The phrase "dark night of the soul," [noche oscura del alma] can be traced back to a 16th-century Spanish poem by the Roman Catholic mystic San Juan de la Cruz, Saint John of the Cross.
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| Portrait of Saint John of the Cross by Arnold van Westerhout |
In an obscure night En una noche oscura,
Fevered with love's anxiety con ansias, en amores inflamada,
O hapless, happy plight! ¡oh dichosa ventura!
I went, none seeing me salí sin ser notada
forth from my house, estando ya mi casa sosegada.
where all things quiet be
It is most commonly used within certain Christian traditions to refer to an individual's spiritual crisis in the course of their union with God.
In the fields of philosophy and psychology it is a term used to describe what one could call a collapse of a perceived meaning in life. Leading to an existential crisis or period of desolation in which all sense of consolation disappears as reality shatters all around.
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| Noche Oscura by Josephine Sacabo |
[A]n eruption of a deep sense of meaninglessness. The inner state in some cases is very close to what is conventionally called depression. ~ Eckhart Tolle
In Ron Lang's research into the dark night of the soul Saint John is likened to a log so intensely on fire that the heat coming from it causes a constant flaring up of flames. Now the soul is so united with God through the expression of love that God’s activity is its activity, because the will is completely surrendered to the Lord.
Gerald May’s The Dark Night of the Soul describes the experience as waking up to love. Mystery is still present as we have not yet seen the full light of day, but there is a growing realization of what has happened during the night and of who we are in God.
In Ron Lang's research into the dark night of the soul Saint John is likened to a log so intensely on fire that the heat coming from it causes a constant flaring up of flames. Now the soul is so united with God through the expression of love that God’s activity is its activity, because the will is completely surrendered to the Lord.
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| La Amada |
Gerald May’s The Dark Night of the Soul describes the experience as waking up to love. Mystery is still present as we have not yet seen the full light of day, but there is a growing realization of what has happened during the night and of who we are in God.
When Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s private letters were published reactions to her dark night of the soul were controversial in both religious and non-religious sectors. Yet many testimonies have appeared in the media of people who were experiencing inner anguish and sadness expressing how much reading about her experiences helped them to cope and to put their suffering into a spiritual light.
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| Olvido |
When we experience loss, trauma, and tragedy in our lives we go into the darkness where the truth of who we really are is revealed as beings filled with a deep love of light. Find our true strength and be guided into the silence to learn about your true beauty and be a person who doesn’t need to call on outside sources as you now trust yourself and your gifts. ~ Sandra Ingerman
We are life in human form and our blood and DNA track back to shared roots. Descendants of stars and galaxies, children of oceans and forests, creative expressions of Nature. All part of this planet - giver or taker, predator or prey, nourisher or killer.
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| Claro de Luna |
The dark night of the soul is a shamanic journey - a quest, a pilgrimage, and an initiation into the unexplored darkness that lies within each of us.
It is a ceremony of liberation from thought patterns and filters, limiting belief and behavior, collective mindset and herd action. It is the path to personal freedom.
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| Azucena |
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