Dream Yoga

Our first lesson will help you prepare for and get the most out of this course. Rinpoche begins by explaining the source of these dream yoga teachings within the Tibetan Bön tradition, and then explains the main purpose and goals of dream yoga practice. Rinpoche also provides methods to improve dream recall in preparation for the main practice. You will learn about the importance of honoring and remembering your dreams and about the role and significance of the dream goddess and refuge prayers.

In the second part of the lesson, Rinpoche explores the deeper relationship between illusion and reality, both in dreams and in waking life. In this lesson, we will learn about the role of awareness in various states, including in vision, action, dreams, and death. Rinpoche uses the metaphor of the Three Precious Pills to introduce a daily informal practice, with the understanding that our success in the nighttime practices depends on our awareness during the day.

In this lesson’s meditation, participants will be guided into a deep experience of stillness, silence, and spaciousness, characterized by openness, serenity, and expanded awareness.

In this lesson, Rinpoche introduces the four foundational practices of dream yoga, along with a Tibetan breathing technique that aims to open channels within the energy body, enabling the free flow of prana, or chi. The foundational practices are essential for an effective dream yoga practice; they help you to integrate your experiences of day and night so you may enter your nighttime practice with the necessary level of awareness and focused intention. You will also learn how to change karmic patterns, transforming your normal reactions to situations and people to further your spiritual growth. Incorporating these practices into daily life helps you to become aware that you are dreaming while you are dreaming, giving access to the boundless potential of the realm of dreams.

In this lesson Rinpoche introduces the main dream yoga practice, which encompasses four distinct, progressive steps, each associated with a specific chakra, visualization, and quality. In this session you will be guided through the first step of the practice, which focuses on the throat chakra and helps you to connect with the quality of inner peace. The session also guides you in understanding and working with lucid dreams and recurring dreams as a means to effect profound life transformation.

In this lesson, Rinpoche presents the second step of the main dream yoga practice. The focus of the nighttime practice is the crown and third-eye chakra, and the goal of this phase is to establish a connection with the creator aspect within ourselves, reawakening and maximizing our natural creativity to cultivate inner expansion, our capacity to develop, evolve, and reach our fullest potential. We will also learn about the interconnection between the dream body, the physical body, and our sense of identity. Rinpoche explores facilitating spiritual experiences, contacting spiritual Masters, and acquiring knowledge within our dreams.

In this lesson, we will learn the third step of the main dream yoga practice. Rinpoche explains how life circumstances, situational pressures, and persistent stress can weaken the connection to our inner strengths and resilience, making us feel depleted, powerless, and vulnerable. Yet, our inner power is always present within us, waiting for us to reconnect with its source. In the nighttime practice for this step, we will work with the center of our inner power, the heart chakra, learning to rekindle and strengthen this connection. Rinpoche also explores the significance of both control and respect within lucid dreams.

In this lesson, Rinpoche guides us through the fourth step of the main dream yoga practice. The focus for this stage is developing the quality of fearlessness within ourselves, and the location is the secret chakra. Rinpoche also discusses the six realms of existence in the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition as they apply to dream yoga. These represent the hell, hungry ghost, animal, human, demi-god, and god realms, with each realm corresponding to different primary emotions and experiences. By understanding dream patterns, we can observe our emotional states and work toward balance and personal growth. Focusing on specific energy centers within the dream yoga practice helps us to guide our awareness while sleeping, so our dream experiences may be influenced more by positive than by negative emotions.

In this lesson, Rinpoche introduces an advanced Dzogchen practice that enables attaining a heightened state of consciousness characterized by profound peace and tranquility, regardless of life’s chaos. This practice opens access to our inner sanctuary, which Rinpoche refers to as “Inner Refuge.” There, we experience the ultimate sense of safety and security, which is ever-present within us yet typically overlooked. It is not just a passive state: optimal decision-making and problem-solving can arise from the openness and clarity of mind experienced within the inner refuge. Consistent practice helps us to gain familiarity and stability with the inner refuge, thus serving as a doorway to enlightenment.

In our last lesson, Rinpoche explores the importance and methods of cultivating awareness in both dream and waking life as preparation for death and ultimate liberation. He discusses the intermediate state of the bardo and the afterlife, and describes breaking free from karmic conditioning and achieving non-dual awareness. The transformative practices of inner refuge and dream and sleep yoga empower us to attain lucidity, transform our dreams, greatly improve our waking life, and navigate the after-death state. By recognizing and abiding in the nature of mind—rigpa—we can achieve enlightenment, transcending the cycle of suffering. Rinpoche concludes with guidance for continuing our journey supported by a lifetime practice.