As of late, the theme of depression has come up often: in speaking with people who were interested in the Healing and Awakening online group, in working with people in spiritual mentoring and counseling, as well as in questions people ask during non-dual spiritual events and satsangs. The more 'inner' and spiritually aware and sensitive people are, the more, it seems, they are also likely to be dealing with depression. This includes myself, as there has been depression in my life's unfolding. The depression lifted increasingly as I was willing to inquire into it, instead of being afraid of it when I felt well or suffering through bouts of it when it showed up again. One of my break-through moments of inquiry is captured in the poem below.
As I see it now, from both a psychological and spiritual perspective, the emptiness and lifelessness of depression call us to discover true emptiness, which is also what is truly alive in all of us. Most psychological and therapeutic perspectives will look at ways of filling the emptiness and finding aliveness at the level of the personality, or suggest anti-depressants. For spiritual people, this will invariably not feel quite right, not quite to the point. And you are right! Depression ultimately calls you to find your own light, the truth of yourSelf: that which animates even the depression. It is a wake-up call in the truest sense of the word.
As I see it now, from both a psychological and spiritual perspective, the emptiness and lifelessness of depression call us to discover true emptiness, which is also what is truly alive in all of us. Most psychological and therapeutic perspectives will look at ways of filling the emptiness and finding aliveness at the level of the personality, or suggest anti-depressants. For spiritual people, this will invariably not feel quite right, not quite to the point. And you are right! Depression ultimately calls you to find your own light, the truth of yourSelf: that which animates even the depression. It is a wake-up call in the truest sense of the word.
So I've decided to offer an online group program that is dedicated to loving inquiry into depression. In this inquiry, you will be guided to follow the call of depression by opening into the depths of the emptiness, darkness, pain, and lifelessness that it faces you with. The invitation is to dive in and bring simple, open awareness to it instead of trying to get away from it. This is counter-intuitive, but ultimately the only way to find what is truly alive beyond the personality which always wants to control, escape, fight or fix depression. In this way, depression comes to be a doorway into awakening.
Since this is the first time I'm offering this group, I'm happy to keep it financially accessible. The fee for 5 group meetings will be $90 (USD), with a sliding scale possible for those who cannot afford the full fee. The group will start on Tuesday, 30 May 2017, and run until 27 June (11am PDT, 2pm EDT, 7pm UK, 8pm Europe).
On a more personal note, I am always profoundly touched and moved by the sacred, intimate space that arises through coming together as a small online group in this way, and by the powerful transformations that happen as a result. It is a deep joy for me to offer and guide these groups. You'll find more details about the group program HERE. You can also get in touch by e-mail if you have further questions.
With love and gratitude,
grace
PS: Also read another blog, Depression -- a fresh look, where I share more of my personal history of depression.
And here is the poem that describes my break-through moment of inquiry:
Dark night of the soul
All the lights have gone out.
Even the Sun has lost its radiance
behind the clouds of un-knowing.
The trees have fallen silent,
no more life visible in them.
There's not much life force left
in this body,
nor is there any power
in this mind.
The heart is empty,
nothing connects.
Bleakness,
no meaning
in anything.
Surprising
how vast
and still
the darkness is
as being surrenders
to it without resistance.
The dark side of life
no different from the light,
really no difference,
both a doorway
to stillness.
Since this is the first time I'm offering this group, I'm happy to keep it financially accessible. The fee for 5 group meetings will be $90 (USD), with a sliding scale possible for those who cannot afford the full fee. The group will start on Tuesday, 30 May 2017, and run until 27 June (11am PDT, 2pm EDT, 7pm UK, 8pm Europe).
On a more personal note, I am always profoundly touched and moved by the sacred, intimate space that arises through coming together as a small online group in this way, and by the powerful transformations that happen as a result. It is a deep joy for me to offer and guide these groups. You'll find more details about the group program HERE. You can also get in touch by e-mail if you have further questions.
With love and gratitude,
grace
PS: Also read another blog, Depression -- a fresh look, where I share more of my personal history of depression.
And here is the poem that describes my break-through moment of inquiry:
Dark night of the soul
All the lights have gone out.
Even the Sun has lost its radiance
behind the clouds of un-knowing.
The trees have fallen silent,
no more life visible in them.
There's not much life force left
in this body,
nor is there any power
in this mind.
The heart is empty,
nothing connects.
Bleakness,
no meaning
in anything.
Surprising
how vast
and still
the darkness is
as being surrenders
to it without resistance.
The dark side of life
no different from the light,
really no difference,
both a doorway
to stillness.
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