Library
Video: Robert Thurman: Man of Peace
Robert Thurman visits Google to discuss his new graphic novel, Man of Peace, a gorgeously illustrated and inspiring graphic novel tracing the life of the Dalai Lama as he takes on an empire and strives to bring universal compassion to the world.
Video: Shamanism & Buddhism in Depth Hypnosis (Part 2)
Isa Gucciardi discusses the intersection between shamanism and Buddhism and how the best of both modalities function in the ground-breaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis. This talk covers topics from the workshop she teaches with Robert Thurman at Tibet House’s Menla Mountain Retreat in upstate New York. Isa is the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream and author of the bestselling book, Coming to Peace. This talk takes place at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA.
Blog: Finding Your Spiritual Path Part 3: Personal Responsibility
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
In the last blog post in this series, I had mentioned how important it is not to rush to forgiveness in response to betrayal. Generally speaking, when we have been wronged or betrayed we have a lot of internal experience that we need to explore before we can even think about forgiving another person. Therefore it is important not to be rushed by anyone to forgive until you fully understand what work you have to do to get to the place where you can forgive truly and cleanly.
I also talked about how people who have been disillusioned by authorities that they placed trust in often experience an internal process of blame. This can look like self-questioning such as, “Why did I ever trust that person in the first place?” Or, “What did I do wrong to deserve this?” These are not helpful questions to dwell upon, because by their very nature, they imply a sense of self-blame.
Video: Shamanism & Buddhism in Depth Hypnosis (Part 1)
Isa Gucciardi discusses the intersection between shamanism and Buddhism and how the best of both modalities function in the ground-breaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis. This talk covers topics from the workshop she teaches with Robert Thurman at Tibet House’s Menla Mountain Retreat in upstate New York. Isa is the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream and author of the bestselling book, Coming to Peace. This talk takes place at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA.
Blog: Weaving Worlds at Menla
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
The wind at Menla arises in its own particular way at any time of the year. But in the fall something very special happens when you least expect it. By October, the leaves have begun to change. The sumac is brilliant scarlet, the ash trees are a deep vermillion and the catalpa trees are inexplicably brighter green than they were all summer. In the midst of all these hues, the wind arises.
Blog: Finding your Spiritual Path Part 2: Forgiveness, Blame, and Shame
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
My previous post began to address the spiritual crisis that many people experience when a spiritual or religious leader has harmed people and broken their trust. Those who don’t abandon their spiritual paths entirely are faced with the challenge of trying to incorporate the experience of betrayal into the way that they hold their faith or their trust. One challenge people face in this situation is that the spiritual authorities that harmed others are not always willing to take responsibility for their actions. They feel they cannot move on until the issue is resolved through those who have generated the betrayal taking responsibility and asking for forgiveness. Fortunately, even when spiritual authorities refuse to take responsibility, it is possible for the spiritual seeker to engage in an internal process of forgiveness.
Video: The Intersection of Shamanism & Buddhism
In this talk, Isa Gucciardi discusses the commonalities and differences between shamanism and Buddhism. She covers topics such as the shamanic journey, meditation, universal power, compassion practices, and how they both function in the therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis. Isa teaches the Shamans & Siddhas retreat with Robert Thurman at Tibet House’s Menla Mountain Retreat in upstate New York. This talk takes place at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA.
On the Air: A Meeting of the Ways with Diane Solomon and Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.: Science and Non-Duality Conference: The Emergent Universe
Diane Solomon, host of A Meeting of the Ways on KKUP, and Isa Gucciardi discuss the upcoming Science and Non-Duality Conference in San Jose from October 18-22, 2017. Among other aspects of the conference, they also speak bout Isa’s presentation of a pre-conference workshop with Dr. Robert Thurman called Shamans and Siddhas, which explores the intersection between shamanic and Buddhist practice.
On the Air: A Meeting of the Ways with Diane Solomon and Robert Thurman: Man of Peace
Diane Solomon, host of A Meeting of the Ways on KKUP, sits down with renowned Buddhist scholar Dr. Robert Thurman to discuss his no-holds-barred graphic novel, Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Thurman also discusses Tibet, countering violence with peace, his work with Tibet House US, and his upcoming Bay Area appearances.
Blog: Finding Your Spiritual Path Part 1: Understanding Betrayal
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Since the movie Spotlight came out in 2015, more and more people have come to our classes at the Sacred Stream looking for a different path to spiritual understanding. Spotlight is about the efforts of a group of journalists from The Boston Globe who were directed by their editor, Marty Baron, to investigate accusations against John Geoghan, a Catholic priest who had been accused of molesting young boys in different parishes during his long tenure as a spiritual leader in the Catholic community. The movie focused not only on these distressing events but also on the way the Roman Catholic Church tried to keep the truth of these events from the public. The investigation revealed a massive cover-up at the highest levels of the Church of the effect of Geoghan’s actions, and pointed to similar occurrences and cover-ups over the course of many years by the Church.
Because Sacred Stream has long been known for its non-dogmatic, inclusive approach to the world of spirit, it has been a safe place for people to explore their difficulty in incorporating these events within the context of their faith.
Podcast: Episode 34: Reverend Matthew Fox
This month on the Sacred Stream Radio Podcast, host Laura Chandler speaks with internationally acclaimed scholar, activist, educator, and spiritual theologian, Matthew Fox. In this episode, Reverend Fox talks about the importance of Christian mysticism and how the early Christian mystics were focused on creation spirituality and often found themselves at odds with the dominant paradigm of the church. He discusses his own dismissal from the Catholic church by Cardinal Ratzinger for the alleged heresies of being a feminist, referring to God as both masculine and feminine, for working too closely with Native Americans, and his belief in original blessing. Fox also discusses his latest work, books, the opening of his institute, and the painful effects of consumer capitalism on the spirit and how to mitigate them.
On the Air: Divine Insight Podcast: Coming to Peace – Resolving Conflict Within Ourselves and With Others – Dr. Isa Gucciardi
On the Divine Insight Podcast, host Travis Taylor takes a compassionate and enlightened approach and accesses all aspects of being to provide guidance and insight that empowers and inspires clients and students around the country. During his show, he provides intuitive, spiritual, and practical information and techniques that listeners may use to access and develop their unique gifts and multi-sensory abilities and create abundance in all aspects of their lives. Each week Travis brings a heightened divine approach to health, healing, and wellness in all areas of listeners’ lives.
Blog: The Shamanic Journey: Companions on the Path
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
I have often been asked why, after having studied so many spiritual traditions, I have found shamanic practice to be one of the spiritual paths that is so helpful. For me, as for many people I have spoken with, it is a joy to find a path that leads directly into the heart of nature and provides a vehicle for establishing a nourishing and dynamic relationship with it. The shamanic journey opens a world of possibility to understand the intelligence of the natural world better. In his book Animal Speak, Ted Andrews describes the way these possibilities opened for him. And in their book Awakening to the Spirit World, Sandra Ingerman and Hank Wesselman describe the way the world of the unseen aspects of nature emerges through shamanic practice.
But there is another aspect of shamanic practice that can be profoundly meaningful: the relationship that develops between the journeyer and the guides — the aspects of nature that emerge from the processes of the journey to offer teaching, guidance, and wisdom.
On the Air: Chitheads Podcast: Episode #50: An Interview with Isa Gucciardi
Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. sits down with Jacob Kyle, host of Embodied Philosophy’s Chitheads Podcast, to discuss her early influences and how they informed her development of Depth Hypnosis. She also demonstrates the way in which Buddhist principles and shamanic techniques work together in Depth Hypnosis by presenting case study descriptions. Special focus is on the way that Depth Hypnosis addresses the roots of anxiety and depression.
Video: Integrating Insight from Psychotropic Plants with Depth Hypnosis with Isa Gucciardi
Isa Gucciardi and Laura Chandler discuss the importance of processing the information received from their experience with plant medicines such as ayahuasca, psilocybin, peyote, iboga, etc. Isa explains how Depth Hypnosis helps people translate and integrate the information received from these plants. This interview takes place at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA.