Abiding in the Luminous Dark

Part 1: Entering the Desert

Dec 2, 2017 3:30am PST

John describes the first station of the Dark Night of the Soul as the “Night of Sense.” This is when the juicy feelings of spiritual connectedness that had previously motivated us begin to dry up. Although it may feel like something is broken and needs to be fixed, all that is required here is to ease ourselves into the arms of the emptiness and be still. We are being weaned from the Divine Breast, ready to stand on our own and eat of the “robust bread” of the mature seeker.

In Christian mystical theology, this is the first phase of the Via Negativa, known as the Via Purgativa – a time of blessed time of purification and surrender.

In this session we will explore different versions of desert spirituality across the traditions.

Duration: 1 hours, 30 minutes

Part 2: Radical Unknowing

Dec 9, 2017 11:30am PST

John describes the second station of the Dark Night of the Soul as the “Night of Spirit.” This is where all our spiritual concepts unravel and our belief systems are dismantled. Not many seekers arrive at this station because they’re too busy trying to solve what they perceive to be the problem of the Night of Sense. But when we take the “exquisite risk” of dropping our preconceptions, we can attain the spiritual nakedness necessary for having a direct encounter with the Beloved.

In the Via Negativa, this corresponds to the Via Iluminativa – when the chamber of our soul, which we have helped the Holy One to sweep out, is filled with light.

In this session we will explore the blessing of getting out of our own way.

Duration: 1 hours, 30 minutes

Part 3: Reclaiming Longing

Dec 16, 2017 11:30am - 1:00pm PST

As it turns out, the perceived darkness that descends on our souls as we mature is nothing but unutterable radiance. When we allow ourselves to come undone in the depths of the darkness, we develop new eyes with which to perceive the divine radiance. The mystical paradox is that suffering we experience in the Dark Night of the Soul yields to an intensification of yearning for union with the Beloved, which is inextricable from connection to the Beloved.

This corresponds to the Via Unitiva in the Via Negativa – in which the divine light that comes pouring into our empty soul melts the container altogether and we dissolve into the One.
In this session we will reclaim the power of longing for God and connect this with our personal losses and our grief for the pain of the world. We will activate our broken-heartedness on behalf of all beings and the earth herself.

Duration: 1 hours, 30 minutes