About the Retreat
This 10-day immersion retreat offers a transformative and powerful transmission of Dream Yoga rooted in the luminous wisdom of Dzogchen.
Led by Lama Michael Gregory, this retreat guides participants beyond ordinary dreamwork. Dream Yoga is not merely about lucid dreaming. It is a method of awakening.
The retreat will offer profound yogic training that reveals the illusory nature of both waking and dreaming, helping the practitioner to pierce through duality and rest in the radiant clarity of awareness itself.
Through the integration of day and night practices, participants will explore the seamless flow of awareness from waking consciousness to the dream state, and into the deeper currents of the clear light mind, the very ground of being.
The Yogic Crossing: Day and Night Lucidity
At the heart of this retreat is the direct introduction to awareness recognizing awareness. Lama Michael will offer guidance in how to rest in open awareness before sleep, and how to cross the threshold between day and night without losing lucidity.
“Rigpa is the self-knowing awareness, primordially pure and spontaneously present. The aware crossing is marked when the yogi recognizes the arising visions, sounds, and sensations as the display of awareness, not as external objects. The yogi relaxes into the experience without grasping or following appearances. The awareness continues as non-dual presence, beyond watcher and watched.”
Longchenpa describes this moment of realization as:
“Awareness recognizing awareness, free from grasping, like a child gazing into space.”
Each evening, participants will be invited to rest in open presence and set the aspiration:
“May I recognize the clear light of awareness as I pass through the threshold of sleep.”
This practice lays the foundation for clear light recognition, lucid dreaming, and the spontaneous arising of visionary experience associated with Thögal and Dream Yoga practice.
What You Will Learn and Practice
- Foundations of Dream Yoga from both classical and experiential traditions
- The Four Yogas of Lucid Dreaming and how they unfold on the path of awakening
- Resting in Rigpa before sleep: developing the lucid base
- Integration of daily awareness to strengthen night-time lucidity
- Practices for the hypnagogic state: how to remain present as imagery arises
- Illusion-like contemplation during the day to reveal emptiness
- The clear light mind and its appearance during sleep, death, and deep meditation
Key Themes of the Retreat
- Dream and Illusion: Understanding the nature of both waking and dream states as equally empty and luminous.
- Lucid Dreaming as Practice: Instructions for becoming lucid in dreams and using the dream state as a vehicle for liberation.
- Daytime Practices for Nighttime Clarity: How to prepare the mind during the day to awaken within dreams.
- The Seamless Flow of Awareness: Training in a non-dual view where there is no separation between day and night, waking and dreaming, meditation and life.
- Letting Go of the Dreamer: Penetrating teachings on identity and self-construction—both in the dream and waking state.
- Practices of Dissolution and Clear Light: Advanced teachings from the Dzogchen and Mahamudra lineages on the nature of mind at the moment of sleep, death, and awakening.
Retreat Format
- Daily Schedule: Four sessions per day, including teachings, guided meditations, and silent practice periods.
- Live Online + In-Person: Attend in person at Quiet Mind Retreat Center or join via Zoom.
- Recordings Provided: All sessions are recorded and available for later viewing for registered participants.
- Optional Noble Silence: Encouraged during personal practice times to support deep inner retreat.
Who This Retreat Is For:
- Both new and experienced students of meditation, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen.
- Those interested in the path of Dream Yoga and lucid dreaming as a gateway to awakening.
- Practitioners seeking deeper integration between formal meditation and everyday life.
Anyone ready to investigate the nature of identity, illusion, and freedom in a committed retreat setting.
In Person or Zoom Attendance:
This year's retreat uniquely caters to both in-person and virtual attendees, ensuring accessibility and flexibility for participants worldwide. In-person attendance at our serene retreat center in San Diego offers an immersive experience, where participants can live and breathe the teachings in a supportive community setting, enjoy three vegetarian meals a day and be surrounded by natural beauty. This option allows for the opportunity for practice solitude and the supporting Lamas, fostering a deeply personal and enriching journey of meditation and self-discovery.
Conversely, the Zoom attendance option opens the retreat to those who may not be able to travel, providing a way to participate fully from the comfort of their own home. This virtual attendance includes live sessions, daily recordings accessible across different time zones, and the same level of engagement with the teachings and meditation practices. Both formats are designed to ensure that no matter where you are, you can access these profound teachings and support, making the transformative power of meditation more accessible than ever.
