Episode 2 – The Unexpected Awakening

What happens when a spiritual awakening shows up uninvited?

In this episode of This Side of Knowing, I share the story of how a simple appointment for back pain became the start of a complete energetic and spiritual transformation... one I didn’t ask for, didn’t understand, and wasn’t even sure I believed in.

Back in 2017, I was burned out, overweight, and spiraling quietly behind a carefully kept image of success. Life looked great on paper. But I was numb, stuck, and drowning in food, alcohol, and distraction. When my wife suggested I see a practitioner for my back pain, and I agreed if only to get some relief. What happened in that farmhouse in Provence cracked my reality wide open.

I’ll take you inside that session, where what started as bodywork quickly became something else entirely. I’ll share what it felt like to be flooded with emotion, confronted by childhood pain, and pulled into an energetic experience I couldn’t explain but couldn’t deny either.

This episode isn’t just about awakening. It’s about how deep transformation can show up without your conscious consent, and how the journey back to yourself often begins in the most unexpected ways.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn

• What a spiritual awakening can feel like when you never saw it coming

• The real-life story of how my first energy session unfolded

• Why emotional breakdown often happens before breakthrough

• How old pain can resurface as part of healing

• Why awakening often begins before the mind is ready to accept it

• What it means to remember who you really are whether you asked for it or not

Takeaway

Here’s the takeaway from today’s story: Not all awakenings arrive with conscious consent. Sometimes the Universe opens a door you never even knew existed... one your deeper self already agreed to. When that door opens, life doesn’t just change: it begins.

👉 If you’ve ever felt the ground shift under your feet, or had something crack open inside you without explanation, this episode is for you.

Next week, I’ll be sharing what happened after that awakening—my first experiences with energy, Qigong, and the surprising path toward self-healing.