Library
Podcast: Episode 07: The Path of the Bodhisattva
The path of the bodhisattva is, among other things, designed to break down the illusion of separation between self and other. When we talk about the Two Truths in Buddhism, ultimate reality and relative reality, in relative reality there is a separation. Ultimately, there is no separation. By serving others you wind up serving yourself. In this excerpt from a 2008 Applied Buddhist Psychology course, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. discusses what one has to attend to within oneself in order to liberate oneself and be of service to others on the path of the bodhisattva.
Article: Biology and Spirituality: What a Woman’s Biology Might Be Trying to Teach about Her Spiritual Path
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
What does a woman’s biology have to teach about her spiritual path? What might a woman’s spirit be trying to teach her through her biology?
There are many ways to understand the relationship between biology and spirit. In understanding the self, biology can be defined as the engagement with the material world. Spirit can be defined as that part of the self that is engaged in a larger field of participation beyond the material.
Podcast: Episode 06: Regression Therapy
Regression therapy is designed to help people access parts of themselves that are normally inaccessible to the conscious mind. In this excerpt from a 2009 lecture on alternative healing modalities given at UC Berkeley, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. discusses regression therapy in the context of Depth Hypnosis, the therapeutic modality she created.
Podcast: Episode 05: Depth Hypnosis
Depth Hypnosis is a counseling model created by Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. which combines shamanism, Buddhism, transpersonal psychology, and hypnotherapy. In Depth Hypnosis words and suggestions are used to help alter a person’s state of consciousness so that they can begin to look inward to understand their inner experience and how their inner experience is affecting their external experience. In this excerpt from a 2009 lecture on alternative healing modalities given at UC Berkeley, Isa discusses how Depth Hypnosis works therapeutically.
Podcast: Episode 04: Understanding Dreams
Dreams serve many different functions in an individual’s psychic life, and many theories have been put forward as to what those functions are. Carl Jung points to their function as a field of transformation of the self. Dreams are at the heart of the processes in the Depth Hypnosis model. When a person comes into counseling in Depth Hypnosis, one of the first things that might be asked of them is that they keep track of their dreams. The dreams will generally give the practitioner information about where the person needs to go or how the person is approaching the work. In this excerpt from a 2009 lecture on dreams, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. discusses dream interpretation, with a brief overview of the history of how ancient cultures viewed and worked with dreams.
Article: Depth Hypnosis, Soul Retrieval, and Addiction
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
There are many different understandings about the nature of addiction. In working with addiction through my practice of Depth Hypnosis, I have found that it is helpful to apply the diagnostic and restorative methods provided by shamanism to help resolve addictive issues permanently.
Podcast: Episode 03: Manifestation Pathways of Disease
Energy medicine is a description of the anatomy of non-physical structures that underlie manifestation; in this case, we’re studying the human body. It is also the description of processes of energy flow through those structures. Because we are largely unaware of the dynamics of these structures and processes we allow ourselves to create realities which are unhealthy and which allow energy to run through the structures that is negative and counter to health. As we become more aware of what’s happening at this level we take more and more responsibility for the way in which we are generating our reality. In this excerpt from a 2005 Integrated Energy Medicine workshop, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. discusses integrated energy medicine and the manifestation pathways of disease.
Podcast: Episode 02: Rituals: Understanding and Application
Rituals provide pathways between one world and another, often through transitions, access, or a change in the environment. Regular practices that many of us do after waking up–for instance, putting on glasses, drinking water, or putting on a robe–are rituals that help us transfer our consciousness from sleeping to waking. There are many kinds of rituals, and ways to use them. In this excerpt from a 2009 talk, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. gives an overview of the nature of rituals, their significance in contemporary Western culture and how to work with them in your own life.
Article: Energy Medicine
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
We tend to think of ourselves as material beings, interacting with material objects – but if you think about it, much of your reality is strongly influenced by the unseen. Are your thoughts material? Are your emotions material? How much of your reality is influenced by your thoughts and emotions? Is there anything that you do that you have not thought about before doing? Is there anything that you do that you don’t have feelings about?
Podcast: Episode 01: The Nature of Relationships
It is through our relationships that we come to know who we are. One of the principles of Depth Hypnosis is that we are all teachers to one another; all of our interactions with others reflect our relationship to our deeper self. Most of us come into this life with misconceptions about the nature of who we are and disruptions in the relationship with our deeper self and with the universal flow. By engaging in relationship with others we come to see where these disruptions are. In this excerpt from a Relationship and Power workshop, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., offers examples of hidden aspects of relationship that lie beneath more obvious relationship dynamics. She also discusses co-dependence.
Article: Shamanic Counseling Case Study: Soul Retrieval
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
From the shamanic perspective, one of the primary causes of imbalance is soul loss. Soul loss can be caused by any type of trauma: emotional, physical, spiritual, or psychological. And trauma can be the result of many things including verbal or physical attack, surgery, abuse, or a sudden loss. From a shamanic perspective, when trauma occurs, a soul part can become “frozen outside of time.” When this happens, the soul part does not evolve with the person as they continue their life. If this situation is not addressed, many problems can occur, including depression, addiction, and even chronic illness.
Article: Notes Towards a New Understanding of Education: Bringing Intuitive and Empirical Learning Into Balance
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. and Laura Chandler
As we approach the time of year where we traditionally return to formal education, it is important to consider the role that education plays in our lives. Education is defined in many different ways, and might generally be understood as a process where information regarding the nature of reality is transmitted from one person to another in a group setting.
This idea of reality could be described as a kind of consensus, based on empirical information that has been accumulated and synthesized into a modality that can be passed on through educational systems. The skillset that we develop in order to participate in this process of education requires that each individual must, to some degree, attune to the demands of the group, the desires of the instructor, and work towards the development of a rational intellect that can reproduce what is taught in a socially acceptable way. These are important skills, and necessary for members of any society.
There is, however, another important aspect of learning that is almost completely overlooked in traditional educational environments.
Article: Applying Energy Medicine Techniques to an Autoimmune Response
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
A basic principle of energy medicine is that health and well-being are maintained on three levels: physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual. In Western culture, we think of illness as related only to the physical. However, the physical presentation of an illness is usually the last stage of a long-standing problem.
Article: Using Depth Hypnosis Techniques to Treat Abuse
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
In my Depth Hypnosis practice, I work with many survivors of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Most survivors have developed defenses around the abuse and the memory of it, and although this may be helpful at the time, it prevents the survivor from fully integrating the emotions of the experience. The key to healing abuse involves remembering the experience, and integrating the emotions that are associated with the abuse – emotions such as fear, pain, or betrayal, for example.
Article: The Use of Altered States in Depth Hypnosis to Break Down Blocks and Resistance
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
One of the most difficult issues a person trying to understand herself comes across is the issue of resistance. Uncovering unconscious blocks to understanding is often surprising and puzzling. On the one hand, we know what is happening in our lives internally or externally is generating pain and would like very much to be relieved of it. On the other hand, we often run into resistance to change even though we suspect that change will relieve of us our suffering.