But, it’s not meant to be a punishment. I went, none seeing me Apart from meaninglessness, you might experience feelings of loneliness, sadness, shame, powerlessness, worthlessness, anger, abandonment, grief and etc. 2. I know that it doesn’t define me. Also, know that the pain is ready to be released. Composer Ola Gjeilo has written a SATB choral setting accompanied with piano and string quartet, fourteen minutes long, with the English translation of the poem. This light leads the soul engaged in the mystical journey to Divine union. The poem narrates the purpose of the Soul. The veils of illusion are torn from our eyes. The more you hold onto the past identity and stories that your ego has created for you, the more you are going to suffer. You experience some kind of ego death and you know that you are not your thoughts. "[8], While this spiritual crisis is usually temporary, it may endure for a long time. When you are experiencing a Dark Night and you don’t know about the term, “depression” will be a good word to describe your experience to others since the two are rather similar in terms of symptoms. The conceptual framework that once gave us meanings and kept us going in life collapsed. People who are experiencing the Dark Night of the Soul often want to be alone and lose interest in interacting with others. When you reach the boiling point, you transform from water to steam at that instant. For most of us, the ego has not died completely. Some people go through it faster than others because they are very in tune with their soul, while others might take a long time because they have a lot to let go of. We don’t know who we are, what we want in life, and what to do with our lives anymore. Practicing solitude helps you to turn inwards and to connect with the soul. by Nerdy Creator | Mar 31, 2020 | Finding Inner Peace. In other words: the dark night of the soul is the obscuration of the true self. Another good analogy for this is the boiling water. It feels like depression because you share similar symptoms that a depressed person has. You are actually growing even though it seems worse from the ego’s perspective. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, on which he wrote two book-length commentaries: Ascent of Mount Carmel (Subida del Monte Carmelo) and The Dark Night (Noche Oscura). This is a concept that has been known for centuries but certainly dates back much, much further. The first time I had my Dark Night, it was two months of depression. There is too much noise from other people and society influencing you and telling you who you should be and what you should do. There are several steps in this night, which are related in successive stanzas of the poem. "[6] The Ascent and the Dark Night should be considered as forming a single body as P. Lucinio states,[7] quoting Andrés de la Incarnación and P. Silverio de Santa Teresa. The inner state in some cases is very close to what is conventionally called depression. Social conditioning is what created “us” till this point. © Yong Kang Chan. the “dark night” of your soul is not just a bad day, it’s a complete reboot of your entire operating system. Random emotions might surface. The first verse of the poem is translated:[1], In an obscure night Recovering from a psychological depression makes you a stronger, healthier caterpillar but in the end, you are still a caterpillar. (O hapless, happy plight!) But it’s only when you are alone and not affected by other people’s opinions that you can listen to your soul better or at least when you are starting out. What dies is the egoic sense of self. The dark night of the soul is a kind of death that you die. But after my first Dark Night, I still unconsciously derive a sense of self from my relationships. Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt set the poem to music on her album The Mask and Mirror. It is a time of losing control, seeing without eyes, hearing without ears, and walking without feet. People around you might not get you anymore. It’s only when the soul wants further expansion and growth but the ego refuses that the next Dark Night will come. It feels scary and miserable because everything seems to be falling apart and your emotions become out of control. Sacramento, Nota Introductoria, p. 359. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1964. It’s about facing the places where you are stuck and working with God to clear them. (Part 2): The Difference Between INFJ and INTJ, Am I an INFJ? Ernest Dowson alludes to the "obscure night of the soul" in his absinthe poem, Absinthia Taetra. [3] St. John does not actually use the term "dark night of the soul", but only "dark night" ("noche oscura"). God chooses when this happens one of his creatures or, for that matter, whether it happens at all. You’re tackling all of these issues and it’s hard to face that we have them. Everything is wiped clean and you start afresh on a clean slate. But once I’ve had an identity shift, suddenly I can understand all the books about spirituality with ease. How to Reparent Yourself and Love Your Wounded Inner Child, 1. Unless you are very deeply connected with your spirit or devote your life to spirituality, most of us will still act from the ego from time to time even after our first Dark Night of the Soul. Further, the path per se is unknowable. Most of your journey will be dark. The Dark Night of the Soul is one of the most painful, isolating, and destabilizing experiences in life. But when you blame, you are deflecting your emotional pain to others. However, she painfully suffered through this prolonged period of spiritual darkness, even declaring to her fellow nuns: "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into..! The reality is a saddening truth. During this dark night, God roots out our deepest attachments to sin and self, and the desolation that accompanies that rooting out is overwhelming and crushing. The dark night of the soul occurs at the end of the illuminative way, as we prepare to enter the unitive way. [12], Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison writes about the "dark night of the soul" in a number of his songs, including "Tore Down a la Rimbaud" on A Sense of Wonder and "Give Me My Rapture" on Poetic Champions Compose. 17 practical advices that will help you deal with the Dark Night of the Soul. What dies, in essence, is the egoic sense of self. “The Dark Night of the Soul” is a term that is commonly used to describe a period of spiritual transformation. The key to ending the Dark Night of the Soul quicker is trust. (Part 4): The Difference Between INFJ and ENFJ, Am I an INFJ? It doesn’t even feel like a Dark Night the second time around when I embrace it and surrender to the process. As a primordial process of death and rebirth, the Dark Night of the Soul is a period in life where we are stripped of everything that is false. The question “Who am I?” opens the Reality that scares our little human soul. A Dark Night of the Soul is one of the most difficult times in the life of a human being, but also for a culture. The poem of St. John of the Cross, in 8 stanzas of 5 lines each, narrates the journey of the soul to mystical union with God. The second and third books describe the more intense purification of the spirit (Titled "The Active Night of the Spirit"). During this obscure time, God works in a person's unconscious to bring about healing and growth. It could take weeks, months or even years. (Part 3): The Difference Between INFJ and ISFJ, Am I an INFJ? It can’t live like a caterpillar anymore. The Ascent of Mount Carmel is divided into three books that reflect the two phases of the dark night. There’s nothing wrong with this. Best Books that Will Help You Love Your Inner Child. [9], T. S. Eliot alludes to "The Dark Night of the Soul" throughout his Four Quartets. Author John Yates compares it to a Theravadan term, dukkha ñanas, or "knowledges of suffering". There is nothing much to do or anything you can do to make the process any faster than what the soul desires. Strange gifts are emerging. But all this while when you are heating up and increasing in temperature, you are still water. Now, five years later, I’m experiencing the Dark Night again. That’s why it brought to your attention now. A short clip of Eckhart Tolle discussing the Impersonal Nature of Awareness in Santa Barbara for Eckhart Tolle TV. A dark night of the soul is not something that one can choose to initiate — or participate in. You lost interest and energy in doing things. Most of our lives are about making money, having a successful career, finding the perfect partner, building a family, having the perfect body and etc. The song was rerecorded for Moby's album Reprise containing acoustic and orchestral arangments of his older work. Our previous identity, the one that our ego built is often a result of social conditioning. How Can an INFJ Be in a Happy, Satisfying Relationship? I’m grateful I died today.” I’m referring to ego death. It’s not a linear process. Previously, when we act from our ego, we derive our identity from our career, our wealth, our relationships, our roles, and etc. But there’s a difference between the two. The first is a purification of the senses (It is titled "The Active Night of the Senses"). The Dark Night of the Soul results in a total shift of identity. Both works were left uncompleted. That’s why we experience an existential crisis and a loss of identity. Alternative rock band Sparklehorse, along with producer Danger Mouse and director and visual artist David Lynch, collaborated with a number of other artists on an audio-visual project titled Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul. It is a term used to describe what one could call a collapse of a perceived meaning in life…an eruption into your life of a deep sense of meaninglessness. However, the Dark Night of the Soul is a process initiated by the soul. We realize that the ego’s perspective no longer works for us anymore but we are not yet connected with our soul. Website Designed by Nerdy Creator. 3. Fevered with love's anxiety Moby and Mark Lanegan wrote about the Night of the Dark Soul in their collaboration song titled The Lonely Night, released on Moby's eleventh studio album Innocents. We act from the ego instead and therefore, we suffer. In his 1945 collection of essays, The Crack-Up, F. Scott Fitzgerald penned his famous line, "In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning". In mythological terms it’s a journey into the Underworld, where difficult trials must be completed … The obscuration may consist of a previous idea of what one believes about themselves or … The caterpillar has to digest itself, break down its cells, and regroup them before it comes out as a butterfly. It’s always expanding and connected to the Higher Power. The ‘dark night’ symbolizes an obscuration, and ‘soul’ usually refers to an individual’s true essence. English electronic band Depeche Mode make a clear reference in "I Feel Loved", the second single released from the album Exciter: "It's the dark night of my soul and temptation's taking hold, but through the pain and the suffering, through the heartache and trembling I feel loved...". There is some kind of transformation and spiritual awakening. Dark Night of the Soul (Spanish: La noche oscura del alma) is a poem written by the 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross. What Happens After The Dark Night of The Soul. There is little joy in this phase, and an overwhelming sense of meaninglessness to everything you perceive. Dark Night of the Soul. It’s losing control and the power to dictate the direction. The person's role in such a time is not significant. A comprehensive list of symptoms of the Dark Night of the Soul. The "dark night of the soul" does not refer to the difficulties of life in general,[2] although the phrase has understandably been taken to refer to such trials. The Dark Night of the Soul signifies the beginning of a shift in perspective from our ego to our soul. The "dark night" of St. Paul of the Cross in the 18th century endured 45 years, from which he ultimately recovered. What you have previously found meaningful becomes meaningless. The ego is dying. You will see things with new eyes. Dark Night of the Soul By Damcho Pamo St. John of the Cross. You are just slowing down your process of spiritual evolution. Contrary to popular belief, the dark night of the soul does not denote great suffering, often seeming to manifest without reason and bringing forth no worthwhile outcome. The Spanish singer Rosalía arranged a version of the poem Dark Night of the Soul and released it as a single titled Aunque es de noche.[10]. You will only feel more disconnected, hopeless, and frustrated when you try to communicate with them. [14], For the album by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, see, Poem and treatise of St. John of the Cross. The dark night of St. Teresa of Calcutta, whose own name in religion she selected in honor of St. Thérèse, "may be the most extensive such case on record", having endured from 1948 almost until her death in 1997, with only brief interludes of relief, according to her letters. Sometimes, our mind creates a problem so that it has something to fix. The poem describes his spiritual journey and the hardships he faced in his union with God.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-nerdycreator_com-medrectangle-4-0')}; Somehow along the way, the term “Dark Night of the Soul” becomes more widely used instead of the term “Dark Night”. We don’t have to kill our ego completely. The Dark Night of the Soul can be described as a total collapse of a perceived meaning of life and is conventionally called depression. There is no meaning to life and nothing makes sense anymore.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-nerdycreator_com-medrectangle-3-0')}; You feel very confused and you want to be alone. The Dark Night of the Soul is a period of utter spiritual desolation, disconnection, and emptiness in which one feels totally separated from the Divine. Sacramento, Nota Introductoria a la 'Subida' y la 'Noche' in. But our soul isn’t dying. It is likely the poem was written between 1577 and 1579. This time eroding my identity and attachment that are associated with people and relationships.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-nerdycreator_com-leader-2-0')}; But because I’ve been through it once, I know that this is for my greater good and I can appreciate the expansion my soul is bringing me, so I don’t suffer much at all. Like alchemy, it is designed to turn our lead into gold—our pain into joy, our suffering into understanding, our loneliness into connection. Our soul is always full of aliveness, joy, freedom, and love. The individual being may perceive the Unknown as a terrifying vastness. It’s probably more appropriate to call it a “growth period”. On the beautiful text of St. John of the Cross, Loreena made this sublime song. In modern mindfulness practice, many authors have named a similar phenomenon in meditation as the dark night of the soul after the poem. 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