dark night of the soul

[nothingexpert]

I feel like this is something I'm on the verge of but I don't have any reason to feel these emotions, is there any way I can trigger it so I can get passed it? I know it probably sounds silly but for those of you who read tarot, I keep getting the hanged man and the first time I got it was during a couple days of feeling down, nothing serious though, I feel like I might have delayed it? Do I actually NEED to experience it to progress? For those of you who have been through it, could you please share?

[Emmalevine]

No you don't HAVE to experience it. There seems little point in forcing painful emotions. If suffering isn't there, don't create it. It may not be part of your life path to experience what some call a 'dark night of the soul.' The trouble with labelling everything is that people think they are missing out on something big. Every path is individual - listen to your heart and soul and be in the moment.

Personally yes I have experienced some dark times, whether they were a dark night or depression or both. Those times resulted from painful experiences I'd had in my life and the need to work through them in order to progress. I have also battled with existential depression for much of my life which takes the form of grief over being separate, unheard, disconnected and misunderstood, as well as fear of loss and death. I was unable to function for a long time as the loneliness was so acute. I have been suicidal throughout much of my life, but rarely now.

Each of us finds our own way. My advice is to go within and listen to your heart rather than pay too much attention to what you 'think' you should be experiencing.

[vespa68]

I would just listen to whatever emotions need to come up and move through and accept them. If you feel these emotions in the background then there is a reason I dont know if you meditate but it could be good just to take a few moments and look within. Look into the sedona method for example for that. I have been through it a couple of times and the last one was a killer but I got through it and my psychic abilities have really increased since. It can be a great catalyst for positive change. You can see it as a purification period, letting go of the ego and getting to know the very deepest part of you.

[Lorelyen]

This depends on your interpretation of the Hanged Man. To some (among them me) it represents the moments before being reborn, moving on from the mundane world (such as starting a spiritual journey): the querent/reader is suspended waiting. It's about Neptune, dreams and spirituality. Note the traditional card - the hanged man's right leg is crossed to make a 4 shape, the 4 elements that must be in balance to avoid falling down a chasm, and if they are, there are spiritual insights to absorb.

Any interpretation must rest on the other cards. While you're waiting, inverted, you see things from a very different perspective. Take advantage of that ! It could bring insight/enlightenment.

It doesn't necessarily represent dark. It could be emerging from the dark.

:smile:

[nothingexpert]

Starbuck: Thank you, reminding me not to label things is exactly what I needed to hear, I need to remember all paths and experiances are different. :)

Vespa68: I looked into the sedona method, it seems like it could be really bennificial and I'm going to give it a go tonight. Thank you!

Lorelyen: Its come up with temparance and with your interpritation of the card I am truely excited for it to come to fruition and I think you're right, slowly I am seeing more and more things from a different perspective. Thank you!

Thank you all for posting!

[Swami Chihuahuananda]

I feel like this is something I'm on the verge of but I don't have any reason to feel these emotions, is there any way I can trigger it so I can get passed it? I know it probably sounds silly but for those of you who read tarot, I keep getting the hanged man and the first time I got it was during a couple days of feeling down, nothing serious though, I feel like I might have delayed it? Do I actually NEED to experience it to progress? For those of you who have been through it, could you please share?

Attempting to forcefully manipulate development seems like a misapplication of effort and an inaccurate perspective of how development happens . At least that's how I view my own experience of living in limitation and darkness, and then coming out of it . Coming out of it, I saw that coming out of it wasn't happening becauise I was making it happen. "Personal will does not determine consciousness" was one way we heard it put. The best my personal will and intentions can do is step aside and accept that they are not running the show . To support and integrate the tidal forces much greater than 'me' trying to be more spiritual .

I had to endure years of separation , and there wasn't anything I could have done to make that go faster or be easier , and it was all part of my evolution, and it all offers perspective and opportunity for reflection upon how far we can go in this life (among other things). So, yeah, from that angle I needed to go through all that , because I was buried way down under a mountain of heavy stuff . Everyone is different though , and just when it seemed hopeless, a huge transformation occured, but it didn't come about because of me doing any procedure or set of 'spiritual' activities . I wasn't the orchestrator of the transformation. My Spirit was , and is , and this 'me' living a life here on Earth is the subject and recipient of the transformations in awareness .

Being open to the force of Grace is about the best little old Dogboy can do .
Whatever evolutions/transformations/developments happen, happen , and now that I'm willing , I wouldn't try and stop them, and couldn't if I tried. Because that would all be part of whatever developments were developing for me . Back in the rough years , it seemed like I was keeping myself trapped , and to some degree I was in a self-defeating loop of crippling bad choices , but now I look at that as having also been orchestrated by things
more powerful than my own little self . Like the time it can take to mature , psychologiocally and emotionally, and the timing of the workings of Spirit (which the mind of a lost person isn't very aware of !) .

There wasn't an escape hatch , or parachute , or fast forward button , and it really sucked , and it almost killed me , but that was me . If you aren't in a dark place already , then you don't need to go looking for one . Whatever your path is, it is filled to the top with opportunity for perfect reflection , discernment , and perspective , and therefore , progress . It just won't always look like what you think it should (because we don't know what the next step looks like until we take it) .

[nothingexpert]

Swami: Very true, it never seems to be what we expect, which I think is what threw me, I had expectations of what I though would be an incredibly difficult time but in my case it wasn't that difficult to get through and isn't difficult now so I shouldnt go out of my way to make it so. Need to go with the flow! I'm glad you got through your difficulties and can now look back and see the value in your experiences. Thank you for sharing.

[Ivy]

Yes to what everyone else has said.

Life will naturally bring us ups and downs of varying degrees, that can change our perspective. Ideas of dark nights, and awakenings are useful metaphors for the natural cycles of life, but sometimes the metaphors get taken literally and turned into a 'path' to be followed.

[Miss Hepburn]

No you don't HAVE to experience it.

My advice is to go within and listen to your heart rather than pay too much
attention to what you 'think' you should be experiencing. I agree...would add ...don't pay too much attention to 'emotions'...
they 'come and go like a leaf blowing in the wind'...a yogi said that once.
(How can I take my emotions seriously...only the happy, loving ones I do.
Anything else, I have learned, is from the 'ego-mind' that does not want us to progress...
because it means it's death.)

It will make you stronger tho!...Haha, to recognize it (the feeling or thought) quickly and
shoot it down fast before it gets it's roots into you.