Prison, Dark Night of the Soul and Suicide: Why Bother Living?

After a Mistake This Big, Why Bother Living?

UPDATE April 19, 2011: Michael Kass was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 5 years of parole and 10 years of probation on April 6, 2011. Click here to read more.

What if you walked out the door one morning and the cops surprised you and took you to jail?

Imagine losing everything — your money, home, friendships, your reputation, your sense of pride. Would life still be worth living?

And what’s it like to stare down 20 years of being locked up behind bars?

This episode’s guest Michael Kass screwed up. His mistakes cost him and many others millions of dollars. Money aside, he’s lost almost everything he once valued. He’s even considered suicide.

As he prepares for the possibility of spending 20 years in prison, how does Michael find peace and liberation in the midst of incredible hardship? How does he endure this dark night of the soul? And how can you, the listener benefit?

I also share my own deeply personal experience with suicide.

Listen to this episode now to find out.

In this episode:

Letting everyone — including yourself — down
Losing everything — the house, money, career, reputation
Terror of going to prison
Shame
The Dark Night of the Soul
Life was supposed to be different
Suicide — is life worth living?
Playing the victim
Freedom by taking responsibility
How to deal with terror, anxiety and shame
Spiritual bypassing

About Michael Kass

Michael is a counselor and coach who specializes in supporting people through addictions and “dark nights of the soul.” He has a masters in transpersonal psychology and over two decades as a dedicated zen student. His learning and teaching can be succinctly summed up as this: “Lasting Happiness and peace is fully an inner job, totally independent of external reality.” He can be reached at michaelbkass (at) hotmail (dot) com.