The Obscure Night of The Soul

Saint John of the Cross (1542 - 1591)
Translated by David Lewis (1814 - 1895)

The Obscure Night of the Soul, better know today as The Dark Night of the Soul, is the distilled teaching of St John of the Cross, who reintroduced and revolutionized Christian Contemplation in the 16th Century. The text remains in print until this day, and has been an inspiration to seekers for centuries. St John's method is known as the Via Negativa, defined in Wikipedia as "a type of theological thinking that attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God...In brief, negative theology is an attempt to clarify religious experience and language about the Divine through discernment, gaining knowledge of what God is not (apophasis), rather than by describing what God is. The apophatic tradition is often, though not always, allied with the approach of mysticism, which focuses on a spontaneous or cultivated individual experience of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception, an experience often unmediated by the structures of traditional organized religion or by the conditioned role-playing and learned defensive behavior of the outer man." - Summary by Ed Humpal and Wikipedia

Genre(s): Christianity - Other

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Argument and Stanzas Ed Humpal
00:03:57
Play 02 Book I, Chapter 1, Imperfections of Beginners Ed Humpal
00:05:54
Play 03 Book I, Chapter 2, Imperfections of Pride Ed Humpal
00:09:35
Play 04 Book I, Chapter 3, Imperfections of Avarice Ed Humpal
00:04:30
Play 05 Book I, Chapter 4, Imperfection of Luxury Ed Humpal
00:07:42
Play 06 Book I, Chapter 5, Imperfections of Anger Ed Humpal
00:02:36
Play 07 Book I, Chapter 6, Imperfections of Spiritual Gluttony Ed Humpal
00:08:33
Play 08 Book 1, Chapter 7, Imperfections of Envy and Spiritual Sloth Ed Humpal
00:04:48
Play 09 Book I, Chapter 8, Explanation of "The Obscure Night." Ed Humpal
00:05:21
Play 10 Book I, Chapter 9, Signs that One is Walking in this Night Ed Humpal
00:11:33
Play 11 Book I, Chapter 10, Conduct upon Entering this Night Ed Humpal
00:06:51
Play 12 Book I, Chapter 11, Explanation of the Second Line of the Stanza Ed Humpal
00:07:22
Play 13 Book I, Chapter 12, Benefits of the Night of Sense Ed Humpal
00:12:37
Play 14 Book I, Chapter 13, Other Benefits of the Night of Sense Ed Humpal
00:10:12
Play 15 Book I, Chapter 14, Explanation of the Last Line of the First Stanza Ed Humpal
00:06:06
Play 16 Book II, Chapter 1, The Second Night, That of the Spirit Ed Humpal
00:04:37
Play 17 Book II, Chapter 2, Imperfections of Proficients Ed Humpal
00:05:07
Play 18 Book II, Chapter 3, Introduction Ed Humpal
00:04:14
Play 19 Book II, Chapter 4, The Second Stanza, Spiritually Explained Ed Humpal
00:02:44
Play 20 Book II, Chapter 5, Obscure Contemplation is Pain and Torment for the Soul Ed Humpal
00:08:21
Play 21 Book II, Chapter 6, Other Sufferings in this Night Ed Humpal
00:08:52
Play 22 Book II, Chapter 7, Trials of the Will Ed Humpal
00:11:18
Play 23 Book II, Chapter 8, Trials of the Soul Ed Humpal
00:06:23
Play 24 Book II, Chapter 9, How this Night Enlightens the Mind While It Brings Darkness Over It Ed Humpal
00:12:36
Play 25 Book II, Chapter 10, Explanation of this Purgation by a Comparison Ed Humpal
00:07:46
Play 26 Book II, Chapter 11, Passion of Divine Love the Fruit of these Afflictions Ed Humpal
00:07:45
Play 27 Book II, Chapter 12, How this Night is like Purgatory, How Divine Wisdom Illuminates Men Ed Humpal
00:06:17
Play 28 Book II, Chapter 13, Other Sweet Effects of the Dark Night Ed Humpal
00:10:50
Play 29 Book II, Chapter 14, The Last Lines of the First Stanza Spiritually Explained Ed Humpal
00:01:57
Play 30 Book II, Chapter 15, Explanation of the Second Stanza Ed Humpal
00:16:14
Play 31 Book II, Chapter 16, How the Soul Travels Securely in Darkness Ed Humpal
00:15:12
Play 32 Book II, Chapter 17, Obscure Contemplation is Secret Ed Humpal
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Play 33 Book II, Chapter 18, This Secret Wisdom is also a Ladder Ed Humpal
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Play 34 Book II, Chapter 19, The First Five Degrees of the Mystic Ladder Ed Humpal
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Play 35 Book II, Chapter 20, The Other Five Degrees Ed Humpal
00:06:32
Play 36 Book II, Chapter 21, The Meaning of 'Disguised' Ed Humpal
00:09:57
Play 37 Book II, Chapter 22, Happiness of the Soul Ed Humpal
00:01:47
Play 38 Book II, Chapter 23, The Wonderful Hiding Place of the Soul Ed Humpal
00:13:40
Play 39 Book II, Chapter 24, The Last Line of the Second Stanza Explained Ed Humpal
00:04:03
Play 40 Conclusion Ed Humpal
00:02:37