Stream of Consciousness Blog
Podcast: Episode 98: Hogarth Brown: The Eclipses and Beyond
On this episode, Laura Chandler welcomes back author, archetypal consultant, and Neo-Vedic Astrologer, Hogarth Brown. Hogarth is host of a popular YouTube channel, Hogarth’s Global Astrology, where he offers astrological insights into global happenings, historical and contemporary figures. Today he is talking about the upcoming eclipses and their implications for this year and beyond. He also discusses the banking and financial crisis, the latest with China, Ukraine, and other global issues. Hogarth also explains the implications of the Pluto return that is happening for the US at this time and what we can expect in the coming years. Hogarth is always insightful and a lot of fun. So, join me for this riveting episode.
New Beginnings, New Potentials at the Spring Equinox
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Since December’s winter solstice season, when the days were shortest and the nights the longest of the year, the days have been growing steadily longer and the nights shorter. Now, at the time of the spring equinox, they are of equal length. The spring equinox is always a time of renewal and rebirth as the earth reaches this point in its relationship to the sun.
In the Sacred Stream Center garden, there is new growth – and new members of the plant community. We have several new pitcher sage plants which are known for their powerful healing capacities in restoring health and well-being. Their beautiful purple flowers are always at the height of their bloom during the spring equinox season. This year, we celebrate their coming as we celebrate the renewal of the year along with the new moon which dawns just after the equinox on March 20.
Podcast: Episode 97: Clementine Moss: From Bonham to Buddha and Back
On this edition of the podcast, Laura Chandler sits down for a chat with author, songwriter, and musician, Clementine Moss. Clementine is the founding member of the popular all women’s Led Zeppelin cover band, Zepparella, and has just released her book, From Bonham to Buddha and Back.
Blog: Plant Medicine: Moving Between Worlds
By Sebastian Segovia
In 2005 I turned eighteen. My parents were getting divorced. We were about to lose our house with the bank and I was finishing high school and starting university. I was beginning to experiment with alcohol and recreational drugs. That is when my mom decided to take me to an Ayahuasca ceremony as my birthday present. This was the moment my world open to the sacred world of plant medicine.
I first studied plant medicine with the Kofan tribe of Putumayo, in Colombia. We have had an ancient tradition of plant medicine in our country for centuries, and this indigenous community was the first to share ayahuasca openly with non-native people, long before the plant became mainstream. Taita Querubín Queta Alvarado—108 years old now—was the first shaman (“Taita” in Spanish) I received yagé (ayahuasca) from. His lineage made it possible for ayahuasca to travel all over the world back then, and it was from his hands that this medicine touched my heart for the very first time.
Podcast: Episode 96: Barbara Higbie: Presence
On this edition of the podcast, we are excited to welcome back the prolific recording artist, Barbara Higbie. Barbara is a Grammy-nominated, Bammy award-winning composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has just released her latest album, Presence, the third in a trilogy of recordings alongside Resonance and Murmuration. In this inspiring conversation, Barbara talks about the creative process, the distinctly nurturing feminine quality of her work, and her thoughts on music and healing.
Video: Isa Gucciardi Discusses Sacred Stream’s Plant Medicine Integration Certificate Program
This is an excerpt of a lecture delivered by Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. in the Plant Medicine Integration Certificate Program at the Sacred Stream. She discusses her approach to this field and stresses the importance of preparation and integration in working with plant medicine.
In this training at the Sacred Stream, students learn to connect with the intelligence of plants in ways that shamans have done for thousands of years. They gain practical methods for processing the insights of working with psychotropic plants and working with others in grounding and integrating their experience.
Podcast: Episode 95: Geshe Pema Dorjee: A Life of Compassion: Part 2
On this episode, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. is our guest host, and she continues the conversation from our last episode with Geshe Pema Dorjee, picking up where Laura and Geshe-la left off. They discuss his life in India after escaping from Tibet. He recounts his adaptation to a new way of life – the difficulties as well as the joys. He describes his early encounter with the street children of Nepal who helped him when he needed it most and who inspire his humanitarian efforts to this day. His fascinating story includes his time as the head of the Children’s Village in Dharamsala and his work to preserve the Bodong tradition of Tibet. He also discusses the many projects he has ongoing to help the poor and disenfranchised people of Nepal and northwestern India. His humor, sincerity, and kind spirit shine through in this at-times playful and engaging conversation with his longtime friend, Isa.
Podcast: Episode 94: Geshe Pema Dorjee: A Life of Compassion: Part 1
On this episode, Laura Chandler speaks with internationally recognized scholar, humanitarian, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, Geshe Pema Dorjee, about his time in Tibet, before the Chinese invasion, when Tibetans were a Nomadic culture still living close to the earth. His stories are heartwarming as well as heartbreaking as he recounts his trek as a young boy across the Himalayans with his family and the shock of the new life he found in India.
Article: Healing and Awakening with Buddhism and Shamanism
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
I’ve been exploring Buddhism and plant medicine and psychedelics for about six years now. One area that I find really absent in a lot of the conversations on psychedelics and spirituality is indigenous shamanism, and it’s hard to find people who know much about that, and also have some kind of Buddhist framework. That’s why I was so excited to hear about your work and listen to some of your talks.
The main question I’m working with in this book is how can we engage with plant medicines as tools or technologies to support awakening? How can we understand the psychedelic experience and also the outputs of psychedelics through a lens that is with the intention of awakening? When I heard about Depth Hypnosis and your work, I thought it would be amazing to talk to you and hear your thoughts on this. You’ve spoken about the catalytic power of shamanic practice and how you feel that there’s potential in that to be harnessed by Dharma practitioners in service of Awakening. This seems to be the focus of your work with Depth Hypnosis, so maybe we could start there.
Blog: Sacred Space on the Winter Solstice
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
One thing I do know is that the building has held sacred space for all of us during this complex time of change, dissolution and challenge. As I have continued to teach out of the sanctuary on Zoom, I have felt the power of this sacred space infusing the teachings and supporting students all around the world. In some ways, its role as a refuge and a reminder of the sacred has expanded. As I see all the notices for new condo developments about to rise just blocks away, I feel even more committed to safeguarding and cultivating the peace and heart of the land here.
With so many of the ways we find meaning challenged over the last few years, the importance of cultivating and understanding what is truly sacred to us has been highlighted. Everyone finds meaning in their own ways and everyone encounters the sacred on their own terms. The task is to seek that meaning and that encounter. Even though this is largely an internal exploration, we need reminders, touchstones, in the everyday world to point us inward. Churches and temples provide this.
Podcast: Episode 93: Lynne Twist: Living a Committed Life
On this episode, Laura Chandler talks with international bestselling author, activist, and consultant, Lynne Twist. Her new book is Living a Committed Life: Finding Freedom and Fulfillment in a Purpose Larger Than Yourself.
For more than 40 years, Lynne has been doing just that. A recognized global visionary committed to alleviating poverty, ending world hunger, and supporting social justice and environmental sustainability, she is the Founder of the Soul of Money Institute and co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance.
Scholarship Spotlight: Reign S.
Reign is from California. She is a hard-working single mom whose dream is to open her own practice assisting people with recovery from addiction. She is in the Applied Shamanism and Depth Hypnosis Practitioner programs. As part of our Scholarship Spotlight Series, she offered her thoughts on what the Sacred Stream and the scholarship program mean to her.
Podcast: Episode 92: Lorna Byrne: Angels in My Hair
On this episode, Laura Chandler talks with international bestselling author, activist, and spiritual teacher, Lorna Byrne. Lorna is the author of seven bestselling books, including Angels in My Hair: The True Story of a Modern-Day Mystic. She has been published in more than 50 countries and in 2019 she was named one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in the World. Lorna is considered by many to be a modern-day mystic. She has been seeing angels and receiving their messages, many of them prophetic in nature, since she was a young child. Growing up she suffered from severe dyslexia and received only a primary school education. She had been told by the angels that she would write a book about them one day, but did not believe them. Then, in 2008, she published Angels in My Hair, which went on to sell millions of copies world-wide. It was the first time she had shared her experience of the angels and now she offers hope and inspiration to many people around the world. In this conversation, Laura and Lorna talk about her remarkable life, messages from the angels, and her thoughts on the future of humanity. To learn more about Lorna, visit lornabyrne.com.
Blog: Healing Post-War Anxiety with Applied Shamanic Practice
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
A young man named Jared had recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was having trouble sleeping and felt anxious most of the time. Jared didn’t like talking about his experience overseas. He felt embarrassed that he was having such a hard time reintegrating into civilian life.
In working with him, I learned that Jared had some problems with anxiety before going to the Middle East, but they had gotten much worse since his return. He had tried a series of medications, but they made him feel “weird,” so he didn’t like taking them. The anxiety made it hard for him to focus. I suggested starting off with a more traditional approach.
Video: Wisdom is Bliss with Robert Thurman: Part 2
Wisdom is Bliss is the title of esteemed Buddhist scholar and bestselling author Robert Thurman’s latest book. This is Part 2 of a talk he gave about the book for the Sacred Stream Speaker Series. Bob Thurman is a leading scholar on Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan studies, and H.H. Dalai Lama. This event was a fundraiser for Tibet House, US. Donations can be made at thus.org.