Dark night of the soul

QUESTION: Masters, please expound on the purpose and value of the mystical experience referred to as ‘the dark night of the soul’. Not as commonly confused with simple depression or grief. The gutting of self identity, and the potential that it can reveal. ~Mark, Australia

ANSWER: The spiritual process called the “dark night of the soul” is a battle between the higher self / essence of the soul and the human-based ego. As the soul incarnates into a body, it is steeped in ego society and is raised to accept that judgment is the only way to advance through life.

When people reach a point where nothing that has controlled their existence makes sense to them anymore, they go through a period of extreme pain and disorientation. They feel they don’t belong, and everyone and everything is against them. They may seek to reconnect with their Source energy to gather the wisdom of their soul, which was forgotten at birth, or they may just fight the world, basking in negativity.

The first symptom that appears is depression—nothing seems to fit. Depression is a loss of any impressions about the way life should be, resulting in a blank slate. Everything is in conflict because their specific identity has been lost. To weather the dark night, they must struggle to create a new understanding of the reason for their existence. It may turn into a profound enlightenment and connection with higher self, or it may devolve into a pity party of negative emotions and blaming the world for the condition.

People cannot evolve without accepting total responsibility for their life. With acceptance comes the knowledge of why the lessons chosen have made them who they are in this lifetime. Coming through the dark night turns the trials and tribulations preceding it into the wisdom of the completed lessons.

Souls who have chosen a lot of lessons for one lifetime may be faced with more than one dark night of the soul. Most endure only one during an incarnation. And many souls never have the experience because they have not chosen extremely in-depth teachings.