This is from the Appendix in the [[Mind Illuminated (Book)]] on the [[Dark Night of the Soul]].
What's interesting for me here is not the [[Dark Night of the Soul]] as that he highlights the shift in core assumptions and worldview as insight practice evolves.
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Figure 57. Three assumptions—that I am a separate Self, that I live in a world of relatively enduring and self-existent “things,” and that my happiness comes from the interactions between my Self and this world of things—are shared throughout the sub-minds making up the mind-system. They provide the foundation for our sense of meaning and purpose in life.
What can happen as core assumptions dissolve away.
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Figure 57 cont. The “true” nature of reality, as revealed through Insight experiences, directly conflicts with all of these assumptions: there are no “things,” only process; all we ever really experience are the fabrications of our own minds; the Self I think I am is as impermanent and empty as everything else; the world can never be the source of my happiness. When these truths are realized by the deep unconscious minds, it is severely disruptive.
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Figure 57 cont. As Insight matures, individual sub-minds reorganize their internal models to accommodate the new information. This transformation brings about a completely new worldview, life takes on a new and deeper meaning and purpose than ever before, and there is a much greater sense of ease, regardless of what may happen.
Without śamatha, these challenging Insights have the potential to send a practitioner spiraling into a “dark night of the soul.”1 This Christian term comes originally from the writings of St. John of the Cross, who supposedly spent 45 years in this dark night. The term beautifully captures the feelings of despair, meaninglessness, non-specific anxiety, frustration, and anger that often accompany such powerful realizations.
What is it about these Insights that can catalyze such strong reactions? Essentially, it’s that these Insights completely contradict the “operating model” of reality that provides the logical basis for how our sub-minds perform their specific functions. Most of these sub-minds presuppose a world of relatively enduring and self-existent “things”—objects, events, people, and places—that have their own inherent natures, which can be comprehended with some accuracy. They also make the core assumption that a Self exists as one of those enduring things. This Self may be seen as eternal, or as something that will be annihilated at death. Another core assumption of all these models of reality is that happiness and suffering come from the interactions between the Self and this world of things. Gaining certain objects in the world will make “me” happy. Losing things “I” love or having to confront people or places “I” dislike creates my suffering. These three assumptions—that things exist, that I am a separate Self, and that happiness comes from the interaction between the two—are shared throughout this collection of unconscious reality models. They provide the foundation for our whole sense of meaning and purpose in life.
Anything that conflicts with these assumptions can severely undermine a person’s sense of meaning and purpose. And the “true” nature of reality, as revealed through Insight experiences, directly conflicts with all these assumptions. Impermanence teaches us that there are no “things,” only process. Emptiness means that all our perceptions—everything we’ve ever experienced as reality—are mere fabrications of the mind. Furthermore, the Self we think we are is as impermanent and empty as everything else. And lastly, the world is not the source of our happiness. Even though we may feel comfortable with these ideas at a conscious, intellectual level, when the deep, unconscious minds recognize them through direct experience, they can be severely disruptive.
It takes time for the unconscious sub-minds to assimilate these powerful Insights and create new reality models. Until then, the turmoil in the unconscious can create the despair and anxiety of a dark night. That these feelings arise from the deep unconscious for no apparent reason only makes things worse, leading some to even question their sanity. Nevertheless, intellectually understanding what’s happening can provide some relief. More effective, however, is the joy, tranquility, and equanimity of śamatha. These pleasant states of mind provide an important “lubricating” quality that counteracts all this internal friction. When there’s nothing else to cling to, in other words, these qualities of mind provide a palliative.
As Insight matures, individual sub-minds reorganize their internal models to accommodate the new information. A person who successfully undergoes this transformation possesses a completely new worldview. Life takes on a new and deeper meaning and purpose than ever before, and there is a much greater sense of ease, regardless of what may happen externally.