The Dark Night of the Soul”
Shamanic Healing
The ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ refers to a difficult period of your life when you genuinely need to be healed and helped through challenging times. Those of us who prioritize spiritual healing engage in the process of shucking off the layers of modern reality, shedding our materialistic tendencies and opening ourselves to a significant journey.
Can you remember a time when you have felt weighed down by your pain and stress and could not hear or feel the presence of God? Have you ever felt as if you just couldn’t go on in your life and that some sort of change had to happen?
The crushing pain of realizing that you are not who you want to be, but that you don’t know how to be free leads to the dark night of the soul. If you are trapped in insecurity and distress you may be headed toward your own dark night which will set you on the path to refinding parts of your soul you didn’t even know were missing.
Beyond Ego
Many things may bring about this tipping point, emotional imbalance, trauma, physical illness, or a realization that you are hiding your true self. The ego plays a central part in our day to day existence and to grow and evolve, and we must go beyond our external self, the face we show the world, and concentrate on our hidden needs.
The dark night of the soul that we go through is a process through which we have to pass to really understand how to heal on a soul level. If you are seeking to pursue a more open, less egocentric life, then you have to start with insights that are often painful.
You are in pain because you are disconnected from the spiritual force in your life. Your god or goddess has stopped being a central part of your life, and this has left pieces of your soul untethered.
Although the name of the process, this dark night sounds ominous, it shouldn’t be feared. By using psychedelic substances, and personal therapy you can help yourself enter the process with a guide which allows you to peel back the layers and support you to find your truth.
The dark night is something that you have to pass through to come out into the light and should be seen as a journey on which you will learn a lot about yourself.
Psychedelics and the Dark Night
Plant medicine such as ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms are often used by Shamanic guides to help you reach a state of enlightenment. The use of psychedelics is tailored to you by the shaman, and they guide you on your soul retrieval journey. Ayahuasca, often called the mother, serves as a benign presence on your journey to the higher plane.
Ayahuasca makes you sensitive to activity on the higher plane. Your senses are heightened, and you start to see the intricacies of your physical and spiritual reality. This can drive you to the depths but is illuminating and can eventually lead to enlightenment.
Magic Mushrooms can also be a force for change in your life; they force you to examine yourself and your insecurities by leading you down the path toward enlightenment of your true self. The true essence of your soul. The psychedelic substances assist and guide you on your journey. The ego crumbles as the mushrooms free the mind and creates a bridge that allows you to attain a higher plane.
Endure the Journey
As you progress towards a higher consciousness, there will be times when you feel bereft, alone, and are tempted to turn back. But the dark period must be understood and endured to reach a state of higher consciousness and to heal the soul. Your shaman and the psychedelic mushrooms or ayahuasca will be there to guide you out into the light.
The hard part is getting through the darkest part of the night, and the plant medicine can support you in that.
If you are making this journey with the help of a shaman or a group, then they will also be a great support during the time in which you are in transition. You are caught between your old life and new and the love and support of fellow travelers in invaluable.
Metamorphosis
The process of shedding your old skin with its fears, inhibitions, and hurts can be likened to a caterpillar hiding in the darkness of a chrysalis before it emerges as a beautiful butterfly. Your full potential can only be revealed if you turn inward. You cannot find peace in your friends, hobbies or books and only see the parts of you that are imperfect.
It can be like staring into an abyss and being tempted to jump, the helplessness of the personal work that you need to do to become your true enlightened self feels completely overwhelming. The psychedelic effects of the plant medicine act to support you in the process.
The loss of a part of your soul leaves a gaping wound that must be healed for you to become whole again. The healing process has been practiced by shaman for time immemorial to allow you to reconnect to life. You get to a point in your life where the chaos and trauma that surround you are too much, and you withdraw into the dark night of the soul.
Spiritual Rebirth
You cannot force soul retrieval, you must submit to the dark night, let it consume you, in the knowledge that the disconnection that you are feeling from your material self, possessions and emotions is necessary to move toward enlightenment. By welcoming the ayahuasca you are opening up to the healing.
This spiritual rebirth is hard to go through, but you must not neglect your physical wellbeing on the journey. It is essential to eat healthily, to meditate, and to seek emotional support as you usually would.
Eventually, your ego lets go the darkness ebbs. The old you drifts away, and you begin to blossom into the person who has realized that the true path to higher consciousness comes from inside you. It no longer matters what the external world sees, but what you have discovered about yourself.
The Grieving Process
The dark empty spaces where your soul has been lost or damaged can be healed with work, the vacuum that has been caused by the loss can be filled with light again. You just have to be guided through the process by your shaman and their psychedelic knowledge. You grieve for the person that you were but realize that you can work to retrieve the pieces of the soul that were lost.
You can ‘reboot’ yourself with the support of plant medicine guides who can help you to retrieve the pieces of your soul that are lost. You can work together to fit the puzzle of your new self together and to bind it in a way that acknowledges and understands your past experiences while looking to the future. To truly get to a place of enlightenment, you need to know why you went through the dark places and how doing so has helped you.
A Sense of Positivity
The ego-sense has dissolved, and you are left with a sense of positivity and a feeling that you are who you’re meant to be in the world. The problem you had before, of your ego, masking some of your true qualities while exaggerating others is gone, and you are balanced and whole.
Passing through the dark night of the soul is traumatic. It can feel perilous, and you can lose touch with everything around you as you focus only on the hurt and pain that you have uncovered. For some, it lasts hours, for others days or even months but, as they say, the night is darkest before the dawn. The joy of your soul again being whole will make you feel lighter, freer, and calm your inner conflict.
If you are interested in participating in an authentic Ayahuasca shamanic journey in the Amazon jungle here at Flower of life Ayahuasca healing retreat center.
We would be delighted to welcome you! To suit the desires of our guests here at Flower of life. We work with both male and female authentic shipibo maestros healers. For more information on our upcoming retreats or any questions you may have. Please contact us at