Humanity

Whenever Director of Communications & Storytelling Shira Levine is on campus, she deliberately pauses to make sure she is completely present: "I used to start writing the stories in my head in the moment — as I was experiencing something. Now, I stop myself to get out of the way of my buzzing brain to just Be.”

With a lifetime of learning and adventure, Esalen’s new head of programming is ready to curate experiences that bridge dualities, transcend prescribed narratives, and aid transformation: “I see the workshops at Esalen collectively as a kind of living organism with their own energy and agency, their own purpose to manifest in the world.”

After finding purpose and family here, Sam Stern now promotes and shares Esalen through his work as host of the Voices of Esalen podcast. A fantastic deal, he says: “Honestly, what more could I ask for?”

A cross-country journey lands this chef where he’s meant to be — a place he can nourish both bodies and souls: "I always receive joy when I am able to help others."

#myEsalen reflects the many ideas, feelings and experiences of what Esalen is to each of us. We all have a unique story to tell about how Esalen has impacted our life, #myEsalen is a vehicle for sharing what makes Esalen our own individually and collectively. Though she’s lived in Big Sur since 2018 and has been visiting Esalen since the late ’90s, Casey Cushing — who joined the Esalen staff last year — still gets the same magical feeling arriving on campus as her very first visit.

Author and educator LaVerne McLeod talks about moving beyond awareness to get into the internal work we must all face independently to become allies and collaborators in the fight against oppression. “The change must begin with you, on your own, and that is like a sacred passage to know that you can be the catalyst, the instrument, and, eventually, the helping accomplice.”

“There isn’t one path!” JJ Jeffries wisely shares. This beloved community elder explains how a once “clueless yokel from Indiana” created his “Pathways to Joy” from all the many practices and studies that informed and transformed him at Esalen.

Former scholar-in-residence and current REEP faculty member Marleen Thaler on being at Esalen: “And is there anything more beautiful than feeling comforted at the place closest to your heart?”

After fluttering around the world, Manon Wilde’s restless spirit suddenly alights at Esalen — for now: “Here, I feel connected, accepted, and valued.”

Guest Services Supervisor Nani Almanza likens finding her way to Esalen during the pandemic to “washing up on the shore of a beautiful island after being lost at sea.”

In her second installment of “Conversations We Should Be Having,” S. Rae Peoples asks activist and publisher Tim McKee, how he thinks white men can meaningfully contribute to and benefit from racial justice.

Inspired by the recordings of the acclaimed ethnobotanist, mystic, and psychonaut, Hunter Stroope drove his 1984 VW van to see “the space that held Terrance McKenna and his fringe esoteric thinking.”

CABinS Supervisors Jess Siller and Aaron Willams share their thoughts on service, clearing spaces, and setting the stage for transformation.

While searching for a workshop, Chef Abi found a new job, a new home, and a new mission: to build “the next compassionate Esalen Kitchen era.”

Supporting Indigenous people begins with honoring their history and recognizing their past. This month, we’re checking out titles suggested by the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County to learn the truth of what was and still is.

What is American food? Where do treasured family recipes actually come from? Our food sources — what we eat, who makes it, and the family history behind them — frequently have origins that have been rendered invisible. While we may associate food with the experience of American culture, we rarely take the time to move through the nuances and complexities of food as it intersects within this nation’s narrative.

After several different lives — med school, tech startups, naturopathic medicine — Shannon found the one place she’ll always come back to: “Esalen has remained a consistent thread in my life. There’s an undeniable magic here!”

Suddenly, Josef London had an epiphany: He knew he needed to make the pilgrimage to Esalen. He woke up one morning and realized he did not want to do the next 25 years like he’d done the last 25 years: “I knew I needed to change my life to heal my life, and that I needed to do it somewhere else.”

Jess Siller felt invisible in her corporate job with a soul-sucking two-hour commute. She discovered Esalen while reading a book by Michael Pollan and moved across the country to find a new home — and her authentic self.

“Conversations We Should Be Having” is a new column intended to foster meaningful conversations that amplify diverse voices and issues. To start us off, Enneagram + Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Anti-Racism Specialist Dr. Deborah Egerton shares her thoughts concerning Juneteenth.

“Me and mine” versus “us and ours.” Our way of being illuminates a type of mindfulness for how we relate to “other” human beings. Dr. E shares how the Enneagram model might help heal our divided societies.

Love and yoga are an alchemy that can turn wounds into wisdom, pain into love. Sianna Sherman kicks off our digital hybrid program with Phoenix Rising and lights up our hearts.

LEEP enters a new era and leaves its imprint on the hearts of the first cohort since its return. Learn how the Live Extended Education Program changed one soul, plus, three words to describe the forever impact of Esalen.

Does your relationship “check a box?” Rev. Erika Allison, a queer interfaith minister and author, tackles moving beyond the labels established long ago to embrace individual self-journeys to love for the LGBTQ+ community.

If the pandemic woke you up to see the world’s crises with new eyes, you can make a difference. Two leaders from Search for Common Ground, the Nobel-nominated, global peacebuilding organization, explain how, why — and why you, right now.

Esalen News: On September 3, 2021 Esalen made the decision to require proof of vaccination for all faculty, staff, guests, and students. Here are some answers to the most frequently-asked questions about our current COVID guidelines.

In honor of International Yoga Day, we are spotlighting some of the practitioners and communities who reconnect us to the foundations of the ancient spiritual practice of yoga, reminding us that it is a powerful force for both social change and personal transformation.

Esalen's Christine Chen interviews facilitators Ben Geilhufe, LPCC (he/him/his) and Jen Hastings, MD (pronouns Jen) in advance of their upcoming workshop in Big Sur, Gender Journeys: Exploring Identity In Community.

“Almost every piece of work or literature that I've read on racism is built on one assumption: that it cannot end. Or at best, that it will be a ‘lifelong fight.’ That ending racism will be something that ‘will probably never happen in our generation.’”

Eldra Jackson III has harnessed the power of transformation and tapping into his human potential. As a 24-year inmate in the California prison system, he was given ample opportunity to turn inward, and when he discovered Inside Circle, his inner journey took a significant turn, which led to his release in 2014.

In July, Esalen hosted faculty-singer-author Justin Michael Williams for a mini-residency. Justin’s presence on property was so nourishing that Esalen’s Community and Advancement team invited him to host a 90-minute online workshop as an opportunity to meet Justin, experience the work he is doing in the world and explore the topics of equality and race.

In June 2020, Esalen released a statement regarding the present racial crisis. This page provides additional clarity on how Esalen, as an organization, will work in very practical and substantive ways to be more inclusive. We value your feedback and insights as we collectively move forward to make these important changes.

For nearly 60 years, we at Esalen have committed ourselves to the exploration and actualization of human potential, a future humanity envisioned in ways at once deeply individual, radically interpersonal, politically active, plurally embodied and genuinely global. The recent national events and protests around the murder of George Floyd on May 25 and the still unrealized dream of a truly inclusive American society have shown us in too familiar and yet fundamentally new ways that we have not lived up to our own legacy.

Esalen’s first online retreat was a free community offering entitled “Building Bridges of Belonging: The Inner Work of Healing from Racism and Moving Towards Positive Social Transformation.” More than 60 participants attended the online retreat in early June, which was facilitated by Jessica Hartzell and Lacy Shannon of Esalen's Community and Advancement team, and Programs Specialist Tanja Roos, and led by two Esalen faculty: University of San Francisco law professor Rhonda V. Magee, an expert on mindful teaching and learning, race and law; and Kamilah Majied, a social justice leader and mental health therapist.

The current pandemic has created a heightened awareness of the sacrifices made by nurses, doctors, first responders and other caregivers in the face of unprecedented circumstances. Apart from the threat of physical harm, many in the healthcare profession as well as social change professions such as activists and teachers face mental and emotional challenges as well.

Esalen’s original series, Conversations on the Edge, facilitates thought-provoking conversations around pressing issues of our time. In these curated weekend events, spread out throughout the year, leading experts and visiting teachers come together in lightning talks, group discussion and idea-sharing. ‍

Adam Leonard and Dustin DiPerna first met 15 years ago helping to produce a series of integral workshops in Colorado. They re-connected years later when they found themselves participating in similar communities and conversations in California, and ultimately embarked on a teaching collaboration that embraces theory (having a good map) with practice (experiencing the actual territory).

In 2015, Esalen joined a small group of other nonprofits to co-create the Wellbeing Project, a global initiative to shift the social change field culture from one of frequent burnout to supporting inner well-being. The Project structures its approach around four pillars: experiential programs, research and evaluation, convening and storytelling.

In the middle of a career shift, WisdomWomen founder Michelle Stransky took a huge leap into the unknown. As she navigated the transition, she followed her curiosity and soon pinpointed her next endeavor: to create an experimental space for women to develop and share their gifts as leaders. WisdomWomen was born, and Esalen — with its long history as fertile soil for breakthrough ideas and social movements — was a natural place for it to emerge.

In this season of troubling darkness and inspiring light, we lean into our gratefulness practice, remembering the blessings and joys of friends like you as you offer gifts of resources and support for Esalen and for all our great work together. Most precious of all is your companionship on the journey, as we walk together the paths of transformation in this challenging age.

Just a year ago, former Wisdom 2.0 staffer Michelle Stransky was preparing to see her vision of a community of women leaders come to life at the first-ever gathering of WisdomWomen at Esalen. Many of those in attendance became WisdomWomen founding members and have helped to create a community seeking to build our world from a different paradigm.

Many times those who are supporting and leading positive social change within their communities also may need support in their personal lives. Esalen is proud to be a co-creator of The Wellbeing Project, a program focused on helping social entrepreneurs lead healthier and more balanced lives. The catalyst of this project, Aaron Pereira, shares his story with us.

Regeneration, rebirth, resilience, revival, relationship… Elders and youngers of the farming persuasion circled round for a week of connecting and spinning yarns around these themes and more late January at Esalen. These agrarians, like anyone else involved in the burgeoning food movement, fuel their work with a passion for creating positive change that ripples outward and effects virtually every big issue we as a species currently grapple with: climate change, world peace, social justice, biodiversity, physical, spiritual, and mental health… the list goes on.

For the first time in its history, Esalen will host a property-wide gathering for women in January as a call to action for participants to advance their vision for a life-affirming world. The gathering is led by Michelle Stransky, formerly with Wisdom 2.0, as part of her brainchild WisdomWomen. Joining Michelle is Konda Mason, co-founder and CEO of Hub Oakland, and Sally Kempton, an internationally known spiritual teacher, and other women leaders.

When social entrepreneur Aaron Pereora was named a Fellow with the Ashoka organization – a worldwide network of more than 3,000 change makers leading positive social change – he was struck by how many of his peers struggled with their own well-being and the effect this struggle had on their work. Having completed an extensive sabbatical himself after serving as co-founder of CanadaHelps and Vartana, Aaron knew the transformative effect of personal development. From this experience, he and several colleagues created the Wellbeing Project to connect inner work with social change.

More than 100 self-described thinkers and doers in social media, digital strategy, and social change converged at Esalen in October for an innovative annual conference called Web of Change. Founded in 2001, Web of Change alumni have gone on to lead transformational change in such organizations as Greenpeace, Presente.org, 350.org, and the National Counsel of La Raza. This year’s conference attracted more than 400 applicants.