The Dark Night of The Soul | A Traveler’s Notes Pt.2

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[Link to Part 1 of this post]

The Big Lesson

The Dark Night of The Soul as known to me starts with a seeking.  A seeking of some Truth not easily ascertained.  It usually associated with mystical, and hidden knowledge.  It’s about a BIG LESSON that reveals a hidden truth.

You have to experience it to know it.

Your Soul may be asking big questions that you may not even be aware of.  These questions might be hidden underneath other more surface and shallow desires.  But whatever it is your Soul truly seeks, the Dark Night is said to bring you.

Into The Flames

A Dark Night will drag you, throw you into the flames and shake you to your core.  But it is all to get rid you of the muck that would not allow you to see what it is you’re looking for.  It is harsh.  Harsh even seems to be an understatement from my experience.

I went from having an excellent job in the tech field, a nice apartment, a real open relationship with my children, a blooming relationship with the Love of My Life, a new car and excellent health…
To being homeless with no job, estranged from my children, with a mysterious debilitating illness doctors could not diagnose, and all my relationships evaporated like a mist.  This all occurred within SIX MONTHS.

My pockets were emptied

Now how I dealt with, and reacted to all of this may have had a bearing on how long it went on.  Or maybe not?  But I figure it can’t hurt to get the info out there so that someone who needs it might get an idea of how a Dark Night might potentially go down.

Since this is all about you, I can’t really say if it could be shortened or effects lessened because this is about the Soul.  Your Soul.  And people talk about Divine Timing and all…  so who’s to say.

Looking back I have to say, for my level of hardheadedness, this experience was “perfect” for what it was intended for.

So here goes…

1. Hold on to The Unknown

When the ball starts rolling and everything seems to be slipping through your fingers, the first instinct (of course!) is to HOLD ON.  But looking back I think this may have been what caused all the ripping and tearing away type energy I experienced.  This the Tower Card in all it’s glory.  It’s like being in labor…  it helps ALOT to keep your eyes on a focal point that pulls you through to the other side of the pain.

So when everything around you has the possibility of disappearing at any moment, your best bet is to just try and go with the flow…  with the focal point being that “unknown shore” where the flow is taking you.

The whole thing reminds of that scene in the movie Contact.  When Jodie Foster’s character is traveling through the wormholes and shaking violently inside the capsule.  She sees her necklace floating freely and decides to remove the restraints that were not included in the capsule plans the “aliens” transmitted.  (The engineers added them out of FEAR for Foster’s character’s safety.)  It’s then seen that it wasn’t the “flight” that was causing the turbulence, but the restraints.

2.  Adjust Your Focus/Perspective

Try to perceive what is happening to you as a LESSON.

I thought I was being punished.  It wasn’t until last spring did the realization come that I instead was being prepared.  It had been an 16 year long grueling training session.

I went from a very spiritual person to an atheist to an agnostic and back to a more seasoned version of what I started out with.

It’s only been within the past 3 years that I slowly started to revisit my old spiritual practices.  It was very strange seeing them through a different set of “eyes”.  Having gone through what I did added some weight to my ability to see things I’d previously been oblivious to.  The training session had given me an improved sight.

3.  After Destruction comes Renewal

Just like in Nature and all…  beautiful new things grow in the ash of charred and burnt down trees.

And with all things lost, comes something money can’t buy.  And that thing (whatever that may be) that eluded you, can become the foundation on which you start to rebuild.

Your desires and perspectives will have shifted and you may find you are a whole new you.  For me it was as if I suddenly woke up and the past years were like a crazy ass dream.  I still don’t remember some events and time is all mish mashed.  I think because of the traumatic nature of how it all started, I put parts of myself to sleep to keep them safe.

But it’s a trip…  I am coming back around to things from all those years ago with a new understanding.  Even in the beginning of last year, I could not have imagined myself feeling as I do now.  I had no desire AT ALL to revisit anything from that time period.  And now, I am finding beautiful little breadcrumbs I left behind.  And what’s really trippy is that I left them behind for my future/present self?

Encouragement

So these are just a few of the things that come to mind that I think may be of help.  Main thing…  JUST KEEP GOING!  If you are currently going through this…  I send you a prayer for strength, clarity and endurance.  Try to find joy in little things among the chaos.  Keep journals if you can.  And godspeed intrepid traveler!

Hope this helps someone who needs it.

All The Best,
Tru

 

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Recommended book:

The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth

[Photo by Andrea Togni on Unsplash]