Dr. Miles Neale, PsyD, is a Buddhist psychotherapist in private practice and founder of the two-year online Contemplative Studies Program. Author of Gradual Awakening (Sounds True, 2018) and co-editor of Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy (Routledge, 2017), Miles is a faculty member of Tibet House (US) and Weill Cornell Medical College. With more than twenty years integrating the mind science and meditative practices of Tibetan Buddhism with psychotherapy, trauma research, and neuroscience, Miles is a forerunner in the emerging field of contemplative psychotherapy and leads pilgrimages around the Buddhist world.

Websites:

milesneale.com

2 Year Online Contemplative Studies Program

Audio course: The Gradual Path - Tibetan Buddhist Meditations for Becoming Fully Human

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded September 28, 2019

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump

00:05:02 - Integration and gradual progression of consciousness

00:09:59 - Expanding Circumference of Concern

00:14:57 - The Journey to Unity Consciousness

00:19:36 - The Certs commercials and the importance of multidimensionality

00:28:42 - What was being removed from meditation practices

00:33:23 - Transforming the Collective Consciousness

00:37:55 - The Fear of Hedonism and Nihilism

00:42:28 - The Importance of Systematic Teaching in the Lam Rim

00:46:55 - The Purification of the Nervous System and Release of Samskaras

00:51:36 - The Power of the Mantra and Settling the Mind

00:55:47 - The Divide between Spiritual Life and Personal Predicaments

01:00:35 - Addressing Trauma in Spiritual Communities

01:04:56 - Unconditioning from Cult-like Thinking

01:08:59 - Trusting Your Intuition and Sense of Self

01:12:16 - Trauma-Informed Dharma: Empowering People

01:15:47 - The Pitfalls of Science Turning into Dogma

01:20:00 - Authority Figures and Self-Confidence

01:24:35 - Removing Deep Rooted Imprints without Meditation

01:29:13 - Processing Trauma Memories

01:33:42 - The Limits of Yogifying Trauma

01:38:19 - Accessing Alternative News Content

01:42:46 - Reconciling Paradoxes: The Brahman Perspective

01:47:16 - The Importance of Multiplicity of Views and the Teachings of Emptiness

01:51:18 - The Resurgence of Psychedelics and Expansion of Consciousness

01:55:40 - The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern Age

01:59:15 - The Power of Immersion and Pilgrimage

02:03:36 - An Integrative Curriculum for Personal Growth

02:07:33 - Bringing Spiritual Knowledge into Life

02:11:20 - Concluding Remarks