Contemplative Scholar Andrew Holecek joins David Nichtern to delve into the powerful practices of dark retreat, bardo yoga, and dream yoga.

Grab a copy of Andrew’s book, Total Eclipse of the Mind, to discover more about the power of darkness for creativity, healing, and transformation.

In this episode, Andrew and David explore:

• An inquiry into the nature of mind and reality
• How asking questions is much more important than having answers
• Going into dark retreat and practicing bardo yoga
• Entering spiritual teachings as if immersing into a different realm
• The Buddha as the ultimate lucid dreamer
• Dream interpretation and liminal dreaming for insights into the self
• Working mindfully with artificial intelligence
• The balancing principle that darkness represents
• Becoming sensitive to other beings and archetypes when in dark retreat

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About Andrew Holecek:

Andrew Holecek is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner in Tibetan Buddhism and other 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. His work involves studies on dream yoga and the practice of dark retreat. Dr. Holecek is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the author of nine books, and a concert pianist. He has completed the Tibetan Buddhist three-year retreat and is a frequent subject in scientific studies on meditation and lucid dreaming. His work integrates ancient wisdom traditions with contemporary perspectives, aiming to help individuals navigate spiritual challenges and end-of-life experiences. He is currently writing two books on dark retreat. Holecek holds degrees in classical music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery. Learn about his upcoming retreat events.

“I have died so many times with psychedelic experiences, with extended meditations; I’ve been doing dark retreat for 30 years. This is what dark retreat is largely about; it’s fundamentally a bardo yoga designed to bring about highly concordant experiences with the death process.” –Andrew Holecek

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M.J. Schwartz explores how to meet perfectionism with mindfulness and heal the cultural messages that keep us striving for impossible standards.

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In this episode, David and M.J. chat about:

• M.J.’s introduction to mindfulness and meditation
• How mindfulness was incorporated into M.J.’s work as a doula and midwife
• Learning how to wisely deal with perfectionism
• Healthy striving versus tethering our identity to a certain result
• How childhood parentification can lead to adult perfectionism
• Other-oriented perfectionism and criticizing those who do not meet our expectations
• Picking up perfectionism from the world around us
• Perfectionism’s role in eating disorders and the obsession with body size in our culture
• Synchronizing the mind and body

Join Dharma Moon’s for their Body of Meditation Training or learn about The Business of Teaching Meditation

About M.J. Schwartz:

M.J. Schwartz is the founder of Studio138 Family Yoga and Mindfulness. Having started practicing yoga and mindfulness at age twelve, M.J. is passionate about sharing these modalities with families of all stages and configurations. As a parent and grandparent themselves, they understand the nuances of a practice that evolves alongside life's many changes.

M.J. holds a B.A. in psychology from Smith College, where they studied perfectionism with a leading researcher in the field, along with certifications in mindfulness, yoga, and Intuitive Eating. Before returning to school in midlife, they worked as a doula, childbirth educator, and midwife, and continue to teach pregnancy and postpartum classes that blend mindfulness with evidence-based information. Check out M.J. on Substack.

“Other-oriented perfectionism goes hand in glove with self-oriented perfectionism. If a parent is hyper-perfectionistic, there is a chance that they are then very hard on their children.“ –M.J. Schwartz

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With both insight and vulnerability, Author Annette Knopp explores how our earliest attachment experiences shape the way we love, relate, and walk in this world.

Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and preserve the complete Ram Dass Here and Now archive. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Give here: BHNN 10th Birthday Fundraiser

In this episode, David and Annette chat about:

• Connecting to our own personal experiences within a creative process
• The intersection of healing and liberation
• Annette’s journey through complex post-traumatic stress disorder
• How our unhealed parental projections create issues within our relationships
• Attachment trauma and somatic healing work
• How our psychological blueprint begins as early as the womb
• The theory of being a ‘good enough’ parent 30% of the time
• Offering repair and having a baseline of secure attachment
• Working with our unmet needs through awareness and observation
• Looking at the message (imprint) rather than the messenger (trigger)
• The motherly presence that is within the path of healing

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About Annette Knopp:

Annette Knopp is the author of Mystic Nomad: A Woman's Wild Journey to True Connection and co-founder of Blue Spirit Retreat Center in Costa Rica. A meditation teacher, somatic educator, and nature mystic rooted in 30 years of personal contemplative practice, she weaves Indo-Tibetan meditation, Andean earth-based practices, and modern Western approaches to trauma resolution into transformative teaching and mentorship. Her work bridges ancient wisdom and contemporary healing in service of human dignity, wholeness, and embodied connection.

Grab a copy of Annette’s book, Mystic Nomad: A Woman's Wild Journey to True Connection, or join her in Costa Rica for an upcoming retreat.

“These imprints are laid down in phases before we have the brain development to have even a narrative around it. When we work in trauma with people, it’s all about making what has been implicit, explicit.” –Annette Knopp

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