Total Eclipse of the Mind

A groundbreaking guide from trusted teacher Andrew Holecek on dark retreat-the revelatory practice of being in complete darkness. We have become a "wake-centric" civilization, addicted to the world of doing, striving, and performing. But what if the cure for overwhelm-and the key to our deepest creativity-wasn't found in more light, but in the total absence of it? We need darkness as much as we need light. Yet we live in a distracted age that privileges light and marginalizes darkness. Beloved author Andrew Holecek shows that light doesn't always reveal-it often conceals. With this groundbreaking book, he introduces the ancient tradition of dark retreat, a previously secret practice that invites spiritual seekers to remain in complete darkness without any external distractions. Dark retreat invites profound self-reflection and restoration, so we can stop skimming our lives and start living them. "Darkness is a truth teller," writes Holecek. "Darkness is exacting. The question to reflect upon is how willing are you to be exposed?" In this book, Holecek invites us to reconnect with darkness and rediscover its many benefits. He offers an accessible approach to dark immersion, providing step-by-step guidance to help you determine if this method is right for you, how to practice it safely, challenges that may arise, and how to integrate its insights. Full of wisdom teachings, easy at-home techniques, and his own stories of over thirty years of dark retreat, Holecek makes this ancient practice accessible for our modern age, reintegrating darkness into our light-polluted lives.

Andrew Holecek is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner in Tibetan Buddhism and nondual wisdom traditions. He is the Resident Contemplative Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies and a research consultant for the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Northwestern University. He has completed the Tibetan Buddhist three-year retreat and is the author of nine books. For more, visit andrewholecek.com.