Library
Blog: Ask Isa: Setting Boundaries to Negativity
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Question: I would like to know what you think about the idea of people being a mirror to us. For example, if you find yourself irritated by someone who is always crabby with you, are they a mirror to you? Or are you just meeting someone crabby or irritating?
I really appreciate this question. Because so many of us, once we have dedicated ourselves to the goal of becoming more conscious human beings, can find it challenging to discern how to use everyday difficulties as the means for moving toward this goal.
Blog: Exploring the Unknown: Plants as Guides
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
In my previous post, I mentioned giving a lecture on shamanic healing to Integrative Medicine students at the University of California, in Berkeley. Many students had questions about the traditional shamanic use of plants that alter the state of consciousness and offer insights beyond an individual’s normal perceptual capacity. These students had ingested such psychotropic plants “recreationally,” and as they tried to integrate their experience into their everyday life, questions had arisen for which the students did not know how to get answers.
On the Air: A Meeting of the Ways with Diane Solomon and Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.: SAND 2016
Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., speaks with Diane Solomon, host of A Meeting of the Ways on KKUP , about the upcoming SAND conference in San Jose, and about her collaboration with Dr. Robert Thurman at the pre-conference workshop, Embracing the Sacred Feminine, on October 20.
Video: Sacred Feminine with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 3)
Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi come together at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA, to discuss their workshop, Embracing the Sacred Feminine. Bob talks about the experiential aspect of this workshop and how Isa helps make the material accessible. Isa and Bob talk about how the Sacred Feminine helps connect students to the healing part of themselves. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Blog: Exploring the Unknown: Dreams
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
I have been a guest lecturer in the Integral Medicine class at the University of California at Berkeley every year for the last ten years or so. Sometimes I lecture on alternative therapies like Depth Hypnosis, and sometimes on methods of healing that are found in shamanic cultures. During the past few years’ lectures, the students have really perked up when I have talked about the way in which dreams are viewed in shamanic cultures. The students are always surprised to hear someone actually talk about their dreams as being an important aspect of their experience.
Video: Sacred Feminine with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 2)
Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi come together at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA, to discuss their workshop, Embracing the Sacred Feminine. Bob talks about having the grandmother shamans at Menla and his revelatory dream. Isa and Bob share their experience of Menla as a magical place. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Video: Sacred Feminine with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 1)
Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi come together at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA, to discuss their workshop, Embracing the Sacred Feminine. Bob points to the relationship between ancient India and the feminine principle. Isa explains the importance of men feeling comfortable with the Sacred Feminine and how Bob’s presence as a co-teacher helps men step into it. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Video: Sacred Feminine with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 1)
Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi come together at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA, to discuss their workshop, Embracing the Sacred Feminine. Bob points to the relationship between ancient India and the feminine principle. Isa explains the importance of men feeling comfortable with the Sacred Feminine and how Bob’s presence as a co-teacher helps men step into it. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Blog: Ask Isa: Aging and Radical Self-Acceptance
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Question: When it comes to maintaining one’s aging body, where is the line between self-love and self-loathing?
I don’t consider maintaining your body an act of self-loathing unless you are doing it in response to some kind of negative view or thinking. You have to look at the motivation behind what you are calling maintenance.
Video: Shamans and Siddhas with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 3)
Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi come together at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA, to discuss their workshop, Shamans and Siddhas: Meeting at the Crossroads of Shamanism and Tantrism. In this segment, Bob and Isa discuss the special presence at Menla and its relationship to H.H. Dalai Lama. Bob tells the story of Vimalakirti and describes a student’s experience of spontaneous healing at Menla. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Blog: The Two Truths: Finding Meaning in Difficult Situations
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
In a recent dinner conversation with friends, the Buddhist concept of the Two Truths came up. In Buddhist philosophy, the Two Truths offers an explanation of the nature of reality. The discussion wound around to how I introduced adapted elements of the Two Truths to students in the Depth Hypnosis Foundation Course. This adaptation is a bit like an overview, making the concept a little easier to grasp and apply in a Western context.
Video: Shamans and Siddhas with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 2)
Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi come together at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA, to discuss their workshop, Shamans and Siddhas: Meeting at the Crossroads of Shamanism and Tantrism. In this segment, Bob and Isa share their experience of teaching together and explore the way that both shamans and Siddhas use a similar kind of transmission process for healing and teaching. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Video: Shamans and Siddhas with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 1)
Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi come together at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA, to discuss their workshop, Shamans and Siddhas: Meeting at the Crossroads of Shamanism and Tantrism. In this segment, Bob and Isa explore the role of the shaman and the role of the Siddha in ancient culture and examine the disconnect with nature that has occurred in modern society. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Blog: Ask Isa: Vulnerability
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Question: You have said that there is power in the vulnerability inherent in major life transitions but I have a hard time understanding how that is possible. Would you explain this more?
Video: What Makes You Happy with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa answers the question, “What makes you happy?” Excerpted from a talk given at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA. Thupten Jinpa is the author of A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives, and English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.