The Dark Night of the Soul

This sounds odd and scary. I heard about the dark night of the soul years ago. What does it mean? It's literally a problematic period of our lives that often causes existential crisis. It can be triggered by trauma, loss, or something that turns your life upside down...like a chronic illness. It's not just a spiritual concept, therapists often address it as well, so it's both spiritual and psychological.

I used to do shadow work but never finished my shadow work journal. That one digs up your inner shadow that you need to face and accept. I constantly analyze myself. If I'm an expert in something, that is knowing myself including the shadow aspect of my mind and soul. Probably that's why I stopped working on the journal. Recently, I ran into some videos by Eckhart Tolle. He is the spiritual teacher who focuses on staying in the present to evolve our awareness and consciousness. I've always liked his approach, but never really immersed myself in it. After watching a few of these videos, I've begun to examine the last, almost one year of my life: The traumatic event that brought up the first symptoms, the irrational fear of illnesses, the diagnosis, and the ongoing struggle with uncertainty. It can very well be the dark night of the soul. I'm now trying to apply the methods of staying in the present and exploring the meaning behind it.

According to Tolle, and as a matter of fact, to a lot of other teachers, the dark night of the soul is a wonderful opportunity to address our consciousness. I plan to write a series of contemplations and experiences in this blog.

If you're interested, here is Tolle's YouTube channel, and the links to his two major books:

YouTube

The Power of Now

A New Earth

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