July 28, 2026
Dark retreat, light, and the mystery between traditions | Fr. Francis Tiso
📚 Read the book: Rainbow Body and Resurrection: Spiritual Attainment, the Dissolution of the Material Body, and the Case of Khenpo A Chö by Francis V. Tiso
https://bookshop.org/a/130680/9781583947951
Browse all books by Thresholds guests:
https://bookshop.org/lists/thresholds-of-consciousness-book-list
I link to Bookshop.org rather than Amazon because purchases there support independent bookstores. I'm a Bookshop affiliate, so a small commission from your purchase also helps sustain this show, at no extra cost to you.
Father Francis Tiso is a Catholic priest who has spent more than three decades studying and practicing within Tibetan Buddhism. His book Rainbow Body and Resurrection examines extraordinary phenomena reported among accomplished Tibetan practitioners and asks what they might illuminate about the resurrection of Christ.
We talk about how that research began, through his long friendship with Brother David Steindl-Rast, and where it led him: to Tibet in 2000, to sixteen years of work before he was willing to publish, and recently to four and a half days alone in total darkness at a retreat in Germany.
Along the way we get into the Shroud of Turin, the Syriac Christian mystics who described discs of light in their letters to one another, the difference between the light phenomena of tummo practice and those of dark retreat, and what he calls the neglected middle term in every contemplative tradition: virtue.
Father Francis Tiso is a priest of the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro in Italy, where he serves as chaplain to migrant communities. He holds a doctorate from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, where he specialized in Buddhist studies, and teaches Tibetan Buddhism at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. From 2004 to 2009 he was Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
His books include Liberation in One Lifetime (2014) and Rainbow Body and Resurrection (2016). A new book, Discerning Stirrings, is out this year from En Route Books.
Rainbow Body & Resurrection link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1583947957?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
Discerning Stirrings:
https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/discerningstirrings/
0:00 — Cold open
1:25 — Welcome and why this conversation
1:57 — Who comes knocking: the people who can't talk to clergy
3:26 — Iboga, bitter leaf, and working with migrants
5:37 — Brother David Steindl-Rast turns 100
7:41 — Four and a half days in total darkness
8:43 — Penitence, dreams, and the Syriac Christian mystics
12:52 — How Brother David set the rainbow body research in motion
17:26 — Tibet, and sixteen years before publishing
21:54 — The Shroud of Turin
28:12 — Biophotons and light inside the body
31:14 — Dark retreat versus the Six Yogas of Naropa
34:30 — Heat yoga, the central channel, and spheres of light
39:24 — Inside the dark retreat: strobing, visions, the man of the Shroud
43:32 — When "interreligious dialogue" isn't the right words
46:44 — John Paul II: continue this dialogue
50:46 — Participant observer, and the new book Discerning Stirrings
55:13 — Where Christianity and Buddhism actually diverge
1:02:24 — Emptiness, sin, and bridal mysticism
1:06:30 — What each tradition teaches about compassion
1:09:49 — Virtue: the neglected middle term
1:13:06 — Why this matters now
1:14:40 — Closing blessing
Thresholds of Consciousness is a production of Madrone Hollow Productions
© 2026 Scott Menasco
All rights reserved.
scottmenasco.com
*The content presented on this channel is intended for educational, informational, and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment, diagnosis, or professional advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host*
https://bookshop.org/a/130680/9781583947951
Browse all books by Thresholds guests:
https://bookshop.org/lists/thresholds-of-consciousness-book-list
I link to Bookshop.org rather than Amazon because purchases there support independent bookstores. I'm a Bookshop affiliate, so a small commission from your purchase also helps sustain this show, at no extra cost to you.
Father Francis Tiso is a Catholic priest who has spent more than three decades studying and practicing within Tibetan Buddhism. His book Rainbow Body and Resurrection examines extraordinary phenomena reported among accomplished Tibetan practitioners and asks what they might illuminate about the resurrection of Christ.
We talk about how that research began, through his long friendship with Brother David Steindl-Rast, and where it led him: to Tibet in 2000, to sixteen years of work before he was willing to publish, and recently to four and a half days alone in total darkness at a retreat in Germany.
Along the way we get into the Shroud of Turin, the Syriac Christian mystics who described discs of light in their letters to one another, the difference between the light phenomena of tummo practice and those of dark retreat, and what he calls the neglected middle term in every contemplative tradition: virtue.
Father Francis Tiso is a priest of the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro in Italy, where he serves as chaplain to migrant communities. He holds a doctorate from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, where he specialized in Buddhist studies, and teaches Tibetan Buddhism at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. From 2004 to 2009 he was Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
His books include Liberation in One Lifetime (2014) and Rainbow Body and Resurrection (2016). A new book, Discerning Stirrings, is out this year from En Route Books.
Rainbow Body & Resurrection link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1583947957?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
Discerning Stirrings:
https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/discerningstirrings/
0:00 — Cold open
1:25 — Welcome and why this conversation
1:57 — Who comes knocking: the people who can't talk to clergy
3:26 — Iboga, bitter leaf, and working with migrants
5:37 — Brother David Steindl-Rast turns 100
7:41 — Four and a half days in total darkness
8:43 — Penitence, dreams, and the Syriac Christian mystics
12:52 — How Brother David set the rainbow body research in motion
17:26 — Tibet, and sixteen years before publishing
21:54 — The Shroud of Turin
28:12 — Biophotons and light inside the body
31:14 — Dark retreat versus the Six Yogas of Naropa
34:30 — Heat yoga, the central channel, and spheres of light
39:24 — Inside the dark retreat: strobing, visions, the man of the Shroud
43:32 — When "interreligious dialogue" isn't the right words
46:44 — John Paul II: continue this dialogue
50:46 — Participant observer, and the new book Discerning Stirrings
55:13 — Where Christianity and Buddhism actually diverge
1:02:24 — Emptiness, sin, and bridal mysticism
1:06:30 — What each tradition teaches about compassion
1:09:49 — Virtue: the neglected middle term
1:13:06 — Why this matters now
1:14:40 — Closing blessing
Thresholds of Consciousness is a production of Madrone Hollow Productions
© 2026 Scott Menasco
All rights reserved.
scottmenasco.com
*The content presented on this channel is intended for educational, informational, and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment, diagnosis, or professional advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host*