The Dark Night of the Soul is a period where internal or external challenges force your ego to let go of control so that you can turn your attention inward.
The Dark Night of the Soul is sometimes labeled as depression or apathy or a spiritual malady,
But it's actually an incredible opportunity to reconnect with your higher self.
If you've been feeling lost,
Disconnected,
Or simply experiencing a dark time,
This meditation will help you not only get through it,
But help you realign with your unconscious in such a way that you will feel more connected,
More creative,
And more easeful than before.
To start,
Please close your eyes and mouth if they aren't already,
And pay attention to your breath in and out of your nostrils.
Don't try to change anything.
Simply notice how you are breathing in this moment.
Allow yourself to be curious as to how you're breathing.
Notice how it feels to inhale.
Notice how it feels to exhale.
To exhale,
Notice the feeling of air in and out of your nostrils.
Observe the sensation of your body expanding with each inhale.
Observe the sensation of your body releasing with each exhale.
In order to listen to the soul,
We must let go of control.
And the simplest way is to simply observe our breathing.
Now see if you can increase the attention you give this process of breathing.
You can increase the quality of your attention,
The quality of your focus,
While also becoming more and more relaxed.
On your next breath,
Notice the moments that you switch from inhalation to exhalation.
Have you been pausing in between?
Or have you been flowing from inhale to exhale?
Have you been inhaling to maximum lung capacity?
Or have you been stopping sooner?
Does any point of your breathing feel uncomfortable?
If so,
Does it have to be that way?
Finally,
Notice if your breathing has changed at all in these last few moments.
Has the speed of your breathing changed?
Has the depth of your breathing changed?
Allow your breath to do whatever it wants to do.
Your unconscious will ensure that you are breathing,
Whether you control it or not.
But observing your breath is a nice way to let your unconscious know that you are here,
That you are paying attention.
So simply observe.
We're going to go a layer deeper now.
Allow your attention to come to your heart,
Your literal physical heart beating on the left side of your chest.
Listen as best you can for the beating of your heart inside of your body.
If you can feel your heartbeat in your chest,
That's great.
If not,
Or if you're unsure if you can,
Just imagine that you could.
See if you can perceive your heartbeat,
Even if it's not clear,
And ask yourself,
How fast is your heart beating?
How hard is your heart beating?
Even if you have to guess,
As you continue to breathe in the most effortless and natural way,
You allow yourself to relax more and more deeply.
And as you allow yourself to relax deeper and deeper,
You may find it becomes easier and easier to hear and feel your heartbeat.
You may also find that your heartbeat itself has a relaxing effect.
This is your internal rhythm.
Listen more deeply to this rhythm.
As best as you can,
Listen to the beat of your own heart,
As you allow yourself to go deeper and deeper into relaxation.
You may notice that your breathing has naturally slowed down.
You may notice that your body is slightly more at ease.
You can allow yourself to let go even more.
You can allow your mind to quiet even more.
And you can allow your unconscious,
Your soul,
To have more room to do what it wants to do.
Continue breathing and observing your breath.
Continue listening to your own heartbeat,
And continue relaxing more and more.
Now imagine a vertical rope with ten knots You are holding the rope at the highest knot,
And below you is a dark hole.
You cannot see inside the hole,
But that does not mean you need to fear it.
You know that deep inside the hole is the world of your soul,
The realm of the unconscious,
Where everything is possible.
Inside those depths are the answers to all problems.
On your next exhale,
Imagine yourself climb down to the ninth knot.
As you go closer to the darkness,
You become more and more relaxed.
So you can climb lower to the eighth knot.
You can notice how you're breathing,
You can feel your heartbeat in your chest,
And you can let yourself become even more relaxed,
Climbing down to the seventh knot.
As it feels good to move closer to your unconscious,
Down to the sixth knot,
Allowing yourself to go deeper and deeper into relaxation,
Down to the fifth knot.
It feels good to go deeper to the fourth knot,
Breathing,
Observing,
Relaxing,
Enjoying,
To the third knot,
Descending down into the realm of the unconscious,
To the second knot,
And the first knot.
You are now at the end of your rope.
You may have resisted this feeling in the past,
But now you know that you do not have to.
You never had to.
For now,
At the end of your rope,
You can simply let go.
Visualize letting go and notice what you feel.
What does it feel like to let go of control?
What does it feel like to be held by the darkness?
What does it feel like to surrender and sink deeper and deeper into the realm of your soul?
What does it feel like to allow yourself to fall into the unknown?
No matter what happens in the outside world,
Here in your inside world,
Everything is always all right.
No matter what challenges you experience in the outside world,
Your inside world,
The realm of your soul,
Is always intact.
Here in the realm of your soul,
Anything that is unnecessary gets the chance to be released.
Any thoughts or feelings that have been weighing you down can be given away to the darkness.
In the past,
You may have experienced that releasing can be uncomfortable,
But that's only when we try to hold on as you allow yourself to let go.
You may notice how good it feels.
How good it feels to release that which you don't need,
To release any heavy feelings,
To release any anxious thoughts.
As you breathe at your own internal rhythm,
Allow yourself to relax more and more deeply.
Allow yourself to surrender within the realm of your soul,
And allow the edges of your physical body to expand into formlessness.
You don't need your physical body here.
You don't need any of your ego's perceptions.
Not for now.
You can simply relax.
You can allow what is really important to reveal itself.
So simply observe,
Feel,
And breathe.
Here in the darkness is the workplace of your soul.
Just as your heart beats in your chest,
Your soul is continuously working for you,
Whether you notice or not.
If you listen to your soul,
It will show you how to navigate any situation.
Allow yourself to sink deeper and deeper into relaxation.
The more deeply you relax,
The better you can listen.
Notice how good it feels to enter this receptive state.
Notice how good it feels to surrender and to listen.
And as you continue to observe,
Feel,
And breathe,
Take a moment to see if there's anything your soul wants to show you.
In your mind's eye,
Is there anything you can see?
Is there anything you can hear?
Simply observe.
If there is something challenging you in the outside world,
It's possible that your soul is trying to direct you to something else.
As long as you stay connected to your deeper self,
There's never anything to fear because your soul will give you the answers.
Let's try this right now and address one of your demons.
If there is a situation that has been troubling you,
Visualize it right now.
Otherwise,
If there have been feelings causing you discomfort,
Do your best to recall them and feel them right now.
Feel this discomfort without trying to change anything or explain anything.
As you've been doing,
Simply observe and feel.
This is how you tell your soul that you are listening.
Center your attention around any discomfort you may feel in your body.
As before,
Increase the quality of your attention on this discomfort.
Simply observe it,
Feel it,
Tell the discomfort that you are listening.
Give it space to breathe.
And if any words or images appear in your mind,
Make note of them.
This is how your soul speaks back to you.
Continue to breathe and observe and continue to sink deeply into relaxation.
Your soul is always here for you.
As long as you maintain this relationship with your soul,
You never have anything to fear.
You never have to worry about external losses.
This is what is most important.
And the more you invest in this internal relationship,
The more your soul will feed you with courage,
With creativity,
And with connection.
Notice if anything in your physical discomfort has changed.
If it has,
Observe what the new sensations are.
If not,
Simply continue feeling what's there.
Continue relaxing and continue enjoying being in this receptive,
Feeling state within the realm of your unconscious.
We're going to return to waking life in a moment.
Return to the external world where your conscious mind has the control.
As we climb out of this space,
Do your best to maintain the feeling of connection to your inner world,
For you can always return here.
Now visualize the same rope again.
Seeing that first knot at the very bottom,
Visualize yourself grabbing it,
Climbing up to the second knot,
Still observing if any words or images appear,
Gifts,
Communications from your soul.
Climbing up to the third knot,
Continuing to breathe.
The fourth knot,
Enjoying the surrender but being willing to take control again.
The fifth knot,
Climbing up to the sixth knot,
Carrying the courage and confidence given to you from the darkness up to the seventh knot,
Breathing in fully.
To the eighth knot,
Enjoying the feeling of coming back into conscious control.
The ninth knot,
Ninth knot,
And finally climb up to the tenth knot,
Out of the darkness,
Returning to waking life.
You have returned from the depths.
You are back after visiting the realm of your unconscious.
Take a moment to feel your body around you.
You can take a conscious big breath in if you'd like,
And exhale out of your mouth if you'd like.
Take a moment to wiggle your fingers and toes.
Take a moment to smile if it feels genuine.
You can smile inwardly if you'd like.
And remember that even if there is chaos out in the external world,
There is always peace in your internal world.
If you are currently amiss,
What some would call a dark night of the soul,
Understand that one sitting meditation may not immediately change anything.
This dark night exists for your soul to show you something.
This meditation was a practice to help you listen for these internal messages.
But the more you practice this inward attention,
Either through listening to this meditation or on your own,
The faster you will integrate the messages and the faster you can move back into the light.
