The Dark Night of the Soul

Healing

The Dark Night of the Soul

In the coming weeks, I will discuss the topic of the “Dark Night of the Soul.” The concept of the Dark Night originated with the poem “Dark Night of the Soul” by Saint John of the Cross, a 16th-century Catholic mystic from Spain. A Dark Night is an extremely agonizing phase of our lives which generally follows a major crisis, such as the death of a loved one, a job loss, a health issue, etc. Its duration could be brief, or long, and its intensity varies. The DarkNight can neither be avoided nor escaped, as it is part of the human condition. Life does not limit

us to just one Dark Night. (Oh, life is generous!) If we walk through the Dark Night with consciousness, the gift of this painful experience can be a spiritual transformation. After experiencing multiple Dark Nights, I now see them as invitations for deeper self-exploration and growth.

The most in-depth analysis of the Dark Night that I have read so far is Thomas Moore’s book “Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life’s Ordeals.” Below are just a few examples of the nuggets of wisdom I gained from this book.

When confronting a Dark Night, some options are:
o To hide out in self-delusion and distractions to avoid the pain.
o To become cynical and depressed.
o To open our hearts to the mystery and then blossom
We don’t choose the Dark Night. It is given to us.
We can’t just dismiss the Dark Night
The Dark Night may result in discovering the meaning of our lives and becoming who we
are meant to be.
The Dark Night may help us discover talents or skills we didn’t know we had.
The Dark Night keeps us from staying small.

As a sexual trauma survivor, my own Dark Night (more like “Decade”) was excruciating. I identified with the victim role for over two decades, because the trauma lasted a few years. I couldn’t understand why all this trauma had happened to me. I didn’t have any trustworthy people to talk to. I used food, work and distractions to mask the pain. Thomas Moore’s Dark Night book would have been a helpful resource when I first entered the Dark Night. I hope that you will benefit from the excerpts that I share with you in the coming weeks.

Night book would have been a helpful resource when I first entered the Dark Night. I hope that
you will benefit from the excerpts that I share with you in the coming weeks.