On her Writers at the Well podcast, author Tess Callahan interviewed Andrew regarding his recent book, Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation. The conversation explores the ancient practice of Dark Retreat—spending extended periods in complete darkness—and its profound impact on spiritual transformation and artistic creation.
Overview of Dark Retreats
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Definition: An ancient practice spanning thousands of years (found in Tibetan Buddhism, Egyptian rituals, and Neo-Platonic traditions) involving spending extended periods in total darkness.
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Modern Relevance: It serves as an antidote to “metaphysical light pollution”—the cultural overload of hyper-rational, patriarchal, or “yang” energy that blinds society to deeper truths.
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“Big Medicine”: The practice is highly powerful and transformative but carries psychological risks if undertaken improperly, sensationally, or without preparation.
Creativity and the Mind
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Dissolving Boundaries: Extended darkness thins and eventually erases the boundary between the conscious and unconscious mind.
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The “Self-Fall” (Rangbop): The mind undergoes a process of sedimentation, relaxing and falling into itself.
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Stages of the Journey: The initial stages of a dark retreat can be difficult and challenging, but moving deeper unlocks a creative, ecstatic, and non-dual blissful state.
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The “Mozart” Effect: Andrew’s entire book burst into his mind “whole and complete” around day eight or nine of a retreat, leading him to view darkness as a tool to actively “troll and farm” the limitless dimensions of creativity.
