John of the cross saint john of the cross, author, st john of the cross, author, of the cross john, author. Why is the divine light which as we say, illumines and purges the soul from its ignorances here called by the soul a dark night. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, on which he wrote two book length commentaries. This edition includes over 176 footnotes, creating a study edition for readers to better understand st. He says, the dark night is a profoundly good thing. Dark night of the soul symptoms what you should know. Forth unobserved i went, my house being now at rest. This phenomenon describes a malady that the greatest of christians have suffered from time to time. Feb 03, 2004 he tackles the hard spiritual topic of the dark night of the soul from his perspective, and gives excellent explanations for current day. John of the cross, addresses the feeling of being forgotten by the presence of the almighty that every christian, desirous of walking more closely with god must. A meditation on depression and the dark night of the soul by tim farrington and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. She does not disappoint with dark night of the soul.
The dark night of the soul ebook 9780061895173 by gerald g. Dark night of the soul introduction somewhat reluctantly, out of respect for a venerable tradition, we publish the dark night as a separate treatise, though in reality it is a continuation of the ascent of mount carmel and fulfils the undertakings given in it. Gerald may in this book helps the reader to appreciate the spiritualities of both st. Along with teresa of avila, john of the cross remains one of the wests most well known and beloved mystics. The dark night of the soul saint john of the cross. Continues the same matter and considers other afflictions end constraints of the will. Dark night of the soul is an instructional religious book used mainly by the roman catholic church. Dark night of the soul is the companion sheet music book to philip wesleys bestselling cd by the same name. It was the malady that provoked david to soak his pillow with tears. Part poetic masterpiece, part mystic treatise, the dark night of the soul by 16th century carmelite monk, st.
The dark night or spiritual emergency is the underbelly of awakening, an aspect of inner transformation. Delving into yoga and the dark night of the soul with simon. Dark night of the soul describes the painful experiences and their significance on the spiritual journey of st. The dark night of the soul is a term that goes back a long time. His most recent book is yoga and the dark night of the soul. Reading the dark night of the soul has been a profound, thoughtprovoking experience. The dark night of the soul audiobook by fiona robertson.
Dark night of the soul is the title of a poem written by 16thcentury spanish poet and roman catholic mystic saint john of the cross, as well as of a treatise he wrote later, commenting on the poem. Imagination plays a significant role in the souls expression, and it is emphasized throughout this book. Albert camus when we are on the verge of uniting with the infinite wavelength of eternal vibration, our old frequency can sometimes go through a crisis of stasis. Dark nights of the soul isnt a howto book for getting oneself out of depression. It is a humble beginning, but the humble do, indeed, inherit the earth.
Yoga and the dark night of the soul explores personal crisis and how we can emerge from such experiences with renewed meaning, purpose and depth of soul. Sets down the first line and begins to explain how this dark contemplation is not only night for the soul but is also grief and torment. This is one of the gifts a dark night has to offer you. Helene lives in a horrific world, a future earth where a single day and night takes 2000 hours to complete, daylight hours and hours in the dark. John of the cross if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me luke 9. Author may shows us the opportunity to seek spiritual growth not only during times of deep suffering, but also during times of vague or obscure discomfortimportant but quiet moments that are easily overlooked in our hectic, cluttered lives.
Spiritual processes are usually at work beneath and beyond the psychological ones. It is a term used to describe what one could call a collapse of a perceived meaning in lifean eruption into your life of a deep sense of meaninglessness. In a dark night, with anxious love inflamed, o, happy lot. This dark night, however, is not the dark night of the soul. Of other kinds of pain that the soul suffers in this night. While moore begins the book comparing the dark night to the biblical story of jonah in the whale he draws on a wide variety of spiritual traditions and the works jung and hillman to explore how the. Many will recall the thrill of first reading the chapter on gifts of depression in care of the soul where thomas moore reframed this widespread experience in light of his spiritual reading of life.
Complete edition of the dark night of the soul by saint john of the cross, translated by e. Here, for the first time, a scholar unaffiliated with the catholic church has translated this timeless work. In darkness and in safety, by the secret ladder, disguised, o, happy lot. This new edition of the image classic, with more than 100,000 copies sold, brings e. Its release was postponed due to a legal dispute with the albums distributor emi. The first night or purgation is of the sensual part of the soul, which is treated in the present stanza, and will be treated in the. While imprisoned he wrote a brief poem, dark night of the soul. Rather than looking at the dark night of the soul as something negative, the author looks at it from a very positive perspective. May emphasises that the dark night is not necessarily a time of suffering and near despair, but a time of deep transition, a search for new orientation when things are clouded and full of mystery. In darkness and concealment, my house being now at rest. May emphasises that the dark night is not necessarily a time of suffering and near despair, but a time of deep transition, a search for new orientation. I was reading thomas moores the dark nights of the soul when i decided to listen to this autobiographical book. John of the cross clearly places the dark night of the soul in the spiritual life, but, from my point of view, spirit and soul need not be separated. Dark night of the soul i gave this book all five stars across all categories.
Dark night of the soul, is different from anything ive read in a long time. The phrase dark night of the soul comes from a poem by st. The dark night or spiritual emergency is the underbelly of awakening, an aspect of inner transformation that is often minimized, misunderstood, or denied. Dark night of the soul there is scarcely any passion without struggle. Imagine a dystopian novel, crossed with vampire erotica, and you might have a little idea what its about. This light leads the soul engaged in the mystical journey to divine union. After escaping his captors, john fell into a state of profound ecstasy and wrote dark night of the soul. This is a guide exploring the concept of the dark night of the soul. This eightstanza poem outlines the soul s journey from the distractions and entanglements of the world to the perfect peace and. Jul 08, 2018 gerald may, md, a retired psychiatrist and senior fellow in contemplative theology and psychology, discusses both in his book, the dark night of the soul. In this article we explore what exactly this experience is, the symptoms one may exhibit while going through, as well as looking at the benefits that one can receive by facing such a challenge and coming out the other side. A psychiatrist explores the connection between darkness and spiritual growth. May shows how our most desperate moments are necessary for authentic spiritual growth and vital to our experiencing both freedom and joy.
Ascent of mount carmel subida del monte carmelo and the dark night noche oscura. From the beginning, i had so many questions, about where jaydan was and who or what was the judgement, i couldnt put the book down until i found those answers. Dark night of the soul christian book distributors. Well read by the reader, i recommend this book to everyone. The secret to getting through the dark night of the soul. In his twelfth book, the author observes that the sadness, confusion, frustration, pain, suffering, loneliness, and loss that many people experience during a dark night of the soul can be. In this profound and intelligent book, fiona robertson acts as companion and guide through the dark night of the soul, one of lifes most challenging experiences. Page 89 but the greatest affliction of the sorrowful soul in this state is the thought that god has abandoned it, of which it has no doubt. Michael bernard beckwith explains what it means to go through the dark night of the soul, and reveals how to move through the crisis more quickly. The first is whether, when a soul finds no pleasure or consolation in the things of god, it also fails to find it in any thing created. For anyone seeking to understand this concept, who thinks they might be experiencing a spiritual dark night, read this book.
His poem narrates the journey of the soul from its bodily home to its union with god. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, on which he wrote two booklength commentaries. The dark night of the soul is not the same as depression. Dark night of the soul follows the soul s journey from a state of abandonment and darkness to a loving union with god. Offering hope to the downtrodden and discouraged, the dark night of the soul is one of the most difficult books a person can read, but its difficulty is surpassed by its reward. Dark night of the soul by saint john of the cross free ebook. They knew the working of the human unconscious four centuries before sigmund freud. Teresa of avila s interior castle, and shows the reader how these two saints demonstrate an understanding of human psychology that seems uncanny for their era.
And like teresas, his writings are masterpieces of. Making enlightened choices, simon haas shares practical teachings on how to consciously direct our life by improving the quality of our choices. It was the malady that earned for jeremiah the sobriquet, the weeping prophet. Dark night of the soul is a poem written by the 16thcentury spanish mystic and poet st. The first night or purgation is of the sensual part of the soul, which is treated in the. It is a great guide to help one learn about the state of ones soul. May 03, 2004 thomas moore does it with this book that looks at the spiritualpsychological experience st. Exposition of the stanzas describing the method followed by the soul in its journey upon the spiritual road to the attainment of the perfect union of love with god, to the extent that is possible in this life. In the dark night of the senses, god purifies us of our attachments to the things of the world physical comfort, physical pleasure, material success, popular acclaim as well as of our consolations in prayer. Mar 31, 2009 nor does the other tendency to relegate deep spiritual growth to only mystics and saints.
The dark night is perceived by mystics and practicing monks from several religions to be a blessing in disguise, whereby the individual is stripped in the dark night of the senses. Be assured, if you should experience the dark night of the soul in any of its many forms, you are a person of significant potential, that god is challenging to enter a new level of being, which is beyond the domination of the lesser values of the material world. Thomas moore does it with this book that looks at the spiritualpsychological experience st. Christian classics ethereal library excerpt is taken from the book.
Only the honest, sometimes difficult encounters with what christian spirituality has called and described in helpful detail as the dark night of the soul can lead to true spiritual wholeness. Every human life is made up of the light and the dark, the happy and the sad, the vital and the deadening. John describes the process of moving away from routine religious rituals and. A psychiatrist explores the connection between darkness and spiritual growth may, gerald g. Later, he added an important commentary to his poem to guide other searching souls along the arduous path to communion with god. While moore begins the book comparing the dark night to the biblical story of jonah in the whale he draws on a wide variety of spiritual traditions and the works jung and hillman to explore how the dark night which he claims is not depression can teach about ourselves. A guide to finding your way through lifes ordeals 97815924038. In dark night of the soul, he takes readers on a deeply spiritual journey through hardships and temptations to complete union with god. In a stepbystep process, he shows how god can use this dark night to eventually bring our human spirits into greater illumination, revealing heavenly wisdom and the passion of divine love. Nor does the other tendency to relegate deep spiritual growth to only mystics and saints. This is a really great book, for anyone who is fed up with the rubbish that some of the people in the feel good, think positive industry, try to force on us and psychiatrists who try to heal with a steady dose of medication and psychotherapy, all to no avail. The dark night of the soul peers translationbook the. Somewhat reluctantly, out of respect for a venerable tradition, we publish the dark night as a separate treatise, though in reality it is a continuation of the ascent of mount carmel and fulfils the undertakings given in it.
Dark night of the soul dover thrift editions paperback may 9, 2003 by st. To this the answer is that for two reasons this divine wisdom is not only night and darkness for the soul, but is likewise affliction and torment. Based on the timeless teachings of the bhagavad gita, this contemporary guide to yogas ancient wisdom shows us how to overcome lifes greatest challenges, how to follow our life purpose, how to engage our heart in our yoga practice, and how to write our life story with. The premise of the book is that there are two dark nights, or times of spiritual bleakness that a person must travel through in order to come to a completely mature and perfect union with god. The ascent of mount carmel is divided into three books that reflect the two phases of the. The thought that he has abandoned it is a grievous and pitiable affliction. Although depression shares many of its characteristics with the experience of having a dark night of the soul, it can often be treated and sometimes cured with medications, cognitivebehavioral therapy cbt, mindfulness practices, lifestyle changes, and so forth. The dark night of the soul a psychiatrist explores the connection between darkness and spiritual growth. Jul 15, 2016 the dark night of the soul is an overall beautiful experience where a persons egofalse self is dying to their true self which is love or in other words one is realizing the ego self is false and never really existed. John of the crosss masterpiece dark night of the soul to a new generation of readers and will renew the interest of those already familiar with its soaring poetry and timeless truths. It was finally released in july 2010, about a year after it had been leaked to the internet and danger mouse had released a blank cdr as a way of working around the dispute. John of the cross called the dark night of the soul. Yoga and the dark night of the soul is about the souls journey from fear, lamentation and confusion to sacred love.
In a voice at once grandiose and melodious, and a style that combines the systematic theology of st. A psychiatrist explores the connection between darkness and spiritual growth paperback february 1, 2005 by gerald g. One of the most profound works of christian mysticism, this book is highly recommended for those seeking union with god. It buckles and bends trying to adjust itself and tune into the cosmic orchestra. Dark night of the soul is a studio album by danger mouse and sparklehorse, featuring collaborations by numerous notable musicians. Every human life is made up of the light and the dark, the. While moore begins the book comparing the dark night to the biblical story of jonah in the whale he draws on a wide variety of spiritual traditions and the works jung and hillman to explore how the dark night which he claims is not depression can teach. Based on the timeless yoga teachings of the bhagavad gita, this book is a treasure trove of wisdom with the capacity to transform lives and reshape destinies. He then wrote two books, ascent of mount carmel and dark night of the soul, explaining and interpreting the poem. While imprisoned in a tiny prison cell for his attempts to reform the church, sixteenthcentury spanish mystic john of the cross composed many of his now classic poems of the soul s longing for god. John of the cross 15421591, a spanish carmelite monk and mystic, whose noche obscura del alma is translated the dark night of the soul.
228 144 12 686 1240 395 919 791 102 121 1233 1284 499 734 852 1290 1370 1198 1081 825 1002 591 1046 480 665 1031 733 225 707 636 255