“The dark night of the soul comes just before revelation. When everything is lost, and all seems darkness, then comes the new life and all that is needed.”

Joseph Campbell viewed the “Dark Night of the Soul” as a crucial, often devastating, but ultimately transformative phase within the universal Hero’s Journey – where the hero experiences total loss and despair before a profound revelation or rebirth occurs, marking the end of the old self and the emergence of a new, more authentic identity, essential for spiritual growth and realizing one’s true potential beyond superficial concerns. It’s the necessary abyss, the moment everything falls apart, forcing a radical shift from the known into the unknown, leading to a deeper understanding of being.

“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life,the idea came to him of what he called ‘the love of your fate.’ Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, ‘This is what I need.’ It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment–not discouragement–you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.” _ Joseph Campbell

Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.”
– Joseph Campbell, A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living – selected and edited by Diane K Osborn