“The soul is the truth of who we are.” – Marianne Williamson

If our souls are the truth of who we are, it’s not surprising that so many people are struggling with feeling stressed, disconnected and like something important is missing in their lives.

Everything about our lives and society distracts us from connecting with the deepest parts of ourselves – our souls. Living lives that are not aligned with who our soul intended us to become results in a feeling of what I call “soul hunger.” In a previous post, I explained how soul hunger was a silent epidemic in the 21st century.

Many of us are feeling the inner urge to return home to ourselves and shed outdated beliefs about what it means to be a successful person, and what we need in order to be authentically happy.

While living in a way that doesn’t align with our soul results in suffering, it is precisely this same inner struggle that causes us to pause and take a much-needed look at our lives.  We unfortunately don’t grow, evolve and transform when times are great. It requires a shock of some sort, which may be sudden or gradual to wake us up to a new way of being in the world.

This shock if navigated consciously results in a shift from identifying predominantly with our personality (ego) to the realization that we are spiritual beings first who have a personality, but aren’t our personality.

While certainly not comfortable, we’re beginning to understand that transformation and awakening are not only normal but a necessary process in the evolution of our souls.

In the book, When The Soul Awakens: The Path to Spiritual Evolution and a New World Era, Nancy Seifer and Martin Vieweg explain that, “Awakening occurs- in one incarnation or another- when the individual soul becomes satiated with material living and feels compelled, by a deep inner urge, to discover the truth that lies behind the outer world of appearances” (p. 5).

In other words, when we feel that we have everything that should make us happy and yet we’re longing for more. I hear from people of all ages around the world that the values that we’ve inherited from our families and society don’t seem to resonate any longer.

The challenge, however for those seeking deeper meaning, purpose and connection are that the old maps don’t seem to fit any longer. If what I thought should bring deeper peace and happiness isn’t, then what will?

Without a roadmap that helps us understand how to make our way, many find themselves feeling lost, confused and in the fog navigating the inner terrain of the soul.

Some of my clients describe it as feeling like they’re being pulled between conflicting desires – who they should be and who they are meant to be.

Others say that they feel like they’ve lost themselves in their roles to the point that they don’t know who they are anymore.

It’s not uncommon to hear people talk about this sense of knowing that things need to change but are confused because they have no idea what specifically isn’t working or how to go about it.

For many, it’s a shift away from focusing the majority of our attention and energy on fulfilling our many roles that meet the needs of other people, and moving towards growth, self-love, spirituality, greater fulfillment, authentic happiness, and living in alignment with our deeper selves.

This shift that we’re talking about and experiencing is a call from the soul. When we listen to this call, we move in the direction of thriving. When we don’t listen, our health, both physical and emotional, will suffer.

The soul is forever weighing in, often in subtle ways, providing clues as to whether we’re living in alignment with our deeper truths.

As James Hollis, a Jungian analyst said,

If there is such a thing as a soul, then it is the soul that ultimately tips the balance toward change, towards a more authentic stance in the world.

Here are 10 signs your soul is calling and you’re awakening:

  1. You are beginning to realize that all the material things and ways that you are trying to fill yourself up aren’t satisfying you. You feel like something may be missing in your life.
  2. You have a deep desire to make a difference and be of service to something greater than yourself.
  3. You have a feeling that something needs to be expressed through you. It’s an inner urge that stems from deep within you. This may feel like you’re seeking something, but you don’t know what that something is.
  4. You realize that while your roles are important, you have a desire to not be defined by them. You may be asking, “who am I” and are seeking deeper meaning and purpose.
  5. You long for meaningful relationships that feel authentic and where you can share your emerging sense of self with like-minded people.
  6. You have a sense that some things need to change and fall away in order for your authentic self to emerge. It may be relationships, the work that you are doing, limiting beliefs, or how you fill your time.
  7. You are open to and curious about deepening your connection to something greater than yourself. You begin to realize that there are spiritual laws at work even if you don’t know exactly how to tap into them.
  8. You notice that your values are shifting and new ones want to emerge. You have a sense that this shift will result in a new way of being and a re-arranging of your priorities.
  9. You may feel a sense of discomfort as you’re being drawn into the unknown without a clear idea about how this process is meant to unfold. Perhaps the idea of the dark night of the soul resonates with you.
  10. You have a desire to live in alignment with your authentic self even though you don’t have a picture of what that looks like.

Learning to understand the language of the soul and integrating its messages into our lives is challenging for many of us. Here are 5 Tips to Help You Connect With Your Soul.

Adding to this challenge is the awareness that understanding the awakening soul and what it needs is different than fixing a psychological problem. It’s common to be diagnosed with depression when awakening is not viewed in a spiritual context. The article, Is This Depression Or Am I Experiencing A Spiritual Awakening explores this further.

There is nothing dysfunctional or abnormal that needs to be diagnosed or treated. Rather there is a process that needs to be nourished and understood in order for the soul to emerge and one’s life to be adjusted so as to live in alignment.

If there are signs your soul is speaking to you it’s important for you to know that awakening is normal and is the beginning of a beautiful, albeit uncertain journey. In The 3 Soul Commitments: How to Honour Your Awakening Soul I provide some insights into what your soul might be asking of you.

One thing is certain and that is your soul is your connection to your deeper self.

Listening and making the necessary changes in your life, in spite of the fear that will inevitably surface, will lead you down a path toward a life of greater alignment, inner peace, and fulfillment.

If you feel called, please comment below. Our community would love to hear from you!

(I created the Awakening Soul Coaching Journey to guide a small number of people one-on-one who are seeking support. I know what it’s like to feel lost, confused and stuck and that inspired me to answer the call to offer my guidance).