This is mainly a question for Christians or at least those who believe in a Creator of somekind. Anyone may answer but I am not sure it is relevant to nonbelievers.
No offense and Peace Be With You All,
Debra
2006-08-03 18:26:24 · 6 answers · asked by Debra M. Wishing Peace To All 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It is a term coined for a period of testing and spiritual emptiness. One prays and experiences an emptiness. It can be a very difficult yet growing experience. Many of the great Saints have experienced it.
2006-08-03 18:34:40 · update #1
Thank you to those who found a better way to explain it, I am not always clear about my explanations.
2006-08-03 18:44:57 · update #2
Yes.
2006-08-03 18:32:17 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I have.
The Dark Night of the Soul is a period of spiritual "downness", or even depression, that people experience before they experience an increase in understanding, or spiritual growth.
Put simply (maybe too simply), you increase your understanding by solving problems. When the problem goes away, your burden is lighter and you can see a bit more clearly. Sometimes when problems leave, they go out like a gunslinger firing a shot as he backs out of the saloon. Thus, the Dark Night of the Soul.
Another explanation is that an increase in understanding often comes hand in hand with releasing an attachment you have to something or someone you've been holding onto unnecessarily. It's a kind of grief you have to go through as you "lose" that attachment. When the grieving is over and the attachment is gone, understanding comes.
I wonder how many people these experiences have turned away from the narrow path?
2006-08-04 01:43:12 · answer #2 · answered by Baxter 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, and I can tell you Pagan seekers of wisdom experience much the same thing on their journey. It can be hard; it tests everything you think you know and believe, and you will come out changed.
Not everyone who descends into the Night sees the Dawn.
2006-08-04 01:32:56 · answer #3 · answered by Babs 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In modern terms, it's referred to as "Spiritual Dryness."
Testing is known as "trials and tribulations."
True followers of Jesus will go through these times periodically.
There are many reasons, given in the Bible, for these times.
And some reasons we won't understand until we are with Jesus in Heaven. God Bless. :)
2006-08-04 01:41:39 · answer #4 · answered by Kitten 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is this sort of like the dark side of the moon?
2006-08-04 01:30:28 · answer #5 · answered by afreeby151 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
is that like when you lose a loved one, and the world just stops, and you sort of slip into a funk, and realize your own mortality?
2006-08-04 01:36:44 · answer #6 · answered by slippped 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋