Nature of Soul

Soul is stainless but when it takes on a form at birth, it has to contend with the debris of matter. Besides matter, Soul has to wear three other tunics or bodies or layers: there are the astral, mental and etheric bodies. Each of these bodies is interwoven with its corresponding plane of existence; a sort of co-existence.The physical body is linked to the physical plane. The astral or psychic or emotional body has a fair share in the astral plane. The mental body (mind) is in mutual relationship with the lower mental plane. The etheric body operates from the higher mental plane and Soul, the real you is a native of the Soul plane.

The above description is for emphasis only but what we must know is that these bodies and planes, as distinct as they are, operate as integral parts of the whole. All life is one but life has manifold expressions. The mineral, plant, animal, human and angelic worlds are all inseparable parts of Life. The planes are in these bodies and these bodies are in the planes. By plane, it is meant a world or realm or sphere or a planet populated by different species of life. Spiritually, a plane below is often a reflection of the plane above it. A mystical axiom, ‘AS ABOVE SO BELOW’ captures the aforementioned notion.

                        The Dark Night comes to us all

All created things experience the dark night and we, as humans have to use the radar of our consciousness to read these patterns in the various level of existence just to know this. Minerals, plants, and animals also experience their own dark nights. We may not know except we are blessed with the capacity to know. It is even more difficult especially when these living forms are still unfolding spiritually.

Each Soul personality unfolds like the Rose flower. With each stage of unfoldment, Soul regains its original capacity it used to have as soul before it takes its various forms of existence. Human Beings are placed as the most evolved species on the ladder of life.

When we analyze the achievement of humanity from scientific, technological, artistic, economical, religious and spiritual perspectives, we have no option but to exude profound awe at our creative intelligence and amazing powers.

We have constructed ancient civilizations and rebuilt modern civilizations from the ashes of fallen empires. We are truly great but this greatness is made possible by the Supreme Force which created all things. For this reason, our adoration for this Supreme Force should be unending and unequal.

                     Our Growth is impacted by the Dark Night

How does our spiritual growth relate to the unfoldment of the Soul-Personality? The missing link is the Dark night of Soul. Spiritual growth is a loose term because Soul does not grow; it already is. So all the soul-personality needs to do to regain the native capabilities of Soul is for it to unfold. And the soul-personality unfolds most during the dark night of soul.

Many persons have written about the dark night of soul; some wrote so well about this topic because they were privileged to have passed through this mystical phenomenon. A good example is Saint John of the cross. Descriptions made about dark night of soul are often overwhelming to the extent that we are frightened and never want to pass through it. But most great personages passed through their own dark nights before they announced their inventions or spiritual messages to the world. Saviours of mankind often began to experience their own dark night at birth. The negative forces are ruthless in testing the preparedness of these Saviours in all ramifications.

                         What is the dark of soul?

The dark night of soul is a period of transition for the unfolding soul-personality to implement what it has learnt over time in order to arise as a more capable personality. It also doubles as a purification process that produced a refined Soul-personality at the end of the time frame. The soul-personality passing through the dark night of soul either emerges triumphantly or gets consumed by it. A victory would result in a soul-personality filled with very humane soul qualities notably Love, wisdom and power. A failure would mean a re-occurrence of the dark night at another stage in Life or if the initial dark night resulted in death, that soul- personality would either experience it in his next plane of existence or when it takes a physical form again.

The span of our lives in the lower planes of existence often peak at dark night of soul which is also known as the obscure night, night of aridity, night of matter, night of reckoning, night of pain, night of torment, night of trials, night of Judgement and night in the wilderness. During this distressing transition, the soul-personality is blessed with the privilege to know itself as soul.

For this reason, the experiences of the dark night take us out of our comfort zones. We are placed on the edge of a cliff with a deep gorge below us and left to use the skills we have learnt over time. We experience a kind of aridity where we are deserted by our own friends or family or a sudden calamity of unexplained nature happens to us.

This trial time could come in form of material or emotional deprivation where our physical assets or our beloved family members are taken away from us. Some persons face persecution during their dark nights and others might be overtaken by sudden illness or lose a part of the body like a limb, eye or even sanity etc. The dark night is very complex and is hardly stereotyped as this or that; it is very subtle.

                  Our experience of the dark Night varies

The dark night experiences differ according to our karma, desires, temperaments, geographical locations, and sex and birth circumstances. Thus, the dark night experiences of Mr A cannot be exactly the same as that of Mr B. Fear, uncertainty, depression, hopelessness and all forms of morbid feelings and thoughts can cascade the staircase of the mind of the soul-personality undergoing the dark night.

Dark night of soul has the highest impact on our mental status in form of depression or suicidal thoughts though other bodies which we wear as soul are equally affected. Cultivation of a healthy mental state can help in no small measure in overcoming the dark night of soul and to master the lessons it intends to convey to our inner being.

The Dark night of Soul can happen collectively, involving many soul- personalities at the same time. E.g. African slaves in the era of slavery, Jews in the time of the holocaust, South Africans in the apartheid epouch, Muslims in former Yugoslavia and Burma, the Tibetans under the ruthless rule of the Chinese, Israelites in their various times of ancient captivities, populations experiencing wars, starvation, epidemics and attempted genocides. Yet each soul-personality in these aforementioned circumstances must respond as a singular unit to these collective dark nights.

Those who abuse drugs be it recreational or hard drugs usually have the hardest time when the dark night of soul eventually comes. They could experience hallucinations, delusions, and illusions. Drug abuse, besides the damage done to the human physiology and psyche, opens up the users to endless dominions in the lower planes which are filled with voracious and destructive entities.

         Facing our own demons during the dark Night

During the dark night, all our hidden fears are exposed; all our secrets that are archived in the subconscious are unveiled before our mirror of truth. Gruesome fears can take the forms of demons and ghosts. All the soul-personality needs to do is to face these ugly forms with love and courage and he would find out that they will vanish instantly out of his sight and never to return.

The Intuitive and the empathic soul-personality usually have a glimpse of the cautionary signs before the dark night eventually comes calling. The soul-personality that heed to these warnings began to prepare towards the main event.

The duration of the dark night is unclear but it is protracted for some soul personalities and shorter for others. Karmic debts, one’s altitude during this trying times, one’s learning and understanding ability, one’s cultivated skills to handle his or her circumstances ,the amount of Love released and the one-pointed trust in oneself or the Supreme spirit can all facilitate or prolong the duration of the dark night.

Each Soul-personality experiences at least one major dark night of soul in the span of one earthly existence. Students of various spiritual paths are the ideal candidates for which the dark night is inevitable. This is because they are consciously being prepared for greater spiritual unfoldment.

These spiritual students receive hard knocks from the negative forces of the invisible spheres and physical universes who want to test his or her dedication and spiritual skills.

                                      The dark night is ageless

Jesus the son of Yusuf and Maryam was tempted in the wilderness before he commenced his three years mission. Prophet Jonah experienced his dark night in the belly of the shark and at the end of the event, he accepted to be a vehicle of God’s message.

Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) as part of his dark night was sold into slavery in Egypt by his own siblings and he emerged out of it when he became a minister in Egypt. Prophet Abraham went through his dark night by the allegorical prompt to sacrifice his only beloved son, Isaac. By so doing he learnt the art of self-sacrifice and became the father of all nations.

Prophet Moses spent his dark night tending to the sheep of his potential father-in-law for several years until he experienced the burning bush (divine fire) and he became an emissary for the Israelites in captivity.

The most dramatic story of the dark night is seen in the story of Job who was befell with a sequence of calamities but came out purified and was restored in the end. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) experienced his dark night after the first revelation of the Quran and it came as a stiff opposition and attempts on his life and this prompted his Hijrah to Medina. He became the greatest unlettered man who lived in human history.

Legendary tales of Lord Krishna told of several attempts to kill him at birth by agents of the negative forces. Lord Krishna made the people of his time to learn to separate illusion of reality (Maya) from reality.

Gautama Buddha, the sheltered prince of Nepal roamed the forests of Nepal without food and water until he overcame his dark night at the foot of the bodhi tree(Fig Tree) where he was said to receive instant enlightenment. His dark night started when he first realized the suffering of the poor outside the walls of his palace. He was able to learn that desire is the source of human suffering and true happiness is rooted in the desire-less state.

Nelson Mandela’s own kind of dark night came in the form of incarceration for 27 years in prison. After overcoming his dark night, he had the courage to discard hatred for his oppressors and cultivated love. The likes of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr before him, also had their own kind of dark nights. The duo is the embodiment of non-violence (Ahimsa).

There are a lot of soul-personalities that are undergoing their dark nights of soul; unknown souls who are unlettered to put their experiences into writing or even verbally expressed them. These are the maltreated servants in homes of the wealthy, modern day slaves in developed and Arab countries, women who are raped by people who should have protected them, women brutalized by domestic violence, war brides, victims of racism, sick persons with incurable illnesses, persons with incapacitating disabilities, families who have lost all their beloved ones to wars, the children of war starving without hope for the next meal, refugees experiencing every form of inhumanity, prisoners who were unjustly thrown into prisons, the invalids sleeping in the streets without hope and love and many others in unfamiliar conditions.

                            Emerging with purity from the dark Night

If these persons survived their dark nights, they would emerge stronger, refined and full of love. The dark night of soul empowers, repairs and strengthens the soul personality who successfully passed through it.Within this transition period of the dark night, only our guardian angel stays with us and the reason is obvious: to inspire and guide us through this difficult moment in our lives.The experience of the dark night of soul is similar to being alone in a long crooked dark tunnel. We must walk and work if need be with courage, diligence, trust and love towards getting out of the tunnel.

At the end of the tunnel, a great effulgence of white light awaits to give us a triumphant welcome. We will come to experience that we are stronger, wise, purified and filled with more love than we were before our dark nights. When does the dark night of soul occur? There is actually no tentative time for it but some mystical schools, having studied the references of their students who have passed through the dark night of soul, put the age range between 40 to 50 years of age. However the dark night of soul can occur earlier as at birth or later after 70 years of age.

             Activities to engage in during the dark Night

To withstand the tremors of the dark night of soul, the one experiencing it should cultivate the following habits:

1. Repetition of sacred sounds or words: this practice boosts our overall vibration and enables us to be in tune with constructive energies of the various planes of existence.

2. Prayers: Adoration for the supreme force of life gives us the security and joy of mutual communion and reverses the lonely feeling that often accompanies the dark night of soul. Praying in a large group can harmonize individual energies that are released into a laser beam-like collective energy in accomplishing certain altruistic goals.

3. Maintaining a dream journal: A dreams is a window which Soul uses to express itself in the many celestial journeys it undertakes into the various planes of existence. The discipline to jot every dream that one has makes it possible to derive direct helpful communication from the dream worlds that could help you stay positive during your dark night.

4. Contemplation book: Contemplation is a form of meditation where the superior faculty of soul engages with the soul plane or higher planes. The Impressions that are acquired during contemplation has produced wonderful solutions, inventions and beneficial inspirations.

5. Engaging in good works: Finding a way to be of service to others without being paid serves as an avenue to releasing love energy which is a powerful antidote for negative energies surrounding you during the dark night. It brings out the very best qualities in you which you can use later in life. There are a million ways to serve others.

6. Reading positive spiritual books and autobiographies: Spiritual books teach us how to live life positively and autobiographies are verifiable experiences of people who must have passed through trying times and have overcome them. These sources can inspire and establish the courage in you during the dark night.

7. Exercises: Doing active form of physical exercises can improve our serotonin levels, heart function and cerebral stamina which are relevant to mental and physical health

8. Eating balance diet: Body energies are usually burnt during the dark night. Taking balanced nutrients in moderation is essential to optimum cellular function

9. Water therapy: Drinking enough water help hydrate our tissues and immersing our bodies in warm baths improve cellular sensitivity and neural co-ordination.

10. Creativity: During the dark night, you may be surprise to find out that your creativity is at its peak. Though you are passing through pain or suffering but in the state of pain, you are at the highest peak of your creativity. A piece of writing, poem or art work tends to express the best of you.

11. The gaze of a competent living master: A competent spiritual adept who is specialized in karmic patterns, spiritual disorders and unfoldment is like candle that can light up the candle of your soul-personality. During the dark night, an encounter with or a gaze from one of such living adepts can be beneficial.

                                                Final thought

The dark night of soul comes with pain and suffering but it is a fertile period which we can take advantage of and become a better vehicle of Love, service, wisdom and purity. The dark night of soul unfolds each soul-personality that passes through it. We must cultivate the courage to come out of this mystical aridity in a safe way.

For those who are yet to experience their own dark nights, they should avail themselves to do a kind deed and say a kind word to strangers in difficulty as they might be passing through their dark nights.

What goes around comes around