Dark Night of the Soul

In this article I'am going to explain the concept of the dark night of the soul, clear up some misconceptions about it, and then give you some tips on how to survive your dark nights of the soul, plural, because it is going to happen more than once for sure depending upon the speed of your evolution as a being.

There are alot of misconceptions when we first realize that we are starting down the spiritual path. Many people get into spirituality, or a form of it because they are suffering in some way or have an affliction on some level. The issues vary. There are alot of promises made by pastors, gurus, and other spiritual figures who say that if you do this and that, apply these techniques then you can leave behind your woes, anxieties, afflictions, or whatever it is that may be ailing you. I've met with alot of people who come onto the spiritual path thinking that if they just do what they're told then all their problems will be fixed. But many of them actually start to feel worse and then wonder what's going on or question themselves and think that they're doing something wrong. Before I go into this deeper and the reason behind it I'll first describe the dark night of the soul. The dark night of the soul is basically when all the repressed parts of our psyche start coming to the surface. They may be traumas or afflictions from childhood which then further developed as bad habits. We use the bad habits, whether it be drinking, using drugs, or sexual promiscuity to avoid the uncomfortable feelings that are associated with these deep afflictions.

Whenever the unpleasant feeling comes up we run to our addiction, many times unconsciously, and get our fix. It is in this way that people can avoid all the deeper underlying issues.

On the surface they may think that they're absolutely OK. Until, for whatever reason, life forces you to confront your inner problems and you dive deep into the psyche. You go into the pain or hurt because you realize the habits or compulsions or addictions are no longer working. This is the dark night of the soul. The dark night of the soul is essentially a purification process. It can be on many different levels, the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, astral, etheric. However, as unpleasant as it is it cannot be avoided. In

fact it has to be experienced. And not only once but many times. I know when I first started down this path, without even knowing it, I thought that there was only one dark night of the soul. I remember when my kundalini first awoke I had all types of physical symptoms popping up, I felt exhausted, sick, I had headaches, and body aches. At one point I thought I had to go to the hospital. It lasted only four days. Then as time went on I reached a new balance and then just as I felt like I reached a new balance another wave came but this time it was much longer and more intensive. Now, I can honestly say that I've had at least 6 dark night of the souls and with each one it has gotten longer. My last one has gone on for nearly six months now. In fact I don't really know if I'am in it or out of it.

What is a dark night of the soul? Simply put, it's the primal unconscious part of your psyche coming to the surface of your awareness seeking integration. And it's a bitch and painful to experience.

Naturally, we want safety and security and pleasantness. This is about accepting the polar opposite of that. Many people are confused when they start experiencing unpleasant symptoms when they start spiritual practice. They were told that this would fix them or make them feel better. The spiritual path isn't about feeling better, that is certainly a bi product, but first and mostly it's about shedding the delusions that have built up around your consciousness. And we are attached to our delusions. And like a child who has his toy ripped from his hands we experience pain, loss, anger, and frustration. Please understand when you practice spiritual techniques, whatever it is, tai chi yoga, meditation know that your deepening your awareness and there is plenty of unconscious material within your psyche and the collective psyche that your eventually going to come upon some painful irritating material. The dark night of the soul is only a step along the spiritual path and as we evolve and work through the various levels of our conscious all the way to the collective human conscious and superconscious we will work through denser and denser material but at the same time become brighter and purified.

The spiritual process isn't about building yourself up a specific way it's about annihilating yourself. Michangelo, after completing beautiful sculptures would always say that the sculpture is already there you just need to chip away what isn't neccessary. This is the path of spirituality and the path of our being. And it's quite painful when we chip away at the things that we think or call ourselves. It can feel like we are losing a part of ourselves or our minds. But it's so we can truly shine.

Some people get confused when they become suddenly aware of dark thoughts. For instance, one man who has a knack for promiscuity and chasing women does so but doesn't have any bad thoughts about it. He simply just chases after them and does his thing. One day, as he realizes that continuing this action probably isn't in his best interest he starts to see his thoughts. He has all these thoughts around wanting to do things with women. He thinks to himself, "Man I never thought all these bad thoughts before and now I'am starting to meditate and do spiritual things and it's like I'am becoming worse." This is because his awareness is deepening and he is actually catching the thoughts before they manifest. Before his spiritual practices he simply just acted compulsively. He bedded as many women as he wanted but now with his spiritual practices he can actually see or experience his thoughts. He now is bringing choice or awareness into his life. He can observe the thoughts and impulses and choose to act on them or not. Before, his energies would go outward and simply act without any thought. But now as his energies go inward with spiritual practice he can actually catch his thoughts before they manifest compulsively. People get confused as to why they start having bad thoughts when they start spiritual practice. In reality those thoughts were always there but under the awareness. The person simply acted them out unconsciously. Now they're gaining an awareness of what is coming. Choice is coming into their life which is a step closer to freedom. The dark night of the soul is the point where we give up the old beliefs systems and thought patterns that no longer serve us. We experience them in their totality just before they leave for good. It's a painful and arduous process but there is light on the other side.

So what can you do when you are experiencing a dark night of the soul episode? Number One: Surround yourself with a community that understands what is happening or who has gone through the experience. You may feel alone and desperate. You don't have to go through this alone. Some people because of their egos might want to try to fly solo. This isn't the time for that. Give away your pride and ask for help and reach out. You have support and other people have gone through what you are going through. Reach out and find it. It's out there!

Number two: Be patient with yourself and don't get caught up in the healing trap. Some people will run from person to person begging for their affliction to be taken away. I'am guilty of this. Sometimes things just have to work themselves out at their own pace. You cannot rush your healing. Be patient with it and give yourself the neccessary time. In my last dark night of the soul I didn't do anything but cry, journal, and work on my creative projects for three months straight. I felt like I could do nothing else. And truth be told I couldn't. That was exactly what my being needed.

Number three: Express the way your feeling authentically and find an outlet. And outlet can be a creative pursuit or it can be something like taking a baseball bat to your lawn. When I had some serious anger issues surrounding my military experience I would beat the shit out of my lawn for 20 minutes and then toss the baseball bat as far as I could. It felt wonderful! Allow yourselves to fully express yourself no matter what is coming up. Let it out in healthy ways not in ways that hurt or harm you like drinking or using drugs or sexual promiscuity. These are the things that need to leave.

Dark nights of the soul our not easy experiences. They are unpleasant and painful. But know that no matter how dark or despairing it gets you are not alone. Pray for guidance and reach out for help. You are never alone no matter how much you feel or think it.

There is people out there who have gone through, and are going through exactly what you are going through. You don't have to go it alone! And remember we live in polarities. Every harsh moment is going to have it's flipside. It's only through the dark times do we get to experience the light. I wish you all the best. In love and light! Namaste!

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