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| A Quarterly Newsletter from
the Foundation of the Sacred Stream |
ISSUE 16 |
NOVEMBER
2009 |
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| Note from the General Manager |
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Welcome
to the Fall 2009 edition of our quarterly newsletter. We have had an
eventful season, beginning with the opening of the Sacred Stream Center
in Berkeley, CA and a well-attended Open House in October. We want to
thank everyone who participated in making it a success. On the east
coast our New England community continues to expand with the start of a
journey group and the creation of the New England chapter of the Space
Clearing Society.
We
have some wonderful events happening through the end of the year,
including the launching of our new website on November 17, a
screening of the film, For the
Next 7 Generations (presented by
Valerie Aksoy) on November 14, the Solstice
Drumming Circle in Berkeley and Rhode Island on December 13, and a special
New Years Eve meditation on December 31. Prior to the
meditation, there will be a showing of a remarkable documentary – the story of a Tibetan Buddhist monk who
searches for and
finds the reincarnation of his deceased teacher.
We
also have some exciting developments in the offices of Sacred Stream,
beginning with the newest member to our staff, Cindy Yoshiyama. Cindy
will be taking over student services for Simone Sandy, our office guru,
who will be taking maternity leave through April! (Read more
about Cindy below.)
We have a lively winter and spring semester on the horizon
with Distance Learning workshops on Relationships
1:
Birth
Family
Dynamics and Dreams. We have two
awesome Destination Studies classes coming up in 2010 (Ethnobotany
of
Mesa
Verde in Colorado
and Huna:
Spirits
of
Hawaii in Hawaii) along with a full roster of classes in
Berkeley,
CA and Wakefield, RI.
In this issue of our newsletter you’ll find student reflections on the
Ancient Scotland retreat, a report from the Rhode Island Space Clearing
Society, as well as our regular features, including Ask Isa (on
the nature
of karma), Journey On It, and our Featured
Practitioner, Joanna Adler.
Wishing you well,
Laura Chandler, CHT
General Manager
Foundation of the Sacred Stream
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| Announcements |
Welcome Cindy
Yoshiyama: Please join us in welcoming our newest staff member,
Cindy Yoshiyama
(Student Services Manager/ Marketing Coordinator). Cindy spent the
past three years living in the Venice region of Italy.
She worked at an international school where she helped start an
afternoon language program. While she was there she became enamored
with the countryside and the people living there. She spent most of the
past year researching and writing a non-fiction book centered on this
community and the viticulture of the region. Upon returning stateside,
she was drawn to FSS's mission and, having grown up Buddhist, sought to
reconnect with her inner "Buddha" through her work with the
organization. She hopes to make a difference in other people's lives
through supporting FSS. Having studied the violin for 14 years, she
still tries to find the time now and again to dust off her instrument
and play a minuet or two. She also loves writing short fiction, keeping
fit with yoga and discovering new cultural threads through her travels.
Sacred
Stream Open House: Our Open house in
October was a great
success with over one hundred and forty people in attendance. We want
to thank everyone who helped with set-up, clean up, flowers for the
altars, those who baked wonderful treats and all those who donated
raffle items. A special thanks to Grace Furst for managing the entire
event, Deborah Hall for acting as our impromptu photographer, and
Rachel Yellin for selling so many raffle tickets that we were actually
able to raise half the money needed to paint the sanctuary.
Website
Launches November 17th: Our new and
improved website
launches next week. Navigation and functionality has improved so that
you will be able to register and pay for classes online. Our store has
also expanded and we now offer a line of meditation downloads, music
downloads and a variety of other items such as T-Shirts and CDs. We
will continue to grow and offer free items including our new podcast
series, Sacred Stream Radio. Visit our store once it launches to
receive a free music download!
Gift
Certificates for the Holidays: It’s that time of year
and we have just the thing for your gift giving this holiday season –
Sacred Stream Gift Certificates. Give the gift of a class this year.
Just visit our store to make your purchase and we’ll take care of the
rest!
Make a
Donation: We know that everyone has many important
charities to give to this year. If you would like to support our
efforts here at the Foundation, you can do so with a tax-deductible
gift to our scholarship fund to help students who need a hand with
their education, or to our general fund so that we can continue making
repairs to our center. To date, we have given away over five thousand
dollars in scholarships raised through CD sales and a percentage of
student tuition that we set aside from each class. We hope to expand
what we can give through charitable contributions and the support of
our growing community.
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| Reflections
on
Orkney
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My Knowing of
this Place
By Terri Salvatore-Swahn
While I was in
Orkney, some
teachings came to me
over the course of the week. Some of the information provided to me was
a mystery; perhaps its full explanation will be revealed to me at a
later time. On the first night, as I drifted into sleep, a geometric
pattern opened like a fan in my mind’s eye. It was a semi-circle with
some writing that I couldn’t read. While visiting a cairn (tomb) a few
days later, I saw this same writing configuration on the walls of the
chamber. As the days went by, I saw this design as a welcome from the
spirits into their world; it was a guide into their knowledge.
On
my first trip to the Ring of Brodgar, I felt my body levitating as I
leaned against one of the massive stones. It was the same feeling I had
at Dwarfie Staine a few days earlier, when I crawled inside the
hollowed stone that was carved by Neolithic man, using only bone and
antler as tools. When another sister entered the chamber to sit beside
me, I felt a lift—the same displacement that happens when someone gets
on a rubber raft. The Ring of Brodgar held that same buoyancy for me,
as if it
were a trampoline. I sensed it served as a membrane, holding the
psychic fabric of its surrounding society. One night while meditating
at Brodgar, I noticed small fires burning at the base of four of the
stones in the ring. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and looked
several times to be sure it was there. The flickering of light danced
halfway up four of the stones. I sensed that the flames had something
to do with the initiates across the way at Dwarfie Staine.
Read
On
CONNECTIONS
with the energies
of the Orkney Islands
By Marion Lovinger
Still
and grounded, 
Like the rock in the waves,
Quite unmoved by the dance of the water and the wind,
Exposed at times, always there,
Shining and raw, truthful and authentic,
Sturdy and free,
Horizontal,
In touch with the earth on which I stand, sit or lay down,
Like on a mother,
Soft and nurturing,
Flowers, mud and grass,
Sand and water,
Horizontal,
Big layers of stones,
Shaping and defining the chambers in the Cairn,
Protecting the sacredness of the void
in which birth and death
can smoothly cycle,
Vertical,
Up to the sky,
Experiencing the courage of the stones,
erected towards the Heavens, reaching to the celestial spheres,
Keeping track of their paths,
Knowing they are still there even when they vanish in the light,
Vertical,
Down to the center of the earth,
Nested inside the rocks,
Drawn to the mineral smell,
To the mineral composition of my bones and the desire to crack them
open,
To let the stardust of my inspiration go back to the sky,
Cicular
Like the Ring of Brodgar,
Like the Moon and the Sun around the Ring of Brodgar,
Like my energy widened to the circumference of the Ring of Brodgar,
Like the people of all times walking around the Ring of Brodgar,
Like our circle,
Hollow,
Void and deep,
Like the chambers in the Cairn,
Concave as a womb,
As a keyhole carved in the stones,
Waiting for the correct key to open the door to the universal flow. |
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| Featured
Practitioner: Joanna Adler |
 I became a student of healing
very early on in
my life. There were
always spiritual teachers in our house as I was young, and the
awareness of spiritual and energetic concepts was part of the ethos in
which I grew up. Because I started early, I have had the opportunity to
study extensively in many different modalities…from energy healing to
spiritual practice to psychology. I received my doctorate degree in
clinical psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies,
where I specialized in Transpersonal Psychology. I studied and
practiced Quantum Energy work for ten years, as well as being a student
of Buddhism and other spiritual traditions. But it was not until I
encountered Depth Hypnosis that I found an approach to healing that
integrated all of my interests. Since this discovery, I have studied
extensively at the Foundation of the Sacred Stream: in Depth Hypnosis,
Energy Medicine, Shamanism, Earth Wisdom, and Buddhism.
The
root of most human difficulty, I believe, is the estrangement from the
Self. This disconnection can manifest in many different kinds of
patterning – ways in which we compensate, hide, or otherwise react to
our lack of connection to ourselves and to Spirit. I feel blessed to
now be able to see, hear, and feel the energetic antidotes to these
negative patterns, and help others to discover and heal them for
themselves.
I specialize in helping people change their
relationship to anxiety and depression, grief, trauma, negative family
patterns, and life transitions. I also work extensively to support
women and families through prenatal and postpartum adjustment, birth
preparation and recovery, infertility, and the process of orienting to
the path of service called “parenting”. Whether in teaching, leading
groups, or individual sessions, I am grateful to be able to offer the
skills of a licensed psychologist, a Depth Hypnosis Practitioner, a
Shamanic Practitioner, and a Reiki Master.
I love going into
my office each day, and feel it is an incredible privilege to take part
in guiding and supporting other human beings on their journey. I
welcome new clients into my practice, both in San Francisco and San
Rafael. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
Joanna Adler, PsyD, CHT
415.820.1580
Joanna.Adler@yahoo.com |
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| Journey
On It..."Being a Healer" |
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By Jen Walters
The
shamanic journey is a method of working in an altered state and is
achieved by using
sound, such as a repetitive drum
beat. It is called "shamanic" because working in an altered state
in this way is found in most indigenous cultures. However, it is
not limited to shamanism. The journey can be described as an
active form of meditation and is very useful in exploring the psyche
and enhancing personal growth. 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 simply
receive the journeys in the sacred manner in which they are intended.
To submit a journey for consideration, please email us at
info@sacredstream.org.
I journeyed to the upper world with the intention of getting an answer
to a question I had about being a healer. When I traveled to the upper
world, I was put on a ski lift that reminded me of the wooden swings I
used to swing on as a child where there are 2 facing benches. I was
accompanied by a small Chinese woman and when we reached the top we
waited, as though waiting to enter the doctor’s office.
When it was my turn I entered a doorway. Inside the door was a huge
office, like what I would imagine a lawyers office to look like, or a
college professor. There was a massive wooden desk and leather
armchairs and lots of official looking books on the wall behind the
desk. I sat down at the desk, as though sitting at the principal's
office. Behind the desk was a man reading a newspaper. When he lowered
the newspaper the man was in a God costume. He was probably in his
mid-thirties and he had a wig of long gray hair and a long gray beard,
and he was wearing a long white burlap dress/robe. He was the image of
a cliché god that we are told about in bible school as children.
The
official office and the costume was my spirit guide, or “God”, poking
fun at me and teasing me by providing me with what I guess I kind of
expected to maybe see in the “upper world.”
Read
On
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| Rhode
Island Space Clearing Society Hits the Ground Running |
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By Nan Burke
 The inaugural meeting of the
Rhode
Island chapter of the Foundation of
the Sacred Stream's Space Clearing Society was held on August 4, 2009
in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Eighteen people, all graduates of the
Foundation of the Sacred Stream's Applied Shamanism program gathered at
Claudia Flynn's artist’s studio. The studio is located in a old mill
building. The workers at this mill had manufactured staples and made
blankets for the
Union side in the Civil War. The mill had also served as a prison camp
during the Civil War for prisoners of war.
At the opening of the
meeting, we discussed the beginnings of the Space Clearing Society in
the San Francisco Bay Area, and the inspiring work the
Space Clearing Society has done there - including a recent space
clearing in the Labor and Delivery unit of a Bay Area hospital. Members
of the hospital staff had invited the Space Clearing Society, and they
found the clearing
to be unexpectedly and profoundly helpful.
Read
On
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ASK ISA: This
Month's Q & A Addresses
"Fate, Karma, and Freedom"
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Do you think that
everything is predetermined? Can we change our fate, or are we just
playing out a predetermined script that we have no control over?
 When looking at predestination, it is helpful to
consider the concept
of karma. Karma is both more complex and less complicated than most
people think. In simple terms, karma is action and its consequences.
But karma is not consequences in the sense of punishment and reward
that some traditions have popularized. It is subtler than that. The
consequence of any given action is that the actor is impelled into
engagement with another sequence of actions that follow a logical path
of experience. Because this is true, if we engage in actions that are
harmful to ourselves or to others, we deepen our connection to the
harmful consequences of those actions.
Most of us are unaware of
the workings of karma. We do not
understand the importance of the choices we make moment to moment. For
instance, we do not understand how important it is not to indulge
ourselves by
harboring grudges, gossiping, or lying about seemingly unimportant
issues. This
is because we fail to connect the consequences revealed in our daily
experience
with these actions.
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
month to include in this column.
Isa
Gucciardi,
Ph.D., is the Founding Director of the
Foundation of the Sacred Stream and the primary teacher for the
Foundation's programs in Depth Hypnosis, Applied Shamanism, Buddhist
Psychology, Integrated Energy Medicine, Transpersonal Studies, and
Destination Studies.
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| Calendar & Community
News |
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San Francisco Bay Area
Events:
Screening
of For
the Next 7
Generations
Saturday, November 14; 7pm
Suggested Donation $15
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
Please RSVP to info@sacredstream.org
Winter
Solstice Drumming
Circle
Sunday, December 13; 7pm
Free
Sacred Stream Center
Please RSVP to info@sacredstream.org
Sacred Stream Movie Night:  The Unmistaken Child
Thursday, December 31; 7pm
Free
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
Please RSVP to info@sacredstream.org
New Year's Eve Meditation
December 31 - January 1
9pm to 1am
Donation Requested
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
Please RSVP to info@sacredstream.org
Spring Equinox Drumming
Circle
Sunday, March 21; 6:30pm
Free
Sacred Stream Center
Please RSVP to info@sacredstream.org
Free
Teleclasses:
Teleclasses are
interactive distance learning courses similar to a
conference call, and taught by Isa Gucciardi, PhD. Each participant can
just listen and absorb, or engage in the discussion. You do not need a
computer to participate in a teleclass. All you need is a telephone and
you can call from anywhere!
What is the Shamanic
Journey
Wednesday, January 20; 6pm PST, 9pm EST
What is Buddhist
Psychology
Thursday, February 4; 6pm PST, 9pm EST
Medicine of the Spirit
Wednesday, March 3; 6pm PST, 9pm EST
To register, contact info@sacredstream.org
or
415-333-1434.
Distance
Learning Classes:
Working With Dreams
Teleclass
Tuesdays, February 6, 16, 23, & March 2
4:30pm to 5:45pm PST (7:30pm to 8:45pm EST)
$145; Early Registration: $135 by January 6
Relationships I: Birth Family Dynamics
Teleclass
Mondays, March 8, 15, 22, & 29
4:30pm to 7pm PST (7:30pm to 10pm EST)
$295; Early Registration: $275 by February 8
Special Discount:
$525 for Relationships I and II by February 8
Destination Studies:
The Ethnobotany of
Mesa Verde
June 9 - 13
Mesa Verde, CO
Tuition TBA
Huna I: The Spirits of Hawaii
August 9 -15
The Big Island, HI
$2150; Early Registration: $1995 by May 7
Huna II: Manifesting
the Spirits of Hawaii
August 17 -23
The Big Island, HI
$2150; Early Registration: $1995 by May 17
San Francisco Bay
Area Training
Programs, Workshops, and Events:
 Advanced
Depth
Hypnosis
January 13 - 16
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$1295; Early Registration: $1250 by December 13
Depth Hypnosis Annual
Practitioner Meeting and Ordination Ceremony
Sunday, Janaury 17
Practitioner Meeting: 1pm to 3:30pm
Ordination Ceremony: 5pm to 7:30pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
Depth Hypnosis Supervisory Class
Tuesdays, January 26, February 23, March 23,
& April 27
7:30pm to 9:30pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$225; Early Registration: $200 by December 26
Introduction
to the Shamanic Journey
January 30 & 31
10am to 4pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$250; Early Registration: $225 by December 30
This course is a
prerequisite to many of our workshops!
Buddhist Psychology Studies I
Wednesdays, February 17, February 24, March 3, & March 10
7:30pm to 10pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$295; Early Registration: $275 by January 17
Special
Discount:
$525 for Buddhist Psychology Studies I & II by January 17
Weekly Shamanic Journey Supervisory Group
Mondays, February 22, March 1, March 8, & March 15
7:30pm to 9:30pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$95
Tracking Spirit in the
Birth Environment
Saturday, February 27
9am to 9pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$295; Early Registration: $275 by January 27
Integrated Energy
Medicine
March 12 - 14
Friday: 6pm to 10pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10am to 7pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$595; Early Registration: $560 by February 12
Buddhist Psychology Studies II
Wednesdays, March 17, 24, 31, & April 7
7:30pm to 10pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$295; Early Registration: $275 by February 17
Working With
Dreams
Sunday, March 21
1pm to 6pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$145; Early Registration: $135 by February 21
Moon Lodge:
Initiations of the Sacred Feminine
Saturday, March 27
9am to 9pm
Sacred Stream Center
Berkeley, CA
$295; Early Registration: $275 by February 27
To register, contact info@sacredstream.org
or
415-333-1434.
New
England Classes and
Events:
Journey
Group
Monday, November 16; 7pm to 8:30pm
North Kingstown, RI
For details, please contact Katharine Rossi
Depth
Hypnosis
Practice
Group
Thursday, November 19; 6:30pm to 8:30pm
315 Main St., Wakefield, RI 02879
For details, please contact Myra Partyka
Journey Group
Thursday, December 3; 7pm to 8:30pm
315 Main St., Wakefield, RI 02879
For details, please contact Katharine Rossi
Winter Solstice Drumming Circle
Sunday, December 13; 6pm
TBA, Rhode Island
For details, please contact Katharine Rossi
Spring Equinox Drumming Circle
Sunday, March 21; 6pm
TBA, Rhode Island
For details, please contact Katharine Rossi
For more information
on upcoming classes, please
visit our calendar page.
Please visit our websites for more information:
www.sacredstream.org
www.depthhypnosis.com
www.hunaspirit.com
Community
News
and
Events
If you are an
alumnus of Sacred Stream training programs and have news to share with
the community about signifiacant awards, publications, exhibits, and
projects in the art, healing, and non-profit/service fields, please be
in touch.
Ring in 2010 at Sacred
Stream Center
Join us at the Sacred
Stream Center for movie night and a group meditation on New Year's Eve.
We will be showing Unmistaken Child
and sitting together in meditation from 9pm to 1am.
Soccer Without Borders
on ESPN.com
The non-profit work
of Sacred Stream community member Ben Gucciardi is getting mainstream
attention! Learn
more.
On-Going Practice Groups
in Rhode Island
Now there are even more opportunities for
practice in Rhode Island! Please see our calendar for upcoming dates
and who to contact for more information.
Photography Exhibit at
Sacred Stream Center
Deborah Hall has an
exhibit
of her beautiful photography up at the Sacred Stream Center.
Be
sure
to
check it out when you are next at the Center.
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