Welcome, Ven a gozar!

This happens to people of every culture, religion, and belief system. Some people believe everyone goes through this, others believe only a few go through it. People you know are spending their lives in static misery because they could not complete it, others died along the way. A very few people, come out the other end completely changed - in ways they never imagined possible.

I was told to call this process, the Dark Night Of The Soul. I have read some call this, the Long Night, but I have found this to be a description and not a title. If you have never entered it, you are blessed. If you know your world is very very wrong, and there is no medical reason, you have my heartfelt sympathy. One recent example is contained in the recently released letters of Mother Theresa, of her life long struggle with the Dark Night of the Soul.

I have read Wikipedia’s reference of the Dark Night as a struggle with letting go of egos hold on the psyche. Reality is a lot more personal and painful. Ego is a powerful part of our personality which takes charge of us. Ego is selfish and self centered, and the primary filter of our world view. Ego is responsible for how we act and react. If you are not in the throes of the Dark Night, you may be chuckling right now. I have a sobering thought for you. You are not chuckling, your Ego is telling you to laugh at what you are reading. When you are in the Dark Night, Ego would rather you die than give up its spot of running the person that is you. It will lie to you, deceive you, cut you off from everything that is important to you, and from those you love. If you continue to try to displace your ego, your ego will create a world of misery and despair you never imagined could exist on earth.

When you think everyone around you cannot become more detached and distant, ego will suggest you end your life to end the misery. At this point some going through the Dark Night of the Soul may turn to Alcohol, drugs, or other methods of trying to make their pain go away. Ego would rather be in charge of a suicidal addict than give up its position of authority within you.

The battle is almost over at this point. There are only a few choices available. Give in to ego and spend your life feeling trampled, defeated, and worthless. Turn to drugs, alcohol, or self abuse trying to deal with the emotional baggage of your life. The third choice is the correct choice to make. This third choice defeats ego by simply not fighting. You reach a point, where no matter what happens without ego being in charge, it can not be any worse than the private hell of the present. Getting to this point and letting ego go opens a bright new world no one would have guess exists.

It is a love based world of contentment, and everything is exactly as it should be. It is a world of gratitude, where an individual is aware that everything operates from a starting point of love. It is a world of unity, where nothing is separate or isolated from anything else. A world where you are everything and everything is you.

This change does not happen over night. It is not a process of being in a struggle for your very life, and the next moment is all warm and fuzzy. It takes time because it takes time to go through the cycle. At this point you will not care, but slowly your world will become perfect. Surviving your Dark Night of the Soul may sound like fluff, or fantasy, but it is true and it is waiting for you. If you see yourself in these words, know it is worth the battle! Don’t quit and don’t accept good enough - no matter how bad things appear to become. I promise you, it is worth every moment of feeling lost and alone once you get through your Dark Night of the Soul.

Technorati Tags: ego, soul, dark night, self help, psychology

Comments (0) Oct 30 2007