Article: Tara, Bob, & Me

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By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

Robert Thurman and I spent several years teaching a class called Embracing the Sacred Feminine. The class was an exploration of the power of the feminine within Buddhist philosophy. At the beginning, I was surprised that Bob wanted to teach this class together because it was outside of his usual focus in teaching. But it was right in the heart of mine. I had been teaching two classes, the Initiations of the Sacred Feminine and Tracking Spirit in the Birth Environment: The Creative Portal for many years. I was excited to teach what I knew from this perspective and learn more about the power of the feminine within Buddhist philosophy when I accepted his invitation.

Video: The Sacred Feminine in Buddhist Philosophy with Isa Gucciardi: Tara: Help in Hard Times: Part 1

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In this series of videos, we will explore the sacred feminine in Buddhist philosophy and learn how the engaged activism of Tara, best known of the female deities, can help us in our everyday lives. These talks are inspired by the workshops that Isa Gucciardi and Robert Thurman teach called Embracing the Sacred Feminine.

Blog: Weaving Worlds at Menla

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By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

The wind at Menla arises in its own particular way at any time of the year. But in the fall something very special happens when you least expect it. By October, the leaves have begun to change. The sumac is brilliant scarlet, the ash trees are a deep vermillion and the catalpa trees are inexplicably brighter green than they were all summer. In the midst of all these hues, the wind arises.

Blog: Buddhist Perspectives on Grief and Loss

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By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

In Robert Thurman’s prelude to his translation of Bardo Thodol, commonly translated as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, he takes to task scientific materialists’ perspective that death is a terminal state, a state of nothingness where life is destroyed. He points out that these materialists “have never observed even one material thing become nothing. Why should the energy reality of a state of awareness [life] ……be the exception to the law of physics that energy is conserved and only transformed?” I have always appreciated Dr. Thurman’s willingness to take on monolithic prejudices, in the name of science, in response to spiritual questions. I have always felt the wholesale rejection of notions such as the possibility of life after death and the existence of spirit was highly unscientific. In order to step into the universe of life beyond death from the Buddhist perspective, we have to allow ourselves to be disabused of the ways in which we may have unwittingly digested the viewpoints of scientific materialism on these subjects simply because they dominate in our education system.

Video: Shamans and Siddhas with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 3)

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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 discuss the special presence at Menla and its relationship to H.H. Dalai Lama. Bob tells the story of Vimalakirti and describes a student’s experience of spontaneous healing at Menla. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.

Video: Shamans and Siddhas with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 2)

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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 share their experience of teaching together and explore the way that both shamans and Siddhas use a similar kind of transmission process for healing and teaching. This workshop regularly takes place at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.

Video: Shamans and Siddhas with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi (Part 1)

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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: Interdependence

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By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

In a recent podcast, Robert Thurman, noted Buddhist scholar, asked, "What would you do if you realized that you would never be able to get off the subway car you were on this morning – that you were going to be with those people for infinity?" For one thing, it would probably change the way we viewed those people. If we are all in a subway car together cruising through eternity, it would probably be a good idea to start figuring out how to get along. I have spent many years trying to help people figure out how to get along through my Depth Hypnosis practice and teaching. Mostly I try to help people figure out how to get along with themselves – because you really can't get along with anyone else until you have yourself figured out.

Article: Driving with Bob: One Short Day on Tour with Robert Thurman

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By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

Venus was rising in the eastern sky as we headed south for the next event where Robert Thurman was presenting a paper. This was to be the third major lecture he would deliver within thirty-six hours, and Bob was full of energy, settling into his computer to finalize the notes for this lecture. As I drove, dawn illuminated the hills and valleys. The clouds on the horizon echoed their undulations. There were no other cars on the road. I had never been to the old mansion where the conference was taking place, and I was a little worried about my navigational skills.

Article: Reflections on Menla, September 2014

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By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

Menla means Medicine Buddha in Tibetan, but I think the esoteric translation must be "magic." Menla Mountain Retreat Center, located in the Catskill Mountains in New York, is a place unto itself. You arrive at Menla Mountain via a narrow road, which has turned off another small road. A sign at the turn off says "Dead End." Perhaps not coincidentally, you are actually entering a crater created several million years ago, when a meteorite filled with all types of unearthly metals crashed into the site. The magnetic field, which still exists there today, is palpable, and it does a good job of interrupting all types of modern communication systems.