08-13-2021, 04:17 AM
Another thing Vernon Howard said is that we should be scared all day. That might sound counterproductive but it's about becoming aware of the fear in oneself. We have fear 24/7! Whether we are aware of it or not. Sometimes the fear is subconscious and can only be noticed indirectly such as through anger. As it says in the Star Wars fiction: fear leads to anger.
And that makes the heart-based action practice extra difficult. The first thing encountered in the practice is the fear within ourselves. The fear needs to be decomposed, which is the blackening and first stage in esoteric alchemy.
The text "when an individual confronts the shadow within" in the Wikipedia quote is very accurate! The dark night of the soul however is in my opinion only when there is an unconscious and prematurely spontaneous activation of the blackening stage where the situation becomes extremely nasty. With the heart-based action practice the blackening state is deliberate and with personal control, so if it gets too scary or nasty one can let go of the practice.
And that makes the heart-based action practice extra difficult. The first thing encountered in the practice is the fear within ourselves. The fear needs to be decomposed, which is the blackening and first stage in esoteric alchemy.
Quote:"In alchemy, nigredo, or blackness, means putrefaction or decomposition. Many alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the philosopher's stone, all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter.[1]
In analytical psychology, the term became a metaphor for "the dark night of the soul, when an individual confronts the shadow within."[2]" - Wikipedia
The text "when an individual confronts the shadow within" in the Wikipedia quote is very accurate! The dark night of the soul however is in my opinion only when there is an unconscious and prematurely spontaneous activation of the blackening stage where the situation becomes extremely nasty. With the heart-based action practice the blackening state is deliberate and with personal control, so if it gets too scary or nasty one can let go of the practice.