Sam Heller

Sam is a meditation teacher, and one of the most experienced dark retreat practitioners in the Western world.


Dark retreats are a form of meditation retreat where practitioners spend extended periods of time meditating in rooms that have been completely sealed from light. Sam has spent over 200 days in dark retreat since his first in 2020. 

He owns and operates Night Song Dark Retreats (https://www.nightsongretreats.com/), which offers dark retreats at Fox Creek Falls Retreat Center. 

He has experience and training in Yogic, Indigenous, Tibetan Buddhist, and Christian schools of spirituality. His primary influences and teachers include Craig Holliday, Dr. Stanislav Grof, Dr. James Pennebaker, Dr. Reggie Ray, Josh Watizkin, Dr. Jim B. Tucker, and Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk. 

His meditation teaching is strongly informed by his direct experiences while in retreat, and the work and by the work of the aforementioned individuals.