Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming

by Andrew Holecek

Overview

A world-renowned expert in lucid dreaming and Tibetan dream yoga guides us into the tradition’s daytime practices, a complement to the nighttime practices taught in his previous book Dream Yoga.

Most of us are absolutely certain that we’re awake here and now—it’s a given, right? Yet, according to Tibet’s dream yoga tradition, ordinary waking life is no more real than the illusions of our nightly dreams.

In his previous book Dream Yoga, Andrew Holecek guided us into Tibetan Buddhism’s nocturnal path of lucid dreaming and other dimensions of sleeping consciousness. Now, with Dreams of Light, he offers us an in-depth, step-by-step guide to its daytime practices.

Known as the “illusory form” practices, these teachings include insights, meditations, and actions to help us realize the dreamlike nature of our lives. Through an immersive exploration of the tradition, beginners and seasoned practitioners alike will learn everything they need to deeply transform both their sleeping and waking hours.

“If you’ve struggled to awaken in your dreams,” teaches Holecek, “these techniques will often spark spontaneous lucidity during sleep. And if you’re already a successful lucid dreamer, they will open you to new depths of experience throughout your day.”

For those wishing to explore Tibetan Buddhism’s profound path for awakening to the true nature of reality—day or night—Dreams of Light shows us the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683644354
Publisher:	Sounds True, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/18/2020
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,054,054
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Andrew Holecek has been working with the nocturnal meditations for over 40 years and teaching them internationally for over 10 years. He has studied directly with the greatest living masters of dream yoga in India and Nepal, and refined his practice of the nocturnal meditations while in the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat. It was in this intensive training where he also practiced the meditations of sleep yoga, bardo yoga, and illusory form yoga. Andrew continues to pursue his study and practice of the nocturnal meditations in the United States and Asia.

Dr. Holecek is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and works with sleep disorders in his clinical practice. He has coauthored scientific papers and actively studies the science and medicine of sleep and dream. This broad spectrum of expertise—from science to spirituality—makes him uniquely qualified in the world of sleep and dream.

Andrew is the author of The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy, Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, Meditation in the iGeneration: How to Meditate in a World of Speed and Stress, the audio learning course Dream Yoga: The Tibetan Path of Awakening Through Lucid Dreaming, and the book Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep.

Andrew’s work has appeared in Parabola, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Utne Reader, Buddhadharma, Light of Consciousness, and many other publications. Learn more at andrewholecek.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Deconstructing the Sense of Self: The Edge of Emptiness 13

Chapter 1 Introduction to Emptiness 15

Chapter 2 Practical Applications of Emptiness 27

Chapter 3 Emptiness and Illusion: From Reactivity to Equanimity 35

Chapter 4 The Via Negativa 43

Chapter 5 The Problem of Thing-Thinking 53

Part 2 Manifesting Clear-Light Mind: The Play of Luminosity 65

Chapter 6 Illusory Form and the Clear-Light Mind 67

Chapter 7 The Eighth Consciousness: The Foundation of Dualistic Mind 83

Chapter 8 Transforming the Basic Fault 95

Chapter 9 Are You Dreaming? 111

Chapter 10 The Experience of Illusory Form 125

Chapter 11 Headless Wonder 137

Chapter 12 Illusory Form and the Roots of Fear 149

Part 3 Finding Support in Science: The Illusion of Externality 165

Chapter 13 The Science of Illusion 167

Chapter 14 My Favorite Illusions 187

Chapter 15 The Creative Power of the Mind 207

Chapter 16 The Illusion of Duality: Visual Perception 219

Chapter 17 The Realization of Illusory Form 233

Conclusion: The Underview Effect 249

Acknowledgments 257

Notes 259

Index 315

About the Author 319

Editorial Reviews

Andrew Holecek is a master of the dream yogas and lucidity practices, and I have learned more from his writings than from the many related books I have studied. I highly recommend his new work, Dreams of Light, and all his other books as well.” —Roger Walsh, MD, PhD, University of California professor and author of Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind

“Dreams of Light is a profound exploration of emptiness, illusion, and the clear-light mind. Andrew’s deep scholarly knowledge, poetic prose, and compassionate heart illuminate every page of this fascinating book. Dreams of Light will raise your awareness and bring lucidity into every part of your life.” —Clare Johnson, PhD, author of Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Lucid Dreaming

“This is an important and very pragmatic book for bringing daytime practices into the realm of lucid dreaming. Holecek isn’t just a writer; he has expertly walked the path himself. Through the apt use of metaphor and clear examples, Holecek’s wisdom shines forth as he gives useful instructions for the reader to follow in his footsteps. I enjoyed this book immensely.” —Judson Brewer, MD, PhD, author of The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love—Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits

“Andrew Holecek’s revelations about the illusory, dream-like nature of everyday life—drawing deeply upon the combined wisdom of science, religion, and philosophy—will blow your mind. He convincingly demonstrates that nothing is ever quite as it seems, and that this knowledge has the power to set us free. For anyone on a quest to ‘get real,’ either in their waking lives or in their dreams, this volume provides an invaluable toolbox of daytime practices that perfectly complement the nighttime techniques of lucid dreaming and dream yoga described in his previous book. Holecek is not just a teacher of lucid dreams: the spiritual path that he illuminates changes everything.” —James Kingsland, author of Am I Dreaming?: The New Science of Consciousness and How Altered States Reboot the Brain

“Dreams of Light casts a spell by dispelling the commonsense spell we are in: seeing things ‘not the way they are’ but ‘the way we are.’ I marveled as much at its astonishing content as the stunning clarity by which it is conveyed. It is at once both a practical and magical guidebook, leading us ‘where we need to go internally to discover an external illusory world.’” —Jonathan Bricklin, author of The Illusion of Will, Self, and Time: William James’s Reluctant Guide to Enlightenment

“With great skill, lucidity, and compassion, in Dreams of Light Andrew Holecek teaches us how to wake up from the illusory dreams of our daytime experience, pointing us to the ground of openness and freedom that is our eternal nature. This book is treasure for anyone wishing to deepen their practice of lucid dreaming, or for anyone who seeks a clear path to enlightened perception in the midst of everyday life.” —Zvi Ish-Shalom, PhD, author of The Kedumah Experience: The Primordial Torah

From the Publisher