Challenges on Your Spiritual Awakening Journey

When you experience spiritual growth, it’s only natural that you’ll want to share these exciting new feelings and thoughts with loved ones. However, family members often respond with scepticism, dismissal, or even mockery. This resistance isn't necessarily a rejection of you personally, but rather reflects where they are on their own journeys. This can make you feel hurt, rejected, and confused. But let me assure you, this is totally normal for people who are not experiencing what you’re feeling.

So you’ve got to cut them some slack. And these 10 strategies will help you with that.

1. Practice Patience and Non-attachment

Your spiritual awakening is a deeply personal journey. The scepticism you face isn't a reflection of your experience's validity but rather shows where others are on their own paths. Practice viewing their reactions with compassion rather than defensiveness.

When your teenager rolls their eyes at your meditation practice or your partner dismisses your spiritual insights as "just a phase," remember that their reactions stem from their own understanding (or lack thereof!) and fears. Their scepticism doesn't invalidate what you're experiencing.

The most important aspect of this part is to let go of any NEED for their acceptance or approval. Decide that you don’t need it, because neediness keeps you in fear. Accept that for yourself, you do not need other people to validate your experience; you know where you’re at, and where you want to go. Follow the path that feels right in your soul.

2. Let Your Transformed Life Speak for Itself

Rather than trying to convince family members of your spiritual insights through words, allow your changed behaviour to speak for itself. The proof of your awakening lies not in what you say but in how you live—with greater patience, presence, and love.

When family members notice you responding calmly to situations that would have previously triggered anger, or observe your increased compassion toward others, they witness the tangible benefits of your spiritual growth, even if they don't embrace your spiritual framework.

3. Create Healthy Boundaries

You can respect others' disbelief while requiring respect for your experience. Simple phrases like "I understand you see this differently, and that's okay. I'm just asking that you respect this is meaningful to me." can help establish necessary boundaries. Boundaries can be very tricky to navigate, but it's vital that you learn about your rights to have them, and have them respected, especially by close family members because they are the ones most likely to break them, and the most difficult to navigate.

This applies to your children too, no matter what age they are, and in doing so, you're teaching them an important lesson about their right to their boundaries too.

But whichever way you cut it, it's reasonable to request basic respect for your journey without demanding agreement. This might mean limiting spiritual discussions in certain contexts while maintaining your practices and honouring your truth. And frankly, if you know that people around you just don’t get it, then don’t discuss it with them because it’s pointless. But, that brings me to the reminder of why the next step is so important.

4. Meet Loved Ones Where They Are

Your loved ones might never use your spiritual vocabulary, but they can appreciate positive outcomes they value—your increased patience, better health, or greater resilience during difficulties.

Instead of forcing spiritual discussions that might backfire, translate your insights into language that resonates with your family's values if at all possible – but again, don’t force it. Be guided by your intuition, but here's a few suggestons:

• For pragmatic family members: Focus on how mindfulness improves your decision-making
• For scientifically-minded people: Share research on meditation's benefits
• For religious family members: Find connecting points between your experiences and their traditions
• Let them know how much this newfound spiritual awareness is helping you to feel so much better in yourself.

5. Understand Children's Developmental Needs

When children dismiss your spiritual journey, remember they're working through their own identity formation. Rather than demanding agreement, maintain authentic connection by respecting their perspective while gently modelling what spiritual awareness looks like in daily interactions. That means, in essence that you:

· Don’t argue with them

· Don’t try to defend yourself

· Don’t lecture them

· Don’t get upset with them

· Don’t feel rejected – they may be rejecting your newfound path, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are rejecting you (and remember what I said above – let go of the need to have them validate your experience).

· Respect their right to not get it – remember that you’ve taken your whole lifetime to get to this point, so you can’t expect others to just automatically get it – especially not your kids! And rememember that I talked about how we like to stay in our comfort zones? Well, your kids want you to stay exactly where you were because that is THEIR comfort zone, so recognise that your transition is uncomfortable for them in some way.

· Acknowledge that change is difficult – it’s difficult for you, and it’s difficult for your kids to understand. Heck, it can and often is difficult for adults to understand!

· Ask them why they are having difficulty with accepting your experience (if and when you feel the time is right). Often, kids can feel threatened and scared by changes in their parent, so acknowledge that to yourself, even if you don’t feel ready to talk to them about it right away.

If you’ve got teenagers, remember they naturally question authority and go through ‘stroppy’ phases quite a lot anyway, as they grapple with forming their identity. Their scepticism often isn't personal rejection but part of healthy development. By respecting their process while staying true to yours, you demonstrate spiritual principles in action more powerfully than any words could convey.

6. Managing Family Gatherings

Extended family gatherings can become tense when your changed perspective becomes evident. Prepare by setting intentions beforehand, perhaps planning to focus on connection rather than conversion.

Have a few neutral topics ready to pivot to if conversations become uncomfortable. And remember that if they love you, in time they will come to accept your decisions. And if they don’t, that’s not something you need to worry about if you really think about it, because you are on your journey, and they are on theirs.

A Word about Religion

If your family is very religious, but your thoughts have changed about all the ‘churchy’ stuff, as mine did, this can be tricky and your family might try to guilt-trip you into staying ‘in’. Do it only if it feels aligned with your new spiritual quest. If you feel strongly against it, stick to your guns. I know people who have been excommunicated, and shunned because they started to question certain behaviours in their churches. Which just goes to show the hypocrisy that can be found in many churches. But these friends I know have found deep spiritual happiness and they know that God isn’t punishing them for not going to church. You don’t need a public show to display your love of God.

7. When Partners Feel Left Behind

If your spiritual growth creates distance in your primary relationship, create intentional connection in other areas of your shared life. Ensure your partner doesn't feel your spiritual practice is replacing your relationship, while still honouring your need for personal growth.

This happened to me as I was in a long-term relationship when my journey began, and my partner at the time just didn’t get any of it. I had to accept he was where he was and I was where I was, and I found support in other places that worked fine for me. I didn’t need his understanding or approval, because I was certain the path was right for me. So hang on to your inner knowing and conviction. This is happening to you because it’s meant to!

8. Find A Supportive Community

When those closest to you cannot understand your spiritual experiences, finding community becomes not just helpful but essential. These connections serve multiple purposes—they provide validation that you're not "losing your mind," offer guidance from those further along similar paths, and create space where you can freely discuss your experiences without judgement.

This supportive network becomes your spiritual family, helping you navigate challenges while your biological family adjusts – regardless of whether they ever do – they may, they may not. Because family and friends may never understand or validate your experiences, connecting with others on similar paths becomes crucial for your continued growth and emotional wellbeing.

9. Moving Forward with Compassion

Remember that your spiritual awakening is ultimately about expanding your capacity for love and awareness. The challenges with family provide opportunities to practice these very qualities—patience, compassion, non-attachment, and authentic presence.

By navigating these dynamics with grace, you not only preserve important relationships but actually deepen your spiritual practice through these real-world applications. The resistance you encounter becomes not an obstacle to your journey but an essential part of it.

10: Honour your unique path: Your awakening will have its own timeline and characteristics, so just be patient, curious, and enjoy the process. A spiritual awakening is ultimately a wonderful experience, because it's like you can actually witness part of your soul's evolution in real time. It's a big step forward in that soul journey!

If you missed parts 1 and 2, you can read them here:

Part 1: Are You Having a Spiritual Awakening?

Part 2: 22 Signs You're Having a Spiritual Awakening