I know nothing of dark nights of the soul from eprsonal experience, and so haven't pursued others' thought on them-- and haven't made much of what I've come across.
I'm speculating now that, like so many relational things, like so many theologically relational things, dark nights of the soul are good medicine for them what need them, not necessarily a universally valuale phenomenon. But that could demonstrate my spiritual shallowness. :D
I still like James' discussion in Varieties of Religious experience. The "once born" and the "twice born" may simply represent different personality types (and culture differences, of course). Some people just seem to grow in wisdom and in favor with God and man. I always thought i was one of those people (like Jesus, perhaps, or Therese of Liseaux. It may turn out that i am one of the twice born (or thrice born, maybe, but i don't want to make a habit of rebirthing)
I think the darkness is a common side effect (or maybe part and parcel) of the via negativa and non-duality. One could be caught indefinitely between the "fog of forgetting" and the "cloud of unknowing."
I don't know what i'm talking about. I need to think this over and maybe post on it. But i do understand and appreciate your comment. I hope i would not think anyone was shallow because they chose a path i could not follow.
Well I think that when it comes to spiritual matters, the path chooses the person, quite often. But I very much doubt that's a matter of paths selecting people by high-low type quality!
I'm trying to imagine someone shooind the dark night of the soul, and it's kind of funny. :D
(BTW, I wasn't being passive-aggressive at you. I really think it's quite possible that I'm just a trivial person, spiritually. Why noy, after all? And lots of wise people say things are essential that I lack and have little feel for.)
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I'm speculating now that, like so many relational things, like so many theologically relational things, dark nights of the soul are good medicine for them what need them, not necessarily a universally valuale phenomenon. But that could demonstrate my spiritual shallowness. :D
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I think the darkness is a common side effect (or maybe part and parcel) of the via negativa and non-duality. One could be caught indefinitely between the "fog of forgetting" and the "cloud of unknowing."
I don't know what i'm talking about. I need to think this over and maybe post on it. But i do understand and appreciate your comment. I hope i would not think anyone was shallow because they chose a path i could not follow.
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I'm trying to imagine someone shooind the dark night of the soul, and it's kind of funny. :D
(BTW, I wasn't being passive-aggressive at you. I really think it's quite possible that I'm just a trivial person, spiritually. Why noy, after all? And lots of wise people say things are essential that I lack and have little feel for.)
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Surely not compassion
which is the biggie.
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