The initial stage of a spiritual awakening can come at a shock. On one hand, you’re feeling all of this bliss and energy is coursing through you like never before. And on the other hand, your motivation to keep up with the minutae of life slowly dissapates.
It’s not uncommon for you to lose almost all motivation in your previous hobbies, career, and some relationships.
When you’ve lost your motivation after a spiritual awakening, the best thing to do is stay calm. You’re now in a period of introspection and need to reorient yourself before making any impulsive decisions.
Why We Lose Motivation After Spiritual Awakening
The initial shock can almost physically throw you off balance within your new world. You may no longer have an interest in your office job or the friends that you once had.
Your old beliefs, thoughts, and ideas about the world are shattered when the illusion of maya is seen through. Your ego is destroyed, leaving your previous idea of life destroyed. This is why you lose motivation after a spiritual awakening, you just don’t know what to do!
The best thing to do is take a deep breath and be patient. It may take years of acclimation until you’ve “almost” got it and even then you might feel a little off-balance.
When I first awoke, I had no interest in going to college. I just wanted to sit in my room and ponder. I was forced to continue on a “normal” life path, but I knew that I wouldn’t make it through a four-year program let alone a single semester. I wasn’t able to live normally, I had so much going on within that focusing on anything other than myself was a burden.
It took me a few years to find my balance again and my purpose, the initial stages are just about finding your bearings in this newfound world of awakening.
Before you make any big decisions, take some time to do deep introspection. You’ll thank yourself later.
How to Deal With The Lack of Motivation
In a previous life, you may have worked a job for the money or chased after relationships that you thought would make you happy.
A spiritual awakening is there to show you that a materialistic path is no longer viable. In fact, the universe may even rip these things away from you to teach you a lesson.
During my initial “honeymoon” phase of awakening I distinctly remember telling my friends I didn’t want to see them any longer, I had “outgrown them”. The irony is, they’re still my good friends today. I was dealing with my own internal issues and I was mistaking my relationships instead of looking within.
While your lack of motivation likely stems from the fact that you have had a powerful experience and life feels a bit dull to you in comparison, don’t forget that there is life to live as well.
You likely have bills, a job, friends that you have to attend to. Attend to them, make sure you are in a good position but let yourself isolate if need be.
I self-isolated for quite some time during my initial awakening and I really felt like I had a lack of motivation for what seemed like years. It took me time to get the hang of it before I started to pick up some new hobbies and new friends that were in line with my purpose.
While you may be changing as a person whose ideals are completely different, remember that it is ok to give yourself a break during this time. This isn’t a marathon, there is no need to rush. This phase of your awakening will eventually pass.
Imagine yourself as a baby who has just awoken for the first time. Does a baby know how to speak as soon as it’s born? Does it know how to walk?
It’s the same concept, you’ve just awoken from a lifelong dream, and now is the time for you to look inward and regain balance in your life. You’ll need to learn how to operate in this new world one day at a time until it all falls in place.
Moving Forward
Having no motivation during a spiritual awakening is normal but what happens after? Will there always be no motivation?
Motivation will come back but your motivation will be wildly different from what you were inclined to do before.
Before my awakening, I was heavily into weight lifting and micro-managing everything that I ate. My drives before were full of ego. I didn’t want to accept the reality, and eventually, I got an illness that prevented me from lifting any longer. I was forced to give up something that was solely fueled by ego.
That’s the thing with spiritual awakening, it doesn’t really matter what you say or do. If it’s the incorrect thing for your path the invisible hand of the universe will come in and correct you. This is the flow of awakening that you will become accustomed to.
I still enjoy playing video games as I did before and I still do have some of the same hobbies as I did before. What is different though is what my true purpose in life has become. Before my awakening, I just wanted to make money and become rich. Now, I understand that this will just lead me down an unfulfilling path. I’ve visited this empty dead-end already and there is no end to the black hole that is ego.
You will encounter something very similar in your experience, something you want to hold on to, something you don’t want to let go of, but it will be taken from you. That’s something we don’t really sign up for when you embark on our spiritual journey but that’s exactly what it is at the end of the day. A process of letting go.
Understand that your lack of motivation during your spiritual awakening is just you letting go of your old self. Eventually, you will have to let go completely and there shall be nothing left but the present moment. As it should be!
Conclusion
The loss of motivation will not last forever. An awakening is there to put up a mirror for you to reflect on your life. It’s likely that you won’t have the same egoistic drives that fueled you before you woke up. What once was is no longer. This is the point in your journey that you must reflect on.
The journey forward can be confusing. The loss of motivation may seem that it will be here forever. It won’t, it’s important that you find trust within your experience as these feelings are here to help you rather than harm. You may have to give up your office job or your hobby, which is the invisible hand of the universe at work. It may hurt, but the future is holding something brighter for you.
Trusting this experience is going to be vital. Without trust, it will feel that all of our experiences are against us rather than working for us. Within this “Oneness”, you are complete. This moment is perfect, even if it seems hard to get through. Find joy in these moments, that is your homework.
I’m currently in this situation. It’s nice to feel blissful and have a deep sense of peace but I know that I still have to operate “normally”. I’ve been feeling like I should do something but nothing has been peaking my interest. I was let go from my job of 17 years a few days after waking up(not related) and I haven’t feared or worried about anything since. Waking up seems to be a double edged sword. I would love to hear about how you acclimated back into society. Thanks for posting this.
Hey Gerald, you’re totally right in that waking up is a double-edged sword! You’ll notice that past all the feelings you’re experiencing still, at the foundation of it all you’re still a human. That’s the irony in “enlightenment” (terrible word), the only thing it gives you is the ability to be a human. It’s beautiful, infinite and amazing but those words don’t pay the bills!
I had to drop out of college because I was in the midst of my own journey. I spent years alone and still spend the majority of my time by myself. I go through phases where I’m social and then when I’m a hermit. I don’t fight these forces, I let it flow through me. You’ll have to learn how to deal with your own feelings and emotions through time.
I will say though that after seeing through the illusion it can be difficult to entertain what would be considered social norms. If you need time to take a breath, take it. Don’t force yourself to do things that don’t feel right but DO take care of your needs as a human being. You’ll never escape reality unless you choose to go live in a forest. I think the ultimate awakening is when you’re able to function in this world and not question anything of it.
Hope that helps, feel free to let me know if you need anything else expanded on!