Eckhart TolleNYT Bestselling author of the Power of Now

What the Dark Night of the Soul Really Is

6 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief segment, Eckhart Tolle explains that the "dark night of the soul" is fundamentally a form of suffering that arises when an individual encounters major life challenges—such as problems with housing, finances, or health. He emphasizes that unless one is fully conscious and present, these adverse events will inevitably cause suffering. The passage sets the stage for a deeper spiritual teaching about how awareness can transform the experience of hardship.

Chapters

Dark Night of the Soul is a form of suffering. Suffering, important term. There's suffering that happens on an individual level because you're being, as an individual, you're being challenged in your course of your life several times. You will most likely encounter big challenges in your life from time to time, they come. Whether they are to do with your living situation, your financial situation, your health situation. And unless you're really conscious, you, you would suffer when you're— when these— when things— something goes badly, very wrong in your life. And that does happen.