When we talk about spiritual awakening, we often refer to feelings of clarity, inner freedom, or bliss, but the path to get there rarely feels so simple. More often than not, we encounter innumerable distractions fueled by two powerful forces that get in the way and stall our progress: resistance and fear.
Both are natural aspects of the spiritual journey, and both point to the same challenge: letting go of who you think you are—that is, your identifications, memories, and self-images—either through deep devotion or self-exploration to dissolve the ego-mind that traps you in the past.
Your identity—the “me” you’ve carried your whole life as the result of the identification with your body and mind—is made of memories, roles, and beliefs that create patterns of self-perception; these shape your experience and behavior. Your ego is a mental construct that gives you a sense of control. And yet, when you are graced with a spiritual awakening, no matter how temporary, the edges of this identity start to soften.
The stories that defined you don’t feel as solid. The usual dynamics with other people (particularly with family) feel repetitive and outdated. You begin to sense there’s more to you than your past, your roles, or your thoughts. This is truly liberating! But to the ego, it feels like losing everything or even dying. So, it produces resistance and fear, making you feel that you should hold on tightly to what is familiar, because if you let go, you’ll lose all control (see Why Fulfillment & Spiritual Growth Trigger Your Resistance).
Spiritual Awakening and the Fear of Letting Go
Resistance shows up in countless ways: procrastination, self-doubt, endless distractions and dramas, worldly difficulties, or the inability to sit still in silence. The ego resists because letting go is dangerous; letting go is how it dissolves. Its job is to preserve the delusion of duality, which it achieves by blocking Awareness and Love with judgments, attachments, and expectations.
Beneath your resistance lies the fear of stepping into the unknown. Spiritual awakening is not about gaining more control but about surrendering the idea of control altogether. To the ego, this feels like death, so it makes itself felt with its constant commentary, discontentment, and drama, resisting its dissolution in the Divine Consciousness it emerged from.
However, when you let go, what you lose is not your essence but only the illusion of separation or duality. The fear appears real to the ego, not to your true Self. The fear you experience is not a sign that you’re going in the wrong direction; it’s a sign that you’re getting closer to your truth.
Imagine you’re walking into a dark room. At first, your body tenses because your mind is afraid of what could be hiding in the shadows. But if you turn on the light, you realize there was nothing to fear. The future is always unknown, and the unknown is neutral; it is only potentiality. It’s the mind’s projections that make it frightening.
Ego dissolution is much the same. The more you allow yourself to rest in Awareness rather than clinging to a false identity, the more you discover that nothing essential is ever lost. In fact, what you are losing is only outdated ideas about yourself and the world that perpetuate the illusion of separation.
Moving Through Resistance and Fear
Instead of fighting resistance or suppressing fear, recognize them as signposts. They mean you are brushing against the edge of truth. Here are some ways to pierce through them:
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Witness without judgment. Notice resistance and fear when they arise. That simple recognition creates the space to step back emotionally and question their origin in the past.
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Stay present. Resistance pulls you into familiar habits or projects you into imaginary futures, all to prevent you from being fully present. Presence—through breath, awareness, and mental stillness—anchors you in what is real.
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Soften into surrender. Letting go doesn’t mean negating or erasing your life. It means disbelieving the ego to loosen the grip of a distorted perception and allow your true essence to shine through.
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Trust the process. Both resistance and fear are temporary. They’re mental fluctuations that dissolve as you realize that nothing essential is ever lost and that nothing that isn’t meant to happen can happen. There’s no point in fighting life!
When resistance softens and fear is met with self-awareness, your life-movie spontaneously shifts. What once felt like losing your ego-self leads you to finding your true Self. What you were afraid to release was never the truth of you; it was only a story you kept telling yourself in an attempt to remain in control. Spiritual awakening is not about becoming someone new. It is about perceiving yourself with a new light, discovering what has always been there—untouched by fear and eternally free.
It can be confusing to know whether you’re at the threshold of awakening or you’re just fooling yourself to hold on to your egoic identifications (“I,” “me,” “mine) or a spiritualized ego (see The Difference Between Spiritual Growth and Spiritualized Ego). But the vastness of your true nature awaits patiently for you to remember who you truly are. So contact me today to move in the direction of your destiny with clarity of purpose and emotional and spiritual freedom!
If you’re not ready to work with me as your spiritual mentor to delve deeply within, you can learn about the workings of the ego-mind to transform your perception and experience by implementing the Swan Method I share in You Are Your Healer: The Ultimate Guide to Heal Your Past, Transform Your Life & Awaken to Your True Self!
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