Ascension Sickness & Side Effects You May Experience in Living While Awakened

The point of a spiritual awakening is to shift focus to your spiritual growth in pursuit of enlightenment. When going through a spiritual awakening, you typically expect your spiritual life to evolve. You might not expect, however, the way this process changes other aspects of living as well. There are many side effects you may not even be aware are directly tied into your awakening.

A few weeks ago, I discussed symptoms that are experienced during the initial spiritual awakening process. Because the strange occurrences don’t stop once you progress through the first stages of awakening, this post is a discussion of symptoms that can be experienced when you’re living your life while awakened. Some refer to this as Ascension Sickness. As a “sickness”, it comes and goes in waves of varying lengths as your physical form adjusts to the evolution of your spirit.

Below is a list of things I’m experiencing right now, and often see discussed by others in the spiritual community. It’s unfortunately so uncommon to find honest discussion of these side effects, I wanted open up about what I’ve been dealing with in case it helps someone else. If there is anything you’d like to see an expanded discussion on, or something not mentioned here that you’ve experienced, drop me a note in the comments below.

Spiritual awakening is part of the Ascension process. If you’re not familiar with what Ascension is follow this link for a basic primer (but be warned, it’s quite a rabbit hole to fall into! Think of the movie The Matrix. Investigation into Ascension is equivalent to taking the red pill).

Whether or not you are aware of what Ascension is, our reality is already in the process of expanding all around you. The Oneness of creation is rising above the divisiveness of fear and hate. Polarities are collapsing into states of non-duality as we begin to remember the infinite ways everything is connected. What was merely 3D is becoming 5D. It is our choice whether to ascend and raise our vibration as our world undergoes transformation. The more of us that ascend, the better the chance our planet and us as a people will survive and thrive. Those of a lower vibration are so dead-set on destroying this world through greed, hate, and fear, it’s up to the rest of us to help lift this plane of reality to a better place through light and love.

I’m a few years into my awakening, with all of the intense initial side effects of my spiritual awakening process tapering off months ago. My understanding is that once awakening begins to raise your vibration in earnest, this is what causes the initial side effects. Your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual being are all undergoing transformation at the same time. You’re evolving while incarnated, which takes quite a toll!

Of course, you’re not “done” once you make it through the first stages. Once “awake” you find a new normal, but everything remains in flux to a certain extent. Living a typical day-to-day routine with family, work, social commitments, etc. while awakened is a bizarre experience. As the zen proverb states: “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” Things carry on as they always have, but you are different in fundamental ways. The way you move through reality is impacted on many levels by your heightened vibration. And your vibration may continue to rise! If you commit to this path, you will keep growing and evolving.

Below are some of the things that have been happening to me. I continuously open myself to a deeper understanding of them. Knowledge is conveyed through the spiritual community, but also, and most importantly, from guidance within. Our various experiences as diverse facets of the same divine Source are by definition all very different and stem from unique perspectives. Not everyone will experience the same things I have and this is by no means a comprehensive list. As always, if something doesn’t resonate with you, leave it be and look for something else that does.

Also, with any worrisome physical symptoms, it’s wise to first consult with a doctor to rule out other possibilities first.

Tingling/Vibrating Sensations Within the Body

As your being becomes infused with waves of higher vibrational energy, you will literally be able to feel the energy coursing through your body. It’s a thrumming, shivery, pulsing sensation. It can be draining (sometimes causing insomnia) or enlivening. It can change from day to day or hour to hour. Be kind to yourself as you adjust to these new sensations. Focus on them as a way to stay in touch with your connection to Oneness and Source energy. They can make the “solid” world around you feel more ephemeral and transformative. This is a good thing!

Unusual Sleep/Dreaming

Lately, when rising from sleep I feel like I’ve taken powerful cold medicine or am coming down with something—the deliriousness is so intense. Sleep is heavier. Dreams are more vivid and weirder. Waking up makes me feel like I’ve just been yanked back from traveling in unfathomably far away places. It’s common knowledge in the spiritual community that we do much of our good work in this world while asleep, through astral projection, travel to alternate dimensions and other planes of reality. You’ll become very busy while sleeping, and you’ll feel it!

Sudden Exhaustion

I’ve had exhaustion hit me like a hammer in the middle of the day for no reason. I’ve had it last a few hours or a few days. It’s beyond the normal kind of tiredness, as it encompasses the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self. It makes it near impossible just to function and perform basic tasks. When this happens to you, don’t fight it! Your self is telling you that you need rest, so rest. Do as little as possible. Listen to your intuition, take it easy on yourself, and wait it out. This kind of exhaustion means your energy body has either been busy doing important work and needs to recharge, or that you’re receiving energy downloads to help raise your vibration and activate your DNA codes. This is good news and not something to worry about!

Sudden Waves of Intense Emotion

Awakening can bring a supercharged empathy drive. The smallest, silliest things can make you emotional, and once you’re already emotional it can feel like you’ve been swept away with the tide. It’s intense and a way your energy is magnifying your experience. These emotional moments can also be blocks and attachments rising to the surface for clearing. The best thing to do in all cases is to lean into the emotion. Let yourself face it and feel it, and then let it go. Treat yourself with patience and love, always.

Consistency of Synchronicity

I’ve been experiencing synchronicity for longer than I can remember at this point, but it has become delightfully consistent lately. Almost every time I look at a clock, it’s a multiple of 11 (311, 411, 511, 811, 422, 544, etc). This is in addition to seeing repeating numbers or number patterns in all kinds of places (license plates, signage, computer programs, time stamps, etc). 1111, 222, and 444 are my big ones right now. I also experience mindblowing event synchronicities on a regular basis, along with my husband and daughter. We’ll hear a song at an important moment, and then that song will keep popping up in other places around us. We’ll discuss a topic and then find ourselves surrounded by it when we check our phones. I got the inspiration for my last blog post while on an exercise bike, then began listening to a podcast that surprisingly enough was discussing the exact same topic as my inspiration. It’s weird! But it’s also proof that our entire experience of reality is based on patterning and that nothing at all is a coincidence. When we see these synchronicities, it’s the universe showing us we’re tapping into the flow and reading the energies around us more clearly. Think of them as loving encouragement from the beyond!

Ability to Request Specific Signs

We are always surrounded by our guides and our angels. You can communicate with them, but keep in mind they do so through telepathy and through signs. An easy way to begin communication is to clearly and directly request a specific type of sign from them. For example, I never see feathers as signs, so I requested to see one. The next day I took a walk and there, sticking up out of the grass was a giant, beautiful feather! I found feathers waiting in my path for days afterward.

Stronger Intuition

When we clear the mind (or begin to), we allow our inner voice to speak more freely. Our truth and wisdom will always be found in this core of intuition inside us. It’s our compass, pointing the way. You’ll FEEL which ways you are pulled, which way to sway when making a choice, what to stay away from, and what to pursue. When you let your intuition lead the way, you’ll have nothing to worry about, no matter what may cross your path. It will always steer you toward the best course. Our culture does not encourage searching out quiet so that our inner voice can speak more loudly than the multitude of voices that are around us all the time. But I’m here to tell you everything will become easier, in every conceivable way, if you learn to listen to this source of guidance. Now, when I have a decision to make, no matter large or small, I don’t think about it, I look within to feel which way my intuition is pulling me, and I trust that first. The more you do this, the stronger your intuition will grow!

Activated “Clairs”

During the awakening and ascension processes, your senses may become activated, allowing you greater clarity. “Clairs” such as clairvoyance (clear vision), clairaudience (clear hearing), clairsentience (clear sensation), clairscent (clear smelling), clairtangency (clear touching), clairgustance (clear tasting), and clairempathy (clear emotion) may become activated. This happens as our blocks and attachments clear away, allowing our spirit room to expand our senses into new territories. This is an area I’ve been doing a lot of research, as I’ve been experiencing both clairaudience and clairsentience in increasingly strong ways. I get information through these senses that goes well beyond “normal”. It’s exciting to experience things that break out of the confines of our typical, limited human awareness. However, there is no rule book for this stuff. It’s usually up to us to find our way and figure out how to interpret what we sense. As with everything else, trust your intuition if you begin to experience things. If you’re open to it, welcome the experiences and see where they take you.

Experience with Collapsing Polarities

We like to try and define this world we live in by dividing things into pairs of opposite extremes: light and dark; day and night; up and down; left and right; in and out; wrong and right; happy and sad; love and fear; Democrat and Republican; rich and poor; white and black. The truth is that everything is One. Everything originates from the same Source. I’ve had a few intense experiences lately with the collapsing of these polarities. This happens as our vibration rises to a level where we are interacting with 5D energy. One example of this is that while meditating, I felt an overpowering rush of emotion that encompassed both the deep despair of loss and the elation of pure joy at the same time. It honestly took me an entire day to recover from the experience as echoes of emotion worked their way through me. If you also have an experience of experiencing two extremes at the same time, this is a good indication that you are witnessing this phenomenon. It’s a good thing! You are reaching a state where Oneness is actively overpowering divisiveness.

Living in the Flow State

As I writer, I became familiar with the flow state, where time has no meaning and you’re so invested in what’s actively happening the rest of the world falls away. There is no past or future, no thinking or worrying about anything but what has captured your focus. It’s a wonderful, heightened way to experience being that infuses us with joy and exhilaration. Following awakening, you may begin to live your daily life in the flow state. This is where I’ve been recently. Thought can’t hold me, I just go with things as they happen and deal with them as they arise. I don’t plan ahead or rehash anything after it happens. Living in the flow state lets fate and the universe be your driver, taking you where you most need to go. It’s a wild ride, full of emotion and challenges, but it’s the fastest way forward. You’ll skip all unnecessary detours and float along exactly where you can do the most good.

And More

I could keep going. There is much more to cover that shakes up our world during this transitional state. Your core body temperature may lower slightly. You may become wildly overheated when sleeping. You may experience severe body aches as different chakras open. Headaches. Nausea. Light sensitivity. All of it unexplainable, coming out of nowhere and clearing up on its own. No matter what, as long as you’re sure there is no medical explanation, just allow yourself to rest. Do some journaling or meditation for guidance and clarity. Take it easy. Everything is temporary, so move through whatever phases arise as peacefully as possible, without resistance. Good luck out there.

Love and blessings, friends.