Tricycle Talks A Beginner’s Guide to Dark Retreat with Andrew Holecek
May 13, 2026
Andrew Holecek, author and Tibetan Buddhist teacher known for meditation, dream yoga, and death and dying, describes decades of practice with dark retreat. He explains what a dark retreat is and why it can be powerfully transformative. He talks about how darkness reveals the unconscious, contrasts descent with ascent, and offers practical steps for starting and integrating a home practice.
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What A Dark Retreat Actually Is
- Dark retreat is a traditional, near-total sensory-deprivation practice done in a specially prepared cabin or cave with darkness and reduced sound.
- Andrew links it to many traditions (Egyptians, Platonics, Taoism, Tibetan Bardo/Togal) and emphasizes full sensory saturation unlike short flotation tanks.
How Andrew First Started Doing Dark Retreat
- Andrew began practicing dark retreat in 1996 with Khenpo Tsultram Yamsa Rinpoche and gradually extended from minutes to multi-day retreats.
- He started in closets and bathrooms, then followed teacher guidance to progress slowly from 24 hours to multi-day retreats.
Dosage Matters More Than Duration
- Dosage matters: like psychedelics, dark retreat can be underdosed or overdosed; quality matters more than length.
- Andrew recommends 'gray retreat'—a graduated, titrated practice of weaving in and out to find safe dosage.
