's my opinion and experience.

least

I call mine an attitude change, really. My whole attitude about everything seems to have expanded and gone from black and white to color. It didn't happen overnight but I do remember one day feeling differently and noticing it as a psychic change of sorts. Hard to describe but it was a whole different awareness of myself and how I fit into the universe. I feel like I'm seeing things thru new and better eyes.

I still have bad days, but it seems the bad days are the exception, not the rule, and that's a big difference right there.

wpainterw

LaFemme: Yes, yes. For is it not written, "The Kingdom of God is within you."

W.

DayTrader

Those who have had them would beg to differ. Granted, they're not commonplace but they're not nonexistent.

AWOL

I must agree with DayTrader. Those who have experienced a sudden spiritual awakening (for want of a better description) know that such an experience is not about magic lights and saints with shimmering halos; the experience is one of deep understanding and transformative energy that has the capacity to elevate consciousness and help us become who we truly are. As Least said so beautifully, it is as if your attitude changes from black and white to color.

yeahgr8

My experience is a spiritual awakening of the educational variety through the 12 steps of AA...i didn't see a bright light, nor suddenly walked down the road and though wow i have changed overnight...other people saw the changes in me before i noticed them myself....you can aliken a spiritual awakening to a drastic personality change if you like...it takes work and honesty and willingness IMO...

But yeah since doing the work and becoming spiritually awakened i am pretty much unrecognisable by comparison to what i was like before...even physically!

I was waiting for a bright flash of light for years and expected to change overnight...it never happened...

work > spiritual awakening > change > happy, joyous and free

no work <

littlefish

The big book addresses this question in one of the appendices. It points out that there is an alternative to a dramatic moment of awakening: the slow spiritual education.

I am glad that the BB takes up this issue because I wonder if I'll ever have that dramatic moment, I'd be happy if it happens. But I realize it may not happen in the form of a single, powerful moment. I feel that I am moving along the lines of a spiritual education; I learn new things all the time, I look for things to learn, and I feel that spirituality is steadily growing.

Rusty Zipper

trish,

i'm with least,

though my SA is in technicolor! lol

all of the God Shot (Ah-Ha!) (spiritual experiences) moments along the way

add up to my SA

zbear23

I've had quite a few intense spiritual experiences that I might call "awakenings" (even WITHOUT drugs)....but generally I just went right back to sleep.

Carl Jung, who used to be visited at night by a 600 year old Indian Guru, mentions the necessiity for a "psychic shift brought on by a spiritual awakening." I think of this as a paradigm shift....seeing things differently, whether that is sudden or gradual. I suspect it is cummulative....at least it was for me. Perhaps multiple "moments of clarity" finally add up to an awakening?

I didn't wake up as if awakening to a new day. I at some point realized that I was changed. In retrospect, I'd say it was the point where I was able to disperse the fear that had always controlled me, and experience the divine love that is everywhere and always...that is at the core of me. I had to remove the blocks so the sunlight of the spirit, the brightness of the morning, could penetrate the darkness in which I'd been living. Suddenly, I could SEE.

I'm still not entirely free of fear, but now I am able to see it for what it is and allow love to show me a better way.

So, I guess my answer is....when everything changed, but the fact is that nothing changed....except me.

ps. "we have nothing to fear except fear itself" is IMO totally backwards. My problem was that I feared love (god). The fear disappears whenever I'm embracing love, just as the darkness in a room disappears when I turn on the light. I'd suggest that trying to shovel the darkness out of the room is a futile activity.

blessings
zenbear

omegasupreme

If and when it happens you won't have to ask.

glitter

I don't know if I've had that "spiritual awakening" yet, but I do know that I am 8 days short of having 90 days without using any mind-altering substances. How the heck this happened? I don't know. It's been more than 6 years since I've had even several consecutive days clean. Something is working in my favor! I'm just not sure what, but I'm open to hanging around and learning.

Zencat

There is a gradual awakening within me that I recognize by the following shifts in my thinking and action. I now allow things to happen without trying to force them to happen. I have lost interest in judging others and myself. Being able to love others without expecting anything in return. Having a new found appreciation with feelings of being connected with others and nature.

My awakening is coming about, not by way of traditional religious or spiritual means, but rather by way of opening myself to the ultimate reality of life. Buddhist philosophy has been a great aid in building this awakened state within my very being.

Cottonwoodchris

I think I would say basically the same thing for me as well.

coffeenut

I am not a religious person (very hard to type). However, since I have quit drinking I have become very spiritual. At times...this new experience has almost brought me to my knees. I also believe that the more I have become open to this new spirituality....the more I see it.

Omegasupreme hit it for me. You'll know it when you see it.

nogard

Each day clear headed and free