I continue to feel deeply inspired and amazed by the amount and variety of life trips that are shared with me and with Gaia almost daily. I am also fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet many of you personally, traveling the world, presenting the words and wisdom of Gaia, in small and large meetings. Most of the time Gaia's words are warm and expansive, but they can also be quite firm and straightforward, especially if she perceives an obstacle that can be removed, that lies between us and the experience beyond that obstacle. Where there is the possibility of progress, those who know Gaia will tell you, better take care and be ready!

I have been driven to share the following article with you, because it speaks to a calmer and more intimate aspect of our perception, which most of the time we are not willing to share with others, at least not in public. Yes, we all know today, at least in theory, that our thoughts create our experience. And we know that positive thoughts are vital to healthy and productive lives. But what do we do when we forget how to do that and be that?

In almost every seminar and in many of my private sessions, a shy and self-conscious person will take me silently to the side and trust me that they feel they have forgotten how to be spiritual. Mortified even for speaking these words out loud, they relate how different they feel in front of their 'spiritual' friends who seem to be expanding almost multi-dimensionally - the same meeting that recently welcomed their unique self-expression, now it seems Be oppressive and exclusive.

My own answer is that I recognize too well what they have had the courage to relate, having had similar experiences in my past. Gaia's words in this regard are gentle, resonant and inspiring. They speak to the silent space inside us that is desperate, while pregnant by their despair. With this in mind, please receive the following words as a point of reference - one that may or may never come to correspond to your experience, but that will at least offer you the wisdom and compassion to be the nourishing presence in The life of another. We are powerful and versatile beings, capable of creating almost everything we can dream or conceive, but we are also susceptible to going through fragile, frightening and empty moments. The following article is for one of those rainy days. I hope you receive it with the same gratitude with which I received it.

Pepper Lewis

I experienced what I like to call a moment and a year of a personal awakening about a year ago. Many of the positive changes I've made in my life are directly attributed to that experience. But now, just a year later, my life is in a state of confusion and disarray. I am not eating or sleeping well, I feel emotionally unstable and spiritually unbalanced. I have minor anxiety attacks and temporary depression outbreaks. On the surface nothing has really changed, and I can't help but wonder why things are not as good or better than they have been.

What has happened? What changed? Someone recently told me about the Dark Night of the Soul. Could you describe this condition and tell me if this is what I am experiencing. If so, is there a cure for it? Over the years I have seen the difference that his words have represented in countless readers. I pray that the same is valid for me.

It is important to begin by remembering and recognizing that spiritual awakenings, such as other valid (unplanned) events, are not unique moments of ecstasy, followed by whole lives of delusional glory. Spiritual awakenings are extraordinary moments that transcend the ordinary and then continue to unfold within and through life spans of experiences. Such moments, no matter how long they last, are changes of consciousness from a state of perception to the next. While these are of immeasurable importance for the growth of your soul and are indelibly engraved in your cellular memory, they are also unique moments as far as the heavens are concerned. They cannot be compared to the entire progressive journey of their soul, which is at least as broad as the measures of the Universe. Only, when all these experiences are intertwined, can the beauty and luster of each individual pearl be exactly reflected in what is the fullness of its being. The expansion of your consciousness is organic and continuous. In fact, it does not require, and transcends all temporary moments of ecstasy.

Believe it or not and contrary to contemporary opinion, the ordinary achievement of the soul (and its personality) in its daily activities are more than adequate. God does not judge or even evaluate how many of his activities are spiritual versus worldly, but mankind does. As ridiculous as it may seem, while you are looking for the purpose of your life, you are living it too. It could not be otherwise since All That Is is always determined and never inconsistent. Like it or not, we also have to recognize that the purpose in hand you are practicing first as a human being and then to be a mystic, prophet or spiritualist. So its experience, for the most part, has to reflect this law. The fact that his State of Being currently dwells in a vehicle of a denser light called a human body, makes this law take precedence over others. The principle of the Universal Law supports the accentuated at times like this, because otherwise one would quickly turn it around.

Having said that, it is difficult not to be influenced by experiences that seem to be nothing short of brilliant. During such moments the soul rejoices and the personality forgets the issues and struggles it has tried to overcome. These celebrations are reminders that there is always a bigger reality and a smaller reality that exist side by side, and as one. The soul does not define itself by these experiences, but they also serve as a guide. For the sake of contrast, notice that the soul does not see such a vast difference in these experiences, as does the personality. This is a reflection of the dependence of the personality of the third dimension, of opposites such as good and bad, light and dark. The human personality evaluates, judges and compares opposites against their own experience, using them as an indicator if necessary, while the soul experiences the opposites only as a variant within a larger context.

THE DARK NIGHT

The Dark Night reveals itself as a profound human process, in which the being, who until then had considered himself as spiritual and as such impregnable by the abstractions of an average life, is forced to look for Second or third time. Sometimes the soul (as a personality) even has to return in opposition to where it believed it was going, in order to recover the necessary qualities it had overlooked or left behind. His soul is interested in unifying the whole and will not settle for less. Everyone is subject to unraveling what is the Dark Night, and even the lives plotted and cultivated with the greatest care, are no exception. Those who have read well and studied spiritually and those who were sitting on their teacher's footsteps for a life or two, seem to respond to this natural law with a special irritability, attacking others or inflicting their own wounds, as the drama inevitably Follow its course. Although difficult and precarious, Dark Night is a journey worth taking, as far as the soul is concerned. One can emulate the journey of the Initiate while the path is wide, but when it eventually narrows, only the true seeker will support what is requested.

The very thing that produced the ecstasy so desired by the personality, is now offered differently, the gift is the same, but it is not received as well. Spiritual awakenings are the result of one's being, choosing to emerge as the Self. Those are opportunities to experience reality rather than illusion perceiving itself as real. Imagine an image in the mirror coming out of the mirror for the first time and turning to look back at the reflection that the self has called, can you see how deep the experience could be for the Self itself, and at the same time how devastating to the smallest being?

The smaller being, not being prepared for the experience, perceives only the falsehood and insignificance that he thinks he has lived, instead of the greatest opportunity that presents itself. The distance between being and Being defines both the Dark Night and how long it will last. Now it falls on the "seat" of the soul, or the purified heart, to find its way through the gloom of its human condition until it is able to see in the dark and eventually through it. In this state, the being itself feels each limitation as finite and final, thus diminishing its power to do or to be anything creative or original. As cruel as this transition may seem, there will come a time when the soul and personality will emerge as one, and they will know clearly once and for all where God's hand is, as well as what moves it.

THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE SPIRIT

In this New Age, where avatar-type enlightenment and the art of receiving transmissions of the Spirit are the most common, Dark Night often manifests itself in the withdrawal of that same fellowship. Teacher Instructors of Spiritual Teaching as objective ideas of evolved consciousness have become points of central help. When these are removed by higher laws of the Spirit, they leave behind a scented residue which is too quickly replaced by an impenetrable wall of darkness. What could be the replacement of such intimacy and mutual love from and towards the Spirit? Too quickly the thought arises that only what has no value to be loved can be set aside so easily. And there begins the anguish.

For those who are sensitive and intuitively organized, this spiritual loss is very difficult to cope with, being the most bitter absence because the presence has been so sweet. This retreat is often both personal and impersonal. For example, if the channel (Pepper Lewis), whose pen now offers Gaia's words, fell into the Dark Night, it would most likely silence the pen as well. A much greater amount of the imagined fall prey to the despair listed here, clinging with unfortunate results to the ego for its supply of conditioned and torn words. With spiritual contact almost eradicated, the being itself is left to recover on its own, as if it were from death. In hardship, the being returns to its place of innocence and simplicity, sometimes even shouting in a way as a child does, so as not to be abandoned any longer. There the being itself has to start as if it were from scratch, because even those who believe they have nothing, still have everything in perpetuity, and this is the very thing they have to try to rediscover. The gods or teachers who praise one's own being or soul are not enough God, so a sense of true divinity often follows such experiences of sadness and deprivation.

Those who believe themselves as innocent and pure in their thoughts and deeds suffer from a different Night. These individuals, self-exiled in perpetual torture, are almost driven to see a constant parade of individuals who deserve it less but are rewarded for any minor work. It seems to them, that they are so deserving of the love and fortune of God, they stand as last, forgotten, fallen and ignored. Stunned by such a turn of circumstances, and despite the self-corrections attempted, they begin to think and pronounce sick thoughts regarding the rewards and resources of others. Overwhelmed by their own bad luck, bad omens and constant misfortunes continue to be their almost daily experiences. The more good works they perform, the more they seem to fall into darkness, from which they apparently cannot emerge. At this point many will begin to believe that God certainly favors the dark and those who think first of all for themselves. As events go from bad to worse, their struggle now becomes to be as they are the others, and to receive as they do, or to live banished and alone in a world that no longer receives them.

In the process of the Dark Night, the soul purifies itself through the experience of its own imperfection. The soul, accompanied by personality, revisits every real or imaginary sin. Each particle and atom is enlarged to enormous proportions, so that there is no detail that can remain without being considered. With such distortion, the being itself cannot fail to see its misery and its creative capacity. As the distance between one's being and the soul increases, so does the distance between Light and Darkness, making the comforts of life a little more than abstractions and distractions, both being heavy loads placed on now fragile shoulders and insecure.

THE PERPETUAL NIGHT

It is human nature to mourn for what is inevitable, to look back to see the mistakes made instead of looking forward to the unknown, and to think that goodwill would have to be permanent and bad will only temporary. However, it is a bigger truth, that all things are temporary and temporary. Having said that, his State of Being, that which is the presence of his soul, is eternal. That which is transitory is an aspect of that which is permanent, but that which is permanent is not an aspect of that which is eternal. It is this truth (also Universal Law) that the personality / soul itself forgets during its descent into the Dark Night.

Permanence is detected in that which lasts forever or for a long time. This applies to everything that never changes and is expected not to undergo significant changes. Permanence is related to everything that is physical. It can be applied to Stonehenge, as well as to our physical body. It is believed that Stonehenge has been standing for so many thousands of years and one can imagine it for many more. It almost seems that it could be a permanent element, but it has been created with purpose, and one day it will be skimmed when its purpose ceases to exist. The same is true regarding your physical body. It seems to be solid and permanent because it has a purpose to be. Someday when your highest purpose is another than it is today, you can choose to surrender or redo it in another way. At present, permanence and purpose have made it theirs.

Eternity is a non-physical quality. It is timeless, and therefore is not affected by the passage of time. His soul is made of this eternal quality. This is what makes his soul destined to discover his own divinity. One of the paths through which his soul continues on his scheduled journey is through the experience of human incarnation. That which is permanent and that which is eternal, have a very unique relationship. Both obey the same laws, one by its physical manifestation, and the other by its contrast. Being and the Self (no lower or higher) obey the same laws, and while both complement each other, it is often their contrast that is a major challenge for humanity.

This contrast so poorly understood is a contributing factor to the separation that is most often described in the Dark Night process. The soul, recognizing itself as eternal, welcomes you to the Dark Night as an opportunity to revisit your most insecure experiences. The soul seeks to enhance its journey and considers the Dark Night a bit more like a time before dawn. The personality of the being, believing that its purpose is associated with a life span, is afraid to wobble or even delay. The personality considers the Dark Night as a failed test, one to which it has been subjected and found in failure; she expects only the punishment deserved for her sin, which is nothing other than human nature.

THE RESTORATION OF LIGHT

The Dark Night lasts only as long as it is perceived as sin. If one can see a spiritual awakening as no more than a progression of eternal moments, then the dark night will not take longer than the night itself, do you see it? A spiritual awakening is a cause for celebration, but it is not a reward given one day (or one year) and then withdrawn the next. Even so, it is appropriate to sumptuously adapt and dine one night and participate in a simpler meal next time. The day advances towards the night with the same certainty as the night advances back to the day, and the same could not be less true with its experiences.

Confusion, disorder and anxiety reign when the separation is more present. If you are separated from the inspiration you do, then you will strive for inspiration and sigh in the exhale. If your consciousness is not focused on your physical well-being, then your body's insistence asking for food will not be recognized, and if you fear that you lack the courage to persist and overcome obstacles, your body will not I will rest and I will not surrender to the peace that the dream brings. Emotional stability is the result of the confidence that one feels in the face of the next moment and the next experience. Depression is the insistent but failed demand of the being that he is only in control. Without cooperation and recognition of both hemispheres of the mind, the balance will remain at an unattainable distance. Spiritual balance will be restored as rigid beliefs dissolve in the face of new possibilities.

The Dark Night of the Soul is a phenomenon associated with spiritual awakening, and should not be feared. A dark night does not necessarily follow or precede a spiritual awakening, since both are only an experience of the expansion of the soul. However, beware of those who promise a path that deviates from its own center and to that of another. These experiences too often result in a different type of pain and suffering. Be patient as you go through these experiences and surround yourself with those who will guarantee you the same understanding. Walk slowly and smoothly, as your path may remain dark during this cycle. If necessary, feel sorry for yourself, for not living within it. Get in your eyes to see in the dim light, so that you can help others to do the same when asked.

When your current experience returns you to similar moments that seem to have arisen directly from your past, recognize them as such. Face them directly and honorably. The Sun (son) returns at its appointed time, and soon the light will scatter in the shade. When they are muddy in quicksand, do not fight. Bend your density until it becomes light enough to reach the shore; muddy as they may be, but not defeated. His only sin is to forget the laws by which nature prevails in the third dimension; These laws also apply to human nature. The remedy is to remember, and forgive where necessary. Light is never absent, however often the shadow defines it.

A later addition of Gaia: Beloved Readers, both in body and spirit, these words are for you and for the inner child who still believes in a separation that does not exist, but a fear, still real, at least in perception . It is the old thing of yesterday but it will be located in its day of today and will try to follow it in its days of tomorrow. Remember that when you forge a new path, progress is often slow. Having said that, a new slower path is more suitable than an old worn one, which does not offer new panoramas or landscapes. If lack of direction is a primary concern, then begin with the Valley of Peace. Many have omitted this oasis in their quest for the fastest path to Shamballa, only to return later when their healing meadows are most welcome. Maybe I will visit them there and we will sit together for a while, since it is also my home.

The Clarity and Courage of Today, Guidance and Wisdom for Tomorrow.

© Pepper Lewis & The Peaceful Planet. 2007

All rights reserved. This article is presented for reading and delight. It can be shared with others who can find it valuable whenever it is for personal use.

All other reprints, including electronic transmissions designed for commercial use must receive permission from the author.

To receive more messages and / or be added to our distribution list in English, please send an email to DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

Mother Earth / Gaia through Pepper Lewis - 2007

Translation: Anita Manasse -