Dark Night of the Soul with Curt Jaimungal (E3)

Welcome to another episode of The Heart Speaks. The term dark night of the soul comes from a 16th-century poem written by a Spanish mystic. It is a term that describes the spiritual crisis that emerges in a person on his way to a mystical union with the Divine. It is a difficult time marked by temporary feelings of desolation, melancholy, and hopelessness, and act as guideposts on a trip back to one's authentic self. I have experienced this in my own life many times. And my sense is that my next guest is experiencing it as well.   Curt Jaimungal is the host of the podcast Theories of Everything. In this episode, our conversation meandered into so many different twists and turns. I sometimes didn't know where we were but I thought it was important to stay in that lost liminal space so that I can learn something from it. One of the themes Curt and I touched upon is a central question we face in modernity. Are we over-intellectualized? Have we become hyper cerebral Cartesian robots? Have we become afraid to drop into the body, into feelings, emotions, those parts of ourselves that make us human that we have devalued for so long?  I personally think we have become afraid to do that. But the goal in this episode was not to convince Curt but to stay with the questions themselves, in the hopes that being with them would allow something new and worthwhile to emerge. I wasn't always comfortable in this episode, but I think that's okay. I hope this episode pushes you to stay in discomfort when it arises in your own life, rather than immediately trying to flee from it. I believe discomfort can teach you something about human suffering, but also about beauty and joy. It has already taught me so much. Enjoy the episode!