DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL~Symptoms

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SPIRITUAL CRISISDARK NIGHT OF THE SOULCarolyn Myss"You cannot find the Light unlessyou enter the darkness"~ An ancient mystical insight *************************Dark

night of the soul, holy madness, spiritual emergency, spiritual crisis,

spiritual madness, and spiritual emergence are various phrases that

have been used to describe a unique experience - a profound test of

faith, endurance, inner purification and surrender - that is a

necessary part of walking the path back home to God.Because of

these experiences, one rises to a higher state of divine beingness and

becomes much closer to All That Is. Sooner or later, this lifetime or

next, everyone will journey through the dark night. Today,

many people on this planet are searching for a deeper meaning and

purpose to life. Struggling for survival and happiness in the material

world just doesn't seem to satisfy the human potential anymore.More

and more we're becoming bored and frustrated with the routines of

everyday life, whether it's with our careers, our personal lives or our

relationships with other people. It seems that the average human

consciousness is so bogged down with the pressures of daily living, it

takes an intense, emotional upheaval to jar it awake even a slight

degree. Deep inside we're beginning to realize that our hunger

for the material comforts and pleasures of life eventually leaves us

feeling empty and incomplete. We then begin to suspect that lasting

peace and happiness is an inner thing. As a result, many individuals

are looking into the spiritual or mystical realms for a greater sense

of purpose, direction and meaning to life. In the process, we find

ourselves asking "who am I really, what am I doing here, or what is the

real purpose of life on this planet?" If we're ready, these

kinds of questions will awaken a yearning deep within that inspires us

to look for answers. Other times a serious life crisis or a profound

mystical event can have the same effect. Its purpose is to open our

eyes to the physical-world dream we've been trapped in for a very long

time. In the end, we find that we're really searching for God. If

we don't find answers to these questions, we'll continue going round

and round on the wheel of karma and reincarnation with many births,

lives, deaths and rebirths until we do. One of the purposes of the dark

night is to help us break that cycle so that we no longer attach to or

anchor ourselves in the physical world of planet Earth. Our

search for the truth helps us to awaken spiritually. More importantly,

it helps us remember who we really are. This is part of the divine

calling that some have heard, but many have yet to respond to. This new

awareness can be the most profound experience of one's lifetime; an

ecstatic rush of joy and enlightenment that is difficult to describe to

those who have yet to reach this point. After an awakening or

shift in one's awareness occurs, we begin to look at the old ways and

false beliefs of our lives with less interest, while that which becomes

clearer and feels more natural is our re-connection with the divine.

The old way simply doesn't interest us anymore while the new way is all

that matters. Somewhere along the journey of remembering who

we really are we may find ourselves in a very uncomfortable space or

no-man's-land. In that place, we realize that we haven't totally let go

of our old belief systems, which are breaking down, while on the other

hand, we have yet to fully plug into the new spiritual truths we have

discovered. This awkward place of mind, between the death of

our "previous life" and the birth of our new one, can bring on an

internal crisis of uncertainty, instability, confusion, frustration and

a most unspeakable despair, as the dark night of the soul sets in and

makes its presence felt. The length of time it takes to "die"

and the time required for rebirth varies with each individual. The

entire experience might last days, weeks or years. In the process, you

experience ego death, and it's control over you begins to dissolve and

lessen, as it returns to its rightful level of influence in your mind.There

are also other ways to bring on a spiritual crisis. Sometimes it can

begin with a profound mystical vision, near-death event, serious

illness, reading a spiritual book, childbirth, a serious loss or even

the use of a mind-altering drug. Either way the net result is an abrupt

and radical change in one's belief systems and one's way of being. All

of it creates the opportunity for profound and lasting inner

transformation and a shift in awareness.The dark night is part

of the spiritual journey. It will take us into the hidden areas of our

nature and bring to the surface many of our ego-based imprints and

imperfections. Then their presence can be acknowledged and cleansed

from our personality and makeup. All of this can be quite demanding and

may leave the individual in a state of emotional drain and

helplessness. Functioning normally in everyday reality can become very

difficult and challenging. It is ironic that along with the

rapture of remembering our divine connection there can be intense

feelings of depression, madness, detachment, hopelessness and an

extraordinary loneliness that is not only relentless, but may last for

months or years on end. That's what happens when we go through this

purification experience and our ego begins to lose its influence over

us. Then comes the required period of waiting and humble

perseverance, as our old self dies and we constantly wonder when the

dark night will end. Ultimately, it feels as though we have lost

control over our lives and, most importantly, that God has truly

abandoned us.St. of the Cross described the dark night of

the soul as "an inflowing of God into the soul, which purges it from

its ignorances and imperfections." Because of its profound

challenges, the dark night has also become a reference point for an

experience of intense, spiritual struggle, and a passage into the

wilderness that is filled with utter hopelessness and isolation.In

Dr. Jack Kornfield's book, First the Ecstasy, Then the Laundry, he

cites the following description of someone who had been on the

spiritual path for more than 20 years and became a guru because of it.

Then, just when things in life seemed to be going perfectly, a dark

night of the soul appeared unexpectedly:"I had always worried

about my students, how unstable their wisdom seemed. After the first

profound realizations of emptiness and freedom, the painful tendency of

many people was to become caught again in separation. But then it

happened to me!I received a crash course in confusion, panic

and depression. It started when I became very sick with leftover

parasites from India. Then all the money I had saved for years and

invested in two thriving businesses was lost through bankruptcy and

betrayal.All of the sudden the 'guru' was sick and poor. I

became terribly frightened. My family life became a place of conflict.

We had to leave our home, to struggle with money, to worry about

ordinary things. I had difficulty with my mother. And all the while I

thought I shouldn't feel these things - I'd been to the peaks, after

all. I thought I knew the whole game.Finally I had to stop

teaching. I lost all control. I reached a childlike stage were I wasn't

trying to understand things; I was just broken down completely, living

moment to moment, and in some way that's when my spiritual life really

became genuine for the first time."Spiritual crisis should not

be confused with personal karma that an individual chooses to confront

and deal with during a given lifetime. For example, if one is in a

difficult relationship, handicapped, abused, involved in a serious

addiction, and so on, these circumstances usually reflect personal

karma rather than the presence and symptoms of a spiritual crisis. St.

of the Cross went through it, Edgar Cayce spoke of it, several

recent books and tapes have described it. And, throughout history,

various indigenous cultures provided special care and loving support

for their tribal members in spiritual crisis. Sometimes the

dark night can be a slow, steady and repetitive process. Other times it

can be intense, radical and very rapid. Either way it is a very

profound experience that strips away our false beliefs and earthly

attachments. The key is to trust what your inner knowingness keeps

telling you that, in the end, the priceless reward will be

God-centeredness and spiritual enlightenment, as the real you emerges

from the material dream. If the dark night has entered your

life, please don't give up! When the madness is over, when one finally

lets go in an act of surrender, acceptance and trust in what God is

accomplishing with you - without resignation and with gratitude for the

experience - the spiritual madness will end.When the madness

ends, ego will have far less influence in your life and a Light will

shine through bringing with it a new spiritual adventure and purpose.

Your path will then be guided by a series of divinely influenced

synchronous events and your real mission for this lifetime will unfold

and fall into place, as if by magic. But don't get too

comfortable with your newfound way of life. The dark night is all about

surrendering to the will of God. When a certain degree of letting go

has finally been achieved, one needs to live that surrender each and

every day. While that is happening, the following question still needs

to be asked: "how can I know I have surrendered unless I am tested from

time to time?" What this means is that we will be tested now and then

in order to answer that question. Symptoms of Spiritual CrisisA typical "dark night" series events might be...Things in life seem to be going along quite smoothly.Then, unexpectedly...The individual has a serious life crisis such as career failure, divorce, a health problem, a serious addiction, financial collapse, a near death experience, etc.or any combination of such eventsAt some point the crisis and anguish becomes so intenseshe or he drops to the floor and, in a climacticact of desperation, cries outGod, help me!God begins to help immediately, most often in waysthat are contrary to what we expect(put your seat belt on at this time!)The crisis usually jump-starts the search for spiritual truth. Each newinsight we discover brings on the death of an old false beliefwe've been programmed to accept throughout our lives.This starts to seriously threaten our ego and...A severe test of faith beginsthat can last for months or yearsThe most important question you can ask yourselfduring a spiritual crisis is, "Can youbelieve in God when the nightis the darkest?"During a dark night crisis the individual may have any combination or all of the following symptoms: * Feelings of depression, despair, loneliness * Loss of energy* Chronic exhaustion not linked to a physical disorder* Loss of control over one's personal and/or professional direction in life* Unusual sensitivity to light, sound and other environmental factors* Anger, frustration, lack of patience* Loss of identity, purpose, and meaning to life* Withdrawal from life's everyday routines* Feelings of madness and insanity* A sense of abandonment by God* Feelings of inadequacy* Lessened feelings of attachment to family and friends* Loss of attention span, self-confidence and self-esteem* Frequent bouts of spontaneous crying and weepingThese

symptoms mimic ordinary clinical depression. However, there is a major

difference. Spiritual madness is an inner thing between you and God

during which deep, rich spiritual growth is occurring. Anti-depressants

may rob you of this miraculous (yet painful) experience.Many of

the above symptoms were taken from The Stormy Search for Self by

and Stanislav Grof, M.D. (please see reference section) http://www.fromthestars.com/page26.htmlLove~All~Ways *~Karma*