Dark Night of the Soul

I don't know much about Saint John of the Cross, except that he was a Spanish mystic, poet and priest who lived about 500 years ago and came up with the phrase, "The Dark Night of the Soul". He saw The Dark Night of the Soul as an inevitable part of the spiritual journey.

I think of the last few days as a Dark Night of the Soul experience, and although it was very unpleasant and I don't look forward to experiencing it again, there was something about it that seems useful. I took a look at my fear of death, decay and helplessness. I was afraid. It's useful, now that it's past, to see how strong that fear can be. It is also useful, now that it is past, to see the way out of that fear.

I know part of this is biochemical, and sometimes a person will have an elaborate philosophical, psychological, spiritual or poetic explanation for something that comes down to chemicals in the brain, but bear with me.

Things turned around when I shifted from thinking about the future to living in the present.