Library
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.
Blog: Ask Isa: Overcoming Guilt as a Reaction to the State of the World
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Question: I feel very guilty about the state of the world and my relatively good life. I have so much and others are in such pain and have so little. My response is to over-give in an effort to help, but it never seems to be enough and I just end up feeling worse about myself and about the state of the world. How do you live with the knowledge that so much is wrong in the world and then not do something about it?
Video: Finding a Teacher with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa talks about working with a teacher and other ways of deepening the practice of mindfulness and meditation. 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.
Video: Stanford Compassion Study Results with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa discusses the positive results arising out of the Stanford Compassion Studies and the Compassion Cultivation Training he developed. 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.
Blog: Journey On It: More on Healing with the Journey
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
The shamanic journey works on the level of epiphany. Similar to muscle memory when we learn to hit a tennis ball or ride a bike, the realization that comes in the journey is beyond the rational mind. It is beyond thought. When we learn something at this level, it stays with us and we have the opportunity to change long held patterns of behavior, and shed ways of being that no longer serve us.
Video: Self Compassion with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa discusses the idea of self compassion and how the Tibetan Buddhist concept differs from the Western. 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.
Video: Letting Go of Negative Emotion with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa explains how mindfulness and compassion practices can help us let go of negative emotion and lead happier and healthier lives. 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.
Blog: Journey On It: Journeying for Healing
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
In a traditional setting, the shaman would align with the forces of the Earth in order to bring organization and guidance to human affairs. People today are so disconnected from the natural world and from their own inner worlds that the spirit of inquiry for the modern journeyer needs to focus on reconnection. In my Shamanic Journey workshops, I help students address issues of imbalance as they work with the journey to deepen their connection to their own inner guidance and personal power.
Video: Catching Emotional Triggers with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa discusses the importance of catching emotional triggers and how mindfulness practices can help. 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.
Video: Personal Practice with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa offers suggestions for developing a personal meditative practice. 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.
Blog: Journey On It: Inner Guidance
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
In traditional shamanic practice, the journey was taken by the shaman to understand and connect with the power of the Earth. The shaman became empowered through the process of this quest and used this power to aid the community through ceremony, healing, and divination. Shamans use a repetitive sound to alter consciousness and then focus their attention inward. The most common sounds used for the shamanic journey are drums and rattles.
Video: Mind Training Techniques for the West with Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.
Thupten Jinpa answers the question of how Mind Training, including meditation and compassion practice can be helpful to people in contemporary societies. 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.
Special Announcement: Sacred Stream’s Summer Parenting Series
Sacred Stream is committed to helping build more conscious families. Our Empowered Living programs are all designed to help you understand yourself and others better. This summer, our Summer Parenting series can help you begin at the beginning – to understand birth from a new point of view with Tracking Spirit in the Birth Environment. And help you all the way to the end – by offering you resources to help you through all the years of parenting with the Conscious Parenting workshop.