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Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming
A world-renowned expert in lucid dreaming and Tibetan dream yoga guides us into the tradition’s daytime practices, a complement to the nighttime practices taught in his previous book Dream Yoga.
Most of us are absolutely certain that we’re awake here and now—it’s a given, right? Yet, according to Tibet’s dream yoga tradition, ordinary waking life is no more real than the illusions of our nightly dreams.
In his previous book Dream Yoga, Andrew Holecek guided us into Tibetan Buddhism’s nocturnal path of lucid dreaming and other dimensions of sleeping consciousness. Now, with Dreams of Light, he offers us an in-depth, step-by-step guide to its daytime practices.
Known as the “illusory form” practices, these teachings include insights, meditations, and actions to help us realize the dreamlike nature of our lives. Through an immersive exploration of the tradition, beginners and seasoned practitioners alike will learn everything they need to deeply transform both their sleeping and waking hours.
“If you’ve struggled to awaken in your dreams,” teaches Holecek, “these techniques will often spark spontaneous lucidity during sleep. And if you’re already a successful lucid dreamer, they will open you to new depths of experience throughout your day.”
For those wishing to explore Tibetan Buddhism’s profound path for awakening to the true nature of reality—day or night—Dreams of Light shows us the way.
Most of us are absolutely certain that we’re awake here and now—it’s a given, right? Yet, according to Tibet’s dream yoga tradition, ordinary waking life is no more real than the illusions of our nightly dreams.
In his previous book Dream Yoga, Andrew Holecek guided us into Tibetan Buddhism’s nocturnal path of lucid dreaming and other dimensions of sleeping consciousness. Now, with Dreams of Light, he offers us an in-depth, step-by-step guide to its daytime practices.
Known as the “illusory form” practices, these teachings include insights, meditations, and actions to help us realize the dreamlike nature of our lives. Through an immersive exploration of the tradition, beginners and seasoned practitioners alike will learn everything they need to deeply transform both their sleeping and waking hours.
“If you’ve struggled to awaken in your dreams,” teaches Holecek, “these techniques will often spark spontaneous lucidity during sleep. And if you’re already a successful lucid dreamer, they will open you to new depths of experience throughout your day.”
For those wishing to explore Tibetan Buddhism’s profound path for awakening to the true nature of reality—day or night—Dreams of Light shows us the way.
323 pages, Paperback
Published August 18, 2020
120 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Holecek
16 books120 followersAndrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and offers seminars internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and death.
His work has appeared in Parobla, Shambhala Sun, Tricycle, Utne Reader, and other periodicals. He is the author of The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy; Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Perspective; Meditation in the iGeneration; How to Meditate in a World of Speed and Stress, and the audio learning course Dream Yoga: The Tibetan Path of Awakening Through Lucid Dreaming.
Andrew holds degrees in classical music, physics, and a doctorate in dental surgery. He lives in Lafayette, Colorado.
He is also the co-founder of Global Dental Relief, and travels each year to India and Nepal to provide free care to impoverished children. http://globaldentalrelief.org/
His work has appeared in Parobla, Shambhala Sun, Tricycle, Utne Reader, and other periodicals. He is the author of The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy; Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Perspective; Meditation in the iGeneration; How to Meditate in a World of Speed and Stress, and the audio learning course Dream Yoga: The Tibetan Path of Awakening Through Lucid Dreaming.
Andrew holds degrees in classical music, physics, and a doctorate in dental surgery. He lives in Lafayette, Colorado.
He is also the co-founder of Global Dental Relief, and travels each year to India and Nepal to provide free care to impoverished children. http://globaldentalrelief.org/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 22, 2020
Holecek serves as a master mapmaker, master explorer of internal terrains, and master guide. Dream Yoga, Holecek's previous offering, is a book of mine that has multiple sheets of notes; penciled-in lines; a thoroughly examined bibliography. I believe Dreams of Light will collect extra reading time over the years too.
When examining the journey I took with this book (quite literally, reading and listening while on walks or seated at various locations in and out of the house), specific passages reappear in memory.
I am walking in a field behind my neighborhood, tall grasses and barbed wire fences to climb, headphones on... I hear the phrase from Part I - Deconstructing the Sense of Self, "change the way you think about things and you will change the way you see them. It's a change that changes everything" ... this can seem a common enough cliche, but with Holecek's written guidance, it CAN change everything.
I listen and read Part II - Manifesting Clear-Light Mind while waiting for car to be repaired. I travel behind the business and find a patch of woods, lay upon a hidden concrete space and take notes on having no head.
I read Part III - Finding Support in Science: The Illusion of Externality and recite baffling facts to my six-year-old in between his virtual schooling. I begin to see my child as Saunder's depicts in Lincoln in the Bardo, as an unfixed, unstable being in constant flux. "Had he not looked this way at birth, that way at four, another way at seven, been made entirely new at nine? He had never stayed the same, even instant to instant."
This book leads the reader into the practice of illusory form. The goal is simple: see the world differently, as dream-like. The practice is a way of life and, if you reach the point in which it does change everything, you will carry forth this profound experience into all other experiences. Then the phrase lucid dreaming while awake will make sense.
When examining the journey I took with this book (quite literally, reading and listening while on walks or seated at various locations in and out of the house), specific passages reappear in memory.
I am walking in a field behind my neighborhood, tall grasses and barbed wire fences to climb, headphones on... I hear the phrase from Part I - Deconstructing the Sense of Self, "change the way you think about things and you will change the way you see them. It's a change that changes everything" ... this can seem a common enough cliche, but with Holecek's written guidance, it CAN change everything.
I listen and read Part II - Manifesting Clear-Light Mind while waiting for car to be repaired. I travel behind the business and find a patch of woods, lay upon a hidden concrete space and take notes on having no head.
I read Part III - Finding Support in Science: The Illusion of Externality and recite baffling facts to my six-year-old in between his virtual schooling. I begin to see my child as Saunder's depicts in Lincoln in the Bardo, as an unfixed, unstable being in constant flux. "Had he not looked this way at birth, that way at four, another way at seven, been made entirely new at nine? He had never stayed the same, even instant to instant."
This book leads the reader into the practice of illusory form. The goal is simple: see the world differently, as dream-like. The practice is a way of life and, if you reach the point in which it does change everything, you will carry forth this profound experience into all other experiences. Then the phrase lucid dreaming while awake will make sense.
March 6, 2021
I'm not sure what to say here, other than maybe "this wasn't in my top ten or so favorite Buddhist-adjacent books." It didn't offer enough practical meditative tips to be of much use as a practice guide. The back half of the book describing scientific reasons why our perceived reality is a poor fit to genuine was old hat to me given that I studied a lot of cognitive science in college.
I think this book was recommended to me as similar to Burbea's "Seeing That Frees," which is IMO a masterpiece. Comparing, I found this book much less useful for connecting to emptiness, while also being a lot heavier on the "woo-woo."
I won't say I got nothing out of it, but I wanted it to be better. 2.75 stars?
I think this book was recommended to me as similar to Burbea's "Seeing That Frees," which is IMO a masterpiece. Comparing, I found this book much less useful for connecting to emptiness, while also being a lot heavier on the "woo-woo."
I won't say I got nothing out of it, but I wanted it to be better. 2.75 stars?
December 15, 2021
Not feeling this audiobook.
October 14, 2025
If you’ve already read Dream Yoga and Preparing to Die by the same author, I doubt you’ll find something new here.
June 18, 2020
Dreams of Light is a book about the daytime practice of illusory form and introduces material that is meant to compliment the practices the author, Andrew Holecek explains in his book, Dream Yoga. In Dreams of Light Holecek who is an expert on Tibetan dream yoga argues for the benefits of learning to live a daytime life of dreaming lucidly through a type of meditation called Illusory Form. Most of the book explains the philosophical underpinnings of the practice. I’m a person who learns best by doing, but I was pleased to learn that lucid dreams are the natural form of dreaming and it was interesting to find that recognizing the illusory world comes from clear light mind which is the deepest dimension of our being. As I read, I took notes, my favorite one being “Spiritual experiences are like licking honey off a razor blade.” According to Holecek, they feel so good we want to hang onto them, but it is not helpful to us to try to do so. This would be good practice-deepening book for Tibetan Buddhists and those interested in learning about Tibetan Buddhism or meditation practices. Reading this book helped me to stretch my understanding of the lucid dreams I’ve had since childhood by helping me to see they could be a more integrated and deliberate part of my spiritual life.
August 18, 2020
Lucid Dreaming, Daytime Practices
This is a surprisingly deep and complex book that offers insight and instruction about how to do lucid dreaming in the daytime. The author states that it is an expansion of his previous work, Dream Yoga, and I think the reader would probably be best served by starting with that book rather than jumping straight to this one. The book is divided into three sections: deconstructing the sense of self, manifesting clear-light mind, and finding support in science. This is not an easy read by any means you want to measure that, but I found this deep dive into “illusory” lucid dreaming to be a fascinating one. If you're interested in different types of metaphysical practices, this book will shed light—pun intended—on how to incorporate lucid dreaming more deeply into your life.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
This is a surprisingly deep and complex book that offers insight and instruction about how to do lucid dreaming in the daytime. The author states that it is an expansion of his previous work, Dream Yoga, and I think the reader would probably be best served by starting with that book rather than jumping straight to this one. The book is divided into three sections: deconstructing the sense of self, manifesting clear-light mind, and finding support in science. This is not an easy read by any means you want to measure that, but I found this deep dive into “illusory” lucid dreaming to be a fascinating one. If you're interested in different types of metaphysical practices, this book will shed light—pun intended—on how to incorporate lucid dreaming more deeply into your life.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
August 15, 2020
This is an interesting book about lucid dreaming. This is not a topic I typically read about but I was intrigued.
Since it is more of a reference book, it is not really geared towards an introduction to the topic, but more of an in depth study. I was very interesting, but I would probably need to read it more than once to fully grasp all of the concepts introduced in the book.
I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.
Since it is more of a reference book, it is not really geared towards an introduction to the topic, but more of an in depth study. I was very interesting, but I would probably need to read it more than once to fully grasp all of the concepts introduced in the book.
I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.
August 12, 2023
- Really interesting content, but lacks structure
- Holececk never really discusses lucid dreaming itself, and just discusses lucidity in a spiritual context.
- Holececk never really discusses lucid dreaming itself, and just discusses lucidity in a spiritual context.
November 4, 2022
For those who find the exploration of the nature of existence and reality a worthwhile pursuit, this is a terrific book, well written and researched. The 2nd in Holecek’s “Dream Trilogy”, Dreams of Light focuses on our experiences in our waking hours and as such is a direct exploration of our experience, awareness and consciousness during our “awake” life. You don’t have to be interested in dream yoga or lucid dreaming to find this a compelling informative read. I’m more curious now but dream practices have never been much of an interest to me. Instead, Holecek dives into the worlds of Buddhism, especially the wisdom practices that revolve around “emptiness” as well as research in neuroscience, physics and psychology that focus on topics such as perception, cognition consciousness. Excellent read.
October 11, 2025
Andrew is a word magician. He consistently weaves concepts into my mind that actually make sense. Dreams of Light is no exception.
The practice of illusory form has been transformational for me; an “everything has changed yet nothing is different” kind of shift. This book beautifully articulates what I’ve been unconsciously striving toward… which, as Andrew points out, is itself a paradox. Who is striving? Its just the ego’s subtle grasping, trying to cling to the taste of liberation.
The real practice, for me, has become letting it all go... a complete surrender to what is.
The final section on gratitude touched me deeply. It mirrors my own experience: a profound thankfulness for existence itself, for the sheer beauty of being, just as it is. I feel so lucky to be here... awake, surrendered, and practicing these teachings.
The practice of illusory form has been transformational for me; an “everything has changed yet nothing is different” kind of shift. This book beautifully articulates what I’ve been unconsciously striving toward… which, as Andrew points out, is itself a paradox. Who is striving? Its just the ego’s subtle grasping, trying to cling to the taste of liberation.
The real practice, for me, has become letting it all go... a complete surrender to what is.
The final section on gratitude touched me deeply. It mirrors my own experience: a profound thankfulness for existence itself, for the sheer beauty of being, just as it is. I feel so lucky to be here... awake, surrendered, and practicing these teachings.
September 14, 2021
I became interested in the continuum of consciousness between being awake, sleeping, lucid dreaming, and how Buddhist philosophy views this.
This book is instructive in this regard with a small amount of woo-woo, but also devotes half to to related science, this is where it was most interesting.
This book is instructive in this regard with a small amount of woo-woo, but also devotes half to to related science, this is where it was most interesting.
We do not perceive empirical objects in a completely realistic, pre-given fashion; but rather structures of the knowing subject impart various characteristics to the known object that then appear to belong to the object—but really don’t; they are, rather, co-creations of the knowing subject. . . . Reality is not a perception, but a conception; at least in part. Ontology per se just does not exist.”
August 9, 2022
Andrew Holecek has had an extraordinary path, very committed to his practice and path of personal development, I recognize him as an invaluable source of true knowledge that he makes accessible to all, so I am grateful and I recommend his book totally.
In my 20´s I had several spontaneous experiences of lucid dreams, and it was thanks to a school of development of consciousness where I met Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practices, I was amazed at its depth and resonated with my soul.
In my 20´s I had several spontaneous experiences of lucid dreams, and it was thanks to a school of development of consciousness where I met Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practices, I was amazed at its depth and resonated with my soul.
May 4, 2024
Life changing.
My first real book on the practice of illusory form, and lucid waking. This book confirmed my many lifelong suspicions of the dreamlike quality of physical reality. It’s the first book I’ve encountered that said it plainly: “This is a dream.” I was familiar with de-reification practices before reading this book, but I’d never been confident enough to apply it to dream and sleep until reading about it from Holecek.
My first real book on the practice of illusory form, and lucid waking. This book confirmed my many lifelong suspicions of the dreamlike quality of physical reality. It’s the first book I’ve encountered that said it plainly: “This is a dream.” I was familiar with de-reification practices before reading this book, but I’d never been confident enough to apply it to dream and sleep until reading about it from Holecek.
January 1, 2023
This book does an excellent job of explaining the Buddhist concept of emptiness in clear while steering clear of obscurantism. It also explains how the current of state of knowledge in cognitive science and physics confirms or complements Buddhist understanding of mind. I wouldn't recommend this for readers without some initial exposure to Buddhist concepts, as it assumes some familiarity.
April 9, 2023
Game changer book for me
The right mixture deep Buddhist psychology and philosophy with Western science - convincing and many levels.
I followed the authors advice and read only one chapter a day giving myself time to integrate the profound lessons and indeed I was Inspired and deeply moved By this book.
The right mixture deep Buddhist psychology and philosophy with Western science - convincing and many levels.
I followed the authors advice and read only one chapter a day giving myself time to integrate the profound lessons and indeed I was Inspired and deeply moved By this book.
February 28, 2024
Andrew teaches fearlessness
In teaching us to see the dream as a dream Andrew is showing us how to relax our deepest fears. I will read this book again. Andrew's kindness and care come through the words as he gently encourages us to relax our fears and see the illusionary nature of everything.
In teaching us to see the dream as a dream Andrew is showing us how to relax our deepest fears. I will read this book again. Andrew's kindness and care come through the words as he gently encourages us to relax our fears and see the illusionary nature of everything.
September 3, 2025
I am not sure what I expected from this book. But the word practice is in the subtitle. There really are no practices in this book. It is an exploration of emptiness, no self, and the evils of the ego. These are concepts that have always been a little hard for me to grasp, especially with no practices.
May 7, 2021
A must read
This book is a gift! It opens the door to understanding the Buddhist teachings on emptiness. At each turn of the page there were practical ways of cutting through ratification of self and our world views.
This book is a gift! It opens the door to understanding the Buddhist teachings on emptiness. At each turn of the page there were practical ways of cutting through ratification of self and our world views.
May 12, 2022
10/10 would recommend. This is not for the faint of heart though. If you have no willingness to receive introduction teachings on emptiness/Buddhism from a western point of view this is not for you. If you enjoy this definitely read the author's dream yoga book.
August 31, 2020
If you’ve received pointing out instructions from a Lama, this could be a further ripening of them. If you haven’t, perhaps now you have. Really, a must read!
September 6, 2020
Excellent book and well written
A real mind-bender. So much to consider about reality. Definitely going to read this one again and again. Powerful information that is well sourced.
A real mind-bender. So much to consider about reality. Definitely going to read this one again and again. Powerful information that is well sourced.
December 22, 2020
Brilliant writing makes deep Buddhist teachings accessible.
June 30, 2021
I liked it, found it provocative. Very deep so progress was slow. Appreciated going through it with the author.
December 11, 2022
Deeper than I expected. I thought this would mind bend me into lucid dreams but it is more of a philosophical reality mind bend whereas you create lucidity in all of your experiences. 💫💖
August 11, 2023
Excellent balance of scientific and spiritual perspectives.
November 1, 2023
Andrew Holecek is a huge inspiration wow, I borrowed this from the library but loved it so much I’m going to have to buy it and read it again. Will read everything Andrew writes, I love his style!!
April 17, 2025
Finishes Dreams of Light. Immediately restarts Dream Yoga
Andrew,
This is a top 5 book I have ever read. Shhhhh “Phet!”
Andrew,
This is a top 5 book I have ever read. Shhhhh “Phet!”
July 18, 2025
I got my first lucid dream the day I read this book, it was for a few seconds in afternoon nap but I was blown away
March 6, 2021
Rereading this book I continue to be surprised and engaged as if it were the first time. I think this is part of the profundity of a good dharma book.
September 29, 2021
Loved it. Going to start over at the beginning and actually hopefully start practicing the techniques.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews