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The Dark Wood

© Cheryl D. Tracy

Sometimes we need a friend. We might be surrounded by people and family and yet feel that there is no one that we can turn to with whom we can share our deepest, darkest thoughts and feelings. And sometimes, even if we are surrounded by others, we discover we don't have anyone we can trust. Life can be scary, especially when you feel as though you don't have a support system. Normal reality can be overwhelming with all its illusions and, often, it's easier to think negatively than it is positively. Change is the one thing we can count on and change isn't always fun especially when it's a change we didn't want or ask for.

Often we have so much going on around us that we feel victimized and stranded. Confusion is the least of our worries when we're struggling to put food on the table or to keep a roof overhead. It is during times like these that we feel abandoned and cut off. It's times like these that we doubt everything we ever thought we believed or knew. Doubts come at us mentally and emotionally. We struggle with fear and fading faith and wonder just how much a soul must sell to rub two coins together. Some call this the Dark Night of the Soul. I think Dante had this experience pegged when in the Inferno he described it like this: "In the middle of my journey through life, a dark wood overcame me for I had lost my way."

When the cold hard facts of life contradict and even negate our spiritual beliefs, we have lost our way, indeed, and there is no better time to take journeys designed to help you find your way through the dark wood back to yourself. You might not even find yourself on this journey. You might find out that when you come through the darkness you have changed so completely and on so many levels that you are no longer who you thought you were at all.

During these times your mind, heart, and soul are very focused on being lost and finding the way out. Because of this there is no need for any special preparation work. All you have to do is find the willingness within yourself to sit down, become still, and open up to the guidance of your soul and guides. This sounds a lot easier than it really is. When you're depressed and have lost faith it's difficult to focus the mind and harder to quiet the chatter that bombards you at every turn. Entering the Inner landscape becomes hard work and, once you're in, because you are emotionally unbalanced, it doesn't take much to bounce you back out.