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This retreat provides an overview of the central themes of the 42-hour training program called "Cultivating Emotional Balance" devised by the eminent psychologist Paul Ekman, Ph.D. and B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. at the request of HH the Dalai Lama. Focusing on both theory and practice, Alan Wallace explains four aspects of mental balance: conative, attentional, cognitive, and emotional. Conative balance has to do with cultivating meaningful desires and aspirations that truly contribute to one's own and others' wellbeing. Attentional balance focuses on overcoming attention deficit and hyperactivity, replacing these imbalances with a sense of inner calm, centeredness, and clarity. Cognitive balance is achieved through the cultivation of mindfulness so that we can experience the world without cognitive distortions. Finally, emotional balance maybe achieved through enhancing the positive emotions of loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity while bringing afflictive emotional states under control through understanding and meditation. The weekend included guided meditations, lectures and open discussion. This audio stream/download via Dropbox (no account is needed), chronicles the weekend retreat held in Santa Barba's historical Old Mission from Feb 3rd-5th, 2012. Available on DVD, or Audio Stream/download. Select the type of media that you want. The DVD will be shipped via the US Postal Service. The audio files will be downloadable - you will receive an email with details.
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Retreat Title: Lucid Dreaming and Dream Yoga September 18-25, 2018 Sponsored by Garrison Institute, New York Audio Stream and DownloadModern scientific research into lucid dreaming draws a sharp distinction between the waking state and dreaming, and it has developed practical methods for inducing lucidity, namely, recognizing that we are dreaming while we are dreaming.The ancient Buddhist contemplative tradition of dream yoga points out deep similarities between the waking state and dreaming, encouraging us to become lucid at all times. To fully awaken to the nature of experience is to be a Buddha, an “Awakened One,” and that is the ultimate aim of dream yoga.During this retreat, Alan Wallace will discuss the relation between lucid dreaming and dream yoga, including areas of complementarity and divergence. In addition, we will engage in the daytime and nighttime practices of dream yoga, interspersed with times for discussion.You may select either the digital download files (you will receive an email with download links) or the MP3 CD discs. These will be delivered via USPS mail.