Unseen Barriers to Awakening: How Hidden Forces Sabotage Enlightenment

March 19th, 2025

By Frank M. Wanderer PhD

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Spiritual awakening signifies a profound transformation in consciousness, during which one recognizes the deeper essence of life and their true nature.

This awakening transcends the limitations of the ego and superficial existence, enabling the experience of inner freedom, peace, and a deeper connection to life.

Although the significance of spiritual awakening is extraordinary, many people repeatedly encounter invisible obstacles along this inner journey.

The process of spiritual awakening is rarely smooth or linear. Every step we take towards deeper awareness may bring forth inner resistances, societal pressures, and hidden energetic influences, forming invisible yet powerful barriers along the path.

Resistance to spiritual awakening within us arises from multiple sources but fundamentally stems from the fear of the unknown.

By nature, humans tend to cling to familiar things, as these provide a sense of security. However, awakening demands the release of these familiar frameworks, posing a significant threat to the ego, the deepest layers of our personal identity.

The ego’s attachment to the familiar self-image and lifestyle often manifests as deep, subconscious resistance, hindering spiritual advancement.

Societal factors also play a significant role in this process of resistance.

Our culture frequently emphasizes the accumulation of material goods, constant activity, and immediate gratification, whereas spiritual growth requires inner silence, patience, and deeper introspection.

This contrast creates societal pressures that invisibly draw individuals back into traditional, habitual lifestyles.

Finally, energetic factors must not be overlooked. The subtle energetic fields surrounding individuals, the emotional and mental states of others, as well as lower vibrational energetic influences and entities, can significantly impact spiritual development.

These energetic obstacles are often invisible yet powerfully affect one’s emotional state, thoughts, and motivations, subtly but effectively slowing down the awakening process.

These often unseen obstacles can significantly complicate genuine spiritual growth, making their recognition and understanding critically important.

Understanding these obstacles is vital as they prevent individuals from experiencing true inner freedom and genuine peace.

If these subtle resistances remain hidden, one may repeatedly encounter frustration, stagnation, or even regression on one’s spiritual path.

Awareness and understanding of these hidden obstacles are therefore essential first steps in transcending them.

By becoming conscious of the internal and external forces that create resistance and hinder spiritual growth, readers can recognize these forces and gently and consciously overcome them.

Ultimately, understanding and overcoming these barriers leads to authentic inner freedom and lasting, profound spiritual fulfillment.

Resistance Arising from the Protection of the Ego and  Self-Identity

The protection of ego and self-identity is one of the most substantial obstacles encountered during the journey of spiritual awakening.

The ego’s primary goal is to maintain the identity we have constructed throughout our lives. This identity consists not only of thoughts and emotions but also of our accumulated past experiences, roles, achievements, and failures.

For the ego, it is vital to preserve these familiar elements that sustain our self-identity because they provide a sense of security and stability.

The ego’s fear of surrendering itself arises because any genuine spiritual awakening inevitably demands a partial or complete transcendence of one’s self-image.

This process can trigger a frightening feeling of losing our sense of self, as the ego often interprets spiritual awakening as the complete disappearance or destruction of our personality.

For instance, a successful entrepreneur who has always defined himself by his career accomplishments may experience intense resistance when realizing during his spiritual journey that his identity is no longer based on external success.

This realization can be so intimidating that unconsciously, he may retreat into his familiar, seemingly secure role rather than confront the inner challenges associated with surrendering his self-image.

Attachment to our self-image and past stories similarly creates significant obstacles on the spiritual path.

Our past experiences shape a narrative about ourselves, profoundly influencing our decisions, behaviors, and reactions.

These stories frequently repeat themselves throughout our lives, reinforcing negative patterns unless consciously recognized.

For example, an individual who experienced rejection in childhood might subconsciously avoid deep relationships in adulthood, fearing the pain of rejection again.

Consequently, they become incapable of fully opening themselves up to deeper spiritual connections, which require surrender and complete trust.

These attachments and fears generate deep subconscious resistances, which, though difficult to identify, severely limit spiritual growth.

The ego’s defense mechanisms often strengthen precisely when approaching deeper spiritual truths, attempting to protect the established identity and the security associated with it.

Moving forward on the spiritual path, therefore, requires gently but decisively recognizing and transcending these deeply rooted resistances.

Through inner work and self-inquiry, we can become increasingly aware of these ego-based defensive mechanisms and gradually release these attachments.

In doing so, we can experience genuine inner freedom, in which our deeper, true self emerges beyond the limitations imposed by the ego.

Detailed Self-Examination to Recognize the Defense Systems Built by the Ego

Preparation for Quiet Contemplation

• Find a calm, undisturbed place where you can comfortably sit or lie down.
• Position yourself so that your body feels relaxed and comfortable, then close your eyes.
• Begin to breathe deeply and slowly, focusing on the natural flow of your breath.
• Observe as you breathe in tranquility with every inhalation and release tension within you with each exhalation.
• Allow your mind to gradually become calm and peaceful.

Awareness of Resistances

When you feel sufficiently calm and present, recall a specific life situation or decision that triggers intense resistance, fear, discomfort, or anxiety in you.

This might be a conflict situation, a decision you’ve been avoiding for a long time, or a relationship that elicits strong emotional reactions.

Notice in which part of your body these uncomfortable sensations arise and become consciously aware of the emerging thoughts and feelings without judging them.

Deeper Self-Inquiry with Questions

Begin to explore these feelings and the situation more deeply using the following questions:

• Why do I feel threatened or uncertain in this situation?
• What specific consequences am I afraid of if I were to make a change?
• What am I most fearful of regarding this decision or change?
• How does this fear connect to my self-image or a previous experience?
• What past event or experience reinforces this fear within me?

Allow these questions to naturally and gently unfold emotional and mental content that you have previously avoided or suppressed unconsciously.

Recognizing the Ego’s Role

Next, consciously examine how your ego attempts to maintain your familiar comfort zone.

The ego often holds us back from change due to fear, using uncertainty as a form of self-protection.

For example, you might notice your ego speaking internally:

“Don’t enter this relationship; you’ll experience pain if you’re rejected again as you were before.”

These realizations can help you understand how and why your ego has constructed specific defense mechanisms.

Conscious Acceptance and Release

It is essential to accept the emerging thoughts and feelings without judgment.

Acknowledge that these emotions are natural reactions used by your ego as defenses. Breathe deeply and consciously affirm to yourself:

• “I accept this feeling, I understand why it’s arising within me, and I am ready to release it.”

As you slowly exhale, visualize this emotional burden moving further away from you with each breath.

Journaling for Recording Insights

Write down your experiences in a journal at the end of this exercise.

Document the feelings and thoughts that emerged, how they relate to your past experiences, and the defense mechanisms you identified in your ego’s functioning.

Journaling allows you to revisit your growth later and deepen your self-awareness and spiritual development.

Through this detailed self-examination practice, you can gradually become aware of and transcend the internal resistances created by your ego, opening the way to deeper spiritual realizations and authentic inner freedom.

Excerpt from Frank M. Wanderer’s new book Sabotaged Enlightenment: The Invisible Obstacles to Spiritual

About the author:

Frank M. Wanderer, Ph.D D., is a professor of psychology, a consciousness researcher and writer, and the publisher of several books on consciousness . With a lifelong interest in the mystery of human existence and the work of the human mind, Frank’s work is to help others wake up from identification with our personal history and the illusory world of the forms and shapes, and to find our identity in what he calls “the Miracle”, the mystery of the Consciousness.

You can follow Frank online at:

• Website – fmwanderer.wordpress.com
• Facebook.com/AwakeningOfTheConsciousness
• https://x.com/FrankMWanderer
• Facebook.com/Frank-M-Wanderer

Frank is also the author of the following books:

• The Revolution of Consciousness: Deconditioning the Programmed Mind
• The Flames of Alertness: Discover the Power of Consciousness!
• The Biggest Obstacle to Enlightenment: How to Escape from the Prison of Mind Games?
• … and several other books on consciousness and the process of enlightenment.