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.
You have got me interested in Andrew Cohen. I found out that there is a three episode documentary about him called “How I created a cult”. It was made around 2016-17, but then it disappeared. I’m not a conspiracy minded person, but it is suspicious. After searching as far as I could for information, it appears that the person who made this documentary sold it to an Australian company that is in the process of giving it a make over, and presumably they will release it again. However, they have been working on it for five years. Strange. Do you know how to get this documentary? I’m a documentary lover.
Hi Chris, That’s interesting. I watched a 6-episode of that documentary several years ago and I can’t find it either. I reckon you’re right. Someone probably purchased the rights and is updating it. It’s well worth watching. There are several interviews with Andrew Cohen, former students, critics, advocates, etc.
I finally received information about that 6 part documentary:
“Thanks for writing in. The series was removed from the site at the beginning of 2017. We had some exciting developments with the series and are still unfortunately unable to discuss them, but the docu-series has had to be removed from Conscious Life as we sort out the details. We hope to have more information about it very soon. Unfortunately, these things take a long time.
Our contract with the production company we’re working with required that we remove the original series in its entirety to start the new project – and we cannot make any version of the previous series available in any way. We hope we’ll have some news about the new series in the coming months.
It’s very incredibly rare that something has to be removed from Conscious Life so we hope that you’ll check back for updates as we go.
Hey that’s pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing Chris. Sounds like they’re turning it into something more substantive. I definitely saw the original 6-part series.
FYI The trailer for the revised doc is out. https://beyondrights.tv/programme/how_i_created_a_cult_
However, I think we will need to wait for netflix or such a streaming service to buy the rights before we get to see it.
Hi Chris, I saw that the new version is now available on BBC Select which you can get through Prime and Apple TV with a free trial. They edited down the original 6 episodes into 3 episodes. From what I gather, it’s a sensationalized account which doesn’t give a full picture but rather picks up and emphasizes all the worst parts of our time with Andrew. It’s pretty skewed in that way to make it more enticing for a widespread audience. Oh well…that’s what you get. I’m no apologist for AC but the way the media presents it is to grab as many eyeballs as possible.
Yes, I found it by chance on BBC Select last night. Starting it now. I’m saddened to hear about what they have done to it.
Hello,
This are amazing episodes, Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome!
Hello Morgan, you haven’t posted in a long time! I watched some ancient videos of Andy Kaufman recently. I love that guy. I went to his wiki site and it says he meditated three hours a day. Is that possible? It seems like sitting still for three hours wouldn’t even be healthy. Do you think he got up and walked around a bit at the half-way point? I meditate an hour a day. Sometimes I think about trying a two hour meditation. What extra benefit can there be from a three hour meditation? Your thoughts?
Hi Christopher, Thanks so much for reaching out. You’re right, it’s been a while! We’re about to shift the direction of the site to focus on teaching mindfulness meditation courses. And I’m going to fire up the podcast again. Stay tuned for all that!
In terms of your question, it’s definitely possible. Of course, context is everything. The longest I’ve meditated in a single sit without getting up to stretch or walk around is 5 hours from midnight to 5am during an all night meditation session at my former ashram. It was beautiful and challenging for sure.
In terms of benefits, longer periods of meditation can help you break through different levels of resistance and subtle blocks. It can also be unproductive if you’re too tired and sleeping the whole time or have serious physical issues. Personally I was very inspired by it. I once meditated 48 hours straight, as part of a fundraiser. I did get up after each hour to walk around and stretch for a few minutes and took a breakfast, lunch, and dinner break. That was also super inspiring. Full of highs and lows, but the overall experience was exceedingly positive. I was in a very supportive environment when we did that. Extreme acts of meditation aside, I think there is a lot of benefit to trying longer periods of meditation and just exploring your limits.
These days, I meditate 20-30min a day. I’m a fair bit older now and a parent, so my context has changed. But I still do a long 2-3 hour sit on some Sundays with a group, and I relish that deep dive. It stays with me for days and reminds me that there are depths of silence and stillness and ease that I can’t always access during my shorter daily practice sessions.
Hi Morgan, you bring up the interesting subject of dozing off while meditating. I could really use your feedback on this. Some days during meditation, I spend more time asleep than meditating. It isn’t good sleep. You know the deal, your head nods to one side and you quickly wake up, like what used to happen to me in morning college lectures. In any case, I wonder if it is best to just not mediate on those days when I’m dozing off? I could take a nap instead. However, there is a downside to naps which is that they can make it harder to fall to sleep at night. In summary, if I’m sleepy, then maybe it is best to stop the mediation and focus on getting a good nights sleep instead. Vigorous exercise can help with sleep. What do you think?
This is great feedback! It sounds like you have a lot of experience with meditation retreats and have had some life-changing experiences. It’s great to hear that your Mahamudra meditation retreat was healing and heart-opening in ways you couldn’t have anticipated. Thank you for sharing your story and experience.