Surviving the Dark Night of the Soul
We all have those moments in time when we are plagued by worry, fear, emotional pain and uncertainty. Sleepless nights and depressed days follow us no matter what we try to do to escape this misery. Often termed the Dark Night of the Soul, the Tower card in tarot decks tells the story. In the crumbling of the Tower, your life falls apart. Lovers leave, jobs disappear, everything seems to fall apart and feelings of immense hopelessness dominate your thoughts.
You cannot escape the Dark Night once it descends. You are brought to your knees to force you into learning a lesson you have been avoiding. Trying to escape the misery is useless. Blaming others offers no relief. The problem is not theirs. It only goes away when you discover the lesson, take responsibility and resolve it within yourself.
The emotional pain you feel hides the real issue. Worry and fear are the walls you must break through to find the answer. Uncertainty keeps you frozen in place. These are the challenges you must overcome. The answers you seek are within you. Once you realize this, you are on the way to healing the issue.
When you are crippled with emotional pain, there is nothing but the pain you are feeling. It is real. Your heart hurts. You can’t think straight or focus on anything. Beating yourself up over something that happened only makes it worse. Stop abusing yourself. Relax. Breathe at least 3 breaths. Deep inhales, long exhales release the tension you are holding on to. Keep breathing until you feel a release of energy. Do this relaxation technique whenever you feel out of control.
Questioning why this Dark Night is happening keeps you in victim mode. Realize that how you are feeling is your reaction to the perceived problem. Ask what the lesson is trying to teach you. Many times, the Universe will create a Dark Night to get your attention, to help you learn and grow. Yes, it is painful, but we do not learn anything when our lives are easy.
Your suffering goes on as long as it takes to resolve the issue. There are no shortcuts through the Dark Night. There is no light at the end of the tunnel to show you the way out. There are no rest stations, no areas where you can stop and gain some relief. There is only the all-consuming pain in the Dark.
One thing is certain. You must go through this experience to learn and grow as a soul. There is no other way. Life on Earth as a human is the foremost way for a soul to grow and evolve. This is why we choose to come here. We know that the only way to return to the original creator of our soul is to learn and advance through our life experience.
Your Dark Night will not last forever. It lasts only long enough for the lesson to be learned. You can resist and fight it. The longer you stay in denial, the longer you will suffer. Surrendering, taking responsibility and trying to understand the lesson in the pain helps you to find the solution within the problem.
The answer you are seeking lies within you. Move into your heart and locate the unloved part of you that is causing the problem. If you made a mistake, realize that you are not perfect and love yourself. If someone else hurt you, love yourself by forgiving them. If you are in physical pain, give love to the area that is hurting.
You are always deserving of love. There is nothing that you can do that makes you unlovable to the original creator of your soul. Love is the ultimate healer and a Dark Night of the Soul is meant to guide you back to love.