640. Andrew Holecek

Andrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and teaches internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and the art of dying. He is the author of six books, and many articles, including scientific papers on lucid dreaming. Dr. Holecek is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and a concert pianist, with degrees in music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery.  He is the co-founder of Global Dental Relief, which serves impoverished children in six developing countries; the founder of the online platform Night Club, which supports the nocturnal meditations, and the founder of the Preparing to Die Institute, a nine-month spiritual and practical training program to help with the end of life. Books: Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy Website: andrewholecek.com Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Summary and Transcript of this interview. Interview recorded March 27, 2022 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction of Andrew Holecek 00:04:45 - The Three-Year Meditation Retreat 00:09:08 - The Difficulties of Retreat and Detox Process 00:13:18 - The Tricky Topic of Crazy Wisdom Lineage 00:17:36 - The Ethics of Enlightenment 00:22:14 - The Importance of Morality and Ethics in Meditation 00:26:43 - The Delicate Dance of Balancing Relative and Absolute Vectors 00:30:51 - Digging deep with multiple tools 00:35:04 - Finding Opportunities in Obstacles 00:39:16 - Finding Teachings in Life's Challenges 00:43:47 - The Relativity of Reality and the Burden of Compassion 00:48:11 - Working with Complexity and Reductionism in Life 00:52:13 - The Irreducible Principles of Life 00:56:28 - The Utter Immediacy of Enlightenment 01:00:57 - Balancing Both/And Perspective 01:05:01 - Skillful Means for Different Levels of Identity 01:09:26 - Maintaining Lucidity in Sleep and Dreaming 01:13:36 - Lucid dreaming and its transformative power 01:18:08 - Lucidity and the Power of Light 01:22:45 - The Stages of Dream Yoga 01:27:21 - The Fruition of States: Turiya and Beyond 01:31:52 - The Addiction to Transcendent States 01:35:48 - The Integration of Science and Spirituality 01:40:06 - The Balance of Spiritual Experiences 01:45:00 - The Importance of Taking it Slow and Seeking Support 01:49:17 - The Golden Chain of Spirituality 01:53:34 - The Ripple Effect of Thoughts on Reality 01:57:58 - The Presence of Kundun, the Dalai Lama's name in Tibetan 02:02:30 - The Difference Between a Lucid Dream and the Waking State 02:06:29 - Similarities between Advaita Vedanta and Mahamudra & Dzogchen 02:10:40 - Guest Suggestions and Closing the Topic