Q&A: "Why do some people have sudden awakenings and others try hard with no results?"

In response to a question posted on social media:

"Why do some just awaken one day, while others strive their whole adult lives trying, yet don't feel they are awakening?"

This is not an uncommon reflection to have at some point in one's spiritual path.

Sudden "awakening" is seldom permanent, stable, or smooth.

Permanent and stable 'awakening' is, in reality, more of a process than a singular event.

Positing things in terms of awakening vs. otherwise construes the complex sphere of spirituality into a spectrum of binaries: someone is either awakened or asleep.

For those of lifelong striving without tangible progress, it's likely due to using inefficacious techniques and/or non-empowered transmission from teachers/instructors...

Exercise discernment when someone makes a claim about any alleged 'awakening' they have had -- it may suggest that they are relying on a memory of a spiritual experience that has not been integrated into their ego-personality. This may indicate an underlying dissociation and perhaps spiritual bypassing.

Walk > talk...

Also note that there is a difference between explicating something intellectually and actually feeling/embodying it. In other words: information vs. knowledge.

There are techniques and systems that offer all a hard-working cultivator could ever ask for. Sitting on a meditation cushion or doing yoga postures for three decades could get you nowhere. Always test a practice and hold yourself and it to the highest standards... compassionately, lovingly, playfully.

And remember: There are as many paths as there are faces on the planet. Stay focused.