The Dark Revolt

Ever since he was a child, Clark Strand has awoken in the middle of the night and gone out walking. One night a voice spoke directly in his ear, saying, “Don’t go out tonight. Remain calm and be very very still.” His life has never been the same.

Clark Strand has always felt profoundly at home in the dark. Ever since he was a child, he has awoken in the middle of the night and gone out walking. One night in 2011, when Strand got up for his usual walk, a voice spoke directly in his ear, saying, “Don’t go out tonight. Remain calm and be very very still.” His life has never been the same.

Strand is the author of “Waking Up to the Dark: Ancient Wisdom For a Sleepless Age." His work draws from religion, spirituality, cultural anthropology and planetary ecology. Which is to say, he’s one of those thinkers who can synthesize ideas from pretty disparate fields, to form new ways of understanding the world. He’s come to the conclusion that our addiction to illumination, and the civilization it’s spawned, has led us to the edge of a cliff. And the only way to save ourselves is to embrace the darkness.