SCHOLAR · PRACTITIONER · AUTHOR
Andrew
Holecek
About
Scholar. Practitioner.
Explorer of the Night.
Andrew Holecek is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner in Tibetan Buddhism and nondual wisdom traditions who has spent more than thirty years helping people transform life’s greatest challenges into opportunities for awakening. A dedicated meditation practitioner who completed the traditional Tibetan Buddhist three-year retreat, he is known for translating profound contemplative teachings into practical tools for modern life.
His work centers on conscious dying, lucid dreaming, Tibetan dream yoga, and dark retreat. His forthcoming book, Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation (St. Martin’s Essentials), draws on more than thirty years of personal dark retreat experience.
The aspiration behind Andrew’s teaching is simple: to help others navigate the spiritual path, transform obstacles into opportunities, and discover how practices of the night can illuminate the day.
He serves as Resident Contemplative Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies and is actively involved in research on dark retreat with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Tiny Blue Dot Science Foundation. He also consults for Northwestern University’s Cognitive Neuroscience Program.
As Featured In
Making Headlines
Condé Nast Traveller · February 2026
What is a ‘dark retreat’ — and how did it become 2026’s most radical wellness trend?
Exploring the ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice of extended darkness and its emergence as a transformative wellness phenomenon.
Read Article →
The Wisdom of Darkness
Andrew explores the healing power of darkness, shadow work, and why our light-obsessed culture is missing half the picture.
Watch Video →
Publications
Books
Total Eclipse of the Mind
St. Martin’s / Sounds True – May 2026
Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming
Preparing to Die: Practical Advice & Spiritual Wisdom
View All Books →
Three Paths of Exploration
Choose Your Journey
Andrew’s teachings center on three transformative practices — each a doorway into the deepest dimensions of consciousness.
The Art of Conscious Death
Death & Dying
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, death is not an ending — it is the ultimate spiritual opportunity. Andrew’s teachings on the bardos, shadow work, and conscious death preparation draw from over three decades of study and a traditional three-year retreat to make these profound practices accessible.
Explore the bardos, prepare for the ultimate transition, and discover why the art of dying is the art of living.
Wake Up In Your Dreams
Lucid Dreaming
& Dream Yoga
One-third of your life is spent asleep. What if those hours could become a laboratory for self-discovery, creativity, and spiritual awakening? Learn the science and the practice of lucid dreaming, and discover how the ancient Tibetan art of dream yoga transforms the night into a path of profound realization.
From your first lucid dream to the deepest practices of sleep yoga — join a global community of night explorers.
The Power of Darkness
Dark Retreat
The most radical wellness practice of our time is also one of the oldest. Turn off the lights — and leave them off — and discover what happens when there is nothing left to seduce your attention outward. Dark retreat is a return to source, a meditation accelerator, and a gateway to dimensions of being invisible in broad daylight.
Download the free guide, read the book, or join Andrew for an upcoming guided dark retreat experience.
Listen
Edge of Mind Podcast
Candid conversations with leading edge thinkers in the fields of science, philosophy, spirituality, psychology, health care, integral studies, and the arts to explore ancient teachings and modern topics about the nature of mind and reality.
What Students Say
Testimonials
Andrew is an encyclopedic jukebox of dharma wisdom — he has an extraordinary gift for translating the most complex teachings into language that is accessible, memorable, and immediately applicable.
Free Guide
of Dark Retreat
Power of Darkness
Discover the Healing
Power of Darkness
Download this free guide exploring eight profound benefits of dark retreat — the ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice that Condé Nast Traveller called “2026’s most radical wellness trend.”
Profound sensory reset & enhanced neurochemistry
Accelerated meditation & lucid dreaming mastery
Deep shadow integration & creative breakthroughs
Preparation for death & nondual awakening
Instant PDF download. No spam, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dr. Holecek is co-founder of Global Dental Relief, a 501(c)3 providing free dental care to children in Nepal, India, Vietnam, Guatemala, Kenya, Cambodia, and Mexico. Since 2001, GDR volunteers have served around 22,000 children each year across 29 annual trips — bringing dental care and hope to children in need.