People often expect spiritual growth to feel like a steady rise into peace. At first, it does. Yoga, breathwork, meditation, chakra practice, journaling, and intention setting: these things soften the body and quiet the mind. You begin to feel lighter, clearer, more aware. Life finally makes sense in a deeper way.
Then something shifts.
Suddenly, life becomes more difficult, not less. Emotions intensify. People pull back. Conflict increases. Sensitivity rises. You feel misunderstood. The world that once felt gentle now feels sharp, loud, and unbalanced. And, you start wondering if you have somehow gone backwards.
You have not gone backwards. You have gone deeper.
The easy part is the opening. The hard part is the clearing.
Spiritual awakening not only adds peace. It exposes what blocks peace so that it can be dissolved. That exposure is uncomfortable. The discomfort is not a mistake. It is the correct stage of the process.
The Second Stage of Awakening
The first stage feels like relief. The nervous system finally exhales. The mind loosens its grip. The heart opens.
The second stage is the restructuring. Anything that is not aligned with your deeper truth begins to surface or fall apart. Old patterns, unprocessed memories, emotional debris, outdated relationships, suppressed grief, they rise so they can leave.
It does not feel like healing. It feels like chaos. But chaos is what the mind calls transformation when it does not yet understand it.
My Own Experience With This
I recognized this pattern not because I read about it but because I lived it.
Even as a child, I had a sense that there was more to life than the visible surface. I would slow down and notice things that other people walked past. The way a flower opens. The sound of winter air. The quiet space between words. I could not explain it, but I knew there was something beyond ordinary life, something intelligent and connected.
Years later, my sister and I began working with the chakras. That opened the door wider. We had intense and profound experiences we could not deny. At first, it felt beautiful. Confirming. Expansive. Like a puzzle finally coming together.
Then the difficult stage began.
Not because anything external was wrong but because the inner landscape was shifting. I felt more sensitive to people and environments. Certain conversations felt heavier. Old wounds resurfaced. My inner world was reorganizing itself, and the outer world reacted to that shift.
That is the part people are never warned about. Awakening is not only illumination. It is an excavation.
Yoga and Inner Work Can Trigger the Hard Phase
Many people are surprised when it is gentle practices that awaken the difficult material. Yoga softens the body, which releases stored emotion. Breathwork quiets the mind so buried thoughts rise. Meditation creates space, so whatever was pushed down can expand upward.
Inner work is not soothing because nothing is wrong. Inner work is soothing, so you are strong enough to handle what finally comes up.
The intensity is proof that something real is happening.
Why Things Feel So Personal During This Time
When your identity begins to shift, other people feel it even if they cannot name it. Most relationships are built on unspoken energetic agreements. When one person evolves, those agreements are disrupted. People may resist you, misunderstand you, pull back or become reactive, not because you are doing life wrong but because you are doing life differently.
You are no longer matching their old version of you.
Awakening always creates friction with whatever is built on unconsciousness.
Intention is What Carries You Through the Middle
The hardest part of awakening is not the pain but the uncertainty. The mind wants to know why things are happening. The soul wants to move through what is happening.
This is where intention becomes a stabilizer. A gentle intention such as
I am willing to evolve even when it is uncomfortable
keeps you aligned when the surface feels unstable. Intention is a rail you can hold when the staircase is shifting.
Writing Through It Even If You Do Not Feel Like a Writer
One of the most powerful tools during this stage is writing, especially free writing. You do not need perfect grammar or polished language. And, you don’t need to be a confident writer. Really, all you need is honesty.
Writing is not only about creating something beautiful, but it is also about putting truth where you can see it. Relief comes from expression, not perfection.
You can be a messy writer and still become a clear human being.
You Are Not Falling Apart – You Are Stripping Away What No Longer Fits
If your inner life once felt peaceful and now feels shaken, it does not mean your awakening failed. It means it entered the phase where it becomes real.
The beginning brings light. The middle brings truth. Truth is what frees you.
You are not being punished. You are being restructured.
And the hardness you feel is the friction of a self you can no longer stay inside of.
This is not the end of awakening. This is the doorway to the part that lasts.
If you are going through this hard phase, you don’t need to figure out everything at once. You only need something steady to come back to. Download My Intention Calendar was made for that — one small daily touchpoint so you do not lose yourself while you are transforming.
