Library
Video: Shamanic Paths to Inner Experience: Visionary Experiences
Visionary experiences are found throughout history and in every culture. From the visions of holy men and women in the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions (to name a few) to the prophecies of Nostradamus, Hildegard of Bingen, and Edgar Cayce, visionary experiences are more common than we think. In this talk, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. delves into the role of visionary experience in shamanic Earth-based wisdom cultures. Isa is the author of three books, creator of the therapeutic model Depth Hypnosis, and the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream.
Video: Shamanic Paths to Inner Experience: Dreams
Dreams have been a source of fascination for people in cultures the world over. From the advanced Tibetan practice of Lucid Dreaming to the contemporary study of dreams and their meanings, dreams offer a window into deeper states of being. In this talk, Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. focuses on the shamanic perspective of dreams and the role dreams play in the development of shamanic initiates. Isa is the author of three books, creator of the therapeutic model Depth Hypnosis, and the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream.
Podcast: Episode 75: Michael Schauch: A Story of Karma
On this episode, Laura Chandler talks with writer, mountain climber, and entrepreneur, Michael Schauch, about his new book, A Story of Karma: Finding Love and Truth in the Lost Valley of the Himalaya. Part travel memoir, part spiritual quest, it begins with his love of mountain climbing and his pull to climb a mysterious mountain in the Himalayan region of Nepal. On that quest he encounters many adventures until one day he finds himself in a remote Nepali village where he meets a young Tibetan girl named Karma and his life is changed forever. The story of Karma is his own karma and that of his relationship to this young girl. The book reveals the hardships of so many Nepali mountain people, lack of access to education, running water, roads, healthcare, and also the joys and indomitable spirit of these remarkable people.
On the Air: The Birth Ease Podcast: Episode 100: The Great Mother with Isa Gucciardi
In celebration of the 100th episode of The Birth Ease Podcast, host Michelle Smith and Isa Gucciardi discuss Isa’s new book, The New Return to the Great Mother: Birth, Initiation, and the Sacred Feminine. Isa shares about her experience of meeting the Great Mother while giving birth to her child and how she became an early advocate for birthing women.
Isa’s passion is to help women understand that birth is one of many biological initiations that she goes through over the course of her life. These initiations include our own birth, puberty, menses, the first sexual experience with another person, giving birth, menopause, and death. Birth is the movement of the seen and the unseen and the Great Mother mediates all creative processes. Isa explains how everyone can connect with and perceive the Great Mother as this source of wisdom, creative intelligence, nurturing, and healing and bring this awareness into everyday life.
Blog: Lessons of the Manzanita Tree
By Clementine Moss
North Fork, California is the site of the gorgeous Vipassana meditation center at which I have spent a couple of 10-day retreats. On foggy mornings at my home in San Francisco, I often think of the early morning walk to the meditation hall, and the faces of the single yellow daffodils lining the path up the hill.
In one of the retreats, I became fixated on the manzanita trees, their dark red spindly trunks, the light green color of the leaves, the pink hanging bouquets of flower. It is inevitable that the senses become more vibrant when meditating for ten hours a day. The contrasting colors of the manzanita were almost too much to bear.
I fantasized about having a garden of manzanita one day, how it would be to set out a picnic among such a gorgeous color combination. I wanted to wrap myself in these colors and shapes. I guess, really, I was longing to be a bird.
Podcast: Episode 74: Isa Gucciardi: The New Return to the Great Mother
On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by writer, teacher, and co-founder of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream, Isa Gucciardi Ph.D., and they are talking about her latest book, The New Return to the Great Mother: Birth, Initiation, and the Sacred Feminine. The book is an updated and expanded version of Isa’s acclaimed book, Return to the Great Mother. In this new edition, Isa offers a fresh perspective on birthing as a sacred initiatory process. She takes the reader on a journey to rediscover the transformative feminine power at the heart of childbirth and teaches methods of tapping into this ancient wellspring of power to create a birthing experience that is deeply intuitive and empowering. The book is filled with inspiring true stories, and helpful tools and exercises for connecting with the wisdom and power of the Great Mother.
Blog: Summer Solstice and the Light of Potential
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
It seems fitting as we approach the longest day of the year that an opening into larger possibilities might be extending toward us. This is particularly true because of another celestial event that is happening in the sky this week. This is the moment in its orbit when the planet Venus is closest to the sun. Venus is the planet of beauty, love and possibility in western astrology, With the potentials of this influence enhanced by its proximity to the sun, we soon may be able to step into a new collective experience, beyond the constrictions of the pandemic.
This new potential has certainly been evident in the sanctuary at the Sacred Stream Center. Thanks to donations from last year’s fund drive, we have been able to begin the restoration of the three stained glass windows that grace the room.
Podcast: Episode 73: Dena Merriam: When the Bright Moon Rises
On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by writer, activist, and Founder of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, Dena Merriam, to talk about her latest book, When the Bright Moon Rises: The Awakening of Ancient Memories. The book spans several periods from Vedic India to the Han and Tang Dynasties of China. It is an eloquent testimony to the evolution of a soul and the lessons learned over lifetimes. Dena and Laura discuss the remarkable awakening that was the impetus for writing the book, as well as the significance of the times we are living in and the part past lives play in understanding our current life.
On the Air: Chitheads Podcast: Episode #133: Isa Gucciardi on Birth & Initiations
In the mid-nineties, Isa Gucciardi began developing Depth Hypnosis as she entered into clinical practice. Her studies, both in academia and in the field of cultural and linguistic anthropology, comparative religion, and transpersonal psychology formed the basis of her approach with clients and students. As the body of work that grew out of her clinical practice became larger, she began teaching others so that more people could benefit from the techniques she had developed. In order to accommodate the number of classes that grew out of this process, she co-founded the Foundation of the Sacred Stream, which is now a school for consciousness studies in Berkeley, California, serving hundreds of students each year. Isa teaches and speaks nationally and internationally, and she has published numerous articles, podcast episodes, videos, and the books Return to the Great Mother and Coming to Peace. She maintains a private practice with institutions and individuals in Depth Hypnosis and Coming to Peace processes. Isa speaks five languages and has lived in eleven countries. She is the mother of two children and lives with her partner in San Francisco.
Blog: My CBD Story
By Valerie Burke
Imagine trying to swim across the English Channel wearing a space suit with one arm tied behind your back. Wearing snow shoes, blindfolded and drugged.
Towing a small submarine.
Before finding CBD, that’s what my life had been like when it came to my health.
As far back as I can remember, my life has been riddled with an endless string of odd and seemingly unrelated symptoms. Hormone imbalances. Chronic pain. Relentless, intractable headaches. Weird and unexpected reactions to things. Weight gain.
I don’t ever recall being healthy – at least for very long.
My childhood was marked by frequent colds, infections of one kind or another, and mysterious aches and pains for which there was never any medical explanation.
Prevailing medical opinions: “It’s all in her head.”
In the 1990s, I had a total hysterectomy for chronic ovarian cysts and endometriosis that no hormone regimen could control. They found massive abdominal adhesions that wrapped around my insides in a tangled, angry web.
The diagnosis of “fibromyalgia” was the best they could come up with.
By my early 30s, I had also developed osteoarthritis resulting in three orthopedic surgeries by the age of 40 – one hip and two knees.
I DID feel like my head was exploding, and it wasn’t just the migraines. Just nothing made sense.
Podcast: Episode 72: Martin A. Lee: The Essential Guide to CBD
On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by activist and writer Martin A. Lee, co-founder and director of Project CBD, to talk about his latest book, Reader’s Digest: The Essential Guide to CBD: Everything You Need to Know About What It Helps, Where to Buy It, and How to Take It. Martin explains the history of cannabis, the different ways cannabis works to assist in our own body’s ability to heal, current medical studies, and the myriad of ailments it can help with – everything from cancer, to brain injuries, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, anxiety, addiction, and so much more. There is a lot to understand about CBD and Martin provides a clear map for understanding and navigating its history and usage.
Podcast: Episode 71: Paul Selig: Alchemy
On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by one of the foremost spiritual channels of our time, Paul Selig. Paul is a writer and empath and has just published his 7th book, Alchemy: A Channeled Text. In Alchemy, Paul directly channels The Guides, a source of intelligence that offers humankind a way to engage the transformational process of moving beyond a limited interpretation of the self and into a place of true manifestation. Laura and Paul discuss the effect of the pandemic personally and collectively, the larger shift occurring on the planet, and Paul channels The Guides directly.
Paul received his Master’s Degree from Yale University and served on the faculty of NYU for over 25 years. In 1987, a spiritual experience left him clairvoyant. He currently serves on the faculty of the Omega Institute, Kripalu Center, and the Esalen Institute. Deepak Chopra describes his work as, “authentic, straightforward truth straight from the source field.” To learn more about Paul, visit paulselig.com.
Video: Past Lives and Soul Mates with Isa Gucciardi: Case Study: Karmic Patterns Across Lifetimes
In this series of talks, Isa Gucciardi draws on 25 years of clinical experience and research to help you understand your relationships in a new light. She explores patterns of relating that can repeat themselves from relationship to relationship and looks at Buddhist understandings that might offer insight about why this happens. She defines soul mate relationships in a new way and offers tips on how to recognize a true soul mate relationship. She shows how expanding awareness to include the possibility of past life connections with friends, lovers, and family members can inform current relationships. Join her in this wide ranging exploration of relating! Visit sacredstream.org to learn more.
Blog: Equinox, Equipoise, Equanimity
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
The evening of the spring equinox, as I watch the shadows lengthen across the room, I reflect on how the magic of this play of light is around us everywhere, all the time. Many of us take for granted the sunrise and sunset. Indeed, we may not even notice the incremental lengthening of light throughout the late winter that brings us to this moment, where the day meets the night in equal measure.
On the equinoxes, the idea of balance always seems emphasized to me. How do we find our way to this moment of fleeting equilibrium each spring and fall? How well do we hold center in the tension of opposing forces around us at this moment of equipoise? These questions seem to take on more import now, when many of us are striving to counteract the effects of polarization that have increased in almost every aspect of our lives since the last spring equinox.
Video: Past Lives and Soul Mates with Isa Gucciardi: Past Lives and Karmic Patterns
In this series of talks, Isa Gucciardi draws on 25 years of clinical experience and research to help you understand your relationships in a new light. She explores patterns of relating that can repeat themselves from relationship to relationship and looks at Buddhist understandings that might offer insight about why this happens. She defines soul mate relationships in a new way and offers tips on how to recognize a true soul mate relationship. She shows how expanding awareness to include the possibility of past life connections with friends, lovers, and family members can inform current relationships. Join her in this wide ranging exploration of relating! Visit sacredstream.org to learn more.