explain "The long dark night of the soul"

Hi Foxtse,

Yes, you can call it "the dark night of the soul", the time when negative egos are at their best and there is a lot of pain and suffering.

What's next, IMO, it depends from each person solely, whether sufficient efforts are applied to break through it and meet the "light of rising sun", peace, joy, happiness, or not.
In the context of the work we are doing, the sufficient efforts can mean working with all the keys available to us the best we can, mastering the practices, fighting for awareness, etc., even when egos are very strong and it is not easy.

I experience that from very difficult times there are only two real ways out.
One leads down and another one leads up.

all the best
Vadim

Hi foxtse,

Wikipedia has some explanations of what the "dark night of the soul" can be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_night_of_the_soul

Quotes from Wikipedia:
"It has become an expression used to describe a specific phase in a person's spiritual life, a metaphor for a certain loneliness and desolation."
"The "dark night" might clinically or secularly be described as letting go of one's ego's as it holds back the psyche, thus making room for some form of transformation, perhaps in a person's way of defining him or her self or his or her relationship to God. This interim period can be frightening, hence the perceived "darkness." "

"Dark Night Of the Soul" by St. John of the Cross originally is a poem on which the author have expanded in a book that describes the above stated process of entering total dis-attachment from the world in order to reach the absolute. The book is to go with another book titled "Ascent of Mount Carmel" by the same author. Free book is available from here: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/dark_night/formats/dark_night0.9.pdf
The other book "Ascent of Mount Carmel" is also available from the same site, but I had to register first in order to reach it (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/ascent.pdf) they will allow you 3 downloads for free.
These two books pretty much talk about freeing ourselves from the desires and attachments and describes the process from Christian perspective. It does not offer Alchemy as tool for annihilation of egos, still good books to read as they explain the process of suffering and the joyful victory over suffering.

You can say we get this darkness over us when we walk on the path towards the Absolute Sun - The One God - The Creator of All. I have experienced this darkness when I say good buy to many different things that I am attached to - the time of grief for the loss which will lead to liberation if we stay the course and not return to that attachment. When they are absent from our awareness or focus we feel low as they were the purpose for living. St John of The Cross explain one must go into such effort armed with a Goal of Salvation so you do not become lost on the way (It might be life threatening to some who are not strong enough - those who unintentionally enter here can get stuck here with out a way out - a deep depression. Once you start - you must finish this Great Work - the Great Sun of Creation awaits us behind the darkness. Perhaps that is why the secret art of awakening comes with a warning and that is why it was done on basis of master and disciple, so the master guides us step by step - no shortcuts as they lead to Abyss. I do not mean to scare anyone, just heads up. It is important to know thy enemy - the Egos and their origin. "Pistis Sophia Unvailed" by Samael Aun Weor as hard as it is to read reveals thy enemy - a must read before one gets too deep. Found here: http://www.gnosticweb.com/files/pdf/EN_Pistis_Sophia_Unveiled.pdf).

Wishing you all a great spiritual morning.