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  • Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying

  • An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama
  • By: Francisco J. Varela PhD
  • Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
  • Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (34 ratings)

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Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying

By: Francisco J. Varela PhD
Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
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Summary

This is an absorbing account of a dialogue between leading Western scientists and the foremost representative of Buddhism today, the Dalai Lama of Tibet.

For modern science, the transitional states of consciousness lie at the forefront of research in many fields. For a Buddhist practitioner, these same states present crucial opportunities to explore and transform consciousness itself. This book is the account of a historic dialogue between leading Western scientists and the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Revolving around three key moments of consciousness - sleep, dreams, and death - the conversations recorded here are both engrossing and highly listenable. Whether the topic is lucid dreaming, near-death experiences, or the very structure of consciousness itself, the listener is continually surprised and delighted.

Narrated by Fajer Al-Kaisi, the book begins with insightful remarks on the notion of personal identity by noted philosopher Charles Taylor, author of the acclaimed Sources of Self. This sets the stage for Dr. Jerome Engel, Dr. Joyce MacDougal, and others to engage in extraordinary exchanges with the Dalai Lama on topics ranging from the neurology of sleep to the yoga of dreams.

Remarkable convergences between the Western scientific tradition and the Buddhist contemplative sciences are revealed. Dr. Jayne Gackenbach's discussion of lucid dreaming, for example, prompts a detailed and fascinating response from the Dalai Lama on the manipulation of dreams by Buddhist meditators. The conversations also reveal provocative divergences of opinion, as when the Dalai Lama expresses skepticism about near-death experiences as presented by Joan Halifax. The conversations are engrossing and highly listenable. Any listener interested in psychology, neuroscience, Buddhism, or the alternative worlds of dreams will surely enjoy Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying.

©2002 Mind and Life Institute (P)2016 Audible, Inc.
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What listeners say about Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying

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Fascinating subject

Great subject and lots of good and interesting information however, quite hard to get through because the information is poorly put together. Most of the really interesting parts were at the end, and required a lot of concentration to get there.

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Fascinating and very engaging

Being passionate about these topics and research, and also working in the field of therapy and mental health, made this book very engaging and fascinating for me.

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A stimulating audiobook

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook for the most part. There was quite a bit I didn't fully understand but that's spurred me on to learn more about meditation and Buddhism.

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Real philosophical

This is a philosophy book! The concepts are universal in the context they need to to be considered. Star trek next generation!

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an interesting collaboration

Although the book did not have much character in the way in which it was narrated the content itself was very interesting and kept me listening.

anyone who is interested in theories around sleep or neurology I think would enjoy listening to this book as I did.

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Phenomenal

An absolute must read! I already want to start it over and keep listening. Endless amounts of information and concepts to research and consider.

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An invitation to continue investigating and questioning

A rich and dense meeting of the Western scientific and Buddhist traditions in the topics of dreams and death.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Bad accent made me return audiobook

This is a fascinating book and was read well by the narrator until he switched accents. If it was supposed to be an English accent then it was a poor impression. There were times when it sounded cockney, welsh and Irish, to be honest I couldn’t really tell what accent he was going for. It was so distracting that I decided to return the book and by the physical book as I couldn’t listen anymore to this narrator. Had he read the whole book in his normal accent it would have been fine as he read well and had a nice voice.

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1 person found this helpful