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Shamans & Siddhas : Question + Answer Session 2015 | 1/10/2018

Shamans & Siddhas Question and Answers Session with Nida Chenagtsang, Isa Gucciardi Ph.D. & Robert AF Thurman at Menla, Phoenicia, New York, 2015

A discussion from the 2015 “Shamans and Siddhas Meeting at the Crossroads of Shamanism & Tantrism” Retreat with doctors Nida Chenagtsang, Isa Gucciardi & Robert AF Thurman on the intersection of Buddhist Inner Sciences & Indigenous Shamanism.

Includes dialog with retreat participants, guided mantra and meditation sessions.

“This retreat on the cusp of the winter solstice, a time of natural inward self-reflection, focuses on the traditions of the “psychonauts,” explorers of the subtle realms of dream, death, and all “between” states. Such people are known as “shamans” in indigenous traditions and as “siddhas” or “adepts” in Buddhist and Hindu Tantric traditions.

Isa Gucciardi joins Robert Thurman in exploring the deep and vast dimensions of these traditions, focusing on our planetary welcoming of various forms that consciousness takes in this time of global crisis, as she has done from time immemorial. Shamans and siddha adepts provide us with resources from long-developed, time-tested positive sciences and arts that help us celebrate the blessings of reality and live meaningfully in the midst of the ups and downs of our daily lives ever more realistically and happily.

In this retreat, we will review the historic encounters between these two spiritual traditions from world indigenous and Indic regions and learn how they have informed one another from time immemorial. While steeped in philosophy and psychology, this retreat is also highly experiential in nature. We will explore methods of going inward drawn from both traditions including the Shamanic Journey and Indo-Tibetan Deity Meditation. The Shamanic Journey is an ancient and time-tested method that shamans around the world have used to develop a deep relationship with the powers of the Earth and Cosmos. Deity Meditation is a form of meditation that brings the meditator into an intimate understanding of the fields of wisdom, sensitivity, and power held by the deities of the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. We will explore the role of ritual and ceremony in both contexts and learn what role ritual and ceremony provide in bringing forward the realizations, sensitivities, and powers that are the fruits of these deep forms of inner exploration.

From www.menla.us

 

This is an archive recording from the Tibet House US Program “Shamans and Siddhas Meeting at the Crossroads of Shamanism & Tantrism with Robert Thurman and Isa Gucciardi”  held at Menla’s Nalanda Conference Center in Phoenicia, New York, December 2015.

 

Shamans and Siddhas Menla 2015

About Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., holds degrees and certificates in trans-personal psychology, cultural and linguistic anthropology, comparative religion, hypnotherapy, and transformational healing. She has spent over 30 years studying spiritual, therapeutic, and meditative techniques from around the world.

Isa is the creator of the ground-breaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis, and the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream.

In addition to training hundreds of people to be spiritual counselors in Depth Hypnosis, she has taught thousands of students seeking personal growth in the Foundation of the Sacred Stream’s academic programs of Applied Shamanism, Applied Buddhist Psychology, Integrated Energy Medicine, and Empowered Living.

She teaches nationally and internationally and has an active counseling practice in San Francisco, CA.. Her clients include corporate executives, ministers and religious officials from all faiths, supervisors of social agencies, business coaches, psychotherapists, midwives, medical doctors, parents and everyday people seeking deeper understanding about themselves.

Suggested Books by Isa Gucciardi Ph.D.

Coming to Peace: Resolving Conflict Within Ourselves And With Others | Return to the Great Mother

Connect with Isa Gucciardi Ph.D.

WebsiteTwitterFacebookYouTube

About Robert AF Thurman

Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University as well as co-founder and President of Tibet House US and it’s Menla Retreat & Dewa Spa in service of HH Dalai Lama & the people of Tibet. To listen to his free weekly podcasts please visit: www.bobthurman.com.

Suggested Books & Audio by Robert AF Thurman:

Man of Peace: Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama (Book), Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within (Book), Anger: The Seven Deadly Sins (Book), Inner Revolution (Book), Circling the Sacred Mountain : A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas (Book),  Essential Tibetan Buddhism (Book), The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between (Book)  The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Book),  The Central Philosophy of Tibet (Book),  The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture (Book), Life & Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Book), Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World (Book) Tibetan Book of Health: Sowa Rigpa, The Science of Healing (Book) & Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between: Living with the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Audio).

Connect with Robert AF Thurman

WebsiteTwitterFacebookInstagram

About Nida Chenagtsang

Dr. Nida Chenagtsang was born in Amdo, in Eastern Tibet. Interested in the traditional healing science of his people, he began his early medical studies at the local Tibetan Medicine hospital. Later he gained scholarship entry to Lhasa Tibetan Medical University, where he completed his medical education in 1996. Dr. Nida completed his practical training at the Tibetan Medicine hospitals in Lhasa and Lhoka. Dr. Nida has published many articles and books on Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine). He has extensively researched ancient Tibetan healing methods, and has gained high acclaim in the East and West for his revival of traditional Tibetan external healing therapies.

Suggested Books by Nida Chenagtsang

Tibetan Book of Health: Sowa Rigpa, The Science of Healing with Robert AF Thurman, Weapon of Light, Mirror of Light, Tibetan Art of Good Karma, & Tibetan Art of Dream Analysis.

Connect with Nida Chenagtsang

WebsiteFacebook

 

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