I'm Mindful; Now What?

Advancing your meditation practice with Andrew Holecek

More often than I can count, I have conversations with students asking me what’s next in their meditation practice, how to go deeper, or how to feel better in the toughest of times… and today, I am delighted to share a powerful conversation offering a few answers to these complex questions.

Andrew Holecek is a returning guest to the podcast, as well as a renowned author and humanitarian who teaches internationally on spirituality, meditation, lucid dreaming, and the art of dying. His many books include Reverse Meditation and Dream Yoga. And now, he has a new book out -

This book, and our discussion today, reveals how the form of mindfulness many of us know is merely one thread in a much older, greater tapestry of contemplative practice. For anyone who has sensed the potential for something much deeper and more profound - this conversation is for YOU.

Andrew and I talk about:

- Bringing meditation off the cushion and into our day-to-day experiences
- Practices that move beyond simply “calming down”
- The near enemies of practice, which include spiritual bypassing, spiritual materialism and the tricky distinction between tranquility and liberation.
- Waking up vs. growing up
-Five nocturnal meditation practices, the value of the dream state, and the magic of liminality.
- Lastly and most importantly, we talk about why these practices matter when the world is on fire.

At the end, Andrew shares a guided meditation that he does every morning to start off his day. Join me for this inspiring conversation and practice.

And listeners, I need to know - should I have Andrew come back to tell us more about these dream practices?!?

There is so much richness in this conversation; here is a breakout of some of the key moments:

01:32 The Five-Year Retreat Experience
04:42 Beyond Mindfulness: Deeper Practices
06:54 Shamatha and Vipashyana Explained
12:18 The Importance of Waking Down
15:48 Therapeutic and Somatic Support
18:32 Traps on the Meditative Path
24:16 Waking Up vs. Growing Up
26:48 Nocturnal Meditations
27:16 The Importance of Dreams
27:34 Polyphasic vs. Monophasic Cultures
28:16 Ego and Altered States of Consciousness
29:06 The Three-Dimensional View of Reality
31:00 The Five Nocturnal Practices
32:51 Exploring Liminal Dreaming
34:14 The Science Behind Liminal Dreaming
35:23 Observational Intent and Thought Image Amalgamation
36:37 Deconstructing the Sense of Self
42:56 The Collective Mind and Quantum Entanglement
48:44 Guided Meditation Practice

**Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support of this episode.

Mini Meditation: Morning Check-In

by Andrew Holecek

Grab your journal, get comfy, and join us!

Bonus: Reverse Meditation

Last year, I had the opportunity to talk with Andrew about his previous book, Reverse Meditation. It is my most-watched episode of the podcast ever; have you seen it yet?

*all of the content shared in my podcasts, newsletters & meditations is written by me {Meryl Arnett}. If you catch a mistake or typo, I hope it makes you smile knowing a real person is behind every word published 💛