Dear Soul Arcanum:
I’ve read that when your first child was born, you were launched on a spiritual journey. I’m very curious about this. Would you mind sharing what it was about this child or about the birth process that led to awakening? I’m beginning training as a doula, and I’m excited to participate in the amazing changes that childbearing can bring. I would like to address this experience in my capacity as a childbirth educator. Many thanks!
– Kathe
Dear Kathe:
First I want to explain that everyone is in the process of spiritual awakening; most of us are just going about it so gradually that we don’t really notice it. To awaken spiritually is really just to expand in consciousness, which is a natural product of experience.
There are turning points, however, when we wake up to the truth that there is far more to life than what can be perceived with the five physical senses. This generally involves territory that we consider to be overtly “spiritual” in nature, such as having psychic experiences or being able to consciously manifest what we want in our lives. It is at this point that I think most people use the term spiritual awakening.
As this is such a profound transformational shift, it’s natural for it to affect a person on every level, and to change the very way they look at life or the nature of reality. This process can feel very messy, uncomfortable and out of control, but it can also feel fascinating and exciting.
We all go through natural growth cycles, and some even go so far as to say that these cycles last about seven years. (It’s interesting to note that this is also the amount of time that doctors say it takes for us to replace every cell in our bodies with new cells – so we literally become a new person every seven years.)
At the end of each cycle, we tend to grow restless and dissatisfied, which creates the desire to explore something new. We then go in search of whatever may be missing in our lives, choose what resonates with us, and devote ourselves to it. With time, we master it and may even teach it to others. Then it becomes so familiar that it no longer thrills us the way it used to, and before long, we’re restless again. At the beginning of each cycle of spiritual development, we awaken to new realizations, new possibilities, and new personal abilities.
This is the path of someone who gradually grows more interested in spiritual matters and begins to read books, take classes, and try things like meditation or yoga. These explorations then lead to other new interests or higher levels of practice and gradual spiritual growth. It’s a bit like awakening slowly on a weekend morning, remembering where you are, what happened yesterday, and what you are going to do today.
By contrast, a sudden awakening is like being startled by a thundering crash in the middle of the night, not knowing what’s happening, if you’re safe (and sane) or not, and what you should do next.
There are many things that can suddenly wake people up. Any sort of intense stress or loss can spark a spiritual awakening, including physical abuse or other trauma, childbirth, a near death experience, etc. The stress doesn’t have to be physical, however; often it’s a divorce, the death of a loved one, or a major career or business failure that launches an awakening.
Of course, not everyone who gives birth awakens, nor does everyone who goes through a divorce. It depends on how ready you are to wake up and how far beyond your comfort zone you are pushed. When our egos are stripped of their illusions of control and begin to crack under the strain of whatever is happening, that’s when divine light begins to pour in.
As for why pregnancy is so often a time of awakening for women, I have a few theories. First, pregnancy can be a very stressful, anxious time for many women, especially first-time mothers. Personally, I have never felt more vulnerable or out of control than when I was pregnant. Knowing that you have no choice but to surrender to pregnancy and childbirth could prove very unsettling for anyone with control issues.
Pregnant women are also literally channels to the spirit world, as they are bringing souls through to this world from the other side. This opens something of a portal to all sorts of intuitions and other spiritual phenomena, which can blow a woman’s mind open to all kinds of new possibilities.
Also, when a woman is carrying a highly spiritual child, it’s natural for the child to influence her own vibration. This is sort of like being in the presence of a guru non-stop for nine months. While I believe that most children have higher vibrations than their parents because we are all evolving, if a woman is carrying a very psychic or spiritual child, odds are good that at least during the pregnancy, her own vibration will rise, her psychic abilities will suddenly kick in, etc. This is largely what I attribute my own awakening to.
Pregnancy is also a time when many women cultivate a deeper sense of peace and love. They may take better care of themselves than ever before, and slow down to just “be” for the first time in their lives. They may begin to ponder life and where we all come from as they never have before. They may also feel very happy and grateful for the child they’ve conceived, and all of these will raise a woman’s vibration, which will naturally lead to higher spiritual experiences.
This brings me to the greatest reason I believe that pregnant women often experience spiritual awakening or the sudden development of new psychic powers. Pregnancy is one of the only times women have both a very high vibration and a very strong connection to a soul in the spirit world. Because their vibration is high, many pregnant women are able to consciously perceive signs and messages from the spirit of their unborn baby.
There are only a few times when spirits in the afterlife are super motivated to get through to us: when we’re in grave danger, when they’ve just crossed over, and just before they are to be born. When we’re in danger, much depends on how receptive we are. Often spirits are successful in warning us at such times simply because they try so very hard.
When they’ve just died, our vibration is usually very low with grief, so we can’t connect with them consciously even though they may be trying very hard to comfort us.
Just before a loved one in Spirit is to be born, however, our vibration is generally very high, which is ideal for spirit contact. Thus many women experience signs, messages, dreams, intuitions, etc., from the spirits of the babies they are carrying.
This is actually quite common, and much has been written about it. For more information, you might begin by exploring the work of Elisabeth Hallet at www.light-hearts.com. I also recommend Carol Bowman’s research.
May the love and care you give to new mothers and babies bring you many blessings!
– Soul Arcanum
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