Chapter 19
When Growth Feels Like Dying
Sets down the first line and begins to explain how this dark contemplation is not only night for the soul but is also grief and torment. The soul says that "in an obscure night," which is contemplation, and "fevered with love's anxiety," it went forth to union with the Beloved. This dark contemplation causes two kinds of darkness or purgation in spiritual persons according to the two parts of the soul, the sensual and the spiritual. And thus one night or purgation will be of the sensual part of the soul, which is that whereof we have spoken above, and…
Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Personal Breakdown Patterns
Think of a major life transition you've experienced - job loss, relationship ending, health crisis, or identity shift. Create a simple timeline showing what broke down first, what you resisted losing, and what eventually emerged. Look for the pattern Saint John describes: external supports dissolving first, then internal self-concept, then gradual rebuilding.
Consider:
- •What did you try to hold onto that actually needed to go?
- •How long did you fight the breakdown before accepting it?
- •What emerged that couldn't have existed without the dissolution?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a current area of your life that feels like it's falling apart. How might this be preparation rather than failure? What might be trying to emerge?
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
You Might Also Like
Lessons from Dark Night of the Soul
Theme-by-theme analyses that connect this book to modern life skills.
Finding Meaning in Crisis
See self-knowledge, humility, and the wood-and-fire change as the gifts the night is actually giving, not as proof you have failed.
6 chapters·Explore AnalysisLetting Go of Control
Stop forcing meditation, methods, and timelines once the old faculties have gone dry, and wait instead of managing the outcome.
6 chapters·Explore Analysis
Deep diving the literary elements.
