Eckhart TolleNYT Bestselling author of the Power of Now

Awakening Was Possible Even in the Dark Ages

21 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief excerpt, Eckhart Tolle reflects on the Dark Ages, describing a period when philosophical knowledge, literacy, and general societal consciousness sharply declined, leading to widespread violence and superstition. He notes that while the majority of the population operated at a low level of consciousness, a small minority—primarily monks and other religious individuals living in monasteries—maintained the ability to read, write, and remain consciously awake and enlightened. The passage underscores the coexistence of deep darkness with pockets of spiritual awareness during that era.

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Even within the Dark Ages, there were individuals who were very conscious. We call it the Dark Age when all the philosophies disappeared. People lost the ability, even reading and writing. Very, very few people could still read and write. Only mostly they lived in monasteries, monks. There was a lot of violence. A lot of lowering of consciousness, a lot of very dark superstitions, and yet religious people were quite awake, quite enlightened, although the majority of the population was a fairly low level of consciousness.