Dorothy Charles
has been a student and teacher at Esalen since 1982. A student of Esalen cofounder Richard Price, she combines Esalen body-centered Gestalt with relational Gestalt theory, and leads workshops in Asia, Europe, and the US.
Gestalt Practice and Cortical Field Re-Education: Developing Emotional and Somatic Resources
Increasing awareness of our somatic sense of self provides new options for developing more effective psychological and physical patterns. This experiential workshop blends the slow, developmental movement of Cortical Field Reeducation® with individual and group Gestalt work to address how habitual, unconscious beliefs and behaviors formed early in life lead to habitual ways of responding that limit life experience.
Relational Gestalt Practice: The Transforming Power of Emotion
Each of us finds our true selves through our emotions. In order to become whole, we must discover how our experience is organized in limiting, unconscious patterns and through that process, learn how to organize our experience in new ways.
Work Study - Relational Gestalt Process
Each of us is born with an inherent drive for aliveness and self-expression and belonging. As we grow up, our sense of self and our ability to be spontaneous may become blocked. Knowing who we are, and what we feel and want, can be difficult when we have lived with the absence of adequate attunement and responsiveness to our emotions. This lack can result in self-judgment and the belief that our emotions are the problem, instead of signals that can point the way toward a better understanding of ourselves and our environment.
Relational Gestalt Process
In order to become whole, we must engage in the ongoing process of discovering our own personal truth. This truth may challenge us, may even be painful, before it gives us new freedom and expands our horizons. When we choose to remain content with intellectual wisdom only, we limit ourselves and limit our relationships. When we integrate the full breadth of our emotional wisdom, we open the path toward becoming whole.
Work Study - The Transformative Power of Emotion
Living a full and connected life requires our capacity to feel and to make use of our emotional experience. Much of the alienation and separation that occurs in our relationships and family life is the result of the fear of feelings. We disconnect from our emotional life when we are afraid of being overwhelmed, humiliated, or perceived as weak or inadequate, only to pay the price later in isolation, anxiety, and depression. If we can be helped to feel safe enough to feel, we can reap the profound benefits of experiencing and exploring our emotions.