On this episode, Laura talks with Christopher Tait of Passenger Recovery and Detroit rock bands Electric Six, Belle Ghoul, and Palace Pier. Chris has been with Electric Six since 2002 and has earned a gold record among other accolades. Sober since 2011, he formed Passenger Recovery in 2016, a small non-profit based in Detroit, to help sober artists and crew that are on the road connect with resources for traveling in recovery, including transportation to meetings locally. Since its inception, it has grown into an international organization helping artists worldwide. Chris and Laura cover a lot of topics in their conversation, including dealing with COVID-19, touring, and the unique struggles artists face maintaining sobriety in life and on the road. Chris has also provided our featured music for this episode, including a song about a 189 year old tortoise called “Jonathan Turtle.” To learn more about Chris, Passenger, and Electric Six, visit passengerrecovery.com and electricsix.com.

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Episode 76: Christopher Tait: Passenger Recovery

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. In this interview, Mike and Laura talk about Mike’s experiences in Nepal, his ongoing relationship with Karma and her family, the difficulties faced by the Nepali people, and his work with Thrangu Rinpoche’s School for Himalayan Children. To learn more about Mike, you can visit his website at michaelschauch.com. To learn more about the Himalayan Children’s School, visit their website at himalayanchildren.org. Mike was joined on his journey by his wife, Chantal, and several artists, including musician Michael Averil, who is our featured artist on today’s program. To hear more of Michael’s music, visit michaelaverillproductions.com.

Episode 75: Michael Schauch: A Story of Karma

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. Isa holds degrees and certificates in transpersonal 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 and has worked with master teachers of Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Sufism, as well as expert shamanic practitioners from the traditions of Hawaii, indigenous North and South America, Siberia, and Nepal. Isa speaks 5 languages, lectures nationally and internationally, and is the author of two additional books, Coming to Peace and the forthcoming Depth Hypnosis: a Path to Inner Transformation.

Episode 74: Isa Gucciardi: The New Return to the Great Mother

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. Dena is the author of two other books, The Untold Story of Sita: An Empowering Tale for Our Time and My Journey Through Time. In addition to being the Founder of the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW), Dena was the Vice Chair of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders held at the United Nations in New York in the year 2000. She is a long time practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation and a devotee of the spiritual master Yogananda for over 40 years. She received her master’s degree from Columbia University in sacred literature, and has served on the boards of many prestigious organizations, including the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions and the Interfaith Center of New York. Our featured music is from Rajeev Taranath, one of India’s foremost classical musicians, and a master of the sarod. His career spans over four decades and he was a distinguished disciple of the late legendary maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Rajeev has received many honors including India’s highest government award in the arts, the esteemed Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000.

Episode 73: Dena Merriam: When the Bright Moon Rises

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. Martin is the author of several books, including Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana – Medical, Recreational and Scientific, which received the American Botanical Council’s James A. Duke Award for Excellence in Botanical Literature. Named by High Times as one of the 100 most influential people in cannabis, he is the 2016 winner of the Emerald Cup’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Lee is also co-founder of the media watch group FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting) and the author of Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD – The CIA, the Sixties and Beyond. For more information about Martin and Project CBD, visit projectcbd.org. Our featured music today is from Baba Israel and his band Soul Inscribed. We are spotlighting music from the theatrical concert inspired by Martin Lee’s book, Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana – Medical, Recreational, and Scientific. In this musical presentation, Israel uses music and spoken word to explore the history of cannabis adapting stories of countercultural icons, grassroots activists, and the plant itself, to weave a time-traveling tale of jubilation, injustice, and transformation. To learn more, visit babaisrael.com.

Episode 72: Martin A. Lee

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. Our featured music is from visual artist and musician Dorias Brannon. Hear more from Dorias on his website, doriasbrannon.com.

Episode 71: Paul Selig: Alchemy

On this episode, Spring Washam joins Laura Chandler to talk about her book, A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment. Spring is the founder of the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA, and Lotus Vine Journeys, in Costa Rica. Spring is focused on bringing mindfulness-based healing practices to diverse communities and she is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. Spring has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism for the last 20 years. In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices for over a decade. To learn more about Spring, visit springwasham.com. The featured music on this episode is from Home Learning’s latest album, Linn, available for download exclusively via the Sacred Stream Store. To learn and hear more, visit homelearning.bandcamp.com.

Episode 70: Spring Washam: A Fierce Heart

2020 was a year filled with unprecedented events, from political and social unrest, to a pandemic that has changed how we live our lives for the foreseeable future. On this episode, podcast host Laura Chandler takes a look back at the year, re-visiting highlights from past interviews. We’ll hear from bestselling authors Carol Kline, Gay Hendricks, John Perkins, Dena Merriam, and Rachel Harris. Our featured music is also from these past episodes and includes Lisa Lynne, Aryeh Frankfurther, Mia Pixley, Jaya Vidyasagar, and the Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble. The Sacred Stream Radio Podcast is brought to you by the Foundation of the Sacred Stream and Red Cow Productions. You can download or subscribe to this podcast anywhere you get your podcasts or stream it at sacredstream.org/podcast. This program would not exist without the help of some very special people. I want to thank my staff, Cody Humston, Sherri Serino, Katie Healey, and Clementine Moss. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider writing a review and sharing with friends. You can also make a donation to help cover our production costs and help us continue to make free programs like this one widely available.

Episode 69: 2020: A Retrospective

On this episode, Laura is joined by chart-topping traditional folk artists Aryeh Frankfurter and Lisa Lynne to discuss their new album, Harmony House. Lisa and Aryeh are veterans of the music industry with thousands of concerts played and millions of albums sold. They speak with Laura about the inspiration for Harmony House and their secret to longevity in the music industry. Also, Aryeh gives a demonstration of the nyckelharpa – a traditional Swedish instrument that dates back to the 14th Century. Formerly with Windham Hill Records, Lisa Lynne has sold over one million albums and all of her records have reached the top 20 on the Billboard music charts. Well-known for his own independent releases, Aryeh began playing the violin at age three years old. He has toured with and recorded with artists from a variety of genres, and played concert halls throughout the world. Both Lisa and Aryeh play a wide array of instruments including the celtic harp, nyckelharpa, cittern, bazouki, bandura, mandolin, violin, viola, and cello, just to name a few. To learn more about Lisa and Aryeh, check out lisalynne.com and lionharp.com. The music featured on this episode is from their latest release, Harmony House.

Episode 68: Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter

On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by activist and New York Times bestselling author John Perkins, to speak about his latest book, Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear into Action to Change Your Life and the World. They discuss John’s work as an economic consultant and what that taught him about the global economy. Laura and John also talk about his extensive study with shamans from around the world, in particular the Shuar people of Ecuador, and what he learned from them about facing our fears and transforming Death Economies into Life Economies. John is best known for his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which spent 73 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into 32 languages. He is also a founder and board member of the non-profit organizations Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance. John has lectured at Harvard, Oxford, and more than 50 other universities around the world, and is the author of books on indigenous cultures and transformation, including Shapeshifting, The World Is As You Dream It, Psychonavigation, Spirit Of The Shuar, and The Stress-Free Habit. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, CNN, The History Channel, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications, as well as in numerous documentaries. He was awarded the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace in 2012, and the Rainforest Action Network Challenging-Business-As-Usual Award in 2006. Our featured musical guest is international recording artist and saxophonist, Sapphron Obois. To learn more about Sapphron, visit sapphronobois.bandcamp.com.

Episode 67: John Perkins: Touching the Jaguar

On this episode, Laura Chandler is in conversation with producer and director, Paul Howard, talking about his latest documentary, Infinite Potential: The Life & Ideas of David Bohm. Bohm was a visionary physicist and explorer of consciousness, who Einstein called his “spiritual son” and the Dalai Lama called his “science guru.” Bohm’s explorations led him to intuit a hidden order to reality — the Quantum Potential — that underlies both the microscopic world of subatomic particles and also the macro world of stars and galaxies. In this episode, Paul and Laura discuss Baum’s early work, his initial rejection by the scientific community, his relationship with spiritual leaders the Dalai Lama and Krishnamurti, and the intersection of science and spirituality demonstrated in Bohm’s life and his work, the hidden-variable theory. Paul Howard has directed many critically acclaimed documentaries including Waiting for Houlihan, The Irish in Hollywood, Bloomsday, and Triumph of the Nomads — a history of Australia prior to the arrival of European white settlement. You can learn more about Paul and his lastest film at infinitepotential.com. Our featured musical artist is composer and multi-instrumentalist, Aryeh Frankfurter. In addition to his outstanding solo releases, he has played on numerous records with a variety of artists, and regularly collaborates with his partner and colleague, Windham Hill artist and Billboard chart-topping harpist and composer, Lisa Lynne. Learn more about Aryeh at lionharp.com.

Episode 66: Paul Howard: Infinite Potential

On this episode, Laura Chandler talks to New York Times bestselling authors Gay Hendricks and Carol Kline about their latest book, Conscious Luck: Eight Secrets to Intentionally Change Your Fortune. Gay and Carol offer a lot with their book—they remind us of things we may have known, and teach us some new things as well. They share their own experiences with creating luck in their lives, and explore what makes luck more than just random chance. Carol Kline has devoted her career to teaching, writing, and speaking about consciousness and personal growth. She is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and her books include Happy for No Reason, Love for No Reason, and five books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Visit carolkline.com for more information. Gay Hendricks, Ph.D. has served for more than forty years as one of the major contributors to the fields of relationship transformation and body-mind therapies. He is a New York Times bestselling author and his books include Conscious Loving and The Big Leap. Additionally, he and his wife are the co-founders of the Hendricks Institute, an international learning center that teaches core skills for conscious living and conscious loving. Learn more about Gay and the Hendricks Institute at hendricks.com. Our featured musical artist on this episode is award-winning songwriter Angela Predhomme. Her latest album, So Good to be Free, is available now. To hear more, visit angelapredhomme.com.

Episode 65: Gay Hendricks and Carol Kline: Conscious Luck

On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by author and past-life researcher, Joanne DiMaggio. Today they talk about her latest book, I Did It to Myself…Again! They discuss her research on past lives, which she presents in the book, and the conclusions she’s drawn about life, death, and what happens when we die. Joanne is the founder of the Unity Holistic Healing Center, a service of Unity of Charlottesville and the Coordinator for Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is the author of four books and has a counseling practice where she conducts past-life regressions, life-between-lives sessions, and soul writing sessions. For more information about Joanne, visit joannedimaggio.com. Our featured musical artist is acclaimed composer Brian Baumbusch. In 2013, Baumbusch founded The Lightbulb Ensemble, a neo-gamelan performing on instruments built and designed by Baumbusch. The New York Times describes his music as “harmonically vivid… intense… simmering.” To learn more about Brian, visit brianbaumbusch.com.

Episode 64: Joanne DiMaggio: I Did it to Myself...Again!

On this episode, Laura interviews author, therapist, and researcher, Rachel Harris. Rachel is the author of the book Listening to Ayahuasca: New Hope for Depression, Addiction, PTSD and Anxiety. This book offers a comprehensive look at the psychotropic tea used for thousands of years by indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Rachel draws upon her own personal experiences with ayahuasca, the experience of others, as well as her research on the use of ayahuasca in North America, which is the largest study of its kind. Rachel has written several books and was in private practice for thirty five years working with people interested in psychospiritual development. During a decade working in research, Rachel received a National Institutes of Health New Investigator’s Award and published more than forty scientific studies in peer-reviewed journals. She has also consulted to Fortune 500 companies and the United Nations. To learn more about Rachel, visit listeningtoayahuasca.com. Our featured musical artist today is the very talented cellist and singer-songwriter, Mia Pixley. We are featuring music from her album, Inside Out. Visit miapixley.com to hear more.

Episode 63: Rachel Harris

On this episode, Laura Chandler is joined by alternative health care specialist Jill Sweringen to talk about how to stay healthy during the coronavirus outbreak and generally. Jill is the owner of Purple Iris Healing Center in San Francisco and has a doctorate in physical therapy, degrees in traditional Chinese medicine, and is a licensed acupuncturist. She has studied many alternative healing methods and uses a mixture of Western and Eastern medical approaches, including myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, microcurrent therapy, acupuncture, and Chinese herbal medicine to treat a variety of medical conditions. For more information about Jill, visit purpleiris.net. The featured musical artist on this episode is Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble. Kitka is an award-winning, critically acclaimed American women’s vocal arts ensemble inspired by traditional songs and vocal techniques from Eastern Europe and Eurasia. To learn more about Kitka, visit kitka.org.

Episode 62: Jill Sweringen

Laura Chandler hosts this monthly series that features interviews with thought leaders, artists, healers, and other interesting humans.

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