In early 2020, before any of us had heard anything about a lethal virus emerging from Wuhan Province, China, I attended a life changing 8-day Mahamudra meditation retreat with Harvard neuropsychologist and Vajrayana master Daniel P. Brown PHd.

After a nine year pause on spiritual retreats, this was my first extended in-person retreat with a living teacher.

I did also attend a 10-day silent Vipassana Retreat in summer 2019, but that was accompanied by recordings from S.N. Goenka. That was a powerful experience in its own right, but we weren’t receiving teachings from a living, breathing, responsive human being.

It’s a totally different thing and, in my experience, they don’t really compare.

I am no stranger to retreats. In my years living at the ashram, I did countless 10 and 21-day silent meditation retreats. Some directly guided by my teacher, and others completely solo.

I know how powerful they can be.

And this experience was no exception. In fact, it was healing and heart opening in ways I couldn’t have anticipated.

In this episode, I share my experience of going on a Mahamudra meditation retreat with Daniel P. Brown.

I encourage you to pair this podcast with my interview with Dan Brown and his former student, John Churchill. All three links are listed below.