Spiritual Paths: Stages and Tips to Find Your Way

By Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
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The journey of awakening can take many forms, with countless practices, philosophies, and teachers guiding seekers toward a deeper understanding of themselves and reality. Navigating the landscape of spiritual paths can be overwhelming, especially for those just beginning their journey. 

By organizing these practices according to the four stages of awakening, it becomes easier to identify which approaches will likely align with your current level of development and readiness. So that's what we'll do in this article.

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What Are Spiritual Paths?

A spiritual path is an approach (either structured or not) that fosters personal growth, insight, and self-dissolution. These paths can include meditation, psychotherapy, mystical experiences, philosophical inquiry, and other practices aimed at expanding consciousness and seeing ultimate reality. Choosing a path is often guided by personal interest, innate temperament, and current life challenges. Each path offers unique tools and perspectives that cater to different stages of awakening, from initial glimpses of Reality to the realization of radical nonduality. It's okay to be wherever you are and choose whatever path is right for you.

Stage 1 Spiritual Paths: Initial Opening

Stage 1, which occurs after our initial awakening, represents the beginning of spiritual exploration. Individuals in this stage often experience mystical or spontaneous events that hint at a larger reality beyond the ordinary sense of self. These experiences can be powerful and transformative, but they may also be disorienting and misleading.
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Common Practices and Paths:

• Mystical Experiences: These may occur spontaneously, during dreams, or in moments of deep contemplation. They provide a first taste of transcendence.
• Channeling: Some individuals are drawn to channeling as a way to connect with higher consciousness or wisdom beyond themselves.
• Introductory Meditation and Mindfulness Practices: These practices help aid progression and concentration.

​Notable Teachers:

• Paul Selig: Channel for information that can aid awakening progression.
• The Law of One: Book of channeled messages that help explain the nature of the universe. 
• Eckhart Tolle: Very approachable and relatable for all stages.

Tips for Making The Most of Stage 1 Paths:

• Follow curiosity rather than obligation.
• Keep a journal to process experiences or record messages.
• Seek communities or mentors to provide support.

Stage 2 Spiritual Paths: Healing and Integration

Although stage 1 includes internal work and emotional healing, Stage 2 dives deeper into the traumas and inner blind spots that maintain the appearance of a separate self. While Stage 1 may have involved a Dark Night of The Soul, Stage 2 Includes a Dark Night of The Self. At this stage, seekers often resolve deep traumas and integrate aspects of the psyche that have been fragmented or suppressed.

Common Practices and Paths:

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy: Helps individuals understand and harmonize different parts of themselves.
• Trauma Therapy: Addresses past experiences that block further growth.
• Somatic Practices: Techniques like yoga, neurodynamic breathwork, and body-centered therapies help release emotional and physical tension.

Notable Teachers and Resources:

• Richard Schwartz: Creator of IFS, helping people integrate inner parts for personal growth.
• Angelo Dilullo: Provides extensive guidance on shadow work throughout awakening.

Tips for Making The Most of Stage 2 Paths:

• Assess your readiness for deep emotional work.
• Work with qualified therapists or facilitators.
• Combine therapy with grounding practices to anchor insights.

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Stage 3 Spiritual Paths: Nonduality

Stage 3 involves recognizing the nondual nature of reality, moving beyond the fragmented sense of self. Individuals begin to experience the unity of all things and the dissolution of strict subject-object distinctions.

Common Practices and Paths:

• Advaita Vedanta and Nondual Teachings: Philosophy and meditation focused on the inherent unity of existence.
• Self-Inquiry (Atma Vichara): Exploring the question, “Who am I?” to recognize the self as an illusion.
• Contemplative Meditation: Practices that cultivate spiritual awareness and direct experience of nondual consciousness.

Notable Teachers:

• Angelo Dilullo: Provides extensive guidance on nondual awakening.
• Rupert Spira: Offers guidance on direct experience of consciousness and nonduality.

Tips for Making The Most of Stage 3 Paths:

• Look for teachers who emphasize direct experience rather than intellectual understanding.
• Because the self-structure is barely operating, avoid teachers that tell you that you need to do specific things—allow your path and practices to arise more spontaneously.
• Be patient; deep shifts are on their own timeline.

Stage 4 Spiritual Paths: Radical Nonduality

Stage 4 represents a profound dissolution of all dualistic perception. Radical nonduality goes beyond the subtle distinctions of subject and object, observer and observed, revealing a complete, impersonal isness.

Common Practices and Paths:

• Radical Nondual Inquiry: Investigating the nature of awareness without holding onto concepts of self or experience.
• Contemplation of Emptiness (Sunyata): A deep recognition of the void nature of all phenomena.
• Non-doership: Settling of efforting and drive, and allowing life to simply unfold.

Notable Teachers:

• Tony Parsons: Emphasizes the absolute nature of reality and the unreality of self.
• Jim Newman: Focuses on radical, direct inquiry and nondual realization.

Tips for Making The Most of Stage 4 Paths:

• Approach with discernment; radical experiences can be destabilizing without grounding.
• Prioritize clarity and integration over striving.
• Engage with community or guidance to contextualize experiences.

Stage-to-Practice Mapping

Stage	Focus / Goal	Common Practices	Notable Teachers
1	Initial Opening	Mystical experiences, channeling, introductory meditation and mindfulness	Paul Selig, Eckhart Tolle
2	Deep Work	Deeper dives into structural traumas and inner blind spots that maintain the appearance of a separate self.	Richard Schwartz, Angelo Dilullo
3	Nonduality	Advaita Vedanta, self-inquiry (Atma Vichara), contemplative meditation	Angelo Dilullo, Rupert Spira
4	Radical Nonduality	Radical nondual inquiry, contemplation of emptiness (Sunyata), non-doership	Tony Parsons, Jim Newman

How to Determine Which Path Is Right for You

Selecting a spiritual path involves aligning practices with your current stage of development, personal temperament, and life circumstances. Consider the following approaches:
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1. Reflect on Your Experiences: Are you drawn to mystical experiences, emotional healing, philosophical inquiry, or radical nonduality?
2. Experiment and Observe: Try introductory practices from various stages to see what resonates. If something doesn't make sense or is not resonating, consider trying a path from another stage.
3. Seek Guidance: Mentors, teachers, and supportive awakening communities can provide clarity and safe spaces for exploration.
4. Integrate Practices: Spiritual growth often benefits from combining paths, often switching to later-stage paths as we gain more clarity.
5. Trust Your Intuition: Ultimately, the right path aligns with your inner sense of resonance and well-being.

Markers for Moving to a Later-Stage Path

©awakeningcollective.org

Stage	Key Lessons	Markers You’re Ready to Move On
1	Initial awakening experiences	Mystical experiences or channeling no longer feel novel; insights no longer impact daily life; sense of awe and curiosity is integrated
2	Deep trauma resolution & self-dissolution	Consistent ability to witness thoughts and emotions; diminished reactivity to external triggers; inner acceptance of life situations
3	Nondual realization	Direct perception of interconnectedness and impermanence; sights, sounds, and sensations no longer feel separate; mind no longer clings to dualistic distinctions
4	Radical nonduality & complete isness	Recognition that prior conceptual frameworks are illusions; awareness of pure isness; insights are naturally integrated into daily living

When to Move to a Later-Stage Path

Progressing along the stages of awakening is less about rigid timelines and more about recognizing when a particular path has served its purpose. Each stage has distinct lessons and transformative work, and there are markers that indicate you may be ready to explore practices from a later stage.

In Stage 1, the early awakening experiences provide glimpses of something larger than ordinary reality. A marker that it’s time to move beyond Stage 1 is when mystical experiences or channeling no longer feel novel or when the insights gained no longer substantially impact daily life. You’ve integrated the sense of awe and curiosity into your being, and the next growth edge becomes the need for deeper emotional healing and self-understanding.

In Stage 2, the focus on deeper trauma resolution related to the sense of self builds a stable foundation. Signs that it’s time to move forward include a consistent ability to witness thoughts and emotional states, a diminishing reactivity to external triggers, and a sense of inner acceptance for life situations. When you rarely react to, attach to, or avoid life situations, you are ready to explore nondual awareness.

For Stage 3, where nonduality is the focus, the markers involve shifts in perception: a direct recognition of interconnectedness and impermanence in the visual, auditory, and sensate fields. When sights, sounds, and sensations no longer feel separate—and the mind no longer clings to dualistic distinctions—it may indicate readiness to engage with the radical nothingness of Stage 4.

In Stage 4, radical nonduality arises spontaneously. At this stage, it is not about “achieving” more, but about realizing the completeness of what is already present. Markers for progression are subtler and often involve the recognition of prior conceptual frameworks as illusions that lay on top of pure isness. Even here, ongoing reflection and community support help ensure that insights are integrated into everyday living.
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Recognizing these markers requires honest self-reflection, mindfulness, and sometimes the guidance of teachers or mentors who understand the stages of awakening. The key is to find what resonates with you while still being mindful or whether you're attaching to an earlier stage or avoiding future growth. 

Worksheet: Reflecting on Spiritual Paths

Instructions: The journey of awakening unfolds differently for everyone. By reflecting on the stages of awakening and the practices associated with each, you can discover which paths resonate with you, what stage you may be navigating, and how to move forward with clarity. Use the prompts below to guide your self-reflection. Download Worksheet Here.
©awakeningcollective.org

Stage 1: Initial Opening

• What mystical or spontaneous experiences have you noticed?
• Which introductory practices (meditation, mindfulness, channeling) resonate with you?
• How can curiosity and journaling support your exploration?

Stage 2: Healing and Integration

• What traumas or emotional patterns feel most alive for you?
• Which healing practices (therapy, somatic work, breathwork) feel supportive?
• How can you ground yourself while engaging in deeper emotional work?

Stage 3: Nonduality

• Have you experienced moments where subject and object feel less separate?
• Which nondual practices (self-inquiry, contemplative meditation, Advaita teachings) feel relevant?
• How can you allow practices to arise spontaneously, without forcing?

Stage 4: Radical Nonduality

• Have you noticed glimpses of pure awareness beyond self and experience?
• Which radical nonduality teachings resonate with you most deeply?
• How can you balance openness to radical insights with grounding and integration?

General Reflection

• Which stage feels most aligned with your current experience?
• What practices or teachers do you feel called to explore next?
• How will you know when it’s time to move forward into a later stage?

Final Thoughts on Spiritual Paths

By understanding these paths within the framework of the four stages of enlightenment, seekers can navigate their journeys with greater clarity and intentionality. Each stage brings unique practices, teachers, and insights, offering opportunities for growth, healing, and profound realization. Whether through channeling, therapy, meditation, or inquiry, the path you choose reflects your current needs, stage, and aspirations on the journey toward awakening.

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Get The FREE eBook

✓  Discover what awakening is like
​✓  Learn about the four stages between awakening & enlightenment
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