Awakening is not a straight line, but a rhythm—an unfolding that moves in cycles, just like nature. The journey of metamorphosis, from seeker to sage, from unconscious to conscious, from experiencing yourself as a limited and separate being to knowing your true, unbound nature, is not linear. The path of remembering and returning to true seeing and true being is cyclical, mirroring the rhythms of nature.
These are not problems to be solved or stages to graduate from. They are expressions of what it means to be a human being waking up from separation. What matters is not trying to force a season to end or begin, but learning to recognize which one you are currently in and meeting it with courage.
~ Colleen-Joy, excerpted from “The Seasons of the Soul: Why Awakening Is Not a Straight Line,”
The Seasons Of the Soul: Why Awakening Is Not A Straight Line
The journey of metamorphosis from seeker to sage, from unconscious to conscious, from experiencing yourself as a limited and separate being to knowing your true, unbound nature, is not a straight line. The path of remembering and returning to true seeing and true being is cyclical, mirroring the rhythms of nature. Everything in life moves in seasons. The Earth turns, tides rise and fall, trees bloom and shed their leaves. In the same way, your being, your heart, and your soul move through cycles. There are winters of contraction and suffering, autumns of questioning and inquiry, springs of opening and insight, and summers of integration and service. These are not problems to be solved or stages to graduate from. They
Awakening is often born in the dark night, where we are asked to let go, begin again, and rediscover what truly matters. In other words, if you are able to look back and recognize the “dark night of the soul” for what it is—a time of suffering, but also one of cleansing, release, and renewal—you may find your way back to your authentic self and rediscover what is truly important.
After the dark night comes the dawn. You may gain new spiritual insight after surviving this intense passage of self-destructive emotions and negative thinking. With hindsight, the lessons, purpose, and meaning of the experience begin to clarify. You may come to understand that some of your old beliefs, values, and ideas need updating, as they no longer serve you.
~ Jimmy Henderson, excerpted from “The Dark Night of the Soul”
