Product Description

Now in paperback: a distinguished psychiatrist, spiritual counsellor and bestselling author shows how the dark sides of the spiritual life are a vital ingredient in deep, authentic, healthy spirituality.

Gerald G. May, MD, one of the great spiritual teachers and writers of our time, argues that the dark 'shadow' side of the true spiritual life has been trivialised and neglected to our serious detriment. Superficial and naively upbeat spirituality does not heal and enrich the soul. Nor does the other tendency to relegate deep spiritual growth to only mystics and saints. Only the honest, sometimes difficult encounters with what Christian spirituality has called and described in helpful detail as 'the dark night of the soul' can lead to true spiritual wholeness.

May emphasises that the dark night is not necessarily a time of suffering and near despair, but a time of deep transition, a search for new orientation when things are clouded and full of mystery. The dark gives depth, dimension and fullness to the spiritual life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23567 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-01
• Released on: 2005-02-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
"Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again." These lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel's famous song could be the guiding theme of this excellent offering by psychiatrist and spiritual counselor May. As May delves into the meaning and purpose of "the dark night of the soul," we come to see it as a comforting and necessary friend, ushering in a time of transformation, rather than a gloomy blackness to avoid. In order to illuminate the dark night, May draws upon the lives of the Carmelite mystics, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, as well as psychiatric research and scripture. Like the contemporary scholars of psychiatry, both Teresa and John had early insights into the unconscious dimension of life that goes on beneath our awareness-an obscure and mysterious arena that they both called "the dark." Since humans are so skilled at denial-especially denying the power of their compulsions and attachments-they would never enter into this spiritual night of reckoning if they could see in advance what it would entail. This is why we need the darkness in front of us. May, who also wrote Addiction and Grace, eventually moves into a strong discussion about depression and addiction, showing why the dark night is necessary to overcome both. Ultimately, he becomes a messenger of hope, reminding readers that every dark night brings the sweet dawn of awakening. With its clear writing and strong psychological foundation, this is a relevant resource for readers of all spiritual persuasions.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Gerald G. May, M.D. (1940-2005), practiced medicine and psychiatry for twenty-five years before becoming a senior fellow in contemplative theology and psychology at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Bethesda, Maryland. He was the author of many books and articles blending spirituality and psychology, including Addiction and Grace, Care of Mind/Care of Spirit, Will and Spirit, and The Dark Night of the Soul.

Customer Reviews

The Dark Night of the Soul
I have read a lot of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, this book is a must for anyone that is interested in Spirituality. It explains how the read John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. It is written in a way any one can understand. The book will answer a lot of questions for you.
I will always keep the book close to reread it.

The Dark Night of the Soul
For years I have tried to understand St. John of the Cross's meaning of this phrase. Dr. May has taken the thoughts and writtings of St. John and brought it to an understandable level.What does it mean to suffer pain in this life? Is it something that only I suffer or is it a common experience among all of us? Dr. May answers the question and explains the beauty of St. John's words and the debth of spirit in the story of St. John's own life.

Gentle growth
In his last book published before his death, Jerry May unfolds his vast knowledge and understanding of the spirtual state known as the Dark Night. Contrary to what one might think, the Dark Night is not the same as clinical depression, nor is it dark and depressing. Rather, it is, in the words of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, "obscure," because we don't understand what God is accomplishing in us. It is a very comforting and illuminating book. No one can make these Sixteenth Century saints clearer in the light of modern psychiatry like Gerald May, MD. An excellent book.