This month I had the privilege of attending Dr. Joe Dispenza's retreat, The Adventure Within, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and it was an inspiring experience and a powerful reminder of how deeply energy, the nervous system, and healing are connected. More than 3,200 people from around the world gathered, with another 6,500 on the waitlist, all of them meditation loving, healer seeking, and open to growth. For me, the week was an invitation to go deeper into my practice than I ever have before, and to bring what I learned back to the people I care for.
GOING DEEP IN MEDITATION MEANS LEARNING TO FOCUS ON NOTHING.
We meditated roughly five hours each day, including walking meditations, with early morning wakeups and one 3 a.m. start for a four hour pineal gland meditation. Dr. Dispenza blends lectures drawing on quantum physics with hypnotic guided meditation to bring you deeper into a state of nothing, and learning to focus on nothing became the heart of the practice for me. What stood out most was how much deeper I went as the days went on. Each hour built on the one before it, and by the end of the week I was meditating in a way I never had before.
THE PINEAL GLAND MEDITATION WAS A DEEPLY INWARD EXPERIENCE.
The pineal gland is a tiny gland deep in the brain, long associated with sleep and wake rhythms and, in many contemplative traditions, with inner awareness. Many ancient cultures, from the yogic traditions of India to ancient Egypt, spoke of an inner eye that is often linked today with the pineal gland, and they emphasized breath work and meditation as ways to access other energetic fields and the divine. Sitting in that meditation in the quiet dark of early morning was unlike any meditation I had done before.
ENERGETIC CENTERS ARE ANOTHER LAYER OF THE BODY WORTH EXPLORING.
Throughout the week, we practiced bringing awareness to the energetic centers of the body, which some people call chakras. We then gathered that energy with intention and directed it to shift our own energetic field. The idea is that we are more than chemistry and tissue. We are also living, electrical beings, and the state of our field may influence the state of our physical body, and perhaps those around us.
BRAIN AND HEART COHERENCE IN A GROUP WAS THE MOST MOVING PART OF THE WEEK.
In pods of eight, we sat together and held a shared intention of healing for people who had come to the event seeking energy work. Energetically, it felt like a choir of angels, or the Whos in Whoville, all of us connected and joined in one voice to bring a high frequency of healing and love to the person before us. It was one of the most tender and joyful experiences I have ever had. The energy felt throughout my body, pulsing from the crown of my head to my toes, was something I would have found hard to believe if I had not experienced it myself. I believe anyone can learn to do this, and I was fortunate to experience it in three coherence healings that week.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR HEALING WORK IS WHAT I AM MOST EXCITED ABOUT.
I often tell patients to meditate to support the autonomic nervous system, and that remains true. Calming the body can ease inflammation and physiologic stress. But this week showed me there is more to it, because we can also learn to access more coherent energetic frequencies that may be healing for ourselves and for the people we care for. Energy is a meaningful part of functional medicine, alongside nutrients, hormones, gut health, and the other interconnected systems of the body. Data shared at the retreat by the Dispenza research team points toward possible support for pain in particular, and many of my patients live with complex pain, so I look forward to following that research as it develops. I am now exploring ways to bring more energetic work into my practice, alongside the root cause approach I already offer.
If you are curious about meditation, you do not need a stadium full of people to begin. Five quiet minutes, one hand on your heart, and a few slow diaphragmatic breaths while you think of someone you love is all you need to begin. The real work, for me, is consistency, and I came home with a simple intention to show up every day as the person I want to become. When we nourish the body, calm the nervous system, and care for our energy, we give healing room to happen.