In Unity teachings, the creative power of the Word, or Logos, is foundational. Everything that comes into being, or is made manifest in our lives, is the effect and consequence of the words we speak. The words we speak are the extension of the thoughts and feelings we allow to dominate in our consciousness. Thoughts become words, words make those thoughts manifest, and create the reality we experience.
Foster and nurture positive thoughts and feelings in your consciousness, life is a blessing. Allow negative thoughts to take root instead, life becomes a vale of tears, suffering, and physical disease. The words we use to describe either state of consciousness determine the energetic quality of our experience. In any moment, we are either calling forth the light, or affirming the darkness. We do this every time we choose between love and fear. Love is the light, fear is the darkness.
And God Said…
The first words spoken by God in Genesis are “Let there be light.” With these words, the divine idea of Light was not only made manifest, but also the creative processes of life in the Universe engaged. Those four simple words effectively created Light, calling it forth from the darkness to illuminate the darkness and reveal the creative potential present, even in the darkness.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” – Genesis 1:3-5
A close consideration of these words reveals that the divine idea of light was already present in potential, even in the darkness. In the light of the light, God saw that “the light was good,” and separated the light from the darkness, giving each its own identity and domain. God said, “the light was good,” but did not say the “darkness was bad.” They can both be good and necessary in the processes of life, depending on how we frame them in consciousness.
Down to this day, the words let there be light remain the first necessary step in any creative endeavor, healing experience, problem solving venture, or act of manifestation. Bringing light into any situation illuminates the possibilities. The light leaves no room for hidden fears that may undermine and sabotage our efforts towards manifestation or healing. The light always overcomes the darkness. Yet, still too often, humankind allows the apparent presence of darkness to overshadow our awareness of the creative power that is literally at the tip of our tongue, when we declare for ourselves: “Let there be light.”
The Dark Night Of The Soul
Have you ever had a dark night of the soul experience? Chances are good that you have, perhaps more than one. I know I have had several over the course of my life. Historically, the “dark night of the soul” as an idea or expression seems to have Roman Catholic origins. The term is most often attributed to St. John of the Cross, a 16th century Spanish mystic known for his deeply spiritual writings, particularly those that explored the “growth of the soul.” As a divine idea, the “dark night” metaphysically represents the challenges we encounter on the journey back to the awareness of our union with the Creator.
Although St. John of the Cross never actually used the term dark night of the soul, he did write an influential poem, called “The Dark Night,” that describes the stages of the journey towards the mystical union with God. Simply stated, the purpose of a dark night experience is to bring us back into an awareness of our fundamental, unbreakable union with God. But, before we achieve that end, there is an archetype experience common to us all, a journey that each one of us must take on our path towards our mystical reunion with God, the Creator.
Four Steps Through The Dark Night
The dark night experience takes place in four distinct steps culminating in the mystical reunion with God. St. John of the Cross’s poem hints at those four stages. What follows is my attempt to describe how I am understanding that journey.
Suspension: At the onset of any dark night experience, the first step we take towards the mystical reunion with God is to become willing to suspend our senses, to put them on pause, so to speak, to stop relying on the physical senses to lead us through the process. We become willing to suspend our intellectual reasoning processes, to suspend our belief in what the physical senses are telling us, so that we may connect with our deeper, spiritual understanding, our faculty for intuitive knowing, rather than intellectual reasoning.
Non-Attachment: Having suspended our senses, we move on towards becoming non-attached to the physical circumstances that are precipitating the dark night experience. We neutralize our attachments to the disease, the circumstance, the false beliefs that are at the heart of the dark night. As we achieve non-attachment, we become neutral, non-judgmental, and find that we become open to the appearance of a higher creative power to guide us through the journey. In short, we stop trying to do it ourselves, and willingly surrender to the authority of a higher creative power.
Illumination: In the darkness of the dark night, what we need next is illumination. Let there be light. We invite the light into the dark night, allowing it to enlighten us to the true nature of our being. In the light of illumination, we can see anew. With fresh eyes, and a higher sight, we begin to see the creative power available to us. We allow the light to illuminate the path on our journey towards our reunion with God.
Remembrance:The fourth and final step we take in the dark night experience is accomplished in the instant we remember our mystical union with God. In reality, this union has never been broken. We have gone nowhere. We have never been separated in reality, but rather in consciousness. So, we are not so much achieving a new reunion, or rejoining, with God in physical terms. It is more the remembrance that we have never been separate from God. We remember that all of God’s creative power is available to us in any circumstance. With God, all things are possible.
No matter the details of any dark night you may have had in the past, or may be going through now, the simple remembrance of your own union with God is the purpose of the experience. Knowing that we are in an unbreakable mystical union with God, we can be confident that we have access to all of God’s creative power. Knowing this, there is no dark night that the light cannot overcome. But first, we have to invite the light in to the experience with us. The simplest, most direct strategy for achieving that end is to simply use the power of our spoken word. Say out loud, “Let there be light.” Then, allow the light to lead the way.
