Great news, we have surpassed one of our end-of-year goals: to make 300 new friends by Giving Tuesday. Thanks to you, we’ve made not just 300 but 500 new Friends of Esalen! Your support means the world and then some. We are so excited that you’ve joined us on this journey as a supporter.

But even though we’ve achieved one of our goals, we still need your help to reach our second goal of raising $450K. While we were hoping to get there by Giving Tuesday, we need a bit more time and support. Please consider making a donation today to help us reach our goal before the New Year.

Besides donating, you can also support Esalen by shopping in our online store! Proceeds from all purchases, whether online or in our on-campus bookstore, go right back into the funds that resource our daily operations. Shop online now.

We're excited to announce the launch of our new Live Extended Education Program (LEEP), which marks the return of our re-imagined four-week extended study experience. Formerly known as the work study or work scholar program, LEEP is designed for people who want to explore new ways of thinking and being while serving in the Esalen community. Under the guidance of our skilled and compassionate faculty and as part of a cohort of twelve other learners, you'll be challenged to expand your personal growth edges and open up greater discoveries of self and community.

The first cohort begins January 15, and applications are open.

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There's still time to give yourself the gift of time this winter with a week-long Self-Guided Exploration stay at Esalen. We’re extending the offer of a complimentary massage (limited to one massage per person) when you reserve Premium Plus, Point House, or Point House Plus accommodations for a week-long Self-Guided Exploration through January. The promo code will be in your confirmation email after booking. There are still a precious few November to December dates left, and January is filling quickly.

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Celebrating LGBTQ love in a safe space, human potential with Paul Selig, Enneagram for expansion, and more are all pathways of growth available in this round of January and February workshop experiences.

​​New Year Meditation Retreat: Self-Love and Kindness that Benefits All, January 3–7 with Mark Abramson. Mark will guide students through a series of practices of both stillness and movement, which will build the momentum of concentration and awareness. Participants will practice mindfulness meditation utilizing the rich, sensual experience of Esalen, with the sounds of the ocean, the feeling of the air, and the beauty of seeing the colors and textures as well as the rich experience of their own bodies and minds.

The Enneagram in Practice: Becoming a Love Warrior and Expanding the Space for “Others”, January 14–16 with Dr. Deborah Egerton. Students will use the Enneagram and I.D.E.A. (inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-racism) to activate as an authentic advocate for all of humanity and stand in love against “othering”. Learn how to engage your three centers of intelligence, engage in enlightening background discovery, and embark upon an Enneagram exploration for inner work to empower yourself with new tools, knowledge, and community connection. Watch Dr. Egerton on Esalen Live!

Chakra Rituals, January 17–21 with Cristi Christensen and Millana Snow. With the map in hand and Cristi and Millana as your guides, participants will be on a step-by-step adventure into your inner depths that initiates on the first Full Moon of 2022. Through the ritual practices of yoga, breathwork, music, meditation, dance, and communion with the five sacred elements, we will uncover these precious jewels as we return home to the body and to nature.

I Am the Word: The Energetics of Consciousness, January 24–28 with Paul Selig. In his breakthrough works of channeled literature, including I Am the Word and The Kingdom, author and channel Paul Selig has recorded a program for personal and planetary evolution. Through a series of lectures, attunements, and energy activations, students will be introduced to the frequency of the Word, which can be described as the energy of “God in action.” Discover exercises for healing the self and others, along with practical techniques for developing and sustaining higher levels of consciousness. Students will also receive individual instruction to move through the physical and emotional blocks that may be keeping them from manifesting their own higher nature.

​​Transformative Practice Meets the Scientific Method, January 28–30 with Pam Kramer, Josh Brahinsky, and Michael Lifshitz. Want to witness science in action while engaging in mind-body practices for greater balance, vitality, and well-being? In this workshop, students will learn how Stanford University researchers approach the scientific method through an onsite pilot study, exploring the ways individual traits predict change through practice/ In particular, you’ll explore Integral Transformative Practice (ITP), created in 1992 by Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy and former Esalen President George Leonard. ITP is a research-based program for realizing human potential and awakening our extraordinary capacities through dedicated practice.

Awake in the New Year: Setting Conscious Intentions for Our Lives, January 31–February 4 with Deborah Eden Tull. The New Year is a powerful threshold. It is an opportunity to listen deeply, reflect, restore, and create anew. Yet, we often make resolutions that perpetuate the myth of self-improvement, while doing nothing to empower our heart’s intentions, thereby setting us up for disappointment. This five-day retreat invites participants to go on a powerfully restorative journey through meditation, mindful inquiry, relational mindfulness, conscious movement, deep time in nature, writing, and ritual. Read Insights with Deborah.

Meditation and Modern Life: A Zen Meditation Retreat, February 4–6 with Dan Zigmond. Students will leave this retreat with everything they need to start, revive, or deepen a daily meditation practice led by Zen priest, writer, and data scientist Dan Zigmond. Students will receive instruction in traditional Zen meditation and will sit together, practicing within guided sessions. Discussions unpack obstacles to meditation plus how to overcome them. Experience a bit with Zigmond on Esalen Live!

The I in the Storm: Bringing Self Leadership to Everyday Life, February 14–18 with Richard Schwartz. This workshop introduces the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy and teaches healing professionals and all who are interested a highly effective way to guide people to a state of inner clarity and compassion (called the Self), from which they know how to heal themselves. Participants will gain the tools to understand the role of the Self, discuss the role of mindfulness in self-awareness, and recognize the essential features of the IFS model.

Embodying LGBTQ+ Love: Celebrating Our Relationships, February 18–20 with Toni Bergins, MEd and Rev. Erika Allison. What if there was a space in which our love was not just tolerated, but celebrated… where our relationships were not judged and shamed, but showered in support, encouragement, and care? Come strengthen your couple-love through heart-opening practices and deepen your self-love through movement, expression, music, ritual, and meditation in a weekend dedicated to LGBTQ+ humans.

Self-Compassion in Inner and Outer Relationships, February 21–25 with Richard Schwartz. This five-day retreat is open to anyone — currently in a relationship or not — who wants to explore the idea that it is possible and optimal to bring one’s full heart to any important relationship. In a safe and supportive environment, this experience will offer ways to work with the parts of ourselves that stand in the way of giving and receiving love fully.

Wild Eros in a Fragmented World: Soulcraft as Radical Participation, February 28 – March 4 with Geneen Marie Haugen. In Wild Eros, students will approach the waters, forest, gardens, and creatures (human and other) as a lover, awakening the wild body and mythopoetic imagination where everything is alive and intelligent. Our soulcraft practices will include ceremony, deep imagery, dreamwork, trance drumming, dancing, and solo wandering.

And if you’ve always wanted to visit Esalen but haven’t been able to find the room in your budget: do you know about our scholarship program?
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