After getting into Dr. Joe Dispenza's work last summer and having mystical experiences from his meditations right away, I felt called to attend one of his retreats. I registered for the Week Long Advanced Retreat in Cancun, held from April 28 to May 4, 2025. I was a bit nervous going in because I didn't know what to expect. Now that I've had a few months to reflect on everything that happened, I can share my experience along with relevant information for anyone considering attending.

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What is the Joe Dispenza Advanced Retreat?

The Week Long Advanced Retreat is designed to deepen understanding of the concepts Dr. Joe Dispenza teaches in his books and courses. Becoming Supernatural is a must-read, and Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself is also helpful. I always recommend the books, but there’s a video series on Gaia called Rewired that covers the major concepts in Becoming Supernatural. He also offers a Progressive Online Course with 12 hours of beginner-friendly content.

The Progressive Course is a prerequisite for attending the Advanced Week Long Retreat, but since Dr. Joe rarely offers live Progressive Retreats these days, most people complete the online version. When you register for an Advanced Retreat, you’ll receive temporary access to the Progressive Online Course, expiring 30 days after the retreat ends. Attendees are expected to complete the course independently and pass a short quiz before arriving. The content overlaps with Becoming Supernatural, but goes deeper into the concepts and includes guided meditations mentioned in the book.

I’ve met people who jumped into the Advanced Retreat without doing much of the foundational work, sometimes because a spouse or friend brought them. They still enjoyed it, but you’ll get much more out of the retreat if you come in with that background knowledge and some meditation practice. The week-long event is intense, with long days and a lot of information to absorb. I had about 10 months to practice his meditations before coming to the retreat and felt well-prepared, especially since many of the live meditations are long.

Overview of the Advanced Retreat and Who It's Best For

Before attending, I recommend completing:

• Reading Becoming Supernatural
• The Progressive Online Course
• Practicing Dr. Joe’s meditations, especially BOTEC (learn more in my meditation recommendations). BOTEC is important because at the retreat, Dr. Joe will call out numbers for each energy center, and you’ll need to know which one he’s referring to.

Over the week, you’ll practice four types of meditations: sitting, standing, walking, and lying down. There are also a couple of kaleidoscope meditations as described in Becoming Supernatural. You’ll also refine the breath technique that moves spinal fluid up to the brain.

You’ll have three opportunities to join Coherence Healing sessions, where participants are divided into groups and send healing energy to a person chosen as a “Healee.” You can apply to be a Healee when you register, and they are selected at random.

Scientists from the USDC share cutting-edge research collected from previous retreats. You’ll also hear inspiring testimonials from students who have healed cancer and other serious conditions using Dr. Joe’s work.

Who Attends the Joe Dispenza Advanced Retreat?

Attendees come from around the world, and they look like everyday people you’d pass on the street. I met participants from Ecuador, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Thailand, and other countries, including the US and Canada. The age range skews middle-aged and older, but there are also a number of younger participants, including teenagers.

You’ll see some attendees in wheelchairs or mobility scooters, along with those managing serious illnesses. One woman in a mobility scooter told me she had to go through an extensive interview process beforehand, where she was advised about the long days and intensity of the program, and she chose to come anyway. Attendees with mobility needs are well supported with reserved seating and ground-floor hotel rooms for easier access.

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Booking, Cost, and Travel Logistics

Registration

Dr. Joe often holds retreats in US cities and in Cancun, along with a few other international locations. I’d never been to Cancun before, and the resort looked really nice, so I chose that option. Since retreats sometimes sell out quickly, I joined the mailing list and registered as soon as Cancun opened.

Once I booked, the event page under my profile provided an organized checklist of everything I needed to do, from reserving the hotel at a group discount to arranging the Amstar shuttle to and from the airport. There’s also a Facebook group where attendees connect to find roommates, share tips, and get answers from people who’ve been before.

Location & Accommodation (Barceló Maya Riviera, Cancun)

The Cancun retreat takes place at the massive Barceló resort complex. Whichever hotel you stay at within the resort is all-inclusive, and the price difference between a shared room and a private one isn’t significant since much of the expense covers food and drinks.

Staying on-site is mandatory for the Cancun retreat. All sessions are held in the Barceló Maya Arena, the convention center connected to the Maya Riviera hotel. While there are less expensive hotels within the resort complex, they’re farther from the Arena and often require a shuttle if you want to avoid walking in hot weather.

I highly recommend staying at the Barceló Maya Riviera hotel. It’s modern, adults-only, has access to four fine-dining restaurants, and is the most convenient since it's closest to the ballroom. My room’s balcony was a nice place to retreat after long sessions. Upgrading to an oceanfront view is worth it. The cost probably varies by season, but during my stay it wasn’t much more per night. This hotel tends to sell out early for the retreat, so book your room in advance to secure a spot.

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A funny manifestation story: The retreat isn’t cheap ($2,499 for the weeklong, not including flights and hotel). But a few weeks before I left, I unexpectedly received $4,000 USD from a source that normally only pays me $100. That windfall pretty much covered the retreat. I didn’t do anything in particular to make it happen, but I’ve noticed that when I stay relaxed about money, it usually works itself out.

What to Pack for a Joe Dispenza Retreat

Pack comfy clothes! Even though Cancun is hot, you’ll spend most of your time in the ballroom. It can get cool, but I didn't find it freezing. But then again, I'm Canadian and I'm used to the cold.

My recommendations:

• Comfortable clothing, including a light sweater or hoodie.
• Yoga mat, since many meditations end with you lying down. Some people even bring inflatable beds. You can use a towel or blanket if that's more convenient.
• Blanket for extra comfort during long meditations.
• Inflatable pillow (don’t count on taking one from your hotel room; hotel staff may stop you).
• Eye mask to block out light during meditations. They sell Dr. Joe-branded blackout eye masks during the retreat, which are amazing, but you might have to wait a day or two into the retreat to get them.
• Journal to capture every experience, as well as notes from Dr. Joe's lectures.
• Headphones for walking meditations.
• Resort wear — swimsuits, flip-flops, etc., if you want to take advantage of the resort facilities.
• If you’re staying at the Maya Riviera, pack a few nice outfits for the fine-dining restaurants included with your stay.

Also, bring your own toiletries. The hotel gift shop sells basics, but the prices are steep. One guest told me even the toothpaste had a huge markup. The rooms include shampoo and body wash, but I wish I’d brought my own. The quality wasn’t great, and I’m spoiled by my clean beauty products.

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Arrival and First Impressions

Check-In Process

Check-in took a while because everyone arrived around the same time. The process is well organized, but be prepared for lines. Registration takes place in front of the ballroom, not at the hotel front desk, since the event includes about 2,100 attendees. It took me about 45 minutes to get through the line. Check-in covers both the event and the hotel. You’ll get a bracelet in a color that signifies which hotel you’re staying at, which gives you access to that hotel’s dining options. If you want to avoid this long check-in process, you can come in a day or two earlier.

Atmosphere & Meeting Other Attendees

The hotel staff are experienced in hosting this event and will keep everything running smoothly. There are always drinks and snacks available outside the ballroom so you can recharge between sessions.

You’ll also receive a name badge with a lanyard in a color that indicates your group. I believe there were seven color groups when I attended, and each group rotated to a different section of the ballroom daily, so everyone had a chance to sit at the front. There are a few hundred people in each group, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet new people each day.

The overall vibe between attendees was friendly. First-timers can be a little awkward (myself included!), but others are more outgoing and happy to help if you’re unsure where you’re supposed to be.

The Daily Schedule

We don't receive the exact schedule for the event. I think Joe keeps it mysterious on purpose so that we can “go into the unknown.” I’m glad it wasn’t laid out for us, because I enjoyed being surprised each day. If I knew what was going to happen ahead of time, maybe I'd be more overwhelmed. Some meditations were really long, and it's better to just go in naively and surrender to the experience.

The days are packed. Most days start at 6 a.m. and end around 8 p.m., with at least three breaks, the longest being a 90-minute lunch. You won’t have much beach or pool time, but the retreat is so engaging that it doesn’t matter. If you do want beach time, book an extra day or two before or after, as the group hotel rates apply for several days on either side of the event.

The schedule may sound intense, but if you like the recorded meditations, you'll really love the live ones. I was happy to know the meditations were going to be long because I just wanted to stay in them. I think most people enjoyed the immersive nature of the retreat like I did, but it’s not for everyone. I overheard a couple of older attendees on the shuttle bus going back to the airport saying the long days were too much for them. If doing three long meditations a day sounds good to you, you'll love the retreat.

Meals & Facilities

During the retreat, the Maya Rivieria Hotel basically gets overtaken by event attendees. All meals and drinks are included. Even if you’re booked in one of the other hotels, you can dine at the Maya Riviera's Miramar buffet restaurant during the retreat days, although you won't have access to the four fine dining restaurants unless you are staying at Maya Riviera Hotel. (Make your dinner reservations in person at Guest Services ahead of time, since they can be booked up.)

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Food is everywhere. You can pretty much eat at all hours of the day. Even during breaks, there are fresh fruit, pastries, and mini sandwiches outside the ballroom. It created a real sense of abundance. Groups are rotated to eat at different restaurants for meal breaks so no single one gets overwhelmed with too many guests.

Note that while all meals are included at the Cancun retreats, this isn’t the case for every location. For example, I’ve heard that at the Washington or Denver retreats, only breakfast and lunch are provided.

Teaching Style

Dr. Joe is very charismatic and has a great sense of humor. He could start a stand-up career tomorrow. He’s also a straight-shooter, and he's not here to waste our time. Literally. Whenever he requests that we return to the ballroom at a specific time, you'll find him up on stage, dancing, as students file back in. I respect that.

For his lectures, Dr. Joe does it old school, using multiple whiteboards to hand-draw diagrams and scribble in terrible handwriting. He explains his concepts in science-based language because he finds that it's the best way to reach more people and build community. In his words, "science demystifies the mystical." It's working because his students come from all walks of life, including scientists, healthcare workers, and corporate types.

The best parts are the meditations, which are all live. Dr. Joe sits on stage with a microphone. I don't know where he gets his energy because many of the meditations are over an hour long.

The four walking meditations are only available during the retreat. We download an app and receive a passcode to access them. We do them together on the beach at sunrise or sunset, and it's magical.

My Experience

One of my biggest motivators for attending was a concept from Becoming Supernatural: our bodies become so conditioned to familiar surroundings that we stay locked into the same thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. I wanted to step out of my daily routine, leave behind everything that reinforced my current identity, and venture into the unknown. Being in Cancun, where I knew no one, seemed like a great opportunity to break old patterns.

I also wanted to challenge myself and go deeper with my meditations. I’d heard about students having intense mystical experiences, but I didn't want to put pressure on myself by expecting it. I decided to simply follow the instructions in the meditations and do my best to stay present. That was enough because I received important messages and visions with every meditation, and they kept amping up that by the time I did have mystical experiences, they didn't surprise or scare me.

I’m hesitant to share specifics because I don’t want anyone to compare their journey to mine and think you need to have these experiences too. But I will share this:

• My pineal gland got activated, and so did my heart energy. I could feel movements and physical sensations in my body, such as warmth, tingling, and electricity, that I'd never felt before with any other spiritual work I've done in the past. While Dr. Joe doesn't use the term "Kundalini," I wonder if that's what happened to me. One of the benefits of these new powers being activated is that I no longer need to use energy healing techniques to change my limiting beliefs. I can simply think about changing them, and they'll be changed, confirmed with muscle testing.
• During walking meditations, I felt really powerful. I saw and felt who I truly was. I even had the thought that I would never have to worry about anything ever again.
• In the Coherence Healing sessions, I was one of the healers, and I felt energy pulsing in my hands so strongly I was actually concerned I'd get an electrical shock. When the group synchronized our energy, the pulsating sensation got stronger that it felt as if I was touching a giant, pulsating heart.
• In the ballroom with my eyes closed, I also felt the presence and saw the outlines of interdimensional beings. I wasn't scared. I got the sense that they were here to help, and they never bothered me.

Again, I don’t want anyone to think mystical experiences are required to have a meaningful retreat. Most people I spoke with didn’t have dramatic visions, but they still had breakthroughs, messages, and moments of joy that moved them to tears. It's better not to force it because, apparently, activating kundalini is serious business.

When I shared my own experiences, many said they’re unusual or among the more intense stories they’ve heard. After years of training as an intuitive healer and consistently clearing away limiting beliefs and old energetic baggage, by the time I got to the retreat, I was ready for this stuff. My mind was blown, but I wasn't scared or freaked out. It was just cool.

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What Happened After The Retreat

I'll definitely miss doing the walking meditations with the group! Since a good portion of those meditations require keeping your eyes closed and then lying down afterwards, it's challenging to do that outside of a safe and controlled group setting like the resort's private beach. I tried to replicate the experience at the waterfront in Toronto, but it's just not the same.

One of the most powerful moments at the retreat was seeing visions of who I truly am. Another challenge was to hold on to that image while integrating back into regular life. Even at the airport on the way home, I found myself getting stressed, irritated, and impatient in long lines and such, slipping right back into being a flawed human.

Of course, that’s normal, but it felt jarring after experiencing wholeness and divinity. The vision of my true self gave me something to strive for. Now that a few months have passed, I'm just now finding it easier to tap into that part of me. Ironically, fully accepting my human flaws is what's getting me there.

Others who've been to multiple retreats say they find it hard to carve out time for meditating when they're back at home, but I still like doing the meditations on a regular basis. It's best to do them daily, but it's more realistic for me to do them every other day. Life can be distracting, and it's hard to recreate the retreat's level of immersion, but I know if I really sit down and focus, I can continue to have powerful experiences. I credit Dr. Joe and the whole community for helping me advance to the next level of my spiritual journey.

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Community & Social Aspect

The retreat is a great way to connect with people from around the world who are committed to this work. That's why I would love to come to an Advanced Follow-Up Retreat. While I do have spiritual friends, not all of them are interested in meditating or going as deep as this. The people in this community feel grounded, responsible, and practical.

Attending Solo vs. With Others

Going alone is totally fine. Plenty of people do. It's a good way to “go into the unknown” and shed your familiar self. Even couples sometimes sit apart during lectures so they can meet new people.

You can choose how social you want to be during mealtimes and breaks. Some join group tables to socialize, while others prefer to dine alone. The Facebook group is also a way to make connections and plans to meet up before, during, and after the retreat.

Is It Easy to Make Friends?

Dr. Joe often asks attendees to turn to the person next to them and discuss the teachings, which makes it easy to socialize. Ever the introvert, after long meditations, I just wanted to hole up on my balcony, listen to the sounds of the waves and journal my experiences. And after crying my eyes out after meditations or healing sessions, the last thing I wanted to do was make small talk. However, I still ended up with a bunch of new WhatsApp contacts. There are plenty of opportunities to talk to people.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is the Joe Dispenza Retreat Worth the Money?

For me, yes. It was the best week I had in recent memory. My mind was blown by everything I'd experienced. It'll push you to the next level. No way would I ever wake up at the crack of dawn to meditate on my own, but at the retreat, it was easy.

What’s Included in the Retreat?

The week-long retreat in Cancun is $2,499 (not including hotel and flights) as of now, and it includes:

• All meals (buffet + à la carte dining at the resort)
• All sessions, lectures, and meditations
• Access to the Barceló Maya resort facilities, including a private beach

Should I Attend?

If his books and meditations already resonate with you, the retreat is the natural next step. Just make sure you prepare with his foundational work first.

Is It Beginner-Friendly?

Not really. It's advanced for a reason. Some beginners do attend, but you’ll get far more out of it if you’ve already practiced Dr. Joe’s meditations.

How Do You Prepare for the Retreat?

Read his books, do the Progressive course, and get used to doing his hour-plus meditations. If you can be comfortable doing at least one long meditation per day, every day, you're ready.

What Should I Expect?

A good goal to have for the retreat is to simply feel more whole. Before discovering Dr. Joe’s work, I didn’t realize I had been operating on survival mode, and he says most people are. The meditations help clear the stuck energy that keeps us trapped there so we can be reacquainted with our divine selves.

Is It Weird or Cult-Like?

Not at all. The attendees I've met were normal folks seeking spiritual growth. It has a relaxed atmosphere. Before lectures, music is played and people dance. As corny as it sounds, I joined in because it's a good way to move my body before sitting for long periods of time.

Are There Scholarships or Discounts?

There is a charity called Give to Give, which provides scholarships to Dr. Joe's retreats.

Are There Risks?

There can be risks with this kind of deep energetic release if you don't ease into it and are energetically imbalanced. One person told me she regularly blacks out from meditations...that's not good. A woman also broke a blood vessel in one eye from doing the breath technique too hard. I've witnessed people shaking or screaming during meditations and Coherence Healing sessions. My theory is that it happens when the body is resisting receiving divine energy because there is too much energetic garbage in the way.

That said, the majority of attendees seemed fine, and staff and volunteers are on hand to help. I've always felt safe, even during my intense mystical experiences. There are also advanced meditators, who have been doing this work for 10+ years, wearing bright green baseball caps to show they’re available for questions. They helped me do the breath technique properly.

Final Thoughts

This retreat blew any expectations I had out of the water. I would recommend the experience to anyone who feels called to attend. Stay open and be ready for surprises.

The real challenge begins afterward: integrating what you experienced into everyday life. It can feel jarring to return home after feeling so elevated and divine, but that glimpse of wholeness gives you something to aim for. Once you "remember the feeling," as Dr. Joe says, you'll know it’s possible to reach it again and again on your own.

If you have questions, leave a comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer.

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