Purifying the Heart: 5 Key Stages of Spiritual Awakening

Dr. Kason will share a beautiful model for the 5 universal spiritual life-stages, “Purifying the Heart,” based on the stages first described by Swami Sri Yukteswar, Guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, in his book, The Holy Science. Dr. Kason has found this model to be extremely helpful in understanding the changes in spiritual and psychological focus that she and the STE Experiencers she counseled go through over the course of their lives, often propelled forward by Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and other peak Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs).  These stages are: the Dark Heart, the Propelled Heart, the Steady Heart, the Devoted Heart, and the Clean Heart.

Using her own life as a case example, she will describe how her 3 adult NDEs and a “calling” mystical experience propelled her onto the next spiritual life-stage. Dr. Kason concludes that the long-term goal of every spiritual seeker, no matter what spiritual path they follow, is to purify the heart and reach the final “clean-heart” stage, experiencing ongoing communion, and exuding spiritual wisdom.  She describes this model in her newest book, Soul Lessons from the Light.

Dr. Yvonne Kason MD, MEd, CCFP, FCFP, is the President and Co-Founder of Spiritual Awakenings International and the Group-Leader and Co-Founder of Toronto Awakenings Sharing Group. Dr. Kason is the person who in 1994 first coined the phrase “Spiritually Transformative Experiences” or “STEs”.

Dr. Kason has had 5 Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), 2 in her childhood and 3 in her adult life, as well as multiple Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs) of many kinds. Dr. Kason is a retired family physician and transpersonal MD-psychotherapist, previously on faculty at the University of Toronto, and an internationally renowned medical expert on NDEs, Kundalini Awakening, and other STEs.

In 1990, Dr. Kason was the first Canadian medical doctor to specialize her medical practice in the research and counseling of patients with diverse types of STEs. She has over 40 years’ experience counseling STE Experiencers. Dr. Kason has six published books, her most recent, Soul Lessons from the Light: How Spiritually Transformative Experiences Changed My Life (December 2022), and Touched by the Light: Exploring Spiritually Transformative Experiences (2019).

Dr. Yvonne Kason MD, MEd, CCFP, FCFP, is the President and Co-Founder of Spiritual Awakenings International and the Group-Leader and Co-Founder of Toronto Awakenings Sharing Group. Dr. Kason is the person who in 1994 first coined the phrase “Spiritually Transformative Experiences” or “STEs”.

Dr. Kason has had 5 Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), 2 in her childhood and 3 in her adult life, as well as multiple Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs) of many kinds. Dr. Kason is a retired family physician and transpersonal MD-psychotherapist, previously on faculty at the University of Toronto, and an internationally renowned medical expert on NDEs, Kundalini Awakening, and other STEs.

In 1990, Dr. Kason was the first Canadian medical doctor to specialize her medical practice in the research and counseling of patients with diverse types of STEs. She has over 40 years’ experience counseling STE Experiencers. Dr. Kason has six published books, her most recent, Soul Lessons from the Light: How Spiritually Transformative Experiences Changed My Life (December 2022), and Touched by the Light: Exploring Spiritually Transformative Experiences (2019).