Have you ever wondered what lives under your feet? Who inhabits the ingredients that make up the very soil, and enriches the vegetables that feed us? Have you wondered about the history witnessed by the diverse cultures of nature within the mountains you hike and the trees whose shade you lay under? Even the Pacific breeze — have you ever contemplated whose lungs it has filled over centuries of love and trauma?
In this workshop, we are going to humble ourselves so we can become one with the ground under our feet, and listen to the world around us. We will ask these questions of ourselves and contemplate the world around us:
And through it all, we will strive together to work towards designing a more wholesome future.
In a series of exercises that involve contemplation, walking meditation, and explorations of plants, writing, and storytelling we will engage in a process of learning by spending time with the land, with each other, and with ourselves.
We will unlock the sacred trilogy of bird, soil, and plant in order to develop a deeper understanding of the terrain.
We welcome you to join us in a process that does not have a set outcome. This process is open and exploratory and invites us each to face our pains, embrace them, and welcome new life. In this workshop, you will…
This is an interactive, contemplative workshop that will entail sharing intimate stories while at the same time listening and engaging natural elements. Everyone is welcome. Walking the land will be part of this program, so please come prepared to walk over uneven and sometimes damp terrain throughout the property.
Continuing education for this course is available through the leader.
Vivien Sansour is an artist, storyteller, researcher, and conservationist who uses images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act. She founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and her art has been showcased internationally.
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Fri 8:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Sat 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Sat 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm
Sat 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Sun 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Sun 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm
Sun 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Mon 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
More activities can be found on our open class schedule.
See general schedule information including arrival, departure and meal times.
Click Register Now to view availability of accommodations and all-inclusive, program-specific tuition. Please note that not all accommodation levels are available for every workshop and additional faculty fees may apply.
We offer scholarship funds for those with financial need. Learn more.
For this workshop, you will register and pay for accommodations and tuition in two separate steps.
Second, click Book Accommodations from this page and enter the password to complete your reservation to stay at Esalen.
Prices for accommodations include your lodging, meals, open classes, and use of the baths and other facilities. View partner program accommodations pricing.
All guests and faculty must provide proof of negative test results at time of check-in. Please read our current COVID safety guidelines for complete details prior to booking your stay.
In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests and faculty must provide proof of negative test results at time of check-in. Please read our current COVID safety guidelines for complete details prior to booking your stay.
Effective January 7, 2022 in response to the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant, all guests and faculty will provide proof of negative PCR, NAAT, or antigen test results at time of check-in. The test must be taken within 72 hours nd results must come from a laboratory or healthcare provider.Please read our updated COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Effective December 15 in accordance with new guidance from Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Health, all guests, students, staff, residents, and faculty are required to wear masks in all indoor public settings, irrespective of vaccine status, for the next four weeks (December 15, 2021 through January 15, 2022). Please read our updated COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Effective November 19, 2021, in accordance with new guidance from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, all guests, students, staff, residents, and faculty are no longer required to wear masks indoors on campus. Please read our updated COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Starting November 5, 2021, due to substantial levels of COVID-19 transmission in Monterey County, a mask mandate established by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will go into effect. Please read our COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
All guests will be required to provide proof of vaccination upon arrival starting September 3, 2021. Please read our COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Masks are no longer mandated indoors or outdoors, except during massage sessions. Guests are not required to provide testing or vaccination verification before arriving on campus. Please read our COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
December 17–20, 2021
Applications are closed.
Have you ever wondered what lives under your feet? Who inhabits the ingredients that make up the very soil, and enriches the vegetables that feed us? Have you wondered about the history witnessed by the diverse cultures of nature within the mountains you hike and the trees whose shade you lay under? Even the Pacific breeze — have you ever contemplated whose lungs it has filled over centuries of love and trauma?
In this workshop, we are going to humble ourselves so we can become one with the ground under our feet, and listen to the world around us. We will ask these questions of ourselves and contemplate the world around us:
And through it all, we will strive together to work towards designing a more wholesome future.
In a series of exercises that involve contemplation, walking meditation, and explorations of plants, writing, and storytelling we will engage in a process of learning by spending time with the land, with each other, and with ourselves.
We will unlock the sacred trilogy of bird, soil, and plant in order to develop a deeper understanding of the terrain.
We welcome you to join us in a process that does not have a set outcome. This process is open and exploratory and invites us each to face our pains, embrace them, and welcome new life. In this workshop, you will…
This is an interactive, contemplative workshop that will entail sharing intimate stories while at the same time listening and engaging natural elements. Everyone is welcome. Walking the land will be part of this program, so please come prepared to walk over uneven and sometimes damp terrain throughout the property.
Vivien Sansour is an artist, storyteller, researcher, and conservationist who uses images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act. She founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and her art has been showcased internationally.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org