Join the esteemed master of dream yoga, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, in a rich exploration of the nocturnal meditations. The conversation begins with why Rinpoche has elected to teach so extensively on this topic, which is rarely emphasized by Tibetan lamas. Why should busy Westerner’s bother with dream yoga, what does it have to offer us, and what does it mean to accomplish this practice? Rinpoche talks about how his teaching of dream yoga has changed over the years, before elaborating on all the new content in the 2nd edition of his classic book, The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep. The discussion turns to how dream yoga develops flexibility in identity, and why this is so important, before transitioning into the difference between adapting a teaching vs. editing it to suit egoic needs.
If teachings aren’t culturally translated and adapted, they go extinct. But if you adapt them too much, the teachings are diluted. How does one establish dream guardians, and create a protection circle for dreaming? Do we need to believe in spirits, and what are the consequences if we don’t? How can you tell if a dream figure is just a projection of your mind, or a real entity? Rinpoche then discusses the role of the subtle body, and the importance of the central channel, before turning to how the subtle body shapes our dreams. How can we work with the subtle body during the day to facilitate lucidity at night? What’s the best thing to do just before falling asleep? Can we use the subtle body to incubate dreams?
Dream yoga, and the subtle body, “break all the rules,” and help us live outside the box of the gross body, and our exclusive identification with it. Rinpoche exhorts us not to limit ourselves to the outer body, which grows old, gets sick, and then dies. Transition your identity to a deeper aspect of your being that does not age, get ill, or die. See for yourself why Rinpoche is the premier voice in the world of dream yoga today.
