Category: Compassion
Blog: Life in the Time of COVID-19
By Laura Chandler
I’m fired up! I just read the most myopic “opinion” piece on a well-respected news site and it has me boiling. Not only is the news site prominent, the positioning of this opinion piece was, too. I like opinion pieces. I often learn things when I read them. However, after reading this, I was left feeling irritated and wondering how anyone could find this opinion useful. I am not going to site the article here, simply because I feel when people behave in this way, they are pretty clueless that they are behaving badly, and I don’t want to bash anyone. What I would like to do is point out the significance of focusing on what is important and what we all have to learn. This isn’t going away anytime soon, and we need to develop some tools for coping if we haven’t already.
Article: Interview: Plant Medicine as a Spiritually Transformative Experience: Challenges to Integration in the Modern Context
ACISTE recently had an opportunity to interview Isa about her views on the use of psychotropic plant medicine for psychological and spiritual transformation. Given the recent resurgence of clinical interest in the use of psychedelics for treating mental health concerns, we hope this two-part (Feb/Mar) interview will encourage therapists and others to further educate themselves about the unique integration needs of those who choose to engage plant medicine for healing and guidance.
Blog: The Life and Work of Albert Schweitzer
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Albert Schweitzer became one of my first heroes when I read his biography at 8 years old. It was the first time I understood that there were people in the world who did not have access to the help they needed when they were sick. This was very distressing to me. I wanted to go to Africa to help.
Blog: Compassion, the US Open, and a Blueprint for Saving the World
By Laura Chandler
Something remarkable happened at the US Open this year when Naomi Osaka (currently ranked #1 in the world in women’s tennis) defeated 15-year-old tennis sensation, Coco Gauff in the third round. Naomi consoled a crying Coco on the sidelines. She told her it was alright to cry, then invited her to stay and join her for the post-match on court interview where she praised Coco for her talent. This display of sportsmanship was not only kind; it illustrated something even more significant about human nature and our ability to be strong and compassionate, simultaneously.
Article: Mindfulness In Leadership
Work is a lot of things. It’s fun and rewarding, challenging and exciting. It’s also hard a lot of the time and for most of us it can be a place of real struggle.
In order to thrive, today’s leaders need to develop many different kinds of tools. Trainings around things like presentation skills and strategic planning are relatively accessible. The real differentiator though is less about these kinds of visible skills and more about something that might be described as invisible: Mindfulness.
Podcast: Episode 51: Pema Dorjee: Tibetan Children’s Villages
In this episode, guest host Isa Gucciardi, interviews the venerable Tibetan Buddhist monk and teacher, Geshe Pema Dorjee. Geshe Pema Dorjee is a tireless advocate of the poor and disenfranchised in Nepal and India, especially children. He has dedicated his life to helping stop human trafficking and travels the world to raise funds for his many altruistic projects and often brings those funds to remote villages, which sometimes requires days of walking to the final destination.
Geshe Pema Dorje was the Director of the Tibetan Children’s Village School in Dharamsala for many years and has helped thousands of displaced children gain an education and find their way. In 1995, he became the first Principal of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies and in 2001, His Holiness the Dalai Lama asked him to revive and promote the Bodong tradition of Tibet, and he became the founder and Director of the Bodong Research and Publication Center.
Article: Who is Tara?
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
One of the oldest Stone Age artifacts that has been recovered is a small statue of a full-bodied woman carved from limestone. The statue was named the Woman of Willendorf, after the small village where it was found in southern Austria, and is estimated to be around thirty thousand years old. Many similar statues dating to the early Stone Age have been discovered throughout Europe and beyond. Expressions of the feminine have been found in the art, mythologies and spiritual practices of many ancient cultures, often represented in the form of female deities and goddesses.
Ancient images of Quan Yin, the goddess of mercy, have been found in China, Korea, Thailand and throughout southern Asia. Pachamama, the goddess of the Earth and time, has long been depicted in the traditions of the Andes Mountains of South America in stories and art. Long before Mary, the embodiment of the great feminine in Christianity, Middle Eastern and African cultures revered Isis, who presided over the other gods, life, and death. Images of Kunapipi and Eingana, the mother goddesses of the Australian aboriginal cultures, have been found in rock art dating back at least ten thousand years.
Podcast: Episode 49: Robert Thurman: In Conversation: Part 2
On this episode, hear the conclusion of Laura Chandler’s interview with scholar and bestselling author, Robert Thurman, who talks about the importance of the Sacred Feminine, the ways he sees humankind progressing, and why there is reason for hope. And in the second half, Laura is joined by author and teacher, Isa Gucciardi, who regularly co-teaches workshops with Bob on the subjects of Buddhism, shamanism, and the Divine Feminine. Isa discusses her workshops with Bob and the importance of bringing the masculine and feminine aspects in each of us into balance in order to create a more peaceful, productive, and harmonious world.
Podcast: Episode 35: Robert Thurman: Dalai Lama, Man of Peace
On this edition of the Sacred Stream Radio Podcast, host Laura Chandler speaks with Buddhist thought leader and author Robert Thurman about his latest work, Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Catching up with the high-energy scholar is always a wild ride. In this candid episode, Laura chats with Bob on a trip down California Hwy 280, en route to his talk at Googleplex in Mountain View. He opens up about many topics including the Tibetan diaspora, Chinese history, contemporary politics, the role of the Dalai Lama in the world today, and his optimism about the future.
On the Air: Chitheads Podcast: Episode #61: Bob Thurman & Isa Gucciardi on Peace & the Dalai Lama
Jacob Kyle sat down with Bob Thurman and Isa Gucciardi at the 2017 Science and Nonduality Conference in San Jose, California, after attending their workshop, Shamans and Siddhas. Listen to their wide-ranging conversation on peace and the Dalai Lama.
Video: Learning from Dying: Buddhist Understandings of Consciousness and Death
Renowned Tibetan Buddhist scholar and Columbia University Professor Robert A.F. Thurman is joined in conversation by his colleague Isa Gucciardi and UCSF’s Eve Ekman and David Bullard. They explore Buddhist understandings about consciousness and death.
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: 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 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.
Podcast: Episode 33: Thupten Jinpa: A Fearless Heart
This month Laura reaches back into the Sacred Stream archives for an interview she did with Thupten Jinpa when he was on his book tour for A Fearless Heart. The interview was impromptu and took place at Laura’s kitchen table, where she talked to Jinpa about his work with H.H. Dalai Lama, CCare, the Compassion Studies, and his perspective on generating more compassion in the world. This episode also contains a talk Jinpa gave at the Sacred Stream Center on Language and Reality. The featured music is from the Monks of Gaden Shartse Dokhang, Jinpa’s former monastery, and their album, The Sacred Chants of Tibet.