Calm in the Face of the Storm:
The Dark Night and The Shadow Journey
Nan Waller Burnett, MA
MBB Board of Directors
Dispute Resolution Professionals, LLC.
www.disputepro.com
All Right Reserved 2011
The Dark Night of the Soul
In the dark night something of your makeup comes to
an end…your ego, your ‘self’, your creativeness,
your meaning. You may find in that darkness a key to
your source, the larger soul that makes you who you
are and holds the secrets of your existence.… You
have to give yourself receptively to the transforming
natural powers that remain mysteriously dark.
Thomas Moore, Dark Nights of the Soul
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
DARK NIGHTS & SHADOW JOURNEY
AGENDA
FEBRUARY 22, 2011

WELCOME To The Group
 INTRODUCTION & Disclosures
 MONTHLY Cyber group discussion
 DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL
 EGO Identification
 JOURNALING, Support, Aftercare
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
Dark Nights Are A Normal Part of Life

Thomas Moore notes that dark nights are:
-a natural part of life and revisit one many times
-sometimes this period of transformation is for
your own clarity.
- One may feel depression, hopelessness, or
anxiety about what is happening through
the dark night.
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
Dark Nights Set A New Course

“We all experience sudden periods of sadness,
turmoil, pain, and disconnection, but out of the
shadows, a new course is always revealed. Perhaps
it cannot be seen without walking through the dark.”
NW Burnett, Calm in the Face of the Storm. P.85 (2010)
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
The Dark Night as Spiritual Practice

The spiritual practice of shadow encourages you to:

make peace with those parts of yourself that you
find to be unworthy, embarrassing or despicable —

our anger, jealousy, pride, selfishness, rage, our
zeal, and other characteristics that feel dark to us.
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
The Dark Night as Spiritual Practice

Examining the shadow means you can reclaim all
your flaws and gifts and accept yourself in all your
complexity.

Reclamation processing is the definition of
integration, the possibility exists for a melding of all
the unique parts of self. It allows one to live from
integrity and authenticity rather than from the ego.
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
Depression and Transformation

Moore suggests that the feeling of depression is just a
“dark night of the soul” that serves to force the spirit from
one transformation to another.
 A dark mood is fluid, depression is wooden and
immovable.
 We should not try to escape it, but rather sit in the dark
room, surrender to the process, and let the transformation
take place: “Discover the very point of your personhood:
the process of constant renewal.”
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
How Does the Dark Night Heal Us?

“One should not fear a dark night, that it’s a time of
waiting and trusting, and one must be comfortable to
sit in discomfort and wait for the right course to
unfold.”
Thomas Moore

When I find myself in the darkness, physically and
emotionally, I am reminded of the healing power of
the dark night.
Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
Exercise: “Dark Night” Visioning
Close your eyes. Focus on the words “dark nights.”
 What images are summoned to your senses?
Embrace your reality in this moment.
 Write down what came to you in that moment of
dark night.
 How can you use that knowledge to transform?
 Pick one thing you can commit to this week.

Nan Waller Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved
MODELS OF CHANGE



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Motivation
for change is necessary.
Observation
and reflection examines your desire for change.
Discovery
allows deeply embedded obstacles to be removed.
Exploration
of your life illuminates the path to possibilities.
Leadership
of thoughts and negative messaging empowers the journey.
Stay the course;
there is more than one path, have a daily ritual; go on retreat.
Nan Waller Burnett, MA, 2011 All rights reserved
Self-Care While Working
through the Storm of the Dark Night

Take tea this month with one of your most troublesome
‘demons’ [from Zen practice]
 Journal about your experience.
 What gifts does your dark night bring you?
 Be patient with your journey through the eye of the needle,
embrace all of the parts of you, your daily healing is a
process.
NW Burnett, MA 2011 All Rights Reserved