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ยป Home ยป Facing The Darkness

7 Omens That Herald the Dark Night of the Soul

by Mateo Sol ยท Updated: Apr 2, 2025 ยท 521 Comments

AI generated image of a wolf in a dark scary forest representing the dark night of the soul
Dark night of the soul image

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest Souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.

โ€“ย Khalil Gibran

At some point, most of us spiritual wanderers, seekers, and lone wolves go through a phenomenon known as the Dark Night of the Soul.

Although we try to run from it, it is still there. Although we try to cover it up and smother it, it is still there. Although we try to put on a happy, smiley face and pretend it away, it’s still there.

While some of us seek reprieve in religious thought, others of us seek respite in spiritual philosophy or psychology, and still, others seek relief through addiction and mind-numbing external pursuits.


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The truth is that although we are all born with Souls, not all of us know how to fully embody and integrate them into our human experience. The reality is that in our modern world, we live ego-centrically rather than Soul-centrically.

Mystics, saints, and shamans throughout history have all referred to this ego-centric human struggle in different ways. But the one thing they all had in common was their tendency to point to the need for us to consciously grow into our Divine potential.

One of these people was Saint John of the Cross, a Spanish monk who coined the term “Dark Night of the Soul” (“Noche Oscura” the name of one of his poems) based on his own mystical experience.

These days, the concept of the Dark Night of the Soul has come to be used in a much broader way. What was once a term reserved for people actively going through a Spiritual Journey, has now come to easily label anything ranging from a few bad days and a period of depression to the death of a loved one.

But what really is the Dark Night of the Soul?

(Note: if you feel the need for further gentle guidance after reading this article, I recommend checking out our Dark Night of the Soul Journal which is a wonderfully supportive way of finding a continued sense of direction and healing.)

Table of contents

  • What is the Dark Night of the Soul?
  • Dark Night and Depression โ€“ Is it the Same Thing?
  • 7 Omens That Herald the Dark Night of the Soul
  • Why Suffering is Necessary
  • What is the Point of Living?
  • Happiness Isnโ€™t This or That, Happiness IS
  • The Dark Night and The Spiritual Awakening Process
  • Dark Night of the Soul Meditation
  • Time to Go Into the Dark

First, we’ll start with a basic definition:


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What is the Dark Night of the Soul?

Image of an eclipse symbolizing the dark night of the soul

The Dark Night of the Soul is a period of utter spiritual desolation, disconnection, and emptiness in which one feels totally separated from the Divine.

Those who experience the Dark Night feel completely lost, hopeless, and consumed with melancholy.

The Dark Night of the Soul can be likened to severe spiritual depression (it’s a type of spiritual emergency.)

The concept of having a Dark Night of the Soul has existed for a long time, and spans back to the 16th century when poet and Catholic mystic Saint John of the Cross wrote a poem entitled, โ€œLa noche oscura del alma (The Dark Night of the Soul).โ€

Wrote Saint John:

If a man wishes to be sure of the road heโ€™s traveling on, then he must close his eyes and travel in the dark.

Traditionally, the Dark Night of the Soul refers to the experience of losing touch with God/Creator and being plunged into the abyss of godless emptiness.

The modern understanding of having a Dark Night of the Soul, however, is not exclusively a religious one, but can often mean losing all meaning in life, feeling out-of-touch with the Divine, feeling betrayed or forsaken by Life, and having no solid or stable ground to stand on.

Some of the heaviest questions we ask during this period include for example, โ€œWhy am I alive?โ€ โ€œWhy do good people suffer?โ€ โ€œWhat is truth?โ€ โ€œIs there a god or afterlife?โ€ and โ€œWhat is the point of living?โ€


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These introspective journaling prompts teach you how to explore and move through your Dark Night of the Soul!

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Dark Night and Depression โ€“ Is it the Same Thing?

Image of a black wolf in a mysterious forest

The Dark Night of the Soul is not the same as depression.

Although depression shares many of its characteristics with the experience of having a Dark Night of the Soul, it can often be treated and sometimes cured with medications, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness practices, lifestyle changes, and so forth.

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Furthermore, depression often has its roots in biological chemical imbalances and/or unhealthy thought patterns, and often comes as a result of personal loss, mental illness, physical illness, abuse, genetics, and so on.

However, while the Dark Night of the Soul isn’t the same as regular depression, it can be thought of as spiritual depression.

One of the biggest differences between the Dark Night of the Soul’s depression and regular depression is that the Dark Night is primarily a spiritual and existential form of crisis that canโ€™t be treated or cured with therapy or psychiatry.

Therefore, those of us going through the Dark Night can often feel an increasing sense of hopelessness, unease, and despair as we discover that no one can save us but ourselves.

Inevitably, this makes us feel even more alone, frustrated, and confused about the world and about ourselves.

I am intensely aware of what it is like to experience complete psychological and spiritual desolation and although the feeling seems endless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you just know where to look.

7 Omens That Herald the Dark Night of the Soul

Image of a black forest symbolic of the dark night of the soul

I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.ย 

โ€“ Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

“What’s the difference between the dark night and depression?” you may still wonder.

Even back in the 16th century, Saint John of the Cross himself was at great pains to distinguish the Dark Night from mere melancholia (depression).

After all, the symptoms of the Dark Night of the Soul are not that different from depression.

But while depression is psychological/neurological/biological, the Dark Night heralds deep-seated changes occurring within us known as spiritual transformation.

Here are 7 “omens” that you might be going through a Dark Night of the Soul:

  1. You feel a deep sense of sadness, which oftenย verges on despair (this sadness is often triggered by the state of your life, humanity, and/or the world as a whole)
  2. You feel an acute sense of unworthiness
  3. You have the constant feeling of being lost or “condemned” to a life of suffering or emptiness
  4. You possess a painful feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness
  5. Your will and self-control is weakened, making it difficult for you to act
  6. You lack interest and find no joy in things that once excited you
  7. You crave for the loss of something intangible; a longing for a distant place or to “return home” again

(You can also take our free Dark Night of the Soul test to help you discover whether you’re going through this experience or not.)

The ultimate difference between regular depression and the Dark Night of the Soul’s depression is that regular depression is usually self-centric, whereas the Dark Night’s depression is philosophical in nature and is accompanied by existential reflections such as “Why am I here?” and “What is my purpose?”

Also, when depression ends, not much changes in your life in terms of your beliefs, values, and habits.

However, when the Dark Night of the Soul ends, everything in your life is transformed, and life becomes wondrous again.

Why Suffering is Necessary

Image of a woman drowning in water symbolic of the dark night of the soul

My desire to live is as intense as ever, and though my heart is broken, hearts are made to be broken: that is why God sends sorrow into the world โ€ฆ To me, suffering seems now a sacramental thing, that makes those whom it touches holy โ€ฆ any materialism in life coarsens the soul.

โ€“ Oscar Wilde “Letters“

Polish psychologist Kazimierz Dฤ…browski once coined the term Positive disintegration, which views tension and anxiety as a necessary part of the process of spiritual and psychological maturing.

In other words, it is the friction within us that causes the mirror of our Souls to be polished enough for us to glimpse our True Nature.


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I often hear people speak of the Dark Night as some kind of problem they have to “fix,” or something they “went through a long time ago, that is now over, thank God.”

But what these people thought was a Dark Night may have just been a glimpse of the darkness within them, especially when they speak egotistically about it as if it were a badge of honor.

A true Dark Night of the Soul leaves a long-lasting impact on you โ€“ it changes you completely.

When you exit a Dark Night, you will discover that something is always taken away from you (for the better), such as your beliefs, your perceptions, your former meaning in life, or even in rare cases, your ego identification.

The metaphysician Ananda Coomaraswamy put it this way:

No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.

Have you ever seen a butterfly begin to emerge from its cocoon? It must struggle in order to strengthen its wings.

If someone frees the butterfly from its cocoon prematurely, it won’t be able to fly because its crucial tempering stage will not have occurred.

The same is true for trees. Trees need wind in order to build their structural strength to stay upright.

Your Dark Night of the Soul is your wind, your cocoon; it is an ego death whereby you shed the ego that prevents you from embodying your Soul.

If you try to avoid the hard work of, as Ananda put it, “ceasing to exist,” or breaking down your old confining structures, you won’t have what it takes to truly embody your essential nature.

What is the Point of Living?

Dark night of the soul image

Here’s another central question and concern that emerges over and over again during our Dark Night of the Soul.

What is the point of living?

Such a question weighs down on us like lead, oppressing us constantly.

Each day, we might obsessively search for an answer, but find to our greatest dismay that the answers to such a question are as expansive as the waves on the ocean.

Some people tell us, โ€œthe point is to serve God,โ€ others tell us, โ€œthe point is to make a difference,โ€ and others tell us, โ€œthere is no point: you make your own meaning.โ€

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These are only three of hundreds, even thousands of possible answers.

What the hell are we supposed to do?

Who is right, who is wrong โ€ฆ if there really is any โ€œrightโ€ or โ€œwrongโ€ answer? We walk down one path and immediately become dissatisfied, disillusioned, and repelled by what we discover.

Then we walk down another path and history repeats itself again and again until we realize with horror, โ€œEvery path is meaningless to me,โ€ and we collapse in grief and despair, winding up at square one again.

Such a cycle repeats itself over and over again during the Dark Night of the Soul, so much so that it can become like torment. I know because I have experienced it.

The strange thing is that although we get to a point of complete desolation, we still hold a glimmer of hope that pursuing the same path over and over and over again will somehow bring us to a deeply satisfying meaning one day.

We seem to think that the mind is the solution to our problems; that utilizing the mind will release us from the original prison created by the mind that feels the need to quantify, measure, and define everything.

What most of us fail to do, however, is to question the actual questions we are asking and pursuing the answers to. Have you ever tried asking:

Why must there be a point to living? Instead of, What is the point of living?

I’ll elaborate on this below.

Happiness Isnโ€™t This or That, Happiness IS

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Earlier today I opened my email and received a poignant message from one of our long-time readers asking:

I don’t understand. Why am I alive? Why do I experience life? I don’t know why I am here now. I don’t see the point of living my life. I don’t want anything, not material /physical achievements, not relationships, not entertainment, nothing. I don’t know what to do with this body, mind, and feelings. Or maybe I just experience this life too intensely until I am numbed. But why?

My answer to anyone experiencing this is that although you might feel cursed, you are actually blessed. It sounds absurd, even insulting, but this is the truth.

Before any true growth or healing can occur, there must be a process of destruction and complete annihilation of everything you thought would bring you happiness.

Most people experiencing Dark Nights realize this: that nothing makes them happy anymore; not bodily, not sexual, not emotional, not material, not political, not social, not even spiritual. And this is the start of the purification process.

Conditioning vs. reality …

Since birth you have been conditioned to believe that money will make you happy, a sexy/rich partner will make you happy, a high IQ will make you happy, a big house will make you happy, a thriving career will make you happy, a perfect life will make you happy.

But this is all a lie because whenever you pursue happiness, you are immediately losing touch with the fact that happiness is already here, right now, in this very second, without you having to do anything or question anything. Happiness IS.

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This sounds like the most ridiculous thing you might have ever heard, and yet deep down you might sense the truth in it.

If this is the case the first layer of your illusion has been peeled away; what a blessing!

A blessing in disguise …

In reality, it is absolutely terrifying to have the ground beneath your feet ripped out from beneath you, and this is precisely what we experience during the Dark Night of the Soul.

And yet, this experience is the greatest teacher of all to us because it illuminates what is fragile, transient, and subject to change, growth, and decay.

We are subsequently left with a feeling of great inner emptiness, but within this emptiness, we eventually come to see what can never come, go, change or die, and that is the truth of who we are: pure, peaceful, and blissful conscious essence.

The mind is always frantically searching …

The mind is a product of our evolutionary development: it protects us and structures our existence, and through it, we can experience the beauty of life.

But in order to truly come to any closure during our Dark Nights we must understand that the mind is limited, narrow, and finite โ€“ and therefore so is our reasoning.

Why must there be a โ€œpointโ€ to living other than the experience of being alive in all of its fascinating and shocking diversity? Why must we โ€œpursueโ€ or โ€œfindโ€ something rather than simply experiencing each moment fully and completely in the simplicity of Being?

That is why I say that happiness isnโ€™t this or that, happiness IS.

What exactly are we seeking when we want to answer the question, โ€œWhat is the point of livingโ€? We want a satisfactory answer that will appeal to the mind and “GIVE” us happiness.

But happiness canโ€™t be given because happiness IS. This might all sound like fancy rhetoric, but I recommend that you let it sink in and really look into it more.

For me it took years, but these six questionsย helped to solidify the understanding that happiness and fulfillment are already here, now. Please read them to continue your journey.

The Dark Night and The Spiritual Awakening Process

The Dark Night of the Soul image

As humans, the prospect of change is avoided and resisted because it is unknown territory. Therefore, we fear it. For this reason, we require a Spiritual Awakening.

There are three ways that Spiritual Awakenings can occur:

the first is at the hands of wise spiritual teachers, the second is through the spiritual drive of soulfully mature people, and the third is spontaneouslyย due to life experience.

Spontaneous awakenings arrive in a number of ways: a terminal diagnosis, old age, a near-death experience, a physical accident, the loss of a loved one, a romantic breakup, the destruction of your home or homeland, suicidal depression, or the complete loss of your religious faith.

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The Dark Night is a herald, an omen, of change. It lets us know that we can’t continue living the way we have been living. There is no growth, no awakening in life, to life, without first seeing and acknowledging our existing disappointment.

Acknowledging our disappointmentย means becoming aware of the deeply held sense of “incompletion” that we all carry; it means becoming aware that something is desperately missing from our lives.

Those that have experienced, or are currently experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul will know that something very fundamental at a core level is out of focus or completely lacking in their lives.

Those going through a Dark Night will sense that so much more is possible in their lives, even though they don’t exactly know what that “so much more” is.

Paradise lost and found …

One of the common reasons why Dark Nights occurย and are prolonged is due to mystical experiences, or short glimpses of the divine, which spiritual teachers often refer to as “grace” or samฤdhi.

Soon afterward, the person “loses” this experience, and is plunged into unhappiness again. This is called the “halo effect,” “afterglow” or what the Sufis speak of as the “sobriety of union.”

Why does the “halo effect” happen? It happens because of the stark contrast between one’s rediscovered Divine Self and the return to one’s disconnected and tormented Ego self.

To the spiritually mature person, the halo effect sets the stage for a future encounter with the transcendental, with God.

However, for the less prepared seeker, the glimpse into the Divine stirs up even more distress as old habits, obsessions, thoughts, and behaviors reappear. Now, such a person realizes that he has a long, complex, and demanding task of purification and transformation ahead of him.

In Spiritual Alchemy, there is a word for this experience called solutio; putting all the hard stuff in the waters of reflection (your ideas, your habits, etc.), where it dissolves and breaks apart, shows itself for what it is, and gives you the opportunity for a fresh start.

Find freedom through purging …

The solution to one’s suffering and disconnection from the divine realm can be any method of cutting away, dislodging, disintegrating, and clearing old pieces of your life so that you can begin afresh.

Essentially, the Dark night is a process of shedding away your old home and going in search of a new one.

Understandably, this process requires a huge leap of faith into the unknown which can come at quite a sudden and frightening pace.

If you think you might be going through this journey, it’s important to understand that many of us have been where you are. Many people still are.

There is no map, there is only the flickering luminescence of your Soul to light the way.


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Dark Night of the Soul Meditation

Dark night of the soul meditation image

While every experience of the Dark Night of the Soul is different, the one common thread is that it is a path of initiation.

You are in the dark so that you can understand what Light is. You are disconnected so that you can know what connection is. You are lost so that you can find your way back Home.

If these explanations of the Dark Night don’t resonate with you, please go ahead and discard them.

I’m not here to tell you what the Dark Night of the Soul shouldย mean because, ultimately,ย youย must figure that out for yourself.

You need to be the one to make meaning out of your experience. I can only offer my own understanding.

If you have read up until this point you are probably looking for additional help, and that is completely understandable.

However, the Dark Night of the Soul is a complex and profound experience and it cannot be solved by reading a “six-step” formula or bullet list.

What Iย canย offer you, however, is a simple meditation which may provide you with some level of relief.

When you can dredge up enough energy (I know how exhausting and depleting the Dark Night can be), try experimenting with the following Dark Night of the Soul meditation:

Find a quiet and undisturbed place. If you like, play some celestial or ethereal music in the background to set the mood. Lie down and close your eyes. For a minute or two focus on your breath. Feel your chest rise and fall. Once you feel connected with your body, shift your focus to creating an image of yourself walking through a dark forest. Imagine that you are looking above to see the dark tangled branches of the forest obscure the sky. What does the forest feel like? Is it cold, hot, balmy, humid or icy? Can you smell, feel, or taste anything?

As you keep walking through the dark forest, the path in front of you seems endless. The atmosphere feels deathly and melancholic. Suddenly, a white wolf emerges from the trees. It looks at you with intelligent and kind eyes and begins to accompany you as you walk. Your feeling of loneliness lifts slightly as you enjoy the company of your animal friend. Suddenly, the wolf beside you stops and stares intensely into the dark trees ahead of you. You peer ahead but cannot see anything but dark shadows. Suddenly, your wolf companion lifts up his head and lets out a loud and haunting wolf call.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Just after the wolf stops howling, a white light slowly emerges from deep within the forest. At first, the light is tiny and like a pinprick. But as you walk towards it, the light becomes bigger and brighter. A feeling of hope begins to fill you.ย Tentatively, you start jogging towards the light. You notice that the faster you run, the bigger the light gets. The closer you move to the light, the more open and expansive you feel. You pick up your pace. The feeling is exhilarating! Far behind you, the white wolf howls again. A feeling of wildness and freedom starts to warm you from the inside out.ย As you continue running, the light begins to consume your vision. The dark forest begins to quickly fade. As you look down, you notice that your legs are the legs of a wolf โ€“ without knowing it, you have experienced a total transformation โ€“ and it is liberating! Picking up your pace, you keep running and you let out a loud howl. The piercing sound of the howl dissolves all hopelessness, sadness, and darkness left within you. The howl has completely purified you. All that remains is pure light, love, hope, power, and peace. You feel spacious and open. You are free!

Enjoy the feeling of freedom for as long as you wish. When you are ready, wiggle your fingers and toes and return back to the room. You may like to journal about your experience.

Feel free to record this visualization, get someone to read it out to you gently, or change the meditation to your own liking. It has been created to ultimately benefitย you.ย 


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Time to Go Into the Dark

To end this article,ย I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Dark Night of the Soul quotes by David Whyte โ€“ a man who understood the value of making peace with the darkness:

… Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.

There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb
tonight.

The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.

You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive

is too small for you.

โ€“ย “Sweet Darkness” by David Whyte

Now, over to you:

What has your experience been like with the Dark Night of the Soul? Please share below to help others not feel so alone.

P.S. If you’re experiencing the Dark Night and desperately need more guidance, see our Dark Night of the Soul Journal for extra help. Our article on Soul Work might also be of assistance to you.

Whenever you feel the call, there are 3 ways I can help you:

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2. Shadow & Light Membership: Want weekly intuitive guidance to support you on your awakening path? This affordable membership can help you to befriend your dark side, rediscover more self-love, and reclaim inner wholeness.

3. Spiritual Awakening Bundle: Looking for a collection of all our essential transformative resources? You get five enlightening ebooks, seven in-depth journals, plus two empowering bonuses to help you soul search, heal, and awaken.

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About Mateo Sol

Mateo Sol is a spiritual educator, guide, entrepreneur, and co-founder of one of the most influential and widely read spiritual websites on the internet. Born into a family with a history of drug addiction and mental illness, he was taught about the plight of the human condition from a young age. His mission is to help others experience freedom, wholeness, and peace in all stages of life. [Read More]

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  1. Alexander M says

    November 29, 2020 at 3:11 am

    Last year my mom died. In the night I knew she would die, I felt hopeless, meaningless exactly as you describe. I’ve asked myself: “Whats the point of living?” “Just to suffer? Why am I here?”, and I’ve praied to God or to the Devil and a month later I fell in love with the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. What the fuck?

    Reply
  2. Estelle says

    November 01, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    I was diagnosed with Anorexia nervosa in March 2019 and then I was four-teen. Before that I was a girl that since her entering in kindergarten felt like an alien without any real friends or connections. A girl who never really showed who she was because she was afraid how others would react to it. I never got to know myself back then because I myself had not the courage to discover it. I was afraid of my true nature.
    After my diagnosis something shifted inside me. I knew I needed to get better. Better at being a ‘normal teenager’, that’s how my therapist put it. “Our goal is to restore your weight and put you in a headspace where you can live a normal life with ordinary hobbies.” The problem is, that I used my eating disorder to not have to deal with my messed up life. The result of this therapy was relapsing three times plus realising that life is more then just numbers and looks.
    During lockdown I spent a lot of time on my own. This helped me to get to know myself more. It was like I finally had time think about stuff. And it’s then as well I realized my life was pretty much not that what I wanted it to be and that a lot had to change.
    Once I got back to school I had a routine again, one that distracted me from all the thinking. This lead to increased ED behaviours which are harmful.
    I think being in school is like puttimg on a mask. A mask to hide who I truely am. Being in school is like playing a character for me. I don’t blame the others because I can feel that most of them are as well just trying to survive in our friend groups shaped by social conditioning.
    The thing is that since my start of recovery back in March 2019 I am basically always thinking about existential questions and other philosophical stuff. My parents think I am just having an existential crisis due to puberty but I can tell that this is something deeper. I think that this is a Dark night of Soul.

    And a last word to the people who are reading this blog article and questioning whether they have a DNOS or not – it’s you who defines it.

    It’s you who assigns the meaning of this experience because you experienced it.
    It does not have to the most intense symptoms or signs to qualify something as a DNOS. It can be lighter symtoms as well.

    Please take care of you during this challenging time, you deserve it

    Reply
  3. Jennifer says

    October 30, 2020 at 11:34 am

    I didn’t need to take the test to see that I am going through the DNOS. But I took the test anyway and as I thought. I am going through it…I am broken, I am broken hearted, devastated and lost. The love of my left left me, found another girl and to be happy. I know I am the one that pushed him away all because I have dark rooted issues. He tried.. he tried to love me the best he could. But in the end..he had to stop because he was falling into depression. I came across your articles a while back all in search for the meaning of TF. Because I was told that my person is my TF. There isn’t a day that I don’t wish I could be home. I am 47 and he is 32 and in the end he told me that are difference of our age was the issue. But before he used to say that our age doesn’t matter… he has been influenced by others and all because I was weak and couldn’t see him truly see him. So now I am here to figure out how to stop drowning and try to stand on my own…

    Reply
  4. kate says

    October 30, 2020 at 2:56 am

    A person I know has been overly medicated in the past, for years and years, has encountered much external violence being told she was so off point when actually she was present to the world from a place of love and didn’t understand what to do beside that – many years passed, the victim mindframe loop she entered, and floating without incarnating, plus damage from medication – she is now is hospital, being told she has dementia, which she kinda has part time (her brain, I figure, could not contain her soul in such a small space anymore, so there’s an intermittent brake happening), told again she has to undergo treatment, no specialist adressing the spiritual aspect. I’m wondering. What could be her stepping stone to rise from there. I don’t even have an opinion as to if she should rise or not, or how she could, or the medical field – most of them doing their best, in survival, yes, but still – I’m just standing with a question mark in my soul. I don’t make myself think I should be the one to help, as I know she escapes her true self often, that way. Clarity bringers are welcomed :) Thanks for the article – now I get why I was such a confrontation without intending too, even as a kid, often pointing the aspects you enumerated, and everything around, genuinely wondering how people managed not to take that journey and pretending to go by :) I was not even in distress, more in fascination. Now getting that not all meet everyday with that posture – not the dark night of the soul, always, no, just yes the possibility to have it, grow in it, revisit it, acknowledge its existence, its trials and gifts, all that, always ok even not to be okay, observing and being. Never finished, so never wrong, no need to accelerate it, rather embrace it. So much clarity in your article, thanks a lot – as well as the comments ^_^ Great to read all of you, each of you ^_^

    Reply
  5. Anthony says

    October 24, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    Iโ€™m definitely going through this chapter in my life. As long as I can remember, really. Always the outcast, someone who doesnโ€™t fit in anywhere. Iโ€™ve just started reading some of the articles here after I experienced, what you called in one of your articles as a โ€˜mystical experienceโ€™ though I experience these fairly often Iโ€™ve yet to leave my dark forest.
    Iโ€™m hoping that I will find the tools to help me navigate this forest or jungle among these pages and words.

    Reply
  6. Sean says

    October 22, 2020 at 4:51 pm

    Also wow, nice article.
    I think I found you guys while going through the dark night. Or just after I can’t quite remember.

    I’m not sure how I found you, but since I have I’ve met people who talk about the importance of shadow work and other things you mention in your articles. Like figuring out signs for yourself and dreams (not to consult dream or sign meaning books.)
    Sound advice.
    I guess what I got from your articles all those years ago was that it’s ok to be wild.
    I can’t stress this enough, we are taught to control and ignore this during our upbringing, but I have found intergration and acceptance of our wild side has helped me dramatically.
    You can’t hide from yourself what is intricately a part of you…
    Enjoy the journey.

    There is light and dark
    That’s just life
    I only recognise the dark because I’ve seen the light
    I see the light and recognise I need the dark as well..

    Reply
    • Mateo Sol says

      October 23, 2020 at 12:20 pm

      Thank you Sean, I really like that the message of embracing your wild has stayed with you for so long. That’s the essence of all that we do, and it’s beautiful to see it seep through. :)

      Reply
  7. Anita says

    October 21, 2020 at 5:01 am

    I am blessed by this. Thank you.

    Reply
  8. Lola says

    October 15, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    Wow. Beautiful and just what I needed to hear emerging out of the emptiness practice that has been going on for now more than a year! The mind wants to give in to panic, but the soul knows better now.

    The White Wolf meditation is wonderful, I have recorded it as an audio and will practice it this week. Thank you for also introducing me to the beautiful poem by the Saint and in the end of the post!

    I found this wonderful quote on neomysticism.com:

    The whole point of a dark night of the soul is not knowing. If we were aware of what was going on, we would disrupt or sabotage the process. We need to not know to get through it while allowing it to run its course and achieve God’s goals.

    The main purpose of it all is not to attain something. Rather, there’s a certain consciousness โ€” an awareness โ€” that grows in the person who experiences this night. This will later lead to a full awakening โ€” living from that ‘higher mind’ … God’s presence is not something you attain, but something that’s already there. You just become aware of it. You realize it… often through unlearning and getting rid of obstacles. That’s why the journey of true spirituality is often referred to as a path of descent. You have to become less.

    Aho.

    Reply
    • Mateo Sol says

      October 16, 2020 at 10:41 am

      Thank you Lola for trusting your Soul, it’s a whisper of a voice within the tyranny of the noise of the mind. The heart serves as an anchor through all this, boundless, still and full of a grounding love. Lovely quote btw, thank you for sharing :)

      Reply
  9. Stef says

    October 15, 2020 at 9:36 am

    Thank you, my friends. Life took this empath medium, psychic, intuit, healer, heyoka… you name it. I never fit into this world. The only time I felt sane is after psychedelics (teenager). I was brilliant & couldnโ€™t figure out why only certain people got me. I liked to sit in trees, on roofs, swim, be alone. Thank god for movies (latch key 80โ€™s kid).

    Had 16 concussions, 2 rare fatal illnesses, 50 โ€œproceduresโ€ on my body, confused every dr, heard that Iโ€™d never walk or talk again.

    100% functional & off Western Meds.

    But the dark night had me for a very long time. Lost my family, my husbandโ€™s family (5 deaths in 3 months).
    I am 19 yrs sober & had a few rebirths.

    This was the first time I didnโ€™t think Iโ€™d make it. It felt like every connection (creators, myself, husband) was taken from me. I felt alone & utterly hopeless or helpless. Even lost the ability to speak with my husband. We fought for the first time in 20 yrs.

    Iโ€™d never looked into empaths or intuits or mediums. Hadnโ€™t heard of HSP until this week.

    I begged my husband to visit relatives while I got my head together. The alone time has been a godsend! Also walking my dog every night. Nobody walks in AZ at night. So odd.

    If youโ€™re still reading, give yourself an outlet, alone time, nature, exercise, et cetera. I was finally given the ability to hear what questions to ask. To listen.
    To see.

    Omg… hang in there! It took a lifetime of suffering & learning, but I found my spirit. Happier & stronger than I have ever felt.

    Grateful & humble, but not alone on this earth.

    Thank you for sharing!!!

    Stefanie C

    Reply
  10. Chelsie says

    October 13, 2020 at 8:13 am

    My body is screaming to be purified
    My mind can’t divide truth from lies
    My soul is burning trying to hide inside hoping to buy some time
    When I’m still I start to realize there is something that I find inside consuming me that I have to fight…
    Boxed in stagnant pride
    When you look into my eyes you see I circumscribe my own demise
    Addicted to my bondage this is suicide…
    But I need this high
    I cry, look up and sigh
    This void is way too high
    My soul is dry and I fear it won’t survive
    My mind is drowning because I dared to dive
    Floating in disarray, dried clay with no breath of life
    Why do I try?
    Failed all my life
    Chance after chance and I chose to die
    Is it wrong or right?
    I’m feeling crucified
    Living to suffer for the past sins of my life
    Burning alive so maybe I’ll be justified
    Surprise surprise, I fall and fall to rise
    Cause the world fucked me, sucked me, spit me out and left me to die
    Why?
    What the fuck am I?
    An angel in the abyss ascending to be rectified

    Reply
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