The Dark Night of Self Consciousness and Imposed Religions

There is a major problem in a number of religious and spiritual groups that claim to have the answers a person needs to develop their spiritual self. Religious beliefs often exist around firm belief structures regarding death, heaven, and absolute meaning. A number of spiritual beliefs tend to follow the same patterns when we become attached to them. These beliefs can bring about a dependence causing a feeling of aloneness after separating from the group.

Feelings of aloneness

The result of falling into a belief structure that causes dependence results in a person beginning to feel like some people in that group understand them – and the rest of the world just does not comprehend them. Most religions and some spiritual groups create this hostile divide. Us and them. Heaven for us, hell for them, and so forth. These absolute rulings cause separation and isolation.

These belief structures are often baseless and target the emotional vulnerabilities of a person. To realize these dependencies and to overcome them the value of independent thought and action has to be realized above the need to affiliate with a group that seems to be prescribing an absolute set of beliefs.

Self Definition

Giving up the ego is taught in Buddhism and other religions and is an effective concept for those on spiritual paths who take the true meaning from it, but when applied to New Age ideas the meaning of this concept is often lost and abused. There are a number of spiritual groups that teach the self as something that has to be abandoned. This is both dangerous and has the potential to cause us long term harm. The often over-enthusiastic need to leave behind false notions of self can leave a person bleeding within if done for the wrong reasons.

A person who gives themselves into a particular group, later leaving that group, or learning that the group was not genuine to their needs, could bring confusion and loss of a firm idea of who he or she is. There are a number of spiritual groups that do not acknowledge the need for independence and instead attempt to replicate the false sense of trust imposed by religions and fear-driven structures. The lack of this acknowledgment leaves followers of such groups susceptible to depression, isolation, and loss of self-presence.

This dark night often occurs during a process of self-growth where our existing notions are called into question and the core beliefs we have become examined and sometimes taken apart. It is our job, as sincere human beings, to help others discover their true sense of self, emphasizing their positive qualities, rather than placing some notion of idealism into their head.

The core problem with religion and certain spiritual associations is that often people giving themselves to spiritualism give their entire self, including the most vulnerable parts of themselves. It is essential to establish with a person that their answers and power is present within and is accessible without the aid of a spiritual or religious association. Gaining independence is the first step to overcoming this dark night. Independence is seldom preached – often others just want to tell us what the right thing is, whether it is right for us or not. Self-actualization can never occur under the imposed restriction of religion or spiritual belief without compromise.

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