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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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I hope our work can encourage, embolden, and support you if you are undertaking this descent into your Underworld.

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:

1. The Spiritual Wanderer Course: Need "big picture" direction, clarity, and focus? Our Spiritual Wanderer course is a crystallization of 10+ years of inner work, and it can help you find your deeper path and purpose in life as a spiritual wanderer. You get 3+ hours of audio-visual content, workbooks, meditations, a premium test, and more!.

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. Auds says

    July 13, 2023 at 5:38 am

    Wow.. I went through a very dark time in my life beginning at the end of last October. So many of the things talked about in this article resonated beyond belief: Feeling as though there was no stable ground to stand on all of a sudden, feeling betrayed by life, wondering why good people suffer (knowing good people suffer made me feel very betrayed by life), feeling like nothing meant anything more, trying to go down different paths and feeling like everything was meaningless and purposeless, the loss of ego identification, the discovery that we have no one to rely on but ourselves. The craziest part of this article is the part that talks about how you experience small glimpses of the divine that pull you back into old habits and make the dark night longer. That is exactly what I experienced. I donโ€™t know if I have made it through the Dark night of the soul, but I have come to accept more and more that there is a lot that is not within my control and I am slowly feeling more and more grounded as time goes on; I have started to become more comfortable with the uncertainty. There was nothing I could do to end the suffering I endured right away, like I couldnโ€™t get rid of it just like that. Only by accepting the reality of the suffering, accepting the infinite possibilities and letting go of the desire for control/the desire to define and conceptualize everything, did I start to make it through.

    And over time, little by little, I have moved forward; I have been able to cultivate a feeling of stability again and slowly feel more grounded and able to express myself more honestly. I think that a big part of that was learning to be honest with my self and with others who could help me and offer little bits of wisdom, even though I had a very hard time verbalizing what it was that I was experiencing. It was hard to be honest with myself or know how to describe my experience because it seemed like my ego or โ€œego identificationโ€ would take over and prevent me from actually communicating anything of substance or of truth. I felt like I was beyond help, like there was no way anyone could understand enough to offer real help because I couldnโ€™t communicate what I was experiencing well enough. But slowly, things have started to make sense again. I had to go back to the basics but slowly I have developed a lot more trust with myself and with people in my life.

    My advice to anyone reading this is to try and accept things as they are, try to let go of the desire for control and the desire to attribute meaning to everything. There is a lot that is uncertain and that you cannot force to be certain. Feel the moment. Where are you? What do you feel? What do you see? What time is it? Trying to make sense of everything is sometimes not possible because our perspectives cannot see everything at once, even if it used to seem like everything used to fit into a certain conceptual framework. Maybe not everything fits anymore, but that is okay. It is okay for things to just not make sense. There are an infinite number of possibilities and you just cannot control for every one of them. Trust yourself. Or trust the divine, if you will. Donโ€™t try to find the reasons that you can or canโ€™t trust; Try to surrender and just trust. Trust that you are okay.

    Reply
    • LiveIt says

      July 13, 2023 at 8:06 am

      Thank you โค๏ธ

      Reply
    • Mateo Sol says

      July 13, 2023 at 3:24 pm

      I enjoyed your advice and agree wholeheartedly Auds, it’s difficult, but being open to the uncertain and unknown is ultimately what helps us through the darkness that we must fumble through.

      Reply
  2. Devanshu says

    June 26, 2023 at 7:07 pm

    Thankyouu

    Reply
  3. Stephanie says

    June 21, 2023 at 6:35 am

    Can we get really bad anxiety during the dark night? I’m waiting to talk to my psychiatrist about going back on some antidepressants. I was diagnosed with bipolar type2 , borderline personality disorder, cptsd, generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety. I talked with someone from the mental health clinic this morning and they suggested dbt therapy so im getting into a program. I have a severe fear of cancer ( a lot of my family passed away from it) and fear of my dogs being sick and passing away. I feel like my anxiety and fears have become so much worse after my second mystical experience. Its taking over my life. I have to take ativan to calm me down. I wish I knew what to do. Im just about to give up on everything. I don’t want to play the victim but life is so hard right now. I have no one to talk to about what I’m going through. Can I really talk to a therapist about a spiritual awakening and dark night of the soul? I can’t afford to talk to anyone that is a spiritual therapist. I was thinking of ECT because I feel like im completely insane. I was supposed to see my psychiatrist tomorrow but she had to reschedule my appointment. I don’t know anymore. I do try to practice mindfulness but its getting so hard. Fear is controlling me. I read somewhere that we have to face our fears, can this be it?

    Reply
    • Mateo Sol says

      June 21, 2023 at 1:26 pm

      It sucks you’re going through a tough time Stephanie.

      Generally I try recommend focusing on one thing at a time as it can be overwhelming to start wanting to take on many problems at once, and it’s often an byproduct of the anxiety itself putting us into a fight-flight state.

      Focusing on working with your care team should be the priority until you’re in a balanced place to explore the ‘transcendent’ aspects of awakening etc. Otherwise it can become too cofusing to tell what’s relating to your mental health and what’s relating to the dark nights ego resolution.

      So finding ways of grounding yourself, instead of ‘facing fears’ or other things that just further your anxiety is the best way forward. We need to have a healthy well integrated ego before we think about ways of transcending it. I also recommend finding a spiritual center nearby, many paths like Buddhism for example have Sangha meetings with spiritual directors, that are free to attend or require a small donation. That way you can also find a source of support through a spiritual community.

      I wish you well.

      Reply
      • Stephanie says

        June 21, 2023 at 7:55 pm

        Thank you Mateo. I’ll just be focusing on getting better first. I’m not sure where to find a spiritual community or anyone to help. I’m on the eastern canada. The only spiritual people that I can think of are the Mik’maq indigenous in my area. But who and what do I ask? A shaman? Could they or would they do you think?

        Reply
        • Mateo Sol says

          June 22, 2023 at 2:27 pm

          Spirituality is a broad term that encapsulates many different approaches. I personally prefer recommending paths I’m familiar with as practitioners of Shamanism and other approaches each have their own worldview, and they’re not all grounding and can destabilize you more with their ‘otherworldly’ beliefs.

          Buddhism is a psychologically grounded spiritual path, especially the Theravada branch. buddhanet.info has a directory of local groups in different parts of the world but there’s plenty of resources if you do a google search.

          Reply
  4. AnonymousPerson says

    June 19, 2023 at 6:44 am

    Personally, I just wanted to offer my own experience around the Dark Night of the Soul, and how I dealt with it for anyone interested. Not to say that what I did will work for everyone, as everyone has a different path outside the darkness, but this is mine. Generally, much of my tendencies to have an existential crisis throughout my life was explored well with different types of philosophy, both secular and spiritual philosophies. On the spiritual side, I’ve explored Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Sufi, and Jewish philosophies, for example, and on the secular side, I’ve explored existentialism, absurdism, stoicism, platonism, aristotelianism, epicureanism, and so on. Maybe this is because I tend to be a very intellectual type reader, though perhaps others would prefer a more social or action based exploration than I took. Still, just offering some ideas if anything might resonate. If you’re interested, I suggest looking up philosophy books for beginners, philosophy podcasts online, and philosophy YouTube channels as well, if you want to start with something easier than a dry heavy textbook. Another benefit is that philosophy, rather than just telling me what to think, also trains the brain to learn how to practice big picture thinking of larger concepts on your own, so you’re not as dependent on other people on what to think.

    Reply
    • Crunchy says

      November 08, 2023 at 2:27 pm

      Philosophy โค๏ธ

      Reply
  5. Stephanie says

    May 18, 2023 at 10:49 pm

    Thank you for this article. I always find answers on here. Id be more lost than I am now if it wasn’t for you guys. You truly are blessings.

    Reply
    • Mateo Sol says

      May 19, 2023 at 2:37 pm

      We’re grateful the content is serving you Stephanie ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Reply
  6. Rambo says

    May 06, 2023 at 2:02 pm

    How long is the Dark Night of the Soul? I’m assuming it’s not one night, but is it months or years?

    Reply
    • Mateo Sol says

      May 06, 2023 at 2:17 pm

      It depends. There’s no concrete ‘dark night’ event as each culture and spiritual path interprets it and describes it in different ways and lengths.

      For some, it may be a moment of an internal shift of understanding, for others it could be the slow process of letting go of old wounds and habitual ways of being that can go on for months or years.

      Reply
  7. John says

    April 01, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    Thank you.

    Reply
  8. Sharzy says

    March 14, 2023 at 9:38 pm

    This was an absolute amazing read. I thought I was just going through a meh stage as nothing seems to bring me joy these days. Been going on since November. I’ve properly known for a while now that I’m too messed up for anyone else to help me but me.
    I’ll definitely be purchasing some of your products soon and making an exchange as I’ve read countless hours of your writings.
    Thank you for all the time and effort you have put into this website

    Reply
  9. Anonymous Girl 631 says

    March 01, 2023 at 12:28 pm

    PLEASE READ IF YOUโ€™RE GOING THROUGH SOMETHING DIFFICULT.
    While reading this article, I couldnโ€™t think of a specific time that I went through thisโ€ฆ dark night of the soul. I kept reading and then i read something that just clicked. Though Iโ€™ve gone through much, this was something that was quite traumatic in a way that I hadnโ€™t experienced before. As soon as it clicked for me, I soon questioned how I could have forgotten such a profound memory. Iโ€™ll tell you now why I thought that.

    I wonโ€™t go into the details but, something horrible happened. So, I was lost. I questioned everything no matter how hard I tried to assure myself that everything will be okay and thereโ€™s a reason for everything even if I donโ€™t know it. As I sat there crying, taking a ride on my emotional roller coaster, the power in my house cut. I sat there, in the dark, not minding being without power much. I just fell into a deeper depression being in the darkness and continued to sob and talk to God, myself, and whatever else was listening. Some minutes pass and I then asked God to give me sign. I just needed one sign. And then there was light. The power had come back on and I immediately broke down into tears thanking God for the sign Iโ€™d just received. I knew then that everything would be alright. I was reassured that there is a God, or a greater force, whatever you would like to refer to that energy as. It was magical, synchronicity at its finest.

    if you ever feel lost, confused, and hurtโ€ฆ just remember that youโ€™re not alone. Everything is okay even when it doesnโ€™t seem like it is. Donโ€™t give up; donโ€™t lose your faith.

    Reply
  10. Eugene Sandoval says

    February 25, 2023 at 11:50 am

    My first experience with dark night of the soul was actually that… The day it happened everyone and everything around me seemed dark and eerie.. I was with three others that evening when their personalities totally shifted from what I had known. I felt unsafe around them and so I left and began to walk home… As I begin to walk home I had a feeling of anxiety and fear from everyone around me… I also felt very confused on how to find my way home… All of a sudden I sat down on a big Stone at the corner intersection of a street.. what I seen was terrifying yet amazing, I seen the roads completely packed with cars bumper to bumper driving rapidly.. I look up at the sky and I see several triangle shape UFOs shooting down lasers rapidly as if a war was going on…. Then suddenly it shifted into night as I continue to sit there on that stone.. I noticed people would stop and stare at me and turn away from me and walk away… However there were others that were just standing completely still staring at me I didn’t understand what was going on or even if I was alive… After things quieted down a bit I decided it was safe enough to continue my journey home… On my journey home it was dark and lonely and I look up at the sky again… I seen Stars shine so bright it was like they were in our own solar system it was beautiful and amazing but I also seen the color of the sky change to that of it blood red and black clouds and meteors and small asteroids flying rapidly across the sky some of them were on fire…. Despite that I decided I needed to get home so I drew up the courage to make the walk home.. on the walk home I encountered several shadow beings running in and out of sight.. one other strange thing was that everyone including people on television had these completely black eyes and were slightly larger than our own but other than that they looked human… When I finally arrived home I freaked out cried and was extremely paranoid… I eventually said some prayers and fell asleep.. the next day I woke up to a normal day but since then I’ve felt an emptiness within myself, no joy no happiness, questions about life, questions about spirituality,… In addition to that many people I had known had completely changed to very negative people and others seemed okay but in a state of despair… Prior to this I have many many traumas from childhood to adulthood including being poor.. I Had become a heavy drug user since age 14 and when listen to occurred I was already 40 years old so 26 years of drug abuse and self neglect and no self love or respect…. However even going through such a bad life I always had empathy for others love for others a caring and compassionate heart …. I have started to read the Bible as well as some other spiritual teachings such as soul contracts, sacred contracts, karmic contracts, cutting cords different types of meditation for each… And by learning those I came across this explanation the darkness of night…. Now I finally have an answer for the night I went through and other odd situations since then… But now that I am realizing I feel I’m coming into the light… My recommendation is to YouTube ” Christina Lopes” channels on helping you understand many of the spiritual awakenings you’re going through I highly recommend to check her out…. This experience has been odd, scary, bleak but it is a blessing in disguise because learning so much about my soul and that we are all destined to learn here on Earth and other realms… So you might as well start the work now… I say this to everyone out there with complete love and compassion for each of us and the universe that provides…

    Reply
    • Elle says

      March 26, 2023 at 3:14 pm

      As you described your experience. I thought you sounded like you were on drugs. After you state you were a heavy drug user as a teen, I think you might have experienced flashbacks. Would make sense since you had hallucinations.

      Reply
    • Stephanie says

      June 21, 2023 at 6:18 am

      I followed Christina lopes for a bit but I started to find she’s too money oriented. I couldn’t afford to get help from her. Your experience really sounds like something other than the dark night. It sounds like hallucinations or something. Very strange. I would of went insane lol

      Reply
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