B. Alan Wallace PhD on Lucid Dreaming, Including "What Does it Mean to Say Reality is a Dream?

07/23/19 • 121 min

Join Andrew and the distinguished scholar-practitioner B. Alan Wallace for a truly remarkable conversation. Dr. Wallace is renowned for his incisive clarity and rigorous intellect, and this is fully evident as he cascades over a tremendous amount of material. The discussion begins with a deep dive into the central meditations of shamatha and vipashyana, and how both of these practices are integral to lucid dreaming. Alan goes so far as to say that dream yoga is the practice of vipashyana, and further situates dream yoga within the Madhyamaka (Middle Way School) and Dzogchen. The discussion then addresses the key question: what does it mean to say reality is a dream? In answering this, Dr. Wallace levels a strong attack against materialism, and the perverted science that supports this wrong view. Insights from psychology, philosophy of mind, physics, cosmology, and many schools of Buddhism are delivered with high-velocity and humor (offering neologisms like cognoscopy – “to scope the mind”), illuminating vast swaths of terrain. Alan speaks of the importance of “authentic Buddhism,” the need to honor tradition, and criticizes the popular but misguided new school of “Secular Buddhism.” Because of Alan’s encyclopedic knowledge, this interview lets him loose, with Andrew allowing him the space to run free. The result is an absolute feast of wisdom, supported by a lifetime of extensive scholarship and deep spiritual practice.

Alan Wallace is a prominent voice in the emerging discussion between contemporary Buddhist thinkers and scientists who question the materialist presumptions of their 20th-century paradigms. He left his college studies in 1971 and moved to Dharamsala, India to study Tibetan Buddhism, medicine and language. He was ordained by H.H. the Dalai Lama, and over fourteen years as a monk he studied with and translated for several of the generation’s greatest lamas. In 1984 he resumed his Western education at Amherst College where he studied physics and the philosophy of science. He then applied that background to his PhD research at Stanford on the interface between Buddhism and Western science and philosophy. Since 1987 he has been a frequent translator and contributor to meetings between the Dalai Lama and prominent scientists, and he has written and translated more than 40 books. Along with his scholarly work, Alan is regarded as one of the West’s preeminent meditation teachers and retreat guides. He is the founder and director of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and is the motivating force behind the develop of the Center for Contemplative Research in Tuscany, Italy.

Previous Episode

Roger Walsh MD, PhD on a Wide Range of Provocative Topics That Circumambulate the Lucidity Principle

Join Andrew Holecek and Roger Walsh MD, PH.D as they discuss a wide range of provocative topics that circumambulate the lucidity principle. They begin with a deep dive into some of the shadow elements that accompany lucid dreaming, and spiritual practice altogether, including spiritual bypassing, nihilism, cosmological dualism, and the “fundamental flaw fallacy.”

Roger shares his experience as a psychiatrist and meditation instructor, and the traps that he fell into – and how he got out. Lucid dreaming, the practice of illusory form, and spirituality in general can easily slip into devaluing form, instead of transcending but including form.

Dr. Walsh then turns to addiction, stating that we’re “addicts by nature,” which dovetails into our unconscious addiction to non-lucidity. The conversation then turns to the extraordinary power of diurnal and nocturnal meditation, and the “trim tab” phenomenon of working with subtle levels of mind. The discussion addresses the tenets of “non-foundationalism,” wake-centricity, and other forms of absolutistic thinking that limit our view of mind and reality. Powerful spiritual techniques lead to wisdom, and applied wisdom expresses itself as compassion – or it is not genuine wisdom.

Roger shares how his lifelong study and practice helps him respond to social and global challenges, and how he walks the talk. This remarkable interview ends with a discussion about the inherent goodness in the world, the utter immediacy of liberation, and how we merely need to open the aperture of awareness to reveal the light (lucidity) that is in everything – including our dreams.

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Roger Walsh MD., Ph.D. DHL graduated from Queensland University with degrees in psychology, physiology, neuroscience and medicine, before coming to the United States as a Fulbright scholar. He is currently a professor of psychiatry, philosophy, anthropology, and religious studies at the University of California. His research interests include psychological wellbeing, wisdom, and love, practices such as meditation that foster them, and how we can best respond to the social and global challenges of our time. He is a student, teacher and researcher of several contemplative practices.

Roger’s research and writings have received over twenty national and international awards while his teaching has received eight awards, and he is a University of California Distinguished Writer as well as its Outstanding Physician. His books include Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices, Paths Beyond Ego, as well as The World of Shamanism and the modestly titled book, The World’s Great Wisdom. He was formerly a world record holder in high diving and a circus acrobat, and recently graduated from the San Francisco Comedy College and had an extremely brief and unsuccessful career as a standup comedian. For more information, see www.drrogerwalsh.com

Next Episode

Clare Johnson PhD on the Promise and Peril of Fear and How to Work with It in Lucidity

Join Andrew and lucid dream author and researcher Clare Johnson in this deep dive into the world of lucidity. This wide-ranging conversation begins with a close look at the promise and peril of fear, how to work with it, and how to use it for growth. The discussion then moves into a look at dream sex, dream violence, and a “code of ethics” in terms of how to relate to dream characters – which are essentially aspects of your own mind. Dreams are the “children” of your mind, treat them with love. Clare then shares her remarkable experiences with lucidity in deep dreamless sleep, and the luminosity that shines below all dreams. She advises us to look for the beauty and luminosity in our dreams and in our life, and to move towards that light. The conversation then turns to a discussion of how lucid dreaming not only leads to lucid living, but to lucid dying. The nocturnal practices have removed all fear of death for Clare, and she shares why. The discussion closes with a look at how to work with discouragement, and Clare’s “go-to” methods for inducing lucidity. Dr. Johnson is a shining star in the world of lucid dreaming, and this conversation will show you why.