Category: Plant Medicine
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.
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.
Video: Shamanic Paths to Inner Experience: Psychotropic Plants
Plant medicines like ayahuasca, peyote, and iboga have made their way into popular culture as more and more people seek transitory experiences to find healing and direction in their lives. However, the use of plant medicine dates back to ancient Egypt and even earlier and is an important part of many shamanic practices and indigenous cultures. In this talk, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. discusses how the ingestion of psychotropic plants provides valuable education in the shamanic initiate’s development. Isa is the author of three books, creator of the therapeutic model Depth Hypnosis, and the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream.
Blog: My CBD Story
By Valerie Burke
Imagine trying to swim across the English Channel wearing a space suit with one arm tied behind your back. Wearing snow shoes, blindfolded and drugged.
Towing a small submarine.
Before finding CBD, that’s what my life had been like when it came to my health.
As far back as I can remember, my life has been riddled with an endless string of odd and seemingly unrelated symptoms. Hormone imbalances. Chronic pain. Relentless, intractable headaches. Weird and unexpected reactions to things. Weight gain.
I don’t ever recall being healthy – at least for very long.
My childhood was marked by frequent colds, infections of one kind or another, and mysterious aches and pains for which there was never any medical explanation.
Prevailing medical opinions: “It’s all in her head.”
In the 1990s, I had a total hysterectomy for chronic ovarian cysts and endometriosis that no hormone regimen could control. They found massive abdominal adhesions that wrapped around my insides in a tangled, angry web.
The diagnosis of “fibromyalgia” was the best they could come up with.
By my early 30s, I had also developed osteoarthritis resulting in three orthopedic surgeries by the age of 40 – one hip and two knees.
I DID feel like my head was exploding, and it wasn’t just the migraines. Just nothing made sense.
Podcast: Episode 72: Martin A. Lee: The Essential Guide to CBD
On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by activist and writer Martin A. Lee, co-founder and director of Project CBD, to talk about his latest book, Reader’s Digest: The Essential Guide to CBD: Everything You Need to Know About What It Helps, Where to Buy It, and How to Take It. Martin explains the history of cannabis, the different ways cannabis works to assist in our own body’s ability to heal, current medical studies, and the myriad of ailments it can help with – everything from cancer, to brain injuries, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, anxiety, addiction, and so much more. There is a lot to understand about CBD and Martin provides a clear map for understanding and navigating its history and usage.
Podcast: Episode 70: Spring Washam: A Fierce Heart
On this episode, Spring Washam joins Laura Chandler to talk about her book, A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment. Spring is the founder of the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA, and Lotus Vine Journeys, in Costa Rica.
Spring is focused on bringing mindfulness-based healing practices to diverse communities and she is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. Spring has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism for the last 20 years. In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices for over a decade. To learn more about Spring, visit springwasham.com.
Article: Bridging the Worlds between Life and Death with Shamanic Practice
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
As part of Tarka’s “On Death” issue, I have been asked to speak about the approach to death that my tradition, that of shamanic practice, follows. Some of the questions I have been asked to address are: What is death from the perspective of your tradition? What transmigrates, if anything, from the perspective of your tradition? What key text, verse, or poem offers insight or clarity around the experience of death? How has an experience of death in your life informed your teaching? What is a practice that directly addresses our relationship with death? I have tried to address all of these questions in this short exploration of the shamanic worldview regarding death.
In his book about the Australian Aboriginal experience, Voices of the First Day, Robert Lawlor offers a statement regarding Aboriginal views about death which are reflective of a larger, more general shamanic worldview. He says, “Death, in the Aboriginal view, is not a termination or a dislocation from this world to another; rather it is a shift of the center of one’s consciousness to invisible, subjective layers that are substrate to, and involved within, the natural world of mind and matter.”
Podcast: Episode 63: Rachel Harris: Listening to Ayahuasca
On this episode, Laura interviews author, therapist, and researcher, Rachel Harris. Rachel is the author of the book Listening to Ayahuasca: New Hope for Depression, Addiction, PTSD and Anxiety. This book offers a comprehensive look at the psychotropic tea used for thousands of years by indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Rachel draws upon her own personal experiences with ayahuasca, the experience of others, as well as her research on the use of ayahuasca in North America, which is the largest study of its kind.
Article: Interview: Plant Medicine as a Spiritually Transformative Experience: Challenges to Integration in the Modern Context
ACISTE recently had an opportunity to interview Isa about her views on the use of psychotropic plant medicine for psychological and spiritual transformation. Given the recent resurgence of clinical interest in the use of psychedelics for treating mental health concerns, we hope this two-part (Feb/Mar) interview will encourage therapists and others to further educate themselves about the unique integration needs of those who choose to engage plant medicine for healing and guidance.
Special Announcement: Sacred Stream Listed as a Top Place to Try Shamanism on Head + Heart
We are thrilled that the Sacred Stream has been named one of the top places to explore Shamanic ceremonies in San Francisco by Head + Heart, an online platform that helps connect people with mindful events, experiences and community across the USA and Canada. The Sacred Stream offers classes and training programs in Applied Shamanism, including certification in Applied Shamanic Practice & Plant Medicine Integration. For more information about our classes and training programs, visit our Applied Shamanism website. Here you can find articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources to support you in your study of shamanism.
On the Air: Ask Herbal Health Expert Susun Weed & Sacred Stream’s Isa Gucciardi
Susun Weed answers 90 minutes of health questions followed by a 30 minute interview with Isa Gucciardi.
Topics Discussed In This Episode
• Low blood cell count – low compared to whom?
• Red meat
• Difficulties losing weight
• If by virtue of us wanting something, is it adding to my health?
• Addiction to Diet Coke – how to wean yourself off using natural sweeteners
• Life is not about order, it is about chaos
• Reinventing Eve
• When your heart is grieving it is in the process of expanding
• Releasing tension in the body causing digestive upset
• Realization process to fully inhabit the body
• Subtle and nourishing practices
On the Air: Inner Truth Podcast: Psychedelics: Your Questions Answered with Isa Gucciardi
Through weekly conversation, Inner Truth brings together leading thinkers, speakers, and healers that are at the forefront of these questions. The discussions are aimed to inspire deep internal inquiry and positive change in the lives of listeners. In this week’s episode with plant medicine expert Isa Gucciardi, you’ll discover:
• How to know if/when plant medicine is right for you
• How to frame and phrase your intention
• The best way to set yourself up beforehand
• How to interpret the experience afterwards
• What practices help get the most out of the journey
• The most common mistakes + how to avoid them
• Some incredible stories of breakthrough insights + emotional healing
Video: Integrating the Ayahuasca Experience
Isa Gucciardi explores the differences between traditional shamanic cultures and contemporary cultures in working with plant medicines like ayahuasca. She is the author of Coming to Peace, the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream, and the creator of the ground-breaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis. This talk takes place at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA.
Video: Ayahuasca and the Modern Psyche
Isa Gucciardi discusses the rise in popularity of plant medicines like ayahuasca and the unique issues that people from contemporary societies bring to their work with these plants. Isa is the author of Coming to Peace, the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream, and the creator of the ground-breaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis. This talk takes place at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA.
On The Air: Buddha at the Gas Pump Episode #427: Sudden or Gradual: Two Paths to Realization?
Rick Archer created Buddha at the Gas Pump in the Fall of 2009 and has since interviewed countless spiritually awakening people, from the well-known to the unknown, and from a variety of backgrounds and traditions. He conducts a new interview each week in hopes to help ordinary people share their experience of awakening.
In this episode, Archer leads a panel alongside previous BATGAP guests Isa Gucciardi, David F. Buckland, and Michael Rodriguez to address a perennial debate in spiritual traditions: whether realization is direct (sudden) or progressive (gradual). This talk was recorded October 22, 2017 at the Science and Nonduality Conference.