Dark Nights of the Soul

Recently, a book called Dark Nights of the Soul was recommended to me in helping understand depression and anxiety from more than just a medical perspective.  Written by Thomas Moore, this book explores the idea of a "dark night of the soul" and what we can learn from these times in our lives. It stresses acknowledging our "darkness" and embracing rather than avoiding painful feelings.  At the same time we cannot let it wholly consume us, but rather allow it to become a part of our lives and who we are as human beings.

While the book sometimes gets flowery in language and repetitive in many ways, I have really enjoyed reading it. I do not necessarily agree with all that Moore has to say, but even he acknowledges that we have to  find out for ourselves what is true for us and know that we are forever evolving as people.  I wanted to share some of my favorite/ most famous passages from the book so far.

"Think of a dark night as part of organic living. To avoid it would be like choosing only artificial food that never spoils. As a natural person, you are going to feel a wide range of emotions and go through many different kinds of experiences. Over the course of your lifetime, parts of you will grow and blossom, some will rot. To be sad, grieving, struggling, lost, or hopeless is part of natural human life. By riding the wave of your dark night, you are more yourself, moving toward who you are meant to be." Chapter One: Night and Day

"You may be so influenced by the modern demand to make progress at all costs that you may not appreciate the value in backsliding. Yet, to regress in a certain way is to return to origins, to step back from the battle line of existence, to remember the gods and spirits and elements of nature, including your own pristine nature, the person you were at the beginning. You return to the womb of imagination so that your pregnancy can recycle. You are always being born, always dying to the day to find the restorative waters of night."-Chapter One: The Hero-Sun and the Sea

"I would say, when you are on a night sea journey, be taken. Don't try to have it finished. Don't try to figure it out.  Don't try to outsmart it. You wouldn't interfere with the natural birth process, so don't fidget your way into the journey of soul that will make you more of a person and reveal your destiny. Be in one-act darkness" -Chapter One: The Sea as the Source.