Andrew Holecek discusses his childhood fascination with the occult — seances, Ouija boards, Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts — and the spiritual openings that led him into Tibetan Buddhism and the practices of dream and sleep yoga. He gives a lucid-dreaming primer, reflects on the limits of scientific materialism, and discusses his departure from Shambhala in the wake of its scandals.
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In this episode I am joined by Andrew Holecek, author, spiritual teacher, and expert on lucid dreaming and the Tibetan yogas of dream and sleep. In this interview, Andrew reveals his childhood fascination with the occult, including seances, Ouija boards, and channellers such as Edgar Cayce and Jane Roberts. We learn how a series of powerful spiritual openings set Andrew on a quest into the world’s mystical traditions, eventually to find a home in the practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Andrew discusses the limitations of scientific materialism, the similarities and differences between his training as a concert pianist and the discipline of meditation, and gives a lucid dreaming primer for those in lockdown. Andrew also shares his thinking on the role of lineage in religion, the recent scandals in the Buddhist tradition, and reflects on his own departure from the controversial religious organisation Shambala after decades of study. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep90-andrew-holecek-nocturnal-meditation/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 0:00 - Intro 01:30 - Childhood interest in the occult 04:09 - Edgar Cayce and Jane Roberts’ Seth Material 06:05 - Powerful experience with Transcendental Meditation 07:24 - Practicing seances and using ouija boards 11:16 - Inspiration from the Kung Fu TV series 13:27 - Dimensional travel and contacting entities in lucid dreams 18:39 - Is ‘the West’ equivalent to scientific materialism? 28:53 - Similarities and differences between Andrew’s concert piano training and meditation 32:54 - Lucidity is the natural state 37:07 - Andrew’s profound spiritual opening into rigpa 40:30 - Post-awakening crash 43:19 - Conversion to Buddhism 44:44 - Reasons for leaving Shambala 46:50 - Travels in Asia and connecting to teachers 50:28 - Studies in non-dual Shaiva tantra 51:28 - Why is lineage backing important? 58:48 - Does Andrew have lineage backing? 1:02:53 - Seeing problems in Shambala and deciding to leave 1:07:15 - Andrew’s reflections on abuse by spiritual teachers 1:10:35 - Andrew’s lockdown lucid dreaming guide 1:20:58 - The Night Club 3.0 … To find our more about Andrew Holecek, visit: - https://www.andrewholecek.com/ - https://nightclub.andrewholecek.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James …