This week Spirit hesitated about bringing me any topic for this newsletter until today. Then as I
sat organizing my files, I saw it – an old list of newsletter topics that Spirit gave me 2 years ago and it jumped out at me. “Dark Night, Bright Light” Of course! Instantly I thought of all of the people I know, some of them very gifted spiritual practitioners, who are struggling with a time of “dark nights.” What is that you ask? I am speaking about those who are struggling to work through life lessons, who are questioning their current path in life, and who are feeling a bit lost and alone. Some are even experiencing what feels like a loss of their gifts and connection with Spirit that they previously had, others are experiencing intense unexplainable physical symptoms, and yet others are encountering incredible, but sometimes scary, experiences as new gifts are rapidly unfolding. Do any of these “dark nights” sound familiar to you? If so, don’t panic. The “bright light” is at the end of the tunnel, and you may be closer to emerging from that tunnel than you think! Let’s illuminate your path through this for you…
Dark Nights
When you hear “dark night” you might immediately think about the phrase “dark night of the soul” which often has a very gloomy connotation. Originally coined in the 16th century by St John of the Cross, a Catholic Spanish priest, mystic, and poet, the phrase described the journey of the soul when there was a time of purification of the spirit resulting in unification with God. (Source: Wikipedia – Dark Night of the Soul). Today, according to Wikipedia, the phrase is now used to describe “a crisis of faith or a difficult, painful period in one's life.” Many of the examples above do feel like a huge crisis to those experiencing them and they often involve building trust in Spirit. Others may not be in crisis mode but just keep coming up against one block or barrier after another to moving forward. What about you? Are you experiencing a crisis or blocks?
Many describe this time at the extreme end of the continuum of this experience of darkness, as “hitting rock bottom” in their life and often feel helpless as to how to climb out of the “dark pit” they feel they are in. It feels as if nothing in their life is going “right” and that even the Universe is against them. Some are experiencing loneliness as friends and family become distant due to beliefs and interests that no longer align. For others, the loneliness is from feeling a loss of connection with Spirit. Some are also struggling financially with job loss or less work available. Others are being plagued with physical symptoms that keep them from doing their work because they feel too exhausted, too ill, or become injured. Some are experiencing unexpected bouts of anxiety, confusion, or fear. And still others are almost numb emotionally and spiritually and have no energy or motivation to do anything more than get out of bed in the morning. Do any of these troublesome situations sound familiar to you? Are you stuck in the dark at the present?
Hope
Whatever it is that you or a loved one might be experiencing as their dark time, know that it is temporary. Know that you will get through it holding the wisdom and deeper connection to Spirit that the experience brings. It is reassuring to know that all of these dark times are part of our spiritual growth. Some spiritual “gurus” even go as far as to say that these times are a necessary part of spiritual evolution. It is also reassuring to know that we set these times up for ourselves before we came into this lifetime as part of our plan to learn what we came to learn, to grow into realizing our purpose. Some say that “God never gives us more than we can handle” and I would have to say that our soul would agree when we predetermined this path for ourselves.
Reaching for the Light
As I have watched and tried to support many friends through their “dark times,” I have been
privileged to witness their growth and triumphs. When they have been in the deepest depths of the darkness, they had the courage to reach out for help and then accept the hand outstretched to assist them. It might have been difficult at first to see the many ladders around them in that dark pit, but once they caught a glimpse of one of them, they had the courage and strength to climb up and out of the darkness one rung at a time. As they got closer to the top, they left behind the worry, fear, and self doubt. Once they started to climb over the top edge of the pit out of the darkness they could again see and appreciate the beauty in the world and allow it into their hearts. So, if you are feeling as if you have been plunged into the depths of darkness, reach out for help. Know that you have the strength and courage to move out of the darkness – dig deep within yourself and you will find it. It is there. With each glimmer of light as you take even the smallest of steps forward, see the beauty in the little things around you – a stranger’s smile, a blooming flower, the warmth of sunlight - and allow it to fill your heart with love and light. That is what will propel you forward. Can you manage to see that beauty?
You Are Not Alone
Spirit wants me to stress that even when we are in our darkest hours, we are NEVER alone. Our Guides, Angles, ancestors, passed loved ones, dragons, fairies, etc. are always there to support us. In fact, Spirit had me write an entire newsletter about their support just a few weeks ago – The Ripple Effect – You Are Not Alone. The key to remember, is that just as we need to ask for help from others in the physical world, so too do we need to ask for help from the spiritual world. Source will never abandon anyone. No matter how much we feel unworthy of Source’s love, we will NEVER be abandoned. So, whether you feel a connection to Spirit or not, whether you feel worthy of spirit’s attention or not, if you are feeling isolated and alone in your struggles, reach out to your spiritual team for help. You do not need to say any specific prayer, although if your intuition brings one to mind then of course proceed or you can just have a frank conversation out loud or in your head. Speak to Spirit as you would to a dear friend. You do not need a special place to sit, or an alter, or a certain yoga pose. You can speak to Spirit wherever you are and whenever you feel the need. You do not have to “feel” any mystical connection or have any obvious signs that Spirit is listening – be reassured that they are! What you do need to do is start the conversation and BELIEVE that Spirit will hear you and support you in a manner that is in your highest good. Can you TRUST that Spirit is there for you?
It is also another observation of mine that as we grow and move along our spiritual path, friendships and even relationships with family members, can change resulting in loneliness. Some relationships may end altogether abruptly, others may slowly fade away, and still others may take up a smaller space in your life. This is no one’s “fault.” It is just a symptom when your changing beliefs, values, and interests become less aligned. No one is being “left behind.” You are just growing at a different rate or in a different direction. Although these are almost automatic human emotional reactions, there is no need for guilt or sadness. That is because what you BOTH have to look forward to are new relationships where you will be supported by people who understand you and whose paths align with yours.
Spirit wants you to know, that when these changing relationships create a space of more time alone, it may be because you need that time to reflect on the changes you are going through, the lessons you are learning, or even the new spiritual gifts that are opening. It is also a time to go inward and to reconnect with your true self, perhaps even connect with your inner child, to learn more about who you really are and what you want in this life. Sometimes the alone time is meant to provide you with time to cocoon, to rest, or to regroup before the next stage of your spiritual growth. How are you doing with your alone time?
Learning the Lessons
As we face challenges in the physical world, for example, financial, emotional, or physical health related, we are working through the life lessons we came here to learn. So many people are struggling financially right now that Spirit offers the perspective that perhaps the volatile world economy is to accommodate the lessons about money that thousands of souls have come to the planet at this time to learn. I know that feels of little comfort when we look at our individual meager resources, but part of the lesson is to believe in the flow of money as energy and to unequivocally believe that Spirit will always provide for you. Many of us are working through health challenges where the body is providing us with messages about what we need to focus on to move forward. In Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life, she relates dis-ease in specific parts of the body to the messages the body is trying to give us related to our life lessons. As we listen to what the body is trying to tell us, we can heal. Do you understand the messages your body is giving you? Often healers experience issues with the body as we learn to heal ourselves and grow our gift to heal others. Have you ever experienced healing yourself?
Many, many people on the planet right now are also working through very intense emotional
challenges. On the world stage we see a ramp up in self doubt, anxiety, depression, fear, anger, and hate. I know I had a sudden huge energetic hit of self doubt a couple of weeks ago. I kept hearing “imposter syndrome” and it really threw me for a loop! I began to wonder if any of my spiritual work and growth was really valid. As I got curious and looked at where this might be coming from, I learned that it was yet another part of my life lesson in self worth, in valuing myself. This time I was able to work through things much quicker than I had when I first recognized this life lesson.
As the energy of the earth itself is evolving with the influx of the Divine Feminine energy moving us to be more heart centred, the ego is really ramping up the lower vibrational emotions to keep its stranglehold on the human spirit. As we recognize these emotions coming up in our lives, we have a choice. We can dwell in them as a victim or we can get curious, as a good friend of mine says, and start to understand why the emotion is coming up. Look for the trigger, the lesson that still has pieces left to learn. When we understand where the emotion is coming from, we can find and deal with the root cause. What else is there to learn? Is the emotion coming from a belief that no longer serves you? Can you release that belief perhaps by changing your perspective or even calling upon your Angels or Guides for assistance? We all have free will. We can absolutely choose to let go of something that is harming rather than helping us! We can also embrace the Divine Feminine and choose to live from a heart centred perspective, to feel our way through situations with love and compassion versus thinking through them with fear, doubt, and worry. (For help in becoming more heart centred, check out Heart Coherence practices in the 30 day Heart Coherence Challenge)
Reconnecting to Spirit
Several people I know are experiencing a “disconnect from Spirit.” It is not a conscious one, but they are suddenly struggling with receiving messages from their Guides and Angels. Then they start to doubt that they are being heard so they stop “talking” to Spirit altogether. In all of the cases I have seen, this disconnect is because the person is evolving spiritually, and Spirit is just changing the way they are connecting with them, but the person has not recognized that yet. If this is happening to you, don’t stop believing! It is simply time to explore other ways that Spirit is trying to communicate with you. If you are feeling lost, stop and listen in a different way. Sometimes our communication with Spirit changes when a new Guide, Angel or other member of our Spiritual team comes into our lives to assist us on the next part of our journey. We may have to learn how they will communicate with us which could be different than what we were accustomed to. The “disconnect” we were feeling was actually just the other members of the team stepping back as the new one came in.
This change in communicating with Spirit is often tied to a change in the expression of our spiritual gifts or new gifts opening up. For example, perhaps you were used to getting messages from Spirit through automatic writing but that has stopped. However, are you paying attention to the sudden influx of vivid dreams that you are having? Write them down and see if there is a common thread, a message. Many people right now are experiencing new gifts opening in almost an explosive way. For example, intuitive messages suddenly being more frequent, more vivid, more intense or suddenly starting to “see” spirits can be confusing or even frightening. If there is doubt as to whether these are really our gifts, often then fear can set in as to where this information is coming from or why these experiences are happening.
Spirit wants to reassure you that these are the gifts you have always had tethered to your soul. You may have experienced them as a child and then shut them down due to a threat or ridicule. Those feelings may come back as the gift reopens so they are something to release with more understanding. Sometimes there is a fear of or confusion about the responsibility that comes along with a gift. For example, if you suddenly start to receive unsolicited messages about strangers, what is your responsibility regarding giving them that message? There could be questions and fear of repercussions if you approach a stranger with a message from Spirit in a way that may not be best suited for that person.
New gifts might not be as obvious as gifts but rather present in confusing ways. For example, you may be experiencing unexplainable aches and pains in your hands as your gift of hands-on healing comes in. Once you know what to do with that energy, the aches and pains can subside. When we are having strange symptoms that the medical services cannot find a cause for, or when your intuition is bringing in many questions, it is helpful to reach out to others in the spiritual community for information and support. Do you think you have new gifts opening? Do you have somewhere you can access support?
Moving On Up!
As I have mentioned previously, this is a time of intense change on earth. Not only is the energy of Gaia evolving but so is everyone on the planet. Many people are waking up to the spiritual side of life here, to remembering who they are and why they are here. Everyone is unique so this is all happening on our own individual timeline. That is why some relationships change or fall away, and new members of our soul family arrive in our life. It seems that those who have the biggest challenges are learning the greatest lessons and are growing spiritually in leaps and bounds.
It is my understanding from Spirit, that those being affected most intensely right now, are
lightworkers or those meant to be lightworkers and who are just coming into that role. We all have one motivation in common, and that is to be of service. For many of us then, we can feel frustrated and stalled when we are surprised by the reappearance of a hard lesson we thought we had successfully come to the back end of! If this is your experience, know that Spirit is giving you the “last kick at the cat” to ensure you have moved through that lesson completely. Other lightworkers are feeling their roles shift as new gifts open and the needs of the beings on the planet change. All of this is preparing us to be of service to the masses as they awaken. As lightworkers, we too must remember to call on Spirit and each other for support. As we all continue to learn and grow, we can shine our light for others to follow to find their way out of the darkness. They in turn, will learn and grow to shine their bright light. So, whether you are a lightworker or just starting to wake up to your beautiful soul, you will conquer your dark nights because you are the bright light!
Sending you love and light,
Marilyn
Intuitive Counselling and Angel Card Readings
If you would like to receive some spiritual guidance specifically for you, I am offering intuitive counselling, angel card readings, and angel numerology readings online or in person (in Calgary).
Resources:
Books
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
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