January 2000 Esalen Catalog

Transcription

The Esalen Catalog
January – June 2000
®
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Esalen — A convergence of mountains and sea,
mind and body, East and West, meditation and action
Esalen — A center for alternative education, a forum for transformational
practices, a restorative retreat, a worldwide community of seekers
Dedicated to exploring work in the humanities and sciences that furthers the full realization
of the human potential, Esalen offers public workshops, residential work-study programs,
invitational conferences, and independent projects that support our mission.
As a center designed to foster personal and social transformation, we offer those who
join us the chance to explore more deeply the world and themselves.
Welcome to
®
S
contents
Volume xxxix, Number 1
Esalen Institute
Highway 1
Big Sur, California 93920-9616
Catalog Requests: 831-667-3000,
ext. 7100
Esalen Board of Trustees:
Mary Ellen Klee
Bokara Legendre
George Leonard
Michael Murphy
Marilyn Schlitz
Jeremy Tarcher
Nancy Lunney Wheeler
Director of Programming:
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Nancy Lunney Wheeler
Operations Manager:
David Price
Personnel Manager:
Pat Lewine
Audio Recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Biographical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Catalog Subscription Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Continuing Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Esalen Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Esalen Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Friends of Esalen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Gazebo School Park Early Childhood Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Guide to Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Invitational Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
“Three Pillars of Asian Wisdom” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Reservation Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Reservation Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Scholarship Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Seminar Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Special Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Wilderness Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Work Study Program and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69-71
We shall never cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
— T . S . E l i o t , The Four Quartets
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Esalen Catalog Staff:
Editor: Peter Friedberg
Administrative Liaison: Kasia Zajac
Design & Production: Terry McGrath
The Esalen Catalog is published triannually by the Esalen Institute, Big
Sur, California 93920-9616.
Printed on recycled paper.
©1999 Esalen Institute.
All rights reserved.
ISSN 1088-2782
Subscription Information:
Subscription cost for one year is $15
for the United States, $17 for Canada
and Mexico, $22 for Europe and
South America, and $25 for all other
countries. Please send a check or
money order (U.S. currency) in the
enclosed subscription envelope, or
mail it to: Subscriptions, Esalen
Institute, Big Sur, CA 93920.
Although we’re delighted to provide
you with this issue of the catalog, if
you are not currently a subscriber we
would appreciate a $5 contribution to
defray postage and production costs.
Please use the enclosed subscription
envelope.
R
general information
E
s a l e n was founded in 1962 as an
alternative educational center devoted
to the exploration of unrealized human
capacities. It soon became known worldwide
for its blend of East/West philosophies, its
experiential/didactic workshops, the steady
influx of philosophers, psychologists, artists,
and religious thinkers, and its breathtaking
grounds blessed with natural hot springs.
Once home to a Native American tribe known
as the Esselen, Esalen is situated on 27 acres of
spectacular Big Sur coastline with the Santa
Lucia Mountains rising sharply behind.
Another way of being at Esalen which allows a
greater involvement at a lower expense is the
Work Study Program, an intensive twentyeight day work-oriented program for individuals who want to make a directed, personal
commitment to self-exploration and growth,
and a contribution to the Esalen community.
For a full description of the Work Study
Program, please turn to page 69.
For those who wish an extended stay, there
are periodic long-term programs which
involve didactic seminars or professional
trainings as well as experiential workshops.
Please see Special Programs, page 66.
Finally, there are other events that enrich
life at Esalen. There are occasional forums
in which writers and thinkers, both visiting
and resident, share their ideas with the community. On Wednesday nights there may be
lectures, films, dance performances, or other
events. Bodywork of various kinds is available
by appointment with individual practitioners.
There is also a community event schedule
offered. Please check the bulletin board
when you arrive.
Esalen is a center for experimental education.
We offer neither psychotherapy nor assurances
of change.
The Hot Springs at Esalen
We would like those people who are planning
their first visit to Esalen to know that swimsuits are optional, and nudity common, in the
hot springs, massage area, and swimming pool.
We encourage each individual to choose what
is most comfortable, either wearing a swimsuit or not, and emphasize that the environment we strive for at Esalen is one of personal
sanctuary and respect for the human body.
EMANUELA GARDNER
There are various ways to experience Esalen,
ranging from an overnight visit to a longterm stay as a seminarian. The weekend
and five-day workshops described in the
Seminars section of the catalog are the
standard route for coming to Esalen. The
“Experiencing Esalen” workshops, scheduled
periodically, offer an introduction to practices such as Gestalt, massage, sensory awareness, and meditation. From such a sampling,
participants can then choose those approaches they are most attracted to and pursue them
in subsequent seminars.
Esalen is a 45-mile drive south from
Monterey, 11 miles south of Nepenthe, on
Coast Route 1. From the south, we are 50
miles north of Hearst Castle. A lighted
sign on the ocean side of the highway
reads: Esalen Institute, By Reservation Only.
ning, arrangements can be made for access to
many of our facilities.
Because of the large volume of guests at
Esalen, we require a minimum of 72 hours’
notice to arrange for accessible accommodations. If you will need sign language interpreting at an Esalen workshop, we require at least
two weeks’ notice to arrange for interpreter
services. In all cases, we will do our best to
assist you with your needs.
Recommended Reading and
Mail Order Merchandise
Most books listed as recommended reading
for workshops are available through Esalen’s
bookstore. All other bookstore items are also
available via mail order. For ordering information please call 831-667-3049.
Ongoing Residence Program
Accreditation and Continuing
Education
Offered beginning mid-September and ending mid-June, the Ongoing Residence
Program is designed for those who would like
to have time and space in the Esalen environment for an intensive workshop program
over a long term. A Residence Program stay is
26 days (four “weeks” and three weekends).
Many formal educational institutions recognize the time spent at Esalen as being worthy
of credit in their own curricula; check with
your university or college. We would be glad
to supply information to your school regarding any of our programs.
Participants may select any of the five-day
workshops offered during their stay with
weekends open to enjoy room and board.
Occasionally workshops are cancelled, so
second choices are advised.
Esalen is a provider of continuing education
for psychologists, MFTs, LCSWs, nurses, and
massage practitioners. See page 10 for details.
The specially discounted cost is $3780 per
26-day period for standard accommodations
and $2980 for bunk bed rooms. No other
discounts apply.
Disabled Access
If you cancel or change any part of your
Residence Program reservation at least five
full days before its start, there will be a $150
cancellation fee. If you cancel with less than
five days’ notice, the cancellation fee is $330.
Here at Esalen, many of our paths, though
paved, are extremely steep due to our cliffside
location. In fact, Big Sur is the steepest meeting of land and sea in the continental United
States. Nonetheless, we are committed to
accommodating guests who have disabilities.
If you have a disability and think you might
need assistance, and you would like to visit
Esalen, please give the office as much advance
notice as possible about your needs. Although
we are in the process of increasing our disability access, access to some parts of our property
continues to be difficult. With enough plan-
Esalen Is Tax-Deductible
Contributions to Esalen Institute are taxdeductible. The expenses of attending Esalen,
including travel, are deductible for federal
income tax purposes as an educational
expense if incurred to maintain or improve
professional or work skills. (See Income Tax
Regulation 1.162-5.)
3
Three Pillars of Asian Wisdom
C
hungliang Al Huang, founder of The Living Tao
Foundation, and Huston Smith, author of the
acclaimed The World’s Religions, are two great synthesizers of Eastern and Western thought. By
strange coincidence, they both grew up in small
Chinese villages just thirty miles apart and both left China
for America at the age of seventeen. Their dual cultural heritage has been a defining characteristic in both of their lives,
and they have both devoted their careers to bringing together the diverse wisdom traditions of the world.
spokesman for so many different wisdom traditions. I am
curious about what it is that you, the master spokesman,
believe.
When it was announced that these two ambassadors of the
spirit would be conjointly presenting an Esalen seminar—
and possibly a series of seminars—to illuminate the major
Asian wisdom traditions (see Three Pillars of Asian
Wisdom, March 19-24), we asked Albert Wong,
Coordinator of the Friends of Esalen, to speak with both
men. Albert, a Chinese American, is a product of the same
bicultural heritage as Huston and Chungliang. The interviews that followed not only elicited revealing responses
from the two venerable teachers, but also triggered a chain of
disquieting responses within the young interviewer. Some
background, in Albert’s own words:
Now what came through to
me in my childhood from
Christianity was this: We’re in
good hands and, in gratitude
for that, it would be well if we
bore one another’s burden.
When I left science, my father was disappointed. He is a theoretical
physicist and wanted me to carry on the lineage. I wanted out.
I turned to philosophy. But my father still held onto hope. If you
must study philosophy, Albert, at least study Chinese philosophy. Read Confucius. Remember filial piety.
If I at least studied Chinese philosophy I would still be carrying
on the line. Of course, I therefore avoided it feverishly. Which is
why it had come to find me.
In August 1999, I was given the Huston Smith/Al Huang interview assignment. Immediately the attendant familiarity was
uncanny. Al Huang’s surname is my own—his is the Mandarin version, mine is the Cantonese. Both Huston Smith and Al Huang
grew up in China and came to America for university at age seventeen. As did my father.
Though I had to this point been largely successful in shucking the
Confucian aspects of my upbringing—remnants, in my own mind,
of a backwards feudal age—here in the task set before me were two
exemplars of the Confucian ethic. Was I supposed to learn from
them what I had in my own life discarded? Perhaps, yes.
y
HUSTON: Well, I was born of missionary parents in China
and spent my first seventeen years there. It was a very close
nuclear family because we were the only foreigners in the
small town where I grew up. And, of course, the Christian
religion was at the heart of my parents’ lives. It was just a part
of the air that we breathed
as a family...
So, because that took and
really shaped me — for these
were my formative years —I
have found no reason to
depart from Christianity as
my basic religion. However,
as I sometimes put it, though
Christianity has been my
main meal, I’m a strong
believer in vitamin supplements, and I have derived
richly from the other wisdom traditions that I have
Huston Smith
dunked myself in. To use
another image, you could think of a basketball player pivoting...the left foot, say, is in Christianity but the right foot
pivots freely around it. So, my one foot is planted in the
Christian tradition, but I have spent many years in some
of the other traditions and have drawn great benefit from
immersing myself in them in this way.
Huston’s voice resonates with a graceful certainty, and I am envious.
I want to have what I imagine he has—a spiritual foundation
passed down from the generations and the simple confidence of one
who has lived in the midst of it and knows. But I did not grow up
in a missionary household. My ground was in my parents—firstgeneration immigrant Chinese.
[Spliced excerpts from phone conversations with Huston
Smith and Chungliang Al Huang. August 30, September 8,
and September 23, 1999.]
My namesake Chungliang Al Huang is also on the line. Perhaps
he might offer further guidance. He is, after all, zhongguoren—
Chinese—like me. So, I ask him what I have asked Huston. Maybe
his words will hit home.
AW: Huston, you are such an eloquent and articulate
CHUNGLIANG: Where did I come from? What do I believe?
4
Well...when I was born, Japan and China were at war, and it
was a particularly difficult time for China. My family was
hiding in the country. We were displaced, but we made the
best of it. My parents each came from strong scholarly families with a deep cultural background. So, even though we
were hiding in the country, they gave me a very rigorous traditional training. I learned the Chinese classic texts, the art
of calligraphy, Tai Ji. I grew up with a training in Confucian
ethics that taught me propriety, appropriate relationship, and
how to stay in harmony with life’s social order. Plus, being in
the country, I was surrounded by nature, and nature was a
great teacher. I learned what it really meant to reach up to
the sky and down to the
earth—one hand up and one
hand below—and connect
with nature and the way of
the Tao. And I also learned
in a very primal way from
Buddhism what it meant
to really be awake to life.
So I was a combination
of these three traditions:
Confucianism, Buddhism,
and Taoism.
Al Huang’s voice calms me, and
I remember my own childhood.
Like him, I grew up in the
country, surrounded by nature.
Son in a family of scholars.
And thinking back upon it, I
now realize that, without even
knowing it, I did imbibe the
traditions of Confucianism,
Chungliang Al Huang
Buddhism, and Taoism—alongside my Coca Cola and MTV. Like a good Chinese child I kowtowed
to the Confucian order. And then, in my twenties, my Western half
revolted and I bucked the system with a vengeance. Though I
would still embrace Buddhism and Taoism with relative ease,
Confucianism went out the window, like the shackles of homework
and summer school...Truthfully, the movement into Western individualism felt necessary, but I have felt off balance ever since. Like
a man trying to sit on a two-legged stool...
AW: So, Chungliang, while Huston had one main pivot point,
his Christianity, it sounds like you actually had three.
CHUNGLIANG: Yes, but they all blended together. As we often
say in China: “Wear a Confucian hat when you are in your
career and in your social interactions. Learn to relate to
nature as a Taoist and use the Tao to help balance and harmonize your everyday life. And then eventually as you approach
old age, let the deep spirituality of Buddhism guide you.” The
saying goes: “Every proper Chinese wears a Confucian hat, a
Taoist robe, and Buddhist sandals at the same time.” So you
can think of it as three pivot points moving together or one
pivot with three parts. It’s the same.
It sounds so easy. Wear this hat. That robe. These sandals. But something in me protests. This is America—land of the free—and I want
to wear what I want. I am, after all, an individual as much as I am
a Chinese...Yet, as he continues speaking, I am struck by his peaceful
equipoise. And I wonder which path is more rewarding: to follow
the accumulated wisdom of a thousand generations or to stubbornly
demand to discover one’s own. For the past four years, I have been
searching at Esalen for a way to find balance again.
One thing that seems true about people today is that
they don’t seem to have a strong pivot point in their spiritual
lives—or, shifting back to the food metaphor, that they don’t
really have a solid “main meal.”
AW:
HUSTON: Yes, this is a new and important issue in our time
that is sometimes referred to as the “cafeteria approach” or
the “do-it-yourself collage approach” to spirituality, in which,
basically, people take elements from such religions that seem
to speak to them and put the parts together in a kind of “doit-yourself religion.”
CHUNGLIANG: Huston, I agree with you. And I see this hap-
pening more and more. For people who are starting on the
path, a few years of cafeteria-style approach is fine. In fact,
people need to continue to explore different paths and have
the excitement of new alternatives. It’s very American. But
there is a certain point when people come of age, when they
need a deeper kind of substance—the kind that you don’t get
from just a weekend at Esalen. Eventually, people get tired of
the creative excitement of experimenting. They arrive at a
point where they really want to feel their own vintage, their
own substance. They want some kind of sustained continuity
in a life-long pursuit of learning, knowledge, and wisdom.
I begin to feel antsy and shift in my seat. Have I been, in my own
time here, a spiritual dilettante?
HUSTON: For my own part, I think, of course, that there is no
one way to cultivate the human spirit, and if this “do-it-yourself ” approach works for those people, well, God bless them.
But I do have some personal reasons for that approach not
attracting me...Chogyam Trungpa put it very well in his book
Spiritual Materialism. He says the trouble with the cafeteria
approach is that it stems from “faint ego.” That is, you put
yourself in the driver’s seat and then you think you know
what you need. So you scan the horizon and you pick out
this, that, and the other, but, he adds, if you knew what you
needed, you would be at the end of the path. You would
already be at your destination.
The fact is you’re not, and that since you don’t know what
you need, the danger is that you’ll just pick out what is attractive and suitable and maybe easy and maybe less demanding
5
and that’s not going to get you very far.
Over the past four years, my father has told me, repeatedly, that by
being at Esalen I am choosing the easy way out. I should return to
the world—the real world—and take a stand in the rightful order
of things.
AW: Could you speak about some moments in your life, Al,
when the going seemed to be uphill?
CHUNGLIANG: Hmmmm...well, for me, the greatest time of
struggle was really when I first came to the States and forgot
about the cultural traditions from which I came. When I
first came to this country as a Chinese looking west, I was
so enamored, so excited about Western culture that I
ignored what I came from for a short period. I became so
Westernized in my college days. I had no idea of the value
of what I brought with me.
AW: So you left it behind? (I flash to my father when he left
China. And I remember the day I left my dad.)
CHUNGLIANG: Well, I kind of put it on the back burner. I
wasn’t using the power of my own roots. I was just building
a castle on wishful thinking
about becoming a Westerner.
And it was a struggle—until
I realized the true value of
my foundation as an Asian
person. And once I picked
up that, I realized my own
strength again.
If the many legs
of a centipede
were controlled
by thinking
mechanisms, the
poor creature
would never take
another step.
—Chungliang Al Huang,
Beginner’s Tai Ji Book
I don’t want to believe him. And
yet what he says is true. You are
meant to go home, Albert. But I
am fearful. I have forgotten how
to bow. What it would mean to
return to my roots? Could I even
go back after all these years? To
return to the realm of social
order and Confucian demands?
To me, they recall suffering.
AW: Huston, do you think
that the wisdom traditions that you have immersed yourself
in have helped you move through your own suffering in life?
HUSTON: Have helped me to face my own suffering? Oh, yes.
6
Understanding...
breeds love;
but the reverse
also holds.
Love brings
understanding—
the two are
reciprocal.
Oh, yes. I will quote the
Buddha who summarized his
whole teaching, “I teach suffering and the cessation of
suffering.”
But, you know it’s not as
though you suffer less. The
suffering is equally intense—
it’s just not the whole story. If
that’s the yin, well, there’s also
the yang in the yin-yang symbolism. And most important
of all, there’s the circle that
brings them together in a
kind of complementarity...
When our oldest daughter
died of sarcoma cancer at the
age of fifty, five years ago, she
had converted to Judaism very sincerely, and the way that the
synagogue just enfolded her entire family during the seven
months after her diagnosis was the most powerful personal
example of the way in which, again, religion doesn’t erase or
eliminate suffering, but enfolds it in a context which
redeems it...
—Huston Smith,
The Illustrated World’s Religions
So, I would not want to extol religion or recommend it to
anyone as a goal to happiness because the philosophers have
developed what they call the Hedonistic Paradox which runs
like this: If you aim for happiness, you’re not going to get it.
If you aim for something else, why, then happiness is likely
to come along with it.
I pause clumsily. I do not know what to say.
I have a feeling, Albert, that you are really
enjoying this task and you are doing some very interesting
personal journeying there...
CHUNGLIANG:
AW: Well, yes. (I feel awkward.) OK. Well...good. (Pause.) I
know I made a promise to both of you to keep this a short
interview as much as possible. And I will keep that promise.
So, thank you very much, both of you.
The good-byes are simple and pleasant. The phone call is over. I
could not say exactly what I have learned. But I know that I have.
R
esalen notes
Reconstructing the Baths:
The Ongoing Project
Our major project, restoring the baths on
their original site, continues on schedule.
Work on the foundation has begun. The
first—and most difficult—foundation pier
hole has been dug 22 feet into the rocky soil,
a depth at which the rocks are hot from the
underground hot springs. Since Big Sur’s
steep terrain prohibits easy access for heavy
drilling equipment, the 34 pier holes must
be dug with shovels and jackhammers. The
foundation is expected to be finished in early
2000, at which time the bathhouse construction can begin.
The revegetation of the slope above the baths
has also gotten underway. The slope has been
sprayed with hydroseed (a mixture of glue
and seeds) of native plants to restore the natural habitat for the endangered Smith’s blue
butterfly.
Soils Engineering, the company responsible
for the successful job on the slope stabilization
above the baths, has been contracted to do the
foundation as well. We are also indebted to
Monterey County for their supportive assistance with this project.
The completed bath restoration project is
S
expected to cost over two million dollars.
Should you wish to make a contribution,
send your tax-deductible donation to Baths
Restoration c/o Esalen.
Please note: Although we are taking extraordinary precautions to keep noise to a minimum, we
expect some unavoidable construction disturbances
through the end of 2000. We ask for your understanding and hope that you will support us by
continuing to come to Esalen during this time.
The Esalen (Cyber)Lodge
Now you can stay connected with the worldwide Esalen community via e-mail by joining
the Esalen mailing list, aka The Lodge. To do
so, simply send an e-mail message to [email protected] with the following command in
the body of your message: subscribe esalen-lodge.
You will receive a set of Lodge guidelines.
There is no cost to subscribe to The Lodge.
Mid-Point House Available
to Esalen Guests
Esalen’s Mid-Point House is now available as
an upgraded accommodation alternative for
seminarians and room and board guests.
Perched at the edge of the coastal cliff, nestled
between the Pacific Ocean and the lush
Esalen Garden, the Mid-Point House can
lodge up to four people. With a redwood deck
overlooking the ocean, comfortable living
room, and full kitchen, the Mid-Point House
presents an opportunity to experience Esalen
in a new way.
For further details, please call the Esalen
office at 831-667-3000.
Scheduling Private
Conferences at Esalen
It is possible to arrange for your group or
organization to hold its conferences at Esalen.
We can accommodate large groups (up to 100)
on a space-available basis.
Smaller groups may schedule private conferences in our renovated Big House. This facility
is available for individuals who work together
and would like to design their own Esalen
program, drawing on our leaders and other
resources. Ten bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a
kitchen, dining room, and meeting room make
it possible to house group members together,
thereby enhancing the retreat environment.
We schedule all conferences a year in
advance. To schedule or discuss possible formats, please contact conference coordinator
Kasia Zajac at 831-667-3038.
the friends of esalen
D
onations to the Friends of Esalen support
the scholarship fund and provide financial aid for
those who wish to attend our workshops but cannot
otherwise afford them. Donations also provide additional
funding for our pioneering projects in health, education, the environment, and the humanities. With their annual donation, Friends
of Esalen receive the Esalen Catalog as well as a special newsletter.
Donors at the Supporting level or above receive an autographed
copy of Michael Murphy and George Leonard’s book The Life We
Are Given. At the Sustaining Donor level, gifts are also acknowledged
in the newsletter (unless the donor wishes to remain anonymous).
Sustaining Donors also receive a single-use day pass with lunch for
two. Benefactors receive all of the aforementioned along with a limited-edition photograph of Esalen by Daniel Bianchetta.
The Group 2000 is composed of individuals committed to helping
Esalen fulfill its mission by building its long-term financial base
into the year 2000 and beyond. The Group 2000 meets together
with staff members at Esalen every year.
We deeply appreciate the generosity and interest of the Friends
of Esalen. You are invited to join us in extending the experience
of Esalen into the lives of more people. For more information,
or if you would like to discuss your gift, please contact us at
831-667-3032.
q Basic Donor.............................$50
q Benefactor...........................$1000
q Supporting Donor ......$100-450
q Group 2000 .........................$2000
q Sustaining Donor........$500-950
q Founders Circle.................$5000
Name_________________________________________________ Phone_______________________
Address______________________________________________ E-mail_______________________
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drawn on a U.S. bank, or use one of the charge cards listed below:
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Please complete this form or the inside flap of the envelope insert included in the
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marked “Friends of Esalen.” Thank you for your support.
Esalen Institute is a nonprofit public charity corporation, exempt from income tax
under IRC section 501(c)(3). Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.
7
Q
guide to workshops
T
his is a guide to the workshops
offered in this catalog. Although many
of them could be cross-referenced—
and some resist easy categorization—most are
listed only in their main subject area. If you
have never been to Esalen or taken an Esalen
workshop, you might want to consider the
“Experiencing Esalen” workshop scheduled
throughout the catalog and listed in the
Integral Practices section of this directory.
Please call the Esalen office if you have questions concerning a workshop.
R
THE ARTS / CREATIVITY
Jan 7-9 • Finding Your Long-Lost Musician
Jan 9-14 • Music, Movement, and Creativity
Jan 16-21 • Vision Painting: Evoking the Light
Jan 23-28 • Contour Figure Drawing
Jan 30-Feb 4 • Circle of Song—Body and Soul
Jan 30-Feb 4 • Making a Life Mural
Feb 4-6 • Perfumery: Essence, Art, Alchemy
Feb 20-25 • Handweaving
Feb 25-27 • Voices on the Wind
Feb 27-Mar 3 • African Drumming
Mar 5-10 • The Writer’s Way
Mar 5-10 • Spring Raku
Mar 5-10 • The MAX: Stretching Self-Expression
Mar 10-12 • The Healing Power of Theatre
Mar 24-26 • PhotoGestalt
Mar 31-Apr 2 • Ta Ke Ti Na: Rhythm
Apr 9-14 • Waves: Movement of Gabrielle Roth
Apr 9-14 • Fiber Fun: Playing with Wool
Apr 14-16 • Singing Gestalt
Apr 21-23 • Family Art Experience
Apr 23-28 • Drawing What You See
Apr 23-28 • Fiction and Transformation
Apr 28-30 • African Music, Dance, Ceremony
Apr 30-May 5 • New Poems Week
May 5-7 • New Poems Weekend
May 7-12 • Vocal Awareness
May 19-21 • Drumming for Your Life
May 19-21 • Photographing Big Sur
May 21-26 • Portrait Painting
May 26-28 • The Heart of the Story
Jun 4-9 • Self-Discovery Through Photography
Jun 4-9 • Basic Acting
Jun 4-9 • Kinetic Whimsy
Jun 9-11 • Word Friendly: Language
Jun 9-11 • A Spiritual Knitting Retreat
Jun 11-16 • The Gentle Muse: Fiction Writing
Jun 16-18 • Reading Neruda
Jun 18-23 • Ceramic Glaze Painting
Jun 23-25 • Big Sur Clay: Raku
Jun 25-30 • Play, Spontaneity, Performance Art
Jun 25-30 • Intuitive Watercolors
R
BIOFEEDBACK / HYPNOSIS
INTUITIVE DEVELOPMENT
/
Jan 16-21 • Ericksonian Hypnosis
Feb 13-18 • Expanding Psychic Connectedness
8
May 7-12 • The High-Performance Mind
May 14-19 • Intuition, Perception, Altered States
Jun 16-18 • The Power of Intuition to Heal
R
CONTEMPLATIVE /
SPIRITUAL & RELIGIOUS
STUDIES
Jan 7-9 • Satsang Retreat
Jan 9-14 • Satsang Retreat
Jan 14-16 • Subtle Self: Fundamental Consciousness
Jan 28-30 • Prayer of the Heart
Mar 19-24 • Three Pillars of Asian Wisdom
Apr 2-7 • Self Awakening™ Retreat
Apr 7-9 • Buddhism for Cynics in Recovery
Apr 16-21 • Passover as a Spiritual Practice
Apr 21-23 • The Direct Path: Love in Action
Apr 21-23 • Creating a Daily Spiritual Life
Apr 23-28 • Creating a Daily Spiritual Life
Apr 30-May 5 • Celtic Enlightenment
May 7-12 • Personality Type and Spiritual Being
May 12-14 • Emotions: Tibetan Buddhist Approach
May 14-19 • Gestalt Process, Kabbalah, Awareness
May 26-28 • Meditation and Mind/Body Healing
Jun 4-9 • Returning to the True Self
Jun 9-11 • A Spiritual Knitting Retreat
Jun 11-16 • Kabbalah and Consciousness
Jun 25-30 • The Subtle Art of Meditation
R
DREAMS
Apr 23-28 • The Dreaming Mind
May 14-19 • Intuition, Perception, Altered States
R
HEALTH
/ HEALING
Jan 14-16 • Keeping Your Weight Off
Jan 16-21 • Rediscovering Living Body-Mind
Jan 21-23 • Holoenergetics®: Healing with Love
Jan 23-28 • Spiritual Healing
Feb 18-20 • Qigong and Neigong
Mar 10-12 • Stress Reduction
Mar 24-26 • Retreat for Health-Care Professionals
Apr 2-7 • Spiritual Healing
Apr 9-14 • The Emotional Life of the Body
Apr 14-16 • Food Addiction and Compulsive Eating
May 12-14 • 40 Days to a Better Brain
May 19-21 • Eating, Food, and the Body/Self
Jun 2-4 • Drugs, the Body, and the Brain
Jun 18-23 • Energy Medicine
Jun 23-25 • Psychophysiological Risk Factors
R
INTEGRAL PRACTICES
Jan 2-7 • The Rubenfeld Synergy Method®
Jan 14-16 • Experiencing Esalen
Jan 23-28 • Life Energy Process®
Feb 6-11 • Rubenfeld Synergy® for Gay/Bi Men
Feb 11-13 • Experiencing Esalen
Feb 25-27 • Vision, Practice of Human
Transformation
Mar 3-5 • Entering the Flow State
Mar 12-17 • Finding Life Balance
Mar 17-19 • Experiencing Esalen
Apr 7-9 • Experiencing Esalen
May 5-7 • Experiencing Esalen
May 14-19 • Lomi Work: Exploration of Presence
Jun 2-4 • Experiencing Esalen
Jun 9-11 • The Power of Human Intentionality
R
MARTIAL ARTS
/ YOGA / SPORT
Feb 11-13 • Yoga: A Weekend Intensive
Feb 18-20 • Qigong and Neigong
Mar 3-5 • Entering the Flow State
Mar 10-12 • Yoga: A New Way of Being
Mar 26-31 • Yoga: Increasing the Energy Flow
May 14-19 • Yoga: The Art of Living
May 26-28 • Experiencing the Flow of Yoga
May 28-Jun 2 • Golf in the Kingdom
Jun 23-25 • Yoga: The Body as Heaven and Earth
R
MYTH / RITUAL /
SHAMANISM /
ANTHROPOLOGY
Jan 21-23 • Ojibwe Tribal Healings
Jan 23-28 • The Way of the Shaman
Feb 18-20 • Hidden Myths of Modern Life
Mar 3-5 • The Ultimate Journey
Mar 5-10 • The Heart of the Shaman
Mar 17-19 • The Hero with an African Face
Mar 19-24 • The Hero’s Journey: Rites of Passage
Mar 24-26 • New Myths for a New Millennium
Mar 26-31 • A Mythological Toolbox
Apr 28-30 • African Music, Dance, Ceremony
Apr 30-May 5 • Celtic Enlightenment
Jun 18-23 • Spiritwalker and Medicinemaker
R
PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY
INTELLECTUAL PLAY
/
Jan 21-23 • Navigating the Future
Feb 4-6 • The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
Feb 18-20 • Hidden Myths of Modern Life
Mar 3-5 • The Ultimate Journey
Mar 31-Apr 2 • Integrity
R
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
TRAINING
/
Jan 14-21 • Advanced Massage Intensive
Jan 30-Feb 4 • Hidden Dimensions of Bodywork
Feb 6-18 • Modular Massage Certification: Part I
Feb 11-13 • Awakening the Deep Self from Trauma
Feb 13-18 • Treating Trauma
Feb 25-27 • Alternatives for Health Professionals
Feb 27-Mar 3 • Group Process Training
Mar 3-31 • Esalen Massage Certification
Mar 5-10 • Group Leading—Advanced Training
Mar 24-26 • Retreat for Health-Care Professionals
Apr 9-21 • Modular Massage Certification—Part II
Jun 11-16 • Solving the Puzzle of Pain and Injury
Jun 16-23 • Gestalt Awareness Practicum
Jun 23-25 • Psychophysiological Risk Factors
EMANUELA GARDNER
Feb 20-25 • Upledger CranioSacral I
Feb 27-Mar 3 • Lomi Kanakalele—Massage of Angels
Mar 3-31 • Massage Practitioner Certification
Mar 12-17 • Healing from Trauma
Mar 17-19 • Authentic Movement
Mar 24-26 • Being All There: Sensory Awareness
Mar 31-Apr 2 • Advances in Somatic Technologies
Apr 2-9 • Cortical Field Reeducation®, Feldenkrais
Apr 9-21 • Modular Massage Certification—Part II
Apr 14-16 • Introduction to Continuum
Apr 16-21 • Upledger Visceral Manipulation I-A
Apr 21-23 • Hanna Somatics
Apr 30-May 5 • Upledger Lymph Drainage Therapy I
May 5-7 • Free the Neck and Shoulders: Feldenkrais
May 12-14 • Massage Intensive for Couples
May 14-19 • Lomi Work: An Exploration of Presence
May 19-21 • Weekend Massage Intensive
May 21-26 • Continuum: The Body in Question
Jun 2-4 • Weekend Massage Intensive
Jun 4-9 • Five-Day Massage Intensive
Jun 11-16 • Solving the Puzzle of Pain and Injury
Jun 11-16 • Wilderness and Continuum
Jun 25-30 • Five-Day Massage Intensive
R
PSYCHOLOGICAL /
TRANSPERSONAL PROCESS
Jan 7-9 • Trauma, Attachment, Psychomotor Therapy
Jan 9-14 • The Power of Growth
Jan 16-21 • Completions and Transitions
Jan 21-23 • Navigating the Future
Jan 23-28 • Choosing Love as a Daily Practice
Jan 28-30 • Gestalt—Toward a Relational Approach
Jan 30-Feb 4 • Is It Love or Is It Addiction
Jan 30-Feb 4 • The Secret Blueprints of Fate
Feb 4-6 • Intro to Gestalt Awareness Practice
Feb 6-11 • Gestalt Awareness Practice
Feb 6-11 • The Spirit and Practice of Leadership
Feb 11-13 • Awakening the Deep Self from Trauma
Feb 11-13 • The Art of Leadership
Feb 13-18 • Romantic Rage
Feb 18-25 • Creating Exact Moments of Healing
Feb 18-20 • The Grace of Money:
Feb 20-25 • Soul Search: Embracing Our Spirit
Feb 20-25 • Cruzando El Puente
Feb 25-27 • ‘Tis a Gift To Be Simple
Feb 27-Mar 3 • Group Process Training
Feb 27-Mar 3 • Playing the Edge
Mar 5-10 • The MAX: Stretching Self-Expression
Mar 10-12 • A Celebration of the Body
Mar 17-19 • Choosing Aliveness
Mar 24-26 • PhotoGestalt
Mar 26-Apr 7 • Emotional Healing
Mar 26-31 • Practicing Presence
Mar 31-Apr 2 • Reinventing Love
Mar 31-Apr 2 • Integrity
Apr 2-7 • Dropping the Facade: Cultivating Love
Apr 7-9 • The Transformative Power of Emotions
Apr 7-9 • Being Single
Apr 9-14 • Natural Powers
Apr 14-16 • Healing of Heart and Mind
Apr 16-21 • Character Transformation
Apr 21-23 • A Tender Invitation
Apr 28-30 • A New Beginning: Courage and Heart
Apr 30-May 5 • Change and Self-Esteem
May 5-7 • How to Feel Anger and Still Be Loving
May 7-12 • Gestalt Awareness Practice
May 12-14 • Gestalt Process Workshop
May 12-14 • Mothers and Daughters
May 14-19 • Gestalt Process, Kabbalah, Awareness
May 21-26 • The Core Self: Resources for Healing
May 21-26 • Healing Body Image and Sexuality
May 26-28 • Accepting Life’s Transitions
May 28-Jun 2 • Love’s Hidden Symmetry
Jun 4-9 • Self-Discovery Through Photography
Jun 9-11 • Gestalt—Toward a Relational Approach
Jun 11-16 • Playing the Edge
Jun 16-23 • Gestalt Awareness Practicum
Jun 23-25 • The Visionary Life
Jun 25-30 • Forgiveness: The Key to Intimacy
R
RELATIONSHIP /
COMMUNICATION
Jan 14-16 • The Path of Relationship
Jan 28-30 • Keeping a Good Relationship Alive
Jan 30-Feb 4 • Is It Love or Is It Addiction
Feb 4-6 • Communication and Partnership
Feb 27-Mar 3 • A New Paradigm of Marriage
Mar 3-5 • Powerfully Presenting Yourself
Mar 3-5 • Finding True Love
Mar 12-17 • The Intimate Couple
Apr 2-7 • Dropping the Facade: Cultivating
Apr 28-30 • Stronger at the Broken Places
May 5-7 • Mindfulness and Pursuit of Intimacy
May 19-21 • Romantic Attractions
Jun 23-25 • New Intimacy: Magic of Differences
R
SOMATICS
Jan 9-14 • Five-Day Massage Intensive
Jan 9-14 • The Alexander Technique
Jan 14-21 • Advanced Massage Intensive
Jan 16-21 • Rediscovering Our Living Body-Mind
Jan 21-23 • Shinkido® Massage: Touch of Resonance
Jan 21-23 • Massage Intensive for Couples
Jan 28-30 • Weekend Massage Intensive
Jan 30-Feb 4 • Hidden Dimensions of Bodywork
Feb 4-6 • Body Meditations
Feb 6-18 • Modular Massage Certification—Part I
Feb 18-20 • Couples Massage Weekend
/ ECOPSYCHOLOGY
Jan 28-30 • Creating Your Own Ecological Home
Feb 13-18 • Feng Shui for the Soul
Apr 16-21 • The Way of Wilderness
Apr 23-28 • Secrets of the Stone People
Apr 28-30 • Gardening for the Soul
Apr 28-30 • Wild Big Sur
May 14-19 • Big Sur Wilderness Experience
Jun 11-16 • Wilderness and Continuum
R
R
WILDERNESS
WOMEN ’S
/ MEN’S ISSUES
Jan 7-9 • Our Erotic Selves: For Women
Feb 6-11 • Rubenfeld Synergy® for Gay/Bi Men
Apr 14-16 • Divorce and Other Losses: For Men
Apr 23-28 • Authenticity, Creativity for Gay/Bi Men
May 12-14 • Mothers and Daughters: For Adult
Women
Jun 2-4 • Sisters
Jun 9-11 • The Boyfriend Within—For Gay Men
Jun 16-18 • Daughters and Fathers
R
WORKPLACE /
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
EDUCATION
/
Jan 28-30 • Creating Your Own Ecological Home
Feb 6-11 • The Spirit and Practice of Leadership
Feb 11-13 • The Art of Leadership
Feb 25-27 • Grantwriting—Dreams into Reality
Mar 12-17 • Soul at Work
Apr 30-May 5 • Professional and Personal Coaching
Jun 23-25 • The Visionary Life
9
continuing education programs
Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB)
as a continuing education provider under
Category A (provider number 043062-00).
Workshops for which CE credit has either been
approved or is pending are listed below and also
noted in the Seminars section. For current status
information, contact Brita Ostrom at 831-667-3040.
Please note: All two-day workshops offer 10 hours
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Mar 31-Apr 2
Apr 2-9
Apr 2-7
Apr 2-7
Apr 7-9
Apr 7-9
Apr 9-14
Apr 14-16
Apr 14-16
Apr 16-21
Apr 21-23
Apr 28-30
Apr 28-30
Apr 30-May 5
Apr 30-May 5
May 5-7
May 7-12
May 7-12
May 12-14
May 12-14
May 12-14
May 14-19
May 14-19
May 19-21
May 19-21
May 21-26
May 21-26
May 26-28
May 28-June 2
June 2-4
June 2-4
June 4-9
June 11-16
June 16-18
June 16-23
June 18-23
June 18-23
June 23-25
June 23-25
June 23-25
June 25-30
June 25-30
June 25-30
Advances in Somatic Technologies:
Cortical Field Reeducation® and Feldenkrais
Self Awakening™ Retreat
Spiritual Healing
The Transformative Power of Emotions
Being Single
Force and Feeling: Emotional Life of the Body
Healing of Heart and Mind: Choosing to Change
Healing the Unnurtured Body: Food Addiction
Upledger Visceral Manipulation I-A
Hanna Somatics: Mastery of Muscles & Emotions
Relationship Challenges as Initiatory Experiences
A New Beginning: Courage and Heart
Change and Self-Esteem
Upledger Lymph Drainage Therapy I
Free the Neck and Shoulders: Feldenkrais
Gestalt Awareness Practice
Awakened Mind Brainwave Training
Massage Intensive for Couples
Remembering Who You Are: Gestalt Process
40 Days to a Better Brain
Lomi Work: An Active Exploration of Presence
Intuition, Perception, and Altered States
Weekend Massage Intensive
Eating, Food, and the Body/Self
The Core Self: Resources for Healing
Healing Body Image and Sexuality
OpenMind: Meditation and Mind/Body Healing
Systemic Psychotherapy of Bert Hellinger
Drugs, the Body, and the Brain
Five-Day Massage Intensive
Solving the Puzzle of Pain and Injury
The Power of Your Intuition to Heal
Gestalt Awareness Practicum
Energy Medicine: Ministering to the Life Force
Spiritwalker and Medicinemaker: Shamanism
The Visionary Life
The New Intimacy: The Magic of Differences
Psychophysiological Risk Factors
Forgiveness: The Key to Intimacy
The Subtle Art of Meditation
n = Approved
n = Pending
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of CE credit and all five-day or longer workshops offer
26 hours (30 hours for nurses). If you wish to receive
a certificate, please notify your workshop leader. There
is a $10 fee for each certificate of completion, payable
to the office.
CO
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The Body Tells the TruthTM
Trauma, Attachment, Psychomotor Therapy
Advanced Massage Intensive
Subtle Self: Fundamental Consciousness
Keeping Your Weight Off
Completions and Transitions
Rediscovering Our Living Body-Mind
Ericksonian Hypnosis: Advanced Practices
Ojibwe Tribal Healings
Core Holoenergetics®: Healing with Love
Spiritual Healing
Life Energy Process®
Is It Love or Is It Addiction
Blueprints of Fate—Solving Life’s Issues
The Hidden Dimensions of Bodywork
Intro to Gestalt Awareness Practice
Communication and Partnership
Body Meditations
Massage Practitioner Certification—Part I
Awakening the Deep Self from Trauma
The Art of Leadership
Treating Trauma: An Integrative Approach
Creating Exact Moments of Healing
Couples Massage Weekend
Qigong and Neigong
Upledger CranioSacral I
Alternatives For Health-Care Professionals
Grantwriting
Group Process Training
28-Day Massage Certification Program
The Heart of the Shaman
Celebration of the Body: Self-Empowerment
Stress Reduction: An East/West Approach
Healing Trauma: Body-Centered Interventions
Reinhabiting Your Body: Authentic Movement
Choosing Aliveness
Being All There: Sensory Awareness
A Retreat for Health-Care Professionals
Emotional Healing
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Jan 2-7
Jan 7-9
Jan 9-14
Jan 14-21
Jan 14-16
Jan 14-16
Jan 16-21
Jan 16-21
Jan 16-21
Jan 21-23
Jan 21-23
Jan 21-23
Jan 23-28
Jan 23-28
Jan 28-30
Jan 30-Feb 4
Jan 30-Feb 4
Jan 30-Feb 4
Feb 4-6
Feb 4-6
Feb 4-6
Feb 6-18
Feb 6-11
Feb 11-13
Feb 11-13
Feb 13-18
Feb 18-25
Feb 18-20
Feb 18-20
Feb 20-25
Feb 25-27
Feb 25-27
Feb 27-Mar 3
Mar 3-31
Mar 5-10
Mar 10-12
Mar 10-12
Mar 12-17
Mar 17-19
Mar 17-19
Mar 24-26
Mar 24-26
Mar 26-Apr 7
For additional information on CE courses
for nurses, contact Sherry Galloway, R.N.,
Continuing Education Coordinator,
831-667-3000.
The Board of Registered Nursing has approved
Esalen as a provider of continuing education for
registered nurses (provider number 01152).
D
E
salen is an approved provider of continuing education for: psychologists
accredited by the California Psychological
Association (provider number ESA001) and the
American Psychological Association (Esalen
maintains responsibility for the program);
MFTs and LCSWs by the California Board of
Behavioral Sciences (provider number PCE403);
and massage practitioners and bodyworkers
by the National Certification Board for
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Seminar Spotlight—a
Q
I
to continue to present
new leaders whose seminars expand our
programming in new directions. Some
of these names may not be as familiar as others in the Catalog. On this page we highlight
a few of these new offerings by providing a
bit more information than you’ll find in the
Seminars section. We’re proud of our entire
roster of workshops and will continue to
broaden our curriculum.
T IS OUR GOAL
Clyde Ford: Ancient truths,
modern applications
How did a man trained
as a chiropractor and
psychotherapist find
himself drawn into the
world of African
mythology? “It was an
outgrowth of my efforts
to understand the relationship between social and personal healing,” says Clyde Ford. “I knew that a turning
point in the individual healing process often
came when the ‘personal stories’ of trauma
shifted from victimization to empowerment.
In pondering how to portray the historical
and present-day experiences of African
Americans in a story, I was reminded of the
epic journey of a hero or heroine who willingly or unwillingly ventures beyond the
known boundaries of the day, meets and
defeats spectacular forces, then returns with
some hard-won, precious gift.
“Joseph Campbell did more than any single
individual to promote popular interest in
mythology, yet Africa is mentioned only
rarely. As I discovered in my own journeys
throughout African mythology, there’s a rich,
meaningful, and wonderful mythological tradition which is, in fact, older than the other
world mythologies. The Hero with an African
Face is about reclaiming ancient truths and
applying them to modern life, so they
become a repository of wisdom, of answers
that we search for in life and very often cannot find.
“In an age where technology allows for the
instantaneous transfer of information anywhere on earth, African mythology may
seem obsolete, coming as it does from an era
when information flowed simply from the
storyteller’s mouth to a small audience. But
we cannot hope that all personal and social
closer look
conundrums will be solved by turning the
next page in the book of intellect and reason
alone; there must also be turnings of the
soul, and here the mythic wisdom of Africa
keeps a flame that may help light the way.”
Raves, adventure retreats, and workshops
worldwide.
See Don’t Push the River, It Flows by
Itself, May 26-28.
See The Hero with an African Face:
Mythic Wisdom of Traditional Africa,
March 17-19.
Shiva Rea: Roots Of Flow,
Roots Of Rhythm
Yoga and movement
are in her blood.
Also in her name:
Shiva Rea. Her
father named her
after Shiva Nataraj,
Hindu Lord of the
Dance, and Shiva
“came
out of the womb dancing.”
When she was fourteen, a quest to know
more about her name led Shiva to yoga. She
recalls: “When I first began doing yoga from
a book (without any idea what it was about) I
experienced meditation naturally. I felt like a
plant being watered. Now, after several trips
to India, graduate studies of yogic texts, and
an intensive practice in Ashtanga Vinyasa
yoga, I recognize that state of unified consciousness or ‘being in the flow’ as our
birthright. Yoga and movement are two of
the oldest ways to release the dam of separation and tension to bring us ‘back to the
source.’”
Shiva’s earliest movement training came as a
young girl when she spent six years as the
only white student in all-black school in
Oakland, a formative time in which she
absorbed “rhythm, funk, and the ‘ability to
get down’.” At seventeen, following an inner
calling, Shiva left home to do volunteer work
in Kenya and Zambia. There she joined a
Zambian dance troupe, thus beginning her
lifelong studies of rhythmic dance. She spent
a year studying at Delhi University, another
year at the University of Ghana, then continued to research ritual dance, traveling to
Jamaica, Nepal, and Bali.
Today Shiva is on the faculty of UCLA’s
World Arts and Cultures Program, writes for
Yoga Journal, and teaches at Yoga Works in
Santa Monica, leading yoga classes, Yoga
Bert Hellinger, Hunter
Beaumont, and Gabrielle
Borkan: The Orders of Love
Mention the work of
German family therapist Bert Hellinger to
those familiar with
leading-edge psychotherapeutic
approaches and two
Bert Hellinger
words immediately
arise: “powerful” and “controversial.”
Although still relatively unknown in the
U.S., Hellinger has created a huge stir in
Europe with his workshops on resolving systemic family entanglements, his best-selling
books and videos, his theories about the “natural order” of the family, and his blend of
gentleness, compassion, and directivity.
A former Catholic priest who spent sixteen
years as a missionary among the African
Zulu, Hellinger eventually left the priesthood to study a variety of therapeutic
approaches, including psychoanalysis,
Gestalt therapy, Ericksonian hypnotherapy,
and transactional analysis. He says that he
finally came into his own as a therapist when
he discovered systemic
Hunter Beaumont
thinking and the use of
“family constellations,”
a blend of psychodrama, Gestalt, and family
sculpting. Having
worked with hundreds
of families, Hellinger
has been called “the ultimate empiricist.”
Questioned about the success of his methods,
he states simply, “I’m unable to explain this
phenomenon, but I see that it’s so, and I use it.”
Working alongside
Hellinger will be
Hunter Beaumont and
Gabrielle Borkan.
Beaumont is a licensed
clinical psychologist
who accepted a guest
professorship at
Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilian’s University in
Gabrielle Borkan
11
Seminar Spotlight
1980 and has been collaborating with
Hellinger since 1993. Borkan, a former case
worker for the city of Frankfurt, Germany,
teaches at the College of Marin and has been
in private practice since 1987.
continued
be coached by a masterful guide who understands.
See The Healing Power of Theatre,
March 10-12.
See Love’s Hidden Symmetry: The
Systemic Psychotherapy of Bert
Hellinger, May 28-June 2.
Jean-Claude van Itallie:
Walking His Talk (Upon the
Stage)
The extent of his theatrical accomplishments is so vast—
award-winning,
internationally produced playwright,
acclaimed translator
(of Genet and
Chekhov), teacher at
the world’s most
prestigious schools, director, author—that
one hardly knows where to begin to focus.
Born in Brussels in 1936, Jean-Claude van
Itallie emigrated to the U.S. at age four when
his family fled Nazi persecution. He graduated from Harvard and in the sixties left an
indelible mark on American theatre with
America Hurrah. Today, he lives in
Massachusetts on his farm, which he has
transformed into the Shantigar Foundation,
“where spiritual and artistic practices meet.”
Elizabeth Murray: Back To
The Garden
“Just as we can all find
joy and nourishment in
our gardens—by digging deep into the
earth, pruning, planting, weeding, rediscovering—so can we revel
in the beauty, mystery,
and challenges of our lives,” writes Elizabeth
Murray in her book Cultivating Sacred Space:
Gardening for the Soul. For Murray, the garden
is a vibrant, living metaphor.
Murray makes her home in nearby
Monterey, and her book features the Esalen
garden as one of twelve Gardens of
Transformation. “[It is] a centering garden,”
she writes, “where great energies converge—
the river, the sea, rocks, and a portal opening
to the sky. It is a coming together of some of
the great energies and the five elements of
air, water, earth, wood, and metal. For many
people Esalen is recognized as an important
power spot on the West Coast, like a beacon
or a portal. . . .The Esselen Indians recognized it as a window to heaven and painted
healing hands on a nearby rock cliff.”
Recently, van Itallie decided to push himself
to a new level: performing his one-man autobiographical play War, Sex & Dreams in major
cities nationwide. Even with more than four
decades in the theatre, he was filled with
stage fright: “I have been a writer most of my
life, who works a lot from his head. So in my
spiritual practice and meditation practice as
well as my theatrical practice, the effort has
been to have the belly be the center of intelligence. I teach that in workshops around the
country, and I am putting my body where
my mouth has been yakking. . . . Fear is the
challenge. Performing is a God-given right
for all of us. It is good for our health and it is
joyful. But we’re afraid of doing it. So, I am
doing it finally as a sign of age.”
Murray concludes her book with these
thoughts: “I have learned about infinity, the
life-death-life cycle, from Nature. When
something dies, whether it is a tree on the
forest floor or a cutting from my garden
thrown in the compost pile, it breaks down.
It changes form and creates richness and
food for the rest of life—insects, little worms
and bugs. Trees get nurture from this breaking down, mushrooms come—animal life
feeds off all of that. The same is true with our
love. It keeps regenerating. When someone
dies, they’re not really gone completely. Their
energy continues, and it continues to nurture us. We can draw from that. In this way
we can come to know the eternal, the continuum of life.”
Here is an opportunity for anyone, regardless
of experience, who yearns to explore performing (and feels terror at the prospect) to
See Cultivating Sacred Space: Gardening
for the Soul, April 28-30. This will be part
of an ongoing series.
12
Also look for these workshops highlighted in the
Seminars section:
Greg Franta, Creating Your Own
Ecological Home (January 28-30): An eco-
logically responsible, personally practical
workshop, reflecting Esalen’s ongoing commitment to environmental work... Jessie
O’Neill, The Grace of Money: A
Workshop for the Soul (February 18-20):
Have you ever wondered whether or not
your relationship with money is balanced or
healthy... Howard Schechter & Barbara
Lee, Group Process Training (February 27March 3): Psychological process, both individual and group, with a deep spiritual base...
Christopher & Rujeko Masango, Healing
the Lineage: Ancestral Revival Through
African Music, Dance, and Ceremony
(April 28-30): An indigenous healing ceremony from Zimbabwe specifically designed
for reconnecting Western technological
tribespeople to the earth... Geo Cameron,
Fire in the Mind: The Celtic Experience
of Enlightenment (April 30-May 5): An
in-depth exploration of a significant yet
frequently overlooked component of our
Western spiritual tradition... Helen Palmer
& Joe Schaller, The Two Selves:
Personality Type and Spiritual Being
(May 7-12): The renowned writer and her
longtime colleague inaugurate a new series
of Enneagram workshops at Esalen...
Dharma Singh Khalsa, 40 Days to a
Better Brain (May 12-14): A simple, logical,
and natural approach to an historically
ignored but vital subject—the care and feeding of your brain... Rabbi Steven Fisdel &
Gerald Cohen, Kabbalah, Consciousness,
and Life Process (June 11-16): Another in a
series of presentations that applies the
ancient Jewish mystical tradition to daily living in today’s world... Mary Mackey, The
Gentle Muse: Fiction Writing (June 11-16):
A kinder, gentler approach to courting the
Muse and channeling her gifts into creative
expression... Ian Wickramasekera, Secrets
Kept From the Mind But Not From the
Body and Behavior (June 23-25): An award-
winning psychophysiologist presents a way
to predict where in your body you may be
susceptible to stress-related disease and what
you can do about it…
esalen seminars
EMANUELA GARDNER
S
Week of January 2–7
The Body Tells the TruthTM: The
Rubenfeld Synergy Method®
Ilana Rubenfeld
What people communicate verbally is not
always congruent with their body’s stories.
They may say “I forgive” while their bodies
radiate steel-like rage. Using the Rubenfeld
Synergy Method, a dynamic healing system
for the integration of body, mind, emotions,
and spirit, Ilana teaches body/mind exercises,
conducts individual demonstrations, and
leads hands-on teachings to develop compassionate “listening touch” that can open gateways for contacting and expressing feelings.
With humor and compassion, Ilana presents:
• How to identify your body metaphors and
hear their messages
• How to contact and listen to your intuitive
wisdom
• How to use laughter and humor for healing
• How to recognize the relationship between
emotions and posture
• How to deal with your stress and use tools
for self-care
• How to heighten awareness and sensory
awakenings
The workshop atmosphere will be one of
healing, laughter, tears, and inspiration—
encouraging you to experience your inner
resources, new choices, and integration.
This workshop fulfills one of the requirements for acceptance into the Rubenfeld
Synergy Training Program.
Recommended reading: Rubenfeld, TwentyFive Years of Simple; Simon, Listening Hands;
Forman, The Rubenfeld Synergy Method
Addresses Body, Mind, and Spirit (all available
through The Rubenfeld Center, 115 Waverly
Place, New York, NY 10011); Mechner, Healing
Journeys: The Power of Rubenfeld Synergy.
CEUs available for nurses; see page 10.
CEUs available for bodyworkers; see page 10.
$885
Weekend of January 7–9
Satsang Retreat
Eli Jaxon-Bear
“Satsang is a Sanskrit word meaning association with Truth,” writes Eli Jaxon-Bear. “The
purpose of satsang is to come together to
directly realize the truth of who you really
are. This possibility of Self-realization is the
end of the spiritual path and the supreme goal
of life. Satsang is not a religion or a practice
but the direct inquiry into reality to find the
truth of being. It is not theoretical or mental
but eminently practical as a reflective mirror
for consciousness to catch a glimpse of itself.
The method of satsang is self-inquiry, the
result is a silent mind, and the fruit is freedom.
“In the past it was the rare soul who journeyed beyond the known world to find the
ultimate truth. It requires a willingness to
give up all that has come before to discover
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what is completely fresh and unknown. This
takes courage and the true desire to end the
suffering. Now this rarest of gifts is available
to anyone with the burning desire for truth.
experiences that contrast with their painful
past they are unlikely to transform these mental schemata and the compulsions to repeat
past misery.
“In our time together we will sit in meditation, engage in dialogue, ask questions, and
open to the silent truth of being. The structure
of ego will be shown to be a trance induction
of suffering. The Enneagram of Character
Fixation may be referred to as a map of
mechanical sleepwalking that keeps us from
seeing deeper into the nature of reality.”
Pesso/Boyden System Psychomotor therapy
(PBSP) offers an experience that can change
habitual memory schemes by providing an
alternative experience alongside painful and
traumatic memories. PBSP creates a representation of the memories of traumatic situations
instrumental in creating life-distorting mental schemata. Role players provide tactile,
motoric, visual, and auditory input, material
from which to construct an experience parallel to but corrective of the original negative
event. Precisely linked to childhood memories and needs, this supplies the client with
believable positive mental schemes, creating
the capacity to consider new options for dealing with the present.
This retreat is also offered in a five-day format
January 9-14.
$485
Music for Everyone:
Finding Your Long-Lost Musician
David Darling
For over twenty-five years David Darling’s
music improvisation workshops have
touched many groups of people, including
corporate executives, school children, teachers, professional musicians, prisoners, and
therapists, opening their hearts to the mystery of sound. A former member of the Paul
Winter Consort, Darling has performed with
such diverse artists as Bobby McFerrin, Jan
Garbarek, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Spyro Gyra.
His most recent activities include collaboration as solo cellist on Wim Wenders’s movie
soundtrack Until the End of the World.
Music for Everyone is an adventure into
music making, rhythmic grooving, songwriting, laughing, and listening. Regardless of
prior experience, this workshop can take you
to a deeper, more powerful music level. Bring
an instrument or play on David’s collection of
world instruments.
$485
Trauma, Attachment, and
Psychomotor Therapy
Bessel van der Kolk & Albert Pesso
This workshop presents an overview of the
interface between attachment, the organization of memory, and the experience of childhood trauma. It then provides a series of experiences that demonstrate how PBSP psychomotor therapy can alter people’s internal
states and capacities to find new gratifications.
CEUs for psychologists pending; see page 10.
CEUs available for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 10.
$485
The Power and Joy of Our Erotic
Selves: A Workshop for Women
Ellen Bass & Amy Pine
“We all have the potential to be vibrant sexual
beings,” write the leaders, “with our erotic feelings connected to every aspect of who we are.
However, this embodiment of our sexuality is
not generally encouraged. There are few role
models to show us how to walk through our
lives with an awakened sense of ourselves as
sexually exuberant. Yet the erotic is not just
something that comes alive in the bedroom.
It’s an essential part of the fabric of our being.
When children are maltreated they try to
adapt by displaying positive affect. This helps
them survive but does not match their personal experience of reality. Conflicted, they
experience unresolvable incongruities in the
experience of self. Inhibited from taking positive action, but knowing how to achieve satisfaction, they re-create disappointing past
experiences, especially at times of high emotion when people reactivate the mental
schemes originally acquired under stress.
“In this workshop, we will consider who we
have been as erotic beings, who we are now,
and who we want to become. Through a structured progression of exercises, using writing,
art, movement, and personal sharing, we will
move toward becoming the erotic person we
want to be. This method of change is rooted
in self-reliance and validation, where all
efforts are part of the quest and all outcomes
part of the success.”
Gaining insight into these incongruities can
provide them with an understanding of why
they do the things they do, but without actual
• A realistic, step-by-step process for making
change
14
The workshop elements include:
• An attitude of independence and selfesteem rooted in each woman’s personal
experience
• A vision of empowerment in which women
discover the full range of their sexual selves
This workshop is for all women—of any sexual
preference, any age, in or out of relationship.
Please note: This workshop is not intended as a
space for healing from sexual trauma. $485
Satsang Retreat
Eli Jaxon-Bear
For workshop description see January 7-9.
$885
The Power of Growth
Seymour Carter
Everyone has unused capacities for further
personal development. When these capacities
are recognized and given attention, a natural
force is released which, like a tide, can carry
the individual to a higher level of ability and
action. Fritz Perls taught how to recognize the
force of avoided issues in dealing with
blocked energies. When unfinished issues are
confronted and assimilated, it is possible to
feel potent and in charge of one’s life.
In this workshop, participants will deal with
these issues by examining the influence of
the inner dialogue on thoughts and the
nature of impasse, as well as tendencies within themselves toward psychological completion and well-being. The basis of this work is
the Gestalt method, supported by studies in
various body disciplines, including sensory
awareness and bioenergetics. Each participant’s process of development will be honored, encouraged, and treated as unique. $885
Brita Ostrom & Laurie Lioness Parizek
Esalen massage is a nurturing practice that
can be as satisfying to give as to receive.
During five days of learning and relaxation,
Esalen bodywork in its various forms will be
demonstrated, practiced, and discussed.
The workshop incorporates specific and integrative massage skills, gentle and deeper
touch, grounding, stretching, and energy
work. The instructors offer a bodywork style
that addresses individual needs, integrates the
whole person, and honors the healing power
of touch. Special attention will be given to
self-care, quality of contact, breath awareness,
and stress release. To integrate the bodywork,
the leaders will introduce movement, dance,
and rhythm. Meditation will be used to
encourage focus and serenity.
The workshop is open to all levels of experience. Please bring warm, comfortable clothes
and your favorite music or instrument.
$885
diverse musical styles from classical to jazz,
world music to blues, as well as the music
within each of us. Zuleikha, a gifted storyteller, has studied the classical rhythmic
expression of Kathak, one of the major storytelling dance forms of Northern India,
Pakistan, and Afghanistan. She evokes the
sacred and sensual through the science and
rhythm of music and movement.
No prior experience is necessary. Bring your
own instruments, your voice, and also choose
from a wide variety of David’s world percussion instruments.
$885
the consummated conquest of an art, the art
of conscious control, to the mastery of which
Mr. Alexander. . . so convincingly invites us.”
Recommended reading: F.M. Alexander, The
Use of the Self; de Alcantara, Indirect Procedures;
F.P. Jones, Freedom to Change.
$885
January 14–21
Advanced Massage Intensive
Vicki Topp & Robert Helm
No one is ever competent enough, nor is any technique ever effective enough. It is only the continuing growth of the practitioner that can guarantee
competence and effectiveness.
Music, Movement, and Creativity:
Improvisational Structure for the
Celebration of Your Soul
The Alexander Technique:
Skill, Poise, and the Use of the Self
David Darling & Zuleikha
Rhythm and music live in all of us. Discover
your own unique voice, find the rhythmic
groove, laugh, sing, open your heart to the
mystery of sound, learn to accompany the
dance. David Darling, master cellist and
improviser, returns to Esalen with friend and
colleague Zuleikha to create a joyous, supportive environment, encouraging participants to
explore, celebrate, and play in the vast ocean
of sound and movement.
The Alexander Technique is a process of psycho-physical reeducation, a means of discovering more about the self by developing
greater awareness of how the organism is
guided in activity. This workshop teaches a
hands-on method of developing awareness
of the manner in which we “get in our own
way” in our activities, skilled or everyday.
Participants will be guided through a range
of activities which recapitulate the sensory
feedback by which we developed our childhood skills. By becoming aware of the ways
in which we frustrate our desired intentions
we can change our patterns of activity, so
that, in the words of F.M. Alexander, “the
right thing does itself.”
This is an invitation for certified massage
practitioners to improve their skills, stimulate
their creativity, and experience current trends
in massage and bodywork. This program will
incorporate somatic movement, meditation,
and experiential anatomy. Emphasis will be
on creating new possibilities—including nontraditional client positioning, subtle energy
balancing, and working with breath support—
as well as perfecting your Esalen massage
skills. There will be ample time to integrate
the new material, along with an opportunity
to discuss theoretical issues and problem
areas in your practice.
David has been leading music improvisation
workshops for over twenty-five years, transporting individuals to new heights of hearing
and playing while exploring the passion of
As John Dewey wrote: “The spontaneity of
childhood is a delightful and precious thing,
but in its naive form it is bound to disappear.
True spontaneity is. . . not a birthright but. . .
$1370
Joan & Alexander Murray
— Thomas Hanna
Rhythm—the heartbeat of life. In all cultures,
movement and dance have reenacted the
rhythms of nature—the surf, the wind, the gait
of an animal, a storm, a peaceful day.
Experiencing Esalen
Experiencing Esalen Staff
We must answer anew the old questions. “What
are the limits of human ability, the boundaries of
the human experience? What does it mean to be a
human being?”
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
— From the 1965 Esalen Catalog
This workshop is designed to introduce the
various practices of Esalen to first-time participants or to those renewing their acquaintance with Esalen. Emphasis will be on finding those approaches to self-awareness that
work most effectively for each participant.
Sessions may include: meditation, sensory
awareness, Gestalt Practice, group process, art,
movement, and massage. There will also be
time to explore the magnificence of the Big
Sur coast.
$485
15
The Subtle Self: Attuning to
Fundamental Consciousness
Judy Blackstone
All spiritual traditions refer to an essential
dimension of existence, calling it fundamental consciousness, true Self, non-duality, and
many other names. This dimension is not an
abstract concept. It is the core of our own true
nature and can be experienced by anyone
willing to approach it with patience and
openness. Fundamental consciousness is
experienced as clear, mirror-like space, pervading our body and our environment, transcending the duality of self and object. It is
deeper than the physical and energetic levels
of our being and beyond our psychological
defenses, projections, images, and archetypes.
Subtle Self Work® is a precise method of
attuning to fundamental consciousness.
This work offers ways to: integrate fundamental consciousness with the body and
breath/energy system; experience oneness
with nature and people (while remaining
grounded in one’s body); and see, hear, and
touch on a subtler level. Subtle Self Work
attunement exercises will be combined with
daily sitting and movement meditations,
sound and breathwork, and verbal process.
There will also be discussion of the metaphysics of consciousness and how fundamental consciousness can facilitate psychological
and physical healing. Please come prepared
for deep, concentrated work.
Recommended reading: Blackstone, The Subtle
Self and The Enlightenment Process.
$485
The Path of Relationship
Paul & Deborah Brenner
“Healthy relationships have been our quest;
reclaiming the soul, our dream,” write Paul
and Deborah Brenner. “This is the journey of
the Bodhisattvas, those individuals who
retrace their steps toward enlightenment yet
refuse enlightenment, knowing that true
Buddhahood can only be achieved in that
moment when all sentient humanity obtains
enlightenment. We are all Bodhisattvas, and
in repairing ourselves we heal our present
relationships, our ancestry, and the yet
unborn.
“It is on the path of relationship that we meet
our shadow and reclaim our disowned parts.
This seminar draws upon childhood stories
which point to your unique gifts to life as well
16
as to the pain which entraps your soul.
Through movement, art, storytelling, and the
psychological process of Family Triangles©,
your authentic self is revealed. It is through
this reclaiming of the soul that loving relationships can be obtained.
“The practical skills offered here can be easily
integrated into daily living. Through selfrepair, we, as Bodhisattvas, ignite others to
begin their journey. Please join us on the path
home.”
$485
Keeping Your Weight Off —
An East-West Approach
David Levenson
Losing weight is difficult for some, easy for
others. Keeping weight off is hard for everyone. When we lose weight, we feel healthier,
more attractive, filled with a sense of pride.
Compliments pour in. Then one day everything shifts. We have either reached our goal
weight or hit a plateau. The thrill of weekly
weight loss is replaced by the daily battle to
keep it off, a grim struggle in which all our
knowledge about diet, exercise, and motivation
suddenly seems inadequate. As the weight
creeps back, procrastination, rationalization,
and denial keep us from reversing this trend.
Frustration, fear, self-criticism, and guilt bring
a sense of hopelessness. This leads to regaining the weight we worked so hard to lose.
In this workshop you will learn how to break
this cycle and begin to see weight loss as a
healthy, pleasurable gift you can give yourself.
With the help of mindfulness meditation,
guided imagery, and deep relaxation you will
come to view weight loss not just as a way of
feeling good about yourself but as a caring and
compassionate act. While the new strategies
and information you gain are helpful, keeping
weight off is mostly about applying this
knowledge in a kinder, more compassionate
way.
This workshop is open to anyone having difficulty keeping off small or large amounts of
weight.
$485
Completions and Transitions
Mary Goldenson (Devarani)
Often in our lives we feel incomplete with the
past. Unresolved issues inhibit us from mov-
ing into the present with an open and generous heart. Though we experience them as “finished,” old memories continue to haunt us.
When we exist more in the past than in the
present, it is time to make the distinction
between “finished” and “complete.” Transitions
without completions foster unsuccessful marriages, friendships, and careers, producing sorrow and, some believe, the causes of illness.
Transitions are crossroads in our lives that
give us the opportunity to complete the past,
reconnect with our present truth, and renew
our passion, courage, and commitment for the
future. The focus of this workshop is an indepth review of our lives to try to discover
what needs to be transformed from “finished”
to “complete.”
The workshop will provide a safe, supportive
environment that includes risk taking,
intense bodywork, Gestalt, imagery, movement, and meditation to keep us committed
to the process of discovering ourselves.
This workshop may have up to 34 participants.
$885
Rediscovering Our Living Body-Mind
Helmut Milz & Dean Marson
One of our major challenges for health and
healing is to recognize and intelligently cooperate with our own potential for self-healing.
Too often this powerful potential has been
questioned, discouraged, or abandoned by the
contemporary sociocultural dominance of
experts and outside interventions. How can
we encourage mindful experience, sensory
presence, and authentic feelings, and at the
same time honor the value of critical thinking, rigorous investigation, and appreciation
for technological development?
This experiential workshop will explore possibilities for rediscovering our body-mind
through periods of stillness, joyful encounters
with familiar and unfamiliar movements,
working with body-mind imagery, and
options for caring contact. There will be open
space for reflection and discussion.
This workshop is designed for those who
wish to activate their embodied options for
well-being and assume a dynamic role in the
healing and maintenance of their body.
$885
Ericksonian Hypnosis: Advanced
Practices of Unconscious Healing
and Outstanding Performance
Mel Bucholtz
Using hypnosis to directly tap the unconscious mind’s creative capabilities, Milton
Erickson helped people heal themselves,
unlock their rich creative skills, overcome
fears, and learn how to experience the full
excitement of their lives. This workshop with
Mel Bucholtz, a psychologist trained by
Erickson, focuses on in-depth demonstration,
instruction, and practice in these basic elements of hypnotic learning:
• Recognizing and engaging life-affirming
states of mind that allow for healing and
creative expression
• Developing our musical-poetic language
skills for entrancing storytelling
• Restoring the feeling of the heart of wonder
and curiosity to the front of our attention
This practical workshop provides training in
recognizing the strategies lying behind life
issues and those strategies necessary to solve
them, clearing a way for participants to actively begin living the dreams of their imagination. Participants should come prepared to
address either one or both of the following:
(1) What fears, or issues, am I willing to settle
into the inactive past of my life so that I may
go ahead at this time? and (2) What would I
like to come away with having successfully
learned from my experience in the course?
$885
Vision Painting: Evoking the Light
Helen Jerene Malcolm
“Within you right now is an imprisoned
splendor,” writes Helen Malcolm. “Your awareness of this splendor unlocks the light that
you are. Living as light, aware of who you really are, can change your experience of the ‘real
world.’”
Vision Painting is a method for accessing
your inner vision—your light—and expressing
it through painting. It is a process designed to
expose the conditioned mind and its limitations, to illuminate how your current state of
consciousness creates the experiences that
you have.
Prompted by visualization, meditation, music,
and movement, your creative expression is
evoked from your feeling centers, through the
hand, and onto paper. As you move beyond
your rational mind to deeper levels of motiva-
tion, the painting seems to paint itself and
reveals its message.
Core Holoenergetics®: The Art and
Science of Healing with Love
Vision Painting permits you to look at the life
you create for yourself—physically, spiritually,
and professionally. Your paintings become a
treasure map of your life where change and
healing are affirmed. This is a transformational adventure in personal creativity. It is also
fun and educational.
Leonard Laskow
For the absolute beginner as well as the artist.
$885
(plus $35 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
The Home Within the Heart:
Ojibwe Tribal Healings
Blackwolf Jones & Robert Chi-Noodin Palmer
The ancient healing ways of the Ojibwe tribe
can profoundly change life patterns. This
workshop introduces these traditional ways
to improve physical, emotional, mental, and
spiritual well-being.
Blackwolf and Robert will offer presentations on healing, purification, and the energies of the natural elements as well as the
eagle, wolf, bison, and bear. They will introduce the use of the mishomis (grandfather
stone), medicine wheel, medicine bundle,
and prayer stick to help resolve anger, shame,
conflict, and pain. Participants will prepare
and burn fear bundles to allow flames to
devour fears. Says Blackwolf, “Either we
master fear or fear masters us, but there
will be a master.”
Participants will learn traditional Native
American tribal dances. Both men and
women will experience the way of the Ojibwe
warrior, and women will be honored as central to survival on Earth Mother. Throughout
the workshop, the life principles of pride, dignity, honor, and respect (namaji) will help all
come to “the home within the heart (aindahing).”
Blackwolf spent his formative years raised on
an Ojibwe reservation and now combines
these teachings with his experiences of teaching, counseling, and living in contemporary
society. Robert Palmer is an Ojibwe descendant, traditional dancer, and storyteller.
CEUs available for psychologists; see page 10.
$485
Holoenergetic® healing, a process of “healing
with the energy of the whole,” is based upon
dissolving the illusion of separation which is
at the core of illness. It takes enormous energy to maintain the misperception that we are
not one interconnected whole but only many
individuals. Through heart awakening,
Holoenergetics can help us come into wholeness and liberate this bound energy, which
can then be used for growth and healing.
In this hands-on seminar, Dr. Laskow will
introduce heart-focused energy healing and
present breakthrough scientific research that
integrates the advances of medical science
with the unifying power of a loving consciousness. Participants will experience how
subtle energy and intention can restructure
physical matter (evidenced by verifiable
changes in water, wine, and oranges) and
effect profound change deep within the inner
self. This seminar will help you learn how to:
• Establish a loving, healing presence in
alignment with your spiritual essence
• Detect and evaluate subtle energies with
your mind, heart, and hands
• Activate the body’s immune system to help
transform illness into wellness
• Recognize, understand, release, and reform
energy patterns that are sources of illness
• Bring peace, power, and intuitive guidance
into your life and the lives of others.
Recommended reading: Laskow, Healing with
Love.
$485
Shinkido® Massage:
The Touch of Resonance
Stèphano Sabetti
Shinkido, the art and science of vibrational
energy, is the form of Life Energy Process®
(L.E.P.) which integrates Eastern and Western
massage techniques by working with energy
waves in the body. Developed by Dr.
Stèphano Sabetti over the last twenty-five
years, Shinkido works on four levels of energy: sensual pleasure, physical health, emotional expression, and spiritual evolution. Any or
all of them may be present in a session.
In Shinkido, touch becomes communication
between partners as each finds wave resonance with the other. Tension in the body is
17
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
released by vibrational work offering the
experience of deep relaxation, personal
inquiry, and/or simply the joy of life.
This workshop, for laypersons and professionals, presents the basic principles and techniques of Shinkido through lectures, demonstrations, partner experiences, hands-on guidance, and follow-up discussions.
Shinkido can help you develop greater selfawareness, a better feeling for your body and
its needs, as well as an understanding of fundamental connections between energy waves
and pleasure.
$485
Navigating the Future
Mikela & Philip Tarlow
For decades, European explorers tried to cross
the vast desert of Central Australia. Even
today you can find the rusted-out remains of
vehicles left by unlucky travelers who did not
pack enough gas or water. Yet for 40,000 years
the Aborigines successfully crossed this very
same desert, developing a rich culture and
raising families along the way. The difference
is that the Aborigines followed the songlines,
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invisible paths of energy that emerged from
Dreamtime, our collective intelligence.
As a society, we are embarking on a cultural
journey more vast than the Australian desert.
We are about to cross emotional thresholds,
shatter mental models, and transform paradigms of every feature of everyday life.
Obviously, we could use some songlines.
This workshop is designed to provide you
with the equivalent of songlines: a psychological map of the future. It will introduce you to
psychological futurism, the study of how individuals can best evolve in fast-moving and
turbulent systems. It will also provide you
with practical and experiential tools for making a journey into new patterns of perceiving,
feeling, thinking, and acting. It offers a way to
look further ahead and to sense the flow of
the future in your own life.
$485
Char Pias & Attila Thomas Vaas
This workshop is for partners who want to
learn to massage each other. Emphasis will be
on “hearing” with the hands, de-stressing the
home, asking for what we need, and giving to
those we love. Sessions will include demonstrations and hands-on guidance. Individual
concerns will be addressed so participants can
continue their practice at home.
$485
per participant
The Way of the Shaman
and the Spirits of Nature
David Corbin & Nan Moss
This workshop introduces participants to core
shamanism, the universal methods of the
shaman to enter non-ordinary reality for
problem solving, well-being, and healing.
Emphasis is on the classic shamanic journey,
the remarkable visionary method used to
explore the hidden universe otherwise
known mainly through myth and dream.
Participants will be initiated into shamanic
journeying, aided by drumming and move-
ment practices for experiencing the shamanic
state of consciousness and for awakening dormant spiritual abilities and connections with
Nature. Participants will also be provided
with methods for journeying to discover their
own individual spiritual teachers in non-ordinary reality.
port us in more fully “choosing love.”
This workshop is open to individuals, couples, and families.
$885
The goal is to gain confidence in this medium
and take home a portfolio of fun artwork. No
experience is required. Art supplies will be
provided.
Spiritual Healing
Maria Lucia Sauer Holloman
The workshop also provides an opportunity
for advanced work with the spirits of Nature
in Esalen’s beautiful and powerful setting. By
learning from the plants and animals, from
the rocks and mountains, from the wind and
waters, and from sun, moon and stars,
shamans helped their peoples live in harmony with the universe. In a world now out of
balance, the way of the shaman can teach us
once again how to respect Nature, our planet,
and its inhabitants at a deep spiritual level.
This workshop presents practical methods for
using the hands as instruments of physical
and spiritual healing. The practice incorporates both hands-on and energetic work. It
emphasizes intentionality as the fundamental
tool of any healing art. “Intentionality moves
energy,” says Maria Lucia Holloman.
“Through this focus you can learn to take
responsibility for your own thoughts and
actions.”
Completion of this Basic Workshop qualifies
participants to take more advanced trainings
with Michael Harner and the faculty of the
Foundation for Shamanic Studies. This
special five-day workshop incorporates
“Shamanism and the Spirits of Nature,” an
advanced Foundation workshop.
Born into a family of healers with a generations-old tradition, Maria Lucia studied with
healers in her native Brazil, where Spiritism—
receiving healing knowledge from the spirit
world—is familiar to much of the population.
Having also lived and studied at Esalen for
nine years, she applies both Brazilian and
North American approaches to healing.
Please note: Bring a rattle or drum (if you have
one), a bandanna, and a pen and notebook to
record your journeys.
$885
Choosing Love as a Daily Practice
Phyllis Shankman
Every moment of your life you are offered the
opportunity to choose love or fear, to tread the earth
or to soar to the heavens.
— Emmanuel
Life is a challenging, unpredictable, and mysterious journey. As years pass, we become
more and more aware of both our human vulnerability and our divinity—and of our daily
choice to live from the heart or to live from
fear.
Phyllis Shankman writes: “We will take time
to slow down, relax, and explore simple ways
to be more still and gently open the heart,
expressing our joy, courage, and compassion,
honoring our fear, our wounds, and our resistance, and touching our innate willingness to
risk choosing love.”
…You were not meant to understand your life.
You were meant to live it.
— Emmanuel
During this week together, participants will
lovingly and joyfully “live it” by using meditation, chanting, ritual, Gestalt practices, group
discussions, movement, massage, dance, art,
music, writing, guided imagery, nature walks,
and anything else which presents itself to sup-
drop as well as for hot-tub figure drawing.
Also included will be a sweat lodge and clay
mud baths.
Participants can not only learn to practice and
refine this approach, but can also experience
the benefits that come from receiving this
work. The workshop will integrate emotional
release work and group process as they organically emerge. This course is designed for
bodyworkers, therapists, health professionals,
and anyone interested in working with energy and people’s bodies.
$885
Contour Figure Drawing
You can preview this workshop on the Web at
www.netcom.com/~mapstead, or e-mail Noel and
Keiko at [email protected].
$885
Life Energy Process®
Stèphano Sabetti
The Life Energy Process (L.E.P.) is a spiritually-oriented body approach to self-development, lifestyle enhancement, and professional
growth based on Eastern and Western energy
dynamics. Specifically designed micro-movements activate energy vibrations which lead
to the release of held emotions, while opening
to love and healthy sexuality.
Practice of the Life Energy Process can lead
naturally to body harmony and emotional
balance as well as to new possibilities in relationships and professional skills based on the
consequences of energy attunement.
Life Energy Process includes: martial arts,
dance, theater, massage, yoga, and pool work,
among others (depending on group process).
The workshop is of particular interest to professionals and mature laypersons who are
excited by the integration of theory, pleasure,
and hands-on application of energy concepts.
Recommended reading: Sabetti, Wholeness
Principle and Waves of Change.
$885
Noel Mapstead & Keiko Suga
This workshop is a novel introduction to figure drawing using the method of contour
drawing, which involves creating outlines
and contours of the figure. Contour drawing
teaches you how to draw what you see rather
than what you think you see. It develops
eye/hand coordination, concentration, observation, and risk taking. And a contour drawing class allows participants to create their
own drawing line while sharing a common
group experience.
Participants will work directly from the nude
figure using live models. Exercises and activities will include individual and group drawings, portraits, life-size figures, and discussion.
The Esalen grounds will be used as a back-
Sherry Galloway & Pablo Piekar
This weekend workshop will provide the
basic techniques of Esalen massage blended
with the detail that creates a balanced fullbody massage. Each session will contain a
brief lecture and demonstration followed by
hands-on practice with plenty of personal
instruction and assistance, as needed.
Fundamental elements of bodywork, such as
breath awareness, grounding, movement and
quality of touch will be introduced. The goal
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will be to create a firm foundation of massage
upon which to build and to have fun in the
process. This workshop is designed to enable
each student to return home with the ability
to give a complete Esalen-style massage.
Please wear loose, comfortable clothing.
$485
Gestalt—Toward a Relational
Approach
Dorothy Charles & Eric Erickson
Contemporary Gestalt work is moving toward
a more relational approach, which emphasizes
the interpersonal and intersubjective origins
of, and their continuing impact on, the organization of experience.
In Gestalt work, a primary distinction in
experience is made between figure and
ground, that is, between what is currently of
interest and the underlying structure of experience (the world of beliefs and expectations,
often interpersonal in origin). This group will
focus on the figure/ground relationship
between developmental longings (the often
relational yearnings and hopes that can foster
growth) and the dangers and fears (inner conflict and resistance) inevitably associated with
those longings.
Recommended reading: Perls, The Gestalt
Approach and Eyewitness to Therapy; Wheeler,
Gestalt Reconsidered; Hycner & Jacobs, The
Healing Relationship in Gestalt Therapy. $485
Creating Your Own Ecological Home
Gregory Franta
Does your living environment enrich your
mind, body, and spirit? How does your home
affect your life, your community, our planet?
Have you experienced the magic of green
architecture? Do you know that you have the
ability to create a physical environment that
is healing, resource-efficient, and ecologically
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DANIEL BIANCHETTA
In Gestalt, awareness is the primary tool. In
this workshop, awareness will be used to clarify how participants currently organize their
experience, opening the way for alternatives.
Participants are explicitly understood not as
patients, but as persons willing to work (or
play) in awareness. The leaders’ role will be to
honor, respect, and clarify whatever emerges.
The workshop will incorporate personal
work, group exercises, and group discussions.
sound—and can even save you money?
This workshop provides an opportunity to
identify your needs and goals for shelter,
redesign your existing home, or create plans
for a new home. Processes of achieving a
resource-efficient, climate-responsive, healthful, and beautiful home environment will be
explored.
The workshop will present environmental
issues and solutions leading toward sustainable building design that supports the health
of your mind, body, and spirit. Specific strategies include site planning, building orienta-
tion, architectural form, building envelope,
windows, daylighting techniques, natural
energy systems, and material selection to
reduce toxicity and produce healthy indoor
environments.
The workshop includes colorful examples of
successful projects, clear presentation on
design strategies, interactive problem-solving/design sessions, and quiet meditation
time to develop your own goals and plans.
Bring along your ideas, photos, dream-house
clips, or plans.
$485
Close Yet Free: Keeping a Good
Relationship Alive
to play with improvisational energy, we can
begin to experience our voice as our partner,
playmate, and soul mate, and move into new
levels of joy and creativity.”
Week of January 30–
February 4
Gerald Smith
How can we be open and vulnerable in order
to love another person, yet at the same time
free in order to continue to grow as an individual? The balance of merging and still maintaining a strong sense of self is never completely
worked out, because each partner is continually changing. But this dilemma of competing
needs can be dealt with in ways that will add to
the aliveness in the relationship.
Much of the participants’ time during this
weekend will be spent with their partners,
separate from other couples. The workshop
will use verbal, nonverbal, and written exercises to enhance openness, support, and affection, as well as skills to resolve differences in
ways that do not produce “scar tissue.” Also,
since play is an essential part of keeping a
relationship alive, there will be experiences to
spark the imagination and willingness to play
together.
Enrollment is limited to 12 couples.
$485
per participant
Prayer of the Heart
Olga Ekanandi Luchakova
The Prayer of the Heart was transmitted from
the early Desert Fathers to Byzantine monks,
and preserved up to the present day by
Russian hermits and pilgrims. This psychophysiological, meditative, and devotional
practice can be used by spiritual seekers of
any orientation. The Prayer of the Heart seeks
inner silence and a state of union—the dissolution of the ego in God-essence.
The practice begins with cultivating wakefulness—attention to body sensations, emotions,
energy, thoughts. Attention then shifts to
concentration on the Spiritual Heart—the
most important subtle energy center in the
body—and the psychological and emotional
issues blocking it. Finally, by exploring spiritual archetypes through sacred images and
guided visualization, the seeker finds his/her
individualized form of the Prayer.
There will be periods of silent sitting and
walking meditation/prayer. Participants will
learn to understand their experiences in the
light of the developmental stages of the
Prayer—vocal, silent, the prayer of recollection, illumination, union. This practice
evokes feelings of grace and connectedness,
and helps to discover true Essence.
$485
Is It Love or Is It Addiction
Brenda Schaeffer
No one escapes the effects of love. A love relationship can be a most profound experience
or a place of confusion and hurt. This workshop is designed for individuals and couples
who are ready to let go of the past and move
beyond the dysfunction of codependency,
compulsive love, and relationship addiction.
It is also appropriate for professionals working with love addiction.
This workshop is open to all levels of vocal
experience and inexperience. All that is
required is your commitment to singing in
your body and going to your personal edge.
$885
The Secret Blueprints of Fate—
Solving Life’s Serious Issues
Heinz Stark
The workshop will demonstrate how and
why most relationships harbor elements of
unhealthy dependency as well as mature love.
Love addiction creeps into the best of relationships—the challenge is to acknowledge
the addictive elements, build on the best
aspects, and establish a way of loving that
bonds us with others and yet allows for our
freedom.
In observing thousands of families, Bert
Hellinger discovered age-old “orders of love,”
powers greater than the conscious will of
individuals, operating in the depths of family
organisms. Moreover, he found, injuries to
these orders of love by earlier family members affect the lives of later members.
Hellinger’s research revealed that a successful
life requires restoring harmony to this love
and order.
Based on the best-seller Is It Love or Is It
Addiction, the course will distinguish between
healthy and unhealthy dependency and offer
a seven-step model for breaking free of
unhealthy patterns. Other topics will include:
moving from power plays to power sharing,
establishing healthy boundaries, forgiveness
and healing, and spiritual intimacy.
“Could we ever imagine,” asks Heinz Stark,
“our unhappiness connected to a stillborn
child of our grandmother? Or difficulties
with a current partner related to an abortion
fifteen years ago or even to a former partner
of one’s mother? A child’s severe illness
caused by an adoption? Behind most issues lie
hidden entanglements of this kind.”
The workshop will include lecture, guided
imagery, meditation, and experiential exercises, as well as consider participants’ specific
needs.
In this work, an individual’s issue is the starting point for restructuring the constellation
of the family system. The group, active participants in this restructuring, experiences the
process of discovering a more beneficial order
where love flows consciously, ready to foster
health and happiness.
$885
Circle of Song—Body and Soul
Rhiannon
“If you sing fully in your body, if you really
get your bones vibrating and your whole
being going, you always feel better,” says
Rhiannon. “This workshop provides a safe
and challenging environment for developing
your unique and genuine voice. Starting with
body energy, alignment, and centering, we will
drop down into soul and sing our way back.”
Rhiannon offers technical skills to develop
strength, dexterity, range, and endurance,
along with emotional work to free the voice.
“Working alone, in pairs, and in ensemble,”
she continues, “we will learn to let go in the
moment and sing what we believe. Learning
“This work,” writes Heinz, “operates directly
with the hidden life-governing powers that
balance our family systems. This workshop is
for those with the courage to trust in solutions that can come simply and quickly, as in
stepping from shadow into light. . . “
Recommended reading: Hellinger, Weber &
Beaumont, Love’s Hidden Symmetry: What
Makes Love Work in Relationships.
$885
The Hidden Dimensions of Bodywork
Ronan Kisch
Many bodyworkers see themselves as healthcare practitioners who recognize that mind
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and body are one. They believe that their
interventions go beyond physical, behavioral,
and verbal boundaries and that intervention
on any one level affects identity, health, and
soul simultaneously.
Such bodyworkers feel called to their work.
They experience connection between themselves and their clients. They may call it
Spirit, or Humanity, or even God. At the
height of their work they feel a sense of personal-professional fulfillment, meaning, nourishment, and a link with all mankind. At the
depths, they may experience isolation, energy
drain, despair, or burnout.
Using lecture, interpersonal sharing, movement, guided imagery, and nonverbal exercises, this workshop will explore the hidden
dimensions of bodywork for personal-professional growth and offer bodywork practitioners an opportunity to release from surprising,
sometimes shocking, and even traumatizing
professional wounding. It is designed to provide rejuvenation, personal clarity, a sense of
community, and fun.
$885
Making a Life Mural
Ann Wolken
In this workshop you will create a visual representation of your life—a Life Mural.
Blending innovative watercolor techniques
with collage, you will integrate many small
works into a larger whole, the piece you’ll take
home with you.
You will begin by connecting with important
sites in your life, using the beautiful Esalen
landscape for inspiration—the barn, the farm,
the garden, the school, the mountains and forest, the meadow and ocean. You’ll add special
places from your memory—the store, the
beauty shop, the bar, the cemetery—and you
may want to even include places from your
dreams and imagination. From these images,
you’ll create a series of small watercolors that
will be incorporated into your Life Mural.
The art materials provided will be of a professional quality so that your Life Mural can be
permanent, frameable for a meditation altar
or usable in the development of further work.
No art experience is necessary, only your life
experience is needed. To deeply evoke memories, please bring a few photos, letters, and
other small objects of inspiration. If you have
art materials that you enjoy working with, be
sure to bring them.
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For further information you can e-mail Ann
Wolken at [email protected]
$885
Weekend of February 4–6
Introduction to
Christine Stewart Price
The Way, when declared
Seems so thin and flavorless.
Nothing to look at, nothing to hear—
And when used—is inexhaustible.
— Lao Tzu
Gestalt Awareness Practice is a form—nonanalytic, noncoercive, nonjudgmental—derived
from the work of Fritz Perls, influenced by
Buddhist practice, and evolved by Richard
and Christine Price. The work integrates ways
of personal clearing and development that are
both ancient and modern. To the extent that
awareness is made primary relative to action,
Gestalt Awareness Practice has a strong relationship to some forms of meditation. This
form is similar to some Reichian work as well,
in that emotional and energetic release and
rebalancing are allowed and encouraged.
• Exploring the possibilities of equal soul
partnership
• Learning new ways to express our fear, sadness, grief, and love
• Defining what we need to change in our
relationships
• Learning different language styles to better
connect with our partners
• Learning ways to heal, forgive, and move on
to a mutually beneficial relationship
Come alone or with a partner. The workshop
will provide a safe, supportive environment to
learn new practices of breathwork, dyadic
communication skills, movement, and
Gestalt, making it easier to express your truth
and take responsibility for your feelings and
issues.
$485
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess:
The Conflict Between Word and Image
Leonard Shlain
$485
There is overwhelming archaeological and
historical evidence that early societies worshipped goddesses, women were priestesses,
and property passed down through the mother’s line. Around five thousand years ago, this
feminine orientation began to lose ground.
With the advent of a distinct Western culture
about three thousands years ago, the goddess
disappeared. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
expelled goddesses, banned women from conducting major religious sacraments, and
decreed that property should pass through
the father’s line. Patriarchy and misogyny
informed the following centuries. Historians,
women, and those spiritually inclined have
puzzled over this historical enigma for years.
What happened? What event could have been
so immense as to literally change the sex of
god?
Underlying all our relationships—husband,
wife, lover, friend, daughter, son, mother,
father—is the need to communicate. Too often
we learn to express our needs through control, power struggles, addictions, dependency,
guilt, denial, and unreasonableness. This
workshop is about healing the soul-wounds
sustained in our attempts at partnership. The
focus will be on:
This workshop will examine these questions
and explore the possibility that the goddess’s
dethronement was due to the invention of literacy, especially alphabet literacy. Using
sacred images and texts, familiar works of art,
and mysterious paintings, the group will
explore the reasons for this dramatic shift,
delving into right brain/left brain differences,
history, mythology, anthropology, gender
issues, and many other subjects. Before the
workshop’s conclusion, participants will discuss Inanna, Isis, Artemis, Dionysus, Moses,
McLuhan, Gimbutas, Buddha, Gutenberg,
The emphasis is intrapersonal rather than
interpersonal. Participants are not patients but
persons actively consenting to explore in
awareness. The leader functions to reflect,
clarify, and respect whatever emerges in this
process. The aim is unfoldment, wholeness,
and growth, rather than adjustment, cure, or
accomplishment. The workshop will utilize
group exercises, meditations, and discussion.
Open seat work may be demonstrated.
Recommended reading: Perls, Gestalt Therapy
Verbatim; Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape.
Communication and Partnership
Week of February 6–11
Christine Stewart Price & Guest Leader
For workshop description see February 4-6.
This five-day format will combine introductory group work with the open seat form in
which each participant will have the opportunity to work with the leader in a group context.
EMANUELA GARDNER
$885
The Spirit and Practice of Leadership:
Centering, Communicating,
Taking Action
Jeff McKay & Horst Abraham
Hildegard, The Tao, television, and the
Internet.
Recommended reading: Shlain, The Alphabet
Versus the Goddess: Male Words and Female
Images.
$485
Body Meditations
Dean Marson
This workshop is for anyone who is interested in discovering a greater sense of aliveness
in his or her body—regardless of level of
“physical fitness.” It offers specific methods to
reconnect with the body in positive ways. The
workshop will present meditation and awareness exercises designed to access the language
of physical sensation in order to familiarize
each participant with the body’s needs.
Guided movements, gentle stretches, and selfmassage will provide the means to explore
new possibilities for ease of movement,
release of tension, and deep relaxation.
Please bring loose, comfortable clothing to
wear during the sessions.
participate in a spiritual process as well as an
aesthetic one. Perfumery has its roots in
alchemy, the ancient art that undertook to
transform raw matter into a perfect and purified form. The philosophy of alchemy
expressed the conviction that the spark of
divinity could be discovered in matter. The
“base material” the alchemist worked upon
and the “gold” he produced may also be
understood as man himself in his quest to
perfect his own nature through conflict, crisis, and change. Using essential oils with their
rich histories, properties, and symbolism
immerses the perfumer in a process of personal transformation as well.
This experiential workshop is designed for all
who wish to understand the world of scent
and through it discover aspects of creativity
and spiritual growth. No experience or special
skills are necessary. The workshop will
employ meditation, imagery, writing, and
hands-on participation with essential oils.
Participants will learn to create a solid perfume, like the unguents of old.
$485
$485
Perfumery: Essence, Art, and Alchemy
Mandy Aftel
Fragrance has the instantaneous and invisible
power to penetrate consciousness. It is at once
earthly and ethereal, worthless and priceless,
real and magical.
To discover the art of natural perfumery is to
February 6–18
Esalen Massage Practitioner
Certification Program: A Two-Part
Modular Series—Part I
Peggy Horan & Dean Marson
We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.
— Robert Frost
In one way or another, the leader’s job is to
inspire through presence, words, and action.
This course will provide a supportive and
challenging opportunity to practice being
present, communicating, and leading.
Participants will explore physical and psychological centering, speaking from the heart and
belly, and taking creative leadership.
The workshop will examine the personal
process of leadership: What motivates me to
lead? What resources do I bring to leadership? How do I step into the role of leader?
How do I adjust to a changing scenario?
Participants will learn how to prepare themselves for leading, how to take on the role of
leader consciously, and how to go with the
flow of a situation. The primary teacher will
be experience: coaching one another, presenting, inspiring, teaching, storytelling, leading,
and ultimately serving the group—all in a
learning environment based on depth and
warmth.
Recommended reading: Heifetz, Leadership
Without Easy Answers; Whitmore, Coaching for
Performance.
$885
Touching the Body/Healing the Spirit:
The Rubenfeld Synergy® Method—A
Workshop for Gay and Bisexual Men
Rob Bauer
For workshop description see Special
Programs, page 66.
$3795
“Growing up gay,” writes Rob Bauer, “we struggle to find our true natures. We are taught to
deny our need for love and nurturing from
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each other, and to see touch as sexual and
nothing more. We learn to shut down our
hearts. Emotions that we suppress, however,
do not go away—they stay inside our bodies
and psyches, affecting our health and wellbeing. Denying feelings, relationships become
unlikely and problematic.”
Synergist Rob Bauer returns to Esalen to
introduce the Rubenfeld Synergy Method, a
powerful system developed by body-mind pioneer Ilana Rubenfeld over the past thirty-five
years. This method is based on the belief in
the power of touch to initiate well-being more
effectively than talk alone. Touch is more likely to get through the “armor” with which we
defend ourselves, bring hidden emotions and
memories to the surface, and promote physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
Through individual demonstrations, group
process, body/mind exercises, and hands-on
techniques, this workshop is designed to help
gay men develop intuitive, listening touch.
Writes Rob: “Together we will find new ways
to touch—emotionally and physically—and
contact each other in caring, nonthreatening
ways. In doing this we reclaim our souls, hidden beneath our sexual personas.”
All gay, bi, and trans men are welcome, regardless of age or HIV status, single or in relationship.
$885
Experiencing Esalen
$485
Awakening the Deep Self from Trauma
and observe the leaders work with the subtle
energies underlying the healing of trauma.
The types of trauma to be addressed include
physical injury and illness, surgery,
birth/fetal trauma, catastrophic events, as well
as abuse trauma. The focus of this experiential
workshop is personal work combined with
brief presentations of theory. Methods
demonstrated will be drawn from hypnosis,
Somatic Experiencing, and developmental,
spiritual, and biological perspectives.
$485
The Art of Leadership:
Communication, Creativity, Vision
Ron Alexander
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities
While in the expert’s mind there are few.
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Romantic Rage:
It Is Not About LoveTM
Mehri Jensen
This workshop is for individuals interested in
exploring an intensive experiential process to
become more effective leaders, both in personal and professional life settings. Designed
for entrepreneurs, executives, managers, and
others committed to improving their communication and leadership skills, it is especially
intended for those open to doing deep personal work to transform the self and thereby
become more effective leaders. The major
areas of focus will be: resolving conflict, developing trust with those who feel threatened,
addressing blind spots in self-esteem, healing
blocks in creativity, and building support for
transforming vision into reality.
The workshop includes Gestalt open seat
work, sharing feedback on leadership and
communication styles, improving coaching
skills, developing the unconscious to creatively solve problems, and role-playing exercises
for real-life work situations.
This workshop—for professionals and laypersons alike—is an opportunity to experience
With its serenity, its natural coastal beauty,
and the power and spirit of the land, Esalen is
a perfect setting in which to learn the ancient
practice of yoga. Some prior yoga experience
is helpful.
$485
— Suzuki
Peter Levine & Maggie Phillips
In freeing the immense energies bound in
trauma, we can use these instinctual strengths
as resources to lead us into the ecstasy of the
deep self. Although powerful, this journey is a
gently guided, quietly internal experience.
For transformation to occur, traumatized individuals must be willing to let go of the often
deeply held “security” of a predictable (though
constricted) reality for an expanded, more
brilliant world. In thawing trauma, we move
out of fixity into flow. In so doing, we are
graced with awakening.
body, it also calms the emotions, focuses the
mind, and uplifts the spirit. This weekend
will be devoted to learning and practicing
yoga, consciously affecting ourselves on physical, mental, and spiritual levels. Emphasis
will be on breathing exercises (purifications),
asanas (yoga body postures), and the coordination of breath and movement within the
asanas. There will also be discussion of yogic
philosophy and theory.
Recommended reading: Heider, The Tao of
Leadership; Bennis, On Becoming a Leader;
Hargrove, Masterful Coaching; Crum, The Magic
of Conflict.
Do you find yourself repeating the same selfdestructive patterns in relationship after
painful relationship? For many of us the
search for romantic intimacy becomes an
addiction—to sex, to love, to relationships. In
actuality what we are doing is not romancing
our lover, but romancing our rage, as we search
for a love object on which to act out our unresolved family-of-origin wounding.
The theme of this workshop is “Recover or
repeat.” It is designed to be a major step in
breaking this addictive cycle. Sexual addiction
and intimacy disorders are treatable with a
prescribed healing process in distinct stages.
This work begins with meditation, chanting,
breathwork, and movement to prepare participants for deep sharing. The focus then shifts
to trauma work, the broken life-map process,
and early childhood issues—all in an environment of support and confidentiality.
We do not heal what we are not willing to
feel. Once our pain is acknowledged, we can
move on to forgiveness—of ourselves and others—and begin the journey to the joy that is
our birthright.
$885
Feng Shui for the Soul
$485
Yoga: A Weekend Intensive
Deborah Anne Medow
The regular practice of yoga not only
strengthens, revitalizes, and helps to heal the
Denise Linn
“Our homes are mirrors of ourselves, “says
Denise Linn. “Through them we can interface
with the universe.” In this workshop you can
learn how to use feng shui to dramatically
change your life. Combining knowledge from
her own Native American heritage and infor-
mation that she has collected from native cultures throughout the world, Linn teaches
how to balance your life by rearranging your
home or office environment.
Through lecture, inner processes, and demonstrations, Linn will present basic feng shui.
She will also teach you how to “see” and “feel”
stuck energy. You will examine a drawing of
your home and find out which rooms are out
of balance and how to correct them. You will
also learn how to perform what Linn calls
“space clearing” (clearing stagnant energy)
and how to perform a household blessing.
This workshop is open to anyone, from those
with no previous knowledge of feng shui to
individuals with experience in this ancient
tradition, as well as those interested in personal growth and self-discovery. Bring pencil
and paper to draw the plans of your home (do
not bring architectural plans).
$885
Living in the Fifth Dimension:
Expanding Your Psychic
Connectedness
William Roll
Dr. William Roll writes: “People often understand these experiences either in terms of
New Age wishy-washiness or in terms of parapsychological concepts that go nowhere,
entertaining but not meaningful. Even when
we make significant discoveries like quantum
physics where we see ourselves as creators
affecting everything we observe, we stop
short of its implications, as if we’ve imposed a
‘conspiracy of unknowing’ about ourselves.
But experimental parapsychology and quantum physics have reached the same conclusion: Not only can we affect matter, but we are
actually in matter all the time.”
Dr. Roll proposes that the psychological and
the physical are indistinguishable, mind and
matter are one, and in addition to the four
dimensions of space and time there is a fifth
dimension, the dimension of meaning. It is in
this dimension of meaning, emotion, and feeling that life is played out. Experimental parapsychology has produced scientific evidence
that our body responds to the physical world
with a knowing that our minds remain
unaware of. Through exercises, demonstrations, lecture, and video, Dr. Roll will guide
you toward “the experience of being yourself,
a center of connectedness to the meaning of
the physical world.”
$885
Treating Trauma: An Integrative
Approach
Peter Levine & Maggie Phillips
This workshop explores the synthesis of
Somatic Experiencing, hypnosis, EMDR, TFT,
and other techniques in the treatment of posttraumatic symptoms and conditions. By
understanding the biological impact of trauma, participants can discover and practice
more effective ways of applying “cutting edge”
approaches to their work with traumatized
individuals. The leaders will focus on ways of
freeing the immense energies bound in trauma and of using these instinctual strengths as
resources to lead clients into the ecstasy of the
deep self.
This workshop for professionals is an opportunity to observe, practice, and do personal
work with the subtle energies underlying the
healing of trauma. Types of trauma to be
addressed include accidents, natural disasters,
rape, invasive medical procedures, surgeries,
childhood abuse, exposure to violence, and
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Telepathy. Astral projection. Precognition and
poltergeists. Recall of previous lives, channel-
ing, near-death experiences. What are these
experiences? What lies behind them?
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developmental and prenatal stress. Models for
interweaving body-oriented psychotherapy,
EMDR protocols, and hypnotic techniques
will be presented and demonstrated.
Peter Levine and Maggie Phillips have taught
and published on trauma and stress in national and international settings, and bring a
wealth of experience and theoretical knowledge.
Please note: Completion of prior training in
hypnosis and Level I training in EMDR is
strongly recommended.
$885
• With others—improving one’s capacity for
moving out of isolation into direct, open
communication and trust
• In the world—moving away from chaos and
deprivation toward stability and abundance
• Spiritually—searching for the meaning of
one’s history and accessing that part of the
self that can utilize universal blessings
This workshop will be experiential and didactic, blending individual and group Gestalt
work, music, spiritual practices, and bodywork. A step-by-step recovery process developed by Mariah Gladis will be incorporated
throughout. The atmosphere will be one of
trust and mutual support. This workshop is
also appropriate for professionals who work
with ACAs.
Creating Exact Moments of Healing
Longtime Mariah Gladis assistant Bruce
Cornwell, who has a background in psychotherapy and professional acting, will be
assisting in this workshop.
Mariah Fenton Gladis
February 18–25
Adult children of alcoholic, dysfunctional, or
abusive families (ACAs) must walk a road of
recovery that requires determination, lifelong
commitment, and the creation of specific
moments of healing. This workshop offers
participants an opportunity both to define a
plan for necessary moments they must create
so they can move forward and to transform
their personal history from one of liability
into one of strength and wisdom. Focus will
be on healing in the following areas:
• With oneself—developing awareness, freeing oneself from addictions, and healing
from the residual effects of trauma
$1370
Couples Massage Weekend
David Streeter & Rachel Fann
This weekend workshop is designed for couples who would like to bring the benefits of
massage into their everyday lives. The workshop will teach simple massage techniques,
developed by Esalen massage practitioners,
which have proven valuable to anyone who
wants to help a partner, friend, or family
member feel better. Techniques that help
relieve pain, increase vitality, or simply soothe
the nerves will be demonstrated briefly and
practiced with lots of hands-on instruction by
the leaders.
This workshop is especially helpful for loving
couples, as Esalen massage is greatly beneficial in its connective and healing qualities.
$485
per participant
Qigong and Neigong: Healing,
Transcendence, and the Practice
of Pure Radiance
Roger Jahnke
No matter what form of Qigong (Ch’i Kung)
you choose—including Taiji and yoga—the
essentials of deepening your practice are not
based in the form. Qigong is not a training
technique but a Way, and behind its methods
and practices are entire worlds—Taoism,
Buddhism, Confucianism, traditional
Chinese medicine, ancient quantum systems,
and the transcendental life. To get the health,
healing, vitality, and longevity promised by
Qigong, one must deepen into the Way.
Participants will begin by exploring simple
Tao Yin (self-healing) Qigong, which can be
shared with family, friends, patients, and
clients. Then, drawing on the Tao Te Ching,
the workshop will investigate the Way using
Qigong forms. Finally, participants will
explore the Secret of the Golden Flower, a
highly refined form of traditional “elixir
alchemy” renowned for its merging of Taoism,
Confucianism, and Buddhism.
Master Laotze says: “Practice eternity.” Says
the Recluse of Pure Unity: “Guide the breath
like a dragon and gain immortality.” The
Scripture of Great Peace says: “Guard the One
and you are transformed into spirit and light.”
These practice formulas of the ancient quantum masters will carry you—using any of the
forms you love—into the mysterious Way.
Beginning students are very welcome.
$485
EMANUELA GARDNER
Hidden Myths of Modern Life
Edwin Bernbaum
Beliefs and assumptions, both true and false,
provide the foundations on which we stand,
the givens that allow us to live and act in our
26
world. Many of them—some so deep that we
are unaware of their existence—function for
us as myths do for people in traditional cultures (e.g., “the universe began with a bang,”
“the mind processes information like a computer”). Elaborated in stories, theories, and
ideas, these contemporary equivalents of
myth shape how we think, feel, and perceive
ourselves and the world around us.
Drawing on research from a number of fields,
this workshop explores the functions of myth
in traditional cultures to see what insights
they can give us into the mythic roles of contemporary theories, ideas, and beliefs and
how we can reawaken their deeper spiritual
role in our lives. Discussion and exercises
cover the following topics:
• The Reality and Power of Myth—the need
for myths and the functions they perform
• The Scientist and the Priest—how scientific
theories and technological innovations capture the imagination and function as myth
• The Work of Myth—beliefs and rituals that
fuel the economy and give legitimacy to law
and government
• Myth and Creativity—uses and abuses of
mythic themes in the arts and the media
• The Healing Power of Myth—how deeply
held beliefs can be used in medicine and
psychotherapy
• The Mythic Quest—the role of myths in
awakening the spiritual impulse and recovering a deep sense of meaning and fulfillment
$485
The Grace of Money:
A Workshop for the Soul
Jessie O’Neill
Do you spend too much—or too little—time
thinking about money? How much is enough?
Do you find it difficult or painful to discuss
your relationship with money?
This workshop is for anyone who has questioned their relationship with money and how
it affects other intimate relationships. The
course addresses both scarcity and abundance,
and offers participants the opportunity to
experience the transformative power of money
and “money messages,” as well as to examine
affluenza (the unbalanced or unhealthy relationship with money). The workshop will also
present practical tools for healing money
wounds, which often reflect unresolved issues
in our primary relationships.
The workshop process will incorporate psy-
chodrama and experiential therapy, meditation, guided imagery, journal writing, feedback, and sharing, along with presentations
on affluenza and the psychology of money.
“This is not about how much money you
have,” writes Jessie O’Neill. “It’s about spirituality. To stay healthy, we need to take as much
care with our souls and spirits as we do with
balancing our checkbooks.”
Recommended reading: O’Neill, The Golden
Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence.
$485
Soul Search: Embracing Our Spirit
Julie Bowden & Richard Balaban
“Childhood,” the leaders write, “has a way of
masking our true self, the self that is deeply
connected to our soul. Simply the experience
of being raised—whether in a ‘normal’ family
or experiencing trauma, abuse, or neglect—
conspires to create a system of defenses
which protect us from pain. These defenses,
however, also insulate us from knowing our
glowing spirit within, the spirit that allows us
our deepest pleasure, our clearest awareness,
and our most profound access to ourselves
and a higher power.
“This workshop is designed for individuals
who desire to move beyond pain, trauma,
numbness, or meaninglessness. In our soul
search, we learn to embrace the spirit within
us which enables growth, well-being, and
emotional health. We learn to receive guidance from this awakened spirit so we may
navigate with intention and awareness
through a life of joy as well as challenge.
“Using experiential exercises, discussion,
imagery, writing, and introspection in a safe
(and drug-free) environment, we will co-create a journey to acknowledge and nurture our
inner voice, explore our strengths, enhance
our relationships, and enliven our spirit.”
motor coordination difficulties, eye problems,
endogenous depression, hyperactivity, and
central nervous system disorders.
Participants will learn the detailed anatomy
and physiology of the CranioSacral System,
its functions in health, and its relationship to
the disease processes. Half of the class time
will be hands-on, developing the sensitive
palpatory skills needed to detect subtle stimuli in the human body.
Class material will concentrate on palpation
and its potential as an evaluative and therapeutic process; fascial and soft-tissue release
methods; and the pressurestat model which
explains the mechanism of the CranioSacral
System. Participants will learn a ten-step protocol for evaluation and treatment of the
entire body. By the end of this intensive program, participants will be able to identify and
localize significant restrictions and imbalances in the CranioSacral System.
Please note: Registration for this workshop is
done through the Upledger Institute. Please
call the Upledger Institute at 1-800-233-5880.
For more information see Special Programs,
page 66.
$885
Handweaving: Reviving an Ancient Art
LaVerne McLeod
Ancient handweavers fashioned some of the
most beautiful and intricate woven designs
and symbols ever made. With a fun-filled
approach, this workshop presents the ancient
art of handweaving—and a chance to explore
your own “inner woven self.” It is an opportunity for your creativity to colorfully emerge
and to weave a finished product.
Alix McLaughlin
You will be provided with a handloom and
yarns, (unless you have a small fold-up loom
and/or special yarns that you want to use), as
well as other necessary materials. Play and
psychodrama will be incorporated along with
active meditations. Participants will be supplied with indigenous Big Sur plants and
foliage for dyeing various yarns and fabrics in
an open-air environment.
CranioSacral Therapy is a gentle, noninvasive,
hands-on technique to help detect and correct
imbalances in the CranioSacral System that
may cause sensory, motor, or intellectual dysfunction. It is used to treat a myriad of health
problems, including headaches, neck and
back pain, TMJ dysfunction, chronic fatigue,
“It’s not necessary to know how to weave or to
be an artist to take this workshop,” says
LaVerne McLeod. “You need only be your natural self.” The workshop provides a forum to
learn something new or, if you already have
handweaving experience, to more deeply
explore this ancient art form.
$885
$885
The Upledger Institute’s CranioSacral I
27
Cruzando El Puente
(Crossing the Bridge)
Gustavo Rabin & Sara Szpektor
Nacemos con una brujula interior imantada
para señalarnos el lugar donde deseamos estar.
Nuestro centro. El lugar de la alegria y paz
interior. Sin embargo, aunque parezca sencillo, muchas veces nos preguntamos como
hacer para llegar a ese lugar y otras tantas nos
perdemos en el camino. En esta semana nos
uniremos para realizar una experiencia intensa de conocimiento de uno mismo, de nuestro
potencial, de expansión de nuestros propios
limites y de actualización de nuestros deseos y
sueños mas queridos. Juntos llegaremos a ver
que es lo que hay para nosotros del otro lado
del puente. Aprenderemos a convertir dilemas
en problemas, problemas en oportunidades y
a “cruzar el puente” para llegar al lugar tan
anhelado. Este workshop será experiencial y
didáctico. En un ambiente protegido usaremos técnicas gestalticas, de visualización y
meditacion para el trabajo individual y grupal.
La magia increible de Esalen y Big Sur
proveerán el marco y sosten para nuestro
viaje. Recomendamos traer una foto de su
infancia. Totalmente en español.
$885
The Vision and Practice of Human
Transformation
George Leonard
The creative capacity of the human brain/
body is, for all practical purposes, infinite.
Each of us is a prodigious learning animal,
and our ultimate destiny may well be to
evolve capacities that would now be termed
extraordinary. Research conducted by George
Leonard and Michael Murphy strongly suggests that the best path to the realization of
our latent powers lies in a long-term practice
which integrates mind, body, heart, and soul.
In this hands-on workshop, Leonard introduces you to Integral Transformative Practice
(ITP), a path of practice that can help you realize your inborn genius while bringing pleasure, fulfillment, and good health, not just
during this workshop but also in the weeks,
28
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
We are born with an inner compass pointing to
our own destination—our own core where joy and
happiness reside. Still, we go astray, lose our North,
or wander confused. This workshop will focus on
finding the way to cross the bridge that leads to our
own path. Dilemmas will become problems, problems will become opportunities.
months, and years to come. You will be introduced to a forty-minute series that includes
physical movement, breathing practice, relaxation, transformative imaging, and meditation. You will practice balancing and centering, the use of ki, focused surrender, and the
creation of effective affirmation. There will be
discussions of the principles of human transformation, as revealed in a two-year experiment he and Murphy conducted with 50
people.
This workshop involves physical movement
but is not strenuous. All that’s needed is a generous heart and a willingness to participate.
Recommended reading: Leonard & Murphy,
The Life We Are Given; Leonard, Mastery and
The Way of Aikido: Life Lessons of an American
Sensei.
$485
remote Scottish highlands and islands), we
will develop our own songs of work, ritual,
and celebration to invoke and influence the
elemental energies within and around us.”
Laurel Massé was a founding member of The
Manhattan Transfer. After many years as an
entertainer, she was drawn by her dreams to
search for the ancient origins and deeper purpose of music. In 1994 she began to sing in
concert and ritual without instrumental backing, exploring the primal path of unaccompanied song.
This workshop welcomes people at all levels
of experience, including those who think
they can’t sing but have always wanted to.
$485
‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple
Voices on the Wind
David Schiffman
Laurel Massé
This weekend is for people who would like to
return to the simplicity of the values we treasure most. Its aim is to create a climate of
mutual support and encouragement for
exploring how to best cultivate the spirit of
real generosity and faith in dealing with ourselves and others. This process will embrace
the following elements:
From earliest times, people have raised their
voices in chant, harmony, and rhythm to gather in community, to lighten the weight of
work, and to deepen the experience of worship. In this workshop Laurel Massé will
guide participants to experience the power of
their own voices to express emotion, rouse
spirit, and alter consciousness.
Writes Ms. Massé: “Drawing from many traditions, including the Scots-Gaelic tradition of
incantation and blessing (as collected in the
• Sanctuary—the opportunity to step away
and pause, to create a mood of peace
• The company of kindred spirits—a chance
to be met with honesty, empathy, and wisdom in an atmosphere of soulful support
• The emotional freedom to be—the right to
let down and be sad, glad, or mad in order
to clear the air and move on, making room
in our hearts for new possibilities
• The right to feel free and alive in our bodies—the use of movement and touch to
restore the vitality of feeling truly alive and
physically at ease
The methods will be drawn from a wide variety of practices, both traditional and nontraditional, all aimed at restoring our gratitude and
appreciation for being alive.
$485
Creative Alternatives:
For Health-Care Professionals
Arnold Chanin
Have you ever questioned why you entered
the health-care field? Is your passion for healing slowly being stripped bare till you wonder
if you have anything left to give? As the
“power to manage” daily recedes from your
grasp, issues such as burnout, loss of autonomy, and discouragement eventually make you
ask, “How can I be of service to others as well
as nourish my own soul?”
This workshop addresses that question.
Embark on a journey of discovery and renewal as you strive to reformulate your vision of
healing. To help you gain the most from this
journey, the workshop will utilize a mixedmedia approach: writing, storytelling, poetry,
collage, music. No prior experience in the creative arts is required.
In this workshop, participants will explore
how to turn their ideas into real programs and
services through grantwriting. Linell Fromm
will introduce the basic steps for writing a
successful grant proposal: assessing needs,
planning the program, selecting funding
sources, developing a letter of inquiry, writing
measurable outcomes, developing a budget,
and evaluating the program. The workshop
will also cover the criteria for how proposals
are selected and how grantwriting fits into a
complete fundraising strategy.
Experiential exercises will help participants
describe their grant ideas and qualifications to
potential funders. There will be time to practice writing elements of a grant, such as compelling statements of need, the significance of
the proposed project, and more. The group
will also share drafts for feedback.
Bring project ideas to work on. No prior
grantwriting experience is necessary.
You can e-mail Linell Fromm at [email protected]
$485
Week of February 27–March 3
Group Process Training
Howard Schechter & Barbara Lee
Anyone who deals with patients—physicians,
nurses, nurse-practitioners, therapists, social
workers—is encouraged to explore what
brought you to healing in the first place, how
that passion was extinguished, and how it can
be rekindled in once again.
A list of materials to bring will be sent upon
registration.
$485
Grantwriting—Turning Dreams
into Reality
Linell Fromm
Living a meaningful life often involves helping others in tangible ways. For many, this
includes fulfilling dreams of starting programs which serve the needy, bring cultural
activities into inner-city neighborhoods, assist
the elderly, expand the fields of behavioral
and medical research, or work to achieve
world peace.
This is a workshop for people fascinated with
the power of skillfully guided groups. It offers
the personal value of deep group process
along with the skills necessary to become an
effective group leader. Participants will learn
how to use the unfolding moment-tomoment material in the group as the primary
tool to foster individual awareness, facilitate
healing and growth, and help the group
become a rich environment for individual
development.
Three levels of facilitation approaches will be
presented: personal, interpersonal, and systemic. Participants will be taught how to cultivate individual growth within the group context, use interpersonal conflict and cooperation to deepen relationships, and read group
signals and promote whole-system health.
The methodologies will be an integration of
Gestalt practice, psychosynthesis, Focusing,
Process Oriented Psychology, Authentic
Movement, art therapy, and the circle practices of native peoples.
The key to being an effective leader is to discover and honor the sacred essence of each
member of the group—beyond the issues arising out of more superficial personality
dynamics. Practicing this, while processing
whatever emerges in the moment, allows a
leader to guide groups toward a more moving
and growthful experience.
$885
Playing the Edge
David Schiffman
In the early stages of growth, success seems to
be its own reward. Excitement, vitality, and
the willingness to face life boldly are characteristics of those who are involved in new and
successful ventures. To keep this spirit alive is
not easy. Enormous pressures, grinding routines, and demands of involvement can
dispirit even the healthiest people. To listen
to one’s heart requires the courage to pause. In
this willingness to stop and listen to the deeper self live the true resources that guide and
protect us.
The purpose of this week is to create a mood
of sanctuary for people in transition considering major changes in career, relationship, or
matters of the spirit; those in need of a break
from stressful responsibilities; and individuals interested in breaking new ground in the
areas of self-nurturance, intuitive functioning,
and problem solving.
The process will be gently restorative, illuminating, and enlivening. The intention will be
to create a community based on trust and
goodwill with emphasis on individual freedom. Traditional methods of self-inquiry
(Gestalt practice, bioenergetics, psychosynthesis) will be combined with innovative
methods using music, meditation, poetry, ritual, and prayer to foster this spirit of living
fully.
$885
Drums of Passion: African Drumming,
Dancing, and Chanting
Babatunde Olatunji & Friends
Babatunde Olatunji continues to expand his
vision: spreading the joy, energy, and exhilaration inspired by the sounds and rhythms of
the universal language of African drumming,
dancing, and chanting. The Nigerian-born
percussion virtuoso has been bridging the gap
between American and African culture for
over thirty-five years. In this jubilant work29
shop, he will share how the drums communicate, stimulate, and pace the activities of traditional African life. This workshop is for
dancers, percussionists, musicians, and anyone who wants to speak the language of the
drums. Drummers can experience the dance
and dancers can experience the drums. Please
bring a drum if you have one.
Please note: This has always been a popular
workshop, with lots of people drumming and
dancing in a small area. The energy runs
high—be prepared for a crowded, exuberant
atmosphere!
$885
the bodywork flows to become a beautiful
healing dance between giver and receiver.
Everyone is welcome. Previous massage experience is not necessary.
$885
March 3–31
28-Day Massage Practitioner
Certification Program
Vicki Topp & Ray Swartley, with Tom Case
Weekend of March 3–5
The Ultimate Journey
Expect some irreverent twists and a surprise
or two.
$485
Arriving at New Beginnings:
A New Paradigm of Marriage
The course will explore a new paradigm of
marriage grounded in the alchemical view of
the inner marriage as the joining of the masculine and feminine energies within the individual. The modeling of the outer marriage
upon this inner process in both partners
releases the outer marriage from the kinds of
bondage that many married couples are now
finding increasingly oppressive.
Marion and Ross Woodman will teach from
their experience of life lived individually and
together over a period of 45 years.
$885
Lomi Kanakalele—Massage of Angels
Joy Finch
Lomi Kanakalele is an ancient form of
Hawaiian bodywork. Originally done as a rite
of passage, this transformational massage was
performed until the recipient felt cleared and
aligned on all levels—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
The practitioner begins by moving in a dancelike way, emulating a bird in flight, to soften
and open the recipient’s body and to awaken
the cells for transformation at a deep level.
This movement is an active meditation for the
practitioner as well, to open up and free old
holding patterns in his/her own body. If both
giver and receiver are heartfully focused in
this movement, the synergy can accelerate
change and create expansion. This form of
lomilomi (massage) helps both parties to feel
more centered, relaxed, and grounded, and
enhances balance, fluidity, and coordination.
The workshop will include free-form dance,
breathwork, heart-opening exercises, and the
bird-flight movement described above, which
is the main ingredient of this form of lomilomi. The movement is the place from which
30
In an environment of safety and support, you
will have the opportunity to experiment with
presenting yourself in front of various-sized
groups, using your voice, body, and emotional
power. There will be in-depth individual and
group exercises designed to free you from
past blocks to presenting yourself publicly.
Up-front courage, passion, and clarity need
not be restricted to rare moments in life. This
process can help bring to life the eloquent
speaker of your fantasies. You can learn to
express yourself more fully and experience
the satisfaction of being more authentic, effective, and self-assured.
Programs, page 66.
$3975
Marion & Ross Woodman
designed for people who want to develop a
more powerful personal and public presentation as well as better professional and business communication skills.
Sukie Miller & Edmundo Barbosa
According to a recent Gallup poll, two-thirds
of Americans believe in an afterlife. They
believe that the afterlife will be a spiritual
journey and that they will grow on this journey. According to an NORC poll, only five
percent of Americans believe the afterlife will
be boring.
Sukie Miller and Edmundo Barbosa have traveled to Brazil, India, Africa, and Indonesia
conducting research on cross-cultural afterlife
beliefs. They have identified four distinct
stages to the afterlife journey, healing stages
that apply to the lived life as well, to the many
mini-deaths we experience within life itself:
the loss of a loved one, the death of a marriage, of a career, of one’s dreams.
This workshop will be devoted to the journey.
As a community, participants will experience
and pass through all four stages of the journey
to return—renewed—to the lived life.
Recommended reading: Miller (with
Lipsette), After Death: Mapping the Journey and
(with Ober) Finding Hope When a Child Dies:
What Other Cultures Can Teach Us.
$485
Powerfully Presenting Yourself
Paula Shaw
Why are some people so cogent and inspiring
when they speak? What holds you back from
delivering your message? This workshop will
explore the inhibitions to self-expression and
communication and help you to move
beyond them, creating more freedom in both
your personal and professional life. It is
Entering the Flow State:
Quiet Mind, Fluid Body
Jena Marcovicci
Whether the arena is athletics or Life, what is
often lost in today’s competitive world is the
joy of simply playing or finding meaning in
what you do. This workshop can help you
play better, have more fun, and enter the state
of flow referred to by athletes as “the Zone.” It
also provides an introduction to many of the
practices available at Esalen.
Sports psychologist Jena Marcovicci has
worked with world-class tennis players.
Blending Western psychology with Eastern
practices, he has developed a seven-step
process for releasing the conditioned patterns
that sabotage the joy and effort of playing a
sport—or succeeding in any aspect of life. Says
Jena, “The more you relax, the better you play.
By finding your organic rhythms, you can liberate yourself from the narrow fight-or-flight
mind-set that inhibits optimal performance.”
Through yoga, t’ai chi, meditation, visual
imagery, drumming, and free-form dance, you
can discover this map for maximizing your
potential. Whether you’re a serious athlete, a
would-be athlete, or seeking to master your
“competitive mind,” this workshop can help
you attain “quiet mind, fluid body.”
Bring a tennis racquet, a drum (if you have
one), running shoes, and loose, comfortable
clothes.
Recommended reading: Marcovicci,
The Dance of Tennis.
$485
EMANUELA GARDNER
Finding True Love
Daphne Rose Kingma
“Love,” writes Daphne Rose Kingma, “is an
experience of emotional and spiritual awakening to the unbounded bliss that is the true condition of our souls. Love is our one true human
quest and an intimate romantic partnership its
most fond and luminous expression.”
In this workshop, you will be guided in the
spiritual and emotional preparations necessary to attract love into your life. Focusing on
the four keys to true love—Faith, Intention,
Trust, Surrender—you will be led on a step-bystep journey to self-knowledge that can liberate your heart. As you move through each
process—resolving emotional issues from
your past, healing relationship wounds, examining your myths about relationships, identifying your life theme (and discovering its
effects upon your past relationships)—you can
discover your own internal barriers to intimacy and gradually release them.
“This workshop,” writes Daphne, “is for people
who are looking for a love in the highest and
deepest form. It is for those who want to final-
ly heal the pain of old unresolved relationships as well as those who can’t seem to bring
themselves into alignment with the love that
is already waiting to approach them.”
Activities will include meditation, exercises,
and group process.
$485
Week of March 5–10
ence deep catharsis, and find the path with
heart.”
Come prepared to use this shamanic environment as a sacred vessel for deep personal
exploration and spiritual growth. This workshop is physically demanding, personally
revealing, and includes an all-night ceremony.
Because of the special nature of this work,
enrollment is limited.
$885
The Heart of the Shaman
Richard Yensen Pérez-Venero
& Donna Dryer Pérez-Venero
The Pérez-Veneros write: “The shamanic
awakening is a mythic and poetic spiritual
journey of initiation. In this work we learn to
honor our innermost wounding experiences
and use them as a portal into the spirit world.
The journey of death and rebirth awakens our
capacity to be compassionate and loving.
“A circle of trust developed through ritual will
carry us through the crack between the
worlds. Both ancient and modern practices
will be used to enter shamanic trance, experi-
The Writer’s Way: Opening to Change
Nancy Bacal
“Change,” writes Nancy Bacal, “can be as profound as death, as subtle as a spring day. It can
deliver us into awe or abandon us in fear and
confusion. The intention of this workshop is
to pick up a pen and explore it all. Rather
than feel shaken by a situation we cannot control, we will use it as material. Even the most
difficult circumstance can be of value when
we retrieve it for the writer… for the writer’s
most inspiring material is the truth of our
own lives.
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glaze them in kilns at the Esalen Art Barn.
Giving moment-to-moment attention to the
process, we will build our own sweat lodge,
hot mud baths, and tea houses for group ceremonies. We will cultivate sensibility through
appreciation of the utensils and materials
employed, and of the formal movements and
manners that arise in each moment. With
each step you will encounter the master in
yourself, and each step will disclose your own
attainment.
EMANUELA GARDNER
“The workshop is designed to instill an aesthetic apprehension of things that is rooted in
self-awakening. Come make ‘Raku pleasure’
and drink tea as friends. There is no other
secret.”
www.netcom.com/~mapstead, or e-mail Noel
and Keiko at [email protected]. $885
Group Leading—Advanced Training
the max” and move you into a new arena of
personal creativity and self-expression.
The MAX is extremely challenging.
Participants must commit to a rigorous exploration of the sources of their emotional limitations. Seminar hours are longer than usual
early in the week (and shorter later in the
week). Participants work individually in front
of the room, playing to and with other group
members. There are exercises that use raw
emotion, role-playing, and “dress-up” assignments.
This is an opportunity to experience yourself
in a way you may have dreamed about but
never imagined possible. The game is risk, the
premise: You’re either daring or dead. This
course is not for the faint of heart, but it is full
of heart, humor, and irreverence and is constructed with the understanding that this
kind of risk taking requires a very safe workspace. If your heart beats faster when you
think of taking this workshop, then maybe it’s
just the thing to do.
“In the safety of a group we will place a breath
of air between ourselves and the event, wide
enough for a trail of ink to transform it into
story. As the details emerge, they bring vitality back to our writing, into our lives. When
we claim our experience for the creative
process—translate it onto the page—we cease
to be victims, for in that moment we substitute curiosity for expectation and are free.”
Sukie Miller & Edmundo Barbosa
“Never take anyone anyplace you have not
been yourself ” is a golden rule of group leading. To best trust yourself and the group you
are leading it is necessary that you, as leader,
experience, process, observe, and learn a multitude of healing methods and group
approaches.
Please note: Due to the intense and sequential
nature of this workshop, attendance at all sessions is necessary.
The schedule will include movement, meditation, laughter, tears, moments of resistance
and amazing discovery. With support and
guidance, participants will write in and out of
the group, and read and discuss pertinent
material. More than skill, enthusiasm for the
writing process and a heart open to surprise
are the primary requirements.
This intense training workshop is designed
for experienced group leaders to deepen their
personal and spiritual journey so as to be best
able to lead others. Working as a group, participants will draw on practices culled from
encounter, bodywork, imagery, Gestalt, and
dream analysis, as well as make optimal use of
the Esalen facilities.
Recommended reading: Chodron, The
Wisdom of No Escape.
Each individual intrinsically comprises “a
group” as well. We all have within us many
unique parts, each deserving of recognition
and respect and requiring inclusion into our
own “group within.” Toward this end, group
members will be asked to maintain individual
journals, record their dreams, and complete
individual homework assignments emanating
from the group experience.
$885
$885
Big Sur Clay: Spring Raku
with Tea Ceremonies
Bearing the mind in lofty awakening, return to
the mundane.
— Basho, 17th century Japanese poet
Noel Mapstead writes: “Raku ceramics developed in Japan over 400 years ago as a means to
make functional wares—tea cups, flower vases,
and incense burners—for Chanoyu, the zen tea
ceremony. Guided by the spirit of this centuriesold art, we will strive to create our wares…
without attachment to the final product.
“We will dig and prepare our own clay from
the Big Sur hills, make our wares, and fire and
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The MAX: Stretching the Limits
of Your Self-Expression
Paula Shaw
The MAX is an outrageous voyage through
your own humanity—a journey to turn yourself inside out and explore the extent of your
self-expressive power. It employs a variety of
acting, observation, and communication
methods designed to expand your limits “to
Prerequisite: A 1-3 minute memorized piece—
monologue, poem, song, etc.
$885
The Healing Power of Theatre
Jean-Claude van Itallie
Given a warm, noncompetitive, nonjudgmental atmosphere, the spacious creative self we
often forget can be awakened to move, physically and emotionally. Artfully combining disciplined, playful movement exercises, listening, storytelling, writing, and meditation,
Jean-Claude van Itallie gently encourages you
to break through your habitual fears and selfconsciousness. This work cultivates spontaneity and presence in everyday life as well as on
the stage. Everyone is welcome, beginners
and experienced alike.
Jean-Claude was a central player in the explosive American theatre of the sixties, a La
MaMa playwright, and principal playwright
of the Open Theater. He has taught theatre at
Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, as well as at
Esalen, Naropa, and Omega Institutes.
Recommended reading: van Itallie, The
Playwright’s Workbook.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 12.
$485
A Celebration of the Body:
A Self-Empowerment Weekend
Carolyn Braddock & Christian Hendricks
People usually consider walking on water or in
thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is
not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to
walk on the earth.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
This workshop is designed to facilitate the
integration of body, mind, and spirit into a
healing journey, particularly for survivors of
trauma (sexual and emotional trauma, physical illnesses, surgeries, body-image issues, loss,
and accidents). The material is intended for
daily use—at home, at work, in relationship—
for personal and professional growth.
The workshop utilizes breath, sound, and
select centering and martial arts practices to
assist participants in vocal expression—the
source of their power—while encouraging
release through movement. The gentle martial
arts practices promote flexibility and body
awareness while helping the individual to stay
centered, release areas of tension, and move
through difficult feelings. Participants will be
taught how to move out of harm’s way when in
conflict, use more voice—verbal and nonverbal—in relationships, and enhance creativity.
The workshop utilizes experiential exercises,
group process, bodywork, situational roleplaying, the natural environment, humor, and
video analysis.
Recommended reading: Braddock, Body Voices.
$485
Stress Reduction:
An East/West Approach
Mark Abramson & David Levenson
relaxation, healing imagery, and cognitive
approaches. Through these practices, you can
develop a self-caring objectivity, an ability to
respond to your pain and suffering with compassion instead of self-criticism, guilt, and
shame. The workshop is designed to be practical. Its aim is to integrate your experiences and
give you tools to use in your everyday life.
elusive ideas rather than familiar body feelings. Furthermore, until we recognize the
themes that distort our views, cause our prejudgments, and perpetuate old defensive patterns, it is difficult to trust or be trusted. For a
relationship that works well, we must have
practical body-mind tools and know ourselves
in order to resolve life’s inevitable dilemmas.
Everyone is welcome, nonmeditators and
meditators alike, as well as people with or
without medical problems.
Most couples want an equal and reciprocal
relationship, but few know how to accomplish this attunement of partnership.
However, once you have simultaneously experienced the internal feeling of self and attunement with your partner—and have seen what
gets in the way—you will know how you got
there and how to achieve it again and again.
$485
Yoga: Continuing to Practice a
New Way of Being
Thomas Michael Fortel
The great saints and sages of India have
repeatedly told us that the Divine lies within:
the body is a temple for the indwelling Lord.
The practice of hatha yoga is an honoring of
the body as a vessel of this energy, this life
force, this prana. Yoga is a tool of healing that
works on many levels. The physical body
heals through the compression and stimulation of the internal organs and glands. The
musculoskeletal system gains greater mobility
and overall strengthening and toning.
Yet there’s much more to yoga than a physical
practice. The rhythm of the breath is like a
mantra for calming and healing the mental
and emotional bodies. In this way, the veils of
illusion in the mind drop away and over time
an enduring peace develops. The practice of
yoga allows a balance of mind and heart and
an integration of inner and outer, the individual with the Supreme. “What we practice on
the yoga mat,” writes Thomas, “becomes a way
of being in the world.”
Stress comes to us in many forms. Our bodies
and minds are stressed by chronic pain and
persistent illness. Relationships are stressful.
We find stress at home and at work, in our
social and financial lives, even in our recreation.
Mornings will begin with pranayama and
meditation, a light breakfast, and an active
morning practice. In the afternoon the practice will be restorative. Please have a minimum of 3 months’ recent yoga experience.
$485
Stress often leads us to suffering. Muscles
tense up, pain tolerance decreases, inflammations increase, intestines go into spasm,
fatigue may become profound. Our minds are
often filled with anxiety, fear, depression,
anger, and helplessness.
All of this suffering is normal and understandable—but it is not required. Suffering is optional. In this workshop, you will be shown how
to minimize suffering with the help of mindfulness meditation, yoga, self-hypnosis, deep
The Intimate Couple
Jack Rosenberg & Beverly Kitaen Morse
Trust, love, erotic sexuality, and a core experience of self—these are building blocks for a
vital relationship. Yet, unless our bodies are
awakened, these essential qualities remain
Designed as a preventive model, this workshop can help you uncover the key undermining themes in your relationship and provide tools to deal with them before they
become terminal problems. It will also provide tools for experiencing heightened aliveness, sustaining a sense of self in the body,
and making sex better.
Please note: This workshop is for couples only.
Recommended reading: Rosenberg & Morse,
The Intimate Couple; Rosenberg, Rand & Asay,
Body, Self, and Soul; Rosenberg, Total Orgasm.
$885
per participant
Finding Life Balance
Phillip Moffitt
Even for those who have achieved what our
culture calls success, there is all too often a
feeling that life is out of balance. We live outside of our own bodies. We are strangers to
our own minds. Is it any wonder that restlessness, a subtle sense of dissatisfaction, and a
nagging feeling of being less than our authentic selves is so prevalent despite our accomplishments?
This workshop offers you the opportunity to
better experience the joys of your own body
and to better know the subtle workings of
your own mind. Best of all, it offers practical
guidance toward achieving a healing balance
in mind, body, heart, and soul. “Life Balance”
is a newly developed program which integrates the idealism and insight of Eastern
spiritual practices and the self-understanding
of Jungian psychology into a practical application for achieving harmony in daily life.
In this journey, you will work with vipassana
meditation, hatha yoga, subtle body movements, and the Integral Transformative
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Practice developed by George Leonard and
Michael Murphy. You will also be exposed to
methods which enhance self-understanding
and help clarify personal and career challenges. The workshop will culminate in the
creation of a life-balance plan that can serve as
a source for your ongoing practice.
$885
Soul at Work:
Heartfulness in Daily Life
Carlos Warter
Each of us longs for deeply meaningful work.
Whether you’re an employee, entrepreneur,
volunteer, or householder, the journey to fulfilling work emerges from the process of
aligning your life with your essential identity,
the source from which satisfying and heartfelt work naturally arises. Working with dialogue, contemplation, meditation, and experiential exercises, you’ll have an opportunity to
discover and explore both your heart’s mission and that which blocks you from accessing and expressing it. The workshop will
guide you in:
$885
Healing from Trauma:
Body-Centered Interventions
Carolyn Braddock & Chris Hendricks
Some day the body will present its bill, for it is as
incorruptible as a child who, still whole in spirit,
will accept no compromises or excuses, and it will
not stop tormenting us until we stop evading the
truth.
— Alice Miller
The body remembers because the body is the
scene of the crime. This memory is expressed
through “body voices”—how a person
breathes, speaks, moves. When a bodyworker
places hands on a survivor, memories may
flood in and body sensations be blocked,
resulting in rigid holding and movement patterns. Releasing these patterns allows the survivor’s body to unwind and expand.
This workshop—for massage practitioners,
bodyworkers, medical professionals, and anyone interested in learning body-oriented
intervention techniques—will focus on handson ways to release trauma (particularly in sexual trauma survivors). It is designed to heighten sensitivity to the psychological and physiological manifestations of post-traumatic
stress: dissociation, flashbacks, energy blocks,
and breath patterns. Special emphasis will be
placed on establishing safety and trust in the
client/practitioner relationship. The workshop will also present martial arts techniques
that can help survivors move through difficult, intense feelings.
The workshop is applicable for Braddock Body
Process® Training hours for certification.
Recommended reading: Braddock: Body Voices.
$885
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
• Identifying your core values and integrating them into your vocation
• Seeing how your work can be transformation-enhancing instead of compensatory,
obligatory, or obsessional
• Incorporating the intimacy of your inner
work with the expression of your outer
work
• Identifying and working with patterns of
resistance that cause stagnation in your dayto-day life
• Working with the issues that keep you
from opening your heart so that you can be
fully engaged with the personal presence
that brings openness, abundance, clarity,
and aliveness to everything you do
• Clarifying your vision and finding the key
to its manifestation
• Incorporating your desire to provide service and/or healing in your work
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Experiencing Esalen
$485
The Hero with an African Face:
Mythic Wisdom of Traditional
Africa
Clyde Ford
The truth lost in the morning comes home
in the evening.
— African Proverb
African myths convey the perennial wisdom
of humanity: the creation of the world, the
hero’s journey, our relationship with nature,
death, and resurrection. In this workshop,
Clyde Ford presents traditional African sacred
wisdom as a means of facilitating self-growth,
deepening spiritual experience, and promoting personal healing.
The workshop begins with a traditional
African ritual for opening a sacred circle. The
group will then explore the personal meaning
of African myths in several ways: (1) sessions
where significant African myths are read aloud
and discussed; (2) participation in African rituals adapted for the workshop and the natural
environment of Esalen; (3) sessions involving
music, movement, and body-oriented processes based on African traditions; and (4) slide
presentations of African art to accompany discussions of African mythic systems.
Throughout, the workshop will focus on how
African sacred wisdom informs us about
today’s important themes, among them: the
healing journey; the relationship between
personal and social healing; the human spiritual quest; and the connection between
African mythologies and other mythologies
worldwide. The workshop will end with a
compelling initiatory ritual, from the
BaKongo, to close the sacred circle.
Recommended reading: Ford, The Hero with
an African Face: Mythic Wisdom of Traditional
Africa.
$485
Reinhabiting Your Body: An
Experience in Authentic Movement
Tina Stromsted
Authentic Movement is a meditative form of
dance influenced by the psychology of Carl
Jung. It offers a structure within which your
natural movement can bloom and be nurtured, allowing you to discover ways to reinhabit your body and engage your creativity.
Come alone or with a partner. A safe, supportive atmosphere will be provided, using communication skills, movement, Gestalt, and
Reichian work.
The sensing body is our immediate access to
all of life’s experiences—our original text,
where life’s compromises, longings, and
dreams find expression. Authentic Movement
provides a way to listen to and embody the
soul’s inner promptings through sensation,
gesture, sound, and image. Through moving
and witnessing in a safe space, you can explore
your own inner dance as it unfolds. Bodyrelated issues, unresolved developmental
material, preverbal memories, and transpersonal experiences may emerge, leading toward
integration and wholeness. Healing and transformation occur at a cellular level.
No experience in dance is necessary—only
curiosity, respect, and a bit of courage to open
to the unknown. Designed for healing practitioners, therapists, educators, artists, and
those interested in growth and matters of the
spirit, this process helps you rediscover your
own natural rhythms, bridging body and psyche through expressive movement, drawing,
and writing.
$485
Choosing Aliveness
Life is a precious gift. We have all experienced
moments of feeling totally alive, yet much of
our life is spent in a half-asleep, half-committed state of being. While there are many lifesituations beyond our control, we choose how
we respond to these events. The choice to be
passionately alive is an act of courage. To
choose life is to:
• Open ourselves to all of life—suffering, joy,
success, failure, love, and grief
• Fully acknowledge the truth of who we are
• Commit to living our deepest values and
dreams
• Define what we must change in our relationships
• Learn new ways to heal, forgive, and communicate
The challenge is to honestly address the ways
in which we have compromised, given up, or
lied to ourselves and others. This workshop is
designed to bring to awareness our unconscious choices of how we deaden ourselves
and to create the possibility for new aliveness
and passionate involvement.
$485
Three Pillars of Asian Wisdom
Chungliang Al Huang & Huston Smith
Collaborating for the first time, two authorities on the living philosophies and religions
of the East initiate a program to introduce and
perpetuate the studies of three essential wisdom traditions of East Asia: Taoism,
Confucianism, and Buddhism, emphasizing
Chinese Ch’an and Japanese Zen.
The seminar will begin with introductory lectures and discussions on these perennial
philosophies and how they apply to day-today living in the modern world. The course
will then focus on the discipline and practice
of the life-learnings shared by Huston and
Chungliang, two friends both born in China
(thirty miles apart) and steeped in traditional
education there. They will share their bicultural heritages along with their passion for
the universal principles they embody.
This course is intended to inaugurate an
ongoing series on this subject. For more
information see interview on page 4.
$885
The Hero’s Journey: Rites of Passage
Paul Rebillot
Paul Rebillot writes: “Again and again in my
work with people I have seen the suffering and
confusion caused by our society’s lack of significant rites of passage. Without shamans or ritual
masters, modern women and men must find
their own lonely and often traumatic paths from
one stage of life to another—be it a child’s discovery that there is no Santa Claus, an adolescent’s
awkward approach to puberty, an adult’s marriage or divorce, or a change of career.”
Every change requires movement from one
level of being to another. Paul Rebillot has created a universal rite of passage that allows people
to discover the pattern inherent their change,
whatever the change may be. This pattern is
exemplified in the myth of the hero, as the
emerging new stage of life calls forth a heroic
action from the person taking the journey.
35
At the same time that a new goal begins to
emerge, resistance to that goal emerges as well.
“I call these two forces ‘the hero’ and ‘the
demon,’” says Rebillot. “In order for the new
state of being to be realized, these two forces
must discover how to work together. Old forms
must fall away so that new forms can emerge.
My purpose is to give people a chance to experience a rite of passage so they can enter the
changes in their lives with a sense of greater
context, with imagination, and with joy.”
Recommended reading: Campbell, The Hero
with a Thousand Faces and Myths to Live By.
$885
Being All There: Sensory Awareness
Charlotte Selver & Jill Harris
Being all there—fully present—was our condition at birth. As adults, however, we are often
preoccupied with images and ideas of how
the present ought to be. Rather than responding directly to the situation at hand with all
our innate capacities, much in us has become
immobilized by early conditioning, emotional
problems, and habit.
Children and sages function differently: the
world flows into their consciousness as the air
into their lungs. Their responses are direct,
bypassing the evaluation center which is the
educated mind of the adult. It is our own lack
of immediacy, usually felt as tedium, which
calls for ever stronger stimuli in the search
for joy, or self-discipline in the search for
peace. By giving up preconceptions and gradually coming to follow our sense of reality, we
begin to respond not to what should be but to
what is—and the world catches fire for us.
This workshop explores direct experience,
which slowly burns away the mists of concepts and restrictions interposed between ourselves and living. For the individual searching
for a discipline with more reality, this work
may have the feeling of solid ground.
Charlotte Selver is 98 years old. She presented
the first experiential workshop ever at Esalen
and has been working with sensory awareness for more than 75 years.
Recommended reading: Brooks, Sensory
Awareness.
$485
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New Myths for a New Millennium
David Feinstein & Stanley Krippner
The twenty-first century requires each of us to
navigate our way through a world of bewildering personal and social change. Your personal mythology—comprised of beliefs and
motivations that operate largely outside your
conscious awareness—is the internal guidance
system that shapes your journey. The more
effective your guiding mythology, the better
equipped you are to meet the challenges your
life presents.
Personal myths are always evolving. This
workshop will help you midwife the birth of
a new guiding myth—more fitting, more vital,
more spiritually attuned. Drawing upon
methods from a spectrum of systems—
Jungian psychology, Gestalt therapy, psychosynthesis, ancient spiritual disciplines,
and modern clinical practice—you will be led
through a sequence of experiences designed
to transform dysfunctional myths while
reaching into inner depths for visions that
nourish and inspire.
Joseph Campbell often referred people to the
leaders’ workshops, and a prominent reviewer
said of their book: “Neither Carl Jung nor
Joseph Campbell showed us how to use myth
for personal and societal growth. Feinstein
and Krippner begin to answer that question.”
This workshop will show you how to transform your guiding mythology so it may
become an ever more life-affirming map.
You are invited to bring a journal and to
record your dreams prior to the workshop.
$485
PhotoGestalt: Self-Portraits,
Self-Awareness
Dorothy Charles
Knowing who we are and what we feel or want
can be difficult when our self-knowledge is distorted, confused, outdated, or unexamined.
Creating self-portraits and working with the
images can help us to perceive and recognize
ourselves more clearly. Making images with
the intent to represent feelings, aspects of identity, inner conflicts, and avoided parts of ourselves can be a way of deepening our awareness
and providing the possibility for change.
Working in pairs, using a Polaroid instant
camera, participants will create their own selfportraits, with partners serving as neutral
shutter-pressing assistants. The picture-taking
sessions may include humor, fantasy, props, or
still lifes. The workshop will incorporate jour-
nal writing and artwork to augment the photographic images. Participants will then discuss and use Gestalt Practice to work with the
results, both in pairs and in the larger group.
The discussion will include participants’
experience of the process as well as the results
of their self-portraits.
Polaroid cameras will be provided. Bring any
props you might like to include in your selfportraits.
$485
Tell Me, Kind Practitioner,
Where Does it Hurt?
A Retreat for Health-Care Professionals
Bill Benda & Charlea Massion
Bill Benda writes: “Today’s health-care system
has been examined from many viewpoints—
economic, political, and that of the individual
patient. Rarely, however, are the needs of the
practitioner considered. Indeed, we are often
the sacrificial lambs of medicine, fed more
responsibility and less real nourishment in a
last-ditch attempt to keep the system flowing.
We find we do not practice the model we
teach our patients.”
This workshop, designed for health-care
workers at all levels, provides an educational
and experiential format that addresses these
issues. It examines the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of the practitioner
and offers practical solutions. Moreover, since
change must come from both the practitioner
and the organizational culture, the workshop
will help develop an ongoing support network to continue this process after the weekend has ended.
“The old paradigm of invulnerability no
longer works,” writes Dr. Benda. “This workshop embraces a new paradigm: change the
world by changing oneself. To ignore this is to
perpetuate the failures in current health-care
delivery. Join physicians, nurses, and other
health-care professionals in reclaiming our
own right to health.”
$485
March 26–April 7
Emotional Healing: From
Codependence to Aliveness
Terry Hunt & Vivienne Neale
Programs, page 66.
$2140
At Play in the Fields of the Lord:
A Mythological Toolbox (8th edition,
revised)
Robert Walter & The Joseph Campbell
Foundation
In Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Carl Jung tells
of the day when he suddenly realized “what it
means to live with a myth, and what it means
to live without one.” And so, he writes, “I took
it upon myself to get to know ‘my’ myth, and I
regarded this as the task of tasks.”
As did mythologist Joseph Campbell. He
cited Jung’s remarks to explain why he always
celebrated his birthday by leading a workshop
at Esalen. When Campbell died, his annual
exploration of the myths that shape our lives
continued. This year’s focus is on discovering
and transforming the myths that influence
how we play the game of life.
The workshop will employ an array of mythological “tools”—participants might dance, discuss, or sit quietly; make music or masks or
medicine bundles; decode films or dreams.
Yet, always, the talk will be of transformation:
Who were you? What childhood stories were
impressed upon you? What were your
favorite games as a kid? Who are you? What
is enshrined on your mantel, hung from
your rearview mirror? What’s secreted in the
basement? Who do you aspire to be? What
new adventures do you envision? What’s set
upon your metaphoric altar, pursued in your
fantasies?
what yoga is about. The ancient yogis developed the practice as a purifying agent to
cleanse the nadis (energy channels) and
chakras (energy centers) in preparation for the
body to receive and hold the light of divine
consciousness. In order to be a ready vessel
for this powerful light, it was taught, one
must be purified.
“And so,” writes Thomas Fortel, “we do the
physical postures (asanas), practice expanding
the dimensions of breath (pranayama), and
engage in the calming and quieting of the
mind through meditation (dhyana). These
practices increase the flow of vital force (prana)
through the physical, mental, and emotional
bodies. As this is done over an extended period
of consistent and applied effort, the deeper
yogic states can be accessed and realized.
“Being conscious of this energy flow deepens
our experience as we practice. This will be our
focus in the yoga retreat. Each day will begin
with meditation and breathing practice, followed by an active morning practice and a
restorative practice in the afternoon. We will
also make a study of the nadis, chakras, and
pranayamic practice.”
All are welcome. Yoga props are provided.
$885
In the acclaimed movie Bulworth, the lead
character, knowing he is about to die, decides
to tell the truth. As a result, he becomes
enlivened. Thus, write the leaders: “We will
share the excitement of mutual self-discovery
in a place of such security that we can safely
descend to our deepest thoughts and feelings.
This inner world is our sacred garden. When
another enters it respectfully, without trampling on a single meaning, our own appreciation of ourselves grows. This allows us to see
potential changes and to change our direction
freely. Paradoxically, this experience strengthens and hones our individuality while making us feel more connected to others.
“This is a workshop for all—including helping
professionals seeking to be reawakened in
their work—who desire to rediscover our
humanness; reestablish human connection;
reveal where we have been deadened, disconnected, or in denial; and enliven our senses.”
$885
Weekend of March 31–April 2
Reinventing Love
Practicing Presence
Heather Maycock Ogilvy & Robert Solomon
Julie Bowden & Armando Quiros
Reinventing Love is an interpersonal probe
into the most highly valued of all passions, its
promise, and its disappointments. The workshop will emphasize the essential creativity of
love and the need to express and “reinvent” an
emotion that is not torn between defensive
The most powerful gift of redemption you can offer
a world that is sick with deception is to live in the
dignity of your truth.
— Alan Cohen
Eastern directives for a successful life are (1)
Festivities will be orchestrated by Foundation
president Bob Walter and word-weaver/songspinner Rebecca Armstrong. Special guests
will include award-winning author/artist
Gerald McDermott and choreographer/
dancer Jean Erdman (Mrs. Joseph) Campbell.
Bring a favorite kids’ game to teach, a remarkable tale to tell, and a small totemic object
that’s both meaningful and expendable.
Further information and suggested readings
are available from the Joseph Campbell
Foundation at www.jcf.org or 1-800-330MYTH.
$885
Show up, (2) Pay attention, (3) Tell the truth,
and (4) Let go of the results.
Yoga: Increasing the Energy Flow
EMANUELA GARDNER
When most people hear the word yoga, they
immediately think of stretching the body.
While lengthening the muscular system is an
aspect of yoga practice, it is but a small part of
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individualism and dependence. The group
will explore the myths of love in order to find
out why love goes wrong, why we choose the
wrong partners, and how to choose the right
one in order for love to succeed.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Participants will examine the connection
between intimacy and anger, and the fragile
connection between love and dependency.
Individuals will be encouraged to explore
their own experience and discuss the myths
and images that have contributed to our most
intimate (and sometimes most dangerous)
feelings. Above all, the aim will be to understand why love is so important to us and why
it cannot be abandoned.
$485
Integrity
Charlie Bloom
Of the personal qualities that most people
respect in themselves and others, none is
more highly valued than integrity. This word,
which literally means “wholeness,” brings to
mind a collection of human characteristics
including strength, reliability, honesty, trustworthiness, and respectability. We instinctively know that when we live a life of integrity
our actions are grounded in a way that brings
vitality and authenticity to even ordinary
experience. Yet despite our appreciation of
and desire for integrity, we may not fully
appreciate its true essence or how we can cultivate it within ourselves.
This workshop is designed to help you develop a deeper understanding of what it means
to live in integrity with the truth of your
being and embody it in words, deeds, and relationships. You will explore the everyday experiences that give rise to opportunities to deepen this quality in your life. In addition, you
will examine personal and interactive patterns that may compromise or diminish your
experience of integrity, and develop new
responses that can enhance and deepen your
connection to the truth.
$485
Ta Ke Ti Na: Rhythm for Evolution
human consciousness. The body itself is the
primary instrument: handclaps and voice
unfold ever-changing new rhythms, while
simple steps, supported by a drum, remain
unchanged. The fact that participants sooner
or later fall out of rhythm allows them to discover how easy it is to find the way back to
the pulse—a process that fosters a profound
rhythmic self-confidence. Each participant
becomes part of a collective, able to learn at
his or her own pace.
Ta Ke Ti Na translates into learning for daily
living. Our life hindrances are reflected in
rhythm and can be transformed by the
unfolding rhythmical evolution of Ta Ke Ti
Na. Aspects of our lives that have been compartmentalized begin to cooperate: emotion
and rational thought, intuitive feeling and
cognitive action, outer movements and inner
silence meet in a simultaneity as the mind
calms and the emergence of the inner self
becomes possible.
$485
sion, staying power, depth, and structural protection for the practitioner’s hands. He has
also created Wriststraps to stabilize physical
contact and reduce shoulder strain. Used
together, both tools significantly extend the
practitioner’s endurance, active reach envelope, available power, and depth of contact.
The workshop will also explore the uses of
easily available curved and angled surfaces to
support people receiving bodywork. Richard
will present ideas for positioning and supporting the body that offer unique leverages
and dynamic suspensions which amplify the
efficiency and effects of manipulation.
Integrated use of these tools, techniques, and
ideas will enable experienced practitioners to
find new solutions for dealing with anatomical and structural problems encountered during the constructive reorganization of the
human myofascial body.
$485
Advances in Somatic Technologies:
New Tools, Techniques, and Concepts
(plus $20 materials fee for Wriststraps and custom-cast
Handgrips)
Richard Wheeler
April 2–9
Ta Ke Ti Na is a new way to learn and understand rhythm. Ta Ke Ti Na is an encounter
with primal rhythmic knowledge. Ta Ke Ti Na
is also a musical group process capable of dissolving inhibiting behavior patterns while
deeply relaxing and vitalizing the body.
Connective tissue manipulation is intrinsically difficult to do because people grow tough,
dense, life-hardened bodies. Richard Wheeler
has utilized his twenty-eight years of experience in structural integration to create a set of
practical tools and body-supporting techniques
that transform the way modern somatic practitioners apply and approach their work.
Ta Ke Ti Na leads participants directly into the
experience of rhythm archetypes, the most
fundamental musical elements anchored in
Richard has invented custom-cast Handgrips
to support, stabilize, and enhance manual
contact. Handgrips increase manual preci-
How we sit, stand, move, or respond to contact with others reflects patterns wired into
our nervous systems by infancy. By early
Reinhard & Cornelia Flatischler
38
Your Life Cannot Be Any Easier Than
Your Movement: Cortical Field
Reeducation® and the Feldenkrais
Method®
Harriet Goslins & Sybil Krauter
childhood, conflicting intentions distort
these patterns. Feeling powerless, we attempt
to survive and to win love by figuring out “big
people’s rules.” The resulting strategies may
protect us as children but, deeply ingrained in
our muscular postures and movements, they
imprison us as adults and limit our choices.
They remain outside of awareness, causing
discomfort and limitation.
By reeducating the brain-muscle-emotion
connection, restrictions in movement can be
released, freeing lifelong behaviors that have
organized around that movement, restoring
freedom of choice. The protective postures
are altered, deeply affecting the body’s habitual defense system and allowing a higher level
of energy.
This workshop is a relearning of the ease, fluidity, and openness taken for granted as a
child and lost somewhere along the way. It is
for the sedentary; for the active who want to
increase physical skills and reduce risk of
injury; for those dealing with aftereffects of
injury or emotional trauma, and the professionals who work with them; for the chronically tired and stressed who want to take better care of their necks, shoulders, and backs;
and for those who want to improve their posture, flexibility, and breathing while deepening their sense of connection and belonging.
$1370
Week of April 2–7
Spiritual Healing
$885
Dropping the Facade:
Cultivating Love in Action
Howard Schechter & Barbara Lee
Do you experience a lack of connection with
yourself and others? What’s missing in your
relationships with friends and family? Would
you like to drop the facade that helps you get
through life’s mundane conversations and
instead find soul-sharing?
“In this seminar,” the leaders write, “we will
create an environment to satisfy our need to
be fully alive, to meet ourselves and others at
a deeper level. Through watching our reactions and judgments, we will learn to see,
honor, and love all the ways we have
employed to separate from ourselves and
those around us. We will identify and connect
with our authentic self—that within us which
is most deeply meaningful—and confront and
honor those less-than-authentic parts which
have served us well but which we can now
love away.
“Everyone is seeking love, compassion, and
acceptance. Through setting the intention to
love ourselves and others, we can allow the
divine to blossom and honor our true identities as loving, joyful beings.”
Discussions, experiential and interactive exercises, and focused guidance will be blended
with specific interventions which meet the
needs of the individuals and the group. $885
Self Awakening™ Retreat
Leonard Laskow
Do you sometimes find yourself longing to be
so quiet inside, so at peace, that you can wholly relax into the moment and appreciate the
sheer wonder of existence? Busy creating
livelihoods, healthy relationships, and meaningful work, many of us feel as if the seams of
our lives threaten to burst from our hectic
pace to “do it all.” We have forgotten how to
simply be who we truly are.
Using the themes of Self Awareness, Love,
and Healing, this retreat guides you toward
awakening to who you really are—beyond the
experiences and perceptions of the personality. In small groups, using step-by-step processes that blend ancient wisdom with modern
scientific research, you are encouraged to
reveal and release the limitations that veil
your essential nature. These processes help to
quiet the mind, bring you more peace, joy, and
abundance, and allow an intuitive, loving
presence to unfold. This loving presence
empowers you to:
• Clear past conditioning and “treasured”
wounds that have fostered illness and suffering
• Release ancestral patterns that have
adversely affected your entire family for
generations
• Support your body to heal, unimpeded by
mental and emotional blocks
As the mind rests and the heart opens, the
truth of who we are is revealed. The search for
love ends the moment we discover it to be
ever present within ourselves.
$885
Weekend of April 7–9
Experiencing Esalen
$485
The Transformative Power
of Emotions
Sietze VanDerHeide
Our emotional states of mind shape how we
experience our lives. As shifts in our emotions occur, so do shifts in our view of self and
the world around us. We can utilize these
changing emotional states to deepen our
experience. This workshop will focus on
using emotional shifts as doorways to creativity, growth, and well-being.
Emotions also play a powerful role in our
development. Recent findings indicate that
there exists a vital “emotional brain” that
transforms our experience of life. Thus, this
course will also emphasize the transformative
and developmental capacity of the emotional
brain.
Based on recent findings in neuropsychology
and human development, this workshop
focuses on learning how to use emotions for
nourishing our spiritual and psychological
well-being. Each individual’s unique emotional rhythm will be explored, hoping to widen
our range of emotions and alter emotional
patterns.
The workshop will utilize group and individual process, trance work, interpersonal connection, and sensory experiences.
Recommended reading: Goleman, Emotional
Intelligence.
$485
Why Aren’t You Smiling? A Buddhist
Workshop for Cynics in Recovery
Wes Nisker
“At this very moment,” writes Wes Nisker,
“there are apparent miracles taking place all
around us and within us. We have only to
look closely in order to become amazed and
to fall in love with ourselves and the world. In
this workshop we will make creative use of
some of the most important Buddhist meditation techniques as we explore the wondrous
experience of being human. With an attitude
39
of curiosity and playfulness, we will examine
the workings of our bodies and minds, our
nature ‘as’ nature, and our place in the grand
scheme of things. In the process we will
hopefully find some relief from our personal
dramas, and a new sense of value and meaning in our lives.”
The workshop sessions will include guided
meditations on the life of the body; on our
vital “animal” conditioning; on death and
dying; on the nature of consciousness. The
talks and discussions will present both traditional Buddhist view of self and reality, as well
as some of the latest information from evolutionary biology and psychology to support
and guide the meditations.
$485
Being Single
Seymour Carter & Constance Jones
A positive self-image does not necessarily
depend upon being in a partnership.
However, being single in a partnership-oriented world can create low self-esteem. Is
being single a conscious or subconscious
choice, a trick of fate, a lack of opportunity, a
way of avoiding intimacy, a valuable state of
being? Changing our belief systems about the
meaning of being single offers new understanding and opportunity for living a more
fulfilled single life, either in openness for
future relationships or in contentment in
being single.
In this workshop, participants will explore
blocks to personal growth and opportunities
for new relationships, using Gestalt methods
and interactive processes including role playing, massage, and communication skills.
Whether you’re wishing to remain single,
searching for a partner, or a professional
working with single people, this workshop
can assist you with your choices and ease you
on down the road.
$485
April 9–21
Certification Program: A Two-Part
Modular Series—Part II
Programs, page 66.
40
Week of April 9–14
Natural Powers: Making a Real Life
out of Our Heart’s Desire
David Schiffman
“This workshop,” writes David Schiffman, “is
for people who seek the courage, skill, and
support to live their lives with true originality, passion, and integrity. It will be a time to
explore the realms of unconventional logic
and experience, the mysteries of spirit, the
fundamental realities of those who are selfmade, spiritually independent, shamanic and
visionary in orientation and ways. Our aim
will be to cultivate the resources, rhythms,
and wisdom that come from deep self-knowledge and self-mastery.
“In a climate of mutual support, simple trust,
and honest interest in each other, our aim will
be to bring ourselves entirely toward whatever we hope for and cherish. A wide variety of
psychological themes and attunement practices, both dynamic and meditative, will be
used to illuminate the character of our commitment to ourselves and our style of relating
to others. Together we will see what we can
do to strengthen our faith and adeptness at
applying the logic of our hearts to our own
self-care, as well as to our relationships,
careers, community, and to the understanding
of our life’s true mission.”
$885
Waves: The Movement Work of
Gabrielle Roth
Kathryn Altman & Jonathan Horan
“In Waves,” writes Gabrielle Roth, “we explore
the dynamic practice of the 5Rhythms™. This
cathartic form of ecstatic dance is a workout
for body and soul, a moving meditation, a
spiritual practice where we ‘sweat our prayers.’
Waves provides a rhythmic map, a way to
understand the cadence of our culture and
the tempo of our relationships. It is the place
we always begin and the place we always
return to.
“When you enter into the Rhythms, you
embark on a pilgrimage of self-revelation
rooted in action and movement. This happens
because the 5Rhythms are not a theory, but a
practice. The work builds on its own momentum, leaping from the fertile landscape of the
body through waves of emotional content
toward our realization of spirit. This dynamic
encounter with your own psyche has the
power to transform, revealing your passion,
power, and presence.”
This workshop is valuable for those who want
to use Gabrielle’s 5Rhythms practice as a moving meditation and those who love diving
into The Wave again and again.
Recommended reading: Roth, Sweat Your
Prayers and Maps to Ecstasy.
$885
Force and Feeling:
The Emotional Life of the Body
Julie Motz
“Each of us is born with a distinct energy pattern,” writes Julie Motz, who pioneered the
practice of energy healing in the operating
room on patients under surgery. “Like our
gender, it is determined at conception. As profound as our designated roles as men and
women, this pattern influences the way we
are in the world, particularly our choices
around friends, work colleagues, and mates.
This energy pattern is the result of our cellular responses to the four basic emotions of
fear, anger, pain, and love, which reside in
four basic tissues and four basic fluids of the
body.
“In this workshop you will discover whether
you originate thought and feeling from your
nerves, your muscles, your bones, or your
bone marrow, and whether you move through
the world from your spinal fluid, your blood,
your lymph, or the synovial fluid which
bathes your joints. You will learn, in a real and
physical way, how emotion manifests in the
body and determines both our vulnerabilities
and our defenses on a cellular level. Finally,
you will learn how our emotions link us to
the four basic forces in the universe, connecting us to stars and galaxies, atoms and quarks,
in an immediate and intimate way.”
$885
Fiber Fun: Playing with Wool
Noel and Keiko write: “Warm as wool, soft as
a lamb… Enjoy the tactile pleasure of laying
your hands into soft, cuddly fleece, fresh off
the sheep. Discover, with your hands, the
unique properties of wool and explore its
many uses.
“The workshop begins with a trip to a nearby
ranch to gather the wool (we may do the
shearing ourselves). Then we’ll learn how to
clean the fleece and prepare it for use. We’ll
explore the possibilities of transforming the
wool in several ways:
• Changing its color using natural dye materials
• Spinning it into yarn with a Stone Age
method still in use throughout the world
today
• Transforming it into solid felt pieces for
clothing or wool paintings
“As always, our workshop includes a sweat
lodge and hot clay mud baths. Emphasis will
be on the fascination of the process. No experience is necessary.”
www.netcom.com/~mapstead, or e-mail Keiko or
Noel at [email protected].
$885
Healing of Heart and Mind:
Choosing to Change
Fred Luskin
By demystifying the process of healing, we
accelerate this mysterious process. We can
learn to let go of old hurts and become less
likely to create new ones. Using cognitive
approaches—lecture as well as guided practice
in reframing, disputation, and existential
understanding—this workshop presents forgiveness as a choice. The cognitive approaches will be complemented by practice in mindfulness, imagery, and heart-centered
approaches designed to help get in touch with
the heart’s restorative potential. Journal writing, dyadic exercises, and group discussion
will also be used.
Uniting mind and heart and letting go of old
hurts is an expression of the soul’s desire for
connection and harmony. With insight and
practice, it is possible to successfully work
with the emotions that prevent us from moving forward in our lives.
$485
Introduction to Continuum
Cynthia Johnson-Bianchetta
& Beth Pettengill-Riley
There is a world deep within us that is liquid,
where cells dance, fluids swirl, and bone, muscle, and tissue commune. What we call a
“body” is not a fixed boundary, but rather a
nonlinear creative flux resonating with all
other life forms.
Through the movement exploration of
Continuum, pioneered by Emilie Conrad, we
can loosen our perceptive boundaries of
“body” to discover the intrinsic world of fluid
movement. We become an open system in
which change, growth, and innovation can
occur. We come to know movement as something we are as well as something we do.
The work begins by developing sensitivity to
our intrinsic world through heightened sensory awareness and exploring the mobility of
breath. Discovering how our own sound permeates connective tissue, we can experience
the fluidity of our biological origin through
micromovements and wavelike undulations.
“As we enliven ourselves from the inside,”
writes Emilie Conrad, “our dynamic expressions in the world increase… Released from
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Every human being has suffered rejection,
mistreatment, betrayal. Yet some people
maneuver through these painful experiences
while others remain stuck. This workshop
will examine why and how this happens.
Through sharing and processing experience,
participants will work toward understanding
how sadness, frustration, and anger arise—and
how to change those feelings.
41
“In this workshop we will examine our prenatal and neonatal histories to discover what
was happening in our earliest experience of
creating ourselves, and how this shaped our
lifelong experience of taking things into our
bodies to support, nurture, and transform
ourselves. We will discover how pain and
pleasure, punishment and reward, fear and
love have become intertwined in our experience of eating—and how to disentangle those
feelings to come home to our bodies at last.”
$485
Singing Gestalt
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Nancy Kaye Lunney
convention, our movement vocabulary can
include textures and dynamics that are the
expression of what is current and alive.”
No dance or movement experience is necessary.
Please note: This workshop qualifies as a prerequisite for Emilie Conrad’s Advanced
Continuum offered May 21-26.
$485
Divorce and Other Losses:
A Healing Workshop for Men
Gordon Wheeler
“As men,” writes Gordon Wheeler, “we tend to
bear our losses alone, often pushed early in
life toward a rigid self-reliance. As we grow
older, this aloneness with our losses grows
deeper—through deaths and other absences,
relationships that end in divorce or disappointment, the loss of dreams, and the ongoing loss of the closeness of youthful friendships, which we somehow don’t find again as
adults. Even more difficult can be the hidden
loss of things we never really had: the right to
our own deepest feelings and experience, and
nurturant support from our fathers and other
men.
“The result for many of us is an undigested
place within us—of shame, resignation, anger,
bitterness, or self-doubt. Even when we do
find new connections and successes, the old
wounds are still there, nagging at our bodies
and sapping our spirits.
“Coming together in an intentional space as
men, and building on our own process, we
42
will learn and apply a model for supporting
each other and ourselves with renewed energy
and courage, through loss and other difficult
feelings. We will grieve old wounds, honor
and celebrate where we have been, and learn
the healing skills for transforming isolation
and shame into renewed spirit, for new freedom and satisfaction in living.”
$485
Healing the Unnurtured Body:
The Energetics and Emotions of Food
Addiction and Compulsive Eating
Julie Motz
Within seven days of our conception, we
implant in the wall of our mother’s womb and
begin to nurse. Her blood is our first food. For
the next nine months—the most intensely formative period of our lives—and for some time
immediately after birth, how she feels about
nursing and nurturing, about her body and
her sexuality, are communicated to us with
everything we ingest.
“These feelings,” writes Julie Motz, “affect our
attitudes toward food, toward eating, and
toward our own bodies for the rest of our
lives. They create energy patterns which are
carried in the chemistry and the cellular
structure of our brains and our intestinal
tracts. An awareness of these patterns is the
first step to freeing ourselves of impulses and
attitudes about food, eating, and bodies which
imprison us in addiction, compulsive behavior, and despair about the way we feel and
look.
Singing can be an experience of overwhelming joy, heart-rending tenderness, or paralyzing fear. If the idea of getting up and singing
in front of other people terrifies you more
than anything you can think of, this workshop is for you. If you love to sing in front of
other people and want to stretch yourself further, this workshop is for you. It is a chance to
take your singing self out of the shower, out of
the car—out of the closet.
Singing Gestalt is singing about yourself, who
you are, what you feel. It is about being yourself in front of other people without judging
how well you sing. It is not about performance—it is about making contact, feeling,
expressing, and being there, with and for
yourself and others.
Some guided imagery and Gestalt may be used.
Bring lyrics to songs that express thoughts and
feelings you’d like to explore. Accompaniment
and lots of music are provided.
$485
The Way of Wilderness
Steven Harper & Jill Miller
You didn’t come into this world. You came out
of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a
stranger here.
— Alan Watts
Ever since the supposed “primordial soup,”
nature has been our teacher. We were born of
this earth and throughout recorded time people have turned to wilderness to awaken and
become whole again.
With wild nature as the primary teacher, participants will explore the ways of wilderness,
discovering as “civilized” twentieth-century
humans what it means to walk this ancient
path. As Charles Darwin wrote, “From so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful
and most wonderful have been and are being
evolved.” Through direct experience of nature
we can continue this “most beautiful and
most wonderful” evolution consciously—as
nature aware of itself.
The workshop includes movement awareness
exercises, meditation, and extended day-hikes
(3-10 miles) into the Big Sur backcountry.
Most sessions are outdoors, with a return to
Esalen each evening. Special attention will be
given to incorporating into everyday life what
is learned from the wilds. Previous wilderness
experience is not necessary, although participants should be prepared for some vigorous
physical activity.
Recommended reading: Harper, “The Way of
Wilderness” from Ecopsychology (edited by
Roszak, et al.).
$885
Character Transformation:
From Armored to Flowing
Richard Blasband & Patricia Frisch
The trap is man’s emotional structure,
his character structure.
— Wilhelm Reich
When we are open we experience pleasure,
liveliness, and vitality. All too often, however,
we are contracted and feel tension, lack of sexual desire, frozen, heavy, trapped, and ill. These
symptoms are communications from the depths
of our past, rooted in the present in our character structure and body armor. To free up our
life energy we must become conscious of our
habitual styles that twist our body/mind into
contortions of who we really are.
This workshop is an intensive interactive
process to help participants restructure their
character style at the deep levels of psychophysical being. The workshop will utilize
Wilhelm Reich’s methods of character analysis with breathwork and direct interventions
on the body armor. Dr. Richard Blasband, an
internationally recognized exponent of
Reich’s work, and Dr. Patricia Frisch have a
combined clinical experience of over fifty
years in this discipline.
Within a dynamic group process, individuals
can experiment with their structure in bold
and profound ways that insist on change.
Dreams, guided imagery, and movement will
deepen the exploration and provide material
for a trusting exchange within the workshop
community. As we shed unnecessary layers of
armor and facade we discover our true naturally sexual and spiritual natures.
$885
The Upledger Institute’s Visceral
Manipulation I-A
Dee Ahern
Visceral Manipulation (VM) is a manual therapy that uses specifically placed pressure to
encourage normal mobility, tone, and inherent tissue motion of the viscera (internal
organs) and their connective tissues. The VM
process is based on the concept that each of
the internal organs rotates on a physiological
axis. The VM techniques have the potential to
affect the physiological function of individual
organs, the systems they function within, and
the structural integrity of the entire body.
VM I-A is the first in the two-part introductory level of VM study. Participants will be
given the basic manual skills to locate, evaluate, and normalize primary areas of dysfunction within the abdominal cavity (with the
exception of the deepest visceral layer). Class
work focuses on the dynamics of motion and
suspension and their effects on internal
organs, membranes, and ligaments.
Participants must have completed the
Upledger Institute’s CranioSacral I or Lymph
Drainage Therapy, either at Esalen or elsewhere.
done only through the Upledger Institute.
Please call the Upledger Institute at 1-800233-5880.
page 66.
Required reading: Barral, Visceral Manipulation
I; Netter, Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy.
nurturing strengths, and visioning our
promised lands. For those open to being both
spiritual and courageous, the exodus process
inherent in the Passover season can also be a
resource for growth in the context of a caring
community.”
Dr. Barry Bub—family physician, Gestalt practitioner, and Reb Goldie’s husband—will help
participants to sustain a fulfilling and integrated experience of body, mind, and spirit.
Together, this husband-and-wife team will
serve as spiritual midwives for your Red Sea
crossing.
This retreat is designed for seekers from all
traditions. For those of Jewish descent, this
program will create a safe, healing opportunity to integrate your path with your Jewish
roots. Prior experience in meditation, yoga, or
chant can enhance the depth to which you
take this retreat, although sessions will be
enriching for all levels of experience. Parents
are welcome to bring their children ages 12
and up who are willing to commit to full participation.
$885
(for family rates see Reduced Rates Options, page 79)
The Direct Path: Love in Action
Andrew Harvey
Drawing on his forthcoming book, The Direct
Path, Andrew Harvey will share his vision of a
path of direct connection to God—beyond
dogma or religion—a path of radical selfempowerment and love-in-action, in and
under the Divine that leads to transformative
creativity in every arena.
$885
Why Is This Night Different?
Reclaiming Passover as a
Spiritual Practice
Rabbi Goldie Milgram & Barry Bub
This workshop in Jewish meditation and spiritual practices, guided by Rabbi Goldie
Milgram, is designed to lead you into a potentially transformative Passover experience. It
mines new veins of Jewish mystical and ritual
practice as well as hidden treasures dormant
for generations.
Writes Reb Goldie: “Together we will take on
the metaphors and rituals of this season—celebrating creative seders, leaving our Egypts,
journeying through inner wildernesses,
Harvey will present in detail his “map” of the
stages to Union with the Divine, interweaving his explanations with practices drawn
from many of the major mystical traditions.
The workshop will also include the true
nature of Tantra, the authentic mystical relationship to Nature and the Body, and the
necessity for an ethic of service. The natural
beauty of Esalen will be used as a background
for empowering physical exercises, taken
mostly from the Taoist and Buddhist traditions.
This workshop is designed in the hope that
participants leave with a renewed commitment to changing the world peacefully, armed
with inner practices to make them calm and
powerful.
$485
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Hanna Somatics:
Mastery of Muscles and Emotions
Eleanor Criswell Hanna
As we move through life, our bodies become
increasingly restricted due to chronic muscle
contractions. Thomas Hanna named this sensory-motor amnesia (SMA). We are all vulnerable to SMA, but we can reverse or avoid it.
Hanna Somatics, developed by Thomas
Hanna, enables us to overcome SMA and
some of the negative effects of stress, trauma,
and aging. Hanna Somatics can also enhance
performance and well-being. Somatically free,
we can receive feedback from our bodies
more accurately and continue to develop
somatically throughout our lives.
This workshop will explore the neuromuscular responses to emotional states—the somatics way to internal mastery of muscles and
emotions—and the joy that comes from the
body’s renewed awareness and freedom.
There will be guided somatic exercises and
individual sessions with practitioners trained
by Thomas Hanna. The workshop will present:
• How to recognize the basic postural reflex
patterns that can become habitual
• How emotions affect muscular contraction
patterns
• How muscle contraction patterns affect our
somatic disclosures and somatic perception
of experiences
• How to use the daily maintenance exercise
series and other Somatic Exercises with
yourself and others
Recommended reading: Hanna, Somatics, The
Body of Life, and Bodies in Revolt.
$485
Awakening to the Sacred:
Creating a Daily Spiritual Life
Lama Surya Das
In today’s often insane times, there is a
hunger for a more personal spiritual experience. Practical solutions to our many problems, doubts, and questions are to be found in
timeless wisdom. But how do we integrate
these solutions into our busy modern lives?
How do we learn to love better, accept ourselves and others, and find more meaning in
our work and lives?
Lama Surya Das, the most highly-trained
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American Lama in the Tibetan tradition, will
introduce participants to Awakening to the
Sacred, offering his original Six Building
Blocks for Creating a Spiritual Life From
Scratch. Surya Das will instruct participants
in how to create and develop their own
Personal Spiritual Life Program, sharing experiential exercises, meditations, chants, healing
prayers, and self-inquiry that anyone, regardless of faith or belief, can utilize for building a
personalized spiritual practice—and life—leading to inner peace, joy, and fulfillment that
“surpasses understanding.”
Surya Das will also introduce his original
Natural Meditations, based on the highest
teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, Dzogchen—
the “Natural Great Perfection”—uncovering
the innate wholeness, inner peace, freedom,
and radiance at the heart of each of us.
Please note: This workshop is also offered as a
five-day retreat April 23-28.
Recommended reading: Surya Das, Awakening
to the Sacred: Creating a Spiritual Life From
Scratch.
$485
personal transformations in a safe and loving
context.
This workshop provides an opportunity to
use the continuity and familiarity of family as
a springboard for innovation in the arts. It
will feature underwater watercolor, a family
sweat lodge with kids’ powwow songs, porcelain Easter egg painting, and clay mud baths
with finger painting.
You can preview this workshop on the Web
at www.netcom.com/~mapstead, or e-mail Noel
and Keiko at [email protected].
$485
(plus $15 materials fee paid directly to the leaders;
for family rates see Reduced Rates Options, page 79)
Secrets of the Stone People:
A Journey of Cleansing and Renewal
David Schiffman & Tom Little Bear Nason
For workshop description see Wilderness
Programs, page 64.
$885
A Tender Invitation
David Schiffman
“Our aims for this weekend are simple,” writes
David Schiffman. “To join together and share
the magical timeless realities of Big Sur’s sea,
sky, and mountains. To feel emotionally and
physically restored, healed, and cleansed. To
rediscover the lovingly creative inner
resources of our own music, poetry, and
prayer. To feel ready again to face whatever
comes next in our lives.
“Together we will create a mood of sanctuary
and a time to be met by kindred spirits. The
approaches utilized will be drawn from a
wide variety of practices aimed toward physical, emotional, and spiritual attunement in
order to restore our gratitude and appreciation for being alive.”
$485
Family Art Experience
Welcome to the Arts at Esalen. This fastpaced, high-energy weekend will allow participants to train in a number of artistic disciplines and simultaneously achieve a sense of
self-awakening . . . with no lag time.
Art is complex. It allows us to go from surface
to depth and back again. Families are complex. They allow us to share from surface to
depth and back again. They also allow us our
Awakening to the Sacred:
Creating a Daily Spiritual Life
Lama Surya Das
For workshop description see April 21-23.
In this five-day workshop Lama Surya Das
will go more deeply into the teachings, spiritual exercises, and practices which awaken
the sacred within each of us.
$885
Drawing What You See
Leigh Hyams
Many people believe that to draw means to
have the ability to make a drawing of an
object, a person, or a landscape that looks
exactly like the subject. Indeed, this valuable
skill can be an important part of drawing and
painting—provided one draws with complete
attentiveness and has an awareness of the language of visual art: space, line, color, and value
relationships.
This workshop, focusing on accurate representational drawing, integrates these factors
so that a natural feel for the overall composition of a drawing is part of the process from
the start. Students will work in pencil, soluble
graphite, charcoal, conté, silverpoint, ink, and
natural pigments. Slide presentations, demos,
and informal critiques will augment studio
work and outdoor sessions.
Authenticity, Intuition, Creativity:
For Gay and Bisexual Men
Justin Hecht
EMANUELA GARDNER
Justin Hecht writes: “Many gay and bisexual
men long for a more authentic and satisfying
life. Having grown up in a rejecting and hostile culture, we may continue to feel empty
and inhibited—long after we think we’ve dealt
with our sexual orientation. In this workshop,
participants will form a supportive group to
explore what is involved in living more
authentically. Through small- and large-group
work, participants will learn to let go of defensive ways of being and become more spontaneous, joyful, and whole.
Your technique (or your supposed lack of it) is
not a problem. As perception sharpens, technique develops by itself. The secret is in the seeing. You won’t draw like Raphael in five days,
but you will leave with a full sketchbook, a
portfolio of drawings in various media, and a
solid start in learning how to draw like yourself.
The course is open to beginning as well as
experienced students.
$885
Everyone is welcome—those just beginning as
well as professionals who work with dreams.
Dreamwork puts beginners and experts on an
equal emotional footing from the outset.
Recommended reading: Taylor, The Living
Labyrinth: Exploring Archetypal Images in Myths,
Dreams, and the Symbolism of Waking Life;
Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill; and
Dream Work.
$885
“Creativity comes from living authentically
and honoring your intuition. The workshop
will allow you to reflect on your connection
with your own intuition and authenticity
throughout the course of your life. We will
use group process, guided meditations, and
music to connect with our intuition.
Readings will evoke the history of gay men
who have had the courage to be authentically
themselves, regardless of their environments.
The workshop will conclude with exercises to
foster a creative approach to life and realizing
your potential.”
$885
Fiction and Transformation
The Dreaming Mind: Doing Individual
and Group Dreamwork
Jeremy Taylor
Our deepest understandings are born as experiences in dreams. Working from the basic
assumptions that all dreams come in the service of health and wholeness and that only
the dreamer can say with certainty what
meanings his or her dreams may hold, this
seminar explores how working alone and in a
group can increase our awareness of the possibilities for healing and transformation that lie
within. The workshop will pay special attention to the individuation process, and to the
archetypes of the Dark and the Bright Shadow.
The Dark Shadow—the part of our personality
that doesn’t feel like a “good fit,” that does not
“flow with the program”—is the part we project on those we dislike. Less well-understood
is the Bright Shadow, which we see in all
those we idealize, lionize, and “follow.”
Although the focus will be on dream interpretation in a collective context and learning the
skills to facilitate a group, the methods are
designed to give participants the ability to
engage in their own individual dreamwork
upon returning home.
James Fadiman
Why is it that all our petty misfortunes cast into
words become a celebration?
— Thomas Kennedy
“Our lives are novels; our days, short stories;
our moments, poems,” writes James Fadiman.
“Come to a weekend for writers to celebrate
ourselves as shamans of the written word.
“Fiction writing of all forms, including autobiography, is a spiritual practice—one which
demands that we review, consider, and actually improve on what we have already done.
The past races away from us at the speed of
life. In contrast, writing opens a magic gate
that transcends time and space and allows us
to recraft our lives. We will work on our own
existing fiction or begin new work, paying
special attention to how writing enables us to
feel and express more compassion.”
This workshop is for writers at every level
who wish to focus their lives more clearly
through their art and their art through their
lives. Come prepared to read your work,
revise it, write anew, and gain insights along
the way.
$885
Cultivating Sacred Space:
Gardening for the Soul
Elizabeth Murray
“A garden is a place where we are invited to
make an intimate relationship with nature,”
writes Elizabeth Murray. “Working in the
beautiful Esalen Garden, we will learn to garden as a sacred union with plants, soil, water,
and light. We will garden as a meditation, a
healing therapy, and an art form using color,
texture, design, scent, and light. We will
explore cross-cultural elements which can be
used to create sacred space such as altars, bells,
flower offerings, and thresholds. We will see
examples of sacred gardens around the world
for inspiration.
“Using story, art, ritual, meditation, as well as
hands-on experience in the garden, we will
come to know the garden as a life metaphor
from which we can always be enriched. We
will draw parallels between our life experiences and garden cycles of gestation, regeneration, expansion, and, finally, fruition and harvest.”
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Bring gardening clothes and a journal; cameras and watercolors are optional. This course
will be offered in three seasons.
Recommended reading: Murray, Cultivating
Sacred Space: Gardening for the Soul and Monet’s
Passion: Ideas, Insights, and Inspiration from the
Painter’s Garden.
$485
A New Beginning: Courage and Heart
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began…
— Mary Oliver
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear,
not absence of fear.
pelling. A soul mate is someone with whom
we can learn the lessons required for our
deeper purposes to be fulfilled. These lessons
have to do with freeing ourselves from limiting patterns of behavior and beliefs that interfere with our ability to be free, whole, and loving beings.
Participants should bring drums if they are
interested in learning drumming. Others will
learn dances and songs.
$485
This process of liberation often pits us against
challenges that stretch our capacities, that
confront us with unhealed wounds and
incompletions. This is the deeper purpose of
relationships: to compel us to go beyond the
edges of our familiar reality and into the terrain of the unknown. Each time we successfully move into and through these painful
ordeals of the heart we claim increasingly
larger aspects of ourselves, bringing us to progressively higher levels of consciousness.
“Big Sur in springtime declares ‘Green!’”
writes Steve Harper. “This workshop is an
immersion into the raw, emerging springtime
beauty of Big Sur—and of our selves. Spring is
a season of re-creation, a time for the rebirth
of creative energies. With wild nature as our
inspiration—both inner and outer—we will set
forth on day-hikes into Big Sur’s wild backcountry to let our souls (and soles) be
touched.”
— Mark Twain
“In this workshop,” Mary Goldenson writes,
“we will courageously peer into the depths of
our hearts and minds and ask the questions:
• Does my life reflect my heart’s desires?
• If fear did not stop me, what might I be
doing differently?
• What truths do I need to tell to live?
• To whom or what have I given power over
my life? What must I do to reclaim it?
• How shall I live, knowing I shall die?
“More than the answers, our questions define
where the real meaning of our life resides.
Firmly grounded in the moment, we will
explore ways to reconnect with our source of
creativity and spirituality.”
This workshop offers ways to help complete
the past, be open to the present, and create the
future. A safe, supportive environment will be
provided. Didactic and experiential exercises
will draw from Gestalt, Reichian work,
imagery, dance, and meditation.
In this workshop, participants will be shown
how to embrace and take full advantage of the
teachings that relationships provide for us as
we strengthen the capacity to stand more
firmly and openly in the face of the fire.
Singles as well as couples are welcome.
$485
Healing the Lineage: Ancestral
Revival Through African Music,
Dance, and Ceremony
Stronger at the Broken Places:
Relationship Challenges as
Initiatory Experiences
Linda & Charlie Bloom
The mind seeks an easy relationship. The heart
seeks a spiritual partner.
Many factors draw us into relationships:
physical attraction, a desire for intimacy,
financial concerns, to name a few. Then there
are our deeper, often unconscious agendas,
matters of the heart that are usually less
apparent, although certainly no less com46
Steven Harper
The group will take two hikes. Saturday’s hike
(6-8 miles) begins after breakfast and concludes in time to enjoy the hot springs and
dinner at Esalen. Sunday’s hike (2-3 miles)
begins after breakfast and returns for lunch at
Esalen. Evening sessions include informal
sharing, introduction to basic awareness practices borrowed from aikido and meditation,
and useful outdoor skills.
All levels of experience are welcome.
Participants should be prepared for the invigorating challenge of physical activity as well
as the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet
reflection. More information will be sent
upon registration.
$485
Christopher & Rujeko Masango
As we enter the twenty-first century, our lives
are rich with technological advances and
material wealth. Yet we deeply feel a lack of
harmony and connection with each other,
with the earth, and with the spirit world.
Tribal and indigenous cultures are increasingly seen as keepers of important spiritual technologies that can help us restore balance to
those essential relationships.
$485
Wild Big Sur
The focus of this workshop is a spirit ceremony given to Christopher Masango by tribal
elders and spirit mediums among the Shona
people of Zimbabwe. The ceremony is
designed to help us reconnect with our own
ancestor spirits, who are deeply interested in
our well-being and the well-being of our people and our planet. In fulfillment of an
ancient Shona prophecy, it was intended that
the ceremony be made available to anyone
seeking to heal their relationships with their
own ancestors and the earth. Participants will
delve into every aspect of the ceremony,
including drumming, dancing, and songs, as
well as the philosophy and meaning behind it.
Week of April 30–May 5
New Poems Week
Sharon Olds
Critics who love imagery, risk taking, and an
accessible voice have praised the poetry of
Sharon Olds. Michael Ondaatje has called
Olds’s poems “pure fire in the hands.” Her
book The Dead and the Living received the
Lamont Award from the Academy of
American Poets and the National Book
Critics’ Circle Award in Poetry.
This workshop is a time for writing new
poems and practicing a deep openness and
alertness to each other’s work, as participants
form a circle of community. There will be no
writing exercises or assignments, and during
the gatherings no xeroxed copies. “During the
week,” writes Sharon Olds, “each of us hopes
to write three first drafts which in some way
move beyond what we have written before.”
To apply, send a letter with your name and
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
address, and three pages of recent poems,
typed (no more than one poem per page).
Do not include a SASE; poems will not be
returned. Send them to Olds 5-Day Poetry
Workshop, c/o Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA
93920. Be sure to specify that you are applying for Sharon Olds’s 5-Day workshop. Your
poems must be received by February 19, 2000.
Participants will be notified of their acceptance
by March 11, 2000.
This workshop is offered in a weekend format
May 5–7.
$885
Fire in the Mind: The Celtic
Experience of Enlightenment
Geo Cameron
This retreat, on the week of Beltane (the
Celtic Festival of Enlightenment) makes it
clear that the Primal Celtic Shamanic tradition is as geared to attaining illumination and
exploring life’s deeper mysteries as Eastern
traditions. However, where Eastern traditions
seek dissolution into God, Celtic tradition
sees enlightenment as harmonization with
God, affirming our value as individuals. Since
Celtic tradition was one basis for the Western
worldview, it’s suitable for anyone, with or
without Celtic ancestry, who wants to remain
passionately engaged in the world while seeking, with equal passion, spiritual growth. In
fact, one early name for the Celts was the
Gál—the Ardent Ones.
By engaging in Celtic shamanic practices to
create union with the Sacred, we can channel
passion’s inspiring, illuminating power into
creative and heroic action in the world. We
can awaken the Divine within us, to become,
as the Celtic shaman-poet Amergin did, the
“God who brings fire to the mind.” Geo
Cameron, a descendant of Amergin, will
guide this exploration of Celtic cosmology,
mythology, ritual, meditation, spirit journeying, and ancient chants geared to cultivating
imbas, or enlightenment.
$885
resist it.
Self-esteem—which includes self-acceptance,
self-appreciation, and self-confidence—enables
one to confront the resistance and fear that
often accompany change, and increases the
willingness to take risks.
This workshop includes an in-depth process
for finding and allowing self-acceptance and
for creatively confronting opportunities for
change and growth. Group activities will
include Gestalt process work, massage, meditation, music, dance, art imagery exercises,
and whatever else spontaneously arises.
$885
Professional and Personal Coaching
Change and Self-Esteem
Laura Whitworth & Karen Kimsey-House
Phyllis Shankman
In the fast-paced world of the ‘90s and
beyond, technology seems to have given us
more things to do with our lives and our
time—voice mail, e-mail, faxes, fast gas, fast
food, and a fast life. People are reeling, trying
to figure out the best way to proceed with life.
In the late ’80s professional/personal coach-
Change is an ever present aspect of living,
perhaps its only unchanging aspect. Change
must be accepted and used creatively if one is
to sustain a healthy, fulfilling life of growth
and development. Many individuals talk
about wanting change yet actively or passively
47
ing began to emerge, serving those wanting to
design and create a life of their own choosing,
working one-on-one with those wanting to be
more effective or more creative or more profitable, or some who just want to have more
balance, more fun, or less stress.
This workshop will introduce you to the
principles, skills, and experience of CoActive Coaching™, which refers to the collaborative, proactive, and client-designed
coaching relationship. This philosophy
assumes that the client is naturally creative,
resourceful, and whole, neither broken nor
in need of fixing. The client’s wants and
desires—not the coach’s agenda for the
client—serve as the framework for the coaching. The client has the answers—a coach
helps the client to look.
This workshop is primarily experiential, and
includes demonstrations, exercises, coaching,
and being coached. It is for all those considering becoming a coach or incorporating coaching into their current profession.
$885
The course instructor will be an Upledger
teacher trained by Dr. Chikly.
Participants will be notified of their acceptance by March 16, 2000.
$485
done only through the Upledger Institute.
Please call the Upledger Institute at 1-800233-5880.
Free the Neck and Shoulders:
The Feldenkrais Method®
page 66.
$885
Weekend of May 5–7
Experiencing Esalen
$485
New Poems Weekend
The Upledger Institute’s Lymph
Drainage Therapy I
Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT), developed
by Dr. Bruno Chikly, is an original hands-on
method of lymphatic drainage that incorporates techniques from general medicine,
osteopathy, and oriental medicine. The LDT
process uses methods of manual listening to
teach practitioners how to tune to the specific
rhythm, direction, and quality of the lymph
flow. This enables advanced practitioners to
perform a “lymphatic mapping” with their
clients to find the precise pathways for draining the lymph.
Sharon Olds
For workshop description see April 30-May 5.
This weekend workshop differs from its fiveday counterpart only in duration.
To apply, send a letter with your name and
address, and three pages of recent poems,
typed (no more than one poem per page). Do
not include a SASE; poems will not be
returned. Send them to Olds Weekend Poetry
Workshop, c/o Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA
93920. Be sure to specify that you are applying for Sharon Olds’s Weekend workshop. Your
poems must be received by February 24, 2000.
Anat Baniel
Our only limitation is our belief that it is so.
— Moshe Feldenkrais
Do you remember a moment in your life
when you moved fluidly, effortlessly, and pleasurably? We are all built to move this way, yet
often we don’t. Movement is so intrinsic to
life that we take it for granted. We come to
accept our limitations as inevitable, largely
unaware that how we carry ourselves is a
result of our belief systems, our feelings about
ourselves, and what happened to us as we
developed.
Fortunately, the human brain has the capacity
throughout life to form new patterns of
movement, feeling, and thought. With the
right sensory, mental, and emotional information, habitual movement patterns that cause
discomfort can be replaced with ones that
work well. New possibilities open up: hence,
greater spontaneity and freedom of choice. In
this workshop, through a gentle, safe, and
effective process, you can experience:
• Increased freedom of movement in your
neck and shoulders
• The pleasure of your whole body working
in harmony
• Improved breathing and enhanced vitality
• Improved athletic performance
• Greater awareness of self
The LDT procedure involves subtle manual
maneuvers applying light touch, easy to use
and not tiring to perform. Practitioners work
with flat hands, using all the fingers to simulate gentle, wavelike movements. This enables
them to feel the rhythm of the body fluids
and thereby stimulate circulation in connective tissue as well as muscles, articulation,
periosteum, bones, and viscera.
48
EMANUELA GARDNER
Proper functioning of the lymphatic system is
critical to our body’s ability to detoxify and
regenerate tissues, filter out foreign substances, and maintain a healthy immune system. If lymph circulation stagnates, toxins
accumulate and cellular functioning is compromised, opening the way to physical ailments and hastening the aging process. LDT
is highly valuable when such dysfunctions
occur.
This can happen regardless of your level of
skill, fitness, or degree of limitation.
greater possibility of creating the kind of
bond we are seeking.
Please note: This workshop, based on the same
theme as Anat’s previous course, will present
new movement lessons.
Bringing a spiritual dimension to the challenge of being single allows us to shift our
perspective and not take our predicament
quite so seriously. Using mindfulness practice, we can see through identification with
negative thoughts that block our natural
expression of love and presence. As a result,
we can move toward more honest, centered,
spontaneous communication that puts others
at ease and makes us attractive to them.
$485
How to Feel Anger and
Still Be Loving
David Richo
All relationships inevitably arouse anger.
Healthy ones express it without hurting anyone. If someone frightens us with his anger,
he is probably expressing not anger but
abuse—blame, threats, and physical or emotional violence. What scares us is not the pure
feeling of anger. We fear violation.
True anger usually contains sadness, disappointment, and fear. A responsibly angry person acknowledges these feelings, but does not
blame us for them. Anger says: “I am angry at
you and want you to know it.” Anger arises
from an inner aliveness that is unhappy but
aware it cannot always have its way. Abuse, on
the other hand, says: “I want to get you for
daring to offend me. I want you to suffer for
it.” Abuse arises from the shadow of ego, the
bruised, indignant, arrogant ego terrified that
it is not getting what it is entitled to.
David Richo writes: “Most of us have never
seen true anger, only abuse. What chance do
we have for showing and receiving it safely,
except to work on ourselves? Discharging
anger is not enough. Only contact with anger
at an interior feeling level truly addresses and
releases it. In this workshop, you will learn to
sit quietly and drop into your anger, to feel it,
to hear what it says to you, and to dialogue
with it in a mindful way. You will learn techniques to help you to be open to the anger of
others but to prevent them from abusing you.”
$485
Mindfulness and the
Pursuit of Intimacy
James Baraz & Steven Newmark
Forming meaningful intimate relationships
can be a painful and confusing process. We
may meet someone who seems like a promising potential partner, have the highest intentions to act with honesty and sensitivity, and
still find our hopes ending in disappointment. By becoming aware of unconscious patterns that sabotage real intimacy, there is a
Through frank discussions and experiential
exercises this workshop will explore the challenge of forming new relationships consciously so that barriers that keep us apart can
be dissolved. A safe, supportive environment
will help participants to be genuine, have fun,
and learn to use relationship as a vehicle to
become more awake in life.
$485
construct built from imagination, imitation,
and a need to be appreciated. Our identifications protect us from feelings of anxiety, discomfort, and uncertainty about facing the
unknown. Yet these same identifications that
insure emotional continuity bind us to ordinary consciousness.
Through short panels, interactive dyads, and
point-group exercises—activities that depend
upon the aspect of consciousness commonly
called the inner observer—you will see how
psychological mirroring, idealization, and
placement of attention interact to maintain
personal identity. Throughout, the focus will
return to the spiritual practices of disidentification, which distinguish between spiritual
being and “who I think I am.”
See more information, see Special Programs,
page 66.
$885
The High-Performance Mind:
Awakened Mind Brainwave Training
Week of May 7–12
Anna Wise
Christine Stewart Price & Guest Leader
For workshop description see February 4-6.
This five-day format will combine introductory group work with the open seat form in
which each participant will have the opportunity to work with the leader in a group context.
$885
The Two Selves: Personality Type
and Spiritual Being
Helen Palmer & Joe Schaller
Personal identity is “who I think I am.” It is a
self-concept that builds in childhood and
expresses itself in ways that make people of
the same personality type look very different
from one another. All Ennea-type Twos, for
example, reach out to meet the needs of others, but some Twos identify with assisting
powerful people while others identify with
helping the underclass.
On Enneagram panels, people of the same
type express the same point of view, yet each
also projects a unique identity, bringing personal history, cultural background, and a special quality of charisma to the interview. Once
our personal identity is formed, we rarely
question it. It is so much “who we are” that we
do not recognize it as a highly sophisticated
The high-performance mind is clearer, sharper, and more flexible. Emotions are more
available and easier to transform. Information
flows readily between the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious levels, increasing
intuition, insight, and empathy. Having a
high-performance mind means being able to
enter at will the state of consciousness most
beneficial for any given circumstance—then
understanding how to use that state.
Through brainwave training for beta, alpha,
theta, and delta, this workshop can teach you
how to produce the components for an awakened mind, the brainwave pattern of peak
experience, optimum creativity, and spiritual
awareness. Working with both the state and
the content of consciousness, you can learn to
use these brainwaves to help develop a highperformance mind for self-healing, increasing
creativity, improving relationships, and developing greater awareness.
The workshop combines biofeedback monitoring with meditation, visualization, and
deep psychophysiological relaxation to help
you master your own states of consciousness.
The Mind Mirror EEG will be used to demonstrate brainwave patterns, and Electrical Skin
Resistance Meters will be used to measure the
depth of arousal and relaxation of your autonomic nervous system, illuminating the interrelationship between your body and your mind.
$885
49
Vocal Awareness: To Sing, To Speak,
To Breathe, To Live Fully
Arthur Samuel Joseph
consist of meditation, talks, discussion, and
creative exercises. It is suitable for beginners
as well as advanced students.
Your voice is your identity. It can express
everything about who you are, how you feel
about yourself, what you believe in.
Thubten Chodron is a student of the Dalai
Lama. She has been a Buddhist nun since 1977.
$485
“Singing is intrinsic to being human,” says
Arthur Joseph. “It is part of the mammalian
brain, as fundamental as breathing. There is
not a people on the face of the earth who do
not profess their profoundest emotion in
song or chant. Singing, speaking, and breathing are important keys to unlocking the Self.”
Vocal Awareness is an approach which views
voice as a metaphor representing an individual to the world. It comprises a structured set
of methods of vocalizing, sound meditation,
movement, song study, and vocal development as a means for both discovering your
authentic voice and deepening contact with
the Self. The Vocal Awareness system integrates spiritual principles for self-awareness
with practices for using the mind/body/spirit
to sing and speak powerfully, easily, and effectively. It can help you transform your voice
into a living instrument rich with life, love,
and power.
This workshop is designed not only as a vocal
training class but as a journey toward wholeness along life’s path.
Please note: Bring a tape recorder, if you have
one.
$885
Re-Solving Your Past, Remembering
Who You Are: A Gestalt Process
Workshop
Without a center we are lost,
We wobble without taking stands…
Without a center we despair of ever being real.
— Fritz Perls, In and Out the Garbage Pail
To become a whole person, one must, to quote
Fritz Perls in his autobiography, “center one’s
existence.”
Centering one’s existence means orienting in
time and space. The methods for centering in
time and centering in space are different and
complementary. Centering one’s existence has
two major obstacles: one’s unresolved past
and one’s faulty self-remembrance. Centering
oneself in space is a geometric process for
achieving physical and psychological balance.
Centering oneself in time is a psychological
process for dis-solving obstacles which interfere with accomplishing your life goals
This workshop offers a way of projecting
order onto the world which neutralizes the
compelling influence of “how things appear
to be.” It is about rediscovering love and integrating the rediscovery into our lives in a
more meaningful way.
$485
Deborah Anne Medow & Pablo Piekar
per participant
Working with Emotions:
The Tibetan Buddhist Approach
Thubten Chodron
“How can we work with the flurry of
thoughts and emotions whirling through our
minds and hearts each day?” writes Thubten
Chodron. “First we need to distinguish the
positive and realistic emotions from the
harmful ones. Then we learn how to increase
the ones leading to happiness and how to
pacify the others.”
During this weekend, Ven. Chodron will
describe methods to do this. The seminar will
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The objective is that, by the end of the weekend, participants will know how to design a
program that will help them create a vital and
peaceful mind—one fit for the twenty-first
century.
Julian Silverman
$485
medical meditations specifically for the mind.
Other proven strategies for rejuvenating the
brain, such as anti-aging hormones and medicines, as well as cognitive enrichment practices will be discussed.
40 Days to a Better Brain
Dharma Singh Khalsa
Because the brain is flesh and blood like the
rest of the body, simple lifestyle measures can
bring many positive improvements in its
function.
In this highly interactive workshop, Dr.
Khalsa will present a program for designing
and implementing a personalized 40-day
brain longevity program. Dietary suggestions,
including brain-specific nutrients and brainpower drinks, as well as delicious recipes will
be presented. Moreover, because unbalanced
stress can kill brain cells, participants will
learn powerful mind/body exercises, brainenergizing breathing techniques, and new
$485
Mothers and Daughters:
A Workshop for Adult Women
Marianne Preger-Simon
“The mother-daughter bond,” says Marianne
Preger-Simon, “is ordinary yet miraculous.
The depth of connection and the depth of
hurt are profound—it’s a relationship that
influences every other in a woman’s life. It
affects our creativity, our vitality, and our ability to give and receive love. It affects our connection with the feminine, with our bodies,
and with our deepest sense of purpose. The
words ‘mother and daughter’ describe more
than a personal relationship: they represent
potent archetypes and identities. Tending to
mother-daughter dynamics can liberate
strength, humor, wisdom, and joy. If these
dynamics remain buried or rejected they will
haunt us and, almost inevitably, our daughters
as well.”
This workshop is designed for mothers and
daughters to attend either alone or together
(none of us need depend upon present or
even living mothers or daughters to heal our
mother-daughter wounds). Through lecture,
discussion, guided imagery, small-group interaction, music, journal writing, poetry, and artwork, participants will explore the secular
and sacred realms of mothers and daughters.
$485
Week of May 14–19
Yoga: The Art of Living
Ganga White & Tracey Rich
Yoga is far more than a set of physical exercises. It is an art of living, a process of reintegration and movement into wholeness. The
beauty of yoga is that it addresses all areas of
our lives. These five days will be spent cultivating physical, mental, and spiritual rejuve-
nation. The goal will be to assist beginners as
well as experienced yoga students in finding
the tools and the inspiration for learning a
lifelong practice.
No previous experience is needed. For more
information on Tracey and Ganga’s approach
see their website at www.whitelotus.org. $885
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Days will begin with a flowing hatha yoga
sequence combining asana (posture), pranayama (breath control), and meditation to condition the whole person and develop strength,
flexibility, and vitality. Participants will be
shown how to integrate this practice into
their daily lives, making it practical and accessible as well as joyful and creative. There will
be inquiry into such topics as: the latest principles of natural diet and nutrition, aligning
and restructuring the body, awakening the
body’s intelligence, working with the breath
and subtle energies, and freeing the mind
from authoritarian gurus and sacred cows.
The workshop will also look at the areas of
meditation, love, freedom, and death.
This workshop provides the opportunity to
practice interrupting habits and expand the
ability to see, hear, sense, feel, and be existentially present.
Lomi Work: An Active Exploration
of Presence
Recommended reading: Putnoi, Senses Wide
Open: The Art and Practice of Living in Your Body.
Johanna Putnoi
Let us risk the wildest places,
lest we go down in comfort, and despair.
$885
prepared for the invigorating challenge of
physical activity and the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet reflection. More information will be sent upon registration.
$885
Intuition, Perception, and Altered
States: Extending the Boundaries of
Human Experience
Keith Harary & Darlene Moore
— Mary Oliver
To awaken to life is one of our great tasks.
Many of us are caught in habits of reaction,
avoidance, and belief. By attending to the differences between thinking and sensation,
between seeing and imagining, we begin to
experience ourselves as embodied beings. We
become engaged in the moment. We have
presence.
Lomi tradition integrates Western psychological and bodywork perspectives with Eastern
spiritual disciplines. The essential tools are
presence, perception, contact, and practice.
The disciplines used are meditation, conscious movement, principles from aikido,
bodywork, Reichian work, and Gestalt.
Ideas and insights in and of themselves are
limited. Genuine behavioral change requires
the ability to sustain an embodied state of
awareness. In this state, the heart and body
are filled with a sense of authentic pleasure.
In this state, the mind understands more
clearly how certain habits inhibit curiosity,
creativity, and openheartedness. In this state,
we authenticate our sense of self, our sense of
connectedness, and our courage to live a compassionate life.
Big Sur Wilderness Experience
Steven Harper
Esalen is the trailhead to one of the most
spectacular mountainous coastlines in the
world. With the Big Sur wilderness as the primary teacher, the group will explore the beauty of this alive and wild coast, from ancient
redwood-forested canyons to dramatic coastal
beaches, from rugged rocky mountains to the
soft, grassy slopes of the Big Sur hills.
Drawing from nature and various awareness
practices, participants will be encouraged to
open to the natural world as well as to the
landscapes of their inner world. It is said that
Big Sur is not just a place but a state of mind.
This wilderness experience seeks to merge
mind and place, then to embody what is
learned.
Weeklong workshops will venture out on five
hikes (4-10 miles in length). Weekend workshops will take two hikes (3-6 miles in
length). Each day-hike begins after breakfast
and concludes in time to enjoy the hot
springs and dinner each evening at Esalen.
Evening sessions include informal sharing,
basic awareness practices, and useful outdoor
skills. All levels of experience are welcome. Be
Most of us have had experiences in which we
felt we knew something was going to happen
and then it did, or we’ve appeared to be aware
of information not immediately available to
our five familiar senses. Labeling such experiences “psychic” does not explain them, but
instead makes this fundamentally normal
aspect of human awareness appear to be some
sort of supernatural process. Yet these experiences are common, part of a broad continuum
of experiences that allow us to transcend the
boundary between conscious reality and the
innermost self.
This workshop introduces specific practices
of extended perception to allow this capacity
to become an available resource in your everyday life. Starting with recognizing and managing mental impressions, you’ll practice separating your most relevant feelings and images
from various forms of “mental noise” in a variety of extended perception scenarios. Specific
guidance will be given in recognizing elements of the extended perceptual process in
your everyday physical and mental environment. Additional exercises will focus on
inducing lucid dreams and out-of-body experiences using techniques developed at Duke
University and other research facilities.
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The workshop will develop a framework for
connecting the Kabbalah with the teachings
of a number of other ages-old religions and
spiritual practices. Utilizing both the connections and the tensions between Gestalt,
Kabbalah, and other mystical traditions,
along with participants’ own experience, this
seminar will examine the illusion of our separateness—from one another and from God.
$885
Romantic Attractions:
The Good and the Bad
Sarah La Saulle
Often our romantic attractions derive from
unconscious components that have influenced
our choices from our earliest relationships.
Who are you attracted to in a romantic relationship? What is it about an individual that
draws you in? How have your attractions
worked for you in terms of intimacy and your
love life? Is what you are looking for part of
an old pattern?
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
These are some of the questions that will be
explored during this class. The goal of the
weekend will be to clarify what you have
been attracted to and to identify whether or
not that is creative and healthy. The workshop will use group discussion, writing exercises, and guided visualization to study what
is behind our attractions—and to open up to
create new possibilities for connection and
love.
$485
Drumming for Your Life
Steven Angel
Please note: This workshop is intended for
those seriously committed to exploring this
complex and subtle aspect of human experience. Some will find this process more difficult than others; however, the potential
rewards are significant.
$885
Gestalt Process, Kabbalah,
and the Light of Awareness
Julian Silverman & Rabbi David Seidenberg
Modern Gestalt Therapy and the ancient wisdom and meditation techniques of Kabbalah
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share common roots and common resonances. This workshop explores the territory
where these two approaches to awareness
echo each other.
Gestalt Process work uses awareness practices
to clarify and empower our movements
toward self-reliance and toward recognition of
the essential interconnectedness of all creatures. The Kabbalah shares with Gestalt
Therapy a profound concern for the intention
of the present moment. The Kabbalah then
elaborates on its cosmic dimensions and uses
meditation, visualization, and centuries-old
Midrashic contemplation of texts/language to
open channels of blessing for the whole of
creation.
“Rhythm is the sound of the soul echoed
through the body,” writes Steven Angel. This
workshop in rhythm-based music healing is
an expansive journey inward, structured to
enable you to contact primal emotions and
then transform them into joy, power, and
freedom.
Incorporating drums, visualizations, meditation, and vocal techniques, the workshop presents a sequence of exercises designed to free
your imagination and synchronize mind,
body, and soul. By tuning into your body’s
pulsations and listening to its tempos you can
learn to eliminate stress and rejuvenate your
body. Linking your inner voice and your
imagination through a unified pulse creates
an environment for tapping into your true
desires and passions. Through call-andresponse exercises, group songs, and creative
affirmations, you can discover the personal
rhythms that will reconnect you with your
inner core.
Bring a drum, if you have one. If not, drums
will be provided.
$485
Char Pias & C. Jay Bradbury
This workshop offers you the opportunity to
realize your innate talent in the art of Esalen
massage. Instruction will be presented
through hands-on demonstrations, one-onone guidance, and plenty of practice time. The
workshop will focus on developing the inner
state of healing consciousness from which to
make contact. There will be discussion and
modeling of appropriate physical and emotional boundaries.
This workshop is suitable for beginners as
well as for those with experience in somatic
practices.
$485
Photographing the Seasons of Big Sur
Cynthia Johnson-Bianchetta
& Daniel Bianchetta
Big Sur abounds with natural beauty in every
season. It is a land where the waves of the
Pacific caress the rugged California coastline,
where the sun and the fog perform their
perennial dance through magical redwood
forests and over grassy slopes.
This workshop will contemplate the beauty of
Big Sur with a camera. On Friday night the
group will meet to prepare for Saturday’s photographic excursion, invoking the use of photography as a tool for meditation, healing, selfgrowth, and spiritual connection. Saturday
will be a time for connecting with Big Sur in
its springtime attire: the wildflowers, the sunsets, the misty panoramas. On Sunday morning, thanks to the miracle of overnight film
processing, the group will gather to share its
creativity together.
No experience is necessary and all levels are
welcome. Please bring a 35mm camera you
are familiar with, your favorite print film, a
journal, and any existing photos you want to
share with the group.
$485
(plus $12 per roll for overnight film processing)
Eating, Food, and the Body/Self
Jerome Front
Eating, food, and the body/self are intimately
intertwined. Unresolved feelings, stress, and
alienation from our creative, communal, and
spiritual selves often impact the body/self at
the intersection of eating and food. As a
result, we may try to use eating and food to
fill our emotional, relational, spiritual, and
creative voids. Unrecognized patterns around
food and the body misdirect our deepest energies away from being in the moment, free and
fully alive.
This workshop offers neither a diet plan nor
medical advice. It does provide, in retreat format, tools to transform eating and food into
deep nourishment for the whole person—
body, mind, and spirit. Open to everyone, the
workshop is an especially rich resource for
therapists, health practitioners, and bodyworkers. Topics include:
• Your unique food mythologies, patterns,
and trances
• Eating as an everyday tool for deep renewal,
contemplation, and transformation
• Parameters of Self, Other, and the Cosmos
• Cultivating embodiment, depth, and creative, spiritual energies with body-practices
• Communal reconnection and release of
shame and secrets
Methods will include self-assessment, guided
meditations, silent community meals, mindful awareness practices, experiential rituals,
ceremonies, artwork, walking meditation, and
deep relaxation.
$485
Week of May 21–26
The Core Self: Resources for Healing
Ron Alexander
Within the Core Self reside the resources
needed for personal healing: spontaneity,
trust, creativity, curiosity, innocence, and joy.
These resources are accessible to everyone.
This workshop is designed to assist you in
accessing the resources of the Core Self and to
provide new skills in the mind/body healing
process.
The workshop includes: cultivating a friendly
relationship with your unconscious; healing
body/mind patterns; and resolving incomple-
tions from the past in order to become more
conscious and creative in the present
moment. This process can bring about the
healing of pain, fear, grief, and loss, enabling
the creation of healthier pathways for living,
loving, working, and relating, and promoting
a core sense of well-being.
The goals of this work are the enhancement
of self-esteem and vitality, accessing your creative unconscious, freedom from limiting
beliefs and self-images, more effective communication, self-activation, and the development of a cohesive personal vision. The tools
include Gestalt Practice, self psychology,
insight meditation, breath and trance work,
dream interpretation, music, group process,
and immersion into possibility.
This workshop is appropriate for anyone,
from interested laypersons to health professionals. There may be up to 30 participants.
Recommended reading: Kornfield, A Path
With Heart; Rossi, The Psychobiology of MindBody Healing; Polster & Polster, Gestalt Therapy
Integrated; Schutz, Profound Simplicity.
$885
Continuum: The Body in Question
Emilie Conrad
“As we enter the twenty-first century,” writes
Emilie Conrad, “the problems before us
require an ingenuity and engagement that
challenge our basic assumptions. A fundamental place to begin is with the maps we
have created around our ‘physical bodies.’
Usually our reference to ‘body’ points to a specific form which we refer to as ‘ours.’ While
accurate at one level, this conventional
description is self-limiting.
“We can revise self-description by becoming
more participatory with ourselves as lifeprocesses. Being able to more closely experience the sensual activities of our fluid and cellular worlds can bring us to new frontiers of
awareness. Our bodies, composed mostly of
fluid, can become a resonating chamber
where all fluid systems mutualize: oceanic,
amniotic, cerebro-spinal, blood, tears, saliva.
Unity prevails.
“This workshop will be spent entering into
diverse landscapes of movement, both internal and external. Our ability to develop multiple references in our movement orientation
allows us to grow in new directions. Unity
provides us with an abundance of opportuni53
ties that cannot be accessed in states of fragmentation and alienation. This sensitivity liberates the world around us and all that we
come in contact with.”
Please note: Prior Continuum experience is
required. Before applying to Esalen, please
contact the Continuum Studio at 310-4534402 for approval from the studio regarding
experience.
$885
Healing Body Image and Sexuality
Carolyn Braddock
fidence in the beginner and provides a fascinating new approach for the experienced.
With an emphasis on individual attention,
this workshop addresses the needs and
desires of all participants.
From the initial underpainting to the glowing
finished result, you will have the opportunity
to tap into creative capabilities within your
reach while discovering the joy and illuminating power of painting.
Participants will be sent a materials list upon
registration.
$885
(plus $30 materials fee paid directly to the leaders)
This workshop is for women and men who
want to heal from bodily trauma, including
sexual and emotional trauma, surgeries and
physical illnesses, body-image issues, and
trauma from accidents. It is also designed for
professionals and friends working with those
who have experienced such trauma.
“The focus,” says Carolyn Braddock, “will be
on establishing a new relationship with ourselves, our bodies, and our sexuality, both
internally and externally. This means releasing messages which keep us stuck in old patterns, freeing ourselves, and creating new patterns. In a safe and trusting environment,
each body will be honored as sacred. The
workshop will help develop new positive
approaches toward awareness, change, and
health. We will explore ways of creating more
energy, intimacy, and passion.”
Group process, breath, sound, movement,
humor, Gestalt, imagery, journal work, body
dialogue, and video will all be utilized. The
goal is empowerment and the integration of
body, mind, and spirit.
Don’t Push the River, It Flows by
Itself: Experiencing the Flow of Yoga
stay within this current of grace.
Writes Shiva Rea: “Our energizing and rejuvenating sessions will focus on the practice of
vinyasa yoga in which transformative asanas
(postures) are connected around the breath
like pearls along a thread. This flow approach
has been likened to t’ai chi or sacred dance—
stillness is found within motion, strength
within ease, wisdom within action.
Combined with meditation, pranayama
(breathing exercises), rhythmic movement,
chanting, and appreciation of life around us,
we will massage the grip of grasping mind to
cultivate the experience of effortless effort
and embodied freedom.”
This workshop is suitable for people of all levels of experience who are open to the possibility of sweat and joy coexisting.
$485
Shiva Rea
One of the great misconceptions to which
each of us has been educated is that the body
is fundamentally a solid object.
— Joseph Heller
Within yoga, prana (or life force) is experienced as a river which flows through the
channels of the body. The practice of hatha
yoga is a means to liberate any restrictions to
this flow—from tight hips to perpetual thinking—so that the vitality of prana may spread
throughout one’s being and hence into one’s
life. This weekend intensive is dedicated to
opening to this natural state of flow or unified
consciousness and to integrating methods to
Accepting Life’s Transitions:
Letting Go—Moving On
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began…
— Mary Oliver
The only certainty in life is change, yet we
often resent our transitions because of patterns
of fear and self-denial. Old beliefs keep us
stuck in our resentments, unsuccessful marriages, friendships, and careers, and can cause
illness, sorrow, and the inability to forgive.
Transitions are crossroads in our lives that give
us the opportunity to take time out and recon-
Recommended reading: Braddock, Body Voices.
$885
Portrait Painting
This course, for beginners and experienced
painters alike, takes you on an accessible,
enjoyable journey into the magic of portraiture. Working from a photo or a sketch—of
oneself or a loved one—you will be carefully
guided through a step-by-step process resulting in a portrait of singular dimensional perspective and transparent depth. This is accomplished through utilizing an updated and easily understood version of the Misch
Technique (discovered by Jan van Eyck and
employed by such masters as Rembrandt,
Dürer, and Max Ernst), which cultivates con54
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Robert Venosa & Martina Hoffmann
nect with our truth. It is never too late to
change. Transitions are doors to the renewal of
our passions, courage, and commitments.
This workshop will present you with ways to
help complete the past, be open to the present, and create a future. Participants will
have a safe, supportive environment that
includes taking risks, intense bodywork,
Gestalt imagery, dance, and meditation in
order to support the transitions that keep us
committed to the process of discovering ourselves.
$485
OpenMind Training: Innovations in
Meditation and Mind/Body Healing
Ron Alexander
OpenMind Training provides instruction in
meditation and mind/body healing from
both a psychological and a spiritual perspective. The focus is on the practice, experience,
and benefits of meditation and self-healing in
daily life.
Meditation helps to cultivate self-regulation
through relaxation and the development of
attentional skills. Training in mind/body
healing facilitates awareness of the inner
resources of the Core Self—trust, comfort,
time, and curiosity—for the activation of the
healthy and creative aspects of the unconscious mind. This promotes insight, wellness,
and individuation.
Meditative practices of various Buddhist
schools—especially Tibetan, vipassana, and
Zen, as well as Advaita (non-dual)—will be
explored. These methods utilize mindfulness,
insight, visualization, and presence to activate
physiological and psychological energies
whose merger can produce powerful states of
mind to penetrate into the reality of our being
and experience a spacious quality of freedom.
Participants will also be taught forms of
breathing, chanting, trance states, and
mind/body healing exercises. The workshop
can help participants acquire skills to calm
the mind, regulate affect states, develop trust
with the unconscious, and explore inner healing resources. It is designed for anyone from
beginner to advanced.
Recommended reading: Goldstein &
Kornfield, Seeking the Heart of Wisdom;
Epstein, Thoughts Without a Thinker; Suzuki,
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind; Rossi, The Symptom
Path to Enlightenment.
$485
The Heart of the Story:
A Writing Workshop
Lynne Kaufman
Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.
— Pablo Picasso
We all have important stories and insights to
share. Too often, however, we don’t know how
to shape them, how to get them on paper.
“In this workshop,” writes Lynne Kaufman,
“you choose a compelling incident from your
life and learn how to transform it into a moving and universal narrative. You learn how to
recognize and nourish the heart of the story,
how to choose the telling detail, how to build
structure and meaning. In each session you
write not exercises and fragments, but a section of your ongoing story, read it aloud, and
receive honest and supportive responses. You
practice the sacred rule of storytelling: Arouse
in the listener the one great question, What
Happens Next?
“By Sunday noon, you experience the pleasure
of having written your own complete short
story and having participated in the creation
of a number of others.”
This workshop is for writers of all levels of
experience who wish to understand and communicate the stories of their lives through the
lens of art.
$485
helps uncover the hidden systemic laws
according to which love succeeds or deteriorates.
This workshop is of value both to therapists
seeking new ways of working with clients
and to individuals seeking ways of working
with difficulties in their lives, whether manifest in physical illness or in disruptive life
patterns. It is an opportunity to experience
what Bert Hellinger describes as “Love’s
Hidden Symmetry.”
Gabrielle Borkan will lead the first phase of
the workshop, Bert Hellinger and Hunter
Beaumont working as a team will lead the
middle phase, and Gabrielle Borkan will
return for the closing phase.
Recommended reading: Hellinger, Weber &
Beaumont, Love’s Hidden Symmetry: What
Makes Love Work in Relationships.
$885
Golf in the Kingdom: An Exploration
of the Deeper Game
Stephen Cohen & Andy Nusbaum
Ye’ll come away from the links with a new hold
on life, that is certain if ye play the game with all
your heart.
— Michael Murphy (as Shivas Irons),
Golf in the Kingdom
Week of May 28–June 2
Love’s Hidden Symmetry:
The Systemic Psychotherapy of
Bert Hellinger
Bert Hellinger, Hunter Beaumont
& Gabrielle Borkan
What befalls us and what we do obviously
affects our children and grandchildren, nieces
and nephews, just as we are affected by the
happenstance and actions of the generations
that came before us. Bert Hellinger, together
with Hunter Beaumont and Gabrielle Borkan,
will demonstrate his original and controversial approach to working with disturbed relational systems, showing how blind love in
intimate relationships causes physical illness
and repeating patterns of misfortune and
tragedy—and how that same love, brought to
light, can heal what it once disturbed.
Hellinger’s work illustrates how intimate relationship systems deteriorate when we injure
love or ignore what it requires. It shows how
children’s innocent love can unintentionally
perpetuate what’s harmful in families and it
The game of golf provides many opportunities to enhance the journey of self-discovery.
It can be experienced not only as an athletic
endeavor, but also as a metaphor for the way
one lives. Just as in life, issues of self-confidence, fear, trust, discipline, and awareness
emerge in the conflict between the ego’s
desire for success and the inner self ’s ability
to achieve.
During these five days, teaching methods
gleaned from a study of the deeper game will
be utilized, as well as principles from psychosynthesis and Gestalt, to explore the inner
self and how one interferes with its emergence. Two days will be spent on field trips to
the Monterey Peninsula where participants
will practice and play in some of the most
beautiful golf country in the world. On other
days there will be time to relax and enjoy the
natural pleasures of Esalen and Big Sur.
Recommended reading: Murphy, Golf in the
Kingdom and The Kingdom of Shivas Irons;
Gallwey, The Inner Game of Golf; Shoemaker,
Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible.
$885
(plus greens fees paid directly to the leader)
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$485
Weekend of June 2–4
Experiencing Esalen
$485
Laurie Lioness Parizek & Tom Case
$485
Drugs, the Body, and the Brain
David Presti
Chemical substances that influence the brain
and the body are more popular today than
ever. From Prozac to DHEA, melatonin to St.
John’s Wort, kava to coffee, chocolate to
Viagra, and marijuana to LSD, drugs are a central part of our culture.
The workshop is open to beginners as well as
those who wish to add the Esalen approach to
their massage skills.
This seminar provides an overview of the biological, ethnobotanical, psychological, and
behavioral properties of a variety of familiar
and perhaps unfamiliar drugs, ranging from
chemicals that are used to alter consciousness
to ones that are used to regulate mood and
modify personality, to substances that are
used to promote sleep, lose weight, and maintain a youthful body. The workshop will be of
value to anyone, including health professionals from all clinical areas, wishing to deepen
their knowledge about drugs that influence
physiology and behavior.
Sisters
Lenore Lefer
“Come celebrate with us the intimacy, the
power, and the uniqueness of being sisters!”
writes Lenore Lefer. “Bound by blood, history,
memory, and parents, the relationship
between sisters is complex and often misunderstood. Being and having a sister brings
with it joy, despair, discomfort, security, and
much more.
“Through the use of imagery, dialogue, story,
and gentle touch, this workshop will provide
a nurturing environment to heal what is possible while renewing our relationships with
our sisters and our selves. Bring your sister or
come alone to explore one of the more challenging of blood relationships.”
Lenore Lefer, an older sister, will be assisted
by her younger sister Cheeta Llanes, a bodyworker and CranioSacral therapist. Please
bring a recent and a childhood photo of you
and your sister(s) together.
$485
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Esalen massage is a nurturing practice that often
feels as wonderful to give as to receive. A
hands-on approach and demonstrations will
combine a balance of long strokes and integration techniques with detailed attention to specific areas of the body. Fundamental elements
of bodywork—breath awareness, grounding,
quality of touch, and stress reduction—will be
presented.
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leader, Jeff Berner, and psychotherapist Peter
Schumacher lead you on an individual and
group adventure of “Self-Discovery Through
Photography.”
Week of June 4–9
Ellen Watson & David Streeter
This workshop will introduce the core techniques of Esalen massage. Through brief lectures and demonstrations, and with lots of
personal supervision of hands-on work, the
workshop will present essential tools and
knowledge that can be effortlessly applied.
Fundamental elements of bodywork, such as
breath awareness, grounding, movement, and
quality of touch will also be introduced. The
goal will be to create a firm foundation of
massage to build upon. The workshop is
designed to enable each student to return
home with the ability to give a full-body
Esalen-style massage.
$885
Returning to the True Self:
The Path of Bliss
Zoran Josipovic
Bliss is the essential nature of our True Self.
Without it, our life and our spiritual practices
lack their key ingredient. We experience this
lack of Bliss, even when our life is in balance
and things are going well, as a deep, underlying restlessness and unexplainable dissatisfaction with life. In order to recover genuine and
lasting Bliss, which is not just a temporary
“high,” we need to directly experience the
True Self. The True Self is not just a less neurotic, better adjusted version of our everyday
identity. On the contrary, it is that deepest
aspect in us which is truly and ultimately
transcendent, for it remains, even when
unrecognized, present and unchanged in all
our experiences.
This workshop of lectures and experiential
exercises will acquaint participants with their
True Self, both in its subtle aspect as Space
and in its dynamic aspect as Bliss. The sessions will incorporate meditation, Subtle Self
Work®, breath, and sacred sounds to arrive at
this place of profound mystery. Please come
prepared for deep, concentrated work. $885
Self-Discovery Through Photography
Jeff Berner & Peter Schumacher
Esalen’s longtime “Awakening Vision
Through Conscious Photography” workshop
Playfully pushing the creative edge, Jeff helps
you see your outer reflection in the “living
mirror” of photography. You will shoot with
slide film during the day, then see your slides
projected that same evening to discover your
inner self-image. Peter will help you go deeper, in a nonthreatening exploration of your
inner self. Using this process, Jeff and Peter
help you turn merely looking into really seeing, bringing you from the playful to the profound and back again.
During the day the group will be outdoors,
shooting on the Esalen grounds as well as taking other nonstrenuous photo safaris (including a morning at Pfeiffer Beach). Previous
photographic experience, while helpful, is not
required.
Jeff Berner has been an active fine-art, editorial, and multimedia photographer since 1968.
Peter Schumacher has been an individual,
couples, and group psychotherapist for nearly
twenty years, and is a former associate of the
Esalen San Francisco Center.
Please call Jeff to get acquainted and discuss
what camera and film to bring: 707-878-2000
weekdays 9 AM to 3 PM, PST. You may also
speak with Peter, by arrangement.
$885
Basic Acting: Unmask and
Fall in Love With Who You Are
Paul Mantee
At its most creative, acting technique involves
taking chances. Baby steps. Opening emotional doorways and moving through little by
little to inside places—and having fun at it.
The purpose of this seminar is not to perform,
but to free the spirit.
Participants will be gently led—individually,
in pairs, and as a group—through a series of
sensory exercises in relaxation, focus, freedom, imagination, and active listening. They
will be encouraged to recognize impulses and
to embrace them as they occur. They will be
urged to strip away any “head interference”
and allow themselves to stumble almost by
accident upon awareness of what they feel,
moment to moment. And to behave spontaneously to the drumbeat of those impulses in
a highly supportive environment.
This is the magic of acting, and everybody is a
gifted newcomer.
$885
Kinetic Whimsy
Cathy Richardson
This workshop is a playful exercise in kinetic
sculpture, an exploration of the qualities of
balance and movement. Participants will be
encouraged to express and give form to their
whimsical inner world through the creation
of finely balanced, three-dimensional, desktop-sized kinetic “sculptures,” using simple pivoting structures upon which to build a design.
Playing with steel, copper, various metals,
wire, and recycled pieces, students will create
sculptures that will move in the elements,
transforming weight to weightlessness.
No experience in metalwork or sculpture is
required, just a sense of adventure and a playful imagination.
$885
Gestalt—Toward a Relational
Approach
Eric Erickson & Dorothy Charles
$485
The Awesome Power of
Human Intentionality
George Leonard
Skillfully focused and applied on a long-term
basis, human intentionality is one of the most
powerful forces known on earth, yielding
results that sometimes seem miraculous. This
workshop, based on research conducted by
George Leonard and Michael Murphy, will
emphasize affirmations as a way of focusing
and applying your intentionality.
You will have the opportunity of creating
your own affirmations of personal transformation and devising programs to support
them. You will be introduced to a fortyminute series that includes physical movement, breathing practice, relaxation, transformative imaging, and meditation. You will also
have the opportunity to practice balancing
and centering, the use of ki, and a transformative process called focused surrender. This
work derives from Leonard and Murphy’s
two-year experiment in Integral
Transformative Practice (ITP) which involved
fifty people and demonstrated the power of a
long-term practice that integrates body, mind,
heart, and soul.
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This workshop includes physical movement
but is not strenuous. All that’s needed is a generous heart and a willingness to participate.
Recommended reading: Leonard & Murphy,
The Life We Are Given; Leonard, Mastery and
The Way of Aikido: Life Lessons of an American
Sensei.
$485
Word Friendly: A New Approach
to Language
Peter Clothier
Most of our experience with words encourages
our left brain to jump in and take charge the
moment we engage with language. We read
newspapers and magazines; we attend lectures,
seminars, and workshops. Before we know it,
we’re involved with “content”: meaning, understanding, analysis. When this happens, all too
often the creative right brain gets overwhelmed and goes off in a sulk. The result? We
get bored, frustrated, intimidated by books, and
choose to watch TV instead. We tell ourselves
we “can’t write.” We give up on our journals.
This workshop is about reempowering the
right brain when it comes to language. It
reestablishes the sound of words, their physical and sensual presence. It goes back to the
original play of words in baby talk, bedtime
tales, and nursery rhymes, then engages the
dance of language through guided visualizations and meditations, out-loud readings and
recitations, chanting and song. Reconnecting
words with images, it tempts the right brain
back into the game.
The objectives: Participants will fall in love
with words again. They will acquire tools that
will enable them to relearn how to read and
write with an appreciation of the full richness
of the experience, with confidence and joy.
They will increase their interpersonal and
professional communication skills and
empower themselves through the immeasurable power of language.
$485
A Spiritual Knitting Retreat
Susan Gordon Lydon
The practice of knitting and similar handcrafts can be a path to access the stillness
within, a way to contact the soul. The gentle
rhythms of the clicking needles and soft slipping of yarn through the fingers can lead the
knitter into one-pointed concentration, contemplation, mindfulness, and the infinite
richness of the inner life.
Writes Susan Gordon Lydon: “We will combine silent periods of needlework, walking
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meditation, and a knitting clinic, with deep
discussion about our lives. We will provide a
safe and sacred space to facilitate the fellowship that blossoms when we attune ourselves
to one another in silent practice and then
open our hearts to share from the depths of
our being.”
Bring a needlework project in any stage of
completion. It may be knitting, crocheting,
embroidery, beadwork, needlepoint, or any
craft that can be done in silence and deep concentration.
Beginners as well as more experienced craftspeople (at all levels of accomplishment) are
welcome. Feel free to e-mail Susan Lydon at
[email protected] to discuss your project or participation in the workshop. $485
Finding The Boyfriend Within—
For Gay Men
Brad Gooch
This workshop will concentrate on ways in
which gay men can tap into their own source
of love, happiness, and respect. Based on Brad
Gooch’s bestselling book, Finding The
Boyfriend Within, the course examines how
gay men may look unsuccessfully to someone
outside themselves for validation or to give
their lives a sense of meaning.
Brad Gooch writes: “ ‘The Boyfriend Within’
is made up of qualities we find attractive in
ourselves but often imagine others to possess
more fully, as well as of our own dormant
qualities we wish to nurture and grow.” To get
in touch with these qualities, the workshop
will present exercises in learning to listen to a
helpful “voice within,” which is the voice of
the Inner Boyfriend.
The group will work together on a series of
awareness exercises on: identifying the traits
of your Inner Boyfriend, dating yourself, and
sharing an increase in warmheartedness with
the world. This seminar—useful for anyone
single, dating, or “married”—is an opportunity
to discuss connections between sexuality,
romance, and spirituality often not explored
within the gay community.
$485
Week of June 11–16
Playing the Edge
David Schiffman
For workshop description see February 27March 3.
$885
Kabbalah, Consciousness,
and Life Process
Rabbi Steven Fisdel & Gerald Cohen
In this in-depth examination of the core
beliefs within the Jewish mystical tradition,
Rabbi Steven Fisdel and Dr. Gerald Cohen
combine new directions emerging from current scientific research with models of consciousness central to the ancient Hebrew
mystical texts of the Kabbalah. They outline
the relationship of our physical, psycho-emotional, and spiritual processes to the nature
and structure of consciousness itself. The
Kabbalistic Tree of Life is the universal paradigm for all Creation, the bridge for understanding the structure and dynamics of
human experience as well as the interrelationship of the various levels of life process.
Since so much of our experience is predicated
on our psychological, emotional, and physical
conditioning, only by accessing and understanding the broader patterns of consciousness can our life processes and conscious reality be more easily recognized, analyzed, and
constructively remodeled.
This interactive workshop provides not only a
clear understanding of the Kabbalist model of
human consciousness but also direct experience of its application to daily life, to healing,
and to spiritual growth. Fisdel and Cohen will
demonstrate the diagnostic uses of the Tree of
Life, introduce the use of ancient tonal patterning, and focus on group process and discussion. Rabbi Fisdel will lead daily meditation sessions utilizing different practices
drawn from the Kabbalah.
$885
Solving the Puzzle of Pain and Injury:
A Bodyworker’s Approach
Arthur Munyer & Stan Mellin
The truth about our childhood is stored up in our
body… Some day the body will present its bill,
for it is incorruptible as a child who, still whole in
spirit, will accept no compromises or excuses, and it
will not stop tormenting us until we stop evading
the truth.
— Alice Miller
This workshop is for bodyworkers, chiropractors, and medical professionals looking for a
hands-on approach to treating acute and
chronic injuries. Participants will share and
learn from each other’s approaches to neck,
shoulder, arm, low back, and leg pain, as well
as explore solutions to whiplash, disc problems, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome,
headaches, TMJ pain, and fibromyalgia.
on the Muse in an attempt to tear inspiration
from her, students will be guided to open
themselves gently to the infinite power of
their own imaginations.
The course begins with rare slides of 6,000year-old ceremonial screens, temple models,
and statues which Dr. Mackey photographed
while doing research in Rumania and
Bulgaria. Working on the principle that these
works of art contain “information frozen in
clay for future generations,” Dr. Mackey
explains the basic tenets of the ancient and
gentle path of inspiration. Students will learn
how to invoke the guidance of the Divine, call
up positive memories, avoid writer’s block,
appreciate and control their own creativity,
write without self-consciousness, and unlock
the riches of their unconscious minds.
EMANUELA GARDNER
Once students have received these “gifts from
the Divine,” Dr. Mackey will guide them in
transforming these gifts into poetry, fiction,
memoir, creative nonfiction, and other forms
of personal expression.
$885
The workshop will employ trigger point,
Esalen massage, deep tissue, manipulative
techniques, nutritional supplementation,
postural evaluation, craniosacral, and joint
release, along with sound, movement, and
meditation to provide a supportive context
for managing the conditions listed above.
The hikes will introduce participants to basic
and increasingly refined awareness practices
to enhance sensitivity to all that wilderness
can offer. In so doing, not only will there be
contact with the natural world but also the
opportunity to reawaken those elements of
wilderness within.
The leaders write: “We begin with the surface,
but our journey is really an inward one
toward the core of the tensions that create the
holding patterns which keep us closed.” This
workshop will explore the connection
between the physical, emotional, and spiritual
aspects of being injured and healing. The
class will be hands-on, so some experience is
necessary.
During the indoor Continuum sessions, participants will explore movements that express
and embody what they have taken in during
the hikes, enlivening their ability to feel what
they experience in nature as well as in their
own inner nature. In this sensual environment, the group will play with movement,
breath, sound, dreams, and ritual.
CEUs for chiropractors have been applied for.
This will be a time for contact with nature
and wilderness, inside and out. Participants
need not have previous experience in hiking
or dance.
$885
$885
Mountains and Waves:
Wilderness and Continuum
The Gentle Muse: Fiction Writing
Mary Mackey
Steven Harper & Susan Harper
Nature is a primary teacher of movement, creativity, and awareness whose richness and
beauty awakens our senses to the world
around us; Continuum movement takes us
inward, heightening our awareness of inner
experience. This workshop combines both
practices, integrating day-hiking in the magnificent Big Sur backcountry with the subtle
inner explorations of Continuum movement.
In western culture the artist has traditionally
been seen as a tormented being who struggles
and suffers to create. Mary Mackey teaches a
gentler form of inspiration, derived from her
study of the cultures of Neolithic Europe.
This method (which Dr. Mackey used to write
the three novels of her Earthsong Trilogy)
revives a long-lost connection between the
human and the Divine. Instead of waging war
June 16–23
Gestalt Awareness Practicum
Christine Stewart Price & Gail Stewart
This workshop is designed for people who
would like to further explore the Gestalt
Awareness Practice form in theory as well as
through personal experience. It is especially
appropriate for those in the helping professions, such as counselors, bodyworkers, and
teachers, who are interested in integrating
this approach into their current practice. The
format will include open seat sessions with
the leaders, structured exercises where participants work with each other, didactic presentation, and discussion.
The prerequisite for admission into the workshop is previous participation in a workshop
specifically in Gestalt Awareness Practice led
by one of the Esalen Gestalt staff (Eric
Erickson, Christine Price, Dorothy Charles, or
Joyce Lyke). Otherwise you may send a letter
of application to Christine Price, 31 Onyx
Street, Larkspur, CA 94939, and will be considered if there is space available.
Recommended reading: Perls, The Gestalt
Approach and Eyewitness to Therapy; Heider, The
Tao of Leadership; Ram Dass & Gorman, How
Can I Help?.
$1370
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The Power of Your Intuition to Heal
Judith Orloff
We are keepers of an innate intuitive intelligence so powerful that it can tell us how to
heal and prevent illness. Dr. Judith Orloff, a
board-certified psychiatrist and practicing
intuitive, shows us how to reclaim this intelligence. She believes that the future of medicine lies in reincorporating intuition and spirituality—vital parts of our wisdom usually disenfranchised from health care. With intuitive
healing, every aspect of one’s being gains a
vote in the search for well-being, opening the
door to total health: of our bodies, our emotions, and our sexuality.
riences of being fathered inform our feelings
and behavior? How have the expectations of
fathering changed in the last generation?
How do the deeper issues of power and love
get played out in this relationship? What kind
of fathers do men want to be? What kind of
fathers do women want for their daughters?
“Celebrating the joys and intimacies, acknowledging the wounds, fears, and confusion, we
hope to create a safe and sacred space where
we can cultivate a new awareness of Daughter
and Father, Woman and Man.”
This workshop is open to all women and to men
who are fathers or stepfathers of daughters.
Please note: Women, bring a photo and/or
some memento that represents your father.
Men, bring a photo and/or a memento that
represents your daughter.
$485
Reading Neruda:
Sensuality and Tenderness
Amelia Barili
As portrayed in the recent film The Postman,
Pablo Neruda is the poet of love and the celebration of everyday life. What better companion for a weekend at Esalen?
This workshop will focus on, among other
In this experiential workshop, Dr. Orloff
details a practical program to access our intuitive ability to self-heal. She will teach participants to be in their bodies, sense subtle energies, listen to dreams, evaluate their beliefs,
and use the intuitive technique of remote
viewing. Participants will learn how intuition
facilitates:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Self-diagnosis
Relieving anxiety and depression
Awakening spirituality
Choosing a doctor and using medications
Clearing emotional blocks
Opening up and balancing sexuality
Accelerating the healing process if illness
comes
• Strengthening good relationships and salvaging bad ones
Recommended reading: Orloff, Dr. Judith
Orloff ’s Guide to Intuitive Healing: Five Steps to
Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Wellness; and
Second Sight.
$485
Daughters and Fathers /
Fathers and Daughters:
Changing the Story
“This workshop,” write the leaders, “is an
opportunity to open a conversation across
gender lines on one of the most difficult, mysterious, and powerful relationships in our
lives: the daughter/father relationship. We
will enter into dialogue on: How do cultural
roles and expectations influence the shape of
this relationship? How do our own early expe60
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Patricia Reis & Larry Lima
poems, “Ode to the Chestnut on the Ground,”
“To Seaweed,” “To the Hummingbird,” “To the
Invisible Man,” “To Laziness,” “To Things
Breaking,” and “To the Foot from its Child.”
Writes Amelia Barili: “We will read him outdoors, under the pine trees, contemplating
the ocean, surrounded by the beauty of the
Esalen grounds, and we will learn to look
with new, childlike eyes to what is around us,
at each other, and at ourselves. During the day
we will find inspiration in his poetry to celebrate nature and reconnect with memories of
our childhood, of past or present loves, and
our inner stories. In the evenings we will
come together to learn more about his life
and to read his love poems. Relaxation,
breathing, and awareness exercises will prepare us to be totally present in our appreciation of his poetry, of the beauty around us,
and of each other.”
Recommended reading: Neruda, Full Woman,
Fleshy Apple, Hot Moon; The Captain’s Verses;
Selected Odes of Pablo Neruda; and 100 Love
Sonnets.
$485
Energy Medicine:
Ministering to the Life Force
Donna Eden with David Feinstein
By learning how to work with your body’s
energies, you can improve your health and
enrich your life. In a class designed to be both
transformational and fun, Donna Eden will
show you how health problems can be
helped, if not overcome, by intelligently shifting the energies that are diminishing them.
The body is designed to heal itself and feel
good; energy work can bring you into better
alignment with this design.
This is a hands-on training. You will be
shown how to test for energy blocks and dysfunction and how to move energy in yourself
and others. You will be given tools to improve
the harmony of all the body’s systems and
help alleviate pain and stress. You will discover how to boost your energies when you are
exhausted, strengthen your immune system,
and feel more alive and exuberant.
Caroline Myss predicted that Donna’s book
Energy Medicine “will stand as one of the backbone studies as we lay a sound foundation for
holistic medicine.” Jean Houston called
Donna’s approach “perhaps the most brilliant,
comprehensive, and effective system in the
genre that I have ever seen.” This workshop is
for anyone interested in awakening the body’s
potentials and learning to heal with energy.
Assisting Donna will be her husband David
Feinstein, a clinical psychologist and longtime Esalen workshop leader
$885
A la Picasso: Ceramic Glaze Painting
Welcome the arts at Esalen. Not all art
processes have clear beginnings or endings.
For example, Pablo Picasso did not create the
ceramics that he so exquisitely painted. He
painted the clay objects of local potters that
he admired.
This workshop, dedicated to the spirit of
Picasso, offers you the opportunity to paint
pre-fired ceramics—plates, bowls, tiles, cups,
vases, flower pots, and sculpture—using local
and lead-free commercial glazes. There will be
live models posing for the group, seascape
painting on local beaches, and a variety of
innovative glaze techniques. There will also
be a sweat lodge, clay mud baths, and a tea ceremony.
dants, as we hunt for mystical power and
examine the nature of health, illness, and
healing in the traditional perspective.”
In the 1970s, while doing anthropological
fieldwork in southern Ethiopia, Wesselman
began to experience spontaneous expanded
states of awareness that brought him into
direct, personal contact with the ancient
methods practiced by tribal people for achieving mystical states. In the 1980s, he came face
to face with a series of visionary encounters
in Hawaii that form the core teachings of this
workshop.
Please note: Bring drums and rattles (if you
have them), a notebook and sketchpad, a
small set of chalk or oil pastels, a bandanna or
eyeshade, and a light blanket. Participants are
asked to refrain from alcohol use for the duration of the workshop.
Recommended reading: Wesselman,
Spiritwalker: Messages from the Future and
Medicinemaker: Mystic Encounters on the
Shaman’s Path.
$885
This workshop is designed not only as a way
to focus on the arts as a practicum but as an
opportunity for an experience of self-awakening, which can occur simultaneously.
www.netcom.com/~mapstead, or e-mail Noel
and Keiko at [email protected].
$885
The Spiritwalker and the
Medicinemaker: A Workshop in
Applied Shamanism
Hank Wesselman
Long before the rise of nation-state societies,
our tribal ancestors discovered powerful
methods for mastering the human bodymind-spirit. More and more, non-tribal
Westerners are learning to access the ordinarily hidden dimensions of reality to connect
with the inner sources of wisdom and power
that reside there.
This workshop is an opportunity to rediscover our indigenous heart through the experience of the classic shamanic journey. Hank
Wesselman writes: “We will (re)establish connections with our spirit helpers and spirit
teachers, with ancestors and possibly descen-
Big Sur Clay: Raku with
Tea Ceremonies and Beads
For workshop description see March 5-10.
This weekend workshop will be a little fasterpaced than the five-day version.
$485
The Visionary Life
Robert Maurer
In the past, psychology’s usefulness has traditionally been limited by its focus on people
with problems. Recent studies, however, have
centered on those who have succeeded in the
major challenges of life, from vocation to relationships. How did they achieve and sustain
success?
This weekend program explores one of the
key attributes common to all successful people: vision—the clear sense of purpose that
guides and sustains actions and emotions,
particularly during times of crisis. During
these challenging times, people of vision and
commitment are essential. What are the skills
of the visionary? How are these skills developed and maintained? This program will not
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neously ground and expand, through asana
(posture), pranayama (breath), and dhyana
(meditation).”
The class will gather in the mornings for conscious breathing and meditation, followed by
breakfast and an active morning practice. The
afternoon will offer a restorative practice with
time for questions and answers. All are welcome. Please have a minimum of 3 months’
recent yoga experience.
$485
EMANUELA GARDNER
Secrets Kept From the Mind But
Not From the Body and Behavior:
Psychophysiological Risk Factors
for Physical and Psychological
Symptoms
Ian Wickramasekera
only provide the remarkable research findings but will demonstrate these qualities in
filmed and live interviews.
The quest for a visionary life is a journey that
each of us is capable of. The focus of this
workshop will be on creating vivid dreams,
discovering the path to get there, and finding
the courage to travel the road.
you and your partner; stop self-sabotaging
attitudes and behaviors; achieve mutually satisfactory resolution to the inevitable conflicts;
attract eligible and available partners; and
deepen the intimacy you already have.
Recommended reading: Sherven &
Sniechowski, The New Intimacy: Discovering the
Magic at the Heart of Your Differences.
$485
$485
The New Intimacy: Discover the
Magic of Your Differences
Judith Sherven & James Sniechowski
Disappointed that your partner isn’t the perfect match you’d imagined? Do you hide the
secret fear that if someone really got to know
you they wouldn’t want you? What if your
relationship could be the source of transformation, healing, and growth?
We all seek the comfort and the freedom of
knowing that at least one person loves us, not
in spite of but including our flaws and eccentricities. We long to reveal our hidden selves
and, even more importantly, to have those
hidden aspects be recognized, accepted, and
valued.
This workshop—for singles and couples—
teaches the spiritual power, meaning, and intimacy available only through the difficulties
and differences everyone encounters in relationships. Utilizing exercises, discussion, and
lecture, the workshop teaches how to: open
your heart to receive love; understand,
respect, and value the differences between
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Yoga: The Body as Metaphor
for Heaven and Earth
Through the practices of yoga, a process of transmutation of the physical elements takes place. Matter
is convertible into energy and vice versa… this
body is convertible into spirit and spirit is convertible into matter.
— Hatha Yoga Pradipika (6th century text)
Thomas Fortel writes: “When we walk into a
yoga room for the first time (or even for the
first five years), our awareness is focused primarily on the physical form: yoga class is an
exercise class which deals with the physical
body. But gradually, over time, with the application of consistent and ongoing practice, our
awareness expands into the healing of the
mental and emotional bodies and the opening
of the spiritual body. Through our physical
body we make holy connection. In any yoga
pose there is always an area of the body which
serves as the foundation. From this stable
base of support there is a polar extension
which expands and elongates the body
toward the heavens. In this way we simulta-
This workshop presents an outline of the
High Risk Model of Threat-Related Disease
and the supporting scientific evidence for
these mind/body risk factors.
Ian Wickramasekera writes: “On Friday
evening we will ask for a volunteer to demonstrate in ‘real time’ before the group the
effects of mental stress on eight biological
response systems (heart rate, muscle tension,
skin temperature, electrodermal response,
blood volume pulse, and others). This will
enable us to identify the volunteer’s ‘window
of vulnerability’ and the organ system in
which he/she is most likely to develop symptoms and/or physical disease when under
chronic psychosocial stress.
“On Saturday morning, using pencil and
paper tests, we will measure certain select
mind/body risk factors (e.g. hypnotic ability,
repression, etc.) on all members of the group.
Later we will discuss where research or clinical-observation evidence permits the most
effective ways of reducing or reversing these
mind/body risk factors. If time permits, I will
demonstrate with another volunteer the use
of psychophysiological psychotherapy to alter
these risk factors. We will show how physiological monitoring can be used as another
‘royal road to the unconscious’ and to get at
the ‘secrets people keep from themselves.’”
Recommended reading: Wickramasekera,
“Secrets Kept From the Mind But Not From
the Body and Behaviors” (Advances in MindBody Medicine, 1998, Vol. 14, pp. 81-132), also
indexed in Medline on the Internet.
$485
Play, Spontaneity, and
Performance Art
Nina Wise
Nina Wise writes: “I read once that rats were
put in a maze with one path leading to a small
room with food, another leading to a room
charged with an electrical current, and a third
path leading to a room with play things. The
rats learned to avoid the electric shock, but
the food room and the play room were equally popular. Play, it seems, is as essential to rats
as nutrition.”
Play is also an integral part of human culture.
In tribal societies, people sing, make music,
drum, dance, and tell stories as part of their
daily lives. With the advent of technology and
specialization, we modernized folk have forgotten how to play together. Singers sing,
dancers dance, actors act, while the rest of us
sit and watch.
This workshop is about remembering how to
dance, how to sing, how to tell stories about
our lives, how to make it up as we go along,
how to be together in a way that is lively,
spontaneous, and creative. The workshop will
include meditation, chanting, relaxation,
movement, singing, writing, drawing, and
theater games. Participants will also do spontaneous performance with and for each other
in a safe and supportive environment.
Everyone is afraid of performing, even professionals. Don’t let your fear stop you. It’s fun,
challenging, and rewarding.
$885
ate the future. It will offer a safe, supportive
environment that will include taking risks,
intense bodywork, Gestalt imagery, dance,
and meditation.
This workshop can be especially helpful for
those dealing with boundary issues, the
effects of a dysfunctional family life, or addictions that have been used as a defense against
intimacy. It is appropriate for everyone: individuals and couples, mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons, and healing professionals. The
workshop may have up to 34 participants.
$885
The Subtle Art of Meditation
David Streeter
The experience of insight, tranquility, inner
strength, and aliveness can be found within
our everyday life through the ancient art of
meditation.
This workshop will approach traditional meditation practice in an unusual way. In a retreat
atmosphere, participants will prepare the
body/mind for silent listening with fluid
movement from the martial arts and yoga.
The workshop will incorporate pranayama
(breathing practices) and energy work with
zazen (sitting meditation). Other activities
will include a silent listening hike in the
wilderness, group meditation in a nearby contemplative monastery, and zazen at Esalen’s
meditation center nestled close to a waterfall.
Forgiveness: The Key to Intimacy
This approach to the subtle practice of meditation through the body can inspire the student to discover his or her rich interior life
and that crystal-clear still point described so
well in every spiritual tradition.
All life is about relationships. Creating an
alive and honest connection with an intimate
partner requires us to go deeply into our
hearts and allow the courageous self to
emerge. This journey to intimacy begins with
the path of forgiveness. How does forgiveness
lead to intimacy?
• It allows us to let go of anger, resentment,
and grief
• It allows the agitated mind to move more
deeply into the healing heart
• It resolves separation from ourselves and
from others
• It allows us to complete unfinished business
The workshop will present ways to help complete the past, be open to the present, and cre-
This workshop is for beginning bodyworkers
and those interested in learning some new
approaches to massage.
$885
Freeing the Artist:
Intuitive Watercolors
Helen Jerene Malcolm
This workshop spans the spectrum from
plein air watercolors to completely intuitive
paintings that seem to simply unfold as the
work develops.
Each day will begin with a demonstration of
the techniques to be used in that day’s
process. Two days will be devoted to capturing the breathtaking views of Big Sur’s mountains and coastline. Another two will be spent
exploring a process of blending color by pouring paints, saving the brightest whites for
highlights, and weaving back and forth from
negative to positive painting to create fresh,
loose watercolors. The course will progress to
painting onto thoroughly wet watercolor
board, using intuition as the guide to whatever unfolds. This work contrasts subtle, mysterious areas of watercolor with crisp, precise
highlights, blending a variety of textures with
vibrant and soft colors.
The entire week is designed to free artistic
expression so that technique becomes the
jumping-off point to further discovery.
Please note: All are welcome, beginners as well
as artists. Please bring your own supplies (a
list of suggested materials will be sent upon
registration).
$885
$885
Sherry Galloway & Robert Helm
This massage workshop explores the fundamental elements of bodywork: grounding,
centering, breath awareness, touch sensitivity,
and intention. A hands-on approach will
combine a balance of long, integrative strokes
with detailed attention to specific areas of the
body. There will be emphasis on the issue of
boundaries and trust with respect to the
client’s physical and emotion well-being.
Meditation and movement will be included
to enhance the connection between client
and practitioner.
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wilderness programs
April 23-28
Secrets of the Stone People: A
Journey of Cleansing and Renewal
David Schiffman & Tom Little Bear Nason
David Schiffman writes: “The focus of this
journey to the Indians region in the southeastern Ventana Wilderness is to create a time
for simplicity, purification, renewal, and the
study of the old medicine ways of earth-based
spirituality.”
Writes David: “Our time together will be spent
sharing the timeless, restorative realities of
tribal village life and simple kinship. There
will be ample opportunity for hanging out and
exploring on one’s own, punctuated with time
for contemplation and study of Aboriginal
prophecy, other natural healing influences,
the use of ceremony, music, and the magic of
the Stone People’s medicine lodge.”
In this outdoor adventure the emphasis will
be on collective wilderness living, with little
strenuous hiking. No previous wilderness
experience is required. Complete details and
an equipment list will be sent upon registration. For more information, call 831-659-9577.
$885
Esalen Wilderness Programs
Refund Policy
Most expenses in wilderness programs are
incurred preparing for your arrival. The
Esalen Wilderness Programs refund policy
reflects the fact that few of these expenses can
be recovered.
To reserve a space in a wilderness workshop, a
nonrefundable deposit of $200 is required.
The balance of the fee is due 14 days before
the program begins. If you cancel prior to 30
days before the program begins, your nonrefundable deposit may be applied to other
Esalen programs, to be used within one year.
If you cancel 30 days or less from the starting
date of the trip, your deposit is forfeited.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Traditional home of the Stone People, the
Indians is a stunning geological array of granite escarpments, rock groupings, and ancient
cave sites that for generations has served as a
gathering place for the spring rites and vision
quests of the native Esselen people’s West
Wolf Medicine Society. It is a site long used
for marking the fertile beginnings of the
spring season, especially in times of the full
moon. Generously blessed with water, it
abounds with endlessly flowing streams,
rivers, and waterfalls. Interspersed among
these water-spirit gifts are vast meadows full
of wildflowers in high bloom. It is a vision of
Mother Earth “in a good way.”
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invitational conferences
The Esalen Center For
Theory And Research
I
n its continuing commitment
to the fields of education, religion, philosophy, and the physical and behavioral
sciences, Esalen has regularly sponsored invitational conferences that bring together
experts who share their research and points
of inquiry. These conferences have promoted
a cross-fertilization of disciplines that have
been shunned by traditional educational
institutions, leading to pioneering projects in
medicine, education, psychology, somatics,
meditation research, physics, and RussianAmerican relations.
June 6-11, 1999
Subtle Energies and the Uncharted
Realms of Mind
Esalen continued to explore the frontiers of
human understanding by gathering leading
researchers whose work challenges a purely
local model of the mind. Among the questions addressed were:
• Can minds directly affect other minds?
• Can minds affect matter without direct
physical manipulation?
• What role might so-called “subtle energies”—
ki or prana—play in these processes?
• Does modern physics begin to point the
way to still uncharted fields associated with
consciousness and intentionality?
The following are some high points from the
conference:
Roger Nelson, research coordinator from
Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research,
discussed his lab’s work with random event
generators (REGs) during significant collective events. In studying events from Princess
Diana’s funeral to the Super Bowl, they have
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Most recently, these conferences have been
convened under the banner of the newlyformed Esalen Center for Theory and
Research. Concentrating on fundamental
fields of inquiry that are ripe for development, the Center for Theory and Research has
selected four areas in which to begin its activities this year: evolutionary theory, transformative practices, subtle energies, and survival
of bodily death.
found that when a significant percentage of
people are highly concentrated, there appears
to be a field effect from attention alone.
Physicist Russell Targ revealed some of his
previously classified work with remote viewing. During decades of government-sponsored research, his best subjects were able to
attain hit rates of over 60% with randomly
chosen locations, sometimes on the opposite
side of the world.
Dean Radin, an electrical engineer and experimental psychologist, highlighted his studies
related to precognition and presentiment,
concluding that it may be no more difficult to
know the remote future than the remote present.
Psychologist and scientist Kathy Dalton and
Stephen LaBerge, a leading lucid dreaming
researcher, updated the group on the latest
ganzfeld work, a sensory-deprivation protocol
in which a sender attempts to transmit imagery
from a picture or video clip to a receiver who
is in a sensory deprivation condition.
Marilyn Schlitz, director of research at the
Institute of Noetic Sciences, spoke about
groundbreaking work in which a sender
influences basic physiological arousal in a
remote subject, often via closed-circuit television.
Several participants discussed research with
spiritual or hands-on healers. Biochemist
Bernard Grad and biophysicist Beverly Rubik,
founder of the Institute for Frontier Science,
have contributed to an intriguing body of
research showing that healers are able to alter
growth rates, motility, and death rates in a
number of biological systems, including bacteria, mice, and plants.
Further presentations were led by Fred
Luskin on his forgiveness work at Stanford,
George Leonard on his work with ki in workshops and aikido, and Wayne Jonas, former
head of the Office of Alternative Medicine,
on the assumptions underpinning this
research. Additional sessions included brainstorming about future research projects and
discussing possible theories which can sensibly account for the above studies. Stephen
LaBerge and Russell Targ delivered poetic
expositions on metaphysics.
For a full summary of the conference, see
www.esalenctr.org. This conference was
cosponsored by the Institute of Noetic
Sciences.
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special programs
T
he programs listed below are either
part of an ongoing series or longer
than the standard Esalen workshop.
Prices quoted below for these programs are
for standard accommodations as described in
Reservation Information, page 78. Sometimes
bunk bed space is available at a reduced rate.
Scholarships are also available; please see
Scholarship Information on page 79.
The Upledger Institute Series
The Upledger Institute was founded by John
E. Upledger, who pioneered the field of
CranioSacral Therapy nearly twenty-five
years ago. Dr. Upledger is a Doctor of Science,
an Academic Fellow of the British Society of
Osteopathy, and a member of the Alternative
Medicine Program Advisory Council of the
National Institutes of Health.
The Upledger Institute teaches noninvasive
modalities such as CranioSacral Therapy to
doctors and health-care practitioners of all
disciplines. Curricula range from the structural/functional anatomical perspective to
approaches that explore the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual origins of pain
and dysfunction.
During this catalog period, Esalen is offering
CranioSacral I (February 20-25), Visceral
Manipulation I-A (April 16-21), and Lymph
Drainage Therapy I (April 30-May 5). This
work is sequential; most workshops require
completion of the previous Upledger course,
either at Esalen or elsewhere.
The Role of Enneagram Type in
Spiritual Liberation
A Three-Part Series with Helen Palmer
Using the psycho-spiritual model of the
Enneagram, this program focuses on the
bridge between ordinary and higher consciousness. From the ordinary side of that
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EMANUELA GARDNER
From 1975 to 1983, Dr. Upledger served as
clinical researcher and professor of biomechanics at Michigan State University. During
those years he supervised a team of
anatomists, physiologists, biophysicists, and
bioengineers in experiments testing the existence and influence of the craniosacral system. The results of those studies explained
the function of the craniosacral system and its
use in treating malfunctions of the brain and
spinal cord.
bridge, the approach to spiritual liberation
requires an astute uncovering of the specific
identifications, projections, and mechanisms
of defense that hold the narrow perspective of
personality type in place. That approach
deconstructs many of the false impressions
that we have about ourselves and our impact
on other people, all of which greatly enhances
our capacity for love and work.
Yet this vast wealth of understanding and the
genuine compassion that it generates may
occur simply through psychological insight,
without ever leaving the thinking state of
mind. We may even notice our recurring patterns as they continue to internally arise, and
think: “Again? I’ve been here before. Why am
I caught in this habit again?” But personality
type is “who I think I am,” a powerful identity
that provides considerable protective value, and
is strongly tied to self-esteem. Deconstructing
that secure, productive, and vital reality must
therefore be firmly supported by building
confidence in the non-dual realities that
emerge when ordinary objects of attention
are released.
This interactive series is devoted to three vital
“choice points” on the bridge between states
of consciousness: Identification, Projection,
and the Gathering of Presence. Each choice
point requires us to observe and relax typerelated thoughts and feelings as they arise,
and before they become believable. The intervention method consists of a body of practices called “Placement of Attention,” as attention is a common denominator between ordinary perception and every contemplative system that leads to higher consciousness.
The three seminars can be taken individually
or as a series. See The Two Selves: Personality
Type and Spiritual Being, May 7-12
Certification Program:
A Two-Part Modular Series
The Esalen Massage Certification Program is a
comprehensive training in the art of touch.
This 150-hour training will meet in two 12day modules, February 6-18 and April 9-21.
The program is equivalent in content to
Esalen’s monthlong massage intensive.
The training employs a hands-on approach of
demonstration and practice. The daily classes
will include experiential work in meditation,
movement, grounding, centering, and selfcare. The curriculum will also offer basic
anatomy, Gestalt awareness, ethics, and business practices.
The training’s modular format provides participants with two focused periods of learning
and exploration at Esalen with time in
between for practice and integration.
Upon completion of this program, written
documentation of 30 massage sessions, and
payment of a $50 processing fee, a California
State-approved Certificate of Completion in
Esalen Massage will be issued.
Enrollment is limited and by application
only. To request an application form call 831667-3000. For more information, contact
Peggy Horan at 831-667-3018 or Dean Marson
at 831-667-3000, ext. 3708.
Standard accommodations: $3795
Bunk bed room, if available: $2675
March 3–31
28-Day Massage Practitioner
Certification Program
Vicki Topp & Ray Swartley, with Tom Case
This monthlong professional training in
Esalen massage and bodywork provides comprehensive instruction in basic massage skills.
The program will present Esalen massage as a
form of somatic learning and meditation for
both giver and receiver. In a supportive learning environment, supervised hands-on practice sessions will be balanced with lectures,
demonstrations, and experiential exercises in
grounding, centering, breath, awareness,
anatomy, movement, Gestalt, ethics, and business practices. This training is for students
new to the bodywork field as well as for prac-
titioners seeking to add the Esalen approach
to their work.
Following successful completion of the 150hour (minimum) program, students wishing
to fulfill certification requirements have six
months to complete and document 30 massage sessions. Upon payments of a $50 processing fee, a California State-approved certificate of completion will be issued.
This is a professional training group with limited admission. Please request an application
form from our office. Applications will be
reviewed in the order they are received and
preference given to applicants who have completed a workshop in Esalen massage.
• Emotional sobriety—having a sense of balance and physical boundaries from which
to find peace and a capacity for genuine
sharing and pleasure
• Pleasure/addictions—learning that true
pleasure is a life-affirming, non-addictive
experience
• Sexuality—separating the unmet needs of
the wounded child from adult sexual relationships; learning tools for nurturing and
sustaining healthy relationships
• Boundaries—looking at the tendency to
alternate between fusing with another and
completely isolating oneself
• Spirituality—learning to have faith despite
the horror experienced in childhood
Recommended reading: Hunt & PaineGernée, Emotional Healing and Secrets to Tell,
Secrets to Keep.
March 26-April 7
Emotional Healing:
From Codependence to Aliveness
Terry Hunt & Vivienne Neale
Children who grow up in alcoholic, abusive,
or otherwise unhealthy homes often develop
disabilities that last a lifetime unless these disabilities are deliberately addressed. These difficulties can include: an inordinate need to
control, an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, fear of authority figures, the inability to
trust, difficulty having fun, compulsive
behavior, fear of abandonment, and a chronic
lack of self-esteem.
Addiction and codependency are diseases of
denial. Addiction sufferers and their offspring
tell themselves that it really wasn’t so bad, and
learn not to feel what they cannot tolerate. As
they deny pain, they screen out joy; their
adult lives can be filled with depression and
loneliness. However, they are survivors, and
most emerge as successful-appearing adults.
Yet they often spend so much energy managing and controlling work and relationships
that they have little left for themselves.
A necessary part of healing is moving from
codependence toward emotional sobriety.
Through self-exploration, participants will
have the opportunity to access, express, and
release blocked emotions still carried from
childhood and to tap the aliveness that was
sacrificed when they buried their anger, fear,
and grief. Points of focus will include:
Esalen Outreach and Education
This project extends Esalen’s work in the healing arts and sciences to the rest of the world.
An independent service-oriented program of
Esalen teachers and associates, Esalen
Outreach and Education offers a global information network linking Esalen visitors to
centers, teachers, and health professionals in
somatics, psychology, and massage, so people
may continue their Esalen experience when
they return home. Some of our practitioners
and teachers travel in the United States as
well as internationally and are available for
private sessions and classes. If you are interested, please let us know. The Esalen Massage
and Bodywork Association (EMBA) also
extends Esalen Massage and associated skills.
All our listings are public information and are
not meant to be an endorsement of any individual or institution.
A small library of books on health and transformation, healing, somatics, psychology,
bodywork, and related studies is available for
teachers, practitioners, and students while at
Esalen.
For access to this project and the library, write
to Laurie Lioness Parizek at Esalen, call 831667-3000, or e-mail [email protected]. For further information about the EMBA, write to
EMBA at Esalen, call 831-667-3018, e-mail
[email protected], or visit the EMBA website at
www.esalenmassage.org.
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audio recordings
The Dolphin Tape Series
Each new tape list has a somewhat different emphasis in its selection of titles and speakers.
In addition to the many well-known titles from familiar speakers included for the special
attention of new customers, there are several additional tapes from some old favorites, the
most recent recordings from others, and a few entirely new speakers, events, and subjects.
Dolphin Tapes has no complete catalog, just overlapping tape lists. When you place an order,
let us know your field of interest or your favorite speakers. We may have more information
on some of them. Many tapes are in stereo. Tape length is normally 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Single-tape titles are $10:
Abraham/McKenna/Sheldrake: TRIALOGUES: Cast of Characters, 1989-90
Anne Armstrong: On Being a Psychic, 1971
Gregory Bateson: Cultural Relativity and Belief Systems, 1976
John Blofeld: Taoist and Zen Practice, 1978
Robert Bly: Six Powers of Poetry, 1983
David Brower: Breaking the Species Barrier, 1971
Fritjof Capra: Characteristics of Systems Thinking, 1985
Barry Commoner: Human Meaning of Environmental Crisis, 1971
David Darling & Al Huang: Dancing Cello, Dancing Tao, 1989
Prem Das: The Singing Earth (Huichol Chanting), 1980
Ram Dass: Yoga of Daily Life, 1970
Big Sur Drums: The Sky Children, 1968
James Fadiman: Guided Fantasy and Fairy Tales, 1972
David Finkelstein: A New Quantum Logic, 1976
Stanislav Grof: A New Paradigm for Psychotherapy, 1980
Willis Harman: Origin of the Psychedelic 1960s, 1977
Arthur Hastings: Transpersonal Realities, 1979
Gerald Heard: The Power of Wonder, 1954
John Heider: Living in the Tao, 1987
Albert Hofmann: LSD and the Nature of Reality, 1978
Aldous Huxley: Human Potentialities (MIT Cambridge), 1961
Aldous Huxley: Visionary Experience (MIT Cambridge), 1961
Robert Johnson: The Roots of Modern Masculinity, 1990
Stanley Keleman: Biological Roots of Consciousness, 1970
Jack Kornfield: The Sword of Wisdom (Boston), 1979
Jack Kornfield: The Smile of the Buddha (Bombay), 1982
Timothy Leary: American Culture: 1945-1985 (College of Marin), 1977
Janet Lederman: Early Childhood Experience (Gazebo), 1987
John C. Lilly: The Dolphin Experience, 1969
Abraham Maslow: Self-Actualization, 1966
Terence McKenna: Hot Concepts and Melting Edges, 1994
Terence McKenna: Laws and Freedom, Habits and Novelty, 1994
Robert Muller: Toward a Global Community, 1983
Humphrey Osmond: Early Psychedelic History, 1967
Joseph Chilton Pearce: Intelligence of the Heart, 1992
Fritz Perls: Dream Theory and Demonstration, 1967-1968
Fritz Perls: Gestalt Therapy and How It Works, 1966
Paul Rebillot: The Pluto Story: Journey into Madness, 1984
Carl Rogers: My Philosophy and How It Grew, 1972
Rogers/Bateson: Dialogue on Thinking, Feeling, Learning, 1975
Will Schutz: Principles and Philosophy of Encounter, 1970
Charlotte Selver: An Introduction to Sensory Awareness, 1969
Daniel Sheehan: Philosophy of Christic Institute, 1991
Rupert Sheldrake: Morphic Resonance and Memory, 1985
Sheldrake/Pearce: Resonant Fields of Heart and Brain, 1993
John “Jay” Shelfer: Taoist Chi Energy Breath Movement, 1993
Julian Silverman: A Lighthearted Course in Miracles, 1984
Huston Smith: The Nature of Reality (Boston), 1979
David Steindl-Rast: The Body, Sensuousness, and Spirituality, 1990
Richard Tarnas: The Passion of the Western Mind, 1993
Charles Tart: On the Paranormal, 1971
Wilson Van Dusen: The Nature of Humanness, 1969
Alan Watts: Divine Madness, 1968
Carl Whitaker: On Becoming a Professional Therapist, 1989
Arthur M. Young: The Reflexive Universe, 1973
Two-tape titles are $16:
Walt Anderson & Ted Roszak: (2) The Upstart Spring (Esalen), 1984
Angeles Arrien: (2) Cross-Cultural Shamanic Practice, 1991
Gregory Bateson: (2) Balinese Culture and Shamanism, 1976
Prem Das: (2) The Huichol Cosmology (Creation & Return), 1977
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Ram Dass: (2) One Man’s Journey to the East, 1969
David Finkelstein: (2) Ancient, Medieval, and Classical Physics, 1984
Bruce Kumar Frantzis: (2) Taoist Philosophy and Practice, 1994
Buckminster Fuller: (2) The Critical Path (Maui), 1982
Stanislav Grof: (2) The Birth Trauma, 1981
Stanislav Grof: (2) The Cosmic Game, 1987
Jean Houston: (2) The Possible Human (Boston), 1979
Robinson Jeffers’s Poetry: (2) A Dramatic Celebration (Carmel), 1972
Timothy Leary: (2) The Power of Imprinting, 1982
Terence McKenna: (2) The Magical Mystery Tour, 1989
Joseph Chilton Pearce: (2) The Magical Child, 1975
Sogyal Rinpoche: (2) Training for the Moment of Death, 1982
Daniel Sheehan: (2) Christic Institute Update and JFK, 1992
Frederic Spiegelberg: (2) India and the Saints, 1964
Wilson Van Dusen: (2) Confronting Hallucinations, 1982
Alan Watts: (2) Eastern Religion and Western Therapy, 1971
Watts/Grof/Silverman: (2) The Science of Madness, 1968
Watts/Perry/Ginsberg/Naranjo: (2) The Poetry of Madness, 1968
Janet Zuckerman: (2) The Feeling Process, 1987
Four-tape titles are $34:
Ralph Abraham: (4) The Chaos Revolution, 1994
James Fadiman: (4) A Weekend of Stories, 1984
David Finkelstein: (4) Indeterminacy and Undecidability, 1978
Roland Fischer: (4) Creative, Psychotic, and Ecstatic States, 1969
Buckminster Fuller: (4) Integrity Day (Marin), 1983
Abraham Maslow: (4) An Informal Weekend in Big Sur, 1966
Terence McKenna: (4) Eros, Chaos, and Meaning’s Edge, 1994
Terence McKenna: (4) Deeper and Broader Questions, 1994
Rupert Sheldrake: (4) Resonance and the Habits of Nature, 1987
Rupert Sheldrake: (4) Rebirth of Nature: Revival of Animism, 1990
David Steindl-Rast: (4) Living in the Now, 1988
David Steindl-Rast: (4) Enjoying Poetry, 1992
Andrew Weil: (4) New Insights into Addiction, 1987
Colin Wilson: (4) Human Evolution and a New Psychology, 1968
The Dolphin Vinyl Album Tape Sets:
Gregory Bateson: (6) Steps to an Ecology of Mind, 1980
UCSB Symposium: (6) Entheogens, The Spiritual Psychedelics, 1983
John C. Lilly: (6) Ego, Self, and Essence, 1971
John C. Lilly: (6) The East Coast Workshop, 1973
Abraham Maslow: (6) The Eupsychian Ethic, 1969
Joseph Chilton Pearce: (6) Journey to the Heart, 1990
Rupert Sheldrake: (6) Resonance and Presence of the Past, 1985
Andrew Weil: (6) All You Wanted to Know About Drugs, 1993
Robert Anton Wilson: (6) The “Coincidance” of Joyce, 1985
Ruthy Alon: (6) Lessons in the Feldenkrais Method (Series I or II)
Terence McKenna: (8) Collected Talks: Series I (1982-83) or II (1983-86)
Terence McKenna: (8) The Esalen Scholar-In-Residence Series, 1989
Julian Silverman: (8) Commentaries on A Course in Miracles, 1980
Colin Wilson: (8) The New Analytic Philosophy, 1967
Colin Wilson: (8) New Pathways in Human Evolution, 1990
Selections: (8) Early Psychedelic Years (Series I), 1977-1983
Buckminster Fuller: (8) The Pajaro Dunes Tapes, 1977
Moshe Feldenkrais: (6) Awareness Through Movement Lessons (Series I)
Terence McKenna: (8) True Hallucinations (A Talking Book), 1984
Abraham/McKenna/Sheldrake: (10) TRIALOGUES at the Edge, 1989-90
Virginia Satir: (10) Conjoint Family Therapy, 1968
Esalen Symposium: (12) Wilhelm Reich: His Life and Work, 1974
Gregory Bateson: (12) Informal Esalen Lectures, 1975-1980 (Archives)
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Please add $3.00 to your complete order for handling and mailing (add $3.00
more if you wish priority mail). Overseas orders add $1.00 per tape for mailing.
California residents include 7.25% tax. Institutional purchase orders please add
10% to tape cost for invoicing and deferred payment. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for
delivery (most orders are mailed within two weeks). Please mail your order and
your check payable to:DOLPHIN TAPES, P.O. Box 71, Big Sur, CA 93920
Advertisement: Sales of these tapes support the Human Potential Audio Foundation
(HPAF), a California nonprofit dba Dolphin Tapes, which is independent of Esalen.
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work study program
T
he Work Study Program is a
28-day program for those interested in
an intense involvement with the
Esalen environment. It is a work- and serviceoriented program, emotionally and physically
challenging, and only rarely is it restful.
Participants work 32 hours per week in one of
Esalen’s departments and participate in that
department’s program.
During most evenings and one weekend
intensive, work students are together in one of
two groups (see below). Each group emphasizes one type of growth practice, such as
Gestalt, meditation, creative arts, massage, or
somatics work, and has a specifically assigned
leader(s) who is with the group throughout
the month, coordinating the study schedule
and facilitating many of the evening sessions.
Applicants may state their preferred group
and must be prepared to stay at Esalen for the
entire month.
Selection of work students is done by Work
Study Coordinator Dorothy Thomas. Since
this is a work and service program, preference
is given to applicants who are open and willing to learn about themselves within the
work context as well as within the
study/process groups. Because the work can
be physically challenging (lifting, bending,
etc.), it may not be suitable for all who wish to
apply. First-month work students, in particular, are assigned to departments largely on the
basis of community need (usually the kitchen
or housekeeping).
Please note: This program is designed to explore
and apply human values and potentials. It is not
intended as a substitute for therapy or as a “cure.”
Work Study Programs scheduled for this catalog period are:
January 9-February 6
Eric Erickson will lead a group devoted to the
development of integral practices. Gestalt
practice, meditation, movement exercises, and
the experience of nature will be explored as
complementary awareness practices which,
when combined, integrate mind-body-spirit
into a greater whole and enhance personal
development and transformation.
“Innerquest” is a psychological and spiritual
process of openheartedness and inner wisdom, designed and led by Karuna Licht &
Jamie Weinstein, utilizing various Gestalt
and meditation practices. These practices
(skills) are designed to help develop clarity
(self-awareness) and the capacity to be present
(self-acceptance), as well as open the “inner
gates” to compassion and loving-kindness
toward oneself and others. The transformative
practices are both spiritual rites and psychological tools, and support maintaining focus
on our unique inner quest.
February 6-March 5
Brenda Schaeffer will spend a month help-
ing individuals answer universal questions
about love: Why do we have certain attractions? Why do we both want and fear commitment? When do we stay in or leave a relationship? Why is transforming our love-life
so important and how can we do this? and,
Am I in love or in addiction? Group process,
guided imagery, role play, ritual, and meditation will be incorporated as means to personally answer these questions.
Helen Jerene Malcolm will guide a month
of Vision Painting—the creation of a visual
journal through color, light, and form—in
which painting is used as a process to expose
the limitations of the conditioned mind. The
atmosphere will be one of exploration and
acceptance, encouraging participants to suspend judgment and enabling the creative
impulse to play, take risks, and face fears.
Emotional awareness, visualization, meditation, music, and dream images will be used to
evoke creative expression from one’s inner
source of wisdom and intuition.
Please note: There will be a $40 materials fee
paid directly to the leader.
March 5-April 2
Maria Lucia Sauer Holloman will lead a
monthlong program teaching spiritual massage and healing—the laying on of hands. This
practice integrates both hands-on and energetic work. Yoga, meditation, artwork, and
Tibetan and bioenergetic exercises will be
incorporated to complement this energy
work and to help bring participants in tune
with their bodies. The program will integrate
emotional release work and group process as
they organically emerge.
EMANUELA GARDNER
Jeremiah Abrams leads a monthlong
practicum exploring the connections
between inner work and outer choices,
between body and psyche, soul and spirit, ego
and shadow. In addition to traditional and
innovative methods of dreamwork, the program will employ shamanic Dreamtime journey, bioenergetic release, soul retrieval, trance
induction, music, meditation, ceremony, and
ritual. This is an opportunity to learn the
skills of constructive dream interpretation
(built on the work of C.G. Jung) and to cultivate a personal vision of a life worth living.
69
April 2-30
A month with John Soper will center on
ways to improve the quality of one’s life.
Gestalt practice will be the vehicle for personal growth in a group setting. The work will
create a safe environment from which to
experiment and take risks. As new and unfamiliar ways of behavior and expression
emerge, group members can begin to see
themselves and others with greater understanding and compassion for the pain and
suffering which has led to so much distortion
in human behavior. Each individual’s personal journey will be respected.
Phyllis Shankman & Friends will offer a pro-
gram on creative approaches to healing and
self-awareness using art, music, writing, guided imagery, dance, and ritual, as well as
wilderness hikes and gentle mindfulness
practices. Gestalt open seats and private sessions with the leader will take place during
some afternoons each week.
April 30-May 28
The focus of a month with David Schiffman
will be the theme of transition. It is geared for
people facing major changes who would like
to create a time for sanctuary and a mood of
mutual support. The intention will be to cultivate an individual approach to change that is
heartfelt, open-minded, and resourceful in
spirit. Traditional methods of self-inquiry
(Gestalt practice, bioenergetics, psychosynthesis) will be combined with innovative
methods incorporating music, meditation,
poetry, ritual, and prayer.
The focus of a month with Ellen Watson is
movement: movement of body, breath, and
being through dance, yoga, writing, and theater. Bring your journal, your dancing shoes,
and a poem or quote from a favorite writer (1
minute in length). Come prepared to move
and be moved.
May 28-June 25
Eduardo Eizner will lead a month concen-
trating on emotional release work and selfawareness, incorporating Gestalt practice,
games, group and individual process, rituals,
movement, and bodywork. The program will
emphasize the development of self-awareness
in relationship with others. Participants will
70
focus on the willingness to accept responsibility for and remain true to their own experience—while communicating with others.
This monthlong program with Judy
Blackstone will focus on the theme of oneness and separateness. Participants will practice ways of increasing the capacity to love
and the ability to be alone. Gestalt process,
movement, freeing the voice, communion
with nature, Subtle Self Work, and meditation
will be incorporated to help develop healthy
boundaries, spiritual awareness, and selfexpression.
second or third month depending on space
available and community needs (work scholars may not, however, stay longer than three
months in a twelve-month period).
Occasionally it is possible to stay for a longer
period as an Extended Student. There are no
scholarships available for the Work Study
Program.
Food and Housing: Accommodations are
shared (occasionally co-ed), with up to four
people to a room, usually at South Coast
Center, a staff complex located 1.5 miles north
of Esalen. Housing and meals are included in
your tuition.
Transportation: When making travel
June 25-July 23
Each of us is born with an inherent drive for
self-expression and creativity. As we grow up,
our sense of self and our ability to be spontaneous often become blocked. Knowing who
we are and what we feel and want can be difficult when our self-knowledge is distorted by
family experiences and cultural expectations.
The focus of a month with Dorothy Charles
will be Gestalt Practice combined with
expressive arts, especially painting, clay, and
photography. The program will use group
process to enhance communication and conflict resolution skills and to develop empathy
for self and others.
This month with Oliver Bailey will focus on
calming the mind, relaxing and energizing
the body, and exploring your artistic nature.
Guided imagery, meditation, breathing exercises, and personal process will be utilized for
calming the mind. A combination of yoga,
massage, self-care, and movement will be the
vehicle for relaxing and energizing the body.
Art, poetry, and dance—in a safe environment—will be the primary modes for liberating your imagination.
Inasmuch as the Work Study Program is a
complete program in itself, please do not plan
to take regularly scheduled catalog workshops
during your stay. Professional services, such
as massage and counseling, are available at
staff rates.
Fees: A deposit of $400 in U.S. currency is
required with your application. You may pay
in full at the time you apply. The work scholar
fee is $795 for the first month, $745 for the
second month, and $695 for the third month.
Work students may be invited to remain for a
arrangements, note that the closest airport to
Esalen is Monterey. With at least 48-hour
advance reservations, van service to Esalen is
available from the following locations on the
Sunday of your arrival:
Monterey Airport: Departs 4 pm.
Cost: $30
Monterey Transit Center: Departs 4:20 pm.
Cost: $30
San Francisco Airport: Departs 1:30 pm.
Cost: $80
For van reservations call 831-667-3005.
Please note: Application is not registration
in the program. Registration is made only
after approval of application and upon receipt
of deposit. If you do not pay in full at the time
of application, the balance of the fee is due on
arrival and is nonrefundable thereafter. Of the
original amount paid, you will be refunded
the following amount if you choose to cancel:
15+ days prior to start, $300; 8-14 days, $200;
3-7 days, $100; 0-2 days, $0.
Please mail the application form (see next
page) with your personal statement and
deposit to:
Work Study Program
Esalen Institute
Big Sur, CA 93920
or fax to:
Work Study Program
831-667-2724
We will mail you a response within 14 days
of receipt of your application. For more
information contact Dorothy Thomas at the
above address or phone: 831-667-3010; fax
831-667-2724; e-mail: [email protected]
Q
work study program application
please print legibly.
Name _______________________________________________________________________________________
o Male o Female
Today’s Date __________________________________________
Phone: Day ( ————— ) ___________________________________ Evening ( ————— )_____________________________________ Fax ( ————— ) _______________________________________
Home Address __________________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip __________________________________________________________________________
Country___________________________________ E-mail Address _______________________________________________________ Date of Birth ___________________________ Age ______________
Occupation ______________________________________________________________ Place of Employment____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you have any limiting physical/emotional conditions (e.g., bad back, severe depression) which might affect your full participation in this program? o Yes o No If yes, please specify _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Are you currently taking any medication? o Yes o No
If yes, please specify ________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If a former Work Scholar, list approximate dates and where you worked _________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Work Study Program is for 28 days, beginning and ending on Sunday. Sometimes particular dates and/or leaders are not available. List below,
in order of preference, the dates/leaders for which you are available. (For example, Choice 1: 2/6 to 3/15, Schaeffer; Choice 2: 2/6 to 3/15,
Malcolm; Choice 3: 3/5 to 4/21, Abrams; Choice 4: None.)
dates
Choice 1 _________________________________ to ___________________________________ Preferred Leader ____________________________________________________________________________________
If your application is accepted and we cannot give you Choice 1 above, we will place you in your next available choice. Should this occur, would
you like to be on a wait list for your preferred choice(s) or take the available guaranteed space only? o Wait list(s) o Guarantee only
If on a wait list, you will automatically be placed if a space becomes available, and then notified. You must let us know if you wish to be removed from a wait list.
Work students may be invited to remain for a second or third month, depending on space available and the needs of the Esalen community.
Please indicate your availability for such an invitation (no obligation): o No extension o One-month extension o Two-month extension
We encourage ridesharing. Are you willing to give a ride? o Yes o No; Receive a ride? o Yes o No;
I wish to rideshare from (if different from above address) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Assignments to departments are made according to community labor needs (usually kitchen or housekeeping). However, if you have preferences
in housekeeping, kitchen, maintenance, gardening, or groundskeeping, please list them below (skills not always necessary).
o Place me wherever I’m most needed – or – note my preferences below.
Choice 1 __________________________________________________ Skills/Experience ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
o Please check here if you have emergency medical skills (M.D., R.N., or E.M.T.) and are willing to use them during your stay.
Please attach a personal statement about your interest in the Work Study Program and why you’d like to participate.
All applicants are required to sign a standard release-from-liability and assumption-of-risk form as a condition of participation
in the Work Study Program. This form will be mailed to you upon acceptance to the program.
Do you want van service? From o Monterey Airport 4 pm ($30 fee); o Monterey Transit 4:20 pm ($30); o San Francisco Airport 1:30 pm ($80).
Payment o $400 deposit
o $795
o $————— Other
Card No. _______________________________________________________________________________
o Check (U.S. funds only), attached and payable to Esalen Institute
Credit Card Expiration Date _____________________________________________________
o MasterCard o VISA o American Express
Name (if different from name above) _________________________________________
Please Note: No pets, drugs, or violence allowed.
Authorizing signature ______________________________________________________________
Applications cannot be considered without a deposit and a personal statement included.
71
R
biographical information
A
Horst Abraham, a longtime associate
of Tim Gallwey and his Inner Game
approach to learning, was both an Olympic
athlete and coach. He consults to world-class
leaders and has taught leadership internationally for more than thirty years. p. 23
Jeremiah Abrams is director of the
Mt. Vision Institute, a certificate program
in pastoral counseling in Marin County,
Calif. His books include the best-selling
Meeting the Shadow, The Shadow in
America, and Reclaiming the Inner
Child. p. 69
Oliver Bailey is a practitioner and
instructor of Esalen massage. His background includes training in Gestalt practice,
neurolinguistic programming, intuitive
work, and meditation. p. 70
Richard Balaban, a licensed clinical
psychologist and certified group psychotherapist, has taught at Indiana University and
SUNY at Buffalo. His passion is for his family, his work, and life’s journey. p. 27
Anat Baniel began studying the
Feldenkrais Method® in early childhood in
her native Tel Aviv and later became the
student and apprentice of Moshe
Feldenkrais. She works extensively with
infants and children, health-care professionals, and musicians. p. 48
Mark Abramson is a part of the
Stanford Complementary Medicine Clinic
and heads the Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction Program at UCSF/Stanford
Hospital and Stanford University. He
teaches a required meditation program at
Stanford University School of Medicine.
p. 33
James Baraz has taught vipassana
insight meditation since 1977. Cofounder of
Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin
County, Calif., he leads retreats internationally. He teaches classes in Berkeley, where
he also has a counseling practice. p. 49
Mandy Aftel was the founder and chief
perfumer of Grandiflorum Perfume, whose
perfumes are sold exclusively at Bergdorf
Goodman and Nieman Marcus. She is an
author and psychotherapist with twenty
years’ experience. p. 23
Edmundo Barbosa is a body-oriented
psychotherapist from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He
is the founder and director of Revida, a center for work with cancer patients, and
Iniciativa Gaia, an institute for human
growth in Brazil. p. 30, 32
Dee Ahern is a physical therapist who
has studied with The Upledger Institute
since 1984. A Visceral Manipulation practitioner for ten years, she also has extensive
clinical experience in acute care, long-term
care, and outpatient rehab settings. p. 43
Amelia Barili is an Argentinean-born
journalist and university lecturer who is a
longtime student of Latin American writers.
She is coauthor of Conversations with
Borges and author of the forthcoming
Jorge Luis Borges y Alfonso Reyes.
p. 60
Ronald Alexander, a psychotherapist
in Santa Monica, Calif., specializes in
mind/body healing. He has explored
Buddhist meditation and healing disciplines
for twenty-seven years, with special focus on
leadership skills and creativity. p. 24, 53, 55
Kathryn Altman is on the teaching
faculty for Gabrielle Roth’s international
institute, The Moving Center. She has studied with Gabrielle for over twenty years and
maintains a teaching practice in Mill
Valley, Calif. p. 40
Steven Angel is a drum therapist, percussionist, and composer. A former child
prodigy who performed with Buddy Rich at
age 6 and recorded with Jimi Hendrix at 16.
he began his Rhythm Based Music Healing
program in 1997. p. 52
B
Nancy Bacal, lyricist, screenwriter, and
longtime Esalen leader, edited Leonard
Cohen’s anthology Stranger Music and
wrote and produced Raga, a film starring
Ravi Shankar. She conducts ongoing writing workshops in Los Angeles, San
Francisco, and Honolulu. p. 31
72
Ellen Bass has supported, encouraged,
and inspired writing for over twenty years.
She has published a dozen books, including
poetry, nonfiction, and children’s stories. p. 14
Rob Bauer, senior faculty member at the
Rubenfeld Center in New York, has worked
with gay and bisexual men for fifteen years
as a body-centered psychotherapist. He has a
private practice in New York and Saratoga
Springs, N.Y. p. 23
Hunter Beaumont, former faculty
and past president of the Gestalt Therapy
Institute of Los Angeles, is currently in private practice in Munich. His primary interest is in understanding how psychotherapy
can contribute to the realization of human
potential. p. 55
Bill Benda is a Fellow in the Program of
Integrative Medicine at the University of
Arizona. His focus is on the psychological
and spiritual aspects of illness, with emphasis on the care of the health professional.
p. 36
Edwin Bernbaum, a research associate at UC Berkeley, specializes in comparative religion and mythology. Author of The
Way to Shambhala and Sacred
Mountains of the World, he presents
widely to institutions such as the
Smithsonian and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. p. 26
Jeff Berner has photographed worldwide, and photo-illustrated Uncarved
Block, Unbleached Silk: The Mystery of
Life by Alan Watts. His work has received
two awards from Life magazine and has
appeared in Omni and Psychology
Today. p. 57
Daniel Bianchetta has been teaching
meditation and intuitive practice at Esalen
for over two decades. A photographer as well
as Esalen’s media coordinator, his color photographic work interests are the Big Sur
coast and Native American rock art. p. 53
Judith Blackstone is a meditation
teacher, psychotherapist, dancer, and
founder of Subtle Self Work®, a method of
realizing the integration of the body,
authentic self, and spiritual consciousness.
She is codirector of Realization Center in
Woodstock, N.Y. p. 16, 70
Richard Blasband is a board-certified
psychiatrist, formerly on the medical faculty
of Yale University, and a past president of
the American College of Orgonomy. He is
currently in private practice in Tiburon,
Calif. p. 43
Charlie Bloom is a teacher, consultant,
and therapist specializing in relationship
issues. He has designed and facilitated experiential seminars since 1982, and codirects
The Empowerment Network with his wife
Linda. p. 38, 46
Linda Bloom is a psychotherapist, seminar leader, and codirector of The
Empowerment Network. She has facilitated
relationship workshops throughout the U.S.
as well as in Japan. p. 46
Gabrielle Borkan spent four years in
Germany studying Bert Hellinger’s work.
She obtained her psychotherapy license in
Germany and has been conducting Family
Constellation workshops according to
Hellinger’s systemic approach throughout
Europe since 1995. p. 55
Julie Bowden worked as a psychologist
for twenty-two years, specializing in substance abuse, children of alcoholics, and
childhood trauma. Her mission was to facilitate people to live beyond their past. Now
she has begun the life of a sadhu (wanderer). p. 27, 37
C. Jay Bradbury is a member of the
Esalen massage staff and in private practice.
The developer of Muscle Lengthening, his
work encourages the quieting of the mindbody with the intention to expand consciousness. p. 53
Carolyn Braddock is a body-centered
therapist and consultant in private practice
in Lakewood, Colo. She authored Body
Voices and trains professionals in posttraumatic stress disorder, using breath,
sound, and movement. p. 33, 34, 54
Deborah Brenner, an artist displayed
in galleries internationally, is an art therapist devoted to exploring the creative process
of relationship. She and her husband Paul
have offered workshops throughout the U.S.
and Canada. p. 16
Paul Brenner is a physician widely
known in the medical community as well as
in the self-help field. Moderator of the PBS
series “Healing Through Communication,”
he is the author of A Shared Creation and
the forthcoming Self-Repair. p. 16
Barry Bub, a graduate of the University
of Cape Town, South Africa, has been practicing family medicine in the U.S. for thirty
years. An innovator in the field of integrative medicine, he is a medical writer and a
certified Gestalt practitioner. p. 43
Mel Bucholtz began his study of Zen
as an aesthetic/still way of attention in 1959
and has taught the necessity of art in attention for the past twenty-five years. He has
worked with world-class athletes, artists,
and inventors. p. 17
C
Geo Cameron is a hereditary shaman
priest of the Tuatha Dé. She graduated with
distinction in Celtic from the University of
Edinburgh and is the author of the forthcoming Over the Ninth Wave: An
Illumination of Celtic Spiritual
Tradition. p. 47
Seymour Carter, longtime Gestalt
teacher at Esalen and in Europe, is a lifelong
student of the ever-evolving models of psychotherapy. He combines studies in family
systems theory with Buddhism, sensory
awareness, and other body-oriented practices. p. 14, 40
Tom Case has been practicing massage
for the past ten years. Since 1993 he has been
on the Esalen massage staff. p. 30, 56, 67
Arnold Chanin has been a physician
for thirty years. He has extensive training in
the arts as well as medicine, and lectures
widely on integrating medicine with the
creative arts. He has written thirteen books
of poetry. p. 29
Dorothy Charles is a Gestalt practitioner and assistant director of Esalen’s
Gazebo School. Her primary interest is in
combining Gestalt practice with artistic
expression. p. 20, 36, 57, 70
Thubten Chodron is a student of the
Dalai Lama who teaches meditation and
Buddhism worldwide and is known for her
lively, clear, and humorous presentations.
Her books include Open Heart, Clear
Mind. p. 50
Peter Clothier is the author of While
I Am Not Afraid: Secrets of a Man’s
Heart, an account of his journey of self-discovery initiated by his daughter’s struggle
with life-threatening illness. He is also the
author of two books of poetry and two novels. p. 58
Gerald Cohen is a lecturer on the subject of consciousness and healing. He is the
executive director of the Foundation for
Mind-Being Research in Los Altos, Calif.
p. 58
Stephen Cohen, Gestalt practitioner
and longtime golf hacker, is founder and
president of The Shivas Irons Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing
golf’s beauties and virtues. p. 55
Emilie Conrad is the founder of
Continuum. Her innovative approach to
movement has enhanced the creativity of
artists in many fields and has led to new
insights in the healing process. p. 53
David Corbin is a shamanic practitioner and teacher, with a private practice in
shamanic counseling and healing in Maine.
He is a faculty member of the Foundation
for Shamanic Studies. p. 18
D
David Darling is a cellist, teacher, and
composer. He is cofounder of Music for
People, an organization dedicated to selfexpression through music and improvisation. His latest recordings include 8-String
Religion, Cello, Darkwood, and The
River. p. 14, 15
Lama Surya Das is a Buddhist scholar, poet, storyteller, activist, and Dzogchen
lineage holder. Founder of the Dzogchen
Foundation, he is author of Awakening
the Buddha Within and The Snow
Lion’s Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales
from Tibet. p. 44
E
Donna Eden is the developer of Energy
Kinesiology, based on an ability to see and to
work with the body’s energies in a systematic manner. She has been practicing energy
balancing for over two decades and teaches
worldwide. p. 61
Eduardo Eizner is an Argentineanlicensed psychotherapist from Belgrano
University in Buenos Aires. He is an Esalen
staff member and director of Gazebo School
Park. p. 70
Eric Erickson is a long-term student of
Gestalt and Eastern philosophical traditions. He is currently studying intersubjectivity. p. 20, 57, 69
F
James Fadiman has led workshops at
Esalen since its inception. He teaches, writes,
and consults worldwide. He has published
fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. p. 45
Rachel Fann joined the Esalen massage
staff in 1993. Her work integrates Esalen
massage with approaches from
CranioSacral Therapy, aikido, Chi Kung,
breathwork, and meditation. p. 26
David Feinstein, a clinical psychologist, is coauthor of Mortal Acts, Rituals for
Living and Dying, and Weaving the
Energies, Fitting the Field. He has
taught at the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine. p. 36, 61
Joy Finch, a lomilomi practitioner since
1989 and teacher since 1993, studied ancient
Hawaiian Lomi with Kahuna in the
Islands for four years. Her background is in
physical fitness, movement, and massage.
p. 30
Rabbi Steven Fisdel is a teacher and
author who has lectured on Kabbalah for
over twenty-five years. His current book is
titled The Practice of Kabbalah. p. 58
Cornelia Flatischler is a percussionist trained in classical music and world
rhythms. She has been co-leading Ta Ke Ti
Na workshops for seven years and holds certificates in NLP, Tao Yoga, and t’ai chi.
p. 38
Reinhard Flatischler, the founder of
Ta Ke Ti Na and leader of the Megadrums
Group, is an Austrian composer, percussionist, and author. He studied at the Vienna
Conservatory of Music and devoted fifteen
years to drum studies in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America. p. 38
Clyde Ford is a doctor of chiropractic
medicine, a leader in somatic psychology,
and a scholar who has taught Swahili at
Columbia University and African
American history at Western Washington
University. He has also traveled widely in
Africa. p. 35
Jerome Front is an adjunct faculty at
Pepperdine University and teaches about
eating, food, and mindfulness-based
approaches. He has worked at the Rader
Institute for Eating Disorders, leads retreats,
and is an MFT in private practice in Studio
City, Calif. p. 53
G
Sherry Sanders Galloway is an
Esalen massage staff practitioner and
teacher whose focus is sports massage, balanced with Esalen bodywork. A practicing
RN, she specializes in emergency medicine
and psychiatric intervention. p. 19, 63
Mariah Fenton Gladis, longtime
Gestalt practitioner and trainer, founded
and has for fifteen years directed the Bucks
County Institute. She is director of the
Pennsylvania Gestalt Center for
Psychotherapy and Training. p. 26
Mary Goldenson (Devarani) is a
clinical psychologist, chiropractor, and certified Radix® teacher in Los Angeles. She has
a private practice specializing in relationship therapy and transitions. p. 16, 22, 35,
46, 54, 63
Andrew Harvey, poet, translator, novelist, and mystical scholar is the author or
editor of over thirty books, including the
bestsellers Journey in Ladakh; The Way
of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi; and
Son of Man: The Mystical Path to
Christ. p. 43
Justin Hecht is a Jungian psychologist
and executive coach in private practice in
San Francisco. He teaches meditation and
leads groups and workshops designed to
awaken authenticity and creativity. p. 45
Bert Hellinger is a German psychoanalyst, systemic psychotherapist, and author
who has written ten books, including
Love’s Hidden Symmetry. A former
Catholic priest, he spent sixteen years living
with the Zulu people. p. 55
Robert Helm is a senior member of the
Esalen massage/bodywork staff. p. 15, 63
Christian Hendricks is an Aston
Patterner®, Ju Jutsu instructor, and licensed
massage therapist. He is in private practice
in Seattle, specializing in improving performance, rehabilitating injuries, ergonomic
consultation, and movement education.
p. 33, 34
Brad Gooch is the author of Finding
The Boyfriend Within; the biography of
the poet Frank O’Hara, City Poet; and two
novels, Scary Kisses and The Golden Age
of Promiscuity. p. 58
Martina Hoffmann is a painter,
sculptor, and Reiki master whose art
explores women’s connection to the Goddess.
Her work is featured in the books Return
of the Great Goddess and One Source.
p. 54
Harriet Goslins is the originator of
Cortical Reeducation®. She is a
Feldenkrais® practitioner with a background in psychosynthesis, applied kinesiology, craniosacral work, and social anthropology. p. 38
has practiced spiritual healing in Brazil and
the U.S. since 1982. She has been a resident
student and teacher at Esalen and conducts
trainings and seminars internationally.
p. 19, 39, 69
H
Thomas Michael Fortel is a longtime yoga practitioner/teacher, influenced
by the Iyengar and Ashtanga styles. He
blends strong practice, focus on alignment
and breath, and compassionate support. He
presently resides at Esalen and leads workshops and retreats. p. 33, 37, 62
Eleanor Criswell Hanna, professor
of psychology at Sonoma State University, is
editor of Somatics, director of the Novato
Institute for Somatic Research and
Training, and author of How Yoga Works
and Biofeedback and Somatics. p. 44
Gregory Franta, principal architect of
ENSAR Group, an international sustainable design firm, has led many design workshops and has a wealth of experience in
environmental design for residences, including “Greening of the White House.” p. 20
Keith Harary is an internationally
known research scientist, research director of
the Institute for Advanced Psychology in
Tiburon, Calif., and coauthor of eight books.
He has nearly thirty years of experience in
perceptual research. p. 51
Patricia Frisch is a licensed psychologist, Reichian analyst, family therapist, and
group leader. She is director of Counseling
and Training Consultants, which provided
communications trainings for inmates and
staff in California State prisons. p. 43
Steven Harper is a wilderness guide,
author, and Big Sur resident. He has led
both traditional and experimental wilderness expeditions internationally for over
twenty years. His work focuses on wild
nature as a vehicle for awakening. p. 42,
46, 51, 59
Linell Fromm, certified in fundraising,
received her doctorate in organizational
behavior and holds degrees in public health
and public policy. A grantwriter for over
twenty years, she has a consulting practice
based in San Diego. p. 29
Susan Harper teaches Continuum
workshops in the U.S., Canada, Europe,
and Japan. She also offers Quest trips—for
celebrating what is still wild, inside and
out—in the wilderness and in Asia. p. 59
Jill Harris is a longtime student and practitioner of Sensory Awareness who co-leads
workshops with Charlotte Selver. p. 36
Jonathan Horan is on the teaching
faculty for Gabrielle Roth’s international
institute, The Moving Center. In addition to
leading workshops throughout the U.S.,
South America, and Europe, he is a certified
massage therapist and a professional actor.
p. 40
Peggy Horan has been practicing and
teaching massage at Esalen for over twentyfive years. She is a student of childbirth,
dance, and movement. p. 23, 40, 67
Chungliang Al Huang teaches Tai Ji
philosophy, East/West synthesis, and the art
of movement meditation. He is the founderpresident of the Living Tao Foundation and
director of Lan Ting Institute in the Sacred
Mountains of China. p. 35
Terry Hunt is a licensed psychologist and
a certified bioenergetic therapist specializing
in addictive disorders and adults from dysfunctional families. He also answers relationship questions and offers a weekly chat
room at www.ivillage.com. p. 36, 67
Leigh Hyams is a painter/teachingartist at UC Berkeley Extension, JFK
University, and Atsitsa in Greece. A
Fulbright Scholar whose work has been
exhibited internationally, she leads painting
intensives and museum tours in Latin
America and Europe. p. 44
73
J
Roger Jahnke, author of The Healer
Within, has traveled to China five times to
study Qigong at parks, hospitals, temples,
and sacred sites. He has been in clinical
practice of traditional Chinese medicine for
over twenty-three years. p. 26
Eli Jaxon-Bear is the author of
Healing the Heart of Suffering and The
Enneagram and Self-Realization. He was
a keynote speaker at the First International
Enneagram Conference at Stanford in
August, 1994. p. 13, 14
Mehri Jensen specializes in relationship, “romantic rage,” and love/sex/intimacy counseling. She has a doctorate in psychology and is in private practice in Fort
Collins, Colo., for twenty years, blending
modern clinical techniques with ancient
spiritual healing arts. p. 24
Cynthia Johnson-Bianchetta is a
photographer and a movement artist with
Esalen’s Movement Arts staff. Teaching
dance and movement for thirty years, she is
a twelve-year associate of Continuum. She is
former director of the Weston Photographic
Gallery, p. 41, 53
Blackwolf Jones is an Ojibwe elder
who received the teachings of the Ojibwe
traditions for forty-five years. He is a
teacher, psychotherapist, and coauthor of
Listen to the Drum, The Healing Drum,
and Earth Dance Drum. p. 17
Constance Jones is an MFCC in private practice in Palm Springs, Calif. She
developed and instructed human sexuality
courses at Mt. San Jacinto College. She is
also a single mother. p. 40
Arthur Samuel Joseph is a teacher
and professor of voice and creator of Vocal
Awareness, a method that integrates
mind/body/spirit through the vocal arts.
He is author of Sound of the Soul:
Discovering the Power of Your Voice.
p. 50
Zoran Josipovic is a counselor, meditation teacher, and codirector of Realization
Center in Woodstock, N.Y. He is a longtime
student of Eastern contemplative traditions
and coauthor of Zen for Beginners. p. 57
K
Lynne Kaufman is an award-winning playwright whose plays have been produced at the Magic Theatre, Actors Theatre
of Louisville, and Theatreworks. She has
taught improvisation at UC Berkeley
Extension, where she is director of Travel
with Scholars. p. 55
Dharma Singh Khalsa is an integrative medical specialist, author of the
best-seller Brain Longevity, and president/
medical director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Foundation in Tucson. His current
research is on the effect of meditation on
stress-related memory loss. p. 50
74
Karen Kimsey-House has been
coaching people to excel personally and professionally since 1989. Founder and former
director of the San Francisco Learning
Annex, she is in private practice specializing
in working with entrepreneurs and start-up
companies. p. 47
Peter Levine holds doctorates in both
medical biophysics and psychology. A stress
consultant to NASA’s early space shuttle
project, he directs the Ergos Institute for
Somatic Education and is the author of
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma.
p. 24, 25
Daphne Rose Kingma is a therapist, lecturer, and teacher of relationships as
a spiritual art form. She is the best-selling
author of seven books on relationships,
including Coming Apart, Finding True
Love, and the forthcoming 9 Types of
Lovers. p. 31
Karuna Licht is a psychotherapist in
private practice interested in the use of meditation and psychotherapy. She lives in Big
Sur and has taught in the Esalen Work
Scholar Program since 1987. p. 69
Ronan Kisch, a Gestalt psychologist in
Dayton, Ohio, is the author of Beyond
Technique: The Hidden Dimensions of
Bodywork. His work blends thought, feeling, and action—past, present, and future.
p. 21
Sybil Krauter teaches Integrated
Awareness® and Cortical Field
Reeducation®. Her background is in clinical
hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming,
and education. Her focus is group field generation. p. 38
Stanley Krippner is professor of psychology at Saybrook Institute and the
California Institute of Integral Studies. He
is coauthor of Dreamworking, Dream
Telepathy, and Realms of Healing. p. 36
L
Sarah La Saulle is a psychotherapist
and teacher who specializes in healing blocks
to self-love and creativity. She is in private
practice in Santa Monica, Calif. p. 52
Leonard Laskow is a Stanfordtrained physician who has studied the healing power of love for twenty-five years. The
developer of Holoenergetic® healing, he
teaches it to the public and to health and
healing professionals internationally.
p. 17, 39
Barbara Lee has been a circlemaker for
the past eighteen years. Her primary focus is
on the heart-centered remembrance of the
Divine. She is the author of Loving
Yourself. p. 29, 39
Lenore Lefer is an MFCC and has
been a psychotherapist for over twenty-five
years. She leads women’s groups and works
with people with heart disease and cancer.
p. 56
Larry Lima is the founder/director of
The Place—A Resource Center for Men, a
New Jersey nonprofit organization. A
Gestalt therapist and certified holistic health
educator, he is a single parent and student of
two daughters. p. 60
Denise Linn is the author of nine books,
including Sacred Space and Altars. A featured guest on “Oprah” and a keynote
speaker at feng shui conferences worldwide,
she is at the forefront of the feng shui movement. p. 24
Olga Ekanandi Luchakova,
cofounder of the HridayamSM School, teaches
in the tradition of Hesychasm, Kundalini
Yoga, and Advaita Vedanta. A former medical doctor and scientist, she is on the faculty
of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology
and JFK University. p. 21
Nancy Kaye Lunney, formerly a
vocal coach and accompanist, is the originator of Singing Gestalt, which utilizes lyrics
and songs as a means of self-expression. She
is director of programming at Esalen. p. 42
Fred Luskin works at Stanford
University’s Complementary and
Alternative Medicine Program studying the
psychospiritual factors of heart disease. He is
also a licensed therapist who lectures and
conducts research on the training of forgiveness. p. 41
Susan Gordon Lydon is author of
The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual
Practice. She is an accomplished knitter
and teacher and has been a student of meditation for more than twenty years. p. 58
M
Mary Mackey is the author of four collections of poetry and eight novels, including
the recent The Fires of Spring. Her works
have sold over a million copies and been
translated into eleven languages. p. 59
George Leonard is the author of
twelve books, including Mastery, The
Ultimate Athlete, and The Way of
Aikido. He is a fifth-degree black belt in
aikido, founder of Leonard Energy Training
(LET), and president of Esalen. p. 28, 57
Helen Jerene Malcolm, artist, consultant, and teacher, works with a visionary
consulting team designing long-range vision
paintings for individual clients and Fortune
500 corporations. p. 17, 63, 69
David Levenson is the group leader
and former medical director for the Sequoia
Hospital Weight Program in Redwood City,
Calif. He is also cofounder of the Mindfulness
Based Stress Reduction program and a consultant to the hospital’s Pain Treatment
Clinic. p. 16, 33
Paul Mantee, veteran actor and published novelist, began teaching acting in
Watts, Calif., directly after the riots of 1966.
Subsequently he conducted a highly popular
and successful workshop for twenty-five
years at the Melrose Theatre in Hollywood.
p. 57
Noel Mapstead is a local fine artist
and potter. He has studied and exhibited
extensively in New York and is now at
home with Big Sur clays using traditional
firing techniques. p. 19, 32, 40, 44, 61
Jena Marcovicci is a former touring
professional tennis player (1972-1976) who
competed against Borg and Vilas. He has a
doctorate in counseling and psychology, and
a private sports psychology practice in
Richmond, Mass. p. 30
Dean Marson is a practitioner and
instructor of Esalen massage who uses selfcare techniques as a means of introducing
people to the pleasure and potential of
human touch. p. 16, 23, 40, 67
Christopher Masango has studied,
taught, and performed African music in the
U.S., Australia, Europe, and Africa. He is a
gwenyambira, one whose mbira playing
pleases the spirits. p. 46
Rujeko Masango, an accomplished
musician and dancer, was raised in the
Shona traditions. She has performed and
taught throughout North American, Africa,
and Australia. p. 46
Laurel Massé, cofounder of the
Manhattan Transfer, left the group after
seven years to pursue a successful solo performing and recording career. She currently
sings a cappella concerts and rituals, and
leads workshops in the power of song. p. 28
Charlea Massion is a family physician specializing in women’s health. She
teaches in the Division of Family and
Community Medicine at Stanford
University and is on the Board of the
American College of Women’s Health
Physicians. p. 36
Robert Maurer is Director of
Behavioral Sciences for the Family Practice
Residency Program at Santa Monica-UCLA
Medical Center. He also teaches writing
classes in creativity, storytelling, and character development at UCLA and USC. p. 61
Jeff McKay has worked as a leadership
educator since 1972, conducting programs
across North America, in Europe, and Asia.
He founded and directed the Redwood
Leadership Program at Stanford, based on
teamwork, communication, risk, and selfawareness. p. 23
Alix McLaughlin has been practicing
CranioSacral Therapy since 1986 and now
heads the Cranial Therapy Centre in
Toronto. A senior instructor for the
Upledger Institute, she teaches and lectures
internationally. p. 27
LaVerne McLeod, owner and resident weaver of Big Sur Handwovens for
twelve years, has created garments, accessories, and wall art sold throughout the
world. She was selected to exhibit at the
1992 World’s Fair in Sevilla, Spain. p. 27
Deborah Anne Medow, Esalen
workshop leader and bodywork practitioner
since 1969, teaches ashtanga yoga, massage,
creative movement, Gestalt awareness, and
related healing disciplines throughout the
U.S. and Europe. p. 24, 50
EMANUELA GARDNER
Stan Mellin has been a licensed chiropractor since 1984 and a massage practitioner since 1979. He combines joint manipulation, trigger point therapy, deep tissue massage, and exercises. In 1996 he was voted Best
Chiropractor in Monterey County. p. 58
Rabbi Goldie Milgram is associate
dean of the Academy for Jewish Religion,
the only Jewish seminary where meditation
is a formal part of the curriculum. She is
internationally known as an inspiring
teacher of Jewish spirituality. p. 43
Jill Miller is a wilderness guide, educator,
and counselor whose work has focused on
rites of passage for youth. She holds a master’s degree in transpersonal counseling with
an emphasis on ecopyschology. p. 42
Sukie Miller, former director of education at Esalen, founded the Institute for the
Study of the Afterdeath. She is the author
of After Death: Mapping the Journey
and Finding Hope When a Child Dies.
p. 30, 32
Helmut Milz is a German physician
specializing in psychotherapeutic medicine
and somatic therapies, an internationally
renowned health promotion consultant, and
author of several books on health and somatotherapy. p. 16
Phillip Moffitt, president of the Life
Balance Institute, is coauthor of The Power
to Heal, an aikido black belt, vipassana
teacher, and twenty-year yoga practitioner.
As editor-in-chief and co-owner of Esquire,
he was named one of the fifty top entrepreneurs of the 1980s. p. 33
Arthur Munyer, a trigger point specialist, has been a student and practitioner of
bodywork and emotional release for over
twenty-five years, most of them at Esalen.
He has a private practice in Carmel, Calif.
His website is www.mbay.net/~amunyer.
p. 58
Darlene Moore is a research associate
at the Institute for Advanced Psychology in
Tiburon, Calif. She has conducted special
projects and taught extended perception
workshops for the Institute throughout the
U.S., Canada, and Europe. p. 51
Alexander Murray is professor of flute
at the University of Illinois and codirector of
the Urbana-Midwest Center for the
Alexander Technique. He served for many
years as principal flute of the London
Philharmonic and the Royal Opera. p. 15
Beverly Kitaen Morse is a marriage and family counselor in private practice in Santa Monica and a senior instructor
at the Rosenberg-Kitaen Morse Institute for
Integrative Body Psychotherapy. p. 33
Elizabeth Murray, gardener, author,
artist, and photographer, was trained as an
organic gardener by Scott and Helen
Nearing. She helped restore Monet’s gardens
in Giverny, France, and is a certified
Horticultural Therapist. p. 45
Wes Nisker has practiced Buddhist
insight meditation for twenty-five years
with teachers in Asia and the West. He is
founder/editor of the Buddhist journal
Inquiring Mind and author of Buddha’s
Nature: Evolution as a Guide to
Enlightenment. p. 39
Joan Murray is codirector of the
Urbana-Midwest Center for the Alexander
Technique. A former dancer and ballet mistress, she is internationally acknowledged as
an innovative Alexander Technique teacher.
p. 15
Andy Nusbaum is a twenty-five year
member of the P.G.A., a longtime teacher,
and a founding board member of The
Shivas Irons Society. He is committed to the
mysteries, beauties, and transformative
capabilities of the game of golf. p. 55
N
O
Tom Little Bear Nason is a seventh-generation spiritual leader of the
Esselen Tribe of Big Sur and a wilderness
guide who is dedicated to helping others to
mend the sacred hoop of life. p. 44, 64
Heather Maycock Ogilvy, a psychologist in Menlo Park, Calif., has been in
private practice for twenty-five years facilitating the re-creation of self for children and
adults. She is a longtime Esalen group
leader. p. 37
Nan Moss is a faculty member of the
Foundation for Shamanic Studies. She
teaches shamanism and t’ai chi, and has a
shamanic counseling and healing practice
in Maine. p. 18
Julie Motz is an internationally known
energy healer. Her book Hands of Life
describes her work with surgical patients,
chronic disease, and at-risk teenagers. She is
founder/president of Health’s Angels, bringing alternative healing to underserved populations. p. 40, 42
Vivienne Neale is an expressive arts
therapist who has completed training at the
Tamalpa Institute. Trained in dance therapy and Gestalt therapy as well, her work
focuses on movement and creative expression as pathways to healing. p. 36, 67
Steven Newmark is a psychotherapist, author, and lecturer on singles issues.
He is the creator of the videos What
Women Really Want, The Art of
Meeting Men, and How to Meet
Women. p. 49
75
Babatunde Olatunji, master percussionist from Nigeria, has performed internationally for over thirty-five years. His album
Drums of Passion was the first stereo
album to bring African music to Western
ears. He is an authority on African religion.
p. 29
Sharon Olds teaches in New York
University’s Graduate Creative Writing
Program and is the New York State Poet
Laureate. She has published many books of
poems, including The Father, The
Wellspring, and, most recently, Blood,
Tin, Straw. p. 46, 48
Jessie O’Neill is founder/president of
the nonprofit Affluenza Healing and
Education Foundation and cofounder/partner of Acacia Clinic, a full-service psychiatric clinic. She is a certified experiential
therapist in Milwaukee, Wisc. p. 27
Judith Orloff is a psychiatrist in private practice in Los Angeles. She is assistant
clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA and
the author of Second Sight, her story of
learning to reconcile her talents as a clairvoyant with the rational world of science.
p. 60
Brita Ostrom, a licensed MFCC, has
led massage and other workshops at Esalen
for over twenty years. She is trained in
Gestalt awareness work and participated in
Esalen’s two-year somatics education project.
p. 14
P
Helen Palmer has for the past twentyfive years directed CITI, a training center
that unites psychological work with the
agendas of sacred tradition. She has authored
The Enneagram and The Enneagram in
Love and Work. p. 49, 66
Robert Chi-Noodin Palmer is an
Ojibwe descendant practicing tribal traditions, certified in child psychiatry, Gestalt,
and Radix. He is on the clinical faculty of
Stanford University’s School of Medicine
and leads workshops nationally. p. 17
Laurie Lioness Parizek has taught
and worked at Esalen for over twenty years.
She combines traditional and innovative
ways of healing and pilots Esalen Outreach
and Education, extending Esalen’s work
in the healing arts to the rest of the world.
p. 14, 56, 67
Donna Dreyer Pérez-Venero
studied the shamanic tradition of the
Hmong hill tribes in Thailand. She is a
transpersonal psychiatrist and serves on the
faculty of the University of Maryland
Medical School. p. 31
Richard Yensen Pérez-Venero
studied the shamanic tradition with Carlos
Castaneda and Maria Sabina. A psychologist, he has served on the faculties of
Harvard Medical School and Johns
Hopkins University. p. 31
76
Albert Pesso cofounded Pesso/Boyden
System Psychomotor (PBSP) therapy with
Diane Boyden-Pesso in 1961. He conducts
training programs for practicing psychotherapists throughout Europe, the U.S., and
Brazil. p. 14
Beth Pettengill-Riley has worked
with Continuum Movement for more than
twenty years. A dancer, choreographer,
teacher, and parent, she brings Continuum
into everyday life. She has taught creative
movement, yoga, dance, and Continuum
internationally. p. 41
Maggie Phillips is a psychologist in
private practice and director of the California
Institute of Clinical Hypnosis in Oakland,
Calif. She leads workshops on hypnosis and
personal growth and is coauthor of Healing
the Divided Self. p. 24, 25
Char Pias, Esalen massage staff member
since 1980, is a facilitator and founding
member of the Esalen Arts Center. She is a
licensed minister of the Center for Spiritual
Healing in Tiburon, Calif. p. 18, 53
Pablo Piekar has been practicing bodywork for ten years. He is a member of the
Esalen massage staff and has a background
in psychology. p. 19, 50
Amy Pine, an expressive arts therapist
from Santa Cruz, Calif., has been leading
groups, workshops, and professional trainings for over fifteen years. She is coauthor
of the forthcoming book As You Like It:
The Power and Joy of Your Erotic Self.
p. 14
Marianne Preger-Simon is a psychotherapist in private practice in Whately,
Mass. She is a consultant and workshop
leader, author of many articles, a dancer,
musician, wife, stepmother, mother, and
grandmother. p. 50
David Presti is a clinical psychologist
and psychopharmacologist who works in
alcohol and drug abuse treatment at the
San Francisco VA Medical Center and
teaches in the Division of Neurobiology at
the University of California in Berkeley.
p. 56
Christine Stewart Price is a teacher
and ongoing student of Gestalt Awareness
Practice and other approaches to developing
awareness. p. 22, 23, 49, 59
Johanna Putnoi is a somatic educator
who has led workshops in Lomi Work since
1980. Currently she teaches the Enneagram
in conjunction with somatics to bodyworkers, actors, and executives, and has a private
practice in Menlo Park, Calif. p. 51
Q
Armando Quiros was a Catholic
priest and clinical director for two alcoholism and drug agencies for over twenty
years. Now married with a Jewish wife, he
has opened himself radically to Judaism and
is writing a memoir of his spiritual journey.
p. 37
R
S
Gustavo Rabin is a clinical psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area who
focuses on relationships, life’s transitions,
and spiritual creativity. He also consults to
organizations on leadership development
and strategic planning. p. 28
Stèphano Sabetti, founder of the Life
Energy Process®, has a doctorate in psychology and trains therapists internationally. He
is also an organizational consultant. p. 17,
19
Shiva Rea has been living yoga for seventeen years. Her teachings synthesize
Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga with Iyengar yoga,
bodywork, and dance. She leads workshops
and adventure retreats worldwide. p. 54
Brenda Schaeffer is an international
teacher, psychologist, and addictions specialist whose passion is to put soul back into psychology. She is author of Is It Love or Is It
Addiction. p. 21, 69
Paul Rebillot, a group leader at Esalen
for more than twenty years, combines
Gestalt methodology with theater and ritual. He teaches in Europe and throughout the
U.S. p. 35
Joe Schaller is a psychotherapist specializing in family therapy, trauma, and
addictions, with additional formal training
in spirituality and theology. He is a certified
teacher of the Enneagram in the Oral
Tradition with Helen Palmer®. p. 49
Patricia Reis is the author of
Daughters of Saturn: From Father’s
Daughter to Creative Woman and
Through the Goddess: A Woman’s Way
of Healing. She has a private psychotherapy practice for women in Yarmouth, Maine.
p. 60
Howard Schechter integrates a variety of Eastern and Western psychological
and spiritual traditions. He is founder and
former chairman and professor of the
Department of Organization Development
at the California Institute of Integral
Studies. p. 29, 39
Rhiannon is an acclaimed jazz
singer/improviser/storyteller as well as an
inspiring vocal teacher. Her current performing and teaching collaborations include
Bobby McFerrin and Robert Hall. p. 21
David Schiffman is a longtime group
leader at Esalen. His primary interest is in
facilitating people in transition toward a
more heartful, unstrained existence. p. 28,
29, 40, 44, 58, 64, 70
Tracey Rich has earned the title of Yoga
Acharya and is the associate director of the
White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara,
Calif. She trains teachers and students and
leads seminars nationally. p. 50
Peter Schumacher is a San
Francisco psychotherapist who combines
extensive experience in body-oriented therapies with mindfulness practice and new
visions in the arts, philosophy, and physical
sciences to enhance personal creativity and
growth. p. 57
Cathy Richardson is a professional
artist who works mostly in metals in her
studio on the Northern California coast. For
thirty years her involvement in metalworking has been her journey into the creative,
“translating stories of the soul.” p. 57
David Richo has a doctorate in clinical
psychology and is the author of How To Be
An Adult, When Love Meets Fear, and
Unexpected Miracles: The Gifts of
Synchronicity. He emphasizes Jungian
and Buddhist themes to integrate psychological and spiritual work. p. 49
William Roll is professor of psychology
and psychical research at the State
University of West Georgia and a lay Zen
monk. He is the author of the classic The
Poltergeist and more than 100 research
articles. p. 25
Jack Rosenberg is a psychologist and
director of the Rosenberg-Kitaen Morse
Institute of Integrative Body Psychotherapy
in Venice, Calif. He is the author of Body,
Self, and Soul. p. 33
Ilana Rubenfeld, thirty-five-year pioneer in the integration of body-mind-spirit
and originator of the Rubenfeld Synergy®
Method, is a certified teacher of Alexander
Technique, Feldenkrais Method®, and
trained with Fritz and Laura Perls in
Gestalt Practice. p. 13
Rabbi David Seidenberg is a graduate of New York’s Jewish Theological
Seminary and is completing a doctoral dissertation on Kabbalah and ecology. He
teaches widely on Torah, traditional spiritual practices, and ecology, and is a longtime
student of Buddhism and Taoism. p. 52
Charlotte Selver, student of Elsa
Gindler, introduced sensory awareness in
the U.S. and has been closely connected with
Esalen and the San Francisco Zen Center
since their beginnings. p. 36
Phyllis Shankman is a licensed therapist in Southern California and a longtime
Esalen group leader. She offers retreats and
seminars on self-esteem, creativity, and spirituality. p. 19, 47, 70
Paula Shaw, a professional actress and
acting teacher for over twenty years, conducts workshops in expanding self-expression, well-being, and creativity for nonactors across the United States and Canada.
p. 30, 32
Judith Sherven, clinical psychologist,
and husband James Sniechowski, authors of
the bestselling The New Intimacy:
Discovering the Magic at the Heart of
Your Differences, host their own national
call-in talk-radio show for Wisdom Radio
Network. p. 62
Leonard Shlain is the author of Art
and Physics: Parallel Visions in Space,
Time, and Light and a contributor to the
Encyclopedia of Creativity. He is the
Chief of Laparoscopic Surgery at CaliforniaPacific Medical Center in San Francisco.
p. 22
Julian Silverman has had successful
careers as a scientist, people-helper, educator,
and organizational consultant. He harmonizes individual development and community-building techniques with Gestalt
awareness training and age-old spiritual
principles. p. 50, 52
Keiko Suga is a ceramic artist whose
focus is on traditional pottery-making techniques using local clays. p. 19, 32, 40, 44,
61
Ray Swartley is a wholistic-somatic
massage practitioner, herbalist, gardener,
and trailblazer. An Esalen massage crew
and teaching staff member for nine years, he
focuses on breath use, passive circular movement, and subtle yet deep structural-tissue
contact. p. 30, 67
Sara Szpektor is a clinical psychologist
and director of Open Mind, a bilingual/
Spanish counseling center in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla. She works with couples and groups,
combining Gestalt practices, strategic counseling, and spiritual development. p. 28
Gerald Smith is a licensed psychologist
in private practice in San Mateo, Calif. He
has authored two books on relationships,
Couple Therapy and Hidden Meanings,
and has led workshops at Esalen for thirty
years. p. 21
T
Huston Smith is widely regarded as
the most eloquent and accessible contemporary authority on the history of religions. A
leading figure on the comparative philosophy of religion, he has taught at MIT and
the University of California, Berkeley.
p. 35
Mikela Tarlow, author of Navigating
the Future, has helped individuals creatively envision their future for fifteen years.
With a masters in psychology and doctoral
work in applied anthropology, she blends
indigenous teachings with cutting-edge scientific research. p. 18
James Sniechowski and wife Judith
Sherven, authors of The New Intimacy:
Discovering the Magic at the Heart of
Your Differences, host their own national
call-in talk-radio show for Wisdom Radio
Network. He has a doctorate in human
behavior. p. 62
Philip Tarlow, coauthor of Navigating
the Future, has led workshops throughout
the U.S. and Europe. He is also an internationally recognized fine artist with work in
major corporate and museum collections.
p. 18
Robert Solomon is a professor at the
University of Texas and has been giving
seminars at Esalen for sixteen years. He is
the author of many books, including The
Passions and About Love. p. 37
John Soper is a Gestalt practitioner
with a background in international business. He is deeply aware of the need to
improve the environment. p. 70
Heinz Stark is a psychotherapist in private practice in Germany and a workshop
leader since 1972. His practice incorporates
art, bioenergetics, Gestalt, postural integration, and shamanic practices. He teaches
Bert Hellinger’s work in Europe and the
U.S. p. 21
Gail Stewart directs reSource, a bodywork training and continuing education
program in Berkeley, Calif. She teaches and
practices massage, Trager, and Reichian
approaches. p. 59
David Streeter, a certified sports massage practitioner on the Esalen massage
staff, has taught yoga and anatomy and
worked as an athletic trainer. Before joining
the Esalen faculty, he lived as a Camaldolese
monk. p. 26, 57, 63
Tina Stromsted is cofounder and faculty at the Authentic Movement Institute in
Berkeley. With a background in dance and
theater, she has over twenty years of clinical
experience in hospitals, mental health facilities, private practice, and retreat centers.
p. 35
Jeremy Taylor has taught dreamwork
in the U.S., Canada, and Europe for over
twenty-five years. Past president of the
Association for the Study of Dreams, he has
written three books integrating dream symbolism, mythology, and archetypal energy.
p. 45
Vicki Topp is a senior practitioner and
instructor of Esalen massage and somatic
bodywork. She teaches workshops and training groups internationally and is a student
of Body-Mind Centering®. p. 15, 30, 67
V
Attila Thomas Vaas has been a
member of the Esalen massage staff since
1976. His skills include polarity, acupressure, and Esalen’s free-form style of massage.
p. 18
Sietze VanDerHeide is a clinical
psychologist in private practice in Los
Angeles and a faculty member at Ryokan
College. He specializes in neuropsychology,
behavioral medicine, and interpersonal relations, focusing on the integration of psychotherapy and neurophysiology. p. 39
Bessel van der Kolk is a clinician,
researcher, and teacher in the area of Post
Traumatic Stress. His book Traumatic
Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming
Experience on Mind, Body, and Society
(coedited with A. McFarlane) is the premier
text on the subject. p. 14
Jean-Claude van Itallie has written more than thirty plays and musicals,
including America Hurrah, The Tibetan
Book of the Dead, and translations of four
major plays of Chekhov. A critically
acclaimed performer as well, he is a longtime student of Tibetan Buddhism. p. 32
Laura Whitworth has worked with
hundreds of entrepreneurs and professionals
as a personal and executive coach. A
cofounder of the Personal and Professional
Coaches Association, she has helped to formalize the principles and ethics of the coaching profession. p. 47
Robert Venosa is considered one of the
outstanding masters of Fantastic Realism.
His work has been the subject of three books,
Manas Manna, Noospheres, and the
recent Illuminatus (with Terence
McKenna). p. 54
Ian Wickramasekera is a psychophysiologist and professor of psychology
at Saybrook Institute. He has made important contributions to mind/body science for
over thirty years, for which he has received
the Salvador Dali and the Morton Prince
Awards. p. 62
W
Anna Wise has been training brainwaves for high performance and meditative
states for over twenty years. A member of the
Academy of Certified Neurotherapists, she is
the author of The High-Performance
Mind: Mastering Brainwaves for
Insight, Healing, and Creativity. p. 49
Robert Walter, Joseph Campbell’s editor for a decade, is director of the Joseph
Campbell Foundation and a poet/playwright with over twenty years’ experience as
a teacher, publisher, and theatrical producer/director/designer. p. 37
Carlos Warter is a medical doctor, psychotherapist, and lecturer on mind/body/
spirit healing. He has authored thirteen
books, including Who Do You Think You
Are? The Healing Power of Your Sacred
Self; Soul Remembers; and Recovery of
the Sacred. p. 34
Ellen Watson teaches massage and
movement at Esalen where she has worked
and studied since 1984. Her work incorporates spiritual healing, hypnosis, Holotropic
breathwork, and the use of essential oils. She
coordinates the Esalen Movement Arts
Program. p. 57, 70
Jamie Weinstein is an ordained rabbi
and psychotherapist who trained with Fritz
Perls and has led human potential seminars
for the last thirty years. He is the founder of
Innerquest Institute. p. 69
Hank Wesselman teaches anthropology at American River College and Sierra
College in northern California. His books,
Spiritwalker and Medicinemaker,
describe his investigations into the shamanic realms of magic, mysticism, and meaning.
p. 61
Gordon Wheeler is senior faculty at
the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and
author of Gestalt Reconsidered. He writes
and trains extensively in the Gestalt model,
focusing on men’s issues, intimacy and
shame, and building interpersonal support
systems. p. 42
Nina Wise is a performance artist whose
provocative and original works have been
honored with seven Bay Area Critics’ Circle
awards and three National Endowment for
the Arts fellowships. Her written pieces have
appeared in numerous magazines. p. 63
Ann Wolken learned to paint at her
mother’s knee and believes that painting is
an extension of the breath and body. She
painted her first mural at sixteen, and has
done many public art projects, including a
mural in downtown Los Angeles. p. 22
Marion Woodman is a widely published Jungian analyst, lecturer, and workshop leader in North America and Europe.
p. 30
Ross Woodman is a Shelley scholar
who has published widely in the field of the
English Romantic poets as well as in the
fields of contemporary art and spirituality.
p. 30
Z
Zuleikha is a dancer, teacher, and performer known for her one-woman shows as
well as for collaborative performances with
musicians and artists around the world.
p. 15
Richard Wheeler is a senior structural integration practitioner and student of
Dr. Ida P. Rolf who has been exploring the
evolutionary foundations of structural integration since 1971. p. 38
Ganga White, Yogi, author, and
teacher, has practiced and taught internationally for over thirty years. Founder of the
White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara,
Calif., he trains teachers and holds the titles
of Yoga Acharya and Yogiraj. p. 50
77
Q
reservation information
Making Contact with Us
Mail or Fax: The most efficient way to
payment is due five days before arrival.
(Please see page 79 for information on discounts and reduced rate options.)
register for a workshop at Esalen is to fax
or mail your reservation. If you fax your
reservation, be sure to include accurate
credit card information.
Please indicate your second choice for a workshop in case your first choice is cancelled and
we are unable to reach you.
Esalen’s Fax: 831-667-2724
Esalen Institute reserves the right to cancel any
program at any time.
(Our fax line is exclusively for reservations—
no personal correspondence, please.)
Phone: If you prefer to make your reserva-
tion by phone, please be prepared with your
completed reservation form, workshop dates
and leaders, and your credit card. We know
that all calls to Esalen are long-distance and
will try to be as efficient as possible.
General Information: 831-667-3000
Express Reservations: 831-667-3000
(Express reservations are for those who have previously taken a workshop at Esalen and know
the workshop, date, and leader of the workshop
for which they are registering. Dial extension
7321.)
All Other Reservations: 831-667-3005
Catalog Requests: 831-667-3000, ext. 7100
Messages: 831-667-3000, ext. 7402
(to leave a message for a seminar participant or
room and board guest.)
Phone Reservation Hours:*
Mon., Tues., Thur.:
10 am to 7 pm
Wednesday:
10 am to 12 noon
Friday:
10 am to 5 pm
Saturday:
10 am to 3 pm
Sunday:
12 noon to 5 pm
*The reservation office is closed on Christmas
and New Year’s Day.
Workshop Accommodations
Please Note: Workshop fees cover
tuition, food, and lodging. Fees are
subject to change without notice.
All accommodations are shared. We
cannot guarantee requests for singles.
Standard Accommodations: This is shared
housing, two or three persons per room. In
some cases, bathrooms are shared. Couples
will always be housed together. The rates listed
with the workshop descriptions throughout
the catalog refer to these shared standard
accommodations.
7-Day Rate,
per person
5-Day Rate,
per person
Weekend Rate,
per person
$1370
$885
$485
Bunk Bed Rooms: This is shared housing,
four or more persons per room. There are a
limited number of these spaces, which are
reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
$1020
$660
$360
Fees
Sleeping Bags: Meeting rooms are sometimes used as shared sleeping bag space and
may be available for workshop participants
with limited financial means. Sleeping bag
spaces are for sleeping only, as meeting rooms
are frequently in use and therefore inaccessible
between 10 am and 10 pm. There is a 7-day
limit on sleeping bag stays.
$655
$425
$230
Fees and Reservations: Preregistration, by
fax, mail, or phone, is required prior to arrival.
A registration form is provided on page 80.
Since workshops fill quickly, it is advisable to
sign up as early as possible. In order to reserve
a space in any workshop, we require full payment or the following deposits:
Own Accommodations: If you are staying
off the property the following rates apply:
$805
$520
$285
Camping on the grounds, either in tents or
campers, is prohibited. We do not have parking space to accommodate RVs.
World Wide Web: http://www.esalen.org
Weekend:
$150
5 to 7 days: $300
12 to 14 days: $400
19 to 21 days: $450
More than 21 days:
$600
Deposits are payable in U.S. currency only.
Overseas residents must pay by checks drawn
on U.S. banks or use a credit card. Balance of
78
We would like to remind you that scholarship
assistance is available; refer to Scholarship
Information as well as Reduced Rate Options
and Discounts for other economical ways of
staying at Esalen.
Room and Board
Occasionally, when beds aren’t needed for
seminarians, room and board is available. This
gives visitors the opportunity to enjoy the
grounds, the baths, and massage without participating in a workshop. Accommodations
are standard (2 or 3 per room) or bunk bed (4
or more per room). Not all rooms have private
baths. Room and board rates include dinner
on the day of arrival and breakfast and lunch
on the following day. We require full payment
at the time of reservation. This payment is
nonrefundable and nontransferable.
Note: Room and Board reservations must be made
by phone with a reservation specialist, not by fax.
For a room and board stay between Sunday
and Thursday, please call us no earlier than
the Thursday before for room availability. For
a Friday or Saturday night stay, please call no
earlier than the Sunday before. The following
rates are per person, per day.*
Weekend
(Friday and
Saturday nights)
Weekday
(Sunday through
Thursday nights)
Standard Accommodations (2 or 3 per room):
$150
$130
Bunk Bed (4 or more per room):
$95
$90
*Off-season rates are in effect from October 1
through March 31, holidays excepted.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation and Refund Policy:
Cancellations must be made by phone with
one of our reservation staff. If you cancel or
change any part of your reservation at least
five full days before the start of your workshop(s), your nonrefundable deposit, less a
$30-per-workshop processing fee, will be
transferred to a credit account to be used
within one year. (“Five full days” means by
Tuesday before a Sunday workshop and by
Sunday before a Friday workshop.) If you
cancel with less than five days’ notice, you
forfeit your entire deposit. If you have prepaid
your entire reservation fee, we will retain the
deposit, as above, less the $30 processing fee,
and return the balance to you. (Please note:
Wilderness Programs has a different cancellation and refund policy.)
Scholarship Information
Esalen is able to provide some scholarship
assistance to workshop participants in exchange
for a work commitment (usually in the kitchen).
Approved scholarship recipients will receive
their work schedules upon arrival at Esalen.
Assistance
Weekend
5-9 days
$ 50
$100
Work
4 hours
8 hours
If additional scholarship assistance is required,
please send a letter of explanation to:
Scholarships at Esalen. Due to the number of
requests we receive, we can only provide one
scholarship per person per year.
Reduced Rate Options
and Discounts
If you pay in full at the time you make your
reservation, you will receive a $10 prepayment
discount per workshop and be eligible for
express check-in upon arrival. This discount
does not apply to scholarship recipients, sleeping bag accommodations, own accommodations, or the Ongoing Residence Program.
Senior Citizen Discount: Esalen offers a
special discount to individuals over 65 years
of age. The discount for a weekend workshop
is $25; for a five-day or longer program, it’s
$50. Please request this discount at the time
of registration. When you complete the reservation form on page 80, please indicate the
discounts for which you qualify. If you qualify, and you make your reservation by phone,
be sure to ask for this discount. (Please note:
Senior discounts are not available for the
Work Study Program.)
Accommodations for Families: Two full-
The Gazebo School Park
Early Childhood Program
The Gazebo School Park is a unique educational experience for children one to six years. It is
open year-round and has an average of 15 to
20 children in attendance each day.
The Early Childhood Program is available to
seminarians who would like child care at
Esalen. Child care is provided during workshop hours only. Daytime activities for the
children include gardening, pony rides, learning about animal care, exploring nature, a real
boat, the magic castle, and an Indian tepee.
Evenings are spent with a teacher in the
Gazebo Farmhouse, engaged in activities that
are age-appropriate, such as reading, learning
and playing with the computer, baking, arts
and crafts, or building-block play.
Reservations should be made at least a month
in advance. Call the Gazebo Farmhouse,
831-667-3026, for more information and
reservations.
Weekend: $250 Week: $450
Internship Program: This is a three-month
program for those who wish to have intense
exposure to life at the Gazebo School Park and
its unique educational resources. The Internship Program offers experience with children,
the Gazebo environment, and its teaching philosophy. Applicants must have completed at
least three work scholar months at Esalen
before being considered for this program.
Call the Gazebo Farmhouse, 831-667-3026,
for more information or reservations.
1st month $450/2nd month $400/3rd month $350
Seminarians as Volunteers
paying adults housed in standard accommodations may have their children in the room
for a meal charge of $20 per child per day
($10 for children under six). Note: If children are enrolled in Gazebo School Park or an
Esalen workshop, additional fees are required.
Contact the Gazebo, 831-667-3026, for
information regarding their fees.
Seminarians in residence at Esalen are invited
to contribute one or two hours per week to
work with the staff, usually in the kitchen.
Your help enables us to meet the pressures of
peak working times and enables you to experience Esalen from the inside out.
Workshops for Families: Participating fam-
Transportation to Esalen
ilies will pay full workshop rates for the first
two participants (adult or child). Each additional participant will pay the following rate:
Weekend
5-day
$130
$270
Ridesharing: We would like to encourage
ridesharing to reduce the number of cars on
the road and at Esalen. See the reservation
form on page 80 for ridesharing options.
Van Service: On Fridays and Sundays we
Additional sleeping mats and bedding will be
provided for each room.
have van service from the Monterey Airport
at approximately 4 pm and from the Monterey
Transit Plaza (corner of Pearl and Alvarado,
next to Ordway Drug) at approximately
4:20 pm. If you plan to use this service, please
inform the Esalen office at least 24 hours
prior to your arrival. The $30 one-way fee
(subject to change) is payable to the Esalen
office when you check in. Return reservations
may be made at that time. The only departing
van service from Esalen is on Fridays and
Sundays at approximately 6:30 pm. If you plan
to use this departure service, please make sure
that your plane reservations are after 8 pm.
Schedules
Check-in/Check-out and Meals: Rooms
become available at 4 pm; however, guests are
welcome to arrive anytime after 2 pm. Weekend
programs begin with dinner on Friday and end
with brunch on Sunday. Five-day and longer
programs begin with dinner on Friday or Sunday and end with lunch on Friday or Sunday.
Check-out time is noon on departure day.
Workshops: Workshop sessions normally
begin at 8:30 on the first evening and end at
noon on the final day.
For Your Information
Health Services: There are no medical ser-
vices or pharmaceutical supplies available at
Esalen. If you will require medical attention
or supplies during your stay, please come
prepared to administer to your own needs.
Esalen is 45 miles from the nearest medical
facility or pharmacy.
Money: We are unable to act as a banking
service. Please bring adequate funds for your
stay.
Flashlight: Please bring a flashlight for use at
night while walking on the grounds.
Snoring: All of our accommodations are
shared. You or your roommate may snore.
Please come prepared (nose guards, ear
plugs, etc.) for this possibility.
Smoking: Smoking is not permitted in any
of our accommodations or meeting rooms.
Illegal Drugs: In accordance with state and
federal laws, the possession or use of illegal
drugs on Esalen grounds is strictly prohibited.
Guests: Seminarians are not allowed guests
on the property during their stay.
Pets: No pets are allowed on the property.
Lost and Found: To inquire about items left
behind from your Esalen visit, call 831-667-3019.
79
S
esalen institute reservation form
phone number. A nonrefundable deposit for each person registering
and each workshop applied for must accompany this form. (Please see
Reservation Information, page 78, under Fees and Reservations,
Making Contact with Us, and Cancellation and Refund Policy.)
This form is for your convenience in reserving a space in Esalen workshops. If you wish to make reservations for more than one person,
please photocopy this form so that each registrant has his/her own
form, unless you are registering as a couple with the same address and
Name of Registrant___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE PRINT
Sex: M o F o Couple o
Address _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
City ______________________________________________________________________________________
State __________________________________________________
Zip _______________________________
Home Phone ( __________ ) ____________________________________________________________
Work Phone ( __________ )___________________________________________________________________
o Check if you have previously been to Esalen and this is a new address.
Passenger Van Service:
Ridesharing: If you are driving to Esalen and willing to give a ride to someone
from your area, check here o ; if you need a ride, check here o .
Occasionally there are unexpected situations that require us to contact you immediately
before your stay here. If you will not be at the above numbers during the two weeks prior
to the workshop, where may we reach you?
I want transportation from (check one):
o Monterey Airport at approximately 4:00 pm on
___________________________________________________________________________________
(date of arrival, Fridays and Sundays only).
o Monterey Transit Plaza at approximately 4:20 pm
(corner of Pearl and Alvarado, next to Ordway Drug)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please mark your first and second choices for housing after referring to page 78 for accommodation descriptions and rates. Total cost includes workshop fees, lodging, and meals.
o
o
o
o
Check for standard accommodations, if available.
of the passenger van service change after you have made
your reservation, please notify us. The only departing van
Check for bunk bed room, if available.
Check for sleeping bag space, if available.
service from Esalen is on Fridays and Sundays at approximately
6:30 pm. If you plan on taking this limo please make sure that
your plane reservations are after 8:00 pm. Passenger van service is
not available at any other time.
Check if you wish to room as a couple.
Write here the name(s) of any person(s) with whom you wish to room.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Other Notes:
All workshop reservations require a nonrefundable deposit. Balance is due five days
before arrival. (See page 78.) Your signature below authorizes Esalen to charge your credit
card for the balance.
Workshop Date
The $30-per-person charge (subject to change) is payable on
arrival at Esalen. Please prepare to arrive at the airport well before
4:00pm so you do not miss our van. Esalen cannot be responsible
for taxi fare or other transportation costs. If your plans for use
Leader’s Name
Fee
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All of our rooms are non-smoking. If you smoke, please plan to
do so outside.
No pets allowed.
We are unable to act as a banking service for our guests. Please
bring adequate funds for your stay.
o We occasionally make our mailing list available to other organizations who have services, information, or events that might
be of interest to our subscribers. Please check here if you prefer that your name be used for Esalen mailings only.
o Check here if you do not want your phone number given out
Workshop Deposits Enclosed __________________________
Tax-deductible contribution to Esalen (Optional) __________________________
$5 Catalog Contribution (Optional) __________________________
Subtotal __________________________
Total Amount Enclosed __________________________
o
o
o
o
Check here for $10 prepay discount (see page 79).
Check here if this is your first visit to Esalen.
Check here if you need directions to Esalen.
Check here if you are a senior.
Card No. ____________________________________________________________________________
Expiration Date __________________________________________________________________
RES INITIALS
CIRCLE DEPOSIT CC
DEPOSIT AMT.
RES. BK
CC AUTH. #
DATE TYPED
TYPED INITIALS
80
Please make checks payable to Esalen Institute, in U.S. currency
only. (There will be a $15 fee for returned checks.) Overseas residents must pay by checks drawn on U.S. banks or with one of the
charge cards below. Checks or credit card information must
accompany the reservations form. Or, you may fax this form to us
at 831-667-2724. If you do so, you must include payment
via one of the credit cards below.
Your reservation can be charged to:
o MasterCard
o Visa
o American Express
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
DATE REC.
for ridesharing.
PP
SCHOL
CK
LIMO
CA
SUS
SENIOR
Authorizing Signature _________________________________________________________
Thank you for your reservation. As soon as it is processed you will
receive by return mail a receipt for your deposit and a notice of
confirmation. Please review your confirmation for accuracy.
Esalen Institute is a center to encourage work in the
humanities and sciences that promotes human values
and potentials. Its activities consist of public seminars,
residential work-study programs, invitational conferences, research, and semi-autonomous projects.
Esalen Institute
Highway 1
Big Sur, California 93920-9616
Address Service Requested
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PA I D
San Francisco, CA
Permit No. 2

January 2000 Esalen Catalog

Transcription

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