
Episode #24
24. What Four Days in Total Darkness Taught Me About the Mind
Watch on YouTube and Spotify “When your inner world becomes your whole environment, it really magnifies how much the mind creates our reality, how much our perceptual experience dictates our experience. Heaven or hell is really dependent on our state of consciousness.” In this riveting solo episode of Mental Health in a Modern World, holistic health practitioner Greg Schmaus recounts his profound journey through a four-day darkness retreat in Poland—a spiritual technology used for centuries by shamans and Tibetan monks to catalyze advanced states of consciousness. Greg shares how this unique immersion in absolute darkness stripped away every external reference point, forcing him to confront the parts of himself he’d previously tried to escape. He explores how the absence of light, time, and distraction brought him face-to-face with his attachments, routines, and sense of identity, ultimately allowing him to experience both deep peace and challenging moments—proving that mental state is everything. Greg describes the physiological reset, the emergence of endogenous visionary states, and the powerful spiritual lessons that led him to reconnect with his authentic self and the feminine aspect of divinity. Tune in to Mental Health in a Modern World to discover how subtracting all external stimulation can illuminate the light within, and why embracing the void may be the medicine modern life so desperately needs. 5 Key Takeaways Darkness teaches us that true healing and self-connection come from subtraction, surrender, and direct experience with our inner world. 1. Spend regular time in silence and solitude, removing distractions and external stimuli, to reconnect deeply with your authentic self. 2. Practice releasing attachments to routines, schedules, and the need for control—notice what expands in you when you let go. 3. Tune into your body’s natural rhythms without relying on external cues; eat, rest, and move based on internal signals rather than the clock. 4. Embrace both moments of bliss and discomfort as they arise—meet your entire inner landscape with curiosity, not avoidance. 5. Use mindful eating and sensory practices to become more present, attentive, and intuitive in your daily life. Dare to step into your own darkness—unplug, let go, and discover the powerful light within you. Memorable Quotes "All that's left is who you are without any outer reference points, which is such a more expansive, natural, truer, more authentic identity." "In a world full of addition—more information, more material goods, more education, more things to consume—perhaps the greatest medicine is subtraction." "What you're really afraid of in the darkness is what you're filling the darkness with, which is you. The fear of the darkness is really the fear of our own shadow, the fear of our own mind and the parts of us we’ve cast into the darkness." Resources Mentioned Aubrey Marcus Podcast (Darkness Retreat episode & documentary) - https://www.aubreymarcus.com/pages/podcast Ram Dass (Spiritual Teachings) - https://www.ramdass.org/ The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu - https://amzn.to/3XCWWD4 Connect with Greg Website - https://www.healing4d.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/4d_healing/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@gregschmaus LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-schmaus-22929589/ ️️️ Podcast Production & Marketing by FullCast: https://fullcast.co Discover the best podcast services in the world at The Podosphere: https://www.thepodosphere.com/ Mentioned in this episode: Embark on The HTM Journey MHMW - HTM Embark on The HTM Journey MHMW - HTM






