Are You Ready for Silent Retreat? Using Intensive Meditation to Accelerate Awakening | North Burn

North Burn is a meditation teacher and practitioner who has devoted fifteen years to full-time contemplative practice across Insight Meditation and Soto Zen traditions. He has spent five years in monastic communities, two years in silent intensive retreats, and several years in solitude and self-directed study. Influenced by Joseph Goldstein, Greg Scharf, Leslie James, and Tenshin Reb Anderson Roshi, he began teaching meditation retreats in 2016. He is the founder of Boundless Refuge — an annual three-month silent retreat dedicated to transforming suffering into peace through the practice of the middle way.In this conversation, we explore what inspired North to engage with deep spiritual practice, his approach to awakening, and the distinction between Sutric and Tantric perspectives on Dharma.We get into the pros and cons of being open about spiritual attainments, the fear of groundlessness, the benefits of intensive meditation practice, and whether you can get the same benefits from a committed daily practice as from a long silent retreat.We also explore integrating stories into spirituality, the power of aspiration for awakening, the relationship between psychedelics and meditation, contrasting monastic, householder, and nomadic lifestyles, and the role of renunciation in benefiting our relationships.🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗Boundless Refuge — North's 3-month silent meditation retreat Shunryu Suzuki Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind — Shunryu Suzuki Tenshin Reb Anderson Joseph Goldstein Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha — Daniel Ingram Adyashanti Buddhadasa Ram Dass🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️0:00 - Introduction2:32 - What inspired North to engage with deep spiritual practice7:41 - North's approach to awakening13:44 - Exploring Sutric vs Tantric perspectives on Dharma21:36 - Pros and cons of being open about spiritual attainments29:55 - The fear of groundlessness33:45 - Boundless Refuge — 3-month silent meditation retreat39:10 - The benefits of intensive meditation practice47:02 - Integrating stories into spirituality49:31 - Are you ready for a long silent meditation retreat?59:45 - Can you get the benefits of a long retreat through a committed daily meditation practice?1:02:19 - The power of aspiration for awakening1:05:19 - The relationship between psychedelics and meditation1:18:25 - Contrasting monastic, householder, and nomadic lifestyles1:26:40 - The challenges and questions North is currently grappling with1:30:25 - Using renunciation to benefit our relationships*Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional