{"id":25644,"date":"2026-05-26T03:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T09:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resources2.soundstrue.com\/?post_type=podcast&#038;p=25644"},"modified":"2026-06-09T13:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:37:16","slug":"andrew-holecek-stop-drop-and-be-held-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/resources2.soundstrue.com\/podcast\/andrew-holecek-stop-drop-and-be-held-in-the-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Holecek: Stop, Drop, and Be Held in the Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;\" src=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/1632d73c-91ea-42a8-a3db-a62b135d081c\/episodes\/ab846220-31af-4cfb-a9eb-33a80dd2bbec\/embed?theme=light-gray-orange\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What if the most transformative place you could go isn&#8217;t a retreat center or a therapist&#8217;s office\u2014but complete and total darkness?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This week, Tami Simon speaks with Andrew Holecek\u2014interdisciplinary scholar, longtime practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, and author of the new Sounds True book <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014about the practice of dark retreat: full immersion in sealed, lightless environments used by yogis for centuries to accelerate inner transformation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Holecek calls it the single most transformative practice of his fifty years of meditation, psychedelic exploration, and three-year Tibetan retreat\u2014and in this interview, he explains why.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Join Tami and Andrew to explore:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What actually happens to the mind in extended darkness\u2014and the neurological science behind why it&#8217;s so transformative<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The descent of the mind through conscious, subconscious, and collective unconscious layers\u2014and what waits at the bottom<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dark retreat as a &#8220;sober psychedelic&#8221;: how the brain generates its own endogenous DMT in extended darkness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The practice of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">enantiodromia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014when extreme contraction suddenly flips into extraordinary openness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to work with panic, trauma, and unwanted experience using the &#8220;reverse meditation&#8221; principle: feel it, but don&#8217;t feed it<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why appearances don&#8217;t matter in the dark\u2014and why so many people emerge in tears, feeling safe and held for the first time<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The four-step process for integrating darkness into daily life, from sleep masks to dedicated dark rooms<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This interview was recorded with both Tami and Andrew wearing blackout masks\u2014making it one of the most immersive listening experiences in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Insights at the Edge<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listen now and discover what&#8217;s been waiting in the dark. \u2192<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This conversation offers genuine transmission\u2014not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/join.soundstrue.com\/2026-truly-human\/\">Sounds True One<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This episode is sponsored by Omega Institute, a global gathering hub for lifelong learning and spiritual exploration. Located in upstate New York\u2019s beautiful Hudson Valley, Omega offers weekend workshops, special events, rest and rejuvenation retreats, professional trainings, online learning, and more. Discover what calls to you at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/eomega.org\/true\">eomega.org\/true<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":25647,"template":"","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[386],"tags":[170],"contributor":[704],"class_list":["post-25644","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spirituality","tag-insights-at-the-edge","contributor-andrew-holecek"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Andrew Holecek: Stop, Drop, and Be Held in the Dark | Sounds True<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Andrew Holecek: Stop, Drop, and Be Held in the Dark | Sounds True\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What if the most transformative place you could go isn&#8217;t a retreat center or a therapist&#8217;s office\u2014but complete and total darkness? 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