Author Fiona Robertson joins Zahra Achouak in Amsterdam to talk about her new book, The Dark Night of the Soul: A Journey from Absence to Presence. In the beautiful surroundings of the Buurtboerderij, Zahra and Fiona discuss many aspects of the dark night journey, including falling apart, the nature of the persona, the feeling of pain, and discovering the hidden parts of ourselves.
The world itself appears to be in the throes of a dark night. The old structures, now demonstrably rotten, are falling apart. The nakedness of the emperors and their courtiers has been exposed, despite their desperate attempts to persuade us of the finery of their clothing. [1]
The Dark Night of the Soul, Afterword, page 157
At this online book launch, Jen and Fiona talk about many aspects of the dark night of the soul, including the falling apart of the mask or adapted self, the pull to withdraw from the matrix of oppression, the challenge of staying with our nervous systems, and the richness of deep honesty. This discussion will be of interest to anyone who is going through or has gone through a dark night of the soul, spiritual emergency or crisis, or some kind of awakening journey.
Nearly ten years ago, my life fell apart suddenly and catastrophically. I ceased to be able to function in the outside world, was physically ill and was engulfed by feelings, sensations and memories that—up until then—I’d been successfully avoiding or suppressing. Fortunately, I recognized that this was far more than a nervous breakdown. It was the beginning of a long dark night of the soul. Very early on I realised that, over the years, I had become disconnected from my deeper self. My soul was now calling me home and I was willing (if totally ill-prepared) to heed its call.
