{ dark night of the soul }

"The dark night of the soul is a process many spiritual seekers go through at some point in their lives, I being one of them.  The dark night is not mentioned that much in spiritual texts and teachings.   A lot of the times, we are being told to be happy, raise your vibration, look to the light, but none of this will be lasting until you have loved the dark."
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"Dark night of the soul" sounds like a threatening and much to be avoided experience. Yet perhaps a quarter of the seekers on the road to higher consciousness will pass through the dark night. In fact, they may pass through several until they experience the profound joy of their true nature.

Many seekers would encourage the dark night experience if they knew what it was. However, to one engaged in the dark night, suffering seems unending

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The dark night usually develops this way..."

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What is the Dark Night of the Soul

Traditionally, the Dark Night of the Soul is a Western mysticism term referring to the stripping away of one’s identity to surrender to become a channel to the Divine. It refers to the transition and experiences associated with the process of moving from living the reality of our enculturated mind to another reality. It is moving to a reality where we functions as a willing vehicle for the Divine or as a channel of the light as we understand the Diving and/or the light.

The Dark Night of the Soul is about learning to break free of feeding the enculturated egoand relinquishing control of our life it outcome to the Divine. It is about turning all one’s needs and expectations over to The All That Is, God, or the Universe, and trusting that in the oneness and interconnectedness of all things, our needs will be met in all ways and our life will be for service for the greater common good..

The situation our mind faces in relinquishing control to the Divine is like the story of the man who wanted to keep a bird, so he kept it caged or on a string. If the man unties the bird and he lets the bird go, and it returns to him, it is his. If it flies away, then it is not his and never was. So too with all of our attachments we hold in our life. We need to learn to do the same with all our attachments, including people, things and experiences. We need to release them and let them go. If they come back, they are ours. The process causes us to empty our cup, so to speak, to empty our being of wants, and making room for the Divine, in order to be used as a conscious vehicle. The Dark Night of the Soul can be a terrifying experience if we is unaware of what is happening. It can feel as if our entire life and identity are being stripped away. But, in reality, they are. This stripping away can be a rather terrifying experience to the enculturated ego.

http://ryuc.info/common/recreating_oneself/dark_night_of_the_soul.htm