Spiritual Awakening Confusion

[benhey-man]

I'm 17 and I have just realised in the last couple of days that over the last 6 months I have been having a spiritual awakening. I gave up eating meat about 8 weeks ago and didn't really know why at the time but I just felt it was wrong and didn't think that humans were ever meant to eat other living things. There are also many other things I have realised and I think that astral projection was the thing which initially triggered it, although I am still unable to AP. I am just a bit overwhelmed at the moment and it makes me confused seeing all my friends have no idea and carry on watching their reality tv shows etc.  I am just a bit confused and some guidance would be really helpful. Thanks a lot.

[BranStark]

Hi.

I know how you are feeling at the moment. Confused is the right word. All the friends around interested in ultra-stupid things and nobody caring about what you are starting to be interested in. Also, you are probably still having some doubts about this whole stuff, if it is real or not. And noone would take you seriously: "I can't hear you, would you please turn the TV up for me, please?"  And it irritates you. Is it right? That is how things worked for me a few years ago, anyway.

Then it all started to settle down onto its place, suddenly people with the same interest started popping up in my life. And quite some amazing things started happening. So I would say chill out, don't take it too seriously, give it some time and see how things will click into its place. Keep your interest, for sure, but don't be too bothered about your environment's ignorance. Respect your friends for who they are, maybe try to nudge them away from TV screens onto a more sensible path, but be subtle and do not force it. One day, they will figure it out, too. And absolutely do not feel anxious. Be glad that you are different. Cherish it. It is horrible to conform. But you are probably beginning to see that now.

I am still unable to understand what the turning point in your life was. Was it just reading about astral projection? I would rather say it was something else, was it not? Try to think about it, maybe you will come up with sth. It just seem weird how AP could have changed your life so dramatically, without you ever experiencing it.

Also, be sure your diet is balanced! There are lot of important vitamins in meat. So be sure you get them from somewhere else. Not pills, though, if you do not have to. And realise you don't have to quit eating meat just because your goal is spiritual enlightment. Be sure you really feel like it dee down.

Good luck.

[benhey-man]

Hi thanks for the reply it's really helpful. Well about a year or so ago my dad introduced to the idea of astral projection and I started to read into it a lot and about the spiritual world, lucid dreaming etc. I have tried AP but I just find I don't have the time to be able to commit at my age with everything going on in my life but I have experienced a lucid dream. I also am a confirmed christian. I started doubting Christianity and everything I have learnt. I think my thirst for wanting to know what is happening got the better of me and I challenged all of my original beliefs. I have also had a girlfriend for the last year, she doesn't believe in any of this but I think our relationship has matured me and may have contributed to me being able to see past the fabrics of our perceived lives as it has been my first proper relationship. I have been a vegetarian for longer than I have realised this spiritual awakening and I don't think I could physically eat meat anymore as I don't really see it to be right to harm any living thing. Just some extra info...

[soki]

I can relate to this. Sometimes when I begin thinking about everything pertaining to OBE, why we are here, what I experienced and what it means, thinking about how it changed my perception of life, I get headaches. And I sometimes begin to feel nervous of overthinking. Everything gets into place by itself, no need to get sick about it.

[PlasmaAstralProjection]

benhey-man I practice astral projection, meditate everyday, do visualizations and I also eat meat since I know that that is how our genetics has evolved us. Our genetics says we do best with some meat since our ancestors ate meat. I also plan on do some stand up comedy even. So IMO the spiritual path and a worldly life style aren't mutually exclusive. Meaning there is nothing wrong with mixing them. Though if you insist on eating no meat. Make sure you also eat things to replenish the nutrients in meat you normally can't get in a vegetarian diet. Like vitamin B12. Supplement or not it doesn't really matter.

Other than that I too have struggled through the years to keep a spiritual practice with me. But I still keep coming back since I know that it is really good for me to continue this path.

Peace.

[Kzaal]

Welcome to the Astral Pulse benhey.
Hopefully you will figure out all the good stuff to learn from spirituality.
In the meantime, don't worry about your friends and their spiritual views... if they are intrigued by that you might want to start a conversation with them but, sadly the spiritual path is a lonely road.
Everyone needs to find their own path and conversations (in real life, with your friends etc.), might end up more into an argumentation and very sad moments where you would feel depressed by their view of the world etc.

For exemple, my best friend which I've know for 14 years never cared about spirituality and all our conversations have been really boring now since we always talk about the same stuff like video games and idk, tv series or whatever, it gets really boring in the end.
But you know, I've seen how he is over the years, projection and meditation helps you being stronger for facing problems in every day life.
And well my best friend, he's not as strong as I thought he was, maybe part due because he has 2 kids now, and his girlfriend seem horrible with him.
They're supposedly always fighting and he always has the worse jobs in the world but anyway...
I think some people just don't want to hear about Spirituality, for them it's long forgotten and they like their boring life.
And it just doesn't interest them at all. You will know it when people are REALLY interested into spirituality, they will talk to you about it.
Otherwise I wouldn't because it's always a rocky path and those argumentations, even if you're not someone who argue and would just drop the conversation, they can get messy and some people can hurt your feeling about it.
I'm not even talking to my best friend anymore... He just doesn't call me anymore not because I did anything bad, it's just, it doesn't work anymore, we don't have anything to say to each other when we meet.

Like I said, spirituality is a lonely road and although forums can be a great help to find your path, most of the work you do will be on yourself.
Worst thing you can do is try to convince someone that your spiritual path is the way to go I think.
You may be a little young tho, with school and everything (I would really dissuade you from talking about spirituality at school, because there can be a lot of bullies who would throw insults at you, just because they don't understand).
But yeah, continue on the forums, read some books about it, try meditation and Astral Projection, Chakras, Kundalini, Taoism and Buddhism are also a really good way to start. And all of this can be done at home on your free time.

Feel free to browse the forums there's a lot of information here. And if you have more questions, we will try to answer those as best we can!

Kzaal

[PlasmaAstralProjection]

If you feel like you need emotional support by talking to people about spirituality there is a really good website to meet other people of the same beliefs in your area called www.meetup.com check it out and type the interests that you like the most and find local people just like yourself that are on the spiritual path.

[Bluefirephoenix]

Awakening can be confusing at first. Things will eventually clear up. It's important to meditate a couple times a day consistently. That will help. Don't worry about projecting. You doing it but your not lucid at this point. That comes with development.  This is a normal part of spiritual development. It's also important right now to get your life going and develop a healthy relationship with the physical world. It means that work and school are still very important. If you physical life is chaotic you will not make much spiritual progress so physical growing up is necessary and important to finding the reason why all this is going on.

Enjoy the unity with the universe but don't focus on physical sensation when those moments happen. Instead go deeper and allow the presence in further.

[Xanth]

I'm 17 and I have just realised in the last couple of days that over the last 6 months I have been having a spiritual awakening. I gave up eating meat about 8 weeks ago and didn't really know why at the time but I just felt it was wrong and didn't think that humans were ever meant to eat other living things. There are also many other things I have realised and I think that astral projection was the thing which initially triggered it, although I am still unable to AP. I am just a bit overwhelmed at the moment and it makes me confused seeing all my friends have no idea and carry on watching their reality tv shows etc.  I am just a bit confused and some guidance would be really helpful. Thanks a lot.

How do you feel your interactions with other people are?  Especially those people you don't know? 

[rainbow_light]

I think I can relate. It sounds like you're feeling alienated due to your greater interest in spirituality & ethics in comparison to others in your life. It can be a lonely path, at least until you have gained greater independence and can meet up with those who share your interest in person.

One way of looking at my situation that at least gives me comfort is according to the theory of "soul ages" explained here, which aligns with many of the theories of the wider reality developed by OBE authors. It could be that you're simply an old soul who's drawing on a greater subconscious store of wisdom than most others on this planet, which is considered to be dominated by young and mature souls.

I too found myself being drawn towards spiritual practice. I also found that I had all sorts of inexplicable intuitive convictions about things that often clashed with the commonly held worldview and values of the community I was raised in. Fortunately, I had the courage to "follow my heart", as it were, and I haven't regretted it for a second.

Another interesting theory to check out is Dabrowski's theory of Positive Disintegration, which could give encouragement to stick it out through all the questioning and inevitable disillusionment.

One thing I'd just like to point out is that "spiritual awakening" is generally used to refer to a permanent breakdown of some or all of the sense of a separate self - which is within everyone's grasp, but it doesn't seem to be what has occurred in your case. Like the stages of Positive Disintegration, there's generally a set path that one walks to get there, involving a lot of meditation practice and questioning of your perception. In Theravada Buddhism it's referred as the Progress of Insight. In Christian mysticism you have Saint John of the Cross's Dark Night of the Soul, referring to "the journey of the soul from its bodily home to its union with God".

[BranStark]

Hi thanks for the reply it's really helpful. Well about a year or so ago my dad introduced to the idea of astral projection and I started to read into it a lot and about the spiritual world, lucid dreaming etc. I have tried AP but I just find I don't have the time to be able to commit at my age with everything going on in my life but I have experienced a lucid dream. I also am a confirmed christian. I started doubting Christianity and everything I have learnt. I think my thirst for wanting to know what is happening got the better of me and I challenged all of my original beliefs. I have also had a girlfriend for the last year, she doesn't believe in any of this but I think our relationship has matured me and may have contributed to me being able to see past the fabrics of our perceived lives as it has been my first proper relationship. I have been a vegetarian for longer than I have realised this spiritual awakening and I don't think I could physically eat meat anymore as I don't really see it to be right to harm any living thing. Just some extra info...

It is good that you have your doubts, keep asking questions rather than going with the flow and don't stick to a view that your surrounding environment imposed on you mindlessly.

When I was a kid, my mum and especially grandparents forced me into christianity: bought me Bibles for children, made me go to church... Even though they had the best intentions in mind,it was kind of a brainwashing. And as a young kid that I was I believed everything. But as I grew older, it started to annoy me that they made me go to church and I also began to see the flaws of the church and I could not stand it any longer. And because I was stubborn, I turned my back on them. But still, I was a child, easy to be influenced so I accepted my father's beliefs of an atheist, because it made sense to me at the time. And my belief stayed the same until after I had my OOBE. First after that, I started to develop my own ideas on what the world is about. And I amsure it was a big step forward.

The point I am making is not that it is bad to be a Christian, but that you should not let others influence your views. If you still find out that the Christianity is right for you, so be it. But you need to make the decision on your own in an unbiased manner, aka you need to know it is right. You see, I have had different beliefs forced upon me by others in the course of my life and both proved to be bad for me.

I hope you will figure it out soon

[benhey-man]

Lots of replies!! Thanks a lot for the advice.
Xanth - I am normally quite good at interacting with people I don't know as I do like being introduced to new people etc. I think that's one of weird things, I have also been more extroverted and now I think I am becoming more introverted. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing as I enjoy spending time alone. I still have all my close friends but the people that I am just friends with to a smaller extent I just would rather spend less time with at the moment. 
Bran - I completely agree with your views on Christianity and unfortunately I cannot agree with the ideas and conformity of religion. This is something I decided on my own and I agree that it feels like brain washing, I believe Christianity and other religions teach good practices, ie love every one around you, but I also believe it is a system created to control the masses. I have had all of my realisations on my own and share my thoughts with only a couple of people who actually understand me and want to hear it.
A weird thing is about a week ago I tried by myself to think up what I really believed about the world and spirituality, with no influence from this forum or anything at all. The things I realised that I believed fit straight into this category, away from normal religion and atheism and I looked up all these things a couple of days later and they were general thoughts within communities. Which is weird that I came up with them on my own and they turned out being exactly the same as some of the general views. What I don't understand is the spirituality side of things, is it a religion or a way of life or a science behind our actual existence or even something else?
Thanks

[Kzaal]

The spirituality is a way to connect everything together, it's a philosophy of going deeper into one's consciousness to look for your own path toward your enlightenment or looking for answers as to how the world/nature/universe or life works.
It's also deeply connected with valors, morales and feelings/emotions and try to understand the how and the why we act a certain way in certain situations.
It's not really a religion, altho it is certainly very connected to a sense of higher being (god/source/chakra/energy/etc.).
It is a way to connect with yourself and find the peace of mind or true love/unconditional love, that most are looking for via meditation/astral projection/lucid dreams or just by theorizing about metaphysics and such...

Spirituality links all religions together and everything spiritually related in order to find the truth.

This is why it's not that much popular with the young people because their mind is occupied with other business such as video games, social life, work, etc.
Most people won't look for a truth unless they have seen signs of things they simply can't explain with science or anything else.
Spirituality and spiritual communities are there to guide you on the path of the truth I guess. Or whatever you are searching for spiritually related.

[Xanth]

Ah, the eternal question of "what is enlightenment".  You'll find different answers and perspectives on that question.  None of which are right and none of which are wrong.

I personally subscribe to what Adyashanti teaches on that question:
http://www.unlimitedboundaries.ca/2014/02/13/adyashanti-myths-of-enlightenment-awakening/
http://www.unlimitedboundaries.ca/2014/03/21/adyashanti-different-qualities-awakening-2/

Check the videos out which I posted there.  They provide his perspective very well on the subject.
In a nutshell, enlightenment is about finding the truth about yourself.  Whatever form that truth may take.