Library
Podcast: Episode 43: Buddhist Perspectives on Death
This episode features a talk by Isa Gucciardi, Finding Meaning in Loss, which she gave at the Reimagine End of Life Conference in Berkeley, CA. In this thoughtful and uplifting talk, Isa encourages us to create the spaciousness required to truly be with the experience of loss, grief, and even death. She examines ways of navigating loss, and explores Buddhist perspectives on theme, while also offering practices that will help us approach death, our own and those we love, with awareness and grace.
Blog: Driving Lessons: Zen and the Art of Road Rage Maintenance
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
You may have read my article, “Driving with Bob,” which talks about the existential fun that is a feature of driving around with Robert Thurman. We have had many adventures behind the wheel, as I often volunteer to take him up and down the California coast to his various commitments when he is out West. It is always a pleasure for me to be able support him in this way, and, as I point out in the article, there is seldom a dull moment with Bob around. We did have a moment driving in traffic on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge the last time he was in town that could have been a bit duller to my way of thinking.
Blog: The Call to the Shamanic Path
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
I am often asked how people can know if the shamanic path is a path that is right for them. Of course, this is a very important question – but only the individual can really know if the shamanic path is right for them. When people ask me this question, I ask, “Have you had anything out of the ordinary happen to you? You may have had anomalous experiences – you may have felt a shift in the light and a sense of a presence of something unseen. Or perhaps you have vivid dreams while those around report never dreaming, or perhaps you have had an illness or a calamity befall you which has changed you and separated you from those around you. And you may have set off on a path to try to understand these experiences.” If this is the case, it is likely that education related to the shamanic path will be helpful to you.
Special Announcement: Sacred Stream’s Raise the Roof Benefit Concert and Silent Auction
The Sacred Stream’s Raise the Roof Benefit Concert and Silent Auction is happening on September 8 and aims to raise funds for repairs at the Sacred Stream Center. The evening will feature Grammy-nominated, Bammy-award-winning composer, pianist, fiddler, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Barbara Higbie, internationally renowned electric cellist Jami Sieber, award-winning singer-songwriter Laura Chandler, and other special guests. There will also be a reception before the concert and silent auction featuring some stellar items.
Community Event: The Lotus & The Rose: An Evening with Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo
Join co-authors Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo as they discuss how their traditions provide the medicine we need to navigate contemporary life. Following a brief reading from their new book, The Lotus & The Rose, the authors will engage in a dialogue and share practices you can use in everyday life.
Blog: Spiritual Maturity and Depth Hypnosis
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
People often ask me if Depth Hypnosis is like psychotherapy. If psychotherapy is a process of identifying psychological disturbance and then talking about it, possibly while working with prescription drugs to reduce symptoms, then it cannot be said that Depth Hypnosis is psychotherapy. In Depth Hypnosis there is no process of diagnosis and no use of medication. Rather, it is more a process of inquiry and discovery – particularly about client experience that might be hidden or unknown.
In “The Ten Lessons of Psychedelic Psychotherapy, Rediscovered” Neal M. Goldsmith suggests that it might be more accurate to look at symptoms of imbalance such as anxiety and depression as an indicator of spiritual immaturity rather than as an indicator of psychological pathology. This is an intriguing idea – and certainly one that resonates with the practice of Depth Hypnosis.
Podcast: Episode 42: Jami Sieber: Part 2
In part two of this two-part interview, Laura Chandler is joined by the multi-talented composer, singer, and electric cellist, Jami Sieber. Jami creates lush soundscapes using her voice and the cello through a process called “looping.” She tours national and internationally, and her compositions have appeared in film, television and the critically acclaimed video game, Braid.
Blog: Buddhism Offers a Solution to Hopelessness
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and the epidemic of depression raging across the world will be the single biggest contributor to the overall burden of disease of all health conditions by 2030. Suicides by high profile personalities such as Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, and Kate Spade have triggered a widespread effort to understand what causes people to suffer so much that they find suicide to be a viable option.
When I first began practicing Buddhism, a teacher told me that everything is an illusion – so my suffering was an illusion. All I needed to do was to let go of the illusion of myself and the suffering would go away. This was not helpful. In my view, spiritual practice which encourages the student to “Just let go of the self!” or “Just let go of the pain!” is misguided.
Special Announcement: Yoga Teacher Advanced Studies Seminar with Isa Gucciardi
Join an online community of Yoga Teachers and Practitioners in a monthly exploration of yoga philosophy, anatomy, research, therapeutics, and ethics.
The Yoga Teacher Advanced Studies Seminar is a response to the evolving need for quality continuing education programming in the yoga teaching community.
The level of proficiency in philosophy, anatomy, ethics, and therapeutics is minimal in those teachers who recently completed their 200 hour training, and even in those teachers who have been teaching for a number of years.
This seminar was designed both for teachers looking to keep the learning process alive and for those yoga practitioners who are just plain interested in the fascinating world of yoga philosophy, practice, research and scholarship.
Podcast: Episode 41: Jami Sieber: Part 1
On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by the multi-talented composer, singer, and electric cellist, Jami Sieber. Jami creates lush soundscapes using her voice and the cello through a process called “looping” that turns her solo instrument into an orchestra of heart-opening sound. Since launching her solo career in 1994, she has performed throughout the Europe, Asia, and North America to rave reviews. Her compositions have appeared in film and television and the critically acclaimed video game, Braid. In part one of this two-part interview with Jami, we discuss her early work in the award-winning pop-rock band, Rumors of the Big Wave, a socially conscious band that came of age during the aids epidemic in the 1980s. She also talks about her solo career, as well as her dedication to social activism, the environment, and her relationship to music, spirit, and the creative process.
Special Announcement: Sacred Stream Video Archival Project
Help us preserve timeless wisdom and culture and make it accessible for free to everyone with our Video Archival Project – now live thru July 18 on IndieGoGo.
Blog: Listening to the Sacred Earth
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
If we listen, the earth has much to tell us. When humans lived closer to the earth, they understood that great wisdom was held in the trees, the plants, the rocks and the sea. They communicated with the earth, and learned ways of listening to the wisdom she had to offer. For example, the shaman of a tribe is often described as talking to the plants to learn the nature of their medicine. Ways of gathering this kind wisdom are still preserved by many indigenous cultures. The vision quest and the shamanic journey are just two examples of these processes that are accessible to us today.
Blog: Healing Your Mind by Dropping into Your Heart
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Sometimes people come into my office struggling with a problem, and whenever they try to address it, they find themselves stuck in “mind loops.” Mind loops are characterized by sequences of labyrinthine reasoning containing dead ends and knotted thoughts that fold back on themselves without producing the hoped-for clarity.
People who experience this type of mental confusion are usually viewed as having a high level of intellectual intelligence, and tend to work in professions that require the use of their intellect. These people are able to generate logic sequences that make them valuable contributors at work. This capacity, however, can often send the same people into mental traps when they try to apply these logic sequences to experiences that do not necessarily respond to logic.
Podcast: Episode 40: Helen Palmer: The Enneagram
This episode features international bestselling author and pioneer of the Enneagram, Helen Palmer, in conversation with Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., creator of Depth Hypnosis and the author of Coming to Peace. Moderated by The Net and the Butterfly author Judah Pollack, this discussion takes place in front of a live audience at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA. Topics covered in this talk include intuition, somatic processes, the early origins of the Enneagram, Buddhism, and how Helen came to be one of the early pioneers of this fascinating model.
Blog: Repatterning Life Transitions and Initiations
By Isa Gucciardi PhD
Within each of our lives, we have important moments of transition, which we experience in our bodies, that can be understood as initiations into a new way of being. Birth, death, puberty, the sexual encounter, becoming a parent, and for women menstruation, menopause, and giving birth, are all potent initiations we experience in our lifetimes. Each of these initiations holds powerful information and the possibility of transforming long held patterns that no longer serve us.