Today I want to talk about the Dark Night of the Soul, which is a very common concept in spiritual circles, especially mystic ones. It’s a phase of our lives where we experience a lot of pain and loss, but that pain and loss ultimately transforms her and helps us find a greater meaning in life.
I have experienced many dark nights of the soul, but in this episode, I focused on three of them in the hope that they will inspire you or help you if this is something you are going through right now. Right now, I am in the happiest part of my life, and I believe that the levels of joy I am experiencing are probably more intense because of the pain that I have been through previously. However, despite this, I will never buy into the No pain no gain philosophy.
I believe that the reason we sometimes have to experience pain is that we sleep walk through life and maybe even live someone else’s version of life instead of our own. And we are too afraid of change to live the life that we are meant to live. this wake up call can come in the form of a job loss, a divorce, the death of a loved one, a challenging illness or an accident.
They are of course traumatic and my purpose is not to serve you a dish of toxic positivity. There is however an opportunity for growth in them. And sometimes, these events happen because we don’t listen to the more subtle signs we are sent by the Universe. Not always, but sometimes.
It is our job to find the meaning in it. Or to look for the bigger picture. The model of the Hero”s Journey can help us understand that we all go through these and that they have a universal power.
What we should not do is try to avoid the pain and the loss. It’s important to stay with it, as buried feelings never die.
The three episodes I share are as follows:
- Three brushes with death when I still lived in Paris that showed me the link between emotions and illnesses. Please refer to Episode 29 on Health, Illness and Spirituality with Emma Turton.
- The loss of my career when I was pregnant with my third child, which helped me leave a career that was not fulfilling me and be a better mum for my children.
- A car accident that showed my mother’s true colours and helped me make a final break with her.
If you have experienced a dark night of the soul and would like to share it, feel free to use the contact me form to share.
To listen to the episode, click here.