Library
Podcast: Episode 145: Hal Adler: The Art of Leadership
In this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by executive coach Hal Adler, founder of Leadership Landing and Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., founding director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream and creator of Depth Hypnosis.
Hal has spent decades helping leaders and organizations cultivate greater awareness, authenticity, and impact. A lifelong musician and composer, he brings creativity, deep listening, and collaborative spirit of music to his work with leaders.
Isa has spent more than three decades integrating wisdom traditions—including Buddhism, shamanism, energy medicine, and psychology—to help people develop greater self-awareness, resilience, and purpose. Her work has inspired thousands to lead their lives with clarity, compassion, and integrity.
Podcast: Episode 144: Remembering Robert Thurman: Part 2: Buddhism is Realism
In the second episode of the special series Remembering Robert Thurman, we return to one of the first talks Robert Thurman gave at Sacred Stream, in 2008. On that particular fall evening, another event was taking place at the Sacred Stream Center, so Laura Chandler and Isa Gucciardi invited everyone into their San Francisco living room instead. More than 80 people crowded into the house for what remains one of Bob’s most popular Sacred Stream lectures.
This previously unreleased material has been divided into two episodes. At the heart of the first part of this teaching is one of Bob’s favorite insights: Buddhism is realism. He describes the Dharma as an invitation to see reality more clearly and, through that clearer seeing, to discover our true nature. He explores samsara as the world of mistaken perception we construct when we fail to recognize reality as it is, offers a fresh perspective on the Four Noble Truths, and takes on one of the most persistent misconceptions about Buddhism: the idea that the teaching of “no self” means that we do not actually exist.
Podcast: Episode 143: Suzanne Ross: From Awakening to Ascension
On this episode, Laura Chandler talks with Suzanne Ross – inspirational speaker, intuitive guide, and the founder of both the Sedona Ascension Retreat and the San Diego Transcendence Retreat. Suzanne is also the author of the Up! book series—featuring Wake Up! and Rise Up! She has dedicated her life to exploring consciousness, spirituality, and the evolution of human awareness, bringing together some of today’s leading spiritual teachers with seekers from around the world.
Article: Through the Gateway: Remembering Robert Thurman
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
It was the summer solstice at Menla, the retreat center in New York’s Catskill Mountains. I was there to teach a retreat called The Wisdom Path—a workshop Robert Thurman and I had planned to teach together. Instead, I was teaching alone.
After Bob’s sudden death just days earlier, Laura Chandler, who was traveling with me and supporting the workshops, suggested that we invite our dear friend Thupten Jinpa to offer a few reflections about Bob’s life and a brief teaching on the idea of the Wisdom Path. He graciously agreed and as I sat listening to Jinpa’s comforting voice fill the conference center, I found myself surrounded by reminders of Bob.
Towering thangkas of Tibetan Buddhist deities hung from the walls, just as they had during the countless teachings Bob had given in that room over the years. Outside, butterflies gathered around shallow pools in the dirt road. Foxgloves framed the great stone Buddha overlooking the grounds Bob had walked so many times, while bees moved lazily through blooming milkweed in the summer sun. Inside and out, life felt impossibly vibrant.
Podcast: Episode 142: Remembering Robert Thurman: Part 1: The Dalai Lama & China
In the first episode of the Remembering Robert Thurman series, Laura Chandler reflects on the recent passing of Robert A.F. Thurman—renowned Buddhist scholar, bestselling author, educator, and one of the world’s foremost interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism. A close friend, mentor, and longtime supporter of the Sacred Stream, Bob devoted his life to making the profound wisdom of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition accessible to modern audiences. He was the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, co-founder of Tibet House US, and a lifelong advocate for the preservation of Tibetan culture and the teachings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
Podcast: Episode 141: Eben Alexander: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Beyond the Brain
On this episode of Sacred Stream Radio Podcast, Laura Chandler welcomes renowned neurosurgeon and consciousness researcher Dr. Eben Alexander. After a profound near-death experience during a week-long coma, Dr. Alexander’s understanding of the mind, brain, and the nature of reality was forever transformed. His bestselling memoir, Proof of Heaven, which chronicles that extraordinary journey beyond ordinary consciousness, spent 41 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
In this conversation, Laura and Dr. Alexander explore consciousness beyond the brain, the use of binaural tones and sound technologies to access altered states of awareness, and key insights from his book Living in a Mindful Universe. They also discuss the evolving relationship between science, spirituality, and human potential.
Podcast: Episode 140: Deborah Santana: Loving the Fire
On this episode, Laura speaks with author and activist Deborah Santana about her new memoir, Loving the Fire: Choosing Me, Finding Freedom—a story of awakening, courage, and the transformative power of finding one’s voice.
Deborah shares the arc of her life from growing up as the daughter of pioneering interracial parents to her years alongside legendary musician Carlos Santana. While she embraced many roles—partner, mother, and supporter—this conversation centers on the pivotal moment when she chose to step forward fully as herself, reclaiming her voice and redefining her purpose.
Article: Aging Well: Reclaiming Vitality Through Depth Hypnosis
By Laura Chandler, Depth Hypnosis Practitioner
Aging is often framed as a slow diminishment—of energy, clarity, resilience, and connection. But what if that story is incomplete? What if the later chapters of our lives hold the potential not for contraction, but for expansion—for a deepening into wisdom, vitality, and a more authentic relationship with ourselves?
At the heart of this more positive perspective is a simple yet profound idea: how we age is shaped not only by biology, but by the state of our consciousness. Our emotional patterns, mental habits, and spiritual connection all influence our physical experience, including how we age, heal, and experience illness. When these factors are all in harmony, the body reflects that alignment. When they are out of balance, we will experience that imbalance on one or more levels, including physically.
Article: Healing the Body through Depth Hypnosis: A Case Study in Energetic Sovereignty
By Joanna Foote Adler, Psy.D., CHT
The mind, emotions, and spirit are inextricably linked to the physical body. Our bodies serve as a vessel that expresses our thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual states; these dimensions constantly mirror one another, meaning dissonance on one level can manifest across the others. Generally, when an unresolved issue persists, it “calcifies”—moving from a spiritual vulnerability into mental patterns and emotional distress before finally appearing as physical symptoms. By the time a pattern reaches the physical body, it has usually gained significant density and momentum.
While external factors like toxins and nutrition play a vital role in our experience of health, chronic physical issues can also emerge from imbalances on the other levels. In Depth Hypnosis, we can track these physical symptoms across the different energetic levels – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual – back to the experiences that initiated the patterns causing problems. By following this trail back to the original energetic imbalance, we can address the root cause and begin to restore the individual to their natural state of wholeness.
Depth Hypnosis Spiritual Counseling has its roots in transpersonal psychology, hypnotherapy, Applied Buddhist Psychology, Applied Shamanism, and Integrated Energy Medicine. These modalities combine in Depth Hypnosis to offer clients a powerful and efficient way to address issues.
Podcast: Episode 139: Joanna Adler: Listening to the Body
Welcome to the Sacred Stream Radio Podcast, brought to you by the Foundation of the Sacred Stream and Red Cow Productions. Hosted by Laura Chandler, this episode features a conversation with licensed clinical psychologist, Depth Hypnosis Practitioner, and executive coach, Joanna Adler.
Together, they explore the wisdom of the body—how it stores information, including trauma, and how learning to listen more deeply to its signals can support profound healing across physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
Joanna Adler brings a unique integration of clinical expertise and depth-oriented healing practices. She teaches classes in Depth Hypnosis and Coming to Peace at the Sacred Stream and is co-author of the pilot study “Using Depth Hypnosis to Treat Mood Disorders and Raise Well-Being,” published in the International Journal of Regression Therapy.
She will also be offering a new livestream class through the Sacred Stream, Somatic Wisdom as a Path of Inner Awakening. To learn more about Joanna and her work, visit her website, joannaadler.net.
Podcast: Episode 138: Oneika Mays: Bringing Presence to Prisons
On this episode, Laura speaks with author, yoga instructor, and meditation teacher Oneika Mays. They are talking about her new book, Sit with Me: A No-BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation.
Oneika spent nearly 15 years teaching meditation in yoga studios, hospitals, and correctional facilities, including at Rikers Island. As a queer Black teacher, she emphasizes that meditation isn’t just for those who have it all figured out—it’s for all of us: the anxious, the heartbroken, the angry, the lost, and those who have been marginalized or overlooked.
Pull up a cushion and settle in for this candid conversation on meditation, identity, and showing up as you are. Learn more about Oneika at oneikamays.com.
On the Air: Fear Unzipped: Episode 38: Healing Fear & Conflict with Isa Gucciardi
Fear doesn’t just show up in our lives; it’s often rooted in something much deeper. In this powerful episode of Fear Unzipped®, Sandi Serling welcomes Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., a cultural and linguistic anthropologist, spiritual teacher, and creator of Depth Hypnosis™, to explore how unconscious patterns, unresolved trauma, and internal conflict shape our behaviors, relationships, and emotional well-being.
Isa shares how her lifelong exploration of human healing began in childhood, when living in places like Hawaii and Mexico exposed her to nature-centered cultures and indigenous traditions. Observing the harmony present in nature sparked a powerful question that would shape her career. Why do humans experience so much conflict while the natural world operates with balance?
Throughout the conversation, Isa explains how unresolved memories and buried emotional experiences often drive behaviors such as anxiety, addiction, or interpersonal conflict. Through real examples from her therapeutic work, she illustrates how individuals can uncover hidden emotional patterns and reconnect with their inner guidance to create meaningful change. Practices that involve somatic awareness, inner visualization, and compassionate self-reflection help reveal the deeper truths behind the struggles people face.
Podcast: Episode 137: Linda Wobeskya: Zero Balancing
Welcome to the Sacred Stream Radio Podcast. In this episode, Laura Chandler talks with Zero Balancing Practitioner and teacher, Linda Wobeskya. Zero Balancing is a hands-on bodywork system conceptually related to acupuncture and grounded in the Eastern understanding of energy and its relationship to physical structure. Unlike acupuncture, however, Zero Balancing uses skilled touch rather than needles and works directly with the energy held within the bones rather than along meridian lines. Within this paradigm, imbalance between structure and energy contributes to pain, stress, reduced function, and diminished well-being.
Linda brings together a strong foundation in Western medical training with deep expertise in Zero Balancing, creating a uniquely integrative approach that supports healing across the entire body–mind spectrum. Join us for an illuminating conversation on how touch, energy, and structure intersect to restore balance and well-being. Learn more about Linda at lindawobeskya.com.
Article: Somatic Wisdom: Listening to the Keys the Body Holds
By Joanna Foote Adler, Psy.D., CHT
Since our arrival, the body has been in continuous relationship with us and our experience, responding to every environment, interaction, and event with exquisite sensitivity. It exists in service to us in every way: doing its best to orient us toward safety, offer vitality, regulate our inner rhythms, and support our capacity to connect, create, and love.
In addition, the body bears the imprint of our full lived experience. Joy, tenderness, belonging, and moments of deep regulation are woven into our tissues just as surely as shock, neglect, fear, and loss. Nothing is excluded. If experiences are supportive, the nervous system strengthens and settles. When life is overwhelming, the body adapts and copes in the best way it knows how. These adaptations are intelligent survival responses, even though they sometimes have downsides.
Video: Living the Bodhisattva Vow with Isa Gucciardi
In Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is one who, having realized profound insight into the nature of self and reality, dedicates their life to alleviating suffering and guiding others toward awakening. In this recording from the Sangha Live Dharma Library, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., explores the foundational principles of the Bodhisattva vow. She invites us to consider what it means to be “Bodhisattvas in training” and how embracing this intention can transform our psychological orientation, deepen our spiritual practice, and enrich our daily lives.