Buddhist Psychology Meditation Retreat!
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The
members of the Buddhist Psychology Studies sangha have been asking for
a meditation retreat. It is here! And it is open to anyone who would
like to spend a day meditating with our sangha. Join us!
The next one is
December 9, 2007.Click here to find out more!
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Women's Studies Workshops
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These workshops have a special focus on the women's experience.
Moon Lodge: Women's Spirituality takes a look at the paths of initiatory experience a woman's biology can open for her.
Tracking Spirit in the Birth Environment is specifically designed to provide valuable tools for birth professionals and mothers.
Mothering provides perspectives on the nature of the role of mother - and our relationship to that role as we mother or are mothered.
Click here for more details.
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| Note from the General Manager |
 Welcome
to our last newsletter of 2007. The year is far from over as we
have several classes and events still to come. The first
annual Winter Meditation Retreat will be taking place on December
9th. Also, we have several free teleclasses on the horizon, and
most exciting of all, we are bringing the Ask Isa column to our
teleclass forum. Just sign up for the Ask Isa Q & A
and you can call in and ask Isa questions on dreams, relationships,
Buddhism, Depth Hypnosis, shamanism, energy medicine, and more.
The first one is scheduled for November 28th.
In this
edition of the newsletter you'll find an inspiring journey, a
motivating article on birthing, and a discussion of the relationship of
women's physiology and spirituality in Isa's column. Our featured
practitioner offers a new twist on an old theme, and I've branched way
out of my usual comfort zone and have reviewed a popular diet
book! We have many great things to come in 2008, and look forward
to seeing you in Hawaii, Mesa Verde, or one of the many classes and events we will be offering.
Wishing you all a peaceful and healthy holiday season.
Laura Chandler, CHT
General Manager
Foundation of the Sacred Stream
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Featured Practitioner: Eliot Nemzer
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I
received my certification as a Hypnotherapist in Depth Hypnosis in 2000
after taking the first Depth Hypnosis class that Isa taught. I
took the class two more times, just to make sure I got it right.
I started practicing Depth Hypnosis with clients in San Francisco, and
continue now in Santa Cruz, CA, where my family moved in 2004.
My
wife Kristin and I are raising our youngest 3 children in a manner
which we call tag team parenting. It works well when we don't
need to talk to each other, but lacks in the personal time it affords
us. We find ourselves scheduling dates and meetings to see each
other (late at night doesn't cut it).
In
the meanwhile, I've been able to pursue a variety of my interests as
vocations. In addition to my Hypnotherapy practice, I've been a
professional musician for 25 years, and a self defense trainer for
15. I teach music in a school as well as privately, and give
weekend self defense trainings a few times per year now.
The
balancing point to all this is in the pursuit of insight. Music
has always been the most fulfilling way I gain insight and connection
to myself, and has greatly supported my spiritual life. An
example of the threads of commonality that weave together music and
hypnotherapy (as we practice it in the Depth Hypnosis model) is the
processes of channeling and opening to information. And it's a
hop, skip and a jump to the experience I have "mugging" fights as a
self defense trainer, getting up close and personal with characters and
energies that are hovering around in the context of someone's personal
transformation.
As a
self defense trainer, I've acquired tools and skills to give people an
opportunity to face a situation that their bodies believe to be life or
death. Being good at the job I do means being able to create
improvised characters that so physically and emotionally threaten my
students that they experience the habitual, physiological reaction to
the possibility of imminent violence as well as the space to make a new
choice about dealing with it. By connecting deeply with their
physical power as well as to their fighting spirit, each student finds
new choices in how they respond to potentially violent (mock)
scenarios. Once they know how to fight, and that they can be
successful, they are able to stand in congruence (alignment with their
life energy) to face this type of stress.
I
keep my focus on my clients' positive intentions in my Depth Hypnosis
practice. Whether they are dealing with addiction, depression,
salvaging a relationship, sexual dysfunction or any other issue, I help
them connect to and strengthen what is right about them. I have
an understanding that as human beings we all share some "sameness",
common experiences that help us to connect to one another. I
believe we all have a "calling" or a vocation to nurture and steward
throughout our lives. When we resist the movement of our lives
towards that calling, we disconnect from our life energy and develop
all manner of pain, disease and suffering. When we are respectful
of the longings and dreams that carry us through our lives, we
experience the greatest degree of alignment with our life source,
health, power, creativity, wisdom and compassion.
Eliot Nemzer, CH
Phone: 831.345.7780
Email: info@eliotnemzer.com
Web: www.eliotnemzer.com |
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Journey On It: "Walking in the Light" by Benjamin F. Sims
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The
journeys presented in this column are offered from a place of teaching
and service. The material that comes through a journey is considered to
be sacred, and in traditional settings, the journeyer generally will
only share the content in a particular context, as in teaching, sharing
a vision, or for the purposes of healing. Our purpose in offering this
column is to create a forum, like those created in our classes, where
people engaged in a shamanic journey practice may deepen their work
with the journey, and their understanding of the journey as a tool for
healing. The journeys shared here are offerings meant to shed light on
the reader's own process. We invite you to contribute a journey, or
simple receive the journeys in the sacred manner in which they are
intended. To submit a journey for consideration, please email Laura
Chandler at laura@sacredstream.org
At
first I couldn't find the tube! I sloshed around in some
substance that felt sticky and wet - finally, the tube, I found it and
down I went. Down, down, down, suddenly I splashed into the
clearest bluest water that I have ever seen! I could see pretty
orange and gold fish in the water, and suddenly realized that I was out
in the vast ocean and no land in sight! My conscious mind was
afraid. It is conditioned to the physical world and physical
laws. And it knows that we cannot swim in the vast ocean for
long. I also realized that the conscious mind couldn't tell a
real event from one that is vividly imagined, specifically one that is
visualized in color instead of the normal black and white. I had
to constantly remind the conscious mind that this is the "inner-world,"
and here I had total control over everything!
The
rhythm continued to drive me deeper and deeper. Suddenly, I saw a
splash of water about 20 feet away, I squinted my inner eyes to see
more clearly, what could it be? Then more splashes - something
was coming, but what? I dove under the clear blue water and saw
with my inner eyes huge fish swimming in my direction. I heard my
conscious mind say "let's get the hell out-a-here." Then, just
when I was going to turn tail and run and end this meditation, I saw
that they were friendly Dolphins. It was maybe 8 or 9, mostly
gray with white stripes on top of their heads. One jumped in the
air and stood straight up and did a dance. I laughed, and an
image of "Flipper" popped in my head. They licked me and made
laughing sounds and happily jumped all around me. I laughed so
hard my side hurt. They swam east and I followed them. I
was surprised that I could swim as fast as the dolphins. I could
even breathe underwater! One of the dolphins projected a ball of
heavenly shimmering white and golden light all around me, and it
wrapped me in "liquid love." We jumped and played in the vast
ocean like long lost brothers. I still saw no land at all, but I
didn't care. I just loved these dolphins and never wanted to
leave. We raced to see who was the fastest, and I found that I
not only could keep up with the dolphins but I WAS FASTER THAN ANY
DOLPHIN!
Then I heard
the most beautiful melody coming from above. The dolphins all
looked up and I looked up too. Then I said, "Oh, my god" Doves!
Hundreds and hundreds of beautiful white Doves flying above me.
The sun shown brightly in the clear blue skies. The beautiful
sparkling waters filled with Whales and Dolphins all singing in harmony
to the drum's beat. They sang a song called "I Am" and for the
first time in years, I cried. The
Doves flew east, and my new friends, the Whales and Dolphins each took
turns riding me on their backs and following the Doves. Suddenly
I saw land. The "I Am" Song grew louder and louder. I saw
elephants, lions, tigers and leopards signing in union.
On
land I met my spirit animal teacher. It was black and brown and
about 85 lbs. It called itself "High Self." It had large
loving eyes, filled with peace and love. It wanted me to project
my consciousness inside it and become "ONE" with it. Suddenly I
found myself inside this incredible leopard. I could feel its
strength and power. I was amazed at its incredible speed and
endurance. The leopard had an intense oneness with nature; it
didn't see its self as separate, but a part of the whole. It is
unselfish and very caring and it loved me like my own parents.
Then I heard the drum beat change and I knew it was time to go.
The
leopard asked me to tell those around me about us WITHIN. I
nodded okay but the reality is if I told people a story like this, the
men in the white coats would soon be coming to get me. I decided
to never tell anybody not even my closest friend. I would rather
be a free man than locked in the hospital. I
opened my eyes and found myself back in the room. The instructor
started asking students about their journey. I knew she would
soon ask me. What was I going to do? Before I could make a
plan, she turned to me. My first thought was to start lying real
quick, but the truth rolled off my tongue before any lie could be
thought of. Nothing but good came from it. All the students
wanted to hear more and more and for days people wanted to hear about
my awakening and I was encouraged to put my experience on paper for the
world to see. This is MY story; I hope that all those who have
read this have walked in the light along with me.
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"Depth Hypnosis and Birthing: The Transformative Opportunity of Pregnancy and Birth" By Catherine Brockenborough
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 During
pregnancy and birth, mother and baby have a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to heal at very deep levels. This transformation can
extend to partners and wider family structures. The best
preparation a pregnant woman can do for birth is to connect fully to
her power and heal any places where she is not holding power. In
her natural state, a pregnant and birthing woman has limitless
opportunities to connect to and build her power. Transformation
is at the very essence of pregnancy and birth. But, the mother
must connect to and come up against herself in ways that she may not
have experienced before. This experience of self is not a simple
or easy task. When cultural beliefs and attitudes towards
pregnancy combine with the medical establishment's influence on
pregnancy and birth are added to a woman's experience of self in
pregnancy, the work of birthing can become very intense and
heavy. The mother has the chance to transform herself, but
she does so in a context that does not support her need to heal and
transform.
Image by Judith Halek
What can be done to support pregnant women on their journey? There are numerous educational and therapeutic models available and some are very effective. Many of the current options available to women do not go deep enough to take advantage of this highly transformative stagein life. These approaches can be compared to using suggestive hypnosis with a patient about to undergo heart surgery versus doing the deeper work to heal the pattern that is manifesting in the heart disease. The suggestion hypnosis is helpful, but more is needed to transform the underlying pattern
and regain health. Depth Hypnosis, with its roots in shamanic
healing, Buddhist psychology, hypnotherapy and transpersonal psychology
offers a highly effective and innovative model for pregnancy and
birth. I believe it has the potential to support women as they
connect with their power as creators and in doing so de-emphasize the
cultural and medical perspectives and restore the spiritual connection of birth.
Image by Britt Fohrman
Pregnancy and Birth - the transformative potential
 Pregnancy
and birth are rites of passage as women change from maiden to
mother. The state is of dying and being born - the dying of the
maiden and birth of the mother (and child). Pregnancy is a state
of constant and continual inner and outer change. Women may feel
their lives and inner emotions to be in constant upheaval. One
pregnant client told me "I just don't know who or what I am
anymore". Because of this constant state of flux, the potential
to heal becomes very desirable and possible. Old patterns come
forward and are disrupted during pregnancy and new ways of being are
needed. Some women are prepared to transform themselves and heal
like never before. The healing potential is present at many
levels and in many different contexts.
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| Book Review: "Eat Right for Your Blood Type" by Peter D'Adamo |
Review by Laura Chandler
For
many reasons I generally avoid pop culture diet books; because the
simple truth is that most health and weight issues are taken care of by
eating sensibly and exercising regularly. Of course, this is not
the case if you're trying to look like a fourteen-year-old supermodel,
which is another problem entirely. Most issues with weight stem
from the mixed messages our tabloid culture sends us about body image
and food, in particular, junk food. Then there are the
books to help people, usually women, reach that desirable size
zero. The whole process is downright schizophrenic, and that is
why I was pleasantly surprised by Dr. Peter D'Adamo's book, which seems
to add at least a little food for thought on the basic idea of how to
maintain health through diet and exercise.
D'Adamo
offers quite a bit of information and research, and it is easy to
digest. The basic premise is that not everyone is the same, and
therefore what works for one person may not be right for another.
D'Adamo breaks this down along the lineage lines of blood type,
claiming that each blood type has particular foods, and even types of
exercise that maximize or minimize health. By following the
suggestions of the blood type diet, D'Adamo suggests that people will
be able to prevent and possibly even heal from diseases such as cancer,
stroke, and heart disease. He also offers insight into lectins,
as well as insulin absorption and how both are affected by the foods we
eat depending on our blood type.
D'Adamo
gives an interesting history of the evolution of blood types, and
provides many anecdotal accounts of experiences his clients have had
with the blood type diet. As the saying goes, the proof is in the
pudding, and so it is in the diets themselves. He gives an
extensive list of foods to avoid, foods that are neutral, and foods
that are beneficial to each blood type, though he doesn't stop
there. D'Adamo also offers a similar breakdown for beverages,
supplements, and even exercise. The idea of blood types being a
kind of genetic code is provocative, and while some may argue with the
science of his premises, it seems that he is on to something worth
discussing over dinner with family and friends.
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Ask Isa: This Issue's Q & A Addresses "Women's Spirituality & Physiology"
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 How is a woman's spirituality related to her physiology?
On
one level it is not possible to break down spiritual experience
according to gender. Every person's experience of spirit is unique, and
ultimately, everyone passes through similar types of initiations on the
path to spiritual wholeness. However, a person's experience of
spirit, especially at the beginning of the initiatory path, is very
much dependent on the kinds of patterns he or she is using to cycle
energy, and those patterns may be influenced by the individual's
response to their biology. The path provided by a woman's biology
has the potential to take her from understanding herself as a discreet
personal entity into intimate participation with the "other". In this
way she experiences an expansion of the definition of self to include
the "other", and this experience inevitably leads her into
participation with the greater mystery of the self.
A woman's
body challenges her in her effort to define her individual identity
from puberty onward. From this perspective, the woman is
constantly expanding to meet the "other" or moving away from a missed
date with the "other" through the processes of menstruation. Due
to these physiological processes, a woman is forced to go beyond the
identification with the personal self. She may resist this task,
but she cannot avoid it. From the time she enters puberty until she
enters menopause, a woman's body is constantly engaged in a process
that asks her to prepare for the expansion of how she defines herself.
This expansion requires her to examine how she understands herself as a
function of the "other". If she chooses to follow the demands of her
biology into motherhood, she must then examine her relationship to
service. Even if she does not become a mother, the issue of who she is
as a function of the changes her body goes through is fundamental to
her understanding of herself.
Read On...
Do you have a question you'd like to ASK ISA?
Email
info@sacredstream.org with ASK ISA in the subject line and we will
select one question each issue to include in this column.
Isa
Gucciardi, Ph.D., is the Founding Director of the Foundation of the
Sacred Stream, formerly the Anam Cara Foundation, and the primary
teacher for the Foundation's training programs in Depth Hypnosis,
Applied Shamanism, Huna, Buddhist Psychology and Integrated Energy
Medicine.
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Give the gift of a class this holiday season. Gift certificates available.
Upcoming Classes
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Free Teleclasses with Isa Gucciardi, PhDMoon Lodge: Women's Spirituality
November 7, 2007; 12pm PST, 3pm EST
Ask Isa Q & A: Codependency in Relationship
November 28, 2007; 12pm PST, 3pm EST
Ask Isa Q & A: The Nature of Ritual
December 13, 2007; 6pm PST, 9pm EST
On the West Coast
Winter Meditation Retreat
December 9, 2007
6am - 6pm
Winter Solstice Drumming Circle
December 16, 2007
6pm
Visit our calendar page for more classes & information.
Pictures by Johan Rindegard
Scotland: Before the Druids
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