Has anyone else ever gone off the rails during their dark night of the soul?

[Mateo]

The last couple days revealed so much was a lie.
It was like I was in a spiritual psychosis.
I dabbled in things with the best of intentions but really had no idea what I was doing.
My fear fueled already sketchy energies.
Let’s just say multidimensional.
Was connecting with others on this vibration and it all just went into a manic psychic delusional hell.

I am taking back my power.

Just looking for support, sharing of your struggle through integrating your shadow and the best shadow work method that worked for you <3

Discussion

[Thundergun3000]

Ya it is scary af

[GalacticMirror]

I know it feels chaotic, but while you travel the road less taken, there is, nonetheless, a well worn path to follow. This is an age-old side effect of spiritual awakening. Have you ever heard of Carl Jung’s Liber Novus or “Red Book”? His family kept the book hidden for decades. From wiki:
>Biographers and critics have disagreed whether these years in Jung’s life should be seen as “a creative illness”, a period of introspection, a psychotic break, or simply madness. Anthony Storr, reflecting on Jung’s own judgment that he was “menaced by a psychosis” during this time, concluded that the period represented a psychotic episode. According to Sonu Shamdasani, Storr’s opinion is untenable in light of currently available documentation. Jung himself stated that: “To the superficial observer, it will appear like madness.” It appears that Jung has premeditated the arguments of Storr and (Jung biographer) Paul Stern and, in riposte, declares the analyses of Storr and Stern superficial. During the years in which Jung engaged with his “nocturnal work” on Liber Novus, he continued to function in his daytime activities without evident impairment. He maintained a busy professional practice, seeing on average five patients a day. He lectured, wrote, and remained active in professional associations. Throughout this period he also served as an officer in the Swiss army and was on active duty over several extended periods between 1914 and 1918 during World War I.

You talk about shadow work though, so you are probably already aware of Jung’s pioneering efforts. Study is an important component to get the most out of this process, as is writing. Writing about your experience will help to legitimize your thoughts by making them seem less like crazy machinations and more like things you get out, then progress on from. Good luck! Keep up the good work!

[Kether_Nefesh]

>dark night of the soul?

>Was connecting with others on this vibration

What do you think the dark night of the soul is?

[Kether_Nefesh]

Elucidating on my prior comment, this does not sound like the dark night of the soul.

In pop culture, it seems that people equate a depressive experience with “the dark night of the soul” when in reality, it is anything but. In many respects, the dark night of the soul is liberating and freeing where the soul comes to “know thyself.”

My teacher once said, “Everything that comes from him is a call to the Divine-Spiritual Light of the soul, a rebellion of the soul against everything which has not come from out of the soul itself. You must strip off everything that is external revelation, everything that external authority has transmitted to you. Then you must become ripe to behold your own soul.” – Rudolf Steiner

As many of you know, esoteric instruction uses words with a hidden meaning. Thus, if we are going to talk about a “dark” “night” we must understand what is light and day.

It will come as no surprise to many that the light is knowledge – thus, “dark” in this construct, refers to the lack of external knowledge, teaching, and influences experienced during this soul formative process.

Why night? The moon, in esoteric teaching, conveys the same “feeling” as one “feels” when they view a dead plant. Thus, is old growth dying and giving way to new experience.

So, what is “the dark night of the soul” in connection with esoteric development? It is that phase in soul development when the old external knowledge, influences, ideas, teachings, suggestions, etc. fall away and the soul is left alone to determine what is truth, what is real, what it means to exists.

It is not scary, it is not depressing, one does not feel abandoned, one does not even feel “alone.” Instead, it is freeing and there are no other feeling like it in the world as you look out yourself, confident in knowing what is true – confident in finding yourself amongst the gods (but not a god yet… don’t get me started on that).

[howcanibehuman]

For a long time I had a reoccurring vision late at night of my energy leaving this physical reality only to find itself in solid black eternal space. All the people and things I love in this life were deleted, our bonds severed. The words “black empty space” would repeat and I’d feel super anxious about the concept of dying and losing everything I know and love.

I would tailspin into worries about not being able to protect, care for, and guide the people that I love and that need me. It was very scary for me and it took many reoccurrences to realize each time the thoughts crept in, I either fed them with more fear or I tried to distract myself from the thoughts.

I decided to feel through the fear and face the desolate, solid black eternal space. Through the anxiety I came to a realization that space isn’t a negative concept or even one that means there’s actual emptiness or even darkness. Those are just human concepts and when I die, I’m energy and all the love I’ve experienced and gave during this human life will illuminate any space I ascend through.

But if I didn’t journey into a scary place of vast, eternal darkness, and if I didn’t let myself feel its terror, I wouldn’t have found a pathway to peace.

Here’s to reclaiming our power and light. xox