Dr. Miles Neale, PsyD, is a Buddhist psychotherapist in private practice and founder of the two-year online Contemplative Studies Program. Author of Gradual Awakening (Sounds True, 2018) and co-editor of Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy (Routledge, 2017), Miles is a faculty member of Tibet House (US) and Weill Cornell Medical College. With more than twenty years integrating the mind science and meditative practices of Tibetan Buddhism with psychotherapy, trauma research, and neuroscience, Miles is a forerunner in the emerging field of contemplative psychotherapy and leads pilgrimages around the Buddhist world.
Websites:
milesneale.com
2 Year Online Contemplative Studies Program
Audio course: The Gradual Path - Tibetan Buddhist Meditations for Becoming Fully Human
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
Summary and transcript of this interview.
Interview recorded September 28, 2019
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:05:02 - Integration and gradual progression of consciousness
00:09:59 - Expanding Circumference of Concern
00:14:57 - The Journey to Unity Consciousness
00:19:36 - The Certs commercials and the importance of multidimensionality
00:28:42 - What was being removed from meditation practices
00:33:23 - Transforming the Collective Consciousness
00:37:55 - The Fear of Hedonism and Nihilism
00:42:28 - The Importance of Systematic Teaching in the Lam Rim
00:46:55 - The Purification of the Nervous System and Release of Samskaras
00:51:36 - The Power of the Mantra and Settling the Mind
00:55:47 - The Divide between Spiritual Life and Personal Predicaments
01:00:35 - Addressing Trauma in Spiritual Communities
01:04:56 - Unconditioning from Cult-like Thinking
01:08:59 - Trusting Your Intuition and Sense of Self
01:12:16 - Trauma-Informed Dharma: Empowering People
01:15:47 - The Pitfalls of Science Turning into Dogma
01:20:00 - Authority Figures and Self-Confidence
01:24:35 - Removing Deep Rooted Imprints without Meditation
01:29:13 - Processing Trauma Memories
01:33:42 - The Limits of Yogifying Trauma
01:38:19 - Accessing Alternative News Content
01:42:46 - Reconciling Paradoxes: The Brahman Perspective
01:47:16 - The Importance of Multiplicity of Views and the Teachings of Emptiness
01:51:18 - The Resurgence of Psychedelics and Expansion of Consciousness
01:55:40 - The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern Age
01:59:15 - The Power of Immersion and Pilgrimage
02:03:36 - An Integrative Curriculum for Personal Growth
02:07:33 - Bringing Spiritual Knowledge into Life
02:11:20 - Concluding Remarks