The Dark Night of the Soul is one of the most painful, isolating, and destabilizing experiences in life. Yet it is also a tremendous blessing in disguise.
As a primordial process of death and rebirth, the Dark Night of the Soul is a period in life where we are stripped of everything that is false.
The veils of illusion are torn from our eyes. We suddenly see the fragility of ourselves, other people, and existence itself.
Out of nowhere, we start asking big questions such as “What is the meaning of life?” “What happens after death?” and “Why was I born?”
The more we start to question our lives, the more deception we come across. We see the lies perpetuated by society.
We see the ways we have become wounded and behave dysfunctionally. And we may even notice a sense of emptiness inherent in our lives. Something feels missing. But what?
For many people, the Dark Night of the Soul heralds big life shifts. We may quit our jobs, leave our marriage, and seek out something more meaningful and aligned with who we truly are.
For some, the Dark Night is a call to begin the spiritual wanderer’s journey toward self-actualization, spiritual illumination (or enlightenment), and reconnecting with the Soul.
Dark Night of the Soul Questions
When people first enter this dark period of life, they often have many questions.
It can feel scary to lose interest in what you once valued and have your life turned upside down. Due to its destabilizing effect on our lives, the Dark Night is synonymous with what is known as the spiritual emergency.
Here are some commonly asked questions which might help to relax your mind a bit:
Most people who go through the Dark Night feel a sense of loneliness, isolation, anxiety, and depression. It’s common to crave solitude and quiet, comforting environments. While some describe the experience as a death and rebirth, others describe it as the feeling of disintegrating or falling through a void.
The Dark Night of the Soul is an experience that is unique to everyone (although it does share many common characteristics). For one person it may last a few months, for others, it may last a year or many years. Most importantly, please understand that this is a temporary experience, and many people can relate to what you’re experiencing. You’re not alone, although it might feel that way.
There are many ways to answer this question, but it’s crucial to understand first and foremost that the Dark Night is a natural and organic process. Just as trees go through a period of losing their leaves in Autumn/Winter, so too do we as humans (metaphorically speaking). We all go through cycles of death and rebirth – periods where we are full of life and energy and then periods where we need to slow down and go within. The Dark Night helps us to stop and tune into our inner selves. It is a process that goes hand-in-hand with the spiritual awakening process and finding our true life purpose.
Good question! Think of the Dark Night of the Soul as entering a prolonged Winter period. What comes after Winter? Spring! After the Dark Night, we emerge refreshed, renewed, and ready to walk our true life paths. This is known as the ‘Illumination‘ stage on the spiritual wanderer’s journey. In this period, we have gained clarity, wisdom, tenderness, and the ability to tune into ourselves thanks to the Dark Night period. These qualities we then bring into our lives. It’s quite common to start big projects, make powerful life changes, and explore our newly found gifts after the Dark Night of the Soul. It’s a blessing in disguise.
Dark Night of the Soul Test
Are you experiencing symptoms of loneliness, isolation, depression, and soul loss? Does it feel as though you’re cut off or totally disconnected from the Divine?
If so, you may be experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul. Take our free Dark Night of the Soul Test to confirm (or challenge) your suspicions below:
What result did you get? Feel free to share your results in the comments as well as any reflections.
If you need more in-depth guidance, see our Dark Night of the Soul Journal for more help.
What has your experience during the Dark Night been like so far? I’d love to hear from you below. Your words might inspire or support someone else on this difficult journey.
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Thank You so much for this article!
I finally know what is happening with me last 12 months, actually I am on the end of dark night I guess. Finding my answers and new world around. Still feel alone , I can’t be around people yet but everything in the right direction , I can finally feel light on the end of this tunnel
P.
I’m just lost since my son had his accident and ended with brain damage .. I lost myself I lost my family .. now they are all back I’m still lost and trying to please everyone but I’m not happy I sad everyday … I don’t want to be hear some days and others I couldn’t imagine leaving my kids I seem confused and need help ….
I so am going thru this. I also feel i have a higher calling, I think i’m here to heal but first need to heal within from a lifetime (still continues) of trama and abuse. This however has made me feel so alone, depressed even suicidal. I’ve lost everyone and everything…God please help me, i dunno if imma make it
I just skimmed the most recent post and found something I can relate to. Melody said that she knows the government watches her. I truly believe the same thing. And I worked for the U.S. Federal Government for 9.5 years. I came to this comment area via something a psychic told me on a phone reading. She said, “you will be going through a ‘hard ascension’ next year,” and implied that all will be well(especially financially speaking) after surviving it. I recently found “dark night of the soul” in something I had read, and I chose to “follow or pull on the string,” so to speak; what I ended up with was more than one explanation of the “dark night” scenario. But this was a week or so before speaking to the psychic. And now, I am truly overwhelmed finding myself posting to this site(not like Australia was not a definite consideration in my moving from where I live; it was[and still might be] a definite consideration). In the fall of 2019, I noticed my High Desert skies began to be infiltrated with drones. Now the drones and “invisible” airplanes(I say invisible because they are difficult to even spot, and… Read more »
I began with knowing my relationship with my husband was over. Then began seeing in spirit, meaning I actually see demons and faries and orbs of light. I grew angrier than I ever thought possible as id always taken the blame weather or not i was responsible for that blame, I realize that the myans were correct in their 2012 assessment of their calendar end as I truly believe 2012 was the beginning of the end of this world! Personally I began saying and doing things i had and still have no idea to their meaning or origin and believe myself a ping pong ball between the worlds of good and evil. Truly believe i was here in a last attempt to bring lucifer back home, just to realize i was HIS PAWN rather than making a dent in the devils game. I found shapeshifters are real, as are light b ings that are in the dark doing dark deeds. I was actually told that i was correct in assessment of being “watched” by the government and them cloning EVERY electronic device i got “proof” of devils and demons and light beings doing dark deeds. They actually inhabited my own… Read more »
I can’t truly pin the precise date, but if I would guess somewhere near 10/2016 is when I got kicked out of my home by my ex-wife and I’ve been on a downward spiral ever since. With the most recent event is being a empath and doing time in prison. It wasn’t as lovely as you would imagine. I know life is filled with learning experiences that is unique to us all and we have to figure it out on our own, whether it be good or bad. I have just been overloaded with bad/negative ones, it’s like I hit bottom and every time I try to get back on my feet so I can start to pull myself out of the hole. Someone kicks me and it’s easier to kick a person when they are down and recorded on there phone then to help someone up seams to be the norm. My mind feels cloudy and/or sluggish almost like I got caught in an avalanche and the weight is overwhelming and I don’t know up from down. How long will this phase last of my live last?
I am somewhere in this journey right now. Am completely lost and completely drained emotionaly, spirituly and physicaly. I cant be away from people, and i cant be near people. It started many months before the night of cleansing. The night i cried out to God for an answer. I opened my soul to the air of the evening, God came into me and emptied my soul. Time stoped, the squirle cage in my head stoped, the noise stoped, i was in a state that i cannot find words for. Than God showed me who i was. Than for days answers came to me one by one that defined who i was and why the people of my life were put before me, the path behind me was so very clear. Than as time passed i began to realize that that night was just a door into the darkness i am in now. The fear, confusion, loss of all direction, loss of purpose, has led to what at times seems to be complete maddness. The emotional swings are debilitating. I have looked for answers and guidence in a few different ways. There are none. I have been to places in… Read more »
For many years I have experience this disconnect from life and everyone around me. I experienced depression and anxiety. Depression because I didn’t understand who I am and anxiety because I was waiting for something that wasn’t clear to me. I lived with a desire to commit suicide only to be stopped by this energy of light and I mean this literally. In one of those moments I asked this light to guide my path to it. I got the answer to my prayers but it left me with more questions than answers, how does the whole human experience connect with this invisible energy that honestly wants me to live this human experience. Lately I have been feeling some answers, a sense of walking peacefully, I noticed that my ego is confused and wants to take charge and this cause me a lot of emotional pain and something within me feels like all of this is changing my way of thinking. It’s hard to have an emotional conflict, you want to cry out to god to make it stop. I am learning that my sadness feels like I am carrying the pain of the world and I can’t help but… Read more »
I totally resonate with this long dark night, it was brought to my attention this morning. And I’m glad I was told about it. 2018 I believe was the start of this darkness. I lost my everything, my husband my children hated me because I left and was alienated, last year I lost my oldest son, who was my very best friend, and almost to date, I was in a car accident that took my life, but yet here I am. I live with the healing of a broken back, but I also live without my most valued treasures. I’m lost and haven’t any hope and my quality of life has diminished over time.
So thank you for the information you have provided, I may see the light again one day
Thank you so much for this article and helping shed some very helpful light on a really dark time. To give some context, I lost my mum 4 years ago, which is when I think I unknowingly entered the dark night. I was so lost and disjointed that I split up with my husband of 10years because I couldn’t deal with the attachment. Made a string of bad decisions and have been trying to find my way out of it ever since. I don’t believe in religion so I prayed to the universe to help guide me, the universe listened and had a chance encounter with a yogi who is the one who started to talk to me about my soul and that’s when I started to to y own research on dark nights etc, which is when I found you. I have tried to seek numerous methods of help, but no one ever quite gets it. It doesn’t feel like depression, just a constant feeling of being lost with no purpose or direction, but every time I explain this, most people think I’m going crazy and so I just gave up trying to seek help…I feel like this site… Read more »