Dark Night of the Soul? Spiritual Dryness? What is going on?

 

I feel in tune, in sync, connected to the Divine, a receiver of clear spiritual guidance. Then all of a sudden comes a dark night. It’s a spiritual blackout!  Where’s that ecstatic feeling of connection? What happened? What did I do?

I have learned through reading and from conversations with other spiritually connected people that spiritual blackouts are experienced by almost all, if not all, mystics and deeply spiritual people. The 16th century mystic, St. John of the Cross, wrote about it in, The Dark Night of the Soul, probably the most famous book on the subject.

Thomas Moore’s, The Dark Nights of the Soul, A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life’s Ordeals, connects these dark nights to life situations and losses. The overview of this book says, “Our lives are filled with emotional tunnels: the loss of a loved one or end of a relationship, aging and illness, career disappointments or just an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction with life.”

In my case I have had these spiritual dry periods when things have seemed to be going well. I suddenly feel off. I feel abandoned. I miss the beauty of connection and the feeling of being in tune physically, mentally, and spiritually. Where is the guidance? What have I done to have this happen?

 

 

At first I could find no apparent reason. During my latest such time however, I found that it was connected to fear. It was fear of inadequacy and of ultimately being abandoned. I had allowed some little seed for fear to sprout and take root.

 

 

Looking back I know that what cropped up needed to be healed. That fear seed was starting to take root. It sustained my habit of being spiritually, consciously awake and aware and then metaphorically falling asleep in my daily life, back and forth, in and out of trance.

 

I am grateful that the spiritual blackout helped me break through to staying awake in a state of conscious heart-centered awareness most of the time. It was my spiritual awakening!

 

People experience these periods for different reasons. It is clear that the dark night of the soul is not the dark night of Spirit. Divine Love and Wisdom are always and forever.

 

Spiritual blackout is a personal experience that is like being in a blank spot of a radio band where there is only white noise or static. We aren’t tuned in to Spirit. The Divine station is still there, as it always is. For most, it is only a matter of time before we can and will tune in again.

 

 

Grief, depression, loss of a job, relationship problems, or as in my case, seemingly good times can precede a dark night of the soul. If you experience a dark night of the soul, be gentle with yourself; seek help if you need it. And remember, you are a radiant eternal soul; your soul is always connected. Spirit, the Divine that is you, can never be lost.

Take care and my your Divine spirit guide you today and always.