Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep by Andrew Holecek

Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep Reviews

• 
  Dawn

  No rating dnf 60%
  
  I apparently misunderstood what this book was about... I feel the title is a little misleading. This is not the type of book I thought it was. IMO this is more geared towards those who are philosophers, gurus, Buddhists and others who are advanced spiritually.
  
  There were elements I found enlightening and informative but I do not feel this was the right choice for me to read at this stage of my awareness.
  
  Overall I found it mostly repettitive, mudane and overly complex. Perhaps this is because I am a simple minded person and not very intelligent. IDK.
  
  Not for me.
• 
  Sarah

  I read this last summer and reread it last weekend before going to a weekend seminar by Holecek. The books is so clear and easy, but he is so clear and overwhelming with knowledge in real life that it is hard to rate the book alone now. Holecek is the real deal and suck a pleasure to learn from. Using this book last summer as I guide, I had my first lucide dreams, was able to fly in my dream for the first time, and had two profound spiritual experiences that spooked me enough that I backed off until restarting again six months later. My progress was gradual- I didn’t have an intense experience the first or second or even third night, but as I kep up with trying the different practices I did start to experience results that were undeniable. Happy Sleeping!
• 
  Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading)

  A comprehensive look at dreaming through the eyes of Buddhism. Excellent!
• 
  Adela

  This is an excellent overview of different kinds of dream and sleep yoga practices, and the spiritual history of these practices. The books is very accessible and gives you the big picture, as well as specific exercises, and is a great starting point for going on to read some of the original Buddhist texts and teachings. I had already read Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's Sleep Yoga book, which has a lot more detail on the Tibetan Bon practices, but this book put those practices in larger historical and spiritual context for me. If was also interesting to find out that Western and Eastern dream yoga practices and techniques are different. If you are not into Buddhist type meditation, this book is still valuable, as it provides an introduction to the Western styles techniques, and at the same time gives you and overview of other techniques available. Overall, very readable, accessible, and great for people who are exploring dream yoga or lucid dreaming or sleep yoga for the very first time.
• 
  Ron Garan

  I thought this was a wonderful book. It illuminated not only the world of sleep but also the foundational fabric of reality. I will definitely read it again to pull more from it. Thank you Andrew Holecek for sharing your insights and wisdom.
• 
  Megan

  This book presents some really interesting ideas, but maybe isn't always the clearest at explaining them - I felt like a lot of it went over my head, so perhaps it just isn't the best book for a beginner on the subject. I would over finish a chapter and wonder what exactly it was that I was supposed to have learned that I could put into practice.
  
  I have at least started keeping a dream journal as a result of this book, and seem to be remembering my dreams more clearly, which is a plus.
  
  I would also suggest that if you're a fan of David Lynch, particularly the recent third season of Twin Peaks or the film Mulholland Drive, you might find this book fairly illuminating.
• 
  mindfroth

  More like 3 1/2. It's less a manual than a series of essays on the function and meaning of dream yoga (encompassing dream, sleep, and bardo), and while the quality of the writing isn't outstanding (this is clearly intended for a general audience, the way some of the more interesting elements are relegated to footnotes), the content is compelling enough, and effectively articulated enough, to influence one's perspective on the dreamlike nature of phenomenal reality.
• 
  Elbia

  While listening to this audiobook I thought it was a two star bc it dragged a bit but then I went to the beach, as I inhaled the ocean air I had total mental clarity…
  The author’s perspective is legit.
  Reality is a dream, an illusion.
  If you can dream it, you most def can achieve it!
• 
  Amaia

  Starting from the basics of lucid dreaming and going deeper through dream yoga, sleep yoga until the bardo yoga and the daily practice of illusory form, this book is instilled with wisdom and I'm afraid one reading might prove not enough to even grasp half of it (for the complete newbie that I am). A few practical tips are presented, but this book is essentially an overview of it all and less of a practical guide, going from the western/psychological practices to the old, eastern traditions. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful and useful book to which I will certainly return.
  
  C. G. Jung sums it up beautifully: "Your vision will become clear when you look into your heart. Who looks outside dreams. Who looks inside awakens."
  
  "I believe in the night."
• 
  Movsar Bekaev

  Too much of the newage nonsense, I was looking for a practical guidance not for a collection of rosy thoughts. 90% of the book has nothing to do with lucid dreaming practices, rather with meditation and relaxation, which of course help lucidity but it wasn't what I was looking for, anyway, I am disappointed for wasting my time.
• 
  Curtis Nash

  This is one of those books I take my time with in order to let the subject matter sink it before going on. I don't know how advanced I am in this area of yogic practice or lucid dreaming, though I know there is much to gain by falling deeper into those practices. I would be more self-aware, more mindful, and a more balanced and secure individual.
  I became excited reading this and finding a connection to an interest I have always had, in terms of this dreamlike alternate universe that is within our reach, when this physical earthbound world is transcended.
  So if you haven't read this, it is not about the yogi stretching exercises, but the yoga state of mind you attain while doing those exercises, and the breathing, transcending to balance or harmony and a more content mindset.
  Well, "Dream Yoga" then is this deeper connection to the higher self that is reflected in this energy field beyond the conscious world which we drag our physical body through, this higher self that we hope to fit back into when our time on Earth is through, or what Holecek refers to as the second state of dreaming, the end of our time (death of our physical body).
  The first state being the end of our day, or when we are asleep. Through lucid dreaming, we can explore this connection we have to that higher self before our physical body expires, or without having to wait until then.
  If you have ever experienced lucid dreaming, you know the benefits to your health and wellness, especially toward uncertainty and anxiety, because as he points out in the book, this state of consciousness has been seen as the way to balance things, the reason we sleep, and to connect these two states brings a whole new awareness to our sense of mind or energy existing beyond our body's life span. This concept I found interesting to dwell on, and it made me happy to realize the connection between these crazy symbols I need a book to decipher (though intuition works better really) and a purpose of balance and regeneration.
  The book is not too long, as is clear in its structure, as the first part explains the mindset and the history, and then different methods are discussed in order to help the reader find their way to consider trying it. I think a lot of people have some experience with lucid dreaming, but knowing the science or the schools of thought on why we sleep and dream, and how we can use this time to supercharge ourselves (for lack of a better term) makes the book worthwhile--probably better if you are a newbie and only a little aware of the concept of lucid dreaming and self awareness. If you are more experienced, you may find interest in the different methods Holocek describes.
  Life is all about learning new paths that explain or illuminate the mysteries we have always had, even if we have forgotten them, and this book takes you down a road of understanding you may not have known was hidden. Enjoy!
• 
  Byron Crenshaw

  i loved the approachable, lighthearted tone and thoroughness of this, especially given the esoteric content.
  
  i didn’t like how it was redundant at times and exhaustingly explicative with certain concepts, using multiple metaphors and sometimes stacking them.
  
  that being said i would definitely recommend this to any practicing meditator, especially those with a special interest in Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhist tradition), different states of consciousness, lucid dreaming, and death.
  ————————————
  fav quotes:
  
  DREAMS 🌿
  87
  “The stability and clarity of your dreams is nothing more than the stability and clarity of attention itself.”
  
  
  
  NON-DUALITY🌿
  100
  “if you look closely at anything, you will see that it arises in dependence on other things, so emptiness refers to the lack of (empty of) inherent existence.”
  
  171
  “As ‘outsiders’, in a Buddhist sense, we’re always projecting onto the outside world, creating and sustaining our sense of self based on the echoes that come back. it’s a kind of psychological “echolocation”, or finding our way in the world based on the feedback we get from projecting ourselves onto it. These echoes are all contingent on having a solid “out there” to bounce off of. if there’s something solid out there, the immediate implication is that there must be something solid “in here”. Where there is other, there is self. And the more solid the other, we surmise, the more solid the self.”
  
  ATTACHMENTS🌿
  
  91
  “... we spend our lives chasing our thoughts, as meditation quickly reveals. This pursuit of thoughts and things is the basis of materialism and consumerism, and therefore all our suffering.”
  
  223
  “If you identify with those formed aspects of your relative self, you will suffer in direct proportion to that level of identification when those aspects inevitably decay and disappear.”
• 
  Seemy

  Interesting concepts which definitely made sense in terms of how to adjust and tweak your mind to be more primed and likely to have lucid dreams - but something still seemed missing for me…
  
  In the end it just seemed to jump into what to do or how to have lucid dreams / states without really still explaining how you got there really - which is really the issue as ofcourse everything is easy to do once you are aware you are in that state but we never really are until we wake up from it - I’m not sure what but still the book felt incomplete somehow.in that sense when the author was I discussing that part towards the end.- perhaps the title was a bit misleading - this is more of a discussion vs practical
  “How To” in someways.
  
  But the priming tips were good and made total sense as already stated- it is a great taster to investigate further into this topic and overall would recommend the book for sure as a worthy read at the least for fellow readers interested in the topic and/or new to it all like me at this stage.
  
  To Our Continued Success!
  Seemy
  
  http://www.WaseemMirza.net
• 
  Nancy

  If you've read a bit about lucid dreaming but want to take it to the next level, then this book is the one to read. It is well written, clear and fascinating, but it digs a lot deeper into the Buddhist ideas of dream yoga and even touches on the difficult-to-achieve bardo yoga. But the author never alienates the non-Buddhist, and all of the practical advice he provides is achievable.
  
  I read this book in conjunction with attending a meditation retreat which was focusing on lucid dreaming. I felt that the book dove-tailed beautifully with what I was learning and our instructor recommended it highly. It is a book I'd like to go back to again.
• 
  Johnny Cordova

  Based on the Tibetan yogas of dream and sleep and packaged for a non-Buddhist readership. More of a book about meditation than lucid dreaming, though there is some good advice on the latter. Great for somebody looking for a well-mapped introduction to the philosophies and meditation practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Puts lucid dreaming into a spiritual context and draws an interesting path from waking life to dream life and back again.
• 
  Gabriel J. Clark

  This book is a guide for Dream Yoga, the ancient Tibetan Buddhist technique for maintaining consciousness in your dreams (lucid dreaming). It also explains sleep yoga, which is the practice of maintaining consciousness during dreamless sleep, and bardo yoga, which is the practice of maintaining consciousness during death. It is very enlightening to Tibetan Buddhist beliefs of consciousness, reality, the afterlife, and so on.
• 
  Chad

  This all takes so much focus and dedication. This book has inspired me to start keeping a dream journal in pursuit of more lucid dreams. I have had about a dozen lucid dreams in my life, some of them still extremely vivid in my memory even decades later. Could take a while (like years and years) to get enough lucid dreaming under my belt to atttempt dream or sleep yoga, so I might as well start now.
• 
  Kevin Francis Baker

  Als je vannacht aan het dromen bent kan het zomaar zijn dat je plotseling wakker wordt in je droom en je beseft dat je droomt terwijl je droomt. Dit fenomeen is bizar en wordt door veel onderzoekers bekeken alsmede in het Buddhisme gebruikt voor persoonlijke ontwikkeling. Dit boek vertelt daarover. Super interessante materie, inclusief hoe je deze toestand in je dromen kunt bereiken. Ik ga gauw slapen!
• 
  Jill Sompel

  Fascinating book on lucid dreaming but so much more. I used to hate lucid dreaming whe it happened during naps but this book made me realize I could try to harness the power of the lucid dream. Crazy though that when I was reading this book I was trying so hard to be able to control my dreams that I couldn’t actually dream! I am still trying to get the controlling the lucid part down but it’s not coming easy for me.
• 
  Jeramy

  This is the most comprehensive book I’ve read on why anyone would want to progress on the path of lucid dreaming and dream yoga. I have a feeling that this book will have a huge impact on my practice and life. I will likely return to it often. I recommend getting a hard copy if you are frequent practitioner just for the convenience of being able to pick it up and flip the pages.
• 
  Halina Goldstein

  An amazing and highly insightful and useful book in many ways. Some of the practices are difficult, and it's not a straight path (as it shouldn't be), but it comes with surprises. The biggest for me being that the lucid awareness kind of sneaks in where I don't expect it, in super helpful ways. My soul knows what to do with it.
• 
  Stephanie

  If this is your interest, I'm not sure you can do much better than Holocek's book unless you are deeply interested in Tibetan Buddhism. I am, and still would recommend this book actually, or even better, his Sounds True course.
• 
  Buck Wilde

  Incomprehensible woo nonsense. Don't call it as a lucid dreaming book if what you're selling is a preachy meditation-retreat memoir interspersed with humblebragging about your skill at savasana.
  
  Get ye gone, witch.
• 
  James A

  Eye opening
  
  The Author is very established in his practice and knowledge of the subject. This a very dense book containing very complex Buddhist teachings. He simplifies the complexities as well as could be hoped for.