11 Strategies for Moving Through the Dark Night of the Soul to Freedom | Your guardian angel

Moving through a dark night of the soul into a new phase of awakened light
Many spiritual greats have written about the Dark Night of the Soul, which is a troubling and incredibly difficult phase of spiritual awakening.

Not everyone on the spiritual path experiences this challenging period, but for those who do, it has the potential to be incredibly transformative.

historical references

The earliest writings on the Dark Night of the Soul come from Saint John of the Cross, a 16th-century Spanish mystic and Carmelite monk. A man who was an “outside the box” spiritual thinker for his time, was imprisoned for eight years because of his beliefs. During this time he wrote Dark Night of the Soul which recounts his experiences of consuming spiritual darkness. For him, the dark night was a painful period that revealed deep truths – not all of them easy to see or recognize. But he also shares that within the darkness, there is promise and hope. He came to believe that there was no better way to achieve spiritual transformation than through the unseen gifts in the dark.

Other great saints, such as Teresa de Avila, have written about this phase, but it is not a topic that many talk about. Mother Teresa, the Catholic nun who was called to care for the sick and dying in Calcutta, India, wrote to her confessor about decades of spiritual darkness.

Many people feel that they must always work to raise their vibration, feel happy, and move forward on the spiritual path.

So wait… What is the Dark Night of the Soul?

The Dark Night of the Soul is a phrase used to describe reaching a low point in life, where you experience a loss of meaning in your life, and face the deep questions surrounding your own mortality, and a lack of previous meaning in your life. life. There is little joy in this phase, and an overwhelming sense of meaninglessness in everything you perceive.

From the outside, the experience appears similar to a depressive state. You lack motivation, nothing makes sense, and the compass that usually guides you in the right direction seems to be hopelessly malfunctioning leaving you stuck in a “pit of despair”… Energy drained, not seeing things as they are, and lost on how to get out or even where to go if you could emerge.

Every dark night awaits an amazing bright light

This “dark night” experience is something that happens to many, and I too have experienced a dark night of the soul. At the time, I was miserable, but looking back now it’s clear to see that going through this period of pain, darkness, and depression in my life aligned me with incredible light and a beautiful gift.

Do you think you may be experiencing the phase that is the Dark Night of the Soul?

Trust that you will get through it, for just like Earth’s cycles, when a dark night is experienced, daylight will always follow.

The key is to explore and embrace the phase you are in, to be present with the sense of loss you may be feeling, and through this presence you are able to learn the lessons of the moment to transform and move through.

How does the dark night of the soul begin?

Many times a dark night is triggered by an external event. If you experience any of these situations, they often herald the beginning of a profound spiritual transformation:

The death of someone close to you, especially an “out of order” death such as the loss of a child or young spouse, is often a trigger. Any crisis or disaster that invalidates the meaning you have given to your life can be a catalyst. Some report experiencing a dark night after a sudden or intense period of spiritual growth and realization.

But just as regularly, there is no clear or obvious trigger. You move through your life with relative ease, creating meaning in your relationships, your career, your community, and suddenly, this meaning collapses.

17 Symptoms of the Dark Night of the Soul

I mentioned earlier that a Dark Night of the Soul looks, and feels, similar to a state of depression. Initially, the experience can be confusing until you learn to identify the symptoms and gain some understanding. A few things to pay attention to:

Feeling negative emotions: anger, sadness, frustration, confusion, hate, etc., without knowing why or being able to identify a cause. He has tried methods and techniques to shake off the negativity, loneliness and confusion, but nothing works. In fact, sometimes it can get worse. You have memories or an intuition of childhood pain that you can’t seem to shake. When you try to talk to others about what you are experiencing, you get the feeling that they don’t understand it or can’t quite understand it. You feel alone, even cut off from the Divine, a previous source of comfort and inspiration. You feel fatigued and listless; your energy is spent trying to resolve these negative feelings. You feel abandoned by everyone. This can be from society, from your family, from your friends, from your romantic partner and from the community. There is an innate feeling of shame and worthlessness that you can’t seem to get out of. You don’t feel worthy or deserving of anything good in your life. You are ashamed of your existence, you feel uncomfortable in your own skin, and incapable of loving yourself. You feel lost, as if you are grieving for humanity, or for a place you long to call home. You feel sad because your ego and your beliefs have been shattered. While grieving this loss, you also feel lost, purposeless, and you don’t know which way to go. You ask yourself philosophical questions like, Who am I? What is the meaning of life? Does any of this matter? On some levels, there is a call for ego death, rebirth, and identity change that you are not ready for, but are learning to accept. You try to convince yourself to be happy, when you think you have the perfect life that everyone wants… And yet you experience an incredible emptiness, and you feel that “something is wrong” You are experiencing symptoms of physical, emotional and spiritual detoxification. This could be a sudden intolerance to food, pain from an old injury resurfacing, buried memories resurfacing, hot and/or cold energies and tingles moving through your body. You experience intense dreams, nightmares, and past life memories Due to some irresolvable differences in beliefs and values, you lose or choose to distance yourself from your support system of family and friends. You experience waves of anguish and disappointment with your understanding of God and your community. Feeling hopeless and disappointed by everything you believed to be true. An event causes you an existential crisis, feeling disconnected from everything and everyone.

When this happens, due to external or internal circumstances, the framework of life as you knew it, of life as you felt comfortable with, falls apart; the meaning leaves and is replaced by confusion and spiritual pain. You feel like you have been left in a dark place.

The darkest hour is before dawn

Some have described the dark night of the soul as a feeling of being trapped, with no hope of lightness or joy. Many talk about feelings of loneliness, isolation, and being misunderstood. Life feels pointless and painful.

Allowing yourself to feel whatever you are feeling during the challenging times of the dark night will help you through this time with grace, expanding your awareness and grounding you closer to your true self.

All the symptoms you feel are there to teach you to love, surrender, trust, connect and accept yourself. In other words, they have come to teach you about your true self. Conflict comes when the ego fights to maintain its control over your life. Don’t try to fight the ego, let it relax and through the lessons you are learning, you will see your true Self emerge.

The time of the dark night of the soul can feel endless, but if you can learn to welcome these emotions, you can move to a higher, clearer level. Over time, you awaken to something deeper that is not based on the ego’s perception of reality. Purpose returns and with it a greater sense of connection to the Divine and to your own soul. For some, it is as profound as complete ego death.

Take your time and trust the process

As you trust your journey, this dark night of the soul process can feel unsettling, so accept what rises within you. From this place of awareness, reflect what is coming your way, and the purpose it serves for your transformation.

A passage in the light of day

As it happens, the Dark Night of the Soul can make you miserable; like you’ve been abandoned. Some people have a tendency to ask themselves “Why me?” like they did something wrong. One of the hardest things to do during this period is to embrace difficult emotions and find gratitude for them.

How to overcome the dark night

In essence, the dark night is a rite of passage. Those who move through it can come to a profoundly different and more peaceful life. A kind of light that bounces off the bottom of the rock, the only place you can go from this low of lows is up.

The pain you feel during this low point is often a lifetime of pent up emotions, eventually being released and resolved. It is your soul saying “Enough is enough”, it is time to experience all this feeling instead of burying it… It is time to process, experience and finally let go of the heaviness.

One of the keys… is to accept it:

If you are experiencing a dark night of the soul, acknowledge and accept that this is a natural phase of life. Not just yourself for being here… Let it be okay. Make an effort to face what is coming up head on. Keep your heart open and remember that pain is just a visitor, carrying a message from your True Self. Seeking the advice of a spiritual teacher, counselor or friend is also a good and comforting idea. Pursue whatever healing modality feels right to you. Know that there is no punishment or persecution from the universe here. You may have experienced a tragedy, or a life filled with emotions (a tragedy itself) and the universe has made a move to shake you up, help you break free, and help you step into your full spiritual potential. There is nothing wrong with you, and you know that this is the process of peeling away the layers of everything that does not serve you. You are not being punished, you are not being attacked, and you are definitely not a victim. Get out of your own way, be extra gentle, loving, tune in to the inner voice of compassion and allow this process to unfold! The ego will give you a lot of advice. He may tell you to stuff your emotions or blame someone or something else. When you are in the center of your emotions, try to just observe them and not…