This chapter focuses on the central core of the so-called “Dark Night of the Soul” and unfolds its inner structure through the classical distinction between the night of the senses and the night of the spirit, as described by John of the Cross. In contrast to a schematic or linear model, the Dark Night is not understood here as a step-by-step developmental sequence, but as a dynamic and...
This chapter examines one of the central misunderstandings surrounding the phenomenon traditionally referred to as the “Dark Night of the Soul”: its frequent reduction to clinical depression. Building on the introductory chapter, the present section develops a differentiated comparison between depressive states and the transformative process described in mystical traditions, particularly in the...
This chapter is an excerpt from a larger book project on the phenomenon traditionally described as the “Dark Night of the Soul” in the writings of John of the Cross. It combines historical, phenomenological, psychological, and contemplative perspectives in order to reinterpret this classical mystical concept for a contemporary audience. While remaining grounded in the Catholic and monastic...