The Dark Night of the Soul Unwrapped

41. "You go even a couple of layers deeper than you thought possible." With Anneke Sips

Anneke has experienced several dark nights, the first after an accident when she was sixteen. She has worked in mental health for many years, including in hospital settin

40. "What have I not seen before that I'm seeing now?" With Monica Douglas

Monica’s dark night journey has included periods of “dropping into deep, dark, contemplative spaces” and moments of expanded perception that, on one occasion, “could have

39. "Focus on the next step." With Vincent Van den Broeck

In 2024, Vincent was busy restructuring his restaurant business when he was hit by a car. He sustained a serious brain injury and was given a ten per cent chance of survi

38. "I don't want to play these roles any more that serve this system." With Rose Uncharted

Rose has been in a “profound unravelling” for years, “shedding beliefs, systems, entire ways of life.” After a period of awakening, she came to a “screeching halt,” and f

37. "I didn't know I could be my own authority." With Julie Freeman

Julie’s dark night – or her “descent into the belly of the whale” – first began when she lost her mother while pregnant with her daughter. “It just snowballed from one ba

36. "Motherhood is a space of complete not-knowing." With Julie Reshe

Julie was already a philosopher and psychoanalyst when her dark night began. In questioning her experience of depression, she came up with what she calls negative practic

35. "Our society doesn't talk about it." With Allison Pagano

Allison’s dark night began with an eating disorder, depression, and “lifelessness” when she was twenty. She found a spiritual wellbeing class in the dance studio of a loc

34. "I can allow myself to be human." With Fiona Matalon

Following on from our previous conversation in Episode 27, Fiona and I dive into shame. We begin with our understanding of the possible evolutionary purpose of shame, and

33. "It was the death of what I had come to know as me." With Bill Newgent

Bill’s dark night began after a period of upheaval, in which he lost his long-standing relationship and his previously-successful business. Having met his new partner, an

32. "There was this huge scream already building inside me." With Tam Martin Fowles

*Please note that this episode contains descriptions of suicidal ideation. Tam had a series of dark nights, the “big one” being a spiritual emergency and its aftershock

31. "Love is your birthright." With Letia Perry

Letia’s dark night of the soul was preceded by the realisation that she hadn’t been honouring “a big part” of herself. Already initiated as a Navajo Medicine Woman, she e

30. "My body just said, no more." With Andrea Wachter

Andrea has had a few dark nights, the first of which were focussed around an eating disorder. Growing up in a family – and a culture – obsessed with appearance, she strug

29. "I think it was necessary to break it all." With Anna Teggelaar

Anna’s dark night began in 2012. Facing a potential cancer diagnosis, her system – which had been in survival mode since childhood and her mother’s illness – crashed over

28. “This is me now, interacting with so many layers of myself.” With Hany Ezzat

A year on from our conversation in Episode 6, Hany and I explore the organic movement that comes after the dark night. Amongst other things, we talk about moving beyond t

27. "It was a journey of meeting myself." With Fiona Matalon

Fiona’s dark night began during Covid. After a sudden break up, she went to Mexico, and something started shifting – her “soul wanted solitude.” She felt like she was los

26. "It's the end of that version, but the beginning of the new you." With Andrew Reid

Andrew’s dark night began in the early days of the pandemic, when a moment of spiritual insight cracked him open, and his “world started to come apart.” The person he tho

25. "I want to know that better life, that better world." With Kristy Johnsson

Following on from our previous conversation in episode 16, Kristy and I explore the mirroring of individual and collective dark nights, and how we’re currently living in

24. "What is coming forth now is this wildness." With Jax Bull

Jax and I begin with remembering the physicality of our bodies, and how African cultures intimately know the strength and magnificence of the body. We talk about the dark

23. "You're going to learn to love yourself in a way you couldn't before." With Onyi Ijeh

Onyi’s dark night began when cracks appeared after she was let go from her third job in a row. She could no longer ignore the incongruence between her self-concept and re

22. "I'd renounced life without having gone through it." With Malcolm Stern

For many years, Malcolm avoided both his own suffering and the suffering of the world in every way he could. Taking himself to be “a favoured son of God,” he was definite