Who are you? Well, many aspects give us identity, including the body, mind, and our affiliations. Moreover, the soul is the innermost essence of our true identity. Since birth, the soul evolves, going through different phases to blossom and arrive at a level of peace and comfort. Yet, trauma or certain events can make us feel out of touch with our soul, going through the motions of life only to survive. Are you having trouble finding your identity? If so, you can connect back to your soul through ensoulment. So, what is ensoulment in the first place? This is a detailed guide.
What is Ensoulment?
Ensoulment refers to the moment at which a human gains a soul. This process can happen in two ways: –
#1: At Conception
Many religious scholars believe that the soul is pre-existing and enters the body at the time of fertilization. Like Aristotle’s time, scholars thought this process took place 40 days after conception for boys and 90 days for girls.
However, this association of ensoulment with the growth of the human embryo still fuels debate supporting or criminalizing abortions globally. And, the idea of a pre-existing soul forms the foundation of beliefs in reincarnation and the afterlife.
#2: When Undergoing a Spiritual Journey
Second, the ensoulment process can happen when you undergo a spiritual awakening, Kundalini awakening, or when in a Dark Night of the Soul. In these circumstances, ensoulment relates to the process of embracing, living, and expressing your authentic self, the soul.
· Ensoulment during a Spiritual Awakening Process
A spiritual awakening journey is a state of enlightenment where your soul “wakes up” to life, transforming into higher consciousness. The journey begins with a sense of emptiness and confusion, usually triggered by traumatic or life-changing events. This initiation stage leads to a quest for answers about your beliefs or thoughts about life.
Next, you develop an urge to find the answers within you, to discover your life purpose. This third stage can be painful, as you acknowledge your shadow past and deal with it. Still, if you are patient, the fourth stage opens up the joyful and hopeful new you.
Finally, you attain spiritual alignment, the ultimate goal in this journey.
· Ensoulment during a Kundalini Awakening & the Dark Night of the Soul
Kundalini awakening is an energetic awakening emanating from the spine and flowing through the seven chakras leading to instant spiritual enlightenment. Kundalini, the energy that remains dormant at the base of the spine, can awaken through such methods as yoga, meditation, and mantras.
Once awake, our senses become sharper, our perception of life changes, and we begin to identify our soul paths.
· Ensoulment during the Dark Night of the Soul
Now, the Dark Night of the Soul is one of the signs of a Kundalini awakening. Here, you feel disconnected from your surrounding as you look inward to discover your soul purpose. For example, you feel lost and stuck and want a deeper meaning in life.
Physical symptoms of this experience include a change of appetite, increased thirst, distorted sleep patterns, and a change in your sex drive. Since the Dark Night of the Soul is a transitional period after shedding our old identity and before the new and true identity emerges, this process leads to ensoulment.
The Phases of Ensoulment
In this guide, we explore what is ensoulment when undergoing a spiritual journey. By understanding the process, we get to know our identity and soul purpose. If you are currently going through any spiritual journey, you could be in any of the following phases of ensoulment: –
The Stages of Ensoulment
#1: Waking Up
A spiritual awakening process triggers the soul to wake up. Here, you may experience an overwhelming feeling of disconnection or detachment with people or things you once enjoyed. There is confusion as you begin to question your true identity, beliefs, and thought processes. Likewise, some individuals start to re-evaluate their current beliefs.
#2: Descending into a State of Soullessness/The Dark Night
The symptoms of the Dark Night of the Soul characterize the second stage of ensoulment. It makes us notice and yearn to deal with the shadow aspects of our lives. Only when you integrate these shadow aspects into your life can you then blossom into your true developed soul. Hence, this second stage is the most painful phase of ensoulment.
#3: Spiritual Alchemy
Do you sometimes feel you are living in your past but also connected to your future self? That is a sign you are in the alchemic stage of ensoulment. Here, you feel a sense of transformation, inner freedom, and change that makes you aware of your soul.
Spiritual alchemy happens in seven distinct stages as follows: –
- Calcination – a breakdown of distractive personality traits, including our ego, stubbornness, and arrogance. It sets the foundation to discovering our identity underneath.
- Dissolution – a feeling of the fading false self.
- Separation – sharpening of our thoughts and emotions.
- Conjunction – combining of the remaining authentic elements in you.
- Fermentation – start of a rebirth.
- Distillation – further purification.
- Coagulation – spirit manifesting in material form
#4: Blossoming Into Ensoulment
After the spiritual alchemy, you break away from the mind, allowing your soul to connect to the spirit. At this point, your soul is now manifest in material form, allowing you to embrace your true identity.
Note that the four phases of ensoulment develop gradually at different times in our lives. For example, you may be in the Dark Night of the Soul, feeling soullessness as a mother but fully ensouled as a pianist or a teacher.
More so, in many mystical traditions, age matters. Hence, even though ensoulment can begin in childhood, many people become aware of the process only when they are in their 30s or 40s. At times, they confuse it with menopause or a form of spiritual crisis.
Conclusion
Now that you understand what is ensoulment, I must mention that it is a lifelong journey in the physical whereby our souls evolve, arriving at a level of comfort and peace. At this point, we become aware of our true identity and soul purpose. Then, we begin to live a purposeful life that is in alignment with the universe.