January 2008 Esalen Catalog

The Esalen Catalog
January– June 2008
®
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
January – June 2008
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
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contents
Volume xlvii, Number 1
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, California 93920-9546
Catalog Requests: 831-667-3000,
ext. 7100
Esalen Board of Trustees:
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Alyce Faye Eichelberger-Cleese
Juliet Johnson ex officio
Mary Ellen Klee
Nancy Lunney-Wheeler ex officio
David Lustig
Anisa Mehdi
Michael Murphy
Lyle Poncher
Marilyn Schlitz
Gordon Wheeler
Sam Yau
President & CEO:
Gordon Wheeler
Esalen Catalog Staff:
Catalog Subscription Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Gazebo School Park Early Childhood Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Esalen Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Friends of Esalen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Continuing Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Guide to Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Seminar Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Esalen Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Special Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Work Study Program and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82-85
Biographical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Reservation Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Scholarship Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Reservation Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Editor: Peter Friedberg
Administrative Liaison: Kinga Pfeifer
Design &Production: Terry McGrath
The Esalen Catalog is published
biannually by the Esalen Institute,
Big Sur, California 93920-9546.
Printed on recycled paper.
©2007 Esalen Institute. All rights
reserved. ISSN 1088-2782
Subscription Information:
Subscription cost for one year is $15
for the United States 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.
cover art: Nicholas Wilton
www.nicholaswiltonpaintings.com
See Nicholas Wilton’s workshop description on page 59.
I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that
life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.
—Rabindranath Tagore, philosopher, author, painter,
composer, Nobel laureate (1861–1941)
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This catalog is printed on New Leaf Opaque, made
with 100% post-consumer waste, processed chlorine
free. By using this environmentally friendly paper,
Esalen saved the following resources:
trees: 197 fully grown
energy: 141 million BTUs
water: 84,518 gallons
greenhouse gases: 18,435 lbs.
solid waste: 9,451 lbs.
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general information
T
he esalen institute was founded in 1962 as an alternative educational center devoted to the exploration of
what Aldous Huxley called the “human
potential,” the world of unrealized human
capacities that lies beyond the imagination.
Esalen 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 the spectacular
Big Sur coastline with the Santa Lucia
Mountains rising sharply behind.
There are various ways to experience Esalen,
ranging from an overnight visit to a long-term
stay as a seminarian. The weekend and fiveday 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.
Another way of being at Esalen which allows a
greater involvement at a lower expense is the
Work Study Program, an intensive monthlong
work-oriented program for individuals who
want to make a directed commitment to selfexploration and growth, and a contribution to
the Esalen community. For a full description of
the Work Study Program, please turn to page 82.
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.
Yet another way to experience Esalen is a
Personal Retreat (available on a limited basis),
which gives guests the opportunity to nourish body, mind, heart, and soul without participating in an Esalen workshop. Those on
Personal Retreat may use the baths, attend
yoga and movement classes, meditate in the
Round House, create in the Art Barn, and
enjoy the Esalen grounds.
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.
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.
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.
Accreditation and
Continuing Education
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.
Esalen is a provider of continuing education
for psychologists, MFTs, LCSWs, nurses, and
bodyworkers. See page 5 for details.
The Gazebo Early Learning
Project: Programs for Children
There are two Gazebo programs for children:
1) the Gazebo School and 2) the Gazebo
Children’s Workshop. The Gazebo School
Park, founded in 1977, is a unique educational
experience for children one to six years. It is
licensed, open year-round, and has an average
of 15-20 children in attendance each day,
Monday through Friday. Visitors to Esalen may
enroll their child during their stay at Esalen.
dren of parents attending an Esalen seminar.
The program’s hours match parents’ workshop
hours. Daytime activities include gardening,
animal care, exploring nature, and imaginative
play on a real boat or in the Magic Castle.
Evenings are spent with a teacher in the
Gazebo Farmhouse, engaged in age-appropriate activities such as reading, computers, baking, arts and crafts, or building-block play. See
page 95 for Gazebo reservation information.
Disabled Access
Here at Esalen, many of our paths, though
paved, are extremely steep due to our cliffside
location. We are in the process of increasing
our disability access; however, access to some
parts of our property remains difficult.
Nonetheless, we are committed to accommodating guests who have disabilities. If you
have a disability and think you might need
assistance during your stay at Esalen, please
discuss your needs when making your reservation, at least 72 hours in advance of your
arrival, so that we can best accommodate your
needs. If you are in need of sign language
interpretation for an Esalen workshop, please
notify us at least 2 weeks prior to your workshop to enable us to arrange for an interpreter.
In all cases, we will do our best to meet your
needs.
Friends of Esalen
We invite you to become a Friend of Esalen.
Your donation of $50 or more will benefit our
programs and help build Esalen’s long-term
financial base (see page 4). As a Friend of
Esalen you will receive the following benefits:
• A $50 reduction in tuition for all workshops
over the next 12 months
• Friends of Esalen newsletters and the Esalen
Catalog for one year
• Eligible to book Personal Retreats at Esalen
• A tax deduction under IRS section 501(c)3
for the amount of the donation
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.
The Gazebo Children’s Workshop is for chil3
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esalen notes
On-line Reservations
Available
uals and groups who would like to design
their own program, drawing on Esalen’s
leaders and other resources.
You can register for Esalen programs on-line
at Esalen’s website, www.esalen.org. Workshops
appear on the Web before the Catalog is
printed.
We schedule all conferences at least one year
in advance. To schedule or for more information, please contact conference coordinator
Laura Doherty at 831-667-3028.
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 of up to
130 on a space-available basis.
Smaller groups may schedule private conferences to meet in one of several meeting
rooms, including, for an additional fee, the
Big House. Ten bedrooms, nine bathrooms,
a kitchen, dining room, and meeting room
make it possible to house group members
together, thereby enhancing the retreat environment. This facility is available for individ-
Unofficial Website for the
Global Esalen Community
In an effort to provide ongoing support for
individuals who have lived, worked, and/or
studied at Esalen, an informal collective of
former Esalen staff, work scholars, and seminarians have joined to form the seeds of a
global grassroots Esalen Alumni Group at
www.iThou.org. Daily meditation, weekly
weather reports, and the talking stick tradition are some of the practices available to
anyone who has been touched by the spirit
of Esalen.
Point Houses Available
to Esalen Guests
Esalen’s Mid-Point House and North-Point
House are available as upgraded accommodation alternatives for seminarians and Personal
Retreat guests. Nestled behind the lush
Esalen Garden at the edge of the coastal cliff,
both Point Houses feature a redwood deck
overlooking the Pacific, a comfortably furnished living room, and a full kitchen.
For details, please call the Esalen office at
831-667-3005.
Esalen Movement Arts
Free Classes
The Esalen Movement Arts Program has
evolved into a popular and varied schedule
of movement and meditation classes. Every
day of the week, classes are open to everyone
at Esalen, guests and staff, and all levels of
experience. Check the Movement Program
schedule when you are here.
the friends of esalen
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A
s a Friend of Esalen you can help ensure Esalen’s
place in the world. It is through the generosity
of friends like you that Esalen can continue its
mission of developing human potential. Your
support not only benefits current programs but helps secure
Esalen’s long-term financial future. Donations are tax-deductible
and provide support for the scholarship fund, the movement
program, Gazebo School, special projects such as renovations
and equipment replacement, and Esalen’s visionary Center
for Theory and Research.
As a way of showing our gratitude, Friends who donate $50
or more will receive a $50 reduction on all catalog workshops
for the next twelve months. Donors will also receive the
Esalen Catalog and a triannual Friends of Esalen newsletter
for one year and be eligible to book a Personal Retreat at
Esalen.
Many Friends choose to make Esalen a part of their longrange plans by including a bequest or deferred gift to Esalen
in their estate plans. A charitable bequest is one of the easiest
ways you can give that will make a lasting difference to the
Institute.
If you would like further information on donating to Esalen,
please contact Nancy Worcester at 831-667-3032.
4
❑ Friends Circle.......................$50+
❑ Hot Springs Circle............$200+
❑ Sustaining Circle...............$500+
❑ Benefactors Circle .........$1,000+
❑ Founders Circle..............$5,000+
❑ Partners Circle ................$15,000+
❑ Anniversary Circle ........$30,000+
❑ Coast Circle......................$50,000+
❑ Trustees Circle ..............$100,000+
Name_________________________________________________ Phone_______________________
Address _______________________________________________________________________________
City _________________________________________ State ____________ Zip ________________
E-mail _________________________________________________________________________________
Please make checks payable to Esalen Institute, in U.S. currency
drawn on a U.S. bank, or use one of the charge cards listed below:
❑ MasterCard
❑ Visa
❑ American Express
Amount________________ Card No._________________________________________________
Signature____________________________________________ Exp. Date __________________
Please complete this form or the inside flap of the envelope insert included in the
catalog and return with your gift. Check the box on the outside of the envelope
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.
continuing education programs
E
salen is approved by the American Psychological Association
to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. (Esalen
maintains responsibility for this program and its content;
California psychologists are required to report their hours to the
MCEP Accrediting Agency); Esalen is also approved for MFTs and
LCSWs by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (provider number PCE1594); and massage practitioners and bodyworkers by the
National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
(NCBTMB) as a continuing education provider under Category A
(provider number 043062-00). Workshops for which CE credit has
been approved are listed below and also noted in the Seminars section.
For further information, contact Brita Ostrom at 831-667-3040.
The Board of Registered Nursing has approved Esalen as a provider of
continuing education for registered nurses (provider number 01152).
For additional information on CE courses for nurses, contact Mary
Anne Will, R.N., 831-667-3010.
Please note: All two-day workshops offer 10 hours of CE credit and all five-day
Awakening to Your Life
What's Next? The Path of Self-Renewal
Sensory Awareness—Being All There
Esalen Massage Retreat for Couples
The I in the Storm
The Body Shop: Intimacy for Couples
Esalen Massage and Essential Oils
Gestalt Awareness Practicum
Being Danced: 5Rhythms Essentials
The Lessons of Life-Threatening Illness
Trauma, Loss, and Healing
Spinal Awareness (with Humor)
Deep Tissue for Massage Practitioners
Mindfulness and Heartfulness
Men in the Helping Professions
Group Facilitation Training
The Courage to Be You: Letting Go, Moving On
Introduction to Rolf Structural Integration
Taking the Midlife Leap, One Step at a Time
Stem Cells, Clones, Human-Animal Composites
Cortical Field Reeducation and Feldenkrais
Character, Trauma, and Developmental Issues
The High-Performance Mind
Buddhism on the Couch
Yoga and Psychospiritual Inquiry Retreat
Limitless Mind and the End of Suffering
LaStone's DeepStone Therapy
Radical Aliveness: Core Energetics
The Great Escape
The Art of Effortless Living
Yoga for Teachers, Practitioners, Bodyworkers
Sex, Love, and Relationships
The Mind/Body Connection
Dreaming as a Spiritual Practice
Elements of Esalen Massage
Seduced by Earth
Not For the Feint of Heart
Secrets of Extraordinary Relationships
Self-Healing: Create Health and Vitality
The Upledger Institute's CranioSacral I
Undefended Love
The Sustainable Self
Cinema Alchemy
Advanced Massage Intensive
Qigong and Inner Alchemy
Communication and Partnership
Trauma, Memory, Restoration of One's Self
Passionate Interface: The Fuel for Contact
Balance: Forever Young
Transforming Trauma with EMDR
The Highly Sensitive Person
Skills in Structural Integration
Couples' Communication
Life Coaching for Results
Who Am I, Really? Wounds Can Heal
Circle of Life Mind/Body Coaching—Level 2
Rosen Method Bodywork
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The Body Keeps the Score
Ordinary Miracle of Healing
Nervous System Energy Work
The Intimate Couple
Spiritual Massage: Lightbody Infusion
Being Present for Your Life
Connecting Through Touch: For Couples
Trauma Proofing Your Child
Perinatal Psychology
28-Day Massage Certification
Cortical Field Reeducation and Feldenkrais
Visionseeker III: Shamanic Cosmology
Sex, Love, and Intimacy
Mindful Body-Mind Psychology: Hakomi
The Impossible Dream
Mind, Brain, Drugs, Consciousness
Esalen Massage Weekend
Core Zero Balancing II
Enhancement of Peak Performance
The Gifts of Grief
Tibetan Buddhist Meditation
I-You-Us
The Upledger Institute's CranioSacral II
Awakening The Creative
Awakening The Mind
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Nonviolent Communication
Senses Wide Open
Deep Tissue for Massage Practitioners
Shaping Experiences
Free Your Breath, Free Your Life
Relationships: Intimacy Through Differentiation
The Dance of Shiatsu
Eating, Food, and the Body/Self
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Esalen Massage and Reflexology
Overcoming Isolation and Mistrust
Massage Intensive: Connection and Healing
Start Over—Choose Aliveness and Intimacy
Mind, Mood, and Happiness
Table Shiatsu I
Enlivening, Releasing through Organs
Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
Esalen Massage—Hips and Low Back
Building Collaborative Relationships
Yearning and Dialogue
Spark: Science of Exercise and the Brain
Coaching Skills for Leaders and Managers
Visionseeker I: Shamanism
Qigong Empowerment
Spirit In Action: Love, Life, Deep Healing
Spinal Awareness: Healing (with Humor)
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 2008
Relationships: The Courage to Begin
Meditation and the Therapeutic Process
Advanced Esalen Massage
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Mar 9-14
Mar 9-14
Mar 9-14
Mar 9-14
Mar 14-16
Mar 14-16
Mar 14-16
Mar 14-16
Mar 23-Apr 20
Mar 30-Apr 6
Mar 30-Apr 4
Apr 4-6
Apr 6-11
Apr 6-11
Apr 11-13
Apr 11-13
Apr 13-18
Apr 18-20
Apr 18-20
Apr 20-27
Apr 20-25
Apr 20-25
Apr 27-May 2
Apr 27-May 2
May 2-4
May 4-9
May 4-9
May 11-16
May 11-16
May 11-16
May 11-16
May 16-18
May 16-18
May 16-18
May 18-23
May 18-23
May 23-25
May 23-25
May 23-25
May 25-30
May 30-June 1
May 30-June 1
June 1-6
June 6-8
June 6-8
June 13-15
June 13-15
June 15-20
June 15-20
June 20-22
June 20-22
June 22-27
June 22-27
June 27-29
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Jan 4-6
Jan 4-6
Jan 6-11
Jan 6-11
Jan 6-11
Jan 11-18
Jan 11-13
Jan 11-13
Jan 11-13
Jan 13-18
Jan 13-18
Jan 18-20
Jan 18-20
Jan 20-25
Jan 20-25
Jan 20-25
Jan 25-27
Jan 25-27
Jan 25-27
Jan 27-Feb 1
Jan 27-Feb 1
Jan 27-Feb 1
Feb 1-3
Feb 1-3
Feb 3-8
Feb 3-8
Feb 3-8
Feb 3-8
Feb 3-8
Feb 8-10
Feb 8-10
Feb 8-10
Feb 8-10
Feb 10-15
Feb 10-15
Feb 10-15
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Feb 15-17
Feb 15-17
Feb 17-22
Feb 17-22
Feb 22-24
Feb 22-24
Feb 24-29
Feb 24-29
Feb 24-29
Feb 24-29
Feb 29-Mar 2
Feb 29-Mar 2
Feb 29-Mar 2
Feb 29-Mar 2
Mar 2-7
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workshops offer 26 hours. 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.
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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—
they are listed only in their main subject
area. If you have never been to Esalen or
taken an Esalen workshop, you might 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.
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ARTS & CREATIVITY
Visual Arts
Jan 6-11 • Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Jan 20-25 • Balance in the Wind: Making Mobiles
Feb 8-10 • Prayers for the World: Making Prayer Flags
Feb 17-22 • Cinema Alchemy: The Power of Movies
Feb 17-22 • Painting From The Source
Apr 4-6 • Drawing Out Your Soul: Touch Drawing
Apr 27-May 2 • Awakening The Creative
May 9-11 • Photographing the Seasons of Big Sur
May 11-16 • Artplane Workshop
May 25-30 • Painting the Outer and Inner Landscape
Writing
Jan 4-6 • Getting Published
Jan 11-13 • The Writing Life
Feb 1-3 • The Ten-Minute Play: A Writing Workshop
Feb 8-10 • Risking Delight: Poetry Reveals our Joys
Mar 2-7 • Dangerous Writing
Mar 30-Apr 4 • Writing From the Heart
Apr 13-18 • Writing with a Full Palette of Color
May 11-16 • (Re)writing Your Story
June 22-27 • Writer's Way: Exploring Personal Truth
Music / Rhythm / Dance
Jan 11-13 • Being Danced: 5Rhythms Essentials
Jan 18-20 • Finding Your Long-Lost Musician
Jan 20-25 • Finding Your Long-Lost Musician
Jan 27-Feb 1 • SoulMotion: Begin Again
Feb 1-3 • The Brazilian Soul: Dance and Drumming
Feb 24-29 • The Song of the Drum
Mar 7-9 • Rhythm Tribe Song Circle
Mar 9-14 • Singing with Ease
Mar 14-16 • The Universal Brazilian Voice
Mar 21-23 • SoulMotion: Body Prayer
Mar 23-28 • SoulMotion: Luminescent Heart
Apr 20-25 • Spiritweaves: Sanctuary of Self
May 4-9 • Dancing with the Spirits: Afro-Cuban Dance
May 9-11 • Biodanza
May 18-23 • Cycles
May 23-25 • Dancing from the Soul
June 1-6 • Harmonic Presence: Music of the Spheres
June 22-27 • SoulMotion: Sanctuary
Creative Expression
Jan 6-11 • The Secrets of Storytelling
Jan 13-18 • Sharing Your Life Story
Jan 25-27 • Essence and Alchemy: Natural Perfume
Mar 21-23 • Family Arts Program
Mar 30-Apr 4 • Acting 101
Apr 13-18 • Making Art: Earthly Creation
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May 2-4 • Improv Alchemy: Something from Nothing
May 4-9 • Molten Memory: A Short Course in Bronze
June 15-20 • Windows to World Cultures
June 22-27 • Meditation and the Spirit of Creativity
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BODY & MOVEMENT
Massage
Jan 4-6 • Esalen Massage Retreat for Couples
Jan 6-11 • Esalen Massage and Essential Oils
Jan 13-18 • Deep Tissue Skills for Practitioners
Feb 3-8 • LaStone's DeepStone Therapy
Feb 8-10 • The Elements of Esalen Massage
Feb 17-22 • Advanced Massage Intensive
Feb 29-Mar 2 • Skills in Structural Integration
Mar 14-16 • Connecting Through Touch: For Couples
Apr 11-13 • Esalen Massage Weekend
May 11-16 • Deep Tissue Techniques for Practitioners
May 16-18 • The Dance of Shiatsu
May 18-23 • Esalen Massage and Reflexology
May 23-25 • Weekend Massage Intensive
May 25-30 • Table Shiatsu I
June 1-6 • Specialized Esalen Massage
June 27-29 • Advanced Esalen Massage
Somatic Practices
Jan 4-6 • Sensory Awareness—Being All There
Jan 13-18 • Spinal Awareness (with Humor)
Jan 20-25 • Intro to Rolf Structural Integration
Jan 25-27 • Cortical Field Reeducation and Feldenkrais
Feb 3-8 • Radical Aliveness: Core Energetics
Feb 10-15 • The Upledger Institute's CranioSacral I
Mar 7-9 • Rosen Method Bodywork
Mar 30-Apr 6 • Cortical Field Reeducation &
Feldenkrais
Apr 13-18 • Core Zero Balancing II
Apr 20-25 • The Upledger Institute's CranioSacral II
May 4-9 • Senses Wide Open: Exploration of Presence
May 16-18 • Cultivating Joy, Finding Our Aliveness
May 30-June 1 • Enlivening, Releasing through Organs
June 20-22 • Spinal Awareness: Healing (with Humor)
Movement
Feb 3-8 • The Great Escape
Feb 24-29 • Balance: Forever Young
Apr 13-18 • Gyrokinesis
May 11-16 • Shaping Experiences
May 30-June 1 • ChiRunning
June 1-6 • Moving Meditation Practice
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PSYCHOLOGY & RELATIONSHIP
Psychological / Transpersonal Process
Jan 4-6 • Awakening to Your Life: Use of Dreams
Jan 4-6 • What's Next? The Path of Self-Renewal
Jan 6-11 • The I in the Storm
Jan 11-13 • Trauma, Loss, and Healing
Jan 11-18 • Gestalt Awareness Practicum
Jan 20-25 • The Courage to Be You
Jan 25-27 • Taking the Midlife Leap
Jan 27-Feb 1 • Character, Trauma, Developmental
Feb 10-15 • Not For the Feint of Heart
Feb 15-17 • Undefended Love
Feb 15-17 • What’s Next? Reviewing and Revisioning
Feb 15-17 • The Sustainable Self
Feb 17-22 • Passion and Wisdom
Feb 24-29 • Trauma, Memory, Restoration of Self
Feb 24-29 • Passionate Interface: The Fuel for Contact
Feb 29-Mar 2 • The Highly Sensitive Person
Feb 29-Mar 2 • Sweet Mischief
Mar 2-7 • Who Am I, Really? Our Wounds Can Heal
Mar 7-9 • The Body Keeps the Score
Mar 9-14 • The Ordinary Miracle of Healing
Mar 14-16 • Trauma Proofing Your Child
Mar 14-16 • Perinatal Psychology
Mar 21-23 • Transformative Power of Gratitude
Apr 6-11 • Mindful Body-Mind Psychology: Hakomi
Apr 11-13 • Rest, Rejuvenation, and Renewal
Apr 13-18 • Transition: Having What it Takes
Apr 18-20 • The Gifts of Grief
Apr 20-25 • I-You-Us
Apr 27-May 2 • The MAX: Stretching Self-Expression
Apr 27-May 2 • Gestalt Awareness Practice
May 9-11 • The One Thing Holding You Back
May 11-16 • Intimacy Through Differentiation
May 16-18 • Balance From the Inside Out
May 18-23 • Overcoming Isolation and Mistrust
May 23-25 • Start Over—Aliveness and Intimacy
May 25-30 • Unraveling Your Personal History
May 25-30 • Consciousness in a Time of Darkness
May 30-June 1 • Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
June 20-22 • Spirit In Action: Love, Life, Deep Healing
June 20-22 • Integrity and Loving-Kindness
Relationship / Communication
Jan 6-11 • The Body Shop: Intimacy for Couples
Jan 20-25 • Group Facilitation Training
Jan 25-27 • An Early Esalen Valentine for Couples
Jan 27-Feb 1 • Transforming Relationships
Feb 1-3 • The Future of Love
Feb 8-10 • Sex, Love, and Relationships
Feb 10-15 • Secrets of Extraordinary Relationships
Feb 22-24 • Communication and Partnership
Feb 29-Mar 2 • Couples' Communication
Feb 29-Mar 2 • Life Coaching for Results
Mar 7-9 • The Shared Heart: The Couple’s Journey
Mar 9-14 • The Intimate Couple
Mar 28-30 • Always Dad
Apr 4-6 • Sex, Love, and Intimacy
Apr 6-11 • Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving
Apr 25-27 • Parenting From the Inside Out
May 2-4 • Close Yet Free
May 4-9 • Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
May 9-11 • Mindful Moments for Mothers, Daughters
June 6-8 • Building Collaborative Relationships
June 22-27 • Relationships: The Courage to Begin
June 27-29 • Conscious Parenting
Gender Studies
Jan 18-20 • Living a Passionate Life
Jan 18-20 • Men in the Helping Professions
Feb 22-24 • Gay Men Exploring the Edge
June 13-15 • A Weekend Together: Fathers and Sons
Neuropsychology / Neuroscience
Jan 27-Feb 1 • The High-Performance Mind
Apr 11-13 • Mind, Brain, Drugs, and Consciousness
Apr 27-May 2 • Awakening the Mind
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SOCIAL
/ POLITICAL ISSUES
Jan 18-20 • Human Rights Activism
Apr 11-13 • Imagine
May 4-9 • Building Sustainable Leadership for Justice
May 9-11 • If You Want to Change the World …
May 30-June 1 • Esalen: America and No Religion
Yoga
Jan 6-11 • A Yoga Practice in Presence
Jan 20-25 • Yoga for Real Life
Feb 1-3 • Yoga and Psychospiritual Inquiry
Feb 3-8 • Yoga for Teachers, Practitioners, Bodyworkers
Feb 17-22 • The Alchemical Body: Tantrik Yoga
Feb 22-24 • Pieces of the Yoga Puzzle
Mar 2-7 • Gravity and Grace
Apr 4-6 • Strengthen the Legs, Extend the Spine
Apr 6-11 • Hatha and Raja Yoga Practicum
Apr 18-20 • Aware, Awake, Present—Anusara Yoga
Apr 27-May 2 • Contact Yoga: Teacher Certification
May 2-4 • Kundalini Yoga and Meditation
May 4-9 • The Posture of Gratitude
May 16-18 • Yoga—The Union of Opposites
May 25-30 • Yoga, Health, and Happiness
June 6-8 • Yoga for the “Yogically Challenged”
June 8-13 • 4th Annual Esalen Yoga Festival
June 13-15 • Advanced Yoga for Perfect Beginners
June 27-29 • Yoga Ecstasy Summer Solstice Retreat
Myth / Ritual / Shamanism
Feb 3-8 • The Imaginal Healer
Mar 23-28 • The Way of the Shaman
Mar 30-Apr 4 • Visionseeker III: Shamanic Cosmology
June 15-20 • Visionseeker I
R
R
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
TRAINING
/
Feb 24-29 • Transforming Trauma with EMDR
Mar 2-7 • Circle of Life—Level 2
Mar 23-Apr 20 • 28-Day Massage Certification
Apr 18-20 • Enhancement of Peak Performance
May 2-4 • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
June 6-8 • Yearning and Dialogue: Mothers, Daughters
June 13-15 • Spark: Exercise and the Brain
June 22-27 • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 2008
June 27-29 • Stress-Reducing Meditation Techniques
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PHILOSOPHICAL AND
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Jan 25-27 • The Biological Future of Mankind
Feb 1-3 • Limitless Mind and the End of Suffering
Feb 10-15 • Integral Experiential Learning
Mar 2-7 • Tea with the Bread and Butterfly
Apr 4-6 • The View from the Center of the Universe
Apr 11-13 • Evolutionary Synthesis
May 2-4 • Systems Theory and Thinking
May 23-25 • Spirituality in the Age of Science?
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/ BUSINESS /
Mar 28-30 • Sustainability Entrepreneurs
Apr 18-20 • Great Companies & Mojo from Maslow
Apr 25-27 • Callings: Finding an Authentic Life
June 13-15 • Coaching for Leaders and Managers
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
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ECONOMICS
WORKPLACE
NATURE / ECOLOGY
SUSTAINABILITY
/
Feb 10-15 • Seduced by Earth
Feb 22-24 • Spiritual Ecology of Business
Feb 24-29 • The Core Model of Permaculture Design
Mar 9-14 • Climate Change, Sustainability, Economy
Apr 27-May 2 • Big Sur Wilderness Experience
May 9-11 • The Way of Nature
May 18-23 • Walk on the Wild Side: Hiking Big Sur
May 30-June 1 • Creating Sustainable Communities
June 15-20 • Mountains and Waves
June 20-22 • Nature and Contemplation
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SPIRITUALITY
Contemplative / Spiritual Studies
Jan 11-13 • Money and Spirituality
Jan 18-20 • Living at the Heart of Zen
Jan 27-Feb 1 • Buddhism on the Couch
Feb 8-10 • Dreaming as a Spiritual Practice
Feb 17-22 • The Tao and the Art of Everything
Mar 14-16 • Being Present for Your Life
Mar 16-21 • Retreat with Gangaji
Mar 21-23 • Jesus: Jewish, Christian, Muslim Views
Mar 21-23 • That Was Zen, This Is Tao
Mar 28-30 • Feeding Demons, Opening to Presence
Mar 28-30 • Creative Tai Ji Practice
Mar 30-Apr 4 • Hidden Symbolism of Tibetan Art
Apr 20-27 • Tibetan Buddhist Meditation
Apr 25-27 • Releasing into Divine Joy
May 23-25 • Mind, Mood, and Happiness
June 6-8 • Kabbalah and Sexual Desire
June 20-22 • Cultivating the Wisdom Heart
HEALTH
/ HEALING
Jan 11-13 • Surviving Life-Threatening Illness
Jan 18-20 • Mindfulness and Heartfulness
Feb 3-8 • The Art of Effortless Living
Feb 8-10 • The Mind/Body Connection
Feb 10-15 • Self-Healing: Awakening Health, Vitality
Feb 22-24 • Qigong and Inner Alchemy
Mar 2-7 • Nervous System Energy Work
Mar 7-9 • Eating Green
Mar 9-14 • Spiritual Massage: Lightbody Infusion
Apr 6-11 • Impossible Dream: Beyond Self-Limiting
Apr 6-11 • The Esalen Cookbook
May 11-16 • Free Your Breath, Free Your Life
May 16-18 • Eating, Food, and the Body/Self
May 16-18 • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
June 15-20 • Qigong Empowerment
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INTEGRAL PRACTICES
Jan 25-27 • Experiencing Esalen
Feb 22-24 • Experiencing Esalen
Mar 9-14 • Wild Serenity
Apr 18-20 • Experiencing Esalen
Apr 25-27 • The Power of Practice
May 18-23 • Holistic Sexuality: An Integral Approach
June 1-6 • Will of the Heart—Core Life Process
June 13-15 • Experiencing Esalen
June 15-20 • Integral Leadership, Transformative
Practice
7
Q
Seminar Spotlight—a
I
n our efforts to expand our programming in new directions,
we continue to present leaders whose names may not be as
familiar to you as others in the Catalog. In this section we highlight a few of these offerings by providing a bit more information
than you’ll find in the Seminars section.
Jack Healey
Maybe it was being the youngest of eleven
brothers sisters that spurred Jack Healey to
develop a sensitivity for the oppressed among
the family of man. When his father died when
Jack was two, his mother told him, “I didn’t
bring you into this world to survive, I brought
you into this world to do something.” Those
words have been his compass for his entire life.
Deeply devout, Healey became a Franciscan priest and helped Martin
Luther King, Jr. organize the March on Washington in 1963. At the age
of 30, however, he left the priesthood, following a call to “get more
deeply involved with what was going on—and going wrong—in the
world.” He has since worked as a fundraiser for Freedom From Hunger,
served as director of the Center for Community Change, been a Peace
Corps volunteer (he was director of the African Peace Corps for four
years), and eventually became director of Amnesty International, U.S.
It was in this last position that Healey pioneered the musical tours
that made Amnesty International a household name. He organized
the “Conspiracy of Hope” and “Human Rights Now!” tours that featured such artists as U2, The Police, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel,
Miles Davis, Tracy Chapman, and Lou Reed, among others.
In 1994, after 12 years with Amnesty, Healey left to found the
Human Rights Action Center (HRAC), dedicated to moving the
world toward nonviolence by utilizing the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, a document drafted in 1948 by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Says Healey, “I view the United States as one of many countries in the
world, not the center of the universe. What I’d like to do is create a
universal celebration for the Declaration that was signed by nearly
every nation in the world, although many of those countries violate
that agreement today.”
Come and find out why US News and World Report called Jack Healey
“Mr. Human Rights.” See Human Rights Activism: Joining the Family
of Doers, January 18-20.
Josiah Cain
Josiah Cain has been combining activism, spiritual practice, and a passion for ecological design
throughout his career. He had to forge new territory along the way, since his drive to create
meaningful work—satisfying personally, spiritually, and ethically—forced him to create options
that were not always available. When his UC
Davis landscape architecture program required
a choice between focusing on landscape ecology or urban planning,
8
closer look
he combined them to create a new focus: Sustainable Community
Planning. Upon graduation, he found that there were few firms seriously engaged in ecological design, and he struggled to find personally fulfilling employment.
As a way to get innovative projects built, he obtained a license and
became a founding partner in a design/build firm at the age of 27.
Over the next eight years his firms designed the first permitted graywater systems in three Bay Area counties, and worked on ecologically-driven master plans, outdoor environments, and innovative infrastructure projects for retreat centers, schools, and residential clients.
To add credibility, Josiah obtained certificates in Permaculture
Design, Constructed Wetland Design, and Green Roof Design.
By the time the word “sustainability” began to sound clichéd, it had
become clear that ecological responsibility was no longer the niche it
had once been. The U.S. Green Building Council had become a rapidly growing organization, “green building” had become the fastest
growing sector of the building industry, and increasing numbers of
design firms were marketing “green” to remain competitive. Rather
than compete, Josiah opted to return to school and earned a Master
of Design, Technology & Environment from Harvard’s Graduate
School of Design. He was quickly hired to head a regional office for
an ecological design and restoration firm known for its innovative
approaches to landscape, structure, and urban design.
Josiah has mentored many young aspiring professionals in finding a
life path and career that are in alignment. He enjoys working with
others, inciting their passions and inspiring them to follow their
dreams in pursuit of meaningful careers.
See Spiritual Ecology of Business and Right Livelihood, February 22-24.
Nora Bateson & Alfonso Montuori
Gregory Bateson was one of Esalen’s original teachers. He wrote Steps
to an Ecology of Mind, Mind and Nature, Angels Fear, and Naven, along
with numerous scholarly papers and essays. Before he died in 1980,
his influence was widespread in anthropology,
the social sciences, linguistics, cybernetics, systems theory, and psychology. Today his daughter
Nora Bateson, an educator and media producer,
and Alfonso Montuori, a professor and musician,
collaborate to create a portrait of Bateson that
addresses his transdisciplinary work and brings
his philosophy to a broad audience beyond the
academic community.
Nora Bateson currently lives in Nelson , British
Columbia, headquarters for her upcoming film,
That Reminds Me of a Story, a documentary about
Gregory Bateson. She is also compiling a book
of her father’s unpublished works, and she
recently published three pieces in Kybernetes, a
cybernetics and systems journal. She is dedicated to fostering the possibilities of human evolution, starting with
teaching young children to see the interconnectedness of the natural
world. Nora developed a curriculum in human relations for grades 7-
12, integrating self-discovery, relationships, social justice, mythology,
environmentalism, and sex education. Central to all of her work is
the idea of utilizing media and storytelling aimed at bringing about
cultural understanding, social justice, and environmental awareness.
Born of an Italian father and a Dutch mother, Alfonso Montuori
spoke five languages by age 12. He was born in Holland and grew up
in Lebanon, Greece, England, and, finally in 1983, the U.S. Growing
up and living in different countries, and seeing the world’s history of
prejudice, racism, war, and domination, Alfonso gradually began to
ask himself how human beings can learn to live in a pluralistic, complex, ambiguous, uncertain world. Can we learn to thrive on the
inevitable chaos and uncertainty of life? Exploring such conundrums
opens up a rich world of potentials and possibilities, and requires that
we question some of our most deeply held assumptions. From this
standpoint, creativity is the cornerstone for a new perspective and a
new way of being in the world.
Somewhere Gregory Bateson is smiling. See Tea with the Bread and
Butterfly: An Exploration in Creativity, Interconnectedness, and the
Double Bind, March 2-7.
Nancy Abrams & Joel Primack
In their minds most people today are still living in a universe that
was first imagined in the 17th century, where space is emptiness and
stars are scattered randomly. In this old image, we humans have no
special cosmic place and often feel insignificant. But astronomers can
now observe every bright galaxy in the visible
universe and can even see back to the cosmic
“Dark Ages” before galaxies formed and read the
universe’s birth story in patterns embedded in
the heat radiation of the Big Bang. The evolution of the universe is coming into clearer focus:
Intelligent life is neither insignificant nor incidental but has a place in the universe so special
it could not have been imagined before the
invention of modern cosmological concepts.
course called “Cosmology and Culture” at UC Santa Cruz, and are coauthors of The View from the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our
Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos. Visit http://viewfromthecenter.com.
See The View from the Center of the Universe, April 4-6.
Peter Russell
Peter Russell’s message is simple and clear: The
individuals and organizations that will thrive
will be those that understand the nature of the
human mind and fully appreciate the interconnectedness of our problems and our potential.
Russell weaves a stirring, thought-provoking
blend of scientific rationale, global vision, and
intuitive wisdom.
Russell first studied mathematics and theoretical physics at
Cambridge. (For a while he was supervised by Stephen Hawking.)
However, he became increasingly fascinated by the nature of consciousness and switched his studies to experimental psychology,
graduating with a first class honors degree. He then traveled to India
to study meditation and Eastern philosophy with Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi. “This was [a] major turning point of my life,” he said. “It became
very clear to me that the fundamental problem with humanity had to
do with our self-centeredness and egocentricity. I felt that I wanted to
do what I could to promote spiritual understanding.”
Returning to England, Russell initially set up a meditation center and
an organic vegetarian restaurant and whole food shop. He then took
up research into the psychophysiology of meditation and also earned
a post-graduate degree from Cambridge in computer science.
With his prodigiously curious intellect, Russell has published ten
books on subjects ranging from meditation to memory, from a translation of the Upanishads to problem-solving in the corporate world.
In his most recent book, From Science to God, Russell explores the
nature of consciousness and the inability of the Western scientific
worldview to account for conscious experience.
Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack write: “We will
introduce up-to-date ideas of cosmology. We’ll
talk about the new scientific cosmology and the
ancient universe pictures that traditional tribes
and religions offered. We’ll redefine familiar
images and age-old metaphors into a modern
series of symbols that encapsulate cutting-edge scientific understandings. We’ll also do guided meditations which allow people to grasp
concepts that defy earthly experiences. By understanding the universe, we can understand ourselves at a new level.”
Swedish Telecom has retained Russell as their “in-house philosopher”
and the environmental magazine Buzzworm has named him “Ecophilosopher Extraordinaire” of the year. Now Russell suggests a new
metaparadigm in which science and spirituality are no longer in conflict, and God takes on new meaning—not the almighty father-figure
of traditional religion, but the divine inner essence of which the mystics have always spoken.
Joel R. Primack, professor of physics at the University of California,
Santa Cruz, is a pioneer in modern ideas about cosmic evolution. He
has published hundreds of papers in scientific journals and he currently uses some of the largest supercomputers to simulate the origin of
galaxies. Nancy Ellen Abrams is a writer and lawyer with a background
in the history and philosophy of science who has worked as a kind of
science-interpreter for governments. She is also a songwriter who has
performed at conferences, concerts, and events in eighteen countries.
Abrams and Primack are married and have collaborated for decades in
understanding and communicating the possible meaning of scientific
cosmology. For the past decade they have taught a prize-winning
Lillie P. Allen
See Releasing into Divine Joy, April 25-27.
Lillie P. Allen has been involved in public health
education for over twenty years. In 1992 Lillie
founded Be Present, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to improving the economic,
health, political, and social status of women and
girls. She created and developed the Be Present
Empowerment Model© (BPEM) to support a
diverse network of women and girls committed
to changing their circumstances and leading social-change efforts
within their families and communities.
9
In 1983 Lillie introduced her groundbreaking “Black and Female:
What is the Reality?©” workshop at the First National Conference on
Black Women’s Health Issues. This workshop continues to be a catalyst for African-American women to enter the health and empowerment movements. In 1988, she created the Sisters & Allies© workshop for African-American women, other women of color, and white
women. This workshop series served as a foundation for the development of a grassroots national network of women and girls committed
to social change.
Alfred’s College in Winchester. His impressive record of accomplishment in practice-based research continues to lead to advances in cultural knowledge by bringing to bear the perspectives and skills of the
artist/scholar. Through his collaborations with researchers from the
fields of science and engineering, he enables and contributes to technological innovation. His collaborations with software and equipment developers on devices created by Soundbeam (sensor technology to translate body movement into digitally generated sound and
image) are commercially developed and marketed.
In 1989, Lillie established the Lillie Allen Institute, Inc., expanding
her work to include training and consulting services for corporations, educational and medical institutions, and government agencies. Her focus on understanding and working with diversity, as well
as her expertise in assisting individuals, institutions, and agencies to
examine themselves, provides a new and holistic framework for
interacting and working cooperatively.
Dr. Daniel currently lives in Vancouver, Canada, where he is artistic
director of Full Performing Bodies, a performance research group,
and associate professor of dance and performance studies in the
School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University.
She has consulted on organizational development issues with Tellus
Communication, Procter & Gamble, National Abortion Rights
Action League, National Hispana Leadership Institute, and
Congregation Bet Haverim. She has worked on program analysis and
design with the City of Oakland, Riverside Methodist Hospital, New
Leaf Distributing Company, and DuPont. She has developed diversity
training for the Atlanta History Center, Threshold Foundation,
Northwestern University, and Georgia Legal Service.
As a consultant, Lillie brings to her work her extraordinary skills at
creating open and meaningful dialogue among diverse groups of people and working effectively through the racism, sexism, classism, and
other forms of oppression that adversely impacts people’s lives.
See Building Sustainable Leadership for Justice: The Be Present
Empowerment Model, May 4-9.
Henry Daniel
GREG EHLERS
Henry Daniel is a choreographer/dancer and the
project research leader for Transnet, an international network of artists, scholars, educators, scientists, engineers, and activists that explores
concepts of performance. Transnet operates
under the premise that, in this age of information, new knowledge emerges at the intersections of disciplines rather than strictly within
them. Aligned with Esalen’s philosophy, this transdisciplinary approach
analyzes how knowledge from other fields intersects with one’s own
and how this contact influences all disciplines.
Henry is a fitting choice for this role. Born in Trinidad, he worked as
an actor with the Trinidad Theatre Workshop under the direction of
poet/playwright Derek Walcott. He also trained as a dancer at the
Juilliard School, the Joffrey Ballet School, and the Alvin Ailey
America Dance Centre in New York. He went on to perform with a
number of dance companies in New York City, including the
Bernhard Ballet and the José Limón Dance Company.
From 1984 to 1994, Henry lived in Germany, dancing, teaching, and
choreographing simultaneously for several companies and his own
group, Henry Daniel and Dancers. In the UK he taught dance at The
Laban Centre, London, and later taught as a lecturer at the University
of Plymouth, Exmouth, University College Scarborough, and King
10
See Dancing from the Soul: A Doorway to Embodied Knowledge,
May 23-25.
Brian Weller
The Willits Economic Localization (WELL) project is a landmark program to foster a 100%
local, self-sustaining economy. Brian Weller is a
cofounder of this revolutionary project taking
root in the small (just over 5000 people) town of
Willits, the gateway to the redwoods in
Northern California. It has been an unusual
journey for the British-born Weller.
“I was born at the end of the Second World War in London, England,”
Weller says. “We lived with rations and grew delicious fruit and vegetables in allotments or victory gardens. Nobody I knew had a television or refrigerator, and cars were rare. In our community we made
our own fun and made everything last. We had movies at the
Salvation Army hut on Saturday mornings, local dances, bring-andbuy fetes, and lots of lively discussions about the future waiting to
happen. Self-reliance was our way of life.
“As a boy soprano at the Royal School of Church Music, I sang for
Vaughan Williams and was a soloist in Benjamin Britten’s opera Noyes
Fludde. This was, tellingly, a story about a reluctant family coping with
a natural disaster in the face of enormous societal denial. I became an
engineer, studied meditation with the Maharishi, and traveled the
world as a business trainer, facilitator, and creativity consultant.
“In the mid-1990’s I came to live in Willits. It was here in 2004 that a
small group of us created Willits Economic Localization. WELL is a
grassroots movement to create a local, sustainable economy in the
light of rising energy costs, imported everything, and climate changes.
We are now hundreds strong, have staged numerous public events,
raised funds, and started projects. We work with our city council on
energy and water conservation. We are relearning the age-old wisdom
that community is about building enduring relationships. It is a journey into the heart. In many ways, my life has come full circle.”
Weller has a compelling urgency to lighten the impact of human
society on the natural ecology. Speaking of London, his place of birth,
he says, “If you look at the ecological footprint of London, you would
need a land area 120 times its size to supply all of London’s consumption needs. Cities must become sustainable if they’ve got a future.”
See Creating Sustainable Communities, May 30-June 1.
esalen seminars
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
S
Weekend of January 4–6
Sensory Awareness—Being All There
Seymour Carter
Sensory Awareness is a profound practice that
helps to reintegrate the many facets of life.
Working with simple activities—walking, sitting, listening, standing, approaching another
person, breathing—Sensory Awareness is a
cleansing process for the senses, reconnecting
us with the organism’s innate tendency to
balance and heal.
The focus of this workshop is the degree of
embodied presence that we can bring to these
everyday activities. Sadly, much in us has
become immobilized by early conditioning,
emotional problems, and habit. Rather than
responding directly to the situation at hand
with all our innate capacities, we employ
effortful habitual patterns that cause discomfort and fatigue. Sensory Awareness brings us
back in touch with the pull of gravity and
breathing, two forces in a constant interplay
that keeps us alive. Unfortunately, we are
often in a battle with gravity and we restrict
the flow of air through the organism. We
seem to have lost touch with our innate wisdom and put in much effort where we could
just allow for things to happen.
Becoming aware of these processes and gradually freeing them is the very basis of the
Sensory Awareness practice. Our innate ability for true experience and understanding is
alive and available in every moment we
choose to be fully present for anything that
captures our interest.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
What’s Next? The Path of
Self-Renewal
Gustavo Rabin &Mark Nicolson
“Transitions and change happen again and
again over the course of our lives,” write the
leaders, “but we rarely allow ourselves the
time to stop, pause, and focus on what is
changing and what we want to do about it. In
this workshop, we will learn how we can better identify the values that are important to us
as we choose our next move. With the conviction that life is not a mountain with a summit
but an unfolding landscape of change, we will
first review the process of adult development
and the issues we face during key life transitions; then we will introduce tools for discovering the emerging values and vision for the
next phase of our lives.
“While the path of self-reinvention is not
clearly laid before us, we do already possess
the talent, life experience, and passion necessary for the journey. Participants will identify
their strengths and resources (reevaluation)
and discover the steps to launch a new path
(renewal). There will be one-on-one interactions and group discussions that will help to
deepen understanding of our current lives
and emerging choices. Participants will begin
the all-important planning process to integrate this new understanding with their own
lives and goals.”
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
11
Esalen Massage Retreat for Couples
Perry &Johanna Holloman
Perry and Johanna Holloman have been
together for sixteen years and are longtime
teachers of Esalen Massage. They will share
their experience of this work and the enrichment it has brought into their lives and relationship. Couples will be taught how to touch
each other with respect, sensitivity, and skill.
There will be time for sharing experiences
both with one’s partner and with the group,
as participants explore the power of this
method to open the five senses.
Esalen Massage can be a potent tool in helping us awaken our bodies and hearts in
renewed commitment to each other. No previous massage experience is necessary.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Awakening to Your Life:
The Creative Use of Dreams
Eric Simon
Dream analysis has long been used as a therapeutic tool in a variety of psychotherapies,
beginning, of course, with psychoanalysis.
Despite many inaccuracies and errors of some
of his theories and techniques, Freud’s recommendation that dreams are the “Royal Road to
the Unconscious” has stood the test of a century’s worth of research and evolution within
the vast array of psychotherapies.
However, dreamwork can be also be used on
one’s own, outside of psychotherapy. The purpose of this workshop is to teach both clinicians and non-clinicians how to use dreamwork to gain access into our intrapsychic and
emotional conflicts, hidden motives, character/personality issues, self-discovery, and for
creative problem-solving and inspiration.
Classic dream analysis concepts will be covered, as well as more novel techniques such as
creating dream glossaries and dramas, therapeutic use of a personal dream journal, dream
12
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Physical touch is an important element in
nourishing a loving relationship. This workshop in the art of Esalen® Massage is dedicated to supporting couples in learning how to
touch one another in a caring, sensitive manner. The long, flowing strokes which characterize this healing art enhance a sense of
closeness and intimacy, nurturing one’s own
as well as one’s partner’s body. Learning to
give a full-body Esalen Massage can be a
strong foundation upon which to rediscover,
explore, and celebrate the commitment
underlying loving partnership.
dialogues, dream sharing groups, dream drawings, dream incubation techniques, using
dreams as a source for music, creative writing,
and art work, and creative physical and
improvisational movements with dreams.
This is an interactive, experiential workshop,
and participants will learn skills through
practice and application with fellow participants.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
tions: “Who is your model writer? In fact,
who, in the entire universe, would you like to
be? And, in so wishing, what are you asking of
the universe?”
Want to get published? Kate Gale will provide
you with the nuts and bolts of how to take
yourself there.
Week of January 6–11
Getting Published
The Body Shop: Explorations in
Intimacy for Couples
Kate Gale
Stella Resnick &Alan Kishbaugh
This workshop is for you, the writer. Kate
Gale, a professional with a decade of experience in the publishing field, will cover everything from print to page: Is your manuscript
ready to leave the nest? Which conferences
are worth attending? Publicists—who needs
them? What about the care and feeding of
your publisher? What are the advantages of a
larger or smaller publisher? What about an
agent? You say you want one—but do you?
From book contracts to book tours (and by
the way, who books them?), this workshop
will do practically everything but write your
book. Other workshop topics include:
• How to know if your work is ready—if not,
how to make it ready
• How to develop relationships with literary
magazines
• Finding a publisher and developing a
working partnership
• The difference between digital and offset
printing
The workshop also asks these telling ques-
What good are words,
I say to you?
They can’t convey to you
What’s in my heart.
If you could hear instead,
The words I’ve left unsaid…
— from “Time After Time,”
lyric by Sammy Cahn
While sensitive discussion can bring closeness, words are not the core of intimacy. As
modern neuroscience has shown—and bodybased psychotherapists have known for
decades—the core of the intimate self is the
body. Love in all its incarnations—nourishing
attachment, romance, emotional bond, eroticism, sexual union, and spiritual merging—is,
at its best, a body-based experience. Being part
of a loving couple is the ultimate evolutionary
opportunity to heal old body/mind wounds
and to share nurturing pleasures.
While there will be discussion, this seminar
will focus on wordless intimacies and the
implicit levels of relating to our partner and
knowing ourselves. The workshop will begin
with a look at what modern neuroscience
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
tells us about how our preverbal past is programmed into our brain and nervous system.
The course will show how the past is present
in the way we form emotional attachments,
handle stress in the relationship, convey love,
and relate to sexual pleasure. Through breathing exercises, felt-sense explorations, spontaneous imagery, partnered and solo stretches,
empathic touch, dance, music, and Gestalt
processing, the workshop explores:
• Empathy and mutual attunement
• Intuiting the other
• Contact and withdrawal, intimacy and
privacy
• Attachment styles and differences in
emotional needs
• Differences in sexual desire
• Dilemmas and rewards of emotional and
sexual surrender
The I in the Storm: Bringing SelfLeadership to Everyday Life
Esalen Massage and the Use of
Essential Oils
Richard Schwartz
Daniela Urbassek &Ellen Watson
All the mystical traditions agree that beneath
our protective layers lies a Self, an untarnished essence from which flows healing,
spiritual energy, and wisdom. Most of us
rarely live from that state because, through
life experiences, parts of us have absorbed
extreme emotions and beliefs that not only
obscure our Self but also govern our daily
lives. This workshop offers participants the
opportunity to learn and experience concrete
ways to help those parts trust that it is safe to
remain in the calm, confident, and compassionate state of Self-leadership, not only during meditation but throughout the day, even
in the face of strong provocation.
The essence of Esalen® Massage is the awareness and presence with which one approaches the work. To support this awareness, this
workshop offers not only basic bodywork
skills—the long, integrative strokes of Esalen
Massage, assisted joint articulation, detailed
attention to specific areas—but also instruction in grounding, centering, and breath
awareness, as well as a daily practice of hatha
yoga and rhythmic movement.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
A Yoga Practice in Presence:
Moving Onto Center
Lynda Greenberg
Thomas Michael Fortel &Charu Rachlis
“As another year begins,” the leaders write, “a
new wave of opportunities presents itself—
new callings to our body and soul. Yoga is a
wonderful way to contact ourselves on a deeper level. The practice of yoga clearly develops
Presence, as we make conscious decisions to
stay with what is, noticing what arises physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Dwelling in Presence is a form of self-love:
consciously being with all that we are and
moving onto center by staying in the moment
without judgment. In this way we establish a
foundation for a state of meditation, developing an ability to pay attention, slow down,
and listen to the inner workings of our body,
mind, and soul. The yoga practice brings us to
a natural state of aliveness and awareness,
transforming our relationship with ourselves
and the world. The practices of meditation,
prananyama, asana, and restoratives give us a
space to move mindfully and permission to
be with what is.
“In this New Year retreat we will take time for
the daily practices, beginning with early
morning meditation and pranayama. The
active morning practice follows breakfast and
the afternoons will focus on restoratives,
twists, forward bends, and inversions. During
the rest of the day there will be time to be in
nature, present with the ocean, and walking
the landscape of Esalen.”
Everyone is welcome. All yoga props are
provided.
In order to draw, you need neither previous
art training nor manual dexterity. All that is
required to draw is to learn to see. Through a
combination of studio exercises and lectures
that pack a semester-long art course into five
days, this workshop teaches basic strategies of
seeing.
Following the lesson plan of Drawing on the
Right Side of the Brain by Dr. Betty Edwards,
the lectures explain the principles of visual
perception and creativity that allow you to
successfully master the studio exercises. The
studio exercises in turn lead to the integration
of perceptual skills and the ability to produce
high-quality finished drawings. Since it is the
right side of the brain that processes spatial
information, the exercises are designed to
“trick” the left side—domain of linear data like
language, naming, and categorizing—into surrendering control.
In a carefully sequenced process, you are
taught ways of seeing that enable you to skillfully draw your perceptions. More importantly, these new strategies of thinking are useful
in general problem-solving. Consequently, the
workshop teaches more than “techniques of
drawing”—it teaches how to see in the broader
sense, and how to record your perceptions in
drawings.
Please note: This workshop will have extended
hours. A list of materials to bring will be sent
upon registration.
($15 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
In addition to the fundamentals of Esalen
Massage, Ellen and Daniela will introduce the
use of essential oils in combination with massage. Essential oils work through absorption
by the skin into the bloodstream and through
stimulating the central nervous system directly via the olfactory bulb. They affect the physical body by releasing neurotransmitters—
among them serotonin and endorphins—and
can also affect the emotional body, acting
directly on our feelings and sense of wellbeing.
Participants will work with seven oils: birch,
eucalyptus, geranium, lavender, peppermint,
rosewood, and sandalwood. Each enhances a
different aspect of massage: relaxation, rejuvenation, detoxification, and so on.
Please note: If you have your own essential oils,
please bring them with you; if not, the leaders
will supply a small bottle of each of the above
oils for a fee of $95.
Recommended reading: Worwood, The
Complete Book of Essential Oils and
Aromatherapy; Fischer-Rizzi, Complete
Aromatherapy Handbook; Robbins, Jitterbug
Perfume.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
The Secrets of Storytelling
Karen Dietz
Have you ever heard a story that moved you
or inspired you in some way? Do you need to
influence others with your ideas? Do you
want to be more authentic and compelling
when you speak? Then it’s time you turned
your attention to storytelling. Telling stories is
a direct and powerful form of communication
because it quickly bridges the gap between
speaker and audience. Storytelling conveys
ideas, knowledge, and wisdom faster than any
other form of communication. Stories are
remembered and repeated long after facts and
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
13
figures fade. Stories are inspiring, empowering, and fun. If you want someone to remember you and your message, tell a story.
This workshop is designed for everyone—educators, leaders, businesspeople, community
activists, writers, artists, actors, entertainers,
medical, legal, or financial professionals. If
you want to learn how to tell stories better, or
work on a specific story, this workshop is for
you. No artistic or storytelling talent is
required. Just be willing to have fun, discover,
and be surprised. The workshop utilizes a
variety of storytelling and creative techniques
to help you:
•
•
•
•
•
Become a compelling speaker
Find which story to tell
Build storytelling skills
Clarify messages
Create meaningful stories that are
remembered
• Tap into more of your potential
• Discover deeper meanings in your stories
of work and life
January 11–18
Gestalt Awareness Practicum
Christine Stewart Price, with Gail Stewart
This workshop is designed for people who
have previously participated in a workshop
specifically in Gestalt Awareness Practice
(GAP) with Chris. The format will include
open seat sessions, structured exercises in
which participants practice with each other,
didactic presentation, and discussion. The
practicum format is particularly useful to
those considering a long-term study of GAP
and is a prerequisite to that. It is also appropriate for those interested in integrating this
work into their current profession.
Please note: The hours for this Practicum (typically up to 8 hours a day) will be longer than a
standard Esalen workshop. The prerequisite
for this group can be satisfied prior to the
Practicum by participation in the Esalen GAP
workshop December 9-14, 2007.
Recommended reading: Perls, The Gestalt
Approach and Eyewitness to Therapy; Chodron,
The Wisdom of No Escape; Ram Dass &
Gorman, How Can I Help?
about money and the natural laws that guide
it, there is substantial misunderstanding
about one’s relationship to it. Most spiritual
schools do not explore this topic. This workshop offers a venue for self-exploration directly related to money.
This is not a course on “how to invest” or
“how to make more money.” It is about our
relationship to money and ourselves.
However, with your increased self-knowledge,
the result may be more inner and outer prosperity.
Weekend of January 11–13
Sessions are designed to include various
exploratory techniques including lectures,
group discussion, exercises, and homework.
Participants will be notified on what they
need to bring which will include current
financial information. All personal information will be confidential.
Money and Spirituality
The Writing Life
Richard Glantz
Ellen Bass
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
What is the role of money in our search for
consciousness? The inquiry into our relationship with money can become a potent part of
our quest for self-knowledge. It is this relationship that often determines our view of
the material and the spiritual. Further, money
is so much a part of our psychology and personality that the exploration into money is
necessary for our exploration into ourselves.
So much of our energy in our daily lives takes
place in and through money. So, if one wishes
to understand “being in the world and not of
it,” one needs to understand money.
Yet, for all of this, most people know surprisingly little about money and this causes great
suffering. Not only is there general ignorance
Put your ear down close to your soul
and listen hard.
— Anne Sexton
“This weekend,” writes Ellen Bass, “will allow
us to leave the rush of our busy lives and be
still enough to hear the stories and poems that
gestate within us. We’ll write, share our writing, and hear what our work touches in others.
We’ll help each other to become clearer, go
deeper, take new risks. With the safety, support, and inspiration of this gathering, you will
have the opportunity to create writing that is
more vivid, more true, more complex and powerful than you’ve been able to do before.”
Whether you are interested in poetry, fiction,
nonfiction, memoir, or journal writing, this
workshop will provide a time to immerse
yourself in the writing life. Both beginners
and experienced writers are welcome.
For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we
are delighted, and how we may triumph is never
new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any
other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in
all this darkness.
— James Baldwin
Trauma, Loss, and Healing
Ricky Greenwald
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Have you found that time, prayer, positive
thinking, and will power haven’t done the
job? Is something still getting in your way?
That something is often a combination of bad
habits and the lasting effects of past trauma
and/or loss.
14
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Experiencing loss or trauma is part of life.
Sometimes the memories continue to be disturbing long after others think we should be
“over it” already. Even events that we don’t
think about much any more may still affect us,
leading to unwanted beliefs, emotions, and/or
behaviors. This workshop is for anyone who is
wondering whether healing and self-empowerment is possible and, if so, how to go about it.
The workshop will take participants through
a chronological journey, imparting the
insights gained from surviving a life-threatening illness without having to experience that
illness. The workshop will also provide a perspective that individuals who are facing an illness, as well as their loved ones, can utilize to
bring about positive results in their own healing process.
The workshop is designed to teach participants how to assess the ways that their own
past experiences may be keeping them from
being the person they want to be. Participants
will be shown a proven-effective healing and
achievement system, used by trauma therapy
experts, to identify their own goals, strengths,
and resources, and how to develop a step-bystep personal plan for healing and success.
Jason Donahue writes: “We’ll first talk about
taking control of one’s treatment in any medical situation, and then cover the strong connections between positive attitude and healing, including the power we have (within certain limits) to cure ourselves of disease. We
will then address three fundamental elements
of health and well-being over the long term:
sleep, stress-management, and nutrition.
Then, we’ll explore the Esalen grounds, highlighting the importance of living in the present and appreciating the world’s natural
beauty, with its myriad details, colors, and
wonders. Finally, the group will discuss the
very meaning of life, and talk about a framework that participants can leverage to set and
achieve lofty goals while maintaining psychological well-being and happiness.”
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Being Danced: 5Rhythms™ Essentials
Andrea Juhan
“It is a glorious moment when we feel at one
with the creative life force that moves and
breathes through us,” Andrea Juhan writes.
“In this workshop, we will engage with the
5Rhythms movement practice to create a
structure that can invite and contain more of
these moments. With its roots in shamanic
and Sufi traditions, the 5Rhythms dance practice is an open form that catalyzes powerful
emotional and spiritual energies and invites
these energies to move through our physical
bodies. By focusing our awareness in each of
the 5Rhythms—flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical,
and stillness—we become present and grounded, quieting our minds and cultivating an
expanded sense of Being in our own bodies.”
This is a practice that anyone—regardless of size,
shape, age, or level of fitness—can engage in. No
previous dance experience, 5Rhythms or otherwise, is required. All you need is willingness,
curiosity, and a desire to move and be moved.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Surviving and Thriving: Applying the
Lessons of Life-Threatening Illness
Jason Donahue
Imagine being a Stanford student in an emergency room and being told by a physician
that you have a 20% chance of surviving your
cancer, and that you will never walk again
without a cane. Jason Donahue not only survived this experience, he drew valuable lifelessons which he will share in this seminar.
Recommended reading: Siegel, Love, Medicine,
and Miracles.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Week of January 13–18
Sharing Your Life Story
Ann Randolph
If the story is in you, it has got to come out.
— William Faulkner
Do you have a story that belongs on the stage?
Are you a writer wanting to explore innovative ways to tell your story? In this workshop,
Ann Randolph creates a supportive, fun,
dynamic space to explore yourself through
writing. This course is for writers, nonwriters,
and any soul seeking to write the language of
the heart. The class will offer you a chance to
discover your uniquely powerful story. In
addition to writing, you will learn the tools to
make your words leap from the page to the
stage. It is in the oral sharing of your words
that you can discover the power of storytelling
to transform your life and your listeners.
Through improvisation, writing exercises, and
group discussion, you will discover your
authentic voice and find an honest, organic
way to express it. Specific topics to be covered
include:
• Transforming your ideas/stories into
performance
• Writing exercises to stimulate memory
• Learning to structure the narrative in a
compelling way
• Discovering ways to create spontaneously
• Overcoming performance anxiety
• Tools to release yourself from the inner
critic
• Playwriting techniques to make the story
theatrical
• Playing with multiple characters
Deep Tissue Skills for Massage
Practitioners: Healing the Neck,
Opening the Chest, and Freeing
the Breath
Perry &Johanna Holloman
The capacity of Deep Bodywork to alleviate
acute and chronic pain has made it indispensable in treating difficult conditions such as
back pain, sciatica, and chronic cervical pain
due to whiplash or other traumas to the body.
As we open the body’s deeper soft-tissue layers, “stuck” energy in the form of shortened,
hardened tissue is mobilized, making this
energy available to support the process of
healing.
This seminar will focus on healing the neck
from chronic and acute pain due to injury
and postural issues, as well as freeing the
chest and ribs to open the breath. The capacity to fully expand our chests and take a full,
free breath is perhaps the body’s most important tool to unwind ongoing accumulated
stress. Restricted breathing can lead to collapsing the chest, a forward-leaning posture of
the neck and head, and chronic pain in the
upper body. Our capacity to deal with stress
can be limited if breath is restricted. Through
discussion of relevant anatomy, the workshop
will show how an open chest balances the
shoulder girdle, providing an organized base
for the neck and head. The course will look at
the structural complexity of the neck to
understand why injury to this area can be so
difficult to heal.
Prerequisite for this program is experience as
a professional bodyworker, or completion of
at least 150 hours of training in basic massage.
This seminar is part of the Deep Bodywork
for Massage Practitioners series developed by
Perry and Johanna. You can visit their website
at www.deepbodywork.com.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
15
Spinal Awareness (with Humor):
Feldenkrais and Energy Work for
Bodyworkers (Actual and Aspiring)
Patrick Douce
Spinal Awareness is not a therapy or a treatment but a way of learning. Taught with fun
movement, touch, and group interaction,
Spinal Awareness is based on the work of
Moshe Feldenkrais, Taoist-Chinese-Indonesian
martial art, and the Esalen experience—and it
continues to evolve. Since real freedom in the
body is also freedom of spirit and fun, the use
of joy and humor will be the undertone of
this week.
Problematic chronic and acute conditions in
the lower back, neck, shoulders, hips, knees,
elbows, ankles, wrists, and jaw are only some
of the conditions that often benefit from this
approach. The work will focus on how we can
relearn to overcome our limitations in movement and functioning.
The workshop will integrate approaches
derived from Taoist-Chinese-Indonesian
energetic systems into the bodywork. Touch
and movement methods of protecting and
energizing the practitioner—grounding, generating, circulating, and extending energy—
will be shared.
For more information:
www.spinalawareness.com.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Weekend of January 18–20
Human Rights Activism:
Joining the Family of Doers
Jack Healey
“In this workshop I invite you to discover how
a simple vision and simple desire can achieve
big things without money or power,” writes
Jack Healey. Healey is the former director of
Amnesty International-US, and the founder
of the Human Rights Action Center in
16
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
This program applies Spinal Awareness
specifically to the field of massage and bodywork, offering tools for practitioners to integrate into their own disciplines. The workshop will present movement and hands-on
techniques specific to the needs of all participants. Special emphasis will be placed on
skeletal awareness. Students will be given a
new understanding of how tension and injury
are often involved with disorganization in the
skeletal-muscular parts of the body.
Washington, D.C. “And I want you to help with
your stories. The first person to help is yourself,
but you cannot stop there. The least of this
world need something we may be able to deliver or send or organize—a belief system that says
if I have some, others may need a part of it.
That could be wealth, but more importantly,
the world’s suffering people need your brain,
your vision, your hopes, and your decency.
“And the world needs your stories. Warming
the heart with stories that can motivate could
unleash a new power in the world, a new
force not seen before, a drop of decency into
Darfur or a help to Haiti that allows them to
eat a good meal from their own labor. This
workshop is my attempt to motivate participants to action. I hope I can help you see the
big picture of human rights abuses without
getting scared or frozen by its brutality. I want
you to feel the family of doers and become
one yourself.”
This workshop is energized with opportunities
to reach into other lives with empathy and
promised delivery—to have a better, clearer
vision of the future for your own action and
deeds.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 8.
Finding Your Long-Lost Musician
David Darling
David Darling’s music improvisation workshops
have touched thousands of people from all
walks of life, including corporate executives,
school children, teachers, professional musicians, prisoners, and therapists, opening their
hearts to the mystery of sound. David’s passion
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
is to provide an environment in which each participant has a chance to discover and work with
his/her own unique musical abilities—to find
the tools for lifelong inspired musical enjoyment. He has spent the last forty years developing methods that bring people face-to-face with
their own wondrous sounds and rhythms.
Working in groups and individually, participants will find the classes relaxed and humorous, yet intensely centered on the profound
qualities of the wonders of music. Please
bring any instruments you play or want to
play. No experience is necessary. Piano and
percussion instruments are provided.
This workshop is also presented in a five-day
format January 20-25.
Living at the Heart of Zen: Realizing,
Embodying, and Enjoying Our Full
Humanity
Joseph Bobrow
The invitation of Zen is to experience—for
ourselves, right here and right now, in vivid
particulars—our vast essential nature—and to
share it freely with those we meet, in accord
with the changing circumstances and conditions of our lives, for the benefit of all. How
can we embody and convey what cannot be
measured, described, or defined? We are
already doing it but we remain unaware of this
marvelous functioning. Waking up is opening
deeply to the enlightened nature of all beings
through our direct, moment-to-moment experience of being alive. Enlightened activity
evolves as we illuminate our experience with
devoted, open awareness and skilled attentiveness, whatever arises. This transforms afflictive experience as compost becomes rich soil.
It reveals intrinsic connections that run
unfathomably deep as they embrace the everyday: the wind, the sun, the rain, laughing,
weeping, the smile of a baby.
In this workshop, Joseph Bobrow (a Zen master with 35 years’ experience, who is also a
psychologist) will focus on the practice, the
principles, and the invitation of Zen. He will
also describe how Buddhist principles and
practices, in concert with recent findings
from human development, brain research,
and psychotherapy, offer an integrated view
of liberation where spiritual development and
emotional and personal growth inter-are, a
perspective that helps us embody and actually
live the principles that motivate and inspire us.
The workshop includes zazen, related meditation practices, experiential exercises, and living Zen dialogue.
Living a Passionate Life:
Reawakening Your Sensual Pleasure
and Essential Power
Rachel Abrams &Lisa Carlton
Do you want to explore your passion and in
the process unfold your unique creative gifts?
Do you want to play with a group of other
dynamic women who are re-imagining their
greatest potential?
“In this ‘women-only’ workshop,” the leaders
write, “we will create sacred community
together through deep exploration, laughter,
and artistic expression. We will draw on the
wisdom of the ancient Taoist practice to help
unlock and refine our vital energy and sexual
desire. The Taoist energetic practices help us
cleanse our emotional state and get in touch
with our fundamental power. You will be
invited to explore your own body’s limitless
capacity for pleasure, health, and vitality. Each
individual woman can explore what prevents
her from experiencing the fullness of her desire
and sexual pleasure, and have the opportunity
to heal those places that hold her back.
“We will work individually and with one
another using personal and group processing,
dance and movement, meditative practices,
connecting with nature, artistic expression,
and empowering and celebratory rituals. Our
emphasis is always on creating a safe environment, remaining present and honest, and having a lot of fun.”
Mindfulness and Heartfulness:
The Healing and Transformation
of Mind and Body
Mark Abramson &Fred Luskin
This program is designed to integrate the
practice of mindful awareness with directed
heartfulness to facilitate growth, healing, and
change. It is based on Dr. Luskin’s research at
Stanford Medical School on the healing
effects of forgiveness and heartfulness and Dr.
Abramson’s work as the director of Stanford’s
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
Program.
The workshop introduces the practical application of techniques of mindfulness and
heartfulness to transform emotional states
and unleash the great potential for deep healing of the body. The goal: to learn new ways of
relating to experience that allow greater opening, understanding, and the possibility of
transformation. “Our work,” write the leaders,
“has shown us that this creates an increasing
experience of gentleness, kindness, and
respect for oneself and others.”
The program offers guided practice in mindfulness meditation, body movement, breathing practices, and heart opening, interspersed
with lecture and interactive discussion. While
the practices are especially helpful for people
who are experiencing emotional or physical
concerns, the universality of the experience
makes this program valuable for all.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Exploring the Journey of Men
in the Helping Professions
Matt Englar-Carlson &Mark Stevens
The leaders write: “This workshop will
explore our personal and professional journey
as a man (father, son, mentor, friend) and as a
helping professional (therapist, counselor,
teacher, bodyworker). How do we support,
and how do we get support? Through storytelling and creative examination of our clinical work, participants will have the opportunity to find connections between their own
gender-role socialization journey and their
work as a nurturing man. This course will
examine experiences of when it is difficult to
be a man in a helping professional role.
Personal and professional experiences of
homophobia, heterophobia, sexual attraction,
power, vulnerability, connection, and emotional expression can be topics for discussion.”
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Week of January 20–25
Finding Your Long-Lost Musician
David Darling
For workshop description see January 18-20.
This five-day workshop is an opportunity to
go deeper, further, and higher with your longlost musician.
Group Facilitation Training
Stephen Schuitevoerder
When a group of people meet, they bring
divergent interests, values, and perceptions,
making the process of interaction dynamic
and complex. Sometimes this diversity is
expressed verbally; at other times it is felt in
the nonverbal behavior, attitudes, and mood
of the meeting. Facilitating a group requires
deep perception, awareness, and skill—a sensitivity to the multitude of experience in the
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
17
group and a support of this diversity. When
this occurs, the group becomes a powerful
arena where the richness of values, culture,
and perceptions can meet, interact, and learn.
This workshop is an intensive training in
Process Work group facilitation, offering
skills in atmosphere work, sorting and consensus, role theory, working with hot spots,
integration work, and rank and power issues
in groups. The approach is designed to
encourage students’ personal development as
facilitators, as well as deep democracy, awareness, and fluidity. Participants will be fully
immersed in Process Work skills and their
applications and will be given tools for a wide
range of group facilitation settings.
Process Work (www.processwork.org) was developed in the 1970s and 1980s by Dr. Arnold
Mindell, a Jungian analyst. Also known as
Process-Oriented Psychology, Process Work
offers new ways of working with areas of life
that are problematic or painful. When
approached with curiosity and respect, physical symptoms, relationship problems, group
conflicts, and social tensions can lead to new
information vital for personal and collective
growth. When explored and unfolded, each
aspect of ourselves offers valuable information
and is seen to be meaningful and important.
will learn how soothing and restorative practices and meditation can help calm and deeply
relax you, both physically and emotionally,
allowing you to rest, digest, and heal. In the
evenings, the workshop will explore how the
asana practice combined with meditation and
yoga philosophy can help you weather the
stresses and difficulties of real life. The course
will also present several “mini” yoga practices
that you can do at home, at work, or while
traveling that will help smooth out the rocky
road ahead. Please bring your own yoga mat.
The Courage to Be You:
Letting Go and Moving On
An Introduction to
Rolf Structural Integration
This workshop will help you explore what
you are holding in, holding onto, and holding
back that keeps you from experiencing who
you truly are. “The courage to be you” means
the ability to appropriately express the
repressed anger, fear, resentments, sadness,
joy, and laughter that keep you stuck in old
patterns. Using emotional release work, writing, movement, Gestalt, meditation, and
silence, the workshop will provide a safe environment to explore your deepest emotions.
The focus will be on:
Edward W. Maupin
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
This workshop is an introduction to the principles of Rolf Structural Integration, especially designed for body-therapy professionals.
Strongly influenced by his research in Zen
Buddhism, Ed Maupin considers the Rolf
Method a meditation on physical presence as
well as a physical therapy. This approach,
based on thirty-five years of Rolfing practice,
strongly emphasizes movement, balance in
gravity, and receptive touch. The workshop
will combine regular movement classes with
hands-on instruction in the first three sessions of Ida Rolf ’s original ten-session series.
Nonprofessionals are also welcome.
Yoga for Real Life
Ed Maupin’s book, A Dynamic Relation to
Gravity, will be the text for the workshop.
Baxter Bell &Nina Zolotow
Start your New Year by learning how yoga can
help you maintain your health and well-being
in the long term. Even at its best, life can be
pretty rocky (like that chocolate ice cream
with nuts and marshmallows in it). At one
time or another we all experience physical
and emotional difficulties such as insomnia,
minor back pain, or digestive problems. But
yoga can help smooth the way, either by alleviating certain troubles or by preventing
them from occurring. This workshop will
address a variety of common conditions,
including those listed above, headaches,
depression, and more. It presents yoga poses
and practices that can provide relief from a
particular condition, and it provides pertinent
medical background to help you understand
what works and why. There will also be time
spent on building strength and increasing
flexibility, which will help you maintain your
health and well-being.
You’ll spend the mornings exploring vigorous
asana practices that create an overall feeling of
physical well-being. In the afternoons, you
18
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Balance in the Wind: Making Mobiles
Bruce Cana Fox
The joy of creating animation with simple
tools and techniques can open the psyche to
greater joys. Achieving external balance can
have a great settling effect on one’s internal
balance. A hanging mobile is work of delicate
balancing bringing both calmness and joy. In
this workshop, Bruce Fox will demonstrate
technique, then participants will do hands-on
cutting, bending, and balancing, and then
work on design. Before long, each participant
will be forming his or her own vision, in
sheet metal and rod, to dance in the breezes.
By the end of the workshop, each participant
will have made at least one mobile of five or
more elements, and will carry away the skills
to continue developing their own designs.
Tools will be provided; participants who wish
to bring their own tools can visit www.foxmakingmobiles.com for a list.
($10 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
Mary Goldenson
Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling, they’re given wings.
— Rumi
Much in life is beyond our control. Our
choices lie in how we respond to these
moments. We can develop the ability to move
into these moments with aliveness and passion. This choice is an act of courage.
• Having adult relationships with partners,
parents, and children
• Taking full responsibility for your life
• Discovering your own personal rhythm of
closeness
• Distinguishing accountability from blame
The workshop constitutes an in-depth life
review. All that is required is a willingness to
engage wholeheartedly. This workshop may
have up to 34 participants.
Recommended reading: Goldenson, It’s Time—
No One’s Coming to Save You.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Weekend of January 25–27
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?”
— From the 1965 Esalen Catalog
This workshop is an introduction to some of
the transformational practices of Esalen.
Designed for first-time participants or those
renewing their acquaintance with Esalen, the
emphasis is on finding those approaches to
personal growth that work most effectively
for each participant. Sessions may include:
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
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.
Taking the Midlife Leap,
One Step at a Time
Jett Psaris &Marlena Lyons
If you are between 45 and 57 years old, you
are undoubtedly attempting to navigate your
midlife passage. What makes this experience
unlike any other is that it requires the death
of who you have known yourself to be and it
promises the birth of who you could possibly
become. Far too many people die in their 50’s
and are not buried until their 80’s because
they did not take the full journey possible at
midlife. The whole point of midlife is to allow
the construct of who you are and the life you
have created to fail. It’s not just an opportunity for a fresh start; it’s a mandate for one.
In this workshop you can step beyond the
coordinates of the known and discover how to:
• Treat midlife as an advanced spiritual
undertaking
• Identify and navigate the nine stages of the
midlife transition
• Know when your spirit door opens and
learn how to keep it open
• Pierce the membrane over your creativity
• Replace life’s perishable substitutes for love
with the real thing
• Navigate by desire, instinct, and impulse
• Cultivate faith that when your new being is
born, your new life will appear
• Become “full” of yourself, in the best
possible way
This workshop is for women and men, 45-57
years old, for those who love them, and for
healing professionals seeking a better understanding of the needs of their midlife clients.
Please bring a pen and journal. Workshop
material is based on the forthcoming book,
Taking the Midlife Leap, One Step at a Time.
Recommended reading: Psaris & Lyons,
Undefended Love.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Essence and Alchemy:
A Natural Perfume Workshop
Mandy Aftel
Fragrance has the instantaneous and invisible
power to penetrate consciousness. It is at once
tangible and intangible, earthly and ethereal,
worthless and priceless, real and magical. To
discover the art of natural perfumery is to participate in a spiritual process as well as an aesthetic one. Using essential oils, with their rich
histories, properties, and symbolism, immerses the perfumer in a process of personal transformation as well.
This experiential workshop will teach you the
fundamentals of working with scent—how to
blend a perfume and how to create a perfume
formula. It 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 include plenty
of hands-on participation with essential oils.
Participants will create a liquid perfume and a
solid perfume from their own original formula.
Recommended reading: Aftel, Essence and
Alchemy: A Book of Perfume.
($25 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
The Biological Future of Mankind:
Stem Cells, Clones, Human-Animal
Composites
David Deamer &Ellen Suckiel
Would you scan your genome to have a look
at your future state of health and disease?
Would you remove bad genes from your children before birth? Would you insert good
genes for high IQ or superior athletic ability?
Would you clone yourself? This seminar, led
by philosopher Ellen Suckiel and researcher
David Deamer, is for anyone who is concerned about the extraordinary new and
potential powers in our hands.
The workshop begins by describing the
emerging tools of biotechnology: genome
scanning, stem cell therapy, cloning, and
human-animal embryonic combination.
These tools have made it possible to find the
exact sequence of all three billion bases in the
human genome, to genetically modify the
food we eat, to use stem cells in therapy, to
produce clones of animals and perhaps
human beings, to create designer babies with
enhanced genetic properties, and even to slow
the aging process. The workshop explores the
relevant ethical dilemmas now faced by
researchers, physicians, businesspersons, policy makers, and individuals. Using psychodrama (role playing) and excerpts from films and
television documentaries, the workshop illustrates how these advances may alter our lives.
The course is designed to provide a better
understanding of the tools of genomics, proteomics, and molecular biology, and their
applications. Participants will also learn how
philosophical principles can guide us in
deciding courses of action for ourselves and
for society. These decisions concern not only
our individual futures, but the future of the
human race.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Your Life Cannot Be Any Easier
Than Your Movement: Cortical Field
Reeducation® and the Feldenkrais
Method®
Carol Lessinger &Sybil Krauter
Most of us want to be in a state where we feel
at ease and authentic, where what we intend
to do and what we actually do are the same
thing. How we move and what we don’t know
about our movement are crucial elements to
rediscover this state. However, when we are
in pain, we shut down the hurt area in an
attempt to diminish feeling the pain. This
strategy is usually unsuccessful. If, however,
we can feel how we are using or misusing the
area that we wish to heal, we can successfully
reeducate our neuromuscular system to make
improved movement choices. Awareness, in
and of itself, is transformative.
Each session in this workshop will be rich in
intelligent movement sequences designed to
promote the release of deep, long-standing,
often unconscious muscular contractions.
This kind of exploration usually results in
improved posture, pain reduction, greater
ease, and increased stamina. When awareness
is awakened through your innate capacity to
learn, healing has begun.
Cortical Field Reeducation (CFR), as developed by Harriet Goslins, has been taught as a
seven-day workshop at Esalen for twenty-two
years. This is the first introductory weekend
ever offered. The workshop is open to beginners as well as experienced CFR students who
want a tune-up. It’s equally beneficial for people who are active or movement-challenged,
old or young, and for those wishing to
improve their ability to move with comfort
and to deepen their experience of connection
within themselves and with others.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
An Early Esalen Valentine for Couples
Ginger Holladay &Dean Marson
Why wait for Valentine’s Day to celebrate
your relationship? This weekend join Ginger
and Dean to explore the joy of connecting
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
19
with your partner through yoga, massage, and
music. Listening to the beat of the heart and
following the rhythm of the breath can lead
to a profound experience of this very moment—
where partners can truly be present with one
another.
Ginger and Dean write: “We will use gentle
partner yoga to enhance trust and mutual
support, freeing the body while opening softly to each other. Using a tender touch, participants will learn simple massage practices to
relieve stress and tension. Singing sacred
sounds and love songs, we’ll explore musical
expressions of the heart.”
Nurture your relationship in a gentle atmosphere of relaxation and fun while opening to
love with movement, touch, and song. Discover
ways to bring the spirit of Valentine’s Day into
your relationship all year long.
Week of January 27–
February 1
Transforming Relationships:
Communication and Conflict
Resolution for Everyday Life
Georgia Kelly &Kim Weichel
Conflicts provide an opportunity to improve
relationships and increase understanding.
Successfully managing conflicts greatly
enhances our quality of life, reduces stress,
and gives us more self-confidence in daily
interactions. All too often, however, conflicts
consume unnecessary time and energy
because communication has been unclear, or
because we hold onto a position without
understanding how conflicts get resolved.
Resentment, denial, and avoidance are some
of the unsuccessful ways people cope with
conflict.
This interactive workshop is an in-depth
exploration of how to understand and transform conflicts in everyday situations.
Practical skills include clear and nonthreatening communication, active listening, how to
establish ground rules that effectively deal
with an imbalance of power, and how to deal
with difficult people and situations. The program will also examine conflict tendencies
and reactive patterns and provide tools for
managing them.
In a safe and supportive environment, the
workshop will incorporate discussion, role
play, and exercises in communication and
conflict situations. Material for post-workshop study and practice will be provided.
20
Working with Character, Trauma, and
Developmental Issues: The Somatic
Experience in Psychotherapy
Laurence Heller &Aline LaPierre
Life makes shapes. The body is an expression
of mental life. The body is shaped through the
basic experiences and attitudes that are held
both consciously and unconsciously. When
muscles are repeatedly mobilized in unison
with mental and emotional patterns, they
become part of a complex, orchestrated unitary response. All life strategies are organized,
habitual patterns of reaction to real or perceived stress. These patterns leave their
imprint on our body and mind and have ramifications from neuroscience relating to clinical somatic practice. Character is the enduring quality of how we meet the world and,
because this pattern is rather predictable, it
also tends to be confining. Through mindful
awareness, participants will experience how
character strategies and core beliefs are
revealed through the body. The emphasis will
be to discover, explore, and work with these
soma-psyche patterns in the therapeutic context.
This workshop is presented by the Santa
Barbara Graduate Institute. For further information, including special registration instructions, see Special Programs, page 80.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The High-Performance Mind:
Awakened Mind Brainwave Training
Anna Wise
The high-performance mind is clearer, sharper, more flexible. Emotions become more
available, 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—and
then understanding how to use that state.
Through brainwave training for beta, alpha,
theta, and delta, this workshop teaches 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 measure brainwave patterns, and Electrical Skin
Resistance Meters will measure the depth of
arousal and relaxation of your autonomic nervous system, illuminating the interrelationship between your body and your mind.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
SoulMotion™: Begin Again
Vinn Martí
“Each time we gather to dance,” says Vinn
Martí, “we are poised at an open portal to
divine presence. This presence takes notice
each time we use our body, heart, and mind to
shape and shift the forms and textures of its
creation. Each one of us occupies a unique
vessel in which this presence is able to manifest and know itself. Our dance then becomes
a vehicle to place our bodies and our souls in
motion.”
SoulMotion is a movement ministry,
designed by Vinn Martí and devoted to the
mystery and passage in our everyday dance
from the known to the unknown. It presents
method and strategy to relax into this nameless dance. Each of us improvises steps in a
dance of self-awareness and unconditional
acceptance of all things. The practices promote open-minded, warmhearted, and lithe
body approaches to whatever is at hand.
Participants practice the dance above, below,
in front, and behind the beat, and speak the
creative voice of the unfamiliar.
Says Vinn: “We will practice moving alone,
together, and in divine dialogue. We will
allow the inherent wisdom and memory of
the body to speak through us as movement,
stillness, and witness to the body-choir of
dancers. We will nudge the voice of our hearts
‘after years of secret conversing to speak loudly in the clear blue air.’ Through guided
imagery and relaxed induction techniques we
will dive deep into the body of the unconscious and resurface to ‘speak’ of our findings.”
All are invited. All are welcomed.
Buddhism on the Couch
David &Caroline Brazier
Buddhism teaches that our hearts are not free.
They are chained by many factors. We are
conditioned by the way that we see the world
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
and those perceptions are themselves conditioned by many factors, including our history,
our expectations, and our environment. Thus
is our experience of life limited and never all
we wish.
• New ways of viewing and working with
problematic feelings such as guilt, anger, and
grief
Buddhism offers a message of liberation.
Through its understanding and practices, we
become more alive to the myriad wonders of
life as well as to its raw authenticity.
Buddhism has always been known for its
understanding of mental process and its
methods for developing insight into the
nature of our experience, and Buddhist psychology offers deep insight into the human
psyche based on these teachings. This workshop, led by David and Caroline Brazier,
authors of a number of books on Buddhist
psychology and practice, will enable participants to learn and explore the basic models of
human process which the Buddha taught, in a
form which makes them accessible for personal exploration. In particular the course
will offer:
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
• Core models of Buddhist psychology as
taught in the Amida Training programs
• Insight into ways of deepening awareness of
our own patterns of conditioned mind
• Methods which facilitate deeper
engagement with others and with our
natural and human contexts
Recommended reading: Any of eight books
published by David & Caroline Brazier.
Weekend of February 1–3
Yoga and Psychospiritual Inquiry
Retreat
Sarah Powers &Jennifer Welwood
The deepest possibility of human life is to
realize and embody our essential nature.
Learning to recognize and reconnect with the
truth of who we are is the process of realization, while unwinding the patterns that prevent us from embodying this in our lives is
the process of transformation. Both are necessary if we are to live our lives from essence
rather than from conditioning.
Participants in this workshop will practice
Sarah’s unique blend of Yin/Yang yoga with
mindfulness meditation to prepare the ground
for greater openness in working with psychological and spiritual issues with Jennifer. The
long held floor poses of Yin yoga provide a
body-centered quietness conducive to work-
ing with deeply held feelings and beliefs often
below the surface of awareness. The flow-style
practice enlivens vitality and awakens clarity
of attention, while meditation provides the
vehicle for deepening insight into our conditioned as well as awakened nature.
Intertwining yogic practices with potent psychospiritual work accelerates the possibility
of experiencing authentic compassion and
wisdom. Part of the retreat focuses on teachings and practices that directly support and
catalyze the journey toward embodied transformation. This includes psychological
inquiry and process work as a vehicle for recognizing and loosening the conditioned patterns that obstruct our essential nature.
This workshop presents evolutionary work
that can help participants live life as a personal embodiment and expression of essential
nature. Please bring your own yoga mat.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The Brazilian Soul: A Dance and
Drumming Workshop
Cida Vieira &Jayson Fann
In Brazil dance and music are a large part of
everyone’s life—a box of wooden matches
becomes a musical instrument; a soccer field
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
21
becomes a dance floor during games. Dance
and music are everywhere, present in all
events in which people celebrate love, friendship, sensuality, and zest for life. The premise:
Life is happening right now, and this alone is
enough to become a celebration among
friends, family, and community.
During this weekend, Cida and Jayson offer a
chance to experience the joyful spirit of
Brazil-away-from-Brazil. This hands-on (and
“feet-on”) workshop will explore the instruments, rhythms, music, and the samba dance
do jeitinho brasieliro (“of the Brazilian way”).
Targ, cofounder of the Stanford Research
Institute’s psychic research program, will
describe the evidence for extrasensory perception, precognition, intuitive diagnosis, and
distant healing. The program will teach participants how to recognize the psychic signal,
how to separate it from the mental noise of
memory, imagination, and analysis, and why
we should bother with ESP. Finally, there will
be individual lessons in remote viewing (as in
the successful Stanford program) and discussion of how this awareness can lead to a discovery of who we really are.
Suggested reading: Targ, The End of Suffering:
Fearless Living in Troubled Times, and Limitless
Mind: A Guide to Remote Viewing and
Transformation of Consciousness.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
The Future of Love
Daphne Rose Kingma
Relationships are changing dramatically. Half
of all marriages now end in divorce.
Multitudes of people live in relationships that
don’t follow the traditional marriage format.
Cida writes: “My teaching focuses more on
movement than on technical aspects, so that
participants can achieve a lively workout and,
most important, have fun, until they begin to
feel the movement emerging from their own
body, heart, and soul.”
Drumming and dancing are for everyone
with the desire to join in. This workshop is
for anyone, of any age, who enjoys or wants to
learn more about the aliveness of Brazilian
dance, music, and spirit. Please bring drums
and/or any instruments (if you have them),
along with a significant item to place on a
communal altar as a way of sharing your
essence.
No previous dance or drumming experience
is necessary.
Limitless Mind and the End of
Suffering
Russell Targ
Buddha taught us to live a helpful and compassionate life, to surrender our ego to the
peace of spaciousness. His Middle Path was
expanded by the second-century genius
Nagarjuna. Where Aristotle taught that an
idea is either true or false, Nagarjuna demonstrated that most things are neither true nor
not true. The so-called complementarity of
waves and particles in modern physics supports this view, as does the indeterminacy
theorem of Kurt Gödel. The modern physics
of nonlocality and our own laboratory experience with remote-viewing research all show
our potential for expanded awareness.
22
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Physicist/consciousness researcher Russell
Targ describes how we can surrender the
story of who we think we are and experience
the end of suffering. This path can provide
direct experience of the peace, love, and spaciousness we all seek—in fact, it is who we are.
This workshop blends the enduring teachings
of the East into a modern framework that
emphasizes experience over belief.
Have we become a culture of relationship failures, or are these changes like Roman candles
lighting the way to a higher love?
This provocative/comforting workshop
reveals how love is being born anew. As old
forms fall apart, we have an opportunity to
inhabit the powerful place where soul energy
enters our intimate relationships and invites
them to become the chalice for an even
greater love. If your relationship life has followed an unfamiliar path—if you aren’t still
married to your high-school sweetheart, if
you’ve changed your gender preference midway in your relationship life, if you’ve had a
lifelong series of relationships—you may have
wondered why the norm has eluded you.
Through meditation, lecture, exercises, and
conversation, this workshop uncovers the
deeper meaning of these new relationship
forms, explores what it means to be a relationship pioneer, and reflects the peace and illumination that come when we realize that the
soul itself is urging us to expand our capacity
for love. The workshop is for all individuals—
those who are baffled or inspired by their
seemingly unusual relationships, singles
whose paths haven’t followed the norm, those
in committed relationships (marriage or otherwise)—who want to take their relationships
to a place of greater spiritual depth.
Recommended reading: Kingma, The Future of
Love.
The Ten-Minute Play:
A Writing Workshop
Lynne Kaufman
Brevity is the soul of wit.
— Shakespeare’s Hamlet
The ten-minute play is becoming an increasingly popular and widely produced theatrical
form. It is an excellent way for beginning
playwrights to enter the field and for more
seasoned writers to experiment with new
styles and ideas.
In this workshop, after studying several examples of the form, you conceive and structure
your own ten-minute play. You then write, perform, and receive a constructive critique of
your play. The compression of the short play
helps you to develop the ability to create vivid
and economical characters and plot.
This workshop is for writers on all levels and
in all media who wish to improve their skills
in dialogue and dramatic structure.
Suggestions for production venues will also
be offered.
Week of February 3–8
The Art of Effortless Living:
Letting Go of Struggle and Stress
Ingrid Bacci
Stress—mental, emotional, and physical—is a
direct consequence of thinking we have to
make our lives happen, to “do” rather than to
“be.” Letting go of stress involves letting go of
effort and surrendering to effortlessness.
Paradoxically, the more we focus on making
an effortless lifestyle our goal, the more our
dreams and hopes become our reality—without struggle.
How do we learn to live effortlessly? Through
centering in the body, and then following its
guidance. This workshop takes you step-bystep through body-centered, playful, and eyeopening approaches that teach you how to
make peace your foundation, heal from physical pain or stress, resolve emotional conflicts,
develop harmonious relationships, and manifest the professional and personal goals of
your dreams. And it all happens through
doing less, rather than more.
Ingrid Bacci began developing the techniques
of effortless living when her life was shattered
by crippling pain. She discovered that emphasizing effortlessness, or flow, guarantees emotional, mental, and spiritual growth as well as
physical vitality. She has developed her effective approach to healing on all levels through
teaching this process.
This workshop is appropriate for persons
seeking to transform stressful, goal-oriented
lifestyles and relationship tensions, for those
suffering chronic pain, and for healthcare
practitioners seeking new tools for helping
clients heal themselves.
Recommended reading: Bacci, The Art of
Effortless Living, and Effortless Pain Relief.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
In-Depth Yoga Study for Yoga
Teachers, Yoga Practitioners,
and Bodyworkers
Tias &Surya Little
This unusual immersion into the body features the combination of therapeutic yoga
postures and manual therapy. Morning practice will be a guided sequence of postures
designed to open the feet, legs, arms, and
spine. Afternoon sessions will be a combined
approach of posture work and manual therapy.
Tias and Surya write: “We start by learning to
identify strain patterns that exist in the body
and assess what postures may be of greatest
benefit for the student’s/client’s condition.
The therapeutic application of postures is
called chikitsa, which means remedy. In conjunction with the yoga postures (primarily
supine and supported postures), we review
ways to facilitate greater opening through
adjustments, massage, and pressure-point
work. Using restorative poses such as supta
baddha konasana, viparita karani, and balasana,
we will look at ways to increase range of
motion and release stress via hands-on contact. Emphasis will be on how to ‘teach’
through our hands and thereby communicate
from the skin to the core body.”
Note: This program may be applied to the
Prajna Yoga 200-hour training program. Please
bring your own yoga mat.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
The Imaginal Healer
Robert Moss
The stronger the imagination, the less imaginary
the results.
— Rabindranath Tagore
The imaginal healer helps people get well,
stay well, and lead fuller and juicier lives by
focusing the creative power of images. One
of the truths of imagination is that the body
believes in images. An image carries a physical charge: It sends electrical sparks through
the body, and it releases a stream of chemicals.
We have immense power to make ourselves
strong and well, or sick and depressed, according to the thoughts and images to which we
choose to give our attention.
In this dynamic course, you can claim your
power to be the healer of your own life and
the shaman of your own soul—and to bring
gifts of healing to others. Areas of practice
will include:
• Growing personal imagery for healing
• Journeying to places of healing
• Imaginal healing through the energy
centers
• Soul recovery journeys
• Claiming the healing power of story
• Healing through creative expression
• Vision transfer—growing a dream for
someone in need of a dream
Recommended reading: Moss, The Three
“Only” Things, and Conscious Dreaming.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
23
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
LaStone’s DeepStone Therapy:
Neuromuscular Therapy with
Hot and Cold Stones
Ardell Hill &Teena Pleshek
This DeepStone Therapy course is open to
massage therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, and nurses.
The course will present an understanding of
the temperatures of the stones and how this
affects muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. Practitioners will learn how to work
smarter and more efficiently with the stones
and their temperatures.
DeepStone Therapy incorporates Neuromuscular Therapy with Geothermotherapy, specifically cold temperatures. The workshop will
teach specific treatments for specific muscles
or muscle groups. Since this approach is muscle-specific, participants should have anatomy
training, although no deep tissue training is
necessary. Muscle anatomy will be covered
each day of the workshop. The course will
cover the upper and lower body and their
associated major muscles. On the final day
students will incorporate their new skills into
a full-body treatment. Many past participants
24
have commented, “I feel as though I have had
a new body sculpted.”
Please note: Original Body LaStone® is not a
prerequisite.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Radical Aliveness:
A Core Energetics Workshop
Ann Bradney
Ann Bradney writes: “There is a state in
which you are fully alive, authentic, and spontaneous. You are open to all of your feelings,
connected to your strength and your truth.
You are not afraid to know anything about
yourself. I call this radical aliveness. In this
state you embrace your creativity and see life
in all its possibilities.
“Standing in the way of radical aliveness are
chronic patterns formed in your past to survive. These live as frozen feelings and history
in your body and no longer serve you.
“Core Energetics is a powerful body-based
system. It frees the frozen feelings and history
in your body by working with the blocked
and held energy. It helps you reconnect with
deep parts of the self that you disconnected
from as a child. It uncovers the power and
goodness at the source of your most destructive patterns. It leads you to connection with
your deepest essence.
“In this workshop, you will work individually
and in groups to understand, transform, and
release the past as you deeply explore, experience, and express your blocked and held energy. You will work on your relationship to
yourself and explore relating to others in radically alive ways. You will find what stands in
the way of your full potential for life.”
Please note: An interview is required for admission. Please e-mail ann@annbradney.com.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
The Great Escape—from SelfConsciousness to Self-Expression,
from Monkey Mind to Centered
Presence
Karen Roeper &Peter Rosselli
Would you like to move and express yourself
more freely and joyfully in the world? This
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
workshop offers a fun and unique approach
to deepening self-perception, self-awareness,
and self-acceptance. The basis for the work is
called Essential Motion. It is a combination of
improvisational movement, somatic coaching,
psychological and emotional inquiry, group
reflective work, and mindfulness practice.
ing patterns and learn more appropriate
responses to stress. Thus your body becomes
more resilient and heals better. Discussion
along with experiential work will facilitate
greater self-awareness, emotional release, and
body self-regulation. This workshop addresses:
Movement is the “forgotten language of the
soul.” Through movement, sounds, words,
somatic coaching, mirroring, and video feedback, Karen and Peter create a provocative yet
safe environment. They guide you through a
discovery of your own personal vocabulary of
expression, and help you explore how these
expressions and response patterns directly
reflect how you function in your everyday
world. These somatic insights create possibilities for greater choice. Participants are filmed
in solo, dyad, and group situations, with
opportunities for viewing the tapes.
• The connection between emotions, stress,
and physical symptoms including pain
• Identifying and resolving emotional
holding patterns and unfinished business
• Introduction to relaxation and biofeedback
techniques
• Coping with stress and correcting the
chronic imbalance of your nervous system
• Redesigning your body’s “fight or flight”
response to enhance resilience
• Dealing with anger and depression
• Destructive patterns such as perfectionism,
obsessiveness, and addictions
• New and more effective ways of thinking
and controlling thoughts
• Creating your personal program for healing
and optimal functioning
This workshop is especially designed for
those interested in learning how to crack
open self-beliefs that constrain spontaneous,
playful, and powerful expression. The ultimate goal is to develop a centered presence
informed by our hearts, rather than by mental
judgments and limiting self-images. By reintegrating the physical intelligence and playful
body ease of childhood, we can move through
daily life with more grace, freedom, expressiveness, and power.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Prayers for the World:
The Art of Making Prayer Flags
Virginia Ray
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Weekend of February 8–10
The Mind/Body Connection:
Enhancing the Body’s Ability to
Heal and Function Optimally
Stephen Sideroff &Michael Sinel
Physical and emotional holding patterns as
well as habitual behaviors can result from
emotional pain and defenses. Along with
stress, they cause muscle tension and nervous
system reactivity and imbalance. This impacts
physical symptoms and interferes with healing and the body’s optimal functioning.
Pain and other symptoms can also be maintained unconsciously as a distraction from
emotional issues. By addressing the underlying issues and coping better with stress, the
body is able to let go more readily. This
improves blood flow, effects biochemical balance, improves physical health, and enhances
performance.
This workshop is designed to help you recognize and release emotional and physical hold-
Flags and other sacred objects have been used
to create positive change around the globe for
centuries. The Tibetan style of primary-colored gauze flags has become especially popular. The printed messages on cloth are cast
into the universe by the wind, sunlight, and
other elements, and as the flags fade and
transform, the prayers are dispersed. The
cycle is symbolic of the impermanence of life.
This workshop offers an opportunity to put
your intentions into your own individualized
version of these flags. Take time to pause and
reflect upon what ideas you’d like to cultivate
for yourself, loved ones, and the cosmos.
Enhance your daily life with colored bits of
inspiration. Use them as reminders to live
your fullest life. Help create balance on our
planet.
Participants will learn about the evolution of
flags and the various ways that cultures
around the world incorporate sacred items
into daily life. Students will work with cloth
and paper, using painting and printmaking
techniques. All materials will be provided. No
art experience is necessary.
Each student will make several sets of flags.
Prayer flags can be aesthetic additions to your
home or workplace, touchstones for your
spiritual practice, and subtle yet powerful
blessings for gardens and living spaces.
View examples of prayer flags and sacred
touchstones at www.epicarts.org/artists/
virginiaray.
($20 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
Sex, Love, and Relationships:
Combining Sexuality and Intimacy
Lisa Firestone &Joyce Catlett
What is healthy sexuality? What is love?
During the initial part of this workshop participants will be challenged to provide answers
to these questions from their own experience.
Next, the presenters will describe the major
barriers to developing intimate sexual relationships. They will introduce the concept of the
fantasy bond, an illusion of connection that
many couples form, which leads to a deterioration in close relating. They will describe the
concept of the critical inner voice, a system of
negative thoughts and attitudes toward oneself and significant others that contributes to
relationship distress. These concepts will be
illustrated by video excerpts of individuals
talking about their relationships and sexuality.
Participants will engage in exercises to
explore attitudes about sexuality and relationship issues that may be interfering with their
reaching their full potential for sexual intimacy. They will learn the techniques of Voice
Therapy as applied to sexual issues and will
have time to practice these techniques.
The presenters will use a developmental perspective to explore the impact of childhood
experiences on a person’s emerging sexuality.
They will examine the impact of society and
sexual stereotyping on sexuality. Video
excerpts will illustrate these points, showing
poignant examples of how personal experiences growing up affect an individual’s sexuality as an adult. Participants will explore the
impact of their childhood experiences and
learn strategies for overcoming these.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Risking Delight: How Poetry Reveals
our Joys, Loves, and Longings
Roger Housden
“Why all the embarrassment about being
happy?” asks Wendell Berry in his poem Why.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
25
Why indeed! In the novel, Snow, by the
Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk, one of the characters says to another, “You got drunk so you
could resist the hidden happiness rising
inside of you.”
meanings of sexual imagery in dreams; the
surprising spiritual gifts to be found in nightmares; and the value of dreams in helping us
face the mysteries of dying, death, and that
which lies beyond death.
body, emotions, mind, and spirit, as they exist
in self, culture, and nature. As such, this workshop is designed to engage individuals physically, emotionally, cognitively, interpersonally,
and spiritually.
What is it about happiness—not to mention
joy—that prompts these authors to suggest we
might be afraid of it? This workshop explores
this question and others through the universal insights of poetry. The weekend is
designed to inspire a renewed sense of meaning in our lives, and a fresh sense of belonging
in the human family, using the shared language of poetry as a catalyst. Poetry-phobes
are as welcome as poetry lovers—the point of
this workshop is not to study poetry, but to
use it as a means to explore our own authentic
feelings and perceptions.
Students will work toward two goals: (1) to
better understand their own most memorable
dreams; and (2) to develop the skills for helping others to discern the spiritual meanings
and energies of their dreams.
While exploring and discovering new truths,
participants can also expect to recover and
revitalize what may have become lost or
unconscious elements of their current selves
or worldviews. The Integral challenge is to
claim ownership of all truths and perspectives, which include our “always/already” realized native condition, and to learn to recognize and embrace the same in others. An
Integral curriculum involves learning new
ways to feel, express, and think about experience, such that we are better able to become
an authentic instrument of service and compassion.
Participants will explore some of the world’s
great poems, with partners and together as a
group, reading them aloud and reflecting
upon the echoes, the meanings, and the relevance they have for our own lives. Much of
the workshop will be experiential in this way.
Participants who have written poetry are also
welcome to contribute an example of their
own work. There will also be short periods of
silence to allow for meditative reflection on
personal responses to the material.
Dreaming as a Spiritual Practice
Kelly Bulkeley
Throughout history, in cultures all over the
world, dreams have served as a key resource
for connecting with the sacred. Certain
dreams seem to have a transcendent, even
divine power. These are the dreams that strike
us with an extraordinary vividness and intensity, dreams that feel “realer than real,” dreams
we remember with crystal clarity for years
and even decades after we first have them. By
carefully reflecting on these dreams we can
gain a deeper appreciation for the revitalizing
presence of the sacred in our lives.
This course will provide students with practical skills and theoretical models that can help
them draw more deeply on the spiritual wisdom that emerges in dreams. The course
begins with a discussion of the perennial
question: Where do dreams come from? The
workshop covers the sacred teachings of
many of the world’s religious traditions, as
well as the latest findings of experimental
dream science, to gain a better understanding
of the profoundly mysterious source of our
most spiritually meaningful dreams. Other
topics include the power of dreams to reassure and heal in times of crisis; the symbolic
26
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
The Elements of Esalen Massage
Brita Ostrom &Tom Case
Esalen® Massage connects a meditative sense
of presence together with sensitive, integrative strokes to unite the body-mind-spirit into
a sense of inner peace. This evokes the natural
impulse toward self-healing and freedom of
expression. The massage becomes an unforgettable experience for giver and receiver
alike.
Tom and Brita will highlight the basic elements: how to begin the session in a calm,
centered state; ways to effortlessly incorporate the slow, integrative strokes and use them
as a tool for deeper bodywork; specific skills
to unlock the muscles; and how to assist a
stretch on the table.
Participants will also explore the physiology
of breath and relaxation and the impact of
touch and awareness. Self-care for the practitioner will be emphasized. There will be plenty of time for guided practice sessions, including individual attention to problem areas,
feedback, and questions.
This course is suitable for beginners as well as
massage and bodywork professionals wishing
to refresh their skills. Esalen’s beautiful natural setting will provide the foundation for
growth and release.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Week of February 10–15
Integral Experiential Learning:
Organic Embodiment of Ken Wilber’s
Theory and Methodology
Bert Parlee
One of the most exciting and comprehensive
paradigms emerging in the new millennium,
Integral theory and methodology is a coherent and dynamic model of self and reality. It
honors and encompasses all dimensions of
Overall, by developing new forms of embodied awareness via a range of experiential
learning methodologies—Voice Dialogue,
Gestalt, meditation, action inquiry, stories,
film, games, and more—our previously unexamined and untested assumptions can be
owned, reconfigured, and transcended. By
risking vulnerability, and acting from a place
of inquiry, mutuality, and integrity, we paradoxically discover a deep-rooted courage and
strength of character that exposes our limiting beliefs while affording novel means of
reconceiving ourselves.
Not For the Feint of Heart
Mariah Fenton Gladis
This workshop is not for the feint of heart—
nor the faint of heart. It is designed for people
with a passionate commitment toward creating healthy relationships within healthy lives.
It offers each participant the opportunity to
benefit from intensive individual work,
which may involve emotional injuries rooted
in the past, recurring themes or patterns of
dysfunction, or personal longings in the hereand-now. Whatever the content of your work,
this workshop will help you:
• Discover the issues that are immediately
obstructing the quality of your life
• Learn contact skills and understand their
importance as a measure of healthy
functioning
• Risk working more deeply in an
atmosphere of trust and mutual support
• Develop more authentic and vital
communication skills
• Expand your capacity for generosity and
compassion for yourself and others
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
intimacy, caring, and love with our partner,
we are sharing an arrangement and not a true
partnership. We seek relationships hoping to
bring greater fulfillment and meaning into
our lives, yet for a disturbing number of couples the dreams of infatuation soon dissolve
into the disappointment of a cold and joyless
relationship or end in divorce.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
The biggest mistake that many people make is
not in expecting too much from their relationships, but in desiring too little. A true
partnership can not only provide security,
pleasure, intimacy, and fun, but can be a
means through which our deepest longings
are awakened and ultimately realized. It can
be a vehicle not only for our own transformation, but that of the world as well.
This workshop is particularly helpful for
adult children of dysfunctional families,
human-relations professionals, and those on a
path of personal betterment. This experiential
and didactic workshop will blend individual
and group Gestalt work, spiritual practice, and
bodywork. Mariah is also known for her
effective and innovative use of music to
enrich the workshop experience.
A twenty-six-year survivor of ALS, Mariah
speaks with what she calls her “ALS accent.”
Assisting will be Bruce Cornwell, who has a
background in psychotherapy and professional acting.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Seduced by Earth: Deep Imagination,
Soulcraft™, and the Dreaming of
Nature
Bill Plotkin &Geneen Marie Haugen
What if Earth is trying to seduce us for her
own purposes? What if Earth is dreaming
through us, through our own deepest imaginings and allurements? What if the wild child
that became the “human potential movement” was seeded by Esalen’s cliffs, ocean
tides, hot springs, whales, and great trees as
much as by the daring, creative humans
drawn to this land? What if the wild blossom
of your own most soul-rooted life could be
pollinated by the exuberant land? As Rilke
writes: “Earth, isn’t this what you want from
us?”
Some places on Earth seem to summon our
deepest emotion, expanded imagination, and
greatest sense of possibility—both for our
individual lives and for the community of all
species. By entering the landscape, we enter
its imagination, its atmosphere, its story. We
are each an expression of the dreaming of
Earth.
“At Esalen,” the leaders write, “we’ll explore
what its wild sea, forest, canyons, curious gardens and creatures (human and other) evoke
in us, how they animate our day- and nightdreams. Practices we’ll use include soul-oriented dreamwork, deep-imagery journeys,
council, poetry, trance drumming, and dancing. We’ll encourage solo wanderings on the
land with Soulcraft tasks designed to feed the
mystery of our lives. We will live the question: If Earth is romancing us for her own
purposes—very much the way the nectar lust
of bees serves the desires of flowers—what
wild child, what honey, will we create from
this joining?“
Recommended reading: Plotkin, Soulcraft:
Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Secrets of Extraordinary
Relationships: For Individuals
and Couples
Charlie &Linda Bloom
For one human being to love another, that is the
most difficult of all of our tasks; the ultimate, the
last test and proof, for which all other work is but
preparation.
— Rainer Maria Rilke
Having a great relationship means more than
just staying together. Unless we enjoy trust,
This workshop will examine the unique qualities that exceptional relationships embody
and identify various means through which it
is possible to develop and integrate those
qualities and experiences into our relationship. In addition, the course will identify and
engage in practices that can transform the
quality of connection in ways that promote
co-creativity, unconditional acceptance, and
spiritual awakening.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Self-Healing: Awakening Your Power
to Create Health and Vitality
Meir Schneider
Do you want to see better or get rid of your
glasses? Overcome chronic tension from
stress and computer use? Release the tension
in your aching muscles? Do you want to overcome problems that lead to suffering, limited
movement, or even paralysis? This SelfHealing workshop can help you.
Self-Healing is body-mind work with rehabilitative and preventative applications. Every
exercise teaches how to listen to the body and
respond to its needs. Self-Healing grew out of
Meir Schneider’s personal journey as a
teenager from blindness (caused by congenital cataracts) to full functional vision, using
eye exercises. During this period of intense
self-discovery, with Braille-sensitive hands,
Meir began to craft massage and movement
regimens for disabled people that brought
about dramatic improvements.
The Self-Healing approach unlocks the healing potential within us. The workshop will
introduce specific techniques—gentle movement exercises, self-massage, visual imagery,
and breathwork—that teach you to use your
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
27
body in balance and to release physical limitations and the restricted concepts of health
which accompany them. Highlights include:
Weekend of February 15–17
• Methods to let go of deeply held tension
and stress
• Natural vision improvement exercises,
including a starlight walk to improve
nighttime/peripheral vision (weather
permitting)
• Pool/hot tub exercises to enhance joint
mobility
• Exercises to overcome back pain and
stiffness
• Strategies for preventing and overcoming
repetitive strain injuries
What’s Next? Reviewing and
Revisioning Our Lives
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
• Where are you in your life-cycle? What have
you accomplished?
• What hasn’t happened yet? What haven’t
you done? Been? Experienced?
• What have you given? Whom have you
loved?
• What’s old, stale, worn-out, boring? What
destructive patterns do you repeat?
• What infantile guilt and shame lingers?
Whom have you not forgiven?
• What’s new? Interesting? Exciting?
Appealing?
• What decisions do you need to make? What
future do you foresee for yourself?
• What are your emerging passions? What
promises and potentials are still unfulfilled?
• What are your dreams, values, visions?
Where do you look to find what’s next for
you?
The Upledger Institute’s CranioSacral I
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,
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
through The Upledger Institute only. Please
call 1-800-233-5880.
Recommended reading: Upledger &
Vredevoogd, CranioSacral Therapy (chapters 1-6);
Upledger, Your Inner Physician and You.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
28
Sam Keen
Periodically, we need to review and revision
our lives. Every decade of the life-cycle brings
new challenges, goals, pleasures, and horizons. Every crisis—divorce, illness, tragedy,
success, failure, retirement—requires us to
make a new beginning, take stock of our past,
and look for a new vision to guide us toward a
more hopeful future. This seminar will
explore:
Undefended Love: When Close
is Not Close Enough
Jett Psaris &Marlena Lyons
The capacity exists in all of us to love without
defenses or requirements, so that real intimacy—direct, unmediated, heart-to-heart connection with ourselves and with our partner—
becomes a lifelong expression of our deepest
nature. This is the power of Undefended
Love, a transformative path that guides us
beyond close, companion-based partnerships
toward intimate relationships, where each
moment is a fresh, spontaneous expression of
who we genuinely are.
This workshop, open to couples and individuals, offers a vision to cut through personal differences and reach the direct connection—
with ourselves and others—that can only
occur when the heart is undefended. The
focus is on shifting our center of gravity away
from our conditioned personality (the places
where we feel stuck, confused, hurt, and
defensive) toward our essential self (the part
of us that is free, whole, connected, peaceful,
powerful, and joyful). Through lively experiential practices, participants can learn:
• What unconditional love really is and how
to achieve it
• How to sustain our experience of ourselves
regardless of what our partner is feeling
• How to “dissolve” rather than “resolve”
relationship problems
• How problems can be entry points to deeper
connection
• Why there is no difference between men
and women when it comes to intimate
loving
• How comfort and safety can prevent rather
than promote intimacy
Please bring a pen and journal.
Recommended reading: Psaris & Lyons,
Undefended Love.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
The Sustainable Self
Mariah Fenton Gladis &Bruce Cornwell
We hear a lot these days about sustainability.
Usually the conversation revolves around
agricultural practices, sustainable development,
environment concerns, the way we run our
businesses. Even the corporate world has
jumped in with sustainable business practices
and green homes.
What about you? Do you manage and maintain your life in a way that optimizes potential
for sustainability? How do you nourish your
heart, mind, body and spirit? Do you maintain
compassionate connections with yourself,
loved ones, and the many that walk the earth?
How do you replenish after meeting the
demands of your life?
Sustainability is key to attaining your goals
in life. Whether you want to create healthier
relationships with yourself and others, bring
more value and meaning into your life, or
contribute more to the world at large, you’ll
need a compassionate and sustainable commitment within a healthy life. In this workshop you can:
• Learn the regenerative balance of giving and
receiving
• Investigate the unfinished business that is
impinging on your personal effectiveness
• Learn the power of compassionate contact
skills for facilitating change inside and out
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
• Reexamine and redefine your life’s mission
in an environment of mutual trust and
support
• Learn to provide for yourself in ways that
accommodate your true needs
A twenty-six year survivor of ALS, Mariah
speaks with what she calls her “ALS accent.”
Mariah’s creative use of music will weave
through the fabric of the workshop.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Week of February 17–22
The Alchemical Body: Tantrik Yoga
Scott Blossom &Chandra Easton
Modern yoga derives from an ancient Tantrik
tradition, which taught yoga as the means to
experience divinity within yourself and in the
world. In India, Tantra permeated both the
Hindu and Buddhist traditions and gave rise
to the philosophy and practices found in
Hatha Yoga, Kashmir Shaivism, and Vajrayana
Buddhism (which later traveled to Tibet),
among others.
Tantra, which means “a loom,” is based on
alchemical principles that the base metals of
our existence can be transformed into the
gold of health, happiness, and spiritual
insight. Weaving together powerful practices
such as yoga asana, pranayama, mantra,
mudra, meditation, and visualization with
Tantrik philosophy creates the potential for
such a transformation to occur.
Scott and Chandra, longtime students and
teachers of Yoga, Ayurveda, and Tibetan
Buddhism, will guide you through a week of
embodied exploration of the practices of
Tantrik Yoga. There will also be an opportunity to experience a traditional Native
American sweat lodge. Please bring your own
yoga mat.
To learn more about Scott and Chandra, visit
their website at www.shunyatayoga.com.
CE credit available for yoga teachers.
Advanced Massage Intensive
Vicki Topp &Jessica Fagan
This is an invitation for certified massage
practitioners to explore and experience current trends in Esalen® Massage and
Bodywork. The focus of this workshop will be
on unusual, interesting, and fresh approaches
to expand your technique repertoire, inspire
your creativity, and be easily incorporated
into your personal bodywork style. Potential
topics include:
izations in “reel” life and our experiences in
real life, connecting us to our higher possibilities long after this workshop.
• Breathing fundamentals and their
relationship to lungs, ribs, and shoulders
• Myofascial techniques for specific body
areas and layers
• Bones—skeletal alignment and repatterning;
balancing stability and flexibility; bone
tracing; organ support of the skeletal system
• Somatic touch and movement reeducation—
exploring somatic movement patterns
within ourselves and others
• Combining subtle fluid work with deep
structural work
• Nontraditional client positioning
• Using both active and passive movement to
enhance effectiveness
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Come play and reawaken your senses, your
inner spirit, and your intellect. Come prepared to move and be moved, to support and
be supported.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Cinema Alchemy: Using the
Power of Movies for Healing
and Transformation
Birgit Wolz
Movies affect us powerfully because the combined impact of music, dialogue, lighting,
camera angles, and sound effects enables a
film to bypass our ordinary defensive censors.
They draw us into the viewing experience,
but at the same time (and often more easily
than in real life) afford a unique opportunity
to retain a perspective outside the experience:
the observer’s view.
Cinema Alchemy takes advantage of a movie’s
impact to help participants change negative
beliefs, manage destructive emotions, develop
self-esteem, and grow in the face of a loss.
Participants learn to watch films with conscious awareness (a form of mindfulness practice) and are introduced to other approaches
derived from various spiritual traditions as
well as from transpersonal psychology.
Consequently, participants can learn to recognize aspects of their shadow self and, as they
dis-identify, find inner truth and spiritual
essence.
Like dreamwork, inquiries into emotional
responses to movies open a window to the
soul. How we relate to a film’s archetypal
motives reveals our inner life. The workshop
is designed to build a bridge between our real-
The Tao and the Art of Everything
David Streeter
Life is shallow indeed without the mystic.
“In this workshop,” writes David Streeter, “we
draw upon the wealth of wisdom contained
in the Taoist teachings. Mindfulness, poetry,
Sumi brush painting, gratefulness, and the
movement arts (Chi Gung) will be our tools
of discovery. Meditation practice and instruction will take place at the Round House,
Esalen’s meditation center nestled in the
woods by Hot Springs Creek. Sumi brush
painting will take place at the Art Barn.
“This workshop will be about deep insights
and enormous visions that we all can have.
Our time together will not be theoretical—it
will be about what once came naturally to the
heart of man. It is about our journey back and
into the mystic.”
Recommended reading: Streeter, The Tao Te
Ching: A Zen View.
Painting From The Source
Aviva Gold
If you’ve considered painting but never
thought you could, or if you’re trained in the
arts and would like to explore your source of
creativity, this retreat is for you. As children,
we naturally paint in a powerful, intuitive
way, purely for the joy of expression. This
freedom can be regained…
You face the empty paper, the rich, vibrant
colors; you choose a color, you move your
brush on the paper. The process deepens; you
may hesitate, emotions may surface. With
Aviva’s expert midwifery, in a warm, supportive atmosphere, you begin to paint not from
the intellect but from the ever-present, bottomless creative well of personal and universal images. Soon the movement of the colors,
the brush, and the water is hypnotic—you get
lost in it. Yet you are awake, allowing whatever needs to happen to happen…
Surprisingly touching and satisfying images
emerge. You don’t have to be trained to experience this, it’s your birthright—the possibility
of reconnecting is always there. To feel the
sensuousness of painting, to let yourself play,
to go through whatever blocks you need to go
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
29
through—this ritual of creating soul-touching
art is a natural way to stay balanced, healthy,
and vital, a spiritual practice that will connect
you to your Inner Wisdom Source.
Please note: This workshop has an extended
schedule and requires a commitment to group
process and inner growth. No alcohol or nonprescription drugs during workshop.
Recommended reading: Gold, Painting From
the Source: Awakening the Artist’s Soul in
Everyone (available through www.paintingfromthesource.org).
($25 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
Passion and Wisdom: Life Skills
for Balancing a Whole Life
David Schiffman
explored to evoke the vibrancy, freshness, and
potency of our presence and commitment to
our hopes and visions.
• How much is truly enough?
• How to minimize wasted time and
unnecessary suffering
• When and how to act effectively with
emotional competence, authenticity, and
authority
• When and whom to ask for support, when
to give way and wait with grace
Weekend of February 22–24
This workshop will provide time to seek wise
counsel and allies in a circle based in goodwill, mutual honesty, and deep, soulful
inquiry. Group activities and ceremonies will
celebrate and mark the milestones of our selfrealization and the challenges still ahead.
This is an opportunity to strengthen the life
skills, tools, and attitudes necessary for deepening physical vitality, mental acuity, and
emotional integrity. Perspectives and practices from ancient and modern sources will be
Experiencing Esalen
Experiencing Esalen Staff
For workshop description see January 25-27.
Spiritual Ecology of Business and
Right Livelihood
Josiah Cain
All of us have a place in working toward a
positive future. This workshop provides a setting for those who want to make a meaningful contribution to the green economy and
find fulfillment in professional life. The workshop experience will redefine “work” and
“activism,” bringing work into attunement
with your personal beliefs. You’ll have the
opportunity to explore perceptions about
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
A laundry list for a whole life might read: (1) a
long, healthy life, (2) a satisfying and safe
place to live, (3) an intimate circle of fulfilling
relationships with family, friends, and colleagues, (4) sufficient, steady material success,
(5) the freedom and the time to be, to dream,
and to spiritually aspire, and (6) enough
excitement, challenge, and change to keep
learning and growing. If these measures
reflect your own hopes and dreams, this
workshop is aimed at exploring or supporting
what it takes to know:
30
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
your philosophical connections to nature and
the relationship between humanity and global ecological processes: your personal “spiritual ecology.”
Qigong and Inner Alchemy:
Inner Elixir and the Practice of
Pure Radiance
Participants will discuss how our jobs relate to
the current global ecological situation and our
personal journeys. The workshop will touch
on trends and patterns such as ecology, energy,
design, transportation, agriculture, economics,
and geopolitics. Each participant will meet
one-on-one with Josiah Cain for an in-depth
session to reenvision work and career paths in
alignment with personal and spiritual goals.
No matter what form of spirit/mind/body cultivation you choose—Yoga, Qigong (Chi
Kung), or Tai Chi—the essentials of deepening
your practice are not actually based in the
“form.” Personal cultivation—Qigong—is not
merely a set of techniques; it is a “way of
being,” the roots of which tap entire worlds of
wisdom: traditional Chinese medicine, Taoism
(Daoism), Buddhism, Confucianism, ancient
quantum systems, and the transcendental
shamanic realms (Dancing Wu Li Masters).
The closing session will be devoted to discussion of how to avoid getting drawn right back
into old patterns and how to share resources
for maintaining strength and support to
remain optimistic in difficult and changing
times.
The schedule will allow time for participants
to reflect, mingle, and enjoy the baths.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 8.
Communication and Partnership
Mary Goldenson
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:
• 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, communication skills, movement, and Gestalt, making
it easier to express your truth and take
responsibility for your feelings and issues.
This workshop may have up to 34 participants.
Recommended reading: Goldenson, It’s Time—
No One’s Coming to Save You.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Roger Jahnke
“In this workshop,” writes Roger Jahnke, “we
will begin by exploring a simple Dao Yin
Qigong called Vitality Enhancement Method
(self-healing, medical Qigong) to use personally and to share with family, friends, patients,
clients, and colleagues. Then, drawing on the
ancient Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing), we will
cultivate the great ‘Way’ through special
Qigong methods—Natural Flow Qigong and
the Nine Phases of Mastery—to cultivate
inner elixir: the medicine within. Finally, we
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. The most profound medicine for the spirit/mind/body is
produced within us and, at its most refined,
the elixir is the light within.”
Health professionals, beginning students, and
those who seek healing are all welcome, as
well as experienced Qigong, Tai Chi, and Yoga
practitioners and teachers. For more information, visit www.FeeltheQi.com.
Suggested reading: Jahnke, The Healer Within,
and The Healing Promise of Qi.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The workshop will be a time of rest and discovery. Sessions will combine breathing,
chanting, and active and restorative yoga practices with sound principles of stability. The
objective is that you gain the inner wisdom to
access your spine and joints—all with a clearer
understanding of movement.
Please bring your own yoga mat.
Gay Men Exploring the Edge:
A Mindful and Somatic Approach
to Thriving
Rik Isensee &Scott Eaton
“As gay men,” Rik Isensee writes, “we all have
deep needs and desires we seek to fulfill:
longings for trust, self-confidence, intimacy,
acceptance, and love. Yet growing up gay in a
homophobic culture, it’s understandable that
we may be wary of being vulnerable with
other men. Even when an intimate connection is truly available, we may find ourselves
resisting, pulling away, or getting scared.
“In this experiential workshop, we will use
the gentle yet powerful methods of a bodyoriented approach called Hakomi to explore
this paradoxical edge between longing and
resistance. A deep and mindful awareness of
physical and emotional reactions will reveal
habitual responses that often keep us from
getting what we want. Then, through a range
of respectful (and entirely voluntary) experiences—including imagery, eye contact, evocative music, and supportive, non-sexual
touch—we will expand our ability to give and
receive heartfelt nurturing, attention, and loving kindness.
“Come join us for a fun and stimulating weekend. We will build on our strengths, discover
a joyful and playful side of gay men’s creativity, and tap into the rich resources of our own
internal wisdom.”
Pieces of the Yoga Puzzle
Harvey Deutch &Sarana Miller
This workshop offers an in-depth understanding of the how and why of the physical
side of yoga practice. The leaders will present
efficient biomechanical approaches to help
overcome the emerging obstacles encountered in your yoga practice. The emphasis will
be on alignment and foundation to establish a
successful posture. The more you practice
yoga with the emphasis on “practice,” the
more you will discover what your mind and
body are capable of allowing. This program is
designed to bring together some of the misunderstood pieces of this puzzle.
Week of February 24–29
The Song of the Drum
Gordy Onayemi Ryan &Mawuena Kodjovi
“Our goal,” writes Gordy Ryan, “is soulful
communication, playing and singing our way
on a musical journey from Nigeria to New
Orleans. We begin with traditional songs of
invocation and ceremony from village life,
then play the dance music of highlife and
Afrobeat, travel to the Caribbean to play
calypso and reggae songs, and arrive in New
Orleans to experience the evolution of West
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
31
African rhythms into the musical gumbo that
lives on in jazz, rhythm and blues, Mardi Gras
Indian festivities, and funk.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
“We open our ears, our voices, and our hearts
to the expression of Spirit, bringing the muse
of sweet inspiration into our lives. This is a
celebration of funk and fun in an environment of compassion, love, and interaction
among friends on the path of a living cultural
energy. Each session presents hand-drum fundamentals and grooves for the music we will
play, then we build the rhythm arrangements,
add melodic instruments and vocals—with
everyone singing—and we become One in the
music. There is a place in this orchestra for
everyone who loves music, from beginner to
pro.”
Trauma, Memory, and the
Restoration of One’s Self
Bessel van der Kolk
This course explores how trauma affects
thinking, feeling, and the capacity for intimacy with self and others. It involves both didactic and experiential learning experiences. The
workshop will examine how brain function is
shaped by experience and how life itself continually transforms perception and biology.
Because of altered biological and social realities, traumatized people continue to react, in a
myriad of ways, to current experience as a
replay of the past. Most experience is automatically processed on subcortical, i.e.,
“unconscious” levels; therefore, insight and
understanding have only a limited influence
on people’s control over these processes. The
course will explore in detail how brains
process information and how we can regulate
our levels of excitation and serenity without
the use of drugs. Participants will study how
the brain stores memories of trauma in sensory fragments, muscular actions, and physical
sensations, and explore ways of befriending
one’s body and integrating the fragments of
one’s past.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The Core Model of Permaculture
Design: Introduction to Permaculture
Design Solutions and Practices
Benjamin Fahrer, Kat Steele
&Mia Rose Maltz
Today we are witnessing unprecedented shifts
both environmentally and socially. Does an
individual have any control at all over the cli32
matic and cultural transitions that are shaping our world? This workshop will explore
the design principles and strategies of
Permaculture, a holistic approach that can
make you part of the solution, not the problem. Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. It
teaches how to design human systems that
follow the natural patterns and wisdom of
indigenous ways—energy-efficient methods to
integrate food, water, shelter, and landscape to
enhance the environment and create a fully
sustainable system. The course will have an
emphasis on practical solutions, including:
Passionate Interface:
The Fuel for Contact
• Home-scale Permaculture site application
• Effectively reading the ecological and social
landscape
• Water harvesting and drought-proofing
methods
• Intentional localized community
development and eco-village design
• Soil building and restoration techniques
• Alliances with fungi—myco-restoration and
myco-gardening techniques
• Land stewardship and property
management planning
• Composting in the garden and farm scale
• Planning and designing for catastrophe
• Food foresting and perennial polyculture
systems
“Finding the support necessary to allow our
essential goodness (soul) to stimulate contact
with our world is a primary concern. Also
called the core or life force, the soul can
become stuck on the negative side of what we
call our polarities. We exist within a range of
many human polarities. We are, for example,
good and bad, honest and dishonest, courageous and fearful. We love and hate, accept
and reject.
This seminar is open to anyone wanting to
help create a more just, sacred, and sustainable
future. We need to start taking full responsibility for our actions—for ourselves, our children, and the seven generations to come.
Alan Schwartz
“Passion,” writes Alan Schwartz, “equals the
free and enhanced flow of physical, emotional, and spiritual energy. We come to Esalen, a
place of safety, risk, and growth, with many
agendas, most involving change from one life
stage to another. This is a workshop for the
passionate interface between your soul and
the world you live in. We will identify where
we are along this life-continuum and fuel the
strength and clarity to enhance our journey.
“This week, Esalen and the group becomes
our world. We’ll experiment with how to
charge our energy systems to expand the
depth and breadth of who and what we are.
We’ll let others see us. With a nod to the work
of Reich, Lowen, and Pierrakos, and using the
Gestalt modality, we will activate passionate
interface, experimenting with exactly how
our energy and awareness moves from one
end of our polarity to the other, becoming
friendly with risk and the fun of pure joy and
foolishness.”
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Balance: Forever Young
Jean Couch
Weekend of February
29–March 2
How do you walk through the world? Are you
open, strong, expansive, active, alive? Or are
you closed off, weak, in pain, constricted, passive? How you walk, stand, and sit in the
world reveals who you are.
Sweet Mischief: A Lighthearted Path
for Self-Realization and Restoration
This workshop is for anyone from yoga practitioners to runners, walkers, or computer
nerds, and everyone in between. The goal is to
teach you—no matter what your age—the fundamentals of using your skeletal system to
support your body in balance so that your
muscles remain pliant, flexible, and powerful
throughout your life.
Aging is usually associated with stooped, shortened, weakened bodies. In this workshop, you
will be shown how to achieve a balanced posture that increases your flexibility, maintains
length in your torso, and dramatically reduces
the stresses and strains that cause chronic pain
and discomfort. You will learn to walk and sit
in a way that frees you from pain and constriction, and empowers you with strength and selfconfidence. Other benefits:
• Learn how to realign your bones as you
walk, stand, sit, bend, and sleep
• Dramatically improve your walking and
running as you acquire balance
• Dissolve aches and pains
• Receive personalized feedback throughout
the class
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Transforming Trauma with EMDR:
Advanced Clinical Workshop and
Refresher Course (Part 3)
Step right up, step right in, come and enjoy the
trouble you’re in.
— Coyote Old Man
The radiance of a light heart changes for the
better everything it reveals. It bathes us in an
atmosphere of playfulness, hope, and goodwill.
It is born of innate wisdom and is a blessing for
all who share it. If you feel that living a passionate, lighthearted, authentic life is a necessity, not a luxury, if presence to deeper, wiser,
more naturally uninhibited spirits helps you
balance out the needs and demands of others
with your own, if you feel being free and whole
in your own skin is the proper foundation for a
real life lived—then you’re ready for the lighthearted path of sweet mischief.
Join David Schiffman and friends in a weekend of high spirits, joyful antics, and deep contemplation amidst all things considered. “Our
aim together,” writes David, “is to express our
deepest thoughts and feelings in a dream-time
celebration of lighthearted intention. We will
call on the uplifting spirit medicine of ceremony, touch, dance, music, and song, along with
the powers of spirit-family and personal daring
and sharing. Our mission: to reconnect with
what is free, natural, and alive inside us … a joyful tune-up … a time designed to leave you feeling more nimble, poised, and able to face the
challenge of making the life you hope for.”
Couples’ Communication
Laurel Parnell
In this workshop participants will have the
opportunity to refresh their technique and
review EMDR protocols and procedures, consult on their difficult cases, watch demonstrations, and practice EMDR in small supervised
groups. Instruction will focus on using
EMDR with complex cases, resource development and installation, target development,
and cognitive interweaves.
This EMDR course is for participants who
have completed either Level II training or an
equivalent EMDRIA-approved course.
Recommended reading: Parnell, Transforming
Trauma: EMDR, and EMDR in the Treatment of
Adults Abused as Children.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
David Schiffman
Warren Farrell
I’ve never heard someone say, “Warren, I want a
divorce—my partner understands me.”
At the deepest level, most coupled individuals
do not feel understood by their partners.
Promises of honesty and love begin to fade
when we express genuine feelings that our
partners perceive as criticism. Criticism
begets criticism, and soon the fear of escalation leads to stuffing feelings and “walking on
eggshells.” The children consume too much
time for unraveling the feelings, even as they
also create a reason to stay together. The
result: Couples remain legally married but
psychologically divorced, developing a “silent
deal” that looks too much like our parents’
and not enough like the initial promise.
The most important component in this cycle
is the inability to handle what our partners
perceive as feelings and what we perceive as
criticism. Active listening, the best solution, is
rarely used. Dr. Farrell has modified active listening to avoid what prevents most couples
from using it. When conflict can be fully
expressed, he helps develop “conflict-free
zones.” Once the fear of walking on eggshells
disappears, he works with couples to replace
that fear with an atmosphere of positive associations. The outcome: reigniting passion
without sacrificing stability.
Once these methods are mastered with partners, Dr. Farrell helps participants apply them
to children, co-workers, and finally our own
parents.
Required reading: Farrell, Women Can’t Hear
What Men Don’t Say, chapters 1-3.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Skills in Structural Integration:
Body Analysis
Bruce Schonfeld
Mobility enhances motility as Qi cannot
optimally flow where fascia is fixated.
Much of the art and science of Manual
Medicine lives in the ability to strategize an
intervention based on what you see and feel.
Long before form and technique, perceiving
variation in the body’s mobility, symmetry,
and tone is crucial to interpreting a tricky
client’s anatomy and problem solving on
deeper levels. Once identified, often the key is
addressing the asymmetry in asymmetrical
terms. For example, knowing there is a legitimate leg-length differential in play can be
extremely helpful in explaining whole-body
compensation.
With mutual support and respect, students
will visually analyze and manually palpate
each other for alignment and range of
motion. Concepts and skills demonstrated
and practiced include:
• Postural analysis—Seeing anatomical
relationships
• Palpatory analysis—Feeling anatomical
relationships; motion testing
• Polyfascial perspective—Craniosacral,
musculoskeletal, neural, visceral
• Structural strategies—”Structural types,”
“primary lesion,” and adaptation
• Clinical applications—Holistic, orthopedic,
and movement education
• Experiential movement—Embodiment and
evolution of class concepts
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
33
These skills translate well clinically and
potentiate other practices. This is an invitation
for cross-pollination appropriate for bodywork and movement teachers, personal trainers, somatic meditators, artists, acupuncturists, naturopaths, chiropractors, physical
therapists, integrative physicians and, of
course, manual therapists.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Life Coaching for Results: An
Introduction to The Inquiry Process
Amaran Tarnoff
Whether you are a professional manager,
therapist, consultant, or coach, or find yourself wanting to help your children, family, or
friends deal with what’s stopping them from
producing results, this course can give you
the tools. It offers the same fundamental
coaching tool—the Inquiry Process—that professionals have used for years to support
employees or clients with life issues such as
career, relationship, and well-being.
Einstein said, “Problems cannot be solved at
the same level of awareness that created
them.” The Inquiry Process is a particular kind
of conversation, composed of asking and
answering questions, which provides us with
a post-psychological way of thinking and
being. It is based on these premises: (1) Most
of the time people already have the answers;
what’s missing are the right questions; (2) It is
much easier for people to listen to questions
than to be told what to do; and (3) Something
powerful happens in relationships when people ask questions of others instead of already
“knowing all the answers.”
This course is designed to teach you how to
coach others to:
• Think through their issues and problems
• Manage from support instead of “authority
and control”
• Listen powerfully
• Create partnership and trust in
relationships
For more information on the Inquiry Process
visit www.theinquiryprocess.com.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to
Thrive in a Not-So-Sensitive World
Elaine Aron
Do you have a keen imagination, rich inner
life, vivid dreams? Is time alone each day as
essential as air? Do others call you “too shy”
34
or “overly sensitive”? Are you easily overwhelmed by bright lights, loud noise, or your
own emotions?
If you answered yes, you are probably a
Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP. (If still not
certain, you may take the complete self-test
at www.hsperson.com or in one of the books
mentioned below.) Twenty percent of us are
born highly sensitive; the percentage is the
same for men and women. It is a valuable
trait: Many great artists and thinkers were
HSPs, and HSPs are generally highly conscientious and intuitive.
But there are some drawbacks. You become
easily frazzled and overaroused. You may be
perceived as timid, moody, aloof, or fussy. And
you do not possess our culture’s “ideal” personality. This course explains the trait, then
offers coping strategies, help with close relationships, and ideas for careers and the workplace. This workshop can be a life-changing
experience. It’s a chance to reframe selfrecriminations and past “failures.” It’s also a
weekend spent with others like yourself—
after feeling “different” all your life, this is
often the most healing part of all.
”Does that happen often?” she asked. “It
always happens,” replied the gnat. When the
systems you need to survive are inherently
killing you, that is a Double Bind. Now the
next question, for the Bread and Butterfly and
for the rest of us, is, how do you get out of a
Double Bind?
Now more than ever, a discussion of the
world as an interconnected creative system is
an acutely relevant process toward a shift in
thinking and acting. What happens when we
look for the contexts, the relationships
between living things, and start to see a larger
set of intertwined variables, and the lusty
vibrancy of each member is integral?
Combining the realms of improvisation, creativity, and systems theory, this workshop will
look at the nature of change, learning, and
evolution. Through music, poetry, art, and the
process of questioning, attendees will play
with relationships, contexts, metaphors, and
flexibility in order to make a cognitive jump
out of the mad tea party and into inquiry.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 8.
This workshop can be especially useful for
those in the helping professions.
Dangerous Writing
Recommended reading: Aron, The Highly
Sensitive Person and The Highly Sensitive Child.
“What makes writing dangerous,” Tom
Spanbauer writes, “is something personal,
very small, and quiet. In this class we will be
asked to go to parts of ourselves where there
is an old silence, where it is secret, where it is
dark and sore. One of the goals of the class
will be to go to where we’ve never gone
before, writing down what scares the hell out
of us. Eventually to the very foundation and
structure of how we perceive, and in this
investigation, we can challenge old notions of
who we are.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Week of March 2–7
Tea with the Bread and Butterfly:
An Exploration in Creativity,
Interconnectedness, and the
Double Bind
Nora Bateson &Alfonso Montuori
Gregory Bateson, the renowned anthropologist, biologist, and cyberneticist/systems theorist, was one of the original teachers at
Esalen. Gregory referred to our ecological
conundrum in terms of the Double Bind. The
story he sometimes used to explain the
Double Bind was about the gnat in Through
the Looking Glass that showed Alice a strange
creature called the Bread and Butterfly. This
creature had a head made of a lump of sugar
and wings of bread and butter. Alice asked,
“What does it live on?” The gnat replied,
“Weak tea with cream.” Alice realized that the
Bread and Butterfly’s head would melt if he
dipped it in tea, and asked, “What happens if
he doesn’t get any?” The gnat said, “He dies.”
Tom Spanbauer
“In our investigation to the bone, the first
thing we will encounter is voice. How to create it. Saying it wrong, saying it spoken rather
than written, saying it raw. By challenging old
creative writing workshop language, we will
investigate what my teacher called Burnt
Tongue. The New York Times, in its review of
The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon, called
it Poisoned Lyricism. Character lies in the
destruction of the sentence. How a character
thinks is how she speaks. The class will be, as
Annie Dillard has called it, ‘alligator wrestling
at the level of the sentence.’ By studying sentences, by taking them apart and looking at all
their elements, by tuning them to how our
particular narrator thinks, and ultimately
speaks, we can begin to create a music that is
unique.”
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Gravity and Grace: Yoga for Finding
Your Inner Teacher
Peter Sterios
of our own ‘inner teacher.’ With this, we cultivate a truly personal practice and the wisdom
born of our own experience.”
touch with who we really are and suffer the
greatest wound of all—the illusion of separation from the sanctity of our soul.
Whether you are approaching hatha yoga for
the first time or a “seasoned veteran,” the fundamental challenge that practice presents
begins with quiet inquiry: “What can I do
today to bring a little more freedom and intelligence into my life?”
Classes during the week will be progressive
(step-by-step) in nature and appropriate for all
levels. Movement classes will include both
live and prerecorded acoustic music to assist
in activating the feeling centers of the body.
Please bring your own yoga mat.
“Through personal and interpersonal processes we will create a safe space to heal our
wounds, let go, and move on. Using selfawareness tools, we will learn how to access
our Authentic Self and penetrate into the
essence of our soul—which is simply love.
This frees our energy to love and accept ourselves for who we really are as well as develop
empathy and compassion for the suffering of
others.”
Peter Sterios writes: “Strengthening this
‘inquiry muscle’ is essential for maintaining a
lifetime practice and avoiding the obstacle of
boredom found in repetitive routines. During
this week we will use ancient techniques to
explore how body sensation, which often we
judge as painful (e.g., chronic stiffness), can be
powerful for deciphering the language of
‘body energy’ and provide us an opportunity
to overcome physical and mental resistance.
We will experience how Gravity educates our
bodies and influences our practice through
the power of surrender and simultaneous
non-muscular effort. This type of work moves
us away from a mentally-driven practice,
strengthening our intuition and providing us
with a present-moment experience of our
feeling centers (heart and navel). This is
essential for a yoga practice which opens to
the magic of Grace, and for the development
Who Am I, Really? How Our Wounds
Can Lead to Healing
Joe Cavanaugh
Through love all pain is turned to medicine.
— Rumi
“Most of us,” writes Joe Cavanaugh, “have
experienced some degree of loss, betrayal, or
wounding of our hearts from simply being
human in a world of uncertainty and change.
It is easy to overidentify with our pain, get
caught in our personal drama, and reinforce a
false identity based on our past wounds. Or
we may deny the drama altogether, detach
from our pain, and attempt to live ‘happily
ever after’ in our heads. And then, to paraphrase Carl Jung, what we don’t handle consciously is relegated to the unconscious and
happens to us by fate. Either way, we lose
Prerequisite: The willingness to abstain from
alcohol and nonprescription drugs for the
duration of the workshop.
Recommended reading: Cavanaugh, Who Am
I, Really? How Our Wounds Can Lead to Healing.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The Foundations of Nervous System
Energy Work
Jim Kepner &Carol DeSanto
“Nervous System Energy Work (NSEW),” Jim
Kepner writes, “is a hands-on energy method
drawing on principles of Bill Gray, an energy
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
35
healer whose remarkable healing ability was
described in Born To Heal. We have extended
his insights into a modern approach to subtle
energy work which has profound implications for health and consciousness disciplines.
and anyone interested in subtle energy and
consciousness.
“The nervous system is a magnificent system
of subtle energy which nourishes and clears
our cells, organs, and body systems, and
enhances our vitality. NSEW is often experienced as having immediate and palpable
effects on the body and on awareness. NSEW
also links together the nervous system with
the subtle energies of the chakra system, helping us to access profound states of consciousness, and offers a sophisticated approach to
spiritual development and inner balance. Our
work has been applied in areas as diverse as
chronic disease, pain and pain syndromes,
psychological and physical effects of trauma,
body psychotherapy, and personal and spiritual development.” This workshop will teach the
principles of NSEW including:
Circle of Life Mind/Body Coaching—
Level 2
• How to identify, match with, and run an
individual’s specific nervous system energy
• Practices to fill and clear the nervous system
and a basic treatment sequence
• The relation of nervous system energy to
health and disease
• Meditations which open access to energy
and flow through the nervous system
This workshop will be of interest to integral
health practitioners, massage therapists, energy workers, body-oriented psychotherapists,
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Rebecca McLean
This workshop is for those of you who are
certified or in training in the Circle of Life
Coaching Process. This course will give you
the opportunity to:
• Review, refine, and develop your coaching
and group facilitation skills
• Learn creative ways to work with clients
and groups to get better results
• Explore methodologies to clear core beliefs
that block progress, for yourself and your
clients
• Experience Qigong and other mind-body
energy practices
• Learn powerful ancient and scientific
technologies for manifesting your
intentions
• Learn how to tune into and trust your
intuition
• Expand and market your current coaching
work
• Renew, play, practice, network, learn, and be
“in circle” again, coached by the wondrous
Circle of Life Coaches
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Weekend of March 7–9
The Body Keeps the Score:
Mind, Brain, and Body in the
Transformation of Trauma
Peter Levine &Bessel van der Kolk
This workshop unites two of the leading figures in the field of trauma research and bodyoriented treatment approaches. Together they
will explore the implications of recent findings
in the neurosciences, from how the brain and
body deal with emotional information to an
understanding of effective therapeutic action.
The leaders will show how the trauma
response is a specific defensive bodily reaction that people initially mobilize in order to
protect themselves, and then use against feeling the totality of their horror, helplessness,
or pain. However, in the long range this
response keeps them frozen, stuck in the past,
unable to fully be in the here and now. Fixed
in the defensive trauma response, the shame,
defeat, and humiliation associated with the
original event replays itself over and over
again in the body, detached from history, but
experienced in the present.
Traditionally, therapies have attempted to
change perceptions of the world by means of
reason and insight, along with conditioning,
behavior modification, drugs, and medications. However, perceptions remain fundamentally unchanged until the internal experience of the body changes. Even after the
death of a loved one, physical injury, rape, or
assault, people can learn to have new bodily
experiences, then come to heal and accept
what has happened and create new lives and
new communities.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Rhythm Tribe Song Circle
Emile Hassan Dyer
If you can walk, you can dance! If you can talk,
you can sing!
— African proverb
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
For thousands of years, all across the globe,
singing has been a traditional communal
activity. Every culture on the planet sings
together in one form or another. Singing has
been, and continues to be, used for teaching,
play, prayer, healing, social bonding, and
entertainment. In our present-day culture,
many people either believe they cannot sing
or have been told in various ways not to sing.
36
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
They leave that joy to others—to the performers, the entertainers, the media stars. It is time
to heal the wound. It is time to commune. It
is time to move and to be moved.
Participants will engage and energize their
whole beings in the time-honored tradition of
learning through Sacred Play. The workshop
offers songs from a wide variety of traditions
and cultures, including West African,
Australian (Aboriginal), Russian, Celtic, South
African, Asian, Native American, and more.
Participants will also practice traditional and
urban beatbox vocal percussion styles, explore
their own voices, and play with improvisational expression in a safe and encouraging
environment. Active listening with all senses
is encouraged.
The voice was the first instrument … if you
have a voice, then singing is your birthright.
Please bring a recording device.
Rosen Method Bodywork: Accessing
the Unconscious through Touch
Jane Malek
Marion Rosen’s vision of Rosen Method
Bodywork and Movement has brought her
recognition as an international pioneer in the
field of body-oriented therapies. At the heart
of Rosen Method is the practitioner’s keen
sense to see a person’s true essence, often hidden underneath chronic holding patterns.
Using skillful touch, gentle yet deep, the practitioner contacts the client’s unconscious,
allowing essence to emerge. During her
career as a physical therapist and health educator, Marion Rosen developed her unique
approach to bodywork, movement, and selftransformation by observing the process of
her patients.
This workshop introduces the touch that
accesses the emotional material held in the
unconscious parts of our bodies. Participants
will be taught to deepen awareness, observe
the wisdom of the natural breath, and experience living more from personal truth. The
group process will amplify the opening to
feelings that have long been put away as muscular tension. Rosen Method Movement
helps to integrate these feelings and physical
shifts into daily life. The workshop explores
how both modalities complement each other
and emerge from the same theory. Students
will be shown how to:
• Use hands that listen rather than
manipulate
• Notice how chronic muscle tension is held
in the body
• Use subtle changes in the breath to follow
the relaxation process
• Allow unconscious feelings, attitudes, and
memories to emerge
• Remain vital and joyful while moving to
music
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Eating Green: Sustainable Eating
for the Body, Sustainable Eating for
the Planet
Charlie &Marion Cascio
This is a workshop that can save your health
as well as the health of our Mother Earth.
Many people accelerate their own failing
health—and premature death—by what they
eat, even though medical science has proven
that by changing to a vegetarian diet you can
add many more enjoyable years to your life.
In today’s sustainable world, meals come complete with a carbon footprint. Plant-based
diets leave a much simpler, lighter footprint
on the planet than our standard American
diet.
This workshop will explore how we can eat a
sustainable, healthy diet through vegetarian,
vegan, and raw approaches to nourishing our
bodies. Charlie Cascio, former longtime
Esalen kitchen manager, is both a culinary
artist and a catalyst. He and his wife Marion, a
longtime Esalen staff chef, will help you
design a healthy way of eating without compromising taste. Exploring the cuisine of
meatless cooking requires creativity to be successfully accepted by the meat-eaters that you
feed. Personal sustainability as well as global
sustainability usually begins with the mouth.
Eating a plant-based diet is the first step to a
green lifestyle change.
The Shared Heart: The Couple’s
Journey to Wholeness
Joyce &Barry Vissell
This program is designed to take participants
to the true depths of their love and commitment. And being with facilitators Joyce and
Barry Vissell, who are so much in love after 42
years of being together, can be just as helpful
as their powerfully effective teachings.
We all carry some degree of negative programming from our past, and there are loving
and effective ways to transform this programming into a positive and vibrant celebration
of our connection.
The workshop will include: exercises and
practices for couples to do with each other,
with one other couple, and with the group as
a whole; coaching of each couple by the
Vissells; meditations/visualizations designed
to deepen the couple’s love; the support of
other couples; and time for sharing after each
practice.
Participants will be shown: tools for deeper
appreciation; communication building,
including healthy communication of feelings;
our partner as a mirror (working with positive as well as negative projections); understanding and respecting each other’s differences; conflict resolution; healing past hurts;
sexual wellness; refilling the cup of love; the
blessing and challenge of working together;
and developing a true inner connection.
Week of March 9–14
Climate Change, Sustainability,
Economy—and You
Craig Hart &Juliet Johnson
Many of us feel overwhelmed by the scale and
complexity of the challenges posed by climate
change and sustainability. This workshop will
provide a foundational understanding of the
energy and environment challenges of the
21st century from the scientific, technological, economic, and policy-making perspectives—and allow attendeess to form their own
perspectives. The workshop will also help participants to raise awareness of these issues in
their own lives, to explore options for taking
action, and to develop a firm base from which
their voice and leadership in their communities can emerge.
Readings will be provided that present current research and, where appropriate, competing viewpoints. The leaders will work individually with participants to develop strategies to
incorporate into their lives, businesses, communities, and organizations. The workshop is
designed so that through teaching, exercises,
and experiential learning, participants will
leave with a solid understanding of the issues,
inspired to take action in a way uniquely fulfilling to them.
This workshop will draw on the professional
experience of both leaders, including Craig
Hart’s work in China and throughout the
world on the legal, policy, and business implications of climate change and sustainability,
and Juliet Johnson’s experience as a professional engineer and Sustainability
Coordinator for the Esalen Institute.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
37
Wild Serenity
Camille Maurine &Lorin Roche
Wild Serenity is a radically liberating, deeply
revitalizing week of meditation, movement,
and energy practices. The workshop explores
the interplay between meditation and expression—the way that contact with the soul
inspires dynamic engagement with the outer
world, which in turn contributes to a rich
inner life.
Meditation can be defined as paying attention
to the current of life and love flowing through
us and riding it inward to our essence. This is
an instinctive ability, a way of accessing inner
wisdom, and we all can do it. The course alternates sitting and moving meditations that
awaken the senses, soften the heart, and
stretch the muscles of the mind. Through
body awareness, sound, and breath, you gently and gradually let more life force stream
through you.
In this approach, you learn to embrace the
fullness of your nature—vastness and vulnerability, sensuality and surging power. You will
discover that what might seem like obstacles—raw emotions, restlessness, desire—are
actually gateways into vitality, renewal, and
creativity.
Living and loving fully takes courage and all
the inner resources one can muster. Drawing
on three decades of teaching and 24 years of
relationship, authors Maurine and Roche
share their experience with humor and compassion. If you’ve given up on meditation, or
are ready to take your practice to a new level;
if you want to tap into more joy and inspiration; if you long for more intimacy with yourself and others, then perhaps it’s time for Wild
Serenity.
Recommended reading: Maurine & Roche,
Meditation 24/7 and Meditation Secrets for
Women; Roche, Breath Taking and Meditation
Made Easy.
Awakening the Ordinary Miracle
of Healing
Peter Levine &Staff
While trauma is a fact of life, it does not have
to be a life sentence. In this workshop participants will have the opportunity to explore the
possibility that the traumas and obstacles in
their lives also hold the potential for genuine
emotional and spiritual growth and self-transformation. For this to happen, it may mean
having the courage to give up old “victim
identifications” (that have long been our
38
“friends”) and trust in the emergence of a
deeper, more authentic sense of self.
In this experiential and didactic workshop,
Peter Levine, a pioneer in stress and trauma
for thirty-five years and author of the bestselling book Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma:
The Innate Capacity to Heal from Overwhelming
Experiences, will work with individuals in a
supportive group setting. In addition, bodycentered awareness exercises, small-group
work, and journaling will be used to support
participants in their healing journey.
This workshop is open to both professionals
and nonprofessionals. There will be the
opportunity, if participants wish, for short discussion of their work to enhance the learning
process. Please bring a notepad and pen.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Singing with Ease
Susie Self
forms, and gently facilitating release of emotional, physical, and spiritual blockages, allowing for infusion by the Lightbody.
Maria Lucia and Aparecida come from a
Brazilian family with a multigenerational tradition in shamanic ways and mediumship. In
1979 Maria Lucia came to Esalen and was
sponsored by Esalen cofounder Dick Price
while she learned Spiritual Massage from
Brazilian healer Luiz Gasparetto.
This workshop presents practical methods for
using the hands as instruments of physical
and spiritual healing. Incorporating both
hands-on and energetic work, it emphasizes
intentionality as the fundamental tool of any
healing art for moving energy. The course
includes exercises for grounding and attuning
to energy as well as Afro-Brazilian shamanic
practices for self-protection. Special exercises
will help prepare the group energy field for
channeling sessions done by Maria Lucia
(please bring questions). Emotional release
work and group process will be integrated as
they emerge.
This is a workshop dedicated to getting your
singing voice up and running in a week. The
course is aimed primarily at participants who
long to sing but feel held back by nerves, a
lack of confidence in how they sound, and
physical discomfort in the way they use their
voice. Using techniques derived from classical singing but applied to all styles of music,
this course will help you build a daily practice
of breathing, focusing, extending your range,
and sustaining beautiful sound.
This work is accessible to anyone—nurses,
bodyworkers, businessmen, therapists, and all
those interested in working with energy and
people’s bodies.
“The primary basis for this work,” Susie Self
writes, “is to discover physically how the
voice works best and to make your throat feel
free and strong so that singing becomes an
empowering massage. With this newfound
physical confidence we will look at ways to
boost our performing skills by singing together in harmony, chanting with singing bowls,
and creating ‘voice circles’ in nature. Our ultimate aim will be to create a plan to take ourselves back into the world as active, creative
singers.”
Trust, love, erotic sexuality, and a core experience of self are building blocks for a vital relationship. Yet, unless our bodies are awakened,
these remain elusive ideas rather than familiar body feelings. 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
conscious relationship, or even just one that
works well over time, we must know ourselves and have practical body-mind mentalhealth tools to resolve the inevitable dilemmas that interrupt our sense of well-being.
While suitable for total beginners, this workshop also welcomes more experienced singers
looking to renew their joy in singing.
Spiritual Massage: Lightbody Infusion
Maria Lucia Bittencourt Sauer
&Aparecida Sauer
Spiritual Massage is a hands-on healing practice that works directly on the energy body,
balancing the chakras, cleansing old thought
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
The Intimate Couple: An Integrative
Body Psychotherapy (IBP) Workshop
Jack Rosenberg &Beverly Morse
Today, most couples want an equal and reciprocal relationship, but few know how to
accomplish this attunement of partnership.
Once you simultaneously experience the
internal feeling of self and attunement with
your partner—and know what gets in the
way—you will know how you got there and
how to achieve it again and again.
Designed as a preventive model, this workshop can help you uncover the key under-
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
The program will include discussion, individual process, and practical tools for integrating
one’s insights and discoveries. This work can
be important to therapists, teachers, social
workers, parents, parents-to-be, those trying
to conceive, and anyone who works with people or who wants to learn more about themselves.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Connecting Through Touch:
A Massage Workshop for Couples
Peggy Horan &David Streeter
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
This will be a weekend for couples to renew
their relationship while exploring touch and
learning massage. The workshop will present
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. Couples will
exchange massages at each session, following
a demonstration and warm-up exercise. There
will be ample time off to explore the beauty of
Esalen’s land and to enjoy the warmth of the
mineral baths.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
mining 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,
making sex better, and an opening to existential//spiritual themes of intimacy and aging.
With IBP, couples can learn how to regain
their hope and excitement.
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.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Weekend of March 14–16
Perinatal Psychology for Health
and Healing
Judyth O. Weaver
The field of prenatal and perinatal psychology
has grown out of research that shows how
prenates and neonates feel, have memories,
and respond specifically to their experiences,
and how adults unconsciously remember and
base actions and reactions throughout their
lives on these early experiences.
Many health issues—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—can be linked to prenatal
and birth experiences and parent-infant
bonding. Patterns for one’s ability to deal with
stress and trauma are also laid down in these
early, preverbal times.
In an experiential format, this program will
explore embryological and infant development, the effects of various life occurrences,
ways to promote healthy births, and protocols
for therapeutic interventions and repairing
trauma. The workshop will teach listening,
acknowledging, attuning, and somatically
tracking movement patterns and the fluctuation of the nervous system—thereby offering
the support that may not have been there in
the past and perhaps providing resolution to
issues that have seemed to resist other therapeutic attempts.
Being Present for Your Life:
Introduction to Mindfulness
Meditation
James Baraz
How much are you present for your own life?
Most of us spend more time in our own inner
world—worrying about the future, replaying
the past, or lost in fantasy—than experiencing
what life is offering to us right now. The present moment is where we can most directly
be intimate with our life—touched by beauty
and intimacy, while learning through the difficult lessons how to open our hearts.
Mindfulness—or vipassana—meditation is the
practice described by the Buddha for developing wisdom, compassion, and peace by learning to be mindful of what is actually happening in the present moment. Using the breath,
body sensations, thoughts, and emotions as
objects of attention, we can learn to be more
fully awake. When we see directly that the
nature of reality is change, we begin to let go
of clinging to the pleasant or avoiding the
unpleasant. We become more capable of meet-
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
39
ing each situation with spontaneity, fearlessness, and love.
Participants will be introduced to this meditation practice and the principles on which it is
based. There will be periods of silent sitting
and walking meditation as well as discussion,
providing a foundation for applying mindfulness practice to everyday life.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Trauma Proofing Your Child: Instilling
Joy, Confidence, and Resilience
Peter Levine &Maggie Kline
However, thankfully, children have a vibrant,
innate resilience and are able to rebound with
appropriate support. In fact, with our presence and guidance our kids can actually
become more resilient, competent, and joyful.
This workshop will explore strategies both for
the prevention of trauma and for helping
traumatized children recover. The program
will look at approaches for utilizing Somatic
Experiencing®, art, and play. In addition, the
course will explore working with groups,
including in the neighborhood or classroom.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The Universal Brazilian Voice:
Mouth Batucada and Beyond
Claudia Villela
To sing is to live! In every culture, people
manifest themselves through music and
sound. To sing is to move in rhythm, melody,
and harmony with the whole universe. This
workshop offers an opportunity to learn new
sounds and rhythms, get inspired, improvise,
and celebrate together in a most heart-opening way.
Through exercises involving the whole body,
mind, and soul, you will be introduced to
Mouth Batucada—the sound of Samba, the
Brazilian Mother Rhythm. Participants will
learn to translate the percussion-instrument
sounds and patters of the Brazilian Carnival—
surdo, pandeiro, shaker, agogo, tamborim, and
cuica—to the voice. Singing solo and in
groups, participants will absorb Brazilian
rhythms and songs, as colorful Brazilian
myths and poetry set the mood. Claudia will
be joined by composer/guitarist Ricardo
Peixoto, who will help to teach basic guitar
chords and Brazilian rhythms.
This will be a weekend of fun and supported
self-exploration, offering techniques for developing both the voice and a wild imagination.
By the end of the workshop, besides becoming better singers, participants will have
expanded their universe of sound-expression
possibilities and become more aware of their
part in a bigger picture—with more acceptance, consciousness, and aliveness.
All levels are welcome. Bring a guitar, if you
have one.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
This workshop is about “nipping trauma in
the bud” by offering simple preventative
“emotional first aid” at the earliest signs that a
child may have been overwhelmed. Not infrequently, parents find themselves puzzled by
unexpected changes in the behavior and
moods of their children—not associating
these alterations with adaptations made by
their kids after some seemingly minor
mishap. This workshop explores how the
effects of trauma can result not only from catastrophic events such as abuse, violence,
death of loved ones, and natural disasters, but
from ordinary events that affect many of our
children. Symptoms such as anxiety, night-
mares, aggression, hyperactivity, depression,
and physical illness may develop even after
everyday incidents such as accidents, invasive
medical procedures, sports injuries, witnessing violence in the media, divorce, loss, and
separation.
40
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Jesus in Jewish, Christian, and
Muslim Perspectives
Week of March 16–21
David Bossman
Retreat with Gangaji
“There is a special power in gathering together in support of one another's awakening,”
Gangaji writes. “To spend five days and nights
in a beautiful, natural setting, focused solely
on the most earnest questions of the heart, is
a rare and precious opportunity.”
Retreats with Gangaji provide a sacred, restful
environment for the deepest inquiry into the
truth of one's being. As we are conditioned to
look outside ourselves for happiness, to work
hard at getting what we want, we habitually
overlook the effortless fulfillment already
alive within us as the foundation of our being.
When the body can rest and the mind can
stop its usual activities of planning and figuring, seeking and avoiding, there is every possibility of discovering the peace that is always
present.
Weekend of March 21–23
That Was Zen, This Is Tao:
Watts Up When East Meets West?
Chungliang Al Huang &Robert Walter
Over the years, living Tao master Chungliang
Al Huang has collaborated with scholars
and artists immersed in the confluence of
Eastern philosophies and Western spiritual
traditions, including Alan Watts, Joseph
Campbell, Frederick Franck, and others.
This weekend, he will be joined by Joseph
Campbell Foundation president Robert
Walter for a lively exploration of the surprising resonances that resound from the interplay of the seemingly discrete, but increasingly interpenetrable, perspectives of East
and West.
The leaders write: “Over the course of the
weekend, we will examine the fundamental
metaphors in such Chinese classics as the
ten Zen Oxherder pictures and reflect on
their application to modern living. We will
explore the symbolic parallels between Zen
teachings, Taoist insights, and the stages of
the Hero’s Journey as outlined in Campbell’s
best-seller, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We
will also share some sage stories, tell some
tall tales.”
Prepare to be inspired, stimulated, provoked,
and encouraged to be the hero of your own
life as you follow your bliss and embark on
your unique journey.
Jesus stands out as a commanding religious
figure whose identity and teachings echo
through the ages and into the beliefs and spirituality of people today. A Hebrew, Jesus
embodies the biting and consoling prophetic
tradition of ancient Israel. A teacher, he
relates simple stories that elevate the human
spirit and reveal divinity. A martyr, his death
on a cross could have terminated any messianic claim were it not for his resurrection
on the third day, a phenomenon his followers
single out as a compelling divine affirmation.
For those who follow him in faith, Jesus
embodies the heaven-sent Christ. For those
who reject such messianic claims, he can be a
stumbling block, a blasphemous graven
image. But is this all necessarily so? His resurrection after death may well stand for an
underlying human quest for the good, the
beautiful, the true.
This seminar will examine current scholarship on Jesus: (1) quests for the historical
Jesus—what they found and where they lead
us today; (2) teachings that stir people and
bring them to an understanding of the divine;
and (3) interpretations that set Jesus apart, or
ones that harmonize with both Jewish and
Islamic faith traditions.
Jesus can be divisive within the Abrahamic
faith traditions. He can also be a unifying
force if people of various faiths engage him
within their own religious sensibilities. By
liberating Jesus from divisive polemics, the
Teacher of Nazareth may still speak to the
heart, the mind, the soul of those open to
experiencing oneness with the divine. His life
can affirm humanity in all its incarnations.
SoulMotion™: Body Prayer
Zuza Engler
“Soul is flow,” Zuza Engler writes, “an ever
changing cloudscape of textures, hues, sensations, scents, and feelings. Soul is where the
deathless spirit meets and moves the finite
human body. Body Prayer is a wild and luminous offering of the body in motion to this
sacred Presence that is continually breathing
us into Being.
“SoulMotion is a meeting with self and other
in a dance that is profoundly nourishing, creative, intelligent, emotionally savvy, heartbreaking, soul-making, spirited, challenging,
and transforming. It involves diving, deepen-
ing, and dissolving into each movement
moment. It is a journey toward the dynamic
stillness at the center of all things, the place of
rest at the heart of sound and motion.
“This formless dance form allows space for
passionate, full-bodied movement as well as
mindful inner explorations. It takes place at
the crossroads of the vertical drop into self
and the horizontal extension toward another,
inside the paradox of self-expression and
belonging, the mundane and the ecstatic. To
follow the divine choreography, we learn to
fall and flounder. Going deeply into contact
with self, we awake enveloped in communion. The permission to relax and rejoice in
community invites a shift from ‘alone’ to All
One, from ‘my dance’ to the One Dance.”
The Transformative Power of Gratitude
M.J. Ryan
Join M.J. Ryan in exploring why the practice
of gratitude is one of the most powerful
actions we can take in our daily lives.
According to new brain research, this quality
of heart and mind can help overcome anxiety,
worry, anger, and depression, and increase
health, happiness, and peace of mind. It’s a
foundation for loving relationships, positive
parenting, and even success at work. It is considered the activating secret of the Law of
Attraction.
In this interactive workshop, through lecture,
journaling, one-on-one, small-group and
whole-group interactions, you will be taught:
• What emotional, physical, and spiritual
benefits come to us when we live from this
ancient virtue
• What brain science teaches us about how
to cultivate this heart quality
• Simple practices to develop more thankfulness in any situation, even hardships
M.J. Ryan writes, “Gratitude is like a flashlight. As you shine it on what’s right in your
life, you experience more satisfaction, connection, and fulfillment. All you have to do to
experience its effects is turn it on.”
Family Arts Program
Dana Zed
This workshop, at the Esalen Art Barn, is for
parents, children, and any and all family
members who want to immerse themselves in
a weekend of fun, creative expression. Silkscarf painting, glass-jewelry making, portraiture, plus hat- and puppet-making are just
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
41
some of the activities participants can explore
on the magnificent Esalen grounds during
this weekend made more memorable by sharing it with loved ones.
All children must be accompanied by an adult.
($40 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
March 23–April 20
28-Day Massage Practitioner
Certification Program
Char Pias &Oliver Bailey
For workshop description see Special
Programs, page 80.
Week of March 23–28
“Some Things Mold, Some Things
Brew”: A Mythological Toolbox
(15th edition, revised)
Robert Walter &The Joseph Campbell
Foundation
Every year for more than two decades, Joseph
Campbell celebrated his birthday (March
26th) at Esalen. To explain why, he would tell
of the day that Carl Jung realized “what it
means to live with a myth, and what it means
to live without one.” Jung wrote, “I took it
upon myself to get to know ‘my’ myth, and I
regarded this as the task of tasks.” “That’s what
a birthday is for,” Campbell concluded, “and
that’s what Esalen is about.”
In March 1988, five months after Campbell’s
death, several of his friends met at Esalen for
what was to become an annual event, the
“Campbell Week.” Thus a tradition was born:
an unbroken progression of springtime gatherings. The only prerequisites are a sense of
humor and the ability to play well with others. The program uses an eclectic array of
tools in an exploration of mythmaking. There
may be dancing or singing, talking or sitting
quietly, making music or masks or medicine
bundles, telling stories, decoding films, unraveling dreams. The workshop mixes solo exercises, small-group activities, and collective
projects for both reflection and expression.
Yet, always, the talk is of transformation:
Who were you? What childhood stories were
impressed upon you? What were your
favorite games? What did you treasure in your
youth? Who are you? What is enshrined on
your mantle, taped to your refrigerator door,
42
secreted in the attic? Who do you aspire to be?
What new adventures do you envision? What
face do you hope to see in the mirror?
Please note: Bring a rattle or drum (if you have
one), a bandanna, and a pen and notebook to
record your journeys.
If envisioning a “butterfly metamorphosis” is
appealing, join this improvisational ritual of
rebirth. Please bring a small totemic object
that is both meaningful and expendable.
SoulMotion™: Luminescent Heart
Foundation president Bob Walter and
Caldecott Award-winning author and artist
Gerald McDermott (www.geraldmcdermott.com)
orchestrate the festivities, joined by Tai Ji
and Tao master Chungliang Al Huang
(www.livingtao.org), playwright-novelist
Lynne Kaufman (lynnekaufman@comcast.net),
cellist extraordinaire Michael Fitzpatrick
(www.michaelfitzpatrick.com) and other special
guests. For more information contact the
Foundation at www.jcf.org.
The Way of the Shaman:
Nature, Power, and Healing
David Corbin &Nan Moss
To the shaman’s eyes, the world around us is
alive and inspirited. In this introduction to
core shamanism, you can learn to see with
those eyes, to explore the hidden worlds and
to access the timeless wisdom known to our
ancestors.
Through initiation into the shamanic journey,
you will be taught skills of divination and
healing, and experience the shamanic state of
consciousness to help awaken spiritual awareness. You will be provided with methods for
journeying to discover and study with your
own spiritual teachers in non-ordinary reality,
a classic step in shamanic practice. You will
also be shown how to restore spiritual power
and health, and how shamanism can be
applied in daily life to help heal yourself, others, and the planet.
The course also offers advanced work with
the spirits of nature in Esalen’s beautiful and
powerful setting. By learning from the rocks
and mountains, the wind and waters, and
from sun, moon, and stars, shamans helped
their peoples live in harmony with the universe. In a world out of balance, the way of
the shaman can teach us once again how to
respect nature, the earth, and its inhabitants
at a deep spiritual level.
This workshop includes two Foundation for
Shamanic Studies courses, The Way of the
Shaman, and Shamanism and the Spirits of
Nature. Participants are qualified to take
advanced trainings with Michael Harner and
the faculty of the Foundation.
Zuza Engler
I was dead, then alive.
Weeping, then laughing.
The power of love came into me,
and I became fierce like a lion,
then tender like the evening star.
— Rumi
“This weeklong workshop,” writes Zuza
Engler, “is a SoulMotion expedition into our
fierce and tender, undefended, broken-open,
luminescent heart. We will take the spiral
path of endless soul discovery swirling in
realms physical, emotional, and divine. We
will listen deeply to the murmurs of the heart,
turn toward what we love, fall toward the center of our longing. Dancing together at the
edge of awkwardness and grace, the edge of
surrender, the edge of Love, despite all odds,
we will move with our delight and our sorrow.
This may involve laughing, then weeping, and
it may render us more alive than we thought
we could stand.
“Come onboard, all of you dedicated dance
devotees, beginning movement explorers, and
all curious and willing to risk the safety of the
mind for the glory and excitement of an
adventure-bound heart.”
Weekend of March 28–30
Feeding Our Demons and Opening
to Presence: A Yogic and Buddhist
Women’s Retreat
Tsultrim Allione &Sarah Powers
Within the ancient teachings of Tibetan
Buddhism lies a meditation for facing—and
dissolving—our greatest fears and challenges.
The traditional Tibetan practice of Chöd (literally “to cut”), a method developed in the 11th
century by legendary yogini Machig Lapdron,
fed rather than struggled against the
“demons” of longing and fear. Tsultrim
Allione will share the history of this practice
and teach a method adapted for the West. The
method can be applied to any issue: fears,
obsessions, diseases, eating disorders, relationship challenges, addictions, self-hatred, and
other personal and collective demons. The
core of this approach is a five-step practice
based on the principle of personifying and
feeding the demons rather than fighting
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
against them, enabling us to go beyond our
struggles. Compassionate nurturing rather
than struggling leads to non-dual awareness.
Participants will practice Sarah’s unique blend
of Yin/Yang yoga with mindfulness meditation to prepare the ground for greater openness in Tsultim’s work with obstacles. The
long held floor poses of Yin yoga provide a
body-centered quietness conducive to working with deeply held feelings and beliefs often
below the surface of awareness. The flow-style
practice enlivens vitality and awakens clarity
of attention, while meditation can deepen
insight into conditioned as well as awakened
nature.
When these three practices are woven together, an intimacy is created with body, heart, and
mind that ignites our deeper potential for
true presence, authentic compassion, and wisdom.
Sustainability Entrepreneurs
Michael Ben-Eli &Charly Kleissner
Transforming the world’s economy to a sustainable basis presents the most significant
challenge of the 21st century. This challenge,
unprecedented in scope, requires a fundamental shift in consciousness as well as in
action. It calls for a fresh vision and new
approaches for shaping an evolving new reality.
The emerging leaders of sustainable enterprises are sustainability entrepreneurs: visionaries who adopt a market-driven mindset tempered by a responsible social perspective.
They take risks, drive systemic change, and
question the status quo. Their biggest challenges—complex combinations of for-profit
and not-for-profit entities, global corporate
governance, and development of new capital
markets—are not taught in business schools.
This workshop will explore these topics.
The seminar presents five core principles of
sustainability, expressed in relation to five
fundamental domains: material, economic,
everyday life, social, and spiritual. The principles are fundamentally systemic: Each
domain affects all the others and is affected
by each in return. Rather than linearly, they
should be approached and understood as a
coherent whole.
The leaders will share their vision of establishing an international sustainability laboratory for accelerating the transition of the
world’s society and its economy to a sustainable basis. They will share their experiences
working with sustainability entrepreneurs in
such diverse fields as renewable energy,
healthcare, and rural development. The
course will explore the implications of the
principles relevant to participants and will
synthesize emerging patterns regarding new
business models, new ways of financing sustainable enterprises, and more.
Creative Tai Ji Practice—
Play and Improvisation in Tao Living
(in honor of Alan Watts)
Chungliang Al Huang &Robert Walter
In Asian culture, the philosophy of “play” is
always at the underlying core of “serious” living. This workshop offers the essential Tai Ji
metaphors and movement motifs as recipes
and tools to explore the creative process in
everyday living. To follow the Way (Tao) is not
difficult if we can get out of our own way and
allow the improvisation of Nature’s flowing
guidance, composing and choreographing the
“music and dance” of our day-by-day autobiography in progress.
Chungliang Al Huang is a highly respected
Tai Ji master and teacher of comparative living philosophy. This year, Master Huang celebrates 41 consecutive years of teaching at
Esalen. His seminal classic, Embrace Tiger,
Return To Mountain—published 35 years ago
from the transcriptions of his early teaching
at Esalen (with a foreword by his friend and
collaborator Alan Watts)—is still one of the
most inspiring and practical books in contemporary Taoist teaching and creative Tai Ji practice.
Join this joyful journey of “Living Your Own
Tao.” The workshop continues the tradition of
lifelong learning, in honor of mentor Alan
Watts, exploring the essential Tao from his
definitive final book on Creative Taoism (cowritten with Huang), Tao: The Watercourse Way.
Robert Walter of the Joseph Campbell
Foundation will also be on hand to help
honor the kinship of these two special friends
and early mentors of Esalen.
Always Dad: Divorce and Nurturing
Your Extended Family
Paul Mandelstein
More and more, divorced fathers are finding
out that, rather than being one half of a “broken” home, they can continue to play a crucial
role in their children’s lives and help create a
healthy “extended family.”
You can, too. This workshop—designed for
both men and women—offers solutions and
strategies that can help you work with your ex
to create a collaborative extended family, one
that ensures that your kids grow up in an
enriching, loving environment.
You can’t wholly shield your children and
yourself from the pain and trauma of divorce,
but there are tried-and-true ways of softening
the impact. Even if your spouse or you are not
being cooperative and collaborative—particularly in the first months/years after the
divorce—you can still unilaterally create an
environment that minimizes stress and confusion for the kids and provides security for
them during the transition. At the very least,
your early efforts to act in the most collaborative way possible should plant the seeds of
greater cooperation between you and the children’s mother in the future.
While the tools here are designed for fathers,
the intention is to create common ground,
and thus the process will be meaningful and
helpful to mothers, too. Whether you’re in the
initial stages of divorce, dealing with the
immediate aftermath, or well past one, this
solution-oriented workshop will provide
down-to-earth ideas and strategies you can
use—right now.
March 30–April 6
Your Life Cannot Be Any Easier Than
Your Movement: Cortical Field
Reeducation® and the Feldenkrais
Method®
Harriet Goslins, Sybil Krauter
&Michael Meyer
How we sit, stand, move, or respond to contact with others reflects patterns wired into
our nervous systems by infancy. By early
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, flu-
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
43
idity, 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.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Week of March 30–April 4
Acting 101
Jack Thomas &Gabe Cohen
Have you ever been watching actors perform
when the thought suddenly came to you that
you could do it better? Then what usually follows is all the negative self-talk: It would take
years of training, I’m too nervous, too old, too
unattractive, etc., etc. The little secret here is
that you are perfect as you are and that you
absolutely can do it better!
This is a five-day workshop where you can
have a heck of a lot of fun and learn a technique that lays the groundwork for auditioning for theater, TV, or film. Or maybe you just
want to experience the life skills that acting
training provides. Using Second City improvisational technique as well as a distillation of
Stanislavsky and Strasberg, Meisner and
Method, the class will explore, stimulate, and
excite in a warm and supportive environment. The workshop will incorporate theater
and improv games and students will immediately jump into scenes and monologues—perhaps chosen from their own favorite pieces
(scripts will also be provided as desired).
The workshop is geared for someone without
previous training or experience but is also a
great five-day intensive for those more
advanced. You won’t be bored.
Visionseeker III: Shamanic Cosmology
Hank Wesselman &Jill Kuykendall
Over the past 35,000 years, indigenous
shamans developed a methodology to expand
awareness and explore the many dimensions
of reality, generating a rich body of knowledge about the nature and function of the
sacred realms. Unfortunately, ever-multiply44
ing overlays of spiritual scripture and esoteric
literature have obscured our understanding of
these hidden worlds. Today, this confusion is
being reversed as the methods of the shaman
are being reconsidered by nontribal
Westerners seeking direct experience of the
transpersonal realms once again.
Lobsang will create a sand painting over the
course of the workshop. Finding where we
are on the map and where we can best use our
energy for meditation is more of an art than a
science. In this workshop, participants will
have opportunities to discover and deepen
their own “meditative art.”
Hank Wesselman writes: “This workshop will
engage participants in investigative shamanic
fieldwork into the numinous regions of the
spirit worlds where all mysteries become
known. We will deepen connection with our
spirit helpers as well as our oversoul and the
elder spirits who serve as master teachers on
our Cosmic Committee. We will hone our
abilities in areas such as divination and
attempt to learn more about those localities
where the most creative work of souls is
accomplished. We will explore the nature of
who and what we really are, providing an
expanded perspective on the destiny of souls.”
Recommended reading: Kyabje Zong, Chöd in
the Ganden Tradition: The Oral Instructions of
Kyabje Zong Rinpoche.
This training is open to those who have completed the weeklong Visionseeker I workshop
or its equivalent. If in doubt, please contact
Wesselman at PO Box 2059, Granite Bay, CA
95746, or e-mail hank@sharedwisdom.com.
Note: Bring a rattle, a drum, a notebook or
sketchpad, a set of oil or chalk pastels, a bandanna or eyeshade, and a light blanket. Please
refrain from alcohol during the workshop.
Recommended reading: Wesselman &
Kuykendall, Spirit Medicine; Wesselman, The
Journey to the Sacred Garden and The
Spiritwalker Trilogy.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Writing From the Heart:
Finding Your Own Voice
Nancy Slonim Aronie
This writing workshop is about reclaiming
your voice. It’s about using your own language, your own rhythms, and writing your
own story. It’s about honoring your own
instincts, not trying to sound like a “Writer”
or trying to get an A from the teacher. It’s for
anyone who wants to write, has written, or
wants a jump start on the road to tapping into
his or her power source of creativity.
Nancy Slonim Aronie provides a safe space
where you can celebrate who you are without
judgment, without evaluation, without the
mental censor. She believes when you shake
the inner critic of your “artist” you have a
good shot at shaking the inner critic of your
life. In this workshop, you will laugh, you will
cry, you will become an alchemist turning
your pain into gold. You will write with
renewed innocence and astounding power.
In this workshop, you cannot be wrong. It is a
reminder that the truth is healing and writing
the truth is always right.
The Art of Meditation: The Hidden
Symbolism of Tibetan Sacred Art
Venerable Lobsang Tsultrim &David Molk
Lobsang Tsultrim is a Tibetan Buddhist monk
trained in philosophy and sacred art at
Ganden Monastic University. David Molk is a
longtime resident of Big Sur who has been
translating for Tibetan lamas for twenty years.
Together they will reveal a map of the path to
liberation hidden in the sparkling sands of a
Tantric Buddhist mandala.
The map hidden in the mandala is not of
external roads but of inner paths of consciousness. In the Tibetan tradition of mental
development a wide range of meditations will
be utilized, as suited to participants’ various
aptitudes and interests. Through talks given
by Lobsang and David, discussions, and guided meditations, this workshop will explore
the entire map of the path to enlightenment.
Weekend of April 4–6
The View from the Center of the
Universe
Nancy Ellen Abrams &Joel R. Primack
We are living in a golden age of astronomy
and cosmology. New data from new telescopes have ruled out all previous theories,
except for one. Now, for the first time in
human history, we may have the true story of
the origin and evolution of the universe.
Ever since Galileo discovered nearly 400 years
ago that Earth is not the center of the universe, people have felt alienated and alone in
the cosmos. But we intelligent beings are
turning out to be cosmically central in multiple, unexpected ways, and our centrality can
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
a matter of getting over these fears or concerns, but of skillfully responding to them.
How do we maintain an open heart in the
face of powerful emotions? How can we redirect and intensify the energy contained within these feelings towards states of heightened
awareness? How can we open to the full range
of feeling that enters into our experience during these times?
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
This workshop will confront these and other
questions that directly relate to our ability to
dive fully into the bottomless pool of our
heart’s truth, and feel love in all of its physical,
sexual, and spiritual splendor. The course will
present ways of understanding and neutralizing patterns that limit intimacy and offer
practices to deepen and enhance it.
Participants will also explore the inner landscape that exists beyond intimacy, that territory of the heart where the deep connection of
“two” becomes the transcendent “one.”
be both personally meaningful and globally
transformative. Ours is the first generation to
be able to understand what the nature of the
universe may be telling us about Earth and
how to insure the viability of life on our planet.
Many people assume they don’t need to feel
anything about the universe, and shouldn’t
talk about feelings in the same breath with
science because feelings are personal and
objectively meaningless. But the universe is
not “out there” to be studied “objectively”—
we’re immersed in it, we are what it’s doing
here and now. We must open our minds to
experience it from the inside, where we actually are. Only then can we start to find out what
we intelligent beings are and can become.
This workshop is co-led by one of the world’s
leading cosmologists and by a lawyer-writerphilosopher. The workshop will be partly
experiential with the goal of opening to a felt
awareness of how we fit into the scientific
universe, and exploring ways to draw on that
awareness to improve our lives. No scientific
background is required.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 9.
Strengthen the Legs, Extend the
Spine: A Beginner’s Yoga Intensive
Thomas Michael Fortel
“When we initially approach the practice of
yoga,” Thomas writes, “we are generally
unaware of the deep and far-reaching changes
which potentially lay before us. Yoga practice
creates a situation in which we start to align
our mental attention in the moment, in the
body. The conscious breath is the most obvious
and inherent tool; watching the breath allows
our attention to drop deeply into our bodies.
We focus a lot of attention on the feet and legs
because this our physical foundation. We learn
quickly that the strength of the legs translates
into the extension of the spine. In addition, we
ground the legs and extend the spine as a
metaphor for being grounded on the earth and
connected with the cosmic and spiritual forces.
“Discomfort is normal in the yoga room;
beginners should know this. Discomfort is
completely natural as the patterns in the body,
mind, and emotions are addressed. The old
paradigm is shifting and the practice of yoga
assists us in making the changes.”
Recent yoga experience is recommended.
Everyone is welcome. All props are provided.
Sex, Love, and Intimacy:
For Individuals and Couples
Linda &Charlie Bloom
Intimacy is to the soul as food is to the body.
We are nurtured and enriched at the core of
our being in the experience of deep connection. When the longing for intimacy is satisfied we experience wholeness and sufficiency,
we are at one with ourselves and the world. In
conjunction with a sexual connection the
experience of intimacy can be exhilarating,
inspiring, even transcendent.
The shadow side of this connection is the fear
of intimacy, which is actually the fear of loss,
rejection, shame, or humiliation. These fears
are common, even universal, yet their presence need not prevent us from experiencing
the joys of intimate contact. It is not so much
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Drawing Out Your Soul:
An Experience of Touch Drawing
Deborah Koff-Chapin
Touch Drawing is a simple yet profound
process. The technique involves moving your
hands on a sheet of paper that has been
placed upon a surface of wet paint. The resulting impressions are seen upon lifting the
page. Lines flow directly from your fingertips.
It can feel as if they are pouring directly from
your soul. The speed and directness of the
process makes it possible to create a series of
twenty to thirty drawings in a single session.
Each is a stepping stone, taking you deeper
into your Self. The full series of drawings provides a visual record of your interior transformational process.
Deborah creates a supportive environment
for you to go on your own drawing journey.
She offers nonintrusive suggestions along
with live improvisational music (drum, voice,
chimes), and creates a sacred atmosphere conducive to deep and authentic expression.
After completing a series of drawings, you
will share with a partner, and reflect on them
privately through journal writing. This workshop is of relevance to artists, counselors, psychologists, educators, healers, intuitives, and
all those wishing to explore their depths and
open to their creativity. No artistic confidence
is necessary. This will be a time of expression,
inspiration, and renewal.
($20 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
45
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Week of April 6–11
The Esalen Cookbook
Charlie &Marion Cascio
This workshop revolves around the longawaited, newly released Esalen Cookbook, compiled by Charlie Cascio, Esalen’s kitchen manager from 1998 to 2004. Based on the best of
forty years’ worth of meals served in the
Esalen lodge, twenty-two months in production, and already in its second printing, the
book has remeasured and remade recipes
designed to serve two hundred fifty people
into home-friendly recipes that serves four.
The workshop will have a hands-on approach
as participants work with Charlie and Marion
to prepare many favorite recipes from the
Esalen Cookbook in the intimate Big House
kitchen. Charlie and Marion will also offer
instruction on basic culinary techniques, the
professional use of kitchen tools, and healthy
cooking tips that they have collected during
their combined fifty years of working in the
culinary arts.
46
The group will prepare selected recipes from
each of the nine chapters in the Esalen
Cookbook. There will be plenty of tasting along
with some meal preparation from cookbook
menus. If you have a special recipe you would
like to prepare from the cookbook, please
mention it when you register.
($20 special-foods fee paid directly to the leader)
Mindful Body-Mind Psychology and
Practice: The Hakomi Method
Ron Kurtz &Dyrian Benz
The Hakomi Method is a highly sophisticated
mind-body treatment approach that integrates elements of mindfulness practice and
loving presence, enhanced bodily awareness,
and modern methods of psychotherapy. By
focusing on embodied habitual patterns,
Hakomi rapidly and safely accesses unconscious core attitudes, which shape how we
relate to others and ourselves.
In Hakomi a healing relationship is created
out of the exquisite sensitivity and connection
between therapist and client, which allows for
deeper awareness and greater creativity in liv-
ing. A person’s emotional history—especially
the part that has created the unconscious
habits and beliefs with which that person
meets the world—is a living history, written in
the way the person does things now, in the
somatic and personal character, and in the
relational style. Hakomi is a method of mindful, assisted self-discovery using loving presence to create healing relationships. Being
mindfully aware and attending to the richness
of our present experience creates enhancements in our brain physiology, our mental
functions, and our interpersonal relationships.
This course is part of the Santa Barbara
Graduate Institute Certificate Program in
Relational Somatic Psychology. The
Certificate Program is inspired by the SBGI
somatic psychology post-graduate academic
curriculum and consists of a rotating series of
practice-oriented and academically sound
Relational Somatic Psychology courses. For
further information, including special registration instructions, see Special Programs,
page 80.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving
Charles &Caroline Muir,
with Diane Greenberg
Few of us have been blessed with healthy
childhood conditioning and education
regarding the mysteries of sexual love and
sexual energy. This can leave individuals less
successful and conscious in their sexuality
than they are in other aspects of their lives.
Tantra transforms sex into a loving meditation, putting more consciousness, energy, intimacy, joy, and love into sexual exchanges.
It is time to study sex as an art form. Sexual loving is a vital skill to be mastered by every conscious individual. Sexual energy is a sacrament
that, rightly used, brings great harmony and joy
into one’s relationship so that love continues to
grow over the course of a lifetime, deeply bonding the partners in joyous spiritual union.
This workshop offers couples ways to
increase intimacy and passion in their relationship. The course will introduce practices
to free female sexual orgasm and methods to
increase pleasure for both partners, along
with hands-on sexual healing and awakening
skills. Esoteric practices of kiss, movement,
and touch, along with many other exotic lovemaking skills will be introduced in class, then
practiced in the privacy of your own room.
This seminar presents Tantric wisdom with
insight, gentleness, humor, and love.
Assisting will be Diane Greenberg, a senior
instructor at the Muirs’ Source School of
Tantra and a certified tantric educator.
The workshop is open to couples only. It is
not recommended for same-sex couples.
Hatha and Raja Yoga Practicum
Srivatsa Ramaswami
Asana practice has caught the imagination of
a number of enthusiasts—especially
Vinyasakrama, the sequencing art form of
Yoga practice. However, Yoga has other important ingredients, all of which promote a positive transformation of the individual. A holistic approach would require the Yogi to practice not only asana and pranayama (the Hatha
Yoga aspects) but also chanting, meditation,
and contemplation of the philosophical and
spiritual aspects (the Raja Yoga aspects).
In this program, half of each session will be
devoted to different asanas, following the
Vinyasakrama method. It will involve doing
more than about 300 vinyasas, or variations in
classical yoga poses, in the course of the program. The other half of the time will be uti-
lized for detailed and varied Yogic breathing
exercises and the other Raja Yoga practices,
like chanting, meditation, and philosophical
and spiritual contemplation of the Yoga
Sutras. The objective is that by the end of the
program participants have a well-rounded
understanding and practice of Yoga, as
opposed to doing only asanas or meditation.
Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga are aspects of the
integrated system of Yogic progression.
This workshop is open to everyone. Please
bring a yoga mat.
The Impossible Dream: Living
Beyond Self-Limiting Behavior
Julie Bowden, Richard Balaban
&Chris Chouteau
A life beyond our greatest expectations is made
possible by knowing ourselves and being fulfilled in work and love. Self-limiting behaviors
and mood-altering substances undermine this
dream and prevent us from embracing actions
that promote our growth, well-being, and emotional health. Those committed to their own
dreams and goals in life can move beyond the
barriers caused by personal addiction, a loved
one’s addiction, and the other behaviors that
keep us from our true purpose in life. Living
with self-limiting behaviors and addictions
makes the normal passage through life’s developmental stages difficult and impedes the
important tasks of becoming a fulfilled human
being: self-esteem, expression of feelings,
awareness of needs, establishment of trust,
success in relationships, to name but a few.
This workshop will use group and individual
work—meditation, awareness practice, feedback, experiential exercises, role-play, guided
imagery, and writing—to navigate a path
toward effective change, enhanced relationships, genuine intimacy, and spiritual growth.
Participants are asked to forgo alcohol and
nonprescription drugs during these five days.
This sets the arena to identify self-limiting
behaviors and commit to living your dreams.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Weekend of April 11–13
An Evolutionary Synthesis: Developing
a New Memetic Code for the
Optimum Evolution of Humanity
Barbara Marx Hubbard &Sidney Lanier
“Humanity is facing a dangerous ‘memetic
gap,’” the leaders write. “As genes create bod-
ies, memes create cultures. Through this current ‘gap,’ regressive and violent memes are
taking over our social body.
“We can see that the great memes of the modern period are fading: Global capitalism can’t
save us. Liberal democracy can’t lead us.
Fundamental religions divide and destroy us.
Inevitable progress through technology is no
longer believable, and so on. This memetic
vacuum is the dynamic invitation to all of us
to identify a new memetic code equal to our
spiritual, social, and scientific/technological
capacities and aspirations.
“In the Evolutionary Synthesis workshop and
materials, we identify four great categories of
evolution: the Evolution of the Universe; the
Evolution of Evolution; the Evolution of
Society; and the Evolution of the Person.
Within each of these related fields, we have
selected and integrated inspiring, liberating,
world-changing ideas from our advanced
thinkers, scientists, spiritual explorers,
activists, and innovators. We begin to piece
together a new memetic code to guide ourselves through this crisis toward the birth of a
new human and a new humanity.
“We will use dynamic dialogue, inspired
insights, and evolutionary meditations,
including a new sacrament to recognize the
sacredness of the subjective experience of
evolution—’Entering the Still Center of the
Turning Spiral’—where we discover our evolutionary archetypes.”
Mind, Brain, Drugs, and the
Neuroscience of Consciousness
David Presti
This seminar provides a comprehensive
overview of the biological, ethnobotanical,
psychological, behavioral, and sociological
properties of a variety of familiar and perhaps
unfamiliar drugs, among them chemicals that
alter consciousness, others that facilitate
visionary experiences, and others that are
used to regulate mood and modify personality. This information will be discussed in the
context of contemporary knowledge about
the neuroscience of consciousness and the
mind-body problem.
Participants will have the opportunity to
develop a comprehensive and deep understanding of drugs, the mind, and the body,
from molecular and chemical properties to
historical and ritual relationships. The workshop will be of interest and value to anyone,
including health professionals from all clinical areas, wishing to expand their knowledge
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
47
about drugs that influence human behavior,
as well as attain an appreciation of recent
progress in the neuroscience of mind.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Imagine
Rich Berrett
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
— John Lennon
These words both inspire and invite action.
What type of peace is possible in your life? In
the world? What would a world of peace look
like? What part can you play in creating a
world of peace?
Since 1971 the reverberations of this song
have been heard around the planet. The invitation to join John and Yoko so “the world
will be as one” is thirty-seven years old. It is
timely to seriously examine this possibility.
Using learning circles, reflection, imagery,
movement, music, and artistic expression, this
workshop aims toward personal and social
action for both inner peace and peace on the
planet. It is not an easy invitation to accept—it
will be a challenging and enlightening workshop. Join with a curious mind, open heart,
and a desire for future action.
Esalen Massage Weekend
Dean Marson &Robin Fann-Costanzo
This workshop is designed to provide you
with the tools to give an effective and pleasurable Esalen® Massage. It will also provide the
opportunity to replenish your spirit and
reconnect to the healing power of nature on
the magical coast of Big Sur.
Through brief lectures, demonstrations, and
plenty of hands-on supervised practice, you
will be taught the foundation of Esalen
Massage, which was born at the Esalen baths
out of the rhythm of the waves. The essence
of Esalen Massage consists of a deep quality of
presence and long, slow, integrating strokes
combined with detailed attention to areas that
hold tension. Esalen Massage leaves both the
giver and receiver feeling more connected
and relaxed.
The workshop will also emphasize body- and
breath-awareness, and self-care through movement and meditation practices. It will cultivate a healing connection to oneself, and then
to another.
This weekend is for beginners and experienced body workers interested in learning the
Esalen approach to massage.
Rest, Rejuvenation, and Renewal:
The Courage to Pause
David Schiffman
This is a workshop for people who need a
break—from working too hard, from concentrating too much, from being stuck under
pressure too long, or who are just plain tired
from the perplexity and strain over what
comes next.
“While we pause,” writes David, “we’ll study
the three R’s and how they can be used to cultivate a climate of renewed energy and enthusiasm, the ability to think wisely ahead, and
the presence to relate honestly and authentically with others. This weekend will emphasize breathing space and ease of being for
deep contemplation. There will be soulful,
encouraging company as well as wise counsel
available for emotional nourishment.
“We will draw on the power and spirit medicine of Big Sur’s natural gifts for healing and
inspiration. A special blend of music and
movement will create a mood of playfulness
and spontaneity for the rejuvenation of spirit.
Simple activities, including ceremony and
personal practices, will be used to deepen our
feelings of being lively and hopeful about our
futures.”
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Week of April 13–18
Transition: Having What It Takes
David Schiffman
“Are you a passionate, romantic, spiritually
independent type facing a period of transition
in your life?” asks David Schiffman. “Would
you like to be inspired by your own dreams
and blessed with practical support that you
can depend on? Our mission for this week
will be to face the emotional challenges of life
changes, risk, and transition. Together, we will
forge an ongoing community based in honest
mutual interest, genuine support, and authentic personal presence. It will be a soulful
exploration using a uniquely proven blend of
natural powers, native intelligence, and wisdom teachings, both traditional and modern.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
“Emphasis will be on developing a keen,
mature sense of self-appreciation and personal timing, and the life skills necessary for
moving forward on your own terms.
Communications skills—both energetic and
expressive—will be investigated with potent,
simple emotional clarity as our shared aim.
This workshop is especially useful for the self48
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
made, mystically-inclined wisdom seekers
who are guided by their own hard-won reckoning.”
Writing with a Full Palette of Color
Lisa Lieberman Doctor
The stories within us come in a wide range of
colors, from the bright hues of pure joy to the
darker tones of fear and loneliness. By dipping into our own palette of truth, our writing
becomes vibrant with authenticity, allowing
readers to cry one moment and laugh the
next.
“Through a series of writing exercises and discussion,” writes Lisa Doctor, “we will share the
multicolored stories that swirl inside us. The
natural resources of Esalen will inspire us as
we notice details, activate the senses, weave
shades of light into darker stories, and find
the shadows beneath lighter fare. The result
will be a new and deeper way to express ourselves through our writing, whether it’s a
novel, short story, poem, or journal entry.”
This workshop is designed for writers of
every level, including beginners who are seeking their first group writing experience in a
safe and nurturing environment.
Jim McCormick
This class extends and deepens the basic principles and techniques learned in Core Zero
Balancing I. Participants will review the basic
ZB protocol with an emphasis on quality of
touch, focus, and positioning of the practitioner. Powerful new fulcrums will be taught
that help create an expanded protocol. The
objective is that participants dramatically
enhance their skill in handling energy and
structure at interface. Participants will:
• Learn how to frame a Zero Balancing
session and work with that frame to further
empower the ZB session
• Advance their ability to work with
expanded states of consciousness
• Learn methods for increasing clarity of
interface for better contact with the client
• Acquire the skill and experience to prepare
them for any advanced classes in Zero
Balancing
• Acquire greater ease in working with ZB
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Dave Zaboski
Art is a reflection of the spirit of its time. This
studio course is a practical, experiential exploration of the entire history of the art of
humankind. Art makers will participate in
drawing, painting, and creative exercises that
begin in the cave of Lascaux 50,000 years ago,
explore dominant artistic periods from
around the globe and across time, and ultimately address our current emergent trends.
Part craft and art, part cultural archeology and
speculative anthropology, this course will
connect participants emotionally, physically,
and spiritually with past creations throughout
the ages—all with a view toward what we are
creating today and tomorrow for ourselves
and the planet.
Using exercises, live models, and visual inspiration to gain an understanding of each artistic period, participants will come to better
know their own experience as artists as well
as our evolution as a consciousness on earth.
Each exercise is designed to deepen our
awareness of the sacred, our sense of movement, space, and light, and finally our connection to our own creative powers.
This class is intended for creators of all levels
committed to taking their art and their vision
of what is possible for humanity to the next
stage of excellence.
Core Zero Balancing II
Prerequisite: Core Zero Balancing I.
Making Art: A Hands-On Exploration
of Earthly Creation
($75 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
Gyrokinesis®
Juergen Bamberger
Gyrokinesis is a complete movement system
based on circular motion. It uses the natural
movements of the spine to increase the circulation of vital energies throughout the body.
Gentle undulations, spirals, and waves are
used to stimulate and activate all the systems
and tissue of the body. These movements also
open and strengthen the joints. Major muscle
groups are activated and gently stretched,
reconnecting and rejuvenating you. Taking
this journey throughout your entire body
opens awareness of your energy centers and
your physical structure.
Each day of the workshop you will go through
an ever-deepening series of Gyrokinesis exercises. In addition, through meditation you will
explore the interconnection between movement, breath, sound vibration, and subtle
energy flows.
opportunity for an in-depth Gyrokinesis
experience in one of the most beautiful settings on the planet taught by one of the
world’s most experienced teachers of this
integrative movement form.
Weekend of April 18–20
Experiencing Esalen
Experiencing Esalen Staff
For workshop description see January 25-27.
The Gifts of Grief
Nancee Sobonya &Steve Waldrip
I saw Grief drinking a cup of sorrow and called
out, “It tastes sweet, does it not?”
“You’ve caught me,” Grief answered, “and you’ve
ruined my business. How can I sell sorrow, when
you know it’s a blessing?”
— Rumi
The leaders write: “After screening Nancee
Sobonya’s film The Gifts of Grief, we will
explore our relationship to loss and its potential gifts. In this film, Isabel Allende and six
other remarkable people share their journeys
through their personal losses. Each comes to
a different realization of the gifts they have
gained by living with their grief.
“Because each loss is unique, our grief can be
experienced in many different ways. Often
people report feeling like they are ‘on a new
journey without a map.’ In this workshop we
will assist each other in orienting to this new
terrain and to that light inside that can draw
us forward. We will explore the various
resources that help orient us in our lives, as
well as those inner places where we find
strength and support.
“What are we learning from our losses? This
question, along with others, will be asked as
we explore the possibility that grief, while
very painful, can also be a door to growth and
insight. Using our responses to the film,
along with meditation, experiential exercises,
and our personal stories, we will create an
environment in which our grief will be honored and held as sacred.”
Participants are encouraged to bring photos
and other objects of remembrances to place
on a group altar to be constructed in the
course of the weekend.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The workshop is open to all levels. It is an
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
49
How Great Companies Get Their
Mojo from Maslow
Chip Conley, with Vanda Marlow
Chip Conley, author of the recently released
book, Peak, leads this weekend workshop
on how you and your company can use the
principles of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs to create a more self-actualized
employee, customer, and set of investors.
Twenty years ago, Chip founded Joie de Vivre
Hospitality, which has become America’s second largest boutique hotel company. During
the travel downturn of 2001-2004, Chip
reconnected with Maslow’s work and developed an operating business theory that suggests “peak experiences create peak performance.” Seeing that this theory paid big dividends, both financially and emotionally, within his company of 2,500 employees, Chip
began to study companies like Google,
Genentech, Southwest Airlines, and Whole
Foods Market. He found that Maslow’s influence was profound in these peak-performing
companies.
A prerequisite of this workshop is reading
Chip’s book Peak and being prepared to talk
about your company—whether it’s a single
proprietorship or a multinational corporation—and how it can apply the humanistic
principles of the Hierarchy of Needs to its key
constituents. While a good portion of the
workshop will focus on applying Maslow in
the workplace, the last session will be saved
for the more personal side of how to use the
Hierarchy of Needs in your own life.
Enhancement of Peak Performance
in Sports, the Performing Arts, and
the Worksite
Daniel Brown
This workshop is designed for health professionals who work with clients wishing to
enhance their performance in avocational or
professional sports, the performing arts, or
their daily work. Participants will learn a variety of psychological methods used in sports
psychology as well as body/mind training
techniques drawn from the meditation traditions. The course will review biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors which
improve peak performance.
The main emphasis will be on learning a variety of peak performance interventions: (1)
psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and
hypnotic methods for eradicating factors
which hinder peak performance; and (2)
body/mind training methods such as physical
50
conditioning methods, concentration training, awareness training, and techniques for
cutting off scattered thought. The workshop
will include lecture, demonstration of methods, practice, and case presentation. Case presentations will be drawn from recreational
and professional sports, dance and music performance, and managerial worksite training.
This program is offered in conjunction with
Harvard Medical School Department of
Continuing Education. For more information,
including how to register, see Special
Programs, page 81.
Approved CMEs for physicians.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Aware, Awake, and Present—
An Anusara Yoga Journey
Ulrika Engman
Ulrika writes: “This Yoga weekend we’ll use
our Yoga practice as a way to attune our
instrument, the body, to pick up on the tune
that makes our heart sing. Through various
Yoga practices and alignment principles we’ll
cultivate the skill, focus, grace, and courage
necessary to find and follow the path that
wags our tail.
“We’ll bring greater awareness to the how of
the practice with the intention to expand the
moments we are awake to the presence that
animates the form. It’s a weekend to celebrate
the life which flows through all of us through
exploring Yoga postures from the inside out.
All levels of asana will be playfully explored:
standing poses, forward folds, backbends, arm
balances, twists, and inversions.”
A minimum of one year of Yoga practice is
suggested. Please bring your own Yoga mat
and the props you use.
April 20–27
The “Pointing Out” Way of Tibetan
Buddhist Meditation
Daniel Brown
This workshop—designed for either novice or
advanced meditators—serves as an integrative
approach to the practice of meditation, with
an emphasis on intensive concentration meditation using the traditional Tibetan Buddhist
“Nine States of Mental Calming/Staying,” a
widely used method for training the mind to
stay on its meditation object and to calm
mental content. This approach was developed
to correct common problems that develop in
meditation practice, such as bad habits that
prevent realizations or reaching a plateau that
makes progress difficult.
The course will also introduce classic Tibetan
emptiness-meditations as well as the “directly
pointing out” practices about the nature of
mind. A balance of mental-stabilization and
realization-of-emptiness practices will serve
as a foundation for many types of advanced or
“extraordinary” practices, such as tantric meditations based on complex visualizations to
transform affective states, and working with
energy transformations within the body, both
of which serve direct realization of the nature
of mind. This relational-based instructional
style emphasizes directly pointing out the
meditation methods used and the states likely
to occur, balanced with actual practice, followed by a description of experiences and further instructions. The emphasis is on short,
repeated meditation-practice periods, with
additional, more refined instructions interspersed between each practice set.
Please bring a meditation cushion, if you have
one.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Week of April 20–25
I-You-Us: Pleasure, Intimacy, and
the Search for Connectedness
Terry Hunt
This workshop is about healthy relationships—in love, in friendship, in daily life. The
focus is on how to nurture our own vitality in
situations where we long for connections that
are more real, more safe, or more rewarding.
Pleasure is essential for healthy relationships.
Add the erotic element and the potential for
pleasure grows exponentially. But whether in
love or friendship, in same- or opposite-gender relationships, the reality of sustaining
delight in one another is often a mystery and
a struggle. We substitute old avoidance patterns for intimacy as we play out the Good
Girl and Super Guy roles we developed during traumatic childhoods and adolescences.
Or we repeatedly act out of fear, sadness, or
rage, keeping our relationships locked in the
“cultural missionary position.” Giving up carefully honed pain-avoidant habits releases new
energies for the pursuit of personal fulfillment in relationships.
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
This workshop is designed to help you identify myths that block the flow of joy. Terry
Hunt writes: “Together we will redefine the
role of pleasure in our lives and create updated images of our sexual and sensual selves. We
will explore new language that more honestly
communicates our desires. We will encourage
each other to approach our gender gaps with
intention rather than fear, assertion rather
than suspicion. We will follow our instincts
for pleasure into moments of wholeness.”
Come alone or with an intimate.
Recommended reading: Hunt & PaineGernée, Emotional Healing and Secrets to Tell,
Secrets to Keep.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
The Upledger Institute’s CranioSacral II
This workshop further explores the
CranioSacral System and its function in relationship to other patho-physiological body
systems. The course will begin with the study
of cranial base dysfunctions as perceived,
diagnosed, and treated by Dr. William
Sutherland, the father of cranial osteopathy.
Students will learn how to integrate
Sutherland’s techniques for identifying and
evaluating lesions into a ten-step protocol and
how to apply individual correction treatments
when needed.
Evaluation and treatment processes of the
hard palate, the mandible, and temporomandibular joint will be presented and practiced to complete the exploration of the masticatory system. Emphasis will then be directed to whole-body evaluation, as discussions
will center on various “physiological phenomena” that occur within the body.
The SomatoEmotional Release process will
also be introduced with discussion and
demonstration of an “energy cyst.”
Participants must have completed The
Upledger Institute’s CranioSacral Therapy I,
either at Esalen or elsewhere.
Please note: Registration for this workshop is
through The Upledger Institute only. Please
call 1-800-233-5880.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Spiritweaves™: Sanctuary of Self
Anneli &Michael Molin-Skelton
the human portrait is a prayer
rising and falling on the current of our breath
each movement
a revelation, an emerging dance
given shape by the threads of spirit
woven in this moment
“Spiritweaves is a calling,” Michael and Anneli
write, “a silent wakening. Its cries and whispers stir a deep longing in our soul to fall
toward the core of our desire. It is a gathering:
a living tribal tapestry, a braiding of the rare
and common strands of our collective movements. Spiritweaves is a journey: a journey of
destiny, not destination, and its steps can be
traced, faint and deep, in the dark soil of our
dance.
“As Spiritweaves, we are invited to dance
together the disparate parts of ourselves, to
dance the gap between ourselves and others,
to dance in the grace that we belong, to dance.
“In this workshop, using the awakening energy of the 5Rhythms™as a catalyst and the hallowed ground of SoulMotion™as a container,
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
51
we will move to unveil and unmask the
unique and sacred expression of our own
dance. Mary Oliver writes, ‘One day you finally knew/what you had to do, and began...’”
Come begin again.
Everyone called is welcomed, no previous
experience needed.
Weekend of April 25–27
Releasing into Divine Joy
Peter Russell
The world’s spiritual teachings repeatedly
claim that joy, bliss, and happiness—qualities
of the mind in its natural, unconditioned
state—are our spiritual birthright. But for
most of us, the many experiences that occupy
our attention—our perceptions, the stories we
tell ourselves, our hopes and fears—overshadow this natural state of well-being. To reconnect with inner joy we need to stop clinging
to beliefs of how things ought, or ought not,
to be. We need to release our minds from our
fears, judgments, and attachments, and return
to the present moment.
For thousands of years, the great sages have
taught meditation as a way to still the thinking mind and awaken to pure consciousness,
where we find the inner peace, joy, and ease of
being that is our true nature. In this workshop, Peter Russell introduces participants to
new approaches that deepen and clarify the
practice of meditation. The key is to use our
own inner guide, the wisdom of our innate
intelligence, to give us guidance during meditation. Our higher self beckons to us, showing
us the easiest, most direct way to open to our
true nature. The skill lies in allowing this to
happen without disturbing the delicate
process of meditation itself. When we do, we
find we can step more rapidly through inner
resistances and blocks, and undo the various
ways in which we create dissatisfaction and
unnecessary suffering.
Sharing his own journey of self-discovery, and
integrating ideas from Eastern and Western
models of the mind, Peter helps students
explore how to step beyond the ego mind, let
go, relax the mind, hear the still quiet voice
within, and open to the inner peace, love, and
freedom that we yearn for.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 9.
The Power of Practice: An Integral
Approach to Realizing Your Potential
Pam Kramer &Barry Robbins
Each of us has an infinite capacity for creative
evolution. Our destiny may well be to evolve
our capacities to live a life that would now be
termed extraordinary. A most effective path to
our latent powers lies in a long-term practice
which integrates body, mind, heart, and soul.
Experience the revolutionary work, Integral
Transformative Practice (ITP), created by
George Leonard and Michael Murphy of
Esalen. This workshop introduces a practice
that involves movement, meditation, and
mind/body practices leading you on an inner
journey to realize your inborn genius. The
Power of Practice, led by certified ITP trainers
Barry Robbins and Pam Kramer, offers the
direct experience of Integral Transformative
Practice, an exploration and study of consciousness, and a daily practice for increased
vitality, fulfillment, and joy. In this workshop,
you will learn about:
• Body as a wise teacher using Leonard
Energy Training (LET) exercises
• Creation of effective affirmations to
manifest healthy changes in your life
• ITP Kata, a 40-minute integration of
physical, mental, and spiritual exercises
• Balancing and centering, breathing
practices, and focused surrender
• Heartful, effective communication with
yourself and others
This experiential workshop involves physical
movement but is not strenuous. All that’s
needed is a generous heart and a willingness
to participate.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Recommended reading: Leonard & Murphy,
The Life We Are Given; Leonard, Mastery and
The Way of Aikido; Murphy, The Future of the
Body.
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You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Parenting From the Inside Out
Mary Hartzell
As parents, we have an incredible opportunity
for personal growth because we are put back
into an intimate parent-child relationship—
but this time in the role of parent rather than
child.
How parents make sense of their childhood
experiences has a profound effect on how
they parent their own children. Parents often
find themselves doing the very things to their
children that felt hurtful to them as a child.
They can feel stuck in repetitive, unproductive patterns that don’t support the loving,
nurturing relationships they envisioned
when they first became parents.
This workshop can help to free parents from
patterns of the past that continue to negatively affect them and their relationship with
their children. Based on her original and
innovative book, Parenting From the Inside Out
(coauthored with Daniel J. Siegel), Mary
Hartzell will help parents deepen their selfunderstanding and build a more effective and
enjoyable relationship with their children.
Drawing on new findings in neurobiology
and attachment research, she will show:
• How childhood experiences can shape our
attitudes and actions without our awareness
• How emotions shape our interpersonal
world and affect our parenting
• How our ability to communicate affects our
connections with our children
Parents will have an opportunity to develop
an approach to parenting that helps them in
raising emotionally secure and healthy children and bring more joy into their relationships with their children. This workshop is
relevant to parents with children of any age.
Recommended reading: Hartzell & Siegel,
Parenting From the Inside Out.
Callings: Finding and Following an
Authentic Life
Gregg Levoy
Callings are urgings and imperatives from the
deep self that tell us what it will take to make
our lives “come true.” They point us toward
awakenings, course corrections, and powerful
authenticity.
This hands-on retreat takes a creative
approach to striking up a deep dialogue with
our own lives. Through writing, storytelling,
myth, improvisation, meditation, reflection,
and nature, participants explore the psycho-
logical, spiritual, and practical processes we
encounter in finding and following our callings, whether calls to do something (become
self-employed, go back to school, leave or start
a relationship, move to the country) or calls to
be something (more creative, less judgmental,
more loving, less fearful). You will have the
opportunity to learn how to:
Awakening The Creative
•
•
•
•
•
• The tools: color, form, and image
• The environment: respect, spontaneity, and
depth
• The feeling: a place safe enough to risk
without repercussion
• The outcome: an intimate meeting with the
source of creation
Clarify your callings
Discern whether a call is true
Work creatively with resistance and conflict
Reconnect with your powers and gifts
Gain a renewed sense of possibilities
Recommended reading: Levoy, Callings:
Finding and Following an Authentic Life.
Week of April 27–May 2
Big Sur Wilderness Experience
Steven Harper &Michael Newman
Esalen is the trailhead to one of the most
spectacular mountainous coastlines in the
world. With the Big Sur wilderness as the primary teacher, participants 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 experiential awareness practices, individuals will
be encouraged to open both to the natural
world and 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.
Participants in this weeklong workshop will
venture out on five day-hikes, 4-10 miles in
length. The leaders will draw from a wide
range of contemporary and age-old wisdom
traditions, borrowing from psychology, meditation, aikido, and the natural sciences to
weave together a holistic experience of self
and the natural world. Each hike begins after
breakfast and concludes in time to enjoy the
hot springs and dinner at Esalen. Evening sessions include informal sharing, basic awareness practices, and useful outdoor skills, with
attention given to incorporating what is
learned into our daily lives. All levels of experience are welcome. Be 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.
Stewart Cubley &Staff
The method is play—the potential is Freedom…
Join Stewart Cubley (author of Life, Paint &
Passion) and his staff in the exploration of an
extraordinary resource—the vibrant, driving
force of your own creative spirit.
In this workshop, everyone is a beginner; people from all levels of experience are welcome,
including those who have never picked up a
paintbrush. The goal is free expression, with
the emphasis on the process rather than on
technique or expertise. You will be given the
environment, methods, facilitation, and
overview with which to embark on the greatest of all human journeys—embracing your
own path and confidently following it.
This workshop may be of interest to people
from a wide variety of disciplines, including
art, education, counseling, social change, and
meditative practices.
All materials are supplied.
($50 materials fee paid directly to the leaders)
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Gestalt Awareness Practice
Christine Stewart Price &Guest Leader
The Way, when declared
Seems thin and so 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.
The emphasis is intrapersonal rather than
interpersonal. Participants are not patients but
($20 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
53
Lynda Guber and Yoga Ed. program director
Leah Kalish, empowers you to do and teach
Contact Yoga. You will learn the philosophy,
fundamentals, basic postures, and language of
Contact through the exploration of the Seven
Points: trust, passion, commitment, love, communication, vision, and union. Through the
book and workbook, you will deepen your
personal practice and your connection with
others and as well as expand your potential as
a yoga teacher or massage therapist.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
The Contact Yoga Certification can add a
whole new dimension to the yoga you live
and teach. It’s time to go to the next level of
relationship and fully embody the joy of yoga
in relationship by making Contact on and off
the mat.
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.
The format combines 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.
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, 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.
Recommended reading: Perls, Gestalt Therapy
Verbatim; Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape.
Please note: Due to the intense and sequential
nature of this workshop, attendance at all
sessions is necessary.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
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, communication, and observation
methods designed to expand your limits “to
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.
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Requirement: Bring a 1-3 minute memorized
piece—monologue, poem, song, etc.
Contact: The Yoga of Relationship—
Certification for Yoga Teachers
Tara Lynda Guber &Leah Kalish
Contact Yoga is an inspiring new vision of
yoga created to inform and enhance relationships. Grounded in traditional yoga postures
and principles, Contact Yoga explores that
mysterious and dynamic edge where two people connect—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Using the points of contact, Contact
Yoga offers an interpersonal application of
yogic philosophy that breaks down the barriers of separation while building an awareness
and foundation for healthy relating. Contact
opens the door for true intimacy. It is fun and
challenging.
This certification, taught by creator Tara
Contact Yoga: The Workbook ($45) is the complete guide for certified yogis to teach Contact
Yoga at beginner and advanced weekend
workshops, two-day, or one-week certifications. Based on the award-winning book, the
workbook is mandatory for this workshop.
Visit www.contactyoga.com. Please bring your
own yoga mat.
Required reading: Guber et al., Contact: The
Yoga of Relationship.
Awakening the Mind: Mastering the
Power of Your Brainwaves
Anna Wise
Inside each person lives a wealth of knowledge, capacities, and power rarely transmitted
to the conscious mind. Brainwave training,
combined with meditation and biofeedback
monitoring, can help develop these deeper
resources, allowing access to greater creativity,
reduced stress, and a deeper awareness and
understanding of the inner self.
After assessing the brainwave patterns of
hundreds of unusually high-functioning people, the late C. Maxwell Cade of London’s
Institute for Psychobiological Research began
to see similarities in the patterns of optimal
states of mind. Drawing upon Cade’s work,
Anna Wise has developed a program to help
access these optimal states.
Brainwaves are affected in specific ways by
different methods of meditation, visualization, and psychophysiological relaxation, as
well as by specific acts such as tongue, eye,
and body positions. This workshop presents
techniques for brainwave development of
beta, alpha, theta, and delta, and helps you
determine which practices are best for your
particular brainwave pattern. It also addresses
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
how to use these optimum states for creativity, mental flexibility, self-healing, problem
solving, and spiritual development.
The Mind Mirror™EEG will be utilized to
demonstrate brainwave patterns, and each
participant will be able to use an Electrical
Skin Resistance Meter to measure the depth
of arousal or relaxation of the nervous system.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Sacred Gong, so the heart can stay open and
you can reach your mental richness and spiritual strength, becoming a pure channel of
Infinite Love.
Gurmukh was baptized 28 years ago with her
Sikh spiritual name which means “One who
helps people across the world ocean.” She has
dedicated her life to fulfilling that responsibility.
All levels are welcome.
Weekend of May 2–4
Improv Alchemy: Brewing Something
from Nothing
Systems Theory and Thinking:
The Science of Wholeness
Paula Shaw
Jerry Kurtyka
Systems theory is one of the main intellectual
movements of the twentieth century. It arose
in response to overspecialization in the sciences as a way to a find a more integrated
view of knowledge and the world. Systems
theory is the science of wholeness. It is concerned with a holistic view of the world and
its use as a mental discipline to solve realworld problems by looking for their common
properties, processes, and structures. Today
the systems movement includes thousands of
academics, practitioners, and intellectuals and
has been popularized in best-sellers like The
Fifth Discipline and The Tipping Point.
Systems theory uses well-known ideas, like
the Law of the Minimum, Requisite Variety,
and Least Effort, and some that aren’t so wellknown but are all around us and influence
our worldview. This workshop will be an
intellectual romp through systems theory,
exploring its development, meaning, and
application—systems thinking—for our time.
Participants will learn what systems are, how
we can see and experience them around us,
and how to participate consciously in their
design. The course will also look at natural
systems and how Nature can widen and
inform our experience of the social and technical world.
Kundalini Yoga and Meditation:
Keys to Unlock the Unlimited
Infinite Power Within
Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
Experience your calm, intuitive, magnificent
Self. Release childhood anger to renew your
nervous system and build stamina. Free your
energy through Kundalini yoga, chanting,
meditation, and the healing sound of the
The spontaneity of theater games can open
you up to extraordinary surprises, to
unknown abilities, even to brilliance—a brilliance born of generating from a blank slate,
from the nothing and nowhere of beginner’s
mind. This workshop is an exploration of letting go of your programmed patterns and discovering the joy of spontaneous creation.
The first premise of improvisational theater
games (which Robin Williams claims
unleashed him) is to “go in blank.” Within the
game structures, participants are coached to
be receptive: stop, look, and listen; deny nothing; release control; let go of planning ahead.
This process can help you to trust your own
intuition, sense of humor, eloquence, and
physical grace, and it allows you to get out of
your own way to convert the raw material of
spontaneous impulse into glittering nuggets
of creative gold.
The workshop is also just a lot of fun.
Beginners and shy people are welcome; no
experience is necessary. Prior improv experience will be forgiven.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:
Top-down and Bottom-up Processing
and Integrating of Experience
Martha Stark
Bad stuff happens. But it’s how the mind-body
deals with it, “processes” it, and ultimately
“integrates” it that determines whether the
“stressor” derails or promotes growth. Dr.
Martha Stark, a well-known Harvard psychoanalyst long interested in the therapeutic
action of psychodynamic psychotherapy, has
coined the term “mindbody matrix” to highlight the interdependence of mind and body
and to emphasize the importance of structural integrity and underlying orderliness.
Martha’s contention is that the mindbody
matrix, in the face of challenges (both psychological and physiological), may initially
become destabilized and “dis-ordered” but
will then, with enough resilience and regulatory capacity, adaptively reconstitute at a new
homeostatic set point. Iterative cycles of disruption and repair, disruption and repair
result in ever higher levels of order, complexity, and maturity, albeit at some cost to the system in terms of wear and tear.
This workshop is for clinicians who appreciate that enduring change is brought about
through both top-down and bottom-up processing of information and energy. Ever
focused on the intersection of theory and
practice and the interface between mind and
body, Martha will present her four modes of
therapeutic action: (1) enhancement of
knowledge, (2) provision of (corrective) experience, (3) engagement in (authentic) relationship, and (4) attainment of coherence within
the mindbody matrix.
This program is offered in conjunction with
Harvard Medical School Department of
Continuing Education. For more information,
including how to register, see Special
Programs, page 81.
Approved for CMEs for physicians.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Close Yet Free: The Path to Making a
Good Relationship Even Better
Gerald Smith
How can we be open and vulnerable to love
another person and, at the same time, free in
order to continue to grow as an individual?
The balance of merging and still maintaining
a clear 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. In fact, a
thriving relationship will enhance each person’s deepest growth.
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 increase openness, support, and affection, as well as skills to resolve differences
without producing “scar tissue.” Also, since
play is an essential part of a vital relationship,
there will be experiences to spark the imagination and willingness to play together.
Enrollment is limited to 12 couples.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
55
Week of May 4–9
Building Sustainable Leadership
for Justice: The Be Present
SM
Empowerment Model
Lillie P. Allen
We live in the social, political, and economic
systems that we seek to change. While many
understand that we are affected, we do not
necessarily comprehend how deeply it has an
impact on all of us. Be Present, Inc. believes
that in order to create peace and justice for all
people, it is each individual’s responsibility to
critically examine the impact of race, gender,
power, and class on our effectiveness to
change the systems that oppress. It is from
this understanding that we can take responsibility and model new ways to foster tolerance,
promote peace, and partner for justice.
This workshop focuses on the Be Present
Empowerment Model, a replicable sustainable
leadership curriculum that teaches how to
effectively change the dynamics of power and
address the ability of racism, classism, sexism,
anti-Semitism, homophobia, and all forms of
oppression to disconnect people from their
vision, thereby halting their ability to effect
change. Participants will learn in a community of practice how to merge theory with personal experiences and feelings which fuel
these difficult issues so that they contribute
equally to the creation of enhanced trust,
open dialogue, and broadened understanding.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 9.
The Posture of Gratitude:
A Yoga Practice in Humility
Thomas Michael Fortel &Sarana Miller
“We can think of each of the yoga postures as
a metaphor or an archetype embodied in
physical posture,” Thomas Fortel writes. “It
may be the hero or the warrior, the eagle or
the sage. The practice of yoga clearly reflects
the multiple layers of human existence, and it
gives us a way of being in the world and in
the life of spirit, alma, or soul. By doing the
physical practice of asana (postures) and the
breathing practice of pranayama we are able
to open the inner doors of understanding and
potentially access the deeper meaning of our
lives. Over time, the practitioner of yoga is
deeply sobered, seeing with tremendous clarity the reality of his or her own mind, body,
and soul. It is not unusual to traverse a broad
plane of darkness and light, hope and despair,
a lack of self-love and a growing, deep inner
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acceptance. Over and over again, a student of
yoga will find himself in a posture of gratitude, a heartfelt place of humility and kindness.
“This is the focus for our week of yoga practice—pranayama, meditation, active and
restorative practice in the context of self-love
and humility, all in a group field of acceptance, introspection, fun, and play.”
Beginners are welcome although participants
should have at least 6 months’ yoga experience. All yoga props are provided.
Nonviolent Communication (NVC): The
Language of Life for Speaking Peace
Jean Morrison &Martine Amita Algier
NVC has been described as a powerful tool
for social change, a personal practice for clarifying and living one’s values, a guide for interpersonal communication, an effective process
for conflict resolution, and a language of compassion. Deepak Chopra has called this
process “the missing link.”
Jean and Martine write: “We will learn and
share NVC through practical application of
principles and skills, in a fun, lively, collaborative, and supportive environment. We start
with ourselves as we are, with willingness to
look deeper, and as we learn we include those
close to us in the light of this understanding.”
Learning NVC helps to liberate us from:
• Judging self and others
• Taking things personally
• Acting from fear, duty, obligation, guilt
• Suffering in anger and depression
Learning NVC supports us in:
• Expressing ourselves honestly without
blame, shame, or criticism
• Hearing others’ pain without trying to fix
them
• Creating new strategies that meet core
needs
• Becoming more effective at everything we
do, including creating peace in the world
NVC was developed by Dr. Marshall
Rosenberg over a period of thirty years. It has
been taught to individuals and organizations
in more than thirty-five countries. Martine,
Jean, and 200 Certified Trainers around the
world teach NVC in communities, schools,
prisons, corporations, social-change organizations, war-torn regions, and healthcare and
government institutions.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Dancing with the Spirits: The
Exuberant Joy of Afro-Cuban Dance
Felix “Pupy” Insua &Catherine Calderon
“Salsa Can Save the World!” ran a recent headline in an L.A. newspaper. The article
explored the worldwide explosion of interest
in salsa music and dance. What is it about this
form that has captivated so many people? The
Cuban music/dance known today as salsa,
rumba, or mambo has roots around the globe.
Deeply influenced by African rhythms, and
joined with European orchestral music, this
rich, complex, intoxicating music even has
Indian, Asian, and indigenous influences,
making it truly a “world” culture. There is no
easier way to free your spirit and connect
with heart-bursting joy than to hit the dance
floor to a blazing salsa tune.
In this workshop, participants will learn versions of several dance forms: Afro-Cuban
folkloric, Spanish- and African-derived
rumba, and dances such as salsa, merengue,
and mambo. Fundamental drum rhythms and
call-and-response chants to invoke the energies of Yoruban gods and goddesses will be
taught. Yoga poses and deep-relaxation techniques will help open the body and prepare
for the rising of Spirit. And of course there
will be plenty of blowout dance partying!
Participants will experience the deep, soulshaking effects of opening heart and body to
one’s own internal rhythms as they respond
to the call of the drums. This workshop is for
everyone, from professional dancers to “can’t
drag me out on the dance floor” types. The
combination of the expansive, ecstatic celebration of Afro-Cuban drumming and dance
joined with the reflective, relaxing aspects of
yoga offers a powerful opportunity for freedom. Come dance with the Spirits!
Senses Wide Open: An Active
Exploration of Presence
Johanna Putnoi
Scene: You shake hands with a stranger.
Warmth and kinship seem to flow into you.
Your body says, Pursue this relationship. You
tell yourself, I must be imagining things. You
turn away.
Scene: You go on a long walk. You return home
feeling fit and refreshed. Your body says, I feel
great. But when you look in the mirror you
tell yourself, I’ll never look the way I should.
Scene: Your lover’s touch feels rough, insensitive. Your muscles tense. You can’t seem to get
in a romantic mood. Your body says, I really
don’t like the way this feels. You tell yourself,
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
There must be something wrong with me.
Our body, in its wisdom, continually sends us
signals. We know we should pay attention,
but our mind takes over. We reject the body as
wrong—too weak, too lustful, too fat, too old.
Instead of listening to our body’s natural wisdom we do the opposite, then wonder why
we don’t feel better.
Learning to live fully in your body changes
your relationship to everything—to yourself,
to others, to the earth. This workshop in the
Lomi Somatic tradition integrates Western
psychological and bodywork perspectives
with Eastern spiritual disciplines. The tools
are presence, perception, contact, and practice. The disciplines used are meditation, conscious movement, bodywork, breathwork,
and Gestalt. This is an opportunity to practice
interrupting your habits of body, heart, and
mind by expanding your ability to see, hear,
sense, feel, and be existentially present.
Recommended reading: Putnoi, Senses Wide
Open: The Art and Practice of Living in Your Body.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Molten Memory:
A Short Course in Bronze
Bob Lamp
Most of us lack the support both to examine
and express how we are affected, and to turn
our responses into creative action. Thus we do
not fully develop our innate fierceness, compassion, dignity, and courage. We do not discover the new possibilities for responding
which arise when these qualities appear.
Participants will return home with a finished
bronze of their own design. All levels of experience, from beginner to professional, are welcome.
In this workshop, there will be encouragement to discover and express our outrage,
grief, and fear, as well as our love, excitement,
and awe for the world around us, and to find
the qualities and creativity we need for new
actions and responses. Creative ritual—the
core practice that supports the transformation
of challenging feelings and experience into
capacities of the soul and imaginative action—
will be the guiding image for the weekend.
Weekend of May 9–11
If You Want to Change the World…
Start Here
Mark Nicolson
Fierceness is the soul’s potential response to
injustice. Compassion, the potential response
to suffering. Dignity or humility, to failure.
Courage, to danger.
We are affected daily by the challenges—political, social, personal—of living in these times.
We all want to change the world around us.
We know that if we are to help the world
change and grow, we ourselves must change
and grow. We also know that change and
growth alone are not enough: We need creative responses to these challenges.
This workshop is for individuals with a passion to make a difference; for leaders hoping
to impact the values of their organizations; for
therapists and coaches supporting discovery
of a calling in their clients and themselves;
and for elders ready to take their place as
guides in this process.
Biodanza®
Jaquelin Levin
Biodanza, or “dances of life,” is a transformational system that utilizes music, movement,
and emotion to manifest our life’s purpose. It
is designed as a reeducation in love and life in
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
This workshop is for all those looking to
jump-start their creativity. It will introduce
the ancient process of open-faced sand cast-
ing, using a small-scale propane-fired furnace.
The course will explore the allure of molten
metal as a metaphor for transforming your
fluid ideas into artistic form. The workshop
will also utilize visualization and the beauty
of Big Sur to support group members in carrying their ideas forward to completion.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
57
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
which exploring our human potential creates
the possibility of achieving our optimum in
life.
Mindful Moments for Mothers
and Daughters
Biodanza promotes balance, concentrating on
that which is already healthy in the human
being. Thus it stimulates our very sources of
health. Through its dances, Biodanza encourages new possibilities for communication
beyond words. It is a poetic and tender awakening of the dormant instincts that lie within.
It allows participants to develop a healthy and
powerful way of expressing the five lines of
human existence: vitality, sexuality, creativity,
affectivity (natural empathy), and transcendence.
“Every woman is a mother, a daughter, or
both,” Tzivia Glover writes. “Whether or not
we have children of our own, we each play the
role of nurturer, teacher, and protector in
some way. Likewise, whether our mothers are
in our lives today or not, each of us has a
yearning to receive unconditional love and
wise guidance. Mother/daughter relationships are potentially our richest source of love
and nourishment. They can also be complicated and confusing.
Based on Rolando Toro’s Biocentric Principle,
which emphasizes a sense of the centrality of
life, of every living being, Biodanza aids the
development of an ethical consciousness.
Practiced in a group, the collective experience
of these profound exercises propel us into the
essence of our human experience.
We are all born for a purpose: Life really
begins when you discover your purpose.
Biodanza enables us to realize this new vision.
In the Vivencia—the moment lived intensely—we can reenter our human existence
through the sensuality of being.
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Tzivia Gover
“Mindful Moments for Mothers and
Daughters is a workshop in which participants can explore their roles and relationships
as mothers and daughters in a safe and welcoming environment. We will use the practice of mindfulness to find clarity, peace, and a
spirit of joyful relaxation to guide us in this
process of discovery and deeper connection.”
Through a series of discussions, simple art
and writing activities, guided meditations,
and values clarification exercises, participants
will:
• Identify strengths and challenges in their
mother/daughter roles and relationships
• Bring a spirit of mindful intention to the
process of growth and healing in their lives
as mothers and daughters
• Discover the common and complementary
values they bring to those relationships
• Connect with feelings of gratitude, joy, and
love toward themselves as well as their
mothers and/or daughters.
Throughout the workshop participants will
have the opportunity to work individually, in
pairs, and in small groups. This workshop is
appropriate for all women, whether attending
individually or with their mothers and/or
adult daughters.
The One Thing Holding You Back:
How Emotional Connection Breaks
All Barriers
Raphael Cushnir
Do you have an unrealized dream? Are you
still waiting to tap your full potential?
“Almost always,” writes Raphael Cushnir,
“what prevents us from manifesting our greatest life vision is a reservoir of unfelt emotion.
Resisting this emotion is what sabotages
prayer, affirmations, or any other personalgrowth technique. Finding and feeling this
emotion is what infuses our mission with
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Spirit and makes us truly unstoppable. It’s
simple, but most of us never learn precisely
how—not at home, school, or even in therapy.”
where the sun and the fog perform their
perennial dance through magical redwood
forests and over grassy slopes.
Deep Tissue Techniques for Massage
Practitioners: Healing the Shoulder
and Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome
Raphael has pioneered a method of emotional
connection that virtually anybody can master,
and that can be learned in just one weekend.
It’s grounded in both contemporary neuroscience and the great wisdom traditions. He’s
shared it with immediate and lasting results
all around the world. You can use this emotional connection to overcome lifelong struggles with:
Participants in this workshop will contemplate with a camera the beauty of Big Sur. On
Friday night the group will meet to prepare
for Saturday’s photographic excursion by
invoking the use of photography as a tool for
meditation, healing, self-growth, and spiritual
connection. Saturday will be a time for connecting with Big Sur in its late spring attire:
the wildflowers, the sunsets, the misty
panoramas. On Sunday morning the group
will gather to share its creativity together.
Perry Holloman &Johanna Holloman
• Career
• Family
• Relationships
• Weight
• Self-esteem
• Addiction
This workshop is designed to help you fall in
love with every moment of your life. It can
lead to the kind of personal accomplishment
you’ve longed for, and also help you serve the
world.
No experience is necessary and all levels are
welcome. Please bring a digital 35mm camera
you are familiar with, a journal, and any existing photos you want to share with the group.
Week of May 11–16
The Way of Nature
Artplane Workshop
Steven Harper
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,
become whole, and know their belonging to
this world.
With wild nature as primary teacher, participants will explore the way of nature, discovering as “civilized” 20th-century humans what it
means to walk this ancient pathless path.
Hiking the wilderness trails of Big Sur, the
group will balance the days between walking
and sitting, inspirational readings and quiet
contemplation, active awareness exercises and
simply being.
The workshop includes two day-hikes (3-6
miles) into the Big Sur backcountry. Previous
wilderness experience is not necessary,
although participants should be prepared for
some vigorous physical activity. Further information will be sent upon registration.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Photographing the Seasons of Big Sur
Daniel &Cynthia 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,
Nicholas Wilton &Jennie Oppenheimer
The Artplane Workshop is a lighthearted,
playful exploration of the creative image-making process. It presents practical principles of
painting, combined with a fresh approach to
working more freely and intuitively. Included
in the workshop will be clear explorations of
color theory, harmony, value, and design, in
addition to in-class demonstrations, critique,
and extensive hands-on painting. There will
be little time to worry about success or failure,
as the process will take the form of a flowing
series of small paintings on wood panels.
Participants will sometimes be painting on
two or three pieces simultaneously. Working
in this way helps to avoid the tendency to
overly focus and constrict the creative
process. Recognizing and remaining in this
state of high creativity is a fundamental idea
of this class. Seeing the opportunities made
possible by one’s mistakes and learning how
to evaluate and improve upon one’s own work
will also be emphasized.
Come prepared for a whirl of creative selfexpression and the wonderful feeling of completing a workshop with a collection of your
own paintings that celebrate the process of
inspiration, reclamation, and the journey of
self-discovery. Only life experience and a willingness to play are needed.
Note: The cover of this catalog features four
Nicholas Wilton paintings.
($80 materials fee paid directly to the leaders;
details provided upon registration)
Deep bodywork, practiced with great sensitivity, is one of the most effective healing modalities available to the bodywork practitioner.
Through slowly opening the body’s deeper
soft-tissue layers, we connect the mind to normally unconscious, “stuck” areas of the physical body, which can release enormous
amounts of previously “held” energy. This
energy in turn becomes available to support
the body’s innate capacity to self-organize and
self-heal, enabling practitioners to support
clients in overcoming previously stubborn,
seemingly intractable physical conditions.
Two areas of the body with which bodyworkers often find themselves confronted are the
shoulder and the forearm/wrist. Because of
the complexity of these structures and the
intense, chronic pain they are capable of producing, massage practitioners are often reluctant to touch them for fear of doing more
harm. This seminar will provide effective
deep-tissue techniques designed to address
both the acute and chronic types of pain
encountered in these areas of the body.
A good deal of time will be spent learning
how to feel “soft tissue lesions” with the hands
wherever they are found, and learn why, at
physiological and energetic levels, competent
deep bodywork needs to be done slowly to be
most effective. Participants will also be taught
how to understand the aggravations which
often occur within 48 hours of treatment, and
how to guide clients through such occurrences. Finally, Perry and Johanna will provide in-depth understanding of the anatomy
and function of the shoulder, arm, and hand.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Shaping Experiences: An Exploration
of Relationship and Movement
Deanna Darby
The wealth of information coming from contemporary neuroscience has sparked an
explosion of interest and new understanding
in body/mind unity and how our early and
current relationships affect us. We do not
come into the world “hardwired,” but requiring relationships to form our neurology, biology, and our perception of the world. Our
postures, gestures, facial expressions, and
movements translate into conscious and
unconscious meaning that change as awareness and new possibilities of movement arise.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
59
This experiential workshop will explore the
body and interpersonal patterns. Some discussion will support and deepen understanding of what is discovered through direct experience, personal and interpersonal processes.
In a safe and supportive environment participants will be invited to explore:
• Movement—locating areas of freedom and
inhibition in the body
• Perception—how our senses impact our
relationship to our inner and outer world
• Sensory experiences and the emotions they
evoke
• The crossover point from unconscious to
conscious, from movement to meaning
• How greater fluidity and range of
movement effects well-being
Our life is one continuous web of shared sensory experience. As awareness arises throughout the workshop, participants will have the
opportunity to experience greater aliveness,
joy, ease, and well-being internally as well as
with others.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Free Your Breath, Free Your Life
Dennis Lewis
The ever-increasing speed, stress, and disharmony of the modern world not only conditions us to a way of living in which the future
is often felt to be more important than the
present, but also cuts us off from the immediate experience of ourselves as living, breathing beings. As a result, many of us live as
unconscious, breathless automatons, rushing
into an imaginary future, seldom present to
the mystery and miracle of our lives right
now and here. Our breathing is so constricted
that it undermines our health, our vitality,
and our consciousness. It also deprives us of
one of the great joys of living on this earth:
the expansive sensation of a free, easy, boundless breath that engages the whole of ourselves and opens us to the miracle of “the
breath of life.”
Using ideas, insights, and practices from his
book Free Your Breath, Free Your Life, Dennis
Lewis will take you on a journey of presence
into the physiology, psychology, and spirituality of natural, boundless breathing. You will
learn and practice the seven basic self-directed ways of working with the breath: conscious; controlled; focused; movement-supported; position-supported; touch-supported;
and sound-supported breathing. Through
safe, powerful exercises—as well as through
special movements, postures, sounds, medita60
tions, qigong practices, dialogue, and work
with presence—you will learn how to integrate conscious, whole-body breathing into
your life to support your health and your
quest for self-realization.
nected, and part of a relationship. Balancing
individuality with togetherness involves following our own internal guidance while
developing a capacity to give in and let go to
the other: real partnership.
Recommended reading: Lewis, The Tao of
Natural Breathing and Free Your Breath, Free
Your Life.
Our contracted selves are reflected in our bodies and experienced as tension, lack of sexual
interest, and other physical distress. Our character and body armor keep us from being
fully intimate with another. Through the clinical lens of Wilhelm Reich’s Orgonomic
Therapy, we will examine how character
styles manifest in relationship and how couples bounce off each other’s defenses.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
(Re)Writing Your Story
Elizabeth Rosner
Our lives are tapestries, sometimes vivid with
pattern, sometimes mysteriously dark. Each
personal story, expressed and reflected upon,
can be a tool for self-awareness and transformation. This workshop uses the writing
process as a means for unraveling and reinventing our stories, both on and off the page.
Invoking the spirit of play and inquiry, we
can uncover what has already been written
inside ourselves, and also what may have been
hidden or disguised.
Elizabeth Rosner writes: “Together we will
commit to expanding our repertoire of words,
images, memories, and dreams. When you
open to the sound of your own voice, when
you allow yourself to be heard, the possibilities for healing and renewal are unbounded.
By listening to the language of your inner
song, you might rediscover a lost part of yourself, or a self you have been longing to
encounter.”
Beginners as well as experienced writers of all
levels are welcome. Whether you are interested in poetry, essay, fiction, or drama, this
open-ended practice will allow the form to be
discovered along the way. The five days of
writing will focus on exercises designed to
facilitate the stages of deep exploring, with
guidance through the reweaving process as
both a literal and metaphorical journey for
the self.
Relationships: Intimacy Through
Differentiation—Orgonomy:
The Work of Wilhelm Reich
Richard Blasband &Patricia Frisch
Successful, intimate relationships are built on
the differentiated self—the ability to maintain
a sense of self when deeply engaged with
another. When we are differentiated, we are
balancing our need to be an individual, which
includes our own ideas, needs, and self-identity, with our desire to be close, attached, con-
We must shed our armor to fully share ourselves with our partners, experience them for
who they truly are, and discover our naturally
sexual, vital, and loving natures.
This workshop is an intensive, confrontational, personally demanding process for those
who wish to restructure their character style
at deep levels of psychophysical being. It utilizes Reich’s methods of character analysis
and direct interventions on the body armor
within the context of a trusting group.
Dreams, guided imagery, creative arts, and
movement will deepen the exploration.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Weekend of May 16–18
Balance From the Inside Out
Howard Joel Schechter
Stress is epidemic today. At the same time
there is a deep craving for psychological and
spiritual sustenance. If we emphasize the
external at the expense of the internal, work
at the expense of family and personal life, we
are, as a result, out of balance and dissatisfied.
All attempts at rearranging the external elements will inevitably fail—it is like trying to
rearrange the deck furniture to save a sinking
ship. To enjoy a deep sense of well-being, that
most precious of life’s gifts, we must give priority to nourishing our internal process.
This workshop explores what constitutes a
life in balance. It presents a blueprint for a
personalized, integrated daily practice which
nurtures our physical, mental, emotional, and
spiritual components. It offers models from
various psychological and spiritual perspectives presented in a fresh formulation of traditional wisdom. The emphasis, however, is not
on formulas or models but on each partici-
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
tice partners are in a seated or lying position.
Proper body positioning for safety and comfort as well as a brief introduction to meridian
theory and simple Chi Kung exercises will
also be included in this fun course.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Eating, Food, and the Body/Self
Jerome Front
Eating, food, and the body/self are intimately
intertwined. Tapping into these connections
using the practices and metaphors of food
and the body can lead to healing, transformation, and awakening. In a mindful retreat
atmosphere, you’ll be taught contemplative,
somatic, and psychological tools for feasting
on the experience of being alive.
Dimensions of eating and food that are experienced with mindful awareness can lead to a
reopening of psychological depth, a fuller
embodiment, and a deeper sense of the creative, relational, and spiritual aspects of being
alive. Otherwise, unacknowledged hungers,
unrecognized feelings, trances, wounds, and
personal mythologies around eating and the
body misdirect our energies into filling these
voids and away from being free and fully
alive. This workshop offers neither a diet plan
nor medical advice, but it does provide tools
to help you focus on sources of true nourishment. Topics include:
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
• Your unique food mythologies, patterns, and
trances
• Interconnectedness of Self, Other, and
Cosmos
• Communal stories and release of shame and
secrets
• Eating and the body as practice for renewal,
contemplation, and meditation
pant generating an understanding of what
uniquely nourishes his or her own internal
harmony and creates a satisfying balance.
“We will identify and explore each of our
unique strengths for developing harmony and
balance,” writes Howard. “We will address the
blocks each of us has created that limit our
sense of well-being. There will be experiential
and interactive exercises as well as focused
guidance; however, the actual movement of
the workshop from one moment to the next
will be determined by the interests and needs
of the individuals in the group.”
Enrollment is limited.
The Dance of Shiatsu
Jim Gallas
This introductory-level class is ideal for the
novice or the professional massage therapist
interested in a joyful exploration of this
Japanese style of massage. It is also an excellent class for couples wanting to learn short,
effective sessions to relax and rejuvenate their
partners.
Shiatsu is done with the client (receiver) comfortably clothed on a mat on the floor.
Participants will learn to work with their
palms, thumbs, fists, and feet while their prac-
There will be silent community meals, selfassessment stories, music and ritual, meditation, and deep relaxation. Teachings and activities will alternate with periods of silence.
Open to all, the workshop is an especially rich
resource for therapists and nurses.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Training
Mark Abramson
The impact of stress on health is well recognized. Now the efficacy of stress reduction as
an adjunct to medical treatment is being recognized in more and more healthcare set-
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
61
tings. In 1996 Dr. Mark Abramson founded a
program at Stanford University Medical
Center using the 2,500-year-old technique of
Mindfulness Meditation to train patients as
an adjunct treatment for many different medical conditions.
Mindfulness is “nonjudgmental awareness.”
This requires one to pay attention to direct
experience in the present moment, neither
clinging to what is perceived as pleasant nor
reacting with aversion toward what is perceived as unpleasant. In both mental and
physical stress, much of the perpetuating
cycle of pain or discomfort is a result of one’s
judgmental struggle to push away what is
experienced as unpleasant. Yet as one
becomes willing to directly meet the actual
experience it becomes finite. One begins to
see that it can be workable to deal with a
finite level of discomfort one moment at a
time.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Cultivating Joy, Finding Aliveness:
A Bioenergetic Approach
Brooke Deputy
Breathing in, the rain falls. Breathing out,
watering seeds of joy.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
How does joy find its expression in our lives?
What is the experience of having abundant
energy, freedom of movement, and an awareness of this present moment? There is a place
where we know we are fully alive, open to all
of our feelings, connected to ourselves and to
the ground. By working with body and
mind—and allowing spirit to inform the
process—we can find new aliveness and
increased pleasure and joy. By developing
awareness of the holdings and contractions in
our bodies, we can begin to discover the
nature of our character armor—the chronic
muscular shapes and tensions of the body of
which we are largely unconscious. We can
begin to free the flow of energy that has been
held in our bodies. When we are open, we
experience more pleasure and vitality.
In this experiential workshop, participants
will focus on finding those sensations and
feelings that have been held inside, often
beneath conscious awareness. Using
Bioenergetics, laughter, expressive movement,
and the stillness of meditation, students will
work to bring about the healthy integration
of body, mind, and spirit, allowing the body to
regain its natural aliveness and vitality, and
expanding our ability to see, hear, sense, and
feel.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Approximately 3,000 people have taken this
training with Dr. Abramson. Most patients
report a significant increase in their ability to
manage their illness and significant reductions in stress and physical complaints. Dr.
Abramson adds: “What I most appreciate is
participants reporting improved ability to
respond to themselves with kindness and
compassion.”
62
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Yoga—The Union of Opposites
Sarah Mata
The art of yoga lies within the power of relationship. There is a subtle dance in the relationship of exhaling and inhaling, forward
and backward bending, movement and stillness, sound and silence—between what
changes and what stays the same. Engaging
all aspects of ourselves, these ancient, integrative practices offer a time-honored path to
embody our radiance in the present. Within
the experience of our bodies, our minds can
be brought to a state of calm; as we deepen
awareness of our breath, contemplation deepens. In time we can reveal the link of our
heart with the essence of the yogic aspiration,
which is, it could be said, to be in your life
and meet the promise of it with open arms.
“In this practice,” Sarah Mata writes, “we will
explore the interrelationship between body,
mind, breath, sound, and silence. We will
draw upon the ancient prayer to the light, the
Gayatri Mantra, to structure a complete practice that weaves dynamic asana (vinyasa) and
still postures, breathing practices (pranayama), and simple sounds (mantra) with the
intention (bhavana) to arrive at the point of
contemplation. It is within the relationships
among all of these dimensions of practice that
we become rooted and free.”
Please bring your own yoga mat.
Week of May 18–23
Cycles
Kathryn Altman &Jonathan Horan
“In Cycles,” the leaders write, “we use our
movement practice to study the most essential relationships of our lives. Who are the
people and events that have shaped who we
are? What challenges and gifts did they leave
us? How do we honor our unique history
without being ruled by it? How do we see our
fixed patterns of relating to the world and
then free ourselves from rigidity and habit?
“Each life cycle holds an essential sacred task
that begs to be embodied in order for us to
live in a full-hearted way. How do we surrender to the natural movement from birth to
childhood, through puberty into maturity, to
be ready for our eventual deaths?
“Dancing Gabrielle Roth’s 5Rhythms™, a
cathartic form of ecstatic moving meditation,
this will be a place to transform our wounds
into art, our lifelong patterns into perspective.
This then frees us to relax into the strength
and beauty of our distinctive contribution to
this world.”
Recommended reading: Roth, Sweat Your
Prayers and Maps to Ecstasy.
Holistic Sexuality: A New Integral
Approach
Marina Romero &Ramon Albareda
This workshop is for individuals who wish to
access the full potential of their vital primary
energy and explore how this energy can be
creatively expressed and integrated at somatic,
emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. It is
designed to teach you how to connect with
this energy not only as a creative force in
everyday life, but also as a bridge to the deepest dimension of reality and a catalyst for
grounded spiritual growth. It will also assist
you in discovering your unique path of integral evolution through the grounding of your
consciousness in your own vital potentials.
The leaders write: “We understand Sexuality to
mean the vital primary energy of the person;
Holistic refers to the different levels—somatic,
emotional, mental, spiritual—in which this
energy is transformed as well as the totality of
this transformation.” The principles and practices that shape Holistic Sexuality are inspired
by life’s natural processes as organic references
for transformation and healing. The fruit of
decades of research and experience, Holistic
Sexuality is affiliated with no other methods
of working with sexuality.
The leaders will facilitate group process as
well as counsel each participant individually
to design personalized practices. You can
learn how to safely self-regulate your own
process from an awareness of your present
capabilities and necessary boundaries. This
workshop will guide you in:
• Developing a path of self-knowledge,
regeneration, and creative evolution
• Transforming the limiting unconscious
tendencies of your vital primary world
• Working through conflicts that hinder
sexual self-expression
• Integrating sexual and spiritual energies to
enhance your quality of life
Please note: Instruction will be given in
Spanish, with English translation provided.
Esalen Massage and Reflexology
Ardell Hill &Deborah Anne Medow
Ocean waves rolling to the shore; the flight of
a bird winging through the sky; the smell of
wildflowers wafting through the breeze; the
gentle yet firm touch of a warm hand on soft
skin … this is the essence of the long, flowing
strokes that are the basis of Esalen® Massage.
Over the past thirty-five years, Esalen
Massage—with its focus on a full-hearted presence, an emphasis on working with intention,
and the principle of working with rather than
on clients—has become the foundation of
many modalities. Learning Esalen Massage
can help practitioners develop the ability to
listen with both heart and hands. The trademark Esalen long strokes underlie the entire
massage, bringing a sense of relaxation and
integration to the client’s experience, conveying a feeling of wholeness and connection.
Reflexology, a natural companion to Esalen
Massage, specifically addresses feet, hands,
and ears, gently offering the body a push
toward health and homeostasis. Practically
effortless, reflexology can be practiced by
almost anyone, regardless of physical vitality.
During these five days, the long, flowing
strokes of Esalen Massage will be blended
with the specific pressure points of reflexology, offering the student the opportunity to
learn the basics of both modalities.
There will also be time to enjoy the healing
waters of the Esalen baths and the natural
beauty of the Esalen land. Please bring your
favorite CDs, loose comfortable clothing, and
a sense of humor.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Overcoming Isolation and Mistrust:
Healing the Special and Betrayed
Child
Bill Say
Our culture and families often support power
and control, independence and being special.
But the price that we pay for living these patterns is huge. We are often lonely, mistrustful,
and addicted to achievement and feeling special. Our needs are repressed. We stay in control and may even abuse our power. We fear
being “wrong” or failing, being vulnerable or
“weak.” We feel we can trust no one and must
depend only on ourselves.
This experiential workshop will explore relationship patterns, power and control, needs
and vulnerability, intimacy and trust in connections with others. Bill Say writes: “Using
awareness as our guide, we will find the way
back to our deepest humanity and trust in
life. Using two powerful approaches, Core
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
63
Energetics, founded by John Pierrakos, and
Process Work, developed by Dr. Arnold
Mindell, we will explore body/mind, emotions, relationships, group dynamics, and
inner authority.”
Note: An interview with Bill Say is requested
prior to registration. Please call 510-548-8703.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Walk on the Wild Side:
Hiking the Big Sur Country
Steven Harper
“What’s the quickest way out of the city?”
John Muir is reported to have asked a
stranger on the street of the metropolis in
which Muir had just arrived. “Where do you
want to go?” the man asked. “Anywhere that is
wild,” Muir replied.
This week is straightforward. You day-hike
the mountainous paths into the wilds of Big
Sur, breathe in the fresh mountain air, and
soak in Esalen’s natural hot springs overlooking the waves of the Pacific—in short, you let
yourself touch and be touched by Nature.
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,
places to play in and pray in, where Nature
may heal and cheer and give strength to body
and soul,” said Muir. Drawing from various
wisdom traditions, the group will be introduced to practices that encourage openness to
self and nature. As Muir discovered, “I only
went out for a walk, and finally concluded to
stay out till sundown, for going out, I found,
was really going in.”
Hikes (3-10 miles in length) begin after breakfast and finish in time to enjoy the hot
springs and wholesome food of Esalen.
Participants should be prepared for the challenge of invigorating physical activity as well
as the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet
contemplation. More information will be sent
upon registration.
dance. Through a combination of movement
sequences, contact and movement improvisation, and in conjunction with popular music,
world music, and visual images, participants
will be able to work on an intuitive level with
one another. Exercises are designed to develop strength, flexibility, balance, coordination,
and confidence, all while having a great deal
of fun in a safe and trusting environment.
This workshop is open to everyone, regardless
of training or background. The only requirement is a desire to explore the body’s potential in a creative manner. Clothing should be
loose and comfortable, with bare feet or
sneakers.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 10.
Do We Need Spirituality in the
Age of Science?
Mani Bhaumik
Most people think science and spirituality are
like apples and oranges. They cannot be
mixed. This workshop will explore this belief
in terms of Albert Einstein’s famous pronouncement, “Science without religion is
lame, religion without science is blind.”
Can science, in some manner, attest to the
belief in the One Source at the hub of all religious traditions? There will be in-depth discussion of how the same scientific method
that once compelled us to question the existence of God is now, by way of new physics
and cosmology, developing evidence that
indeed tends to support our age-old belief in
the One Source, a higher power behind all
creation. The seminar will explore why the
belief in One Source of the world’s great spiritual traditions is no longer a blind faith but
grounded in scientific reality.
Weekend of May 23–25
Just as the god of religion did not leave the
universe after creating it, science shows us
that the Source is still with us. The Star Wars
movies popularized the phrase: May the Force
be with you. In light of the discoveries of
modern science, this workshop will explain
how the Source is always with you. It is up to
you to get in touch with the Source and give
your mind a laser-like focus to realize your
full potential.
Dancing from the Soul: A Doorway
to Embodied Knowledge
Mind, Mood, and Happiness:
Meditation and MindBody Healing
Henry Daniel
Ron Alexander
This workshop is devoted to the creative
exploration of embodied knowledge through
People can learn to grow—to change their
thinking and behavior in ways that enhance
Muir wrote, “The mountains are calling me
and I must go.”
($20 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
64
happiness and well-being. Studies in health
psychology and learned optimism confirm
this. For 2,500 years the wisdom teachings of
the East have utilized what their texts refer to
as “skillful methods” for the study and transformation of the mind/body. These meditation and visualization practices help to cultivate self-regulation through awareness, concentration, mindfulness, and other attention
skills, leading to clarity of mind, spaciousness
of self, and greater compassion.
Using techniques from modern psychology
and Tibetan Buddhism along with non-dual
teachings (Advaita-Vedic), participants will be
taught skills to calm the mind, regulate affect,
develop trust with the unconscious, and
explore inner resources to activate creativity,
vitality, and well-being. Methods include:
• Developing skills to access the resources of
the core self
• Utilization of the unconscious to activate
internal healing resources
• Meditation (insight, Tibetan, and non-dual)
and psychological skills to deepen
concentration, promote insight, and develop
presence
• Exploration of natural mind/body healing
rhythms (yogic and somatic breathing
methods)
• Buddhist psychological methods to deal
with unpleasant or painful “afflictive” states
of mind
• Discussion of mind, self, and happiness
from both Western Self-psychology and
Buddhist psychology perspectives
• Practices that promote loving-kindness
Recommended reading: Goleman, Healing
Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama;
Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of
Optimal Experience: Fryba, Art of Happiness:
Teaching of Buddhist Psychology.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Start Over—Choose Aliveness
and Intimacy
Mary Goldenson
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 life-situations 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
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
• 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.
Come alone or with a partner. A safe, supportive atmosphere will be provided, using communication skills, movement, Gestalt, and
Reichian work.
This workshop may have up to 34 participants.
Recommended reading: Goldenson, It’s Time—
No One’s Coming to Save You.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Weekend Massage Intensive:
Connection and Healing
Brita Ostrom &Dean Marson
The massage experience opens a remarkable
web of interconnection: your listening touch,
the sound of the ocean, our nervous system
soothed with calm, gentle contact. When we
receive a massage, we “come home.”
Esalen® Massage seeks the interface between
form and energy, physical structure and the
soul, I and thou. The long, integrative strokes
build a sense of presence. Deeper focused
work evokes release of tension patterns.
This weekend retreat offers a hands-on introduction to Esalen Massage. Through brief
demonstrations, one-on-one guidance, and
plenty of practice time, you will waken your
own talent and resources to easily and safely
give and receive the basics of Esalen Massage.
The course will include centering, grounding
and self-care exercises. Dean and Brita have
shared Esalen Massage around the world, and
know the joy and healing that touch can
bring to many diverse cultures.
The course offers foundational skills to the
newcomer and a fresh approach for the practitioner. There will be plenty of time to breathe
in the beauty of the Big Sur Coast.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Week of May 25–30
Yoga, Health, and Happiness
Michele Hébert &Mehrad Nazari
Our true nature is joy. It is only when we lose
sight of our spiritual essence that we experience suffering and pain. The wisdom tradition of yoga offers time-tested practices to
reunite us as whole and joyous beings.
The word health comes from the old English
word wholth. Yoga and health go hand in
hand. In its broadest sense, true health is the
well-being of our whole beings. The ancient
yogis were aware of this and now current scientific research demonstrates a direct correla-
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
65
pathways, practitioners can learn to facilitate
experiences of profound relaxation and elevated vitality.
This work is done with the client comfortably
clothed, but can easily be integrated into any
table modality including: Esalen massage,
Swedish, acupressure, polarity, or various
forms of energy work. From the material covered, a practitioner can create a session ranging in length from fifteen minutes to two
hours. As such, Table Shiatsu is excellent for
on-site work as well as longer private sessions.
A minimum of two-thirds of the workshop
will be hands-on.
Self-care is an integral part of the Table
Shiatsu practice. Gentle yoga stretches, Chi
Kung, self-massage, silent meditation, and
improvisational games will be used to open
participants’ awareness of their own and others’ energy bodies.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
($10 materials fee, for Table Shiatsu manual,
paid directly to the leader)
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Painting the Outer and Inner Landscape
tion between happiness, health, and the
immune system.
curacies and misinterpretations—and their
impact is staggering.
During this transformational workshop you
will dive into stimulating, health-giving yoga
sessions. The yoga practices are purposely
chosen to help you release self-doubt and limiting thought patterns and awaken to new levels of spiritual joy. In a supportive environment, you will experience a unique blend of
sessions—daily hatha yoga, breathwork, yoga
nidra, meditation, laughing yoga, and inner
exploration—designed to make every cell
smile. The mornings will emphasize asana
practice and the afternoons will offer the
inner practices of Raja Yoga. Applying a balanced approach, Michele and Mehrad will
guide you through a consciousness-based
journey into the joyful heart of yoga.
Each individual is a profound code with a
mission to carry out in life. However, because
we are each living in misunderstandings of
our life’s events, we end up in “default missions” in which the magnitude of what is possible for our lives has been dramatically
reduced. Therefore, it makes sense that by
going back and clearing up the misinterpretations and inaccuracies—reconnecting the dots
in a process called Unraveling—we can lead
ourselves to an altogether different life.
Please bring your own yoga mat.
This experiential workshop will teach you
how to do a deep and personal Unraveling,
leading you to important revelations that can
immediately change how you relate to your
life and how you move toward having what
you want.
Unraveling Your Personal History™
Table Shiatsu I
Lauren Zander &Laurie Gerber
Jim Gallas
It is easy to see that the way we have interpreted, or “connected the dots,” of everything
we have experienced has led us to exactly
where we are in life right now. The uncanny
surprise in Unraveling Your Personal History,
however, is that located in our memories and
deep imprints of experiences are important
secrets to understand. Hidden here are inac-
Table Shiatsu is a contemporary adaptation of
the traditional Japanese modality with an
awareness that focuses on proper body
mechanics. Practitioners will learn to give a
deeply rejuvenating session while remaining
relaxed themselves. By using one’s body
weight instead of strength and by learning
varied techniques for release along meridian
66
Adam Wolpert
Painting out-of-doors is a profound experience, one that engages all of our senses, our
minds, and our spirits. Faced with nature’s
dynamic forces we are challenged to develop
visual sensitivity, flexibility, and resilience.
We come into deeper relationship with the
world and with ourselves when we open to
the living landscape around us. We begin to
see the world as never before and our paintings give evidence of that new vision.
This workshop invites both beginners and
experienced painters to immerse themselves
in landscape painting. Daily sessions will be
devoted to painting rapid sketches and more
developed small oil paintings out-of-doors.
Basic oil technique, instruction in setting up a
palette, mixing colors, and brushwork will be
balanced with slide lectures on visual theory,
composition, and special issues in landscape
painting. Participants will learn from individual instruction and each other, and have
opportunities to share their paintings and
experiences in a supportive environment.
The spectacular beauty of Esalen, with its
radiant gardens, flowing waters, and rugged
coastline, provides the perfect setting to
explore this exciting practice. Bring a sun hat,
layers of clothes, and a portable easel if you
have one.
($100 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Building Consciousness in a Time
of Darkness: A Look at Our Interior
Lives through Our Dreams
Jeremy Taylor
Our dreams reflect the deepest truths about
our interior lives in exquisite symbolic detail.
These same dreams also reflect the society
and culture we inhabit in the same elaborate,
poignant, and accurate way.
Living in evolving committed relationships—
with individual loved ones, with larger groups
and organizations devoted to higher purposes, with the human species as a whole, and
with all of nature in its interconnected beauty
and mystery—these relationships are among
the main ways that we explore and express
our universal desire for deeper meaning in
our lives.
All our dreams come for our health and
wholeness. In this workshop, Jeremy Taylor
will focus on how our dreams affect our relationships in the world and open us to the possibility of living life more completely. The
group-participation style of dream work, pioneered and developed by Taylor over the last
thirty-five years, can have startling and profound effects on both beginners and seasoned
professionals.
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; or
Dream Work.
Weekend of May 30–June 1
Creating Sustainable Communities
Brian Weller
“We are living through turbulent times,”
writes Brian Weller, cofounder of Willits
Economic Localization. “Global economic,
resource, and climate challenges are impacting our communities and are calling for new
civic leadership. Economic localization is the
new and vital movement that is growing
across the world to meet these challenges.
Willits, a small town 140 miles north of San
Francisco, is a recognized leader in this movement and, along with many communities
across the United States, is reinventing itself
to create new visions and do the practical
work of building truly sustainable futures. At
the heart of this movement is a question:
How do we as living communities engage in
the real conversation about the future we
truly want and become enrolled to work
together toward that future?”
Like all journeys taken together, it is the relationships that determine whether we succeed or fail. To help you succeed, this highly
interactive workshop is designed to teach
you how to run town-hall meetings and
visioning sessions, conduct community
inventories, initiate projects, build teams,
use social-enrollment strategies, facilitate
discussions, deal with conflicts, build civic
engagement, and have the most productive
fun of your life.
The workshop includes a workbook that covers the practical models and wisdom distilled
from on-the-ground experience and the many
workshops that Brian has run both in the
U.S. and abroad.
See Seminar Spotlight, page 10.
Enlivening, Releasing, and Expressing
through Your Organs
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen
Our organs are vital and alive. They provide
us with our sense of self, full-bodiedness, and
organic authenticity in our expression.
Organs support our postural tone and our
feelings, and give volume to our movement.
Even when we release our muscles, our
organs may remain tense. When we activate
our muscles, our organs may still feel sluggish. This workshop will explore:
• Initiating breathing, moving, sounding, and
resting from our organs
• Differentiating the different qualities of the
organs
• Integrating the organs and their qualities
into three-dimensional wholeness of
expression
Material will be presented through a BodyMind Centering® approach and will include
movement exploration, touch, lecture,
demonstration, and discussion.
and a dialogue between Esalen president and
CEO Gordon Wheeler, executive director of
programming Nancy Lunney-Wheeler,
cofounder Michael Murphy, Jeffrey Kripal,
seminarians, and members of the Esalen community on the history, meanings, and possible
futures of the Esalen Institute. Appearances
by various figures in the book will enrich the
discussion, as will wine, sharing, memories,
and laughter. Jeff will also address the question of a second edition and query the participants on their suggestions for the same.
Change Your Mind, Change Your Life:
An Introduction to Attitudinal Healing
Louise Franklin &Richard Cuadra
This workshop in practical spirituality
offers a chance to discover why Attitudinal
Healing has been adopted by thousands of
people and institutions worldwide. The
workshop is based on the award-winning
approach of Attitudinal Healing, founded by
Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., recipient of the
2005 Pride in Profession Award by the
American Medical Association. The program
will focus on discovering and developing
our innate potential to create a more fulfilling life experience for ourselves and our
relationships. You will be presented with
important information on the latest scientific research about the function and role of
attitude and our brain, and will be provided
with tools to shift old habit patterns, recover
your vitality, enhance the quality of your
life, and move toward an experience of wellbeing and self-confidence that is not easily
unsettled. Topics will focus on:
•
•
•
•
•
Facing change, loss, and crisis
Managing strong or difficult emotions
Effective communication
Fear and trust
Forgiveness
The workshop is designed to rejuvenate,
inspire, and energize you in your life path.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Esalen: America and the Religion of
No Religion
ChiRunning®
Jeffrey Kripal
This workshop is a two-day revisiting of
Jeffrey Kripal’s major history of the Esalen
Institute, Esalen: America and the Religion of No
Religion (University of Chicago Press, 2007).
This event will feature historical film footage,
photographs, tales of yore (and not so yore),
Chris Griffin
ChiRunning is a revolutionary approach that
addresses the problem of injuries by combining the inner focus of tai chi with running.
This innovative running technique brings
together body alignment and relaxation so
you can run with more ease and fluidity than
you ever imagined.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
67
Many of us have experienced running as an
activity that takes a physical toll with sore
muscles, knee injuries, hip pain, or shin
splints. As Danny Dreyer, founder of
ChiRunning says, “It’s not running that hurts
your body … it’s the way you run that does the
damage.” The ChiRunning method has been
successfully taught to thousands of people
with profound results.
Classes will include drills and exercises that
bring a new level of depth to your exercise
routine and transform running from a sport
to a mindfulness practice. For those seeking a
way to supplement yoga practice with aerobic
and weight-bearing exercise, ChiRunning will
show you how to bring all of the core
strengthening of yoga into both walking and
running.
This workshop is designed for all abilities,
from total beginners to seasoned veterans.
Note: Bring running shoes, shorts, sweatpants,
and clothing layers that will allow you to
adapt to the weather. The class is open to people who have no debilitating injuries that
would prevent them from fully participating.
Running experience is not necessary as long
as you are a walker with an interest in running.
Week of June 1–6
Harmonic Presence: Primordial
Wisdom and the Music of the
Spheres
David Hykes
From the harmonic sound waves of the stillechoing Big Bang to healing sounds, from
String Theory to sacred chant, the harmonic
nature of vibrational reality, heard inside and
out, resounds in heart, mind, and spirit. Tune
in on that eternal source through Harmonic
Chant, with Western overtone pioneer and
meditation teacher David Hykes.
Harmonic Chant is a universal sacred music
integrating key principles common to
Tibetan, Indian, Tuvan, Mongolian, and
European sacred chant. You’ll undertake a
deep journey to the original template of all
music and harmony, the harmonic series, present in all our voices, and an awareness key to
harmonious relationship on every scale. You’ll
experience through chant and contemplative
exercise, movement and visualization, something deeper about the harmony at work
right now, and the silent listening awareness
from which it arises… pure mystery!
68
The musical work includes deep-sound meditation practices and yogic awareness exercises
with the breath, listening, and sound sensation. The sessions present the essence of
Harmonic Chant and the Harmonic Presence
work, and cover wide ground musically and
spiritually. All those interested in source
teachings relating mind, music, meditation,
and healing practices are invited. For more
information, see www.harmonicpresence.org.
Recommended listening and reading: CDs
(including Harmonic Meditations: Music from
the Heart of the Cosmos) and writings by David
Hykes.
Moving Meditation Practice:
Inspiration, Vision, Ecstasy
Ellen Watson
Where there is no vision the people perish.
— Proverbs 29:18
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
— Hopi prophecy
“In this workshop,” Ellen writes, “we enter the
visionary world of ecstatic dance through the
seven doorways of the chakra system. This
practice opens the way to your imagination,
intuition, and inspiration, those landscapes
where the Divine dances and speaks through
you. Activating the energy of the chakras
through ecstatic dance can cleanse and open
your body, heart, and mind. The qualities of
the seven chakras are: grounded, creative,
powerful, heartful, truthful, visionary, and
conscious. Our dance will invite integration
and balancing of these important aspects of
human being.
“As we embody these qualities, we open ourselves to living in the heart of paradox, where
opposites invite one another into the dance:
vulnerability and strength, boundaries and
intimacy, sadness and joy, agony and ecstasy.
As we continue to open our energy centers,
we can employ imagination, intuition, and
inspiration in the creation and articulation of
vision—vision for ourselves, our family, our
community, our planet, and cosmos, vision
that supports us becoming the leaders we
have been waiting for.”
There will be several sessions at the Esalen
baths, learning the basics of giving and receiving Essential Touch. This workshop is for
everybody, beginners and experienced ecstatic dancers alike. Come with beginner’s mind,
prepared for moments of inspiration and
vision. Please bring a journal and a favorite
poem from Rumi or Hafiz.
The Will of the Heart—The Core Life
Process
Siegmar &Cornelia Gerken
“Pleasure,” Siegmar and Cornelia Gerken
write, “is the perception of the Flow of Life.
Wherever we restrict this flow, we limit our
capacity to love ourselves and others. To
explore the restrictive facets of your life, we
work on many levels: personal and transpersonal, verbal and body-oriented, expressive
and meditative. This workshop, an introduction to Core Evolution, is a deep journey into
your aliveness, an opportunity to freely
explore, experience, and integrate.” The topics
covered will be:
• Inner and outer ground—A deeper
understanding of the balance of grounding,
along with exercises to enhance vitality
• Images—An energetic and conceptual
understanding of how images form and
influence our life and behavior in intimate,
professional, and social relationships
• Healthy boundaries—Insight into the
dynamics of boundaries and practical
applications to establish healthy and safe
boundaries
• The body as a vessel for this lifetime—
Working directly with the body, since parts
of us are nonverbal, without the language of
the mind or the will
The workshop is designed to help you find
new ways to open the flow of pleasure with
renewed joy—from the will of your heart. This
intensive offers an opportunity for each participant to work on personal questions in life,
while providing an understanding of Core
Evolution therapy and trainings for the interested professional.
For a full description and curriculum see
www.CoreEvolution.com.
Specialized Esalen Massage—
Hips and Low Back
Robin Fann-Costanzo &Sylvia Guersenzvaig
This workshop will present the specialized
moves and strokes—from the sensual, long
integrating strokes to the body-opening
twists—that are essential to the Esalen®
Massage practice, with emphasis on addressing the lower back and hips, common areas of
complaint. The instruction will take place
through plenty of demonstrations, movement
exercises, and lots of hands-on class time.
The essence of Esalen Massage flows organically from the fundamentals of presence,
breath, and quality of touch, making this
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
The course has its roots in a Hewlett
Foundation/State of California pilot project
designed to teach collaborative skills in adversarial settings. Several follow-up research
studies documented the dramatic long-term
results. Conflict was reduced by 85%, trust
increased by 70%, defensiveness reduced by
50%, and participants were 45% more effective
at getting their interests met in conflict.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
The course offers a combination of two powerful approaches to transforming conflict into
collaboration. The first is interest-based nonadversarial negotiations, well documented for
dramatically reducing conflict in business,
government, and interpersonal relationships.
The second is a focus on behaviors and feelings that can block resolution of conflicted
situations. Participants will learn how their
often unconscious emotional needs in the
areas of inclusion, control, and openness
impact their effectiveness when building relationships and dealing with conflict.
approach such an integrating and healing
form of massage. This workshop is designed
to teach you those aspects that make Esalen
Massage unique. The instructors will also
demonstrate an array of self-care and movement practices essential to the maintenance
plan of the massage practitioner.
This week is for established bodyworkers and
novices alike, and for anyone desiring to learn
to touch and be touched with love, respect,
and care.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Weekend of June 6–8
Building Collaborative Relationships
through Five Essential Skills
Jim Tamm
This is a “how to” course for people who want
to be more effective at creating climates of
trust, building relationships, and dealing with
conflict—at work, at home, or within oneself.
Many personal and business relationships
become adversarial simply through a lack of
relationship-building skills. This workshop
provides practical experience with five skills
that are essential for building successful collaborative relationships.
This is skill-building to develop relationships
for long-term mutual success. The material
will be of immediate use to individuals as well
as people in interpersonal and work relationships such as couples, families, team leaders
and members, and employers and employees.
Approved by the California State Board of Accountancy
for 12 hours of CE credit.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
sexual desire to address the following questions: How is sexual desire created? Once we
have it, how do we enjoy it? Once we enjoy it,
how do we keep it? When we lose it, how do
we get it back?
Come join in a joyous experience.
Recommended reading: Matt, The Essential
Kabbalah; Holstein & Taylor, Your Long Erotic
Weekend.
Yearning and Dialogue: A Gestalt
Therapy Approach to Working with
Mothers and Adolescent Daughters
Marlene Moss Blumenthal
The liveliest interpersonal boundary of a family’s relational field is that of the mother-adolescent daughter. This workshop—for all who
work with adolescent girls and/or their mothers—will explore the field conditions impacting the development of this highly charged
relationship. Through self-exploration and
discussion, participants will develop a rationale for a Gestalt therapy approach to working with mothers and adolescent daughters.
This workshop is for both male and female
participants.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Yoga for the “Yogically Challenged”
Kabbalah and Sexual Desire
Deborah Anne Medow
Ronald Levine
Do you avoid yoga classes because you are of a
“certain age,” you’re too stiff, you don’t have a
“yoga body,” or you’re just out of practice? This
is a yoga workshop designed with you in mind.
This workshop is for anyone who is interested in the joy of sex and the energy of the
human spirit. Kabbalah (literally, “receiving”)
is best known as Jewish mysticism. Recently
popularized as a New Age self-help system by
celebrities such as Madonna, Kabbalah in reality is a sophisticated, highly refined theological and psychological system, delving into all
aspects of the human psyche. It links our sexual energy to Divine energy with erotic
metaphors. Its symbols are replete with rich
sexual imagery. Its insights deepen our awareness of the nature and nurture of our sexual
energy. Its principles magnify the Divine
nature of sexual union.
Using images, stories, meditation, and movement lessons to awaken awareness, this program will explore the wisdom of Kabbalah as
it relates to human sexual desire. Exercises
will include creative dialogue and nonsexual
touch to broaden and deepen experiences of
intimacy. The workshop will integrate
Kabbalah with more traditional notions of
In this program, participants will be gently
guided through breathing exercises (purifications/pranayama), meditation, asana (yogic
body postures), and the coordination of breath
and movement within the asana. Additional
emphasis will be on yogic philosophy and
theory.
With regular practice, yoga not only strengthens, rejuvenates, and helps to heal the body, it
also calms the emotions, focuses the mind,
and uplifts the spirit. Although this workshop is designed for the more “yogically challenged,” everyone is welcome. The workshop
can also serve as a good prelude/preparation
for the upcoming yoga festival.
With the coastal beauty of Big Sur, the power
and spirit of the Esalen land, it is easy to fall
into the natural rhythm of practicing yoga.
Please bring a yoga mat, an open heart, and a
good sense of humor.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
69
Esalen’s 4th Annual Yoga Festival
Celebrating Service, Activism, and Yoga:
the SAY festival
Week of June 8–13
Sharon Gannon, David Life, Seane Corn,
Hala Khouri, Katchie Ananda &Suzanne
Sterling, plus Special Guests John Robbins
&Tara Lynda Guber
T
he SAY (Service, Activism, Yoga)
Festival offers a rare opportunity to
discover and be profoundly moved
by the connections between the yogic path
and the way of divine service, or Seva. We
will explore possibilities and purpose, cultivate a vision for change, learn to organize
and activate an outreach effort, and discover
how to see an action develop from thought
to fruition. This week, through yoga and
conscious conversation, immerse yourself
in a groundbreaking, passionate, thoughtprovoking, soul-illuminating experience
that demands we ask questions, invites us
to become forward thinkers, encourages us
to put thoughts into action, and welcomes
us to be part of a larger vision for interpersonal and global change.
Together we will explore the crisis and
opportunities in the world today, including
environmental issues, poverty, sexual
exploitation, cruelty to animals, and
HIV/AIDS. What can we, as individuals
and as a collective, do to raise awareness
and resources and work together toward
making a difference that brings good health,
abundance, and happiness to all? This week
will be a chance for us to come together
in sacred community as we explore yogic
methods which can enable us to become
spiritually activated in order to become
positively, politically active.
Be in a community that supports forward,
often radical thinking. Develop your own
purpose through visualization, yoga, meditation, creative intention, proactive dialogue,
and prayer. Make a commitment to service
in your local community, become a leader,
and develop your own action for change.
Together we can be a part of this Great
Turning and build a truly life-sustaining
70
DEBORAH BASSETT, www.channelg.tv
Say your Truth, Say your Purpose,
Say your Intention
world. Together we can celebrate the power
and beauty of life as we work for social
change.
The festival begins on Sunday evening with
an opening gathering to set intentions for
the week.
Early mornings will be devoted to the contemplative, internal practices of pranayama
and meditation.
Late mornings we’ll practice a variety of
asana methods: dynamic Vinyasa flow, devotional Jivamukti method, and heart-centered
Anusara.
Afternoons will be free to receive massages,
soak in the hot springs overlooking the
Pacific, rest, recharge, and connect with
other yogis.
Late afternoons we’ll reconvene for two very
special tracks:
“Off the Mat, Into the World™” intensive led
by Hala Khouri, Seane Corn, Suzanne
Sterling, and Katchie Ananda (www.otm.org).
This is an introduction to the nationwide
program to be launched in February, 2008.
We will take you through a process of selfinquiry designed to help you get clarity
to move into action in your community—
finding your purpose and living it, both
on and off your mat.
“Activists in Action” sessions led by John
Robbins & Katchie Ananda, Sharon Gannon
& David Life, and Tara Guber. Explore a
range of topics from veganism to environment and health, from sustainability to the
dynamics of relationship in open-forum
workshops encouraging healthy community
dialogue, information sharing, and playful
experimentation.
Evenings will be held in sacred ceremony
with live music and chanting, movement,
ritual, and celebration to rejoice in our community and intention together.
Please note: This festival will be full and
spirited—expect to sweat and be in large
classes with yoga mats close together. Meals
will be 100% vegetarian (vegan available) the
entire week. There will be a limited number
of partial scholarships for those demonstrating financial need; please inquire when making reservations. All classes will be mixedlevel with the exception of one limited-size,
dedicated class for beginners (those with little or no yoga experience or with physical
limitations). If you would like to be in the
beginner’s class, make sure to ask when making your reservation. We will have some
mats and props on hand but recommend
bringing your own for hygienic purposes.
You’ll need a yoga mat, towel, a zafu (cushion)
for meditation, block, and strap.
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Sharon Gannon & David Life are the cre-
ators of the Jivamukti Yoga method, a path
to enlightenment through compassion for
all beings. The Jivamukti Yoga method
emphasizes Vinyasa, scriptural study, devotion, prayer, music, chanting, and meditation, as well as animal rights, veganism, environmentalism, and political activism. Their
passionate focus on the original meaning of
the Sanskrit word “asana”—seat, connection,
relationship to the earth—is as practical as
it is radical at this time of global and consciousness shift. www.jivamuktiyoga.com
Seane Corn, a longtime activist for various
political, social, and health efforts, uses her
influence and national platform as a yoga
teacher to raise awareness and money for
important causes. She is committed to helping globalize the yoga community to raise
awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS. Her
Vinyasa classes are an eclectic fusion of various healing and spiritual modalities, making
them challenging, intuitive, insightful, and
uplifting. She is a co-creator of Off the Mat,
Into the World, an organization offering
nationwide training programs combining
yoga and sustainable activism.
www.seanecorn.com
Hala Khouri has taught yoga and the movement arts to a wide variety of people ranging
from schizophrenics and at-risk youth to
mommies and rock stars. She has an MA
in counseling psychology and is currently
working toward a Ph.D. in somatic psychology. Hala is also a co-creator of Off the Mat,
Into the World. www.halakhouri.com
Katchie Ananda is an activist, dancer, artist,
priestess, and yogini who has devoted more
than 20 years to the study and integration of
yoga, and has been leading others along the
path for almost two decades. She inspires
her students to be the change they seek in
the world and teaches that yoga is as much a
practice out in the world as it is in the class
and on the mat. www.yogasangha.com
DEBORAH BASSETT, www.channelg.tv
Leaders
Suzanne Sterling is an ecstatic vocalist and
composer whose devotional music has been
commissioned for film, theater, and DVD.
She offers a unique blend of music, sacred
ceremony, and activism to conferences
and festivals worldwide, most recently as
featured speaker/artist at several Yoga
Journal Conferences, the Institute of Noetic
Sciences, and Earthdance, where she led the
world’s largest Spiral Dance for 5000 people.
Suzanne is also a co-creator of Off the Mat,
Into the World. www.suzannesterling.com
DEBORAH BASSETT, www.channelg.tv
John Robbins is widely considered to be one
of the world’s leading experts on the dietary
link with the environment and health. John
is the author of the international bestsellers
Diet for a New America, The Food Revolution,
The Awakened Heart, and the widely
acclaimed Reclaiming Our Health. He has
been a featured and keynote speaker at
major conferences sponsored by Oxfam,
the Sierra Club, UNICEF, and many other
organizations dedicated to creating a
healthy, just, and sustainable way of life.
www.foodrevolution.org
Tara Guber is a 28-year practitioner of yoga,
a teacher, producer, and philanthropist. Tara
is the founder and coauthor of the nationally recognized Yoga Ed. program at The
Accelerated School in Los Angeles, providing daily yoga classes that are integrated into
the curriculum as well as classes for parents,
school staff, and the community. Tara’s
recently published, award-winning book,
Contact: The Yoga of Relationship, presents an
inspiring new vision and philosophy of yoga
created to inform and enhance your relationships with friends, lovers, and yoga partners.
www.contactyoga.com
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
71
Weekend of June 13–15
Experiencing Esalen
Experiencing Esalen Staff
For workshop description see January 25-27.
Advanced Yoga Practice for Perfect
Beginners
Mark Whitwell
According to Yoga master Krishnamacharya,
Yoga was not meant to be a struggle to attain
some future goal, but a direct participation in
the nurturing force of Life.
Please bring your own yoga mat.
A Weekend Together:
Fathers and Sons
Jon Carlson &Matt Englar-Carlson
“Can you think of a better way to spend
Father’s Day weekend?” write the leaders,
father-and-son cofacilitators. “How about a
weekend with your father or son dedicated to
deepening your relationship? This workshop
is an invitation to stop wishing you had more
time together, and actually be together. For
many men with busy work and family lives
and responsibilities, it can be hard to set aside
meaningful time to honor and appreciate the
mutual influence fathers and sons have on
each other. Yet many men experience a longing to feel closer to their father and sons. This
timely workshop will use storytelling, reflection, and group interaction to create experiences and skills to help fathers and sons connect at more satisfying levels. Whether your
relationship is a good one or needs improvement, this workshop can provide you with a
memorable connective experience and tools
to build upon it.”
The workshop is limited to fathers and sons
who must sign up together (sons must be at
least 16 years old).
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
This course is designed to provide advanced
Yoga understanding and practice for those
new to Yoga. The program will also be helpful
for Yoga students of any level who wish to
understand the principles of
Krishnamacharya, “the teacher of our teachers.” Participants will study how to apply these
principles to the Yoga they already know and
love in order to make it efficient, powerful,
and safe. Emphasis will be given to developing a personalized practice, which you can
take away from Esalen and continue to effectively practice for, in Krishnamacharya’s
words, “peace and power in your daily life.”
72
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Spark: The Revolutionary New
Science of Exercise and the Brain
John Ratey
It is well established that it is possible to beat
stress, lift one’s mood, fight memory loss,
sharpen one’s intellect, and function better
than ever simply by elevating one’s heart rate
and breaking a sweat. The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically
remodels the brain for peak performance.
This course—for those in the helping professions—is designed so that participants will be
able to:
• Instruct their patients on the brain changes
resulting from routines of physical aerobic
exercise that will help manage mood
• Instruct parents and children as to the
many ways aerobic exercise makes the
learner better prepared to learn by changing
the attention, motivational, and impulsive
control level as well as the many alterations
that make the neurons ready to learn at the
cellular level
• Prescribe aerobic exercise regimens for
patients to maximize their emotional health
and cognitive function as they age
This program is offered in conjunction with
Harvard Medical School Department of
Continuing Education. For more information,
including how to register, see Special
Programs, page 81.
Approved CMEs for physicians.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Coaching Skills for Leaders and
Managers
Gustavo Rabin
The growth and the success of an organization rely mainly on embracing a learning attitude—learning from mistakes, learning from
the environment, and learning to align all
resources toward the successful execution of a
well-planned strategy. The successful organization is the one that learns faster than the
competition.
The most powerful tool to increase an organization’s learning capability is coaching.
Coaching, which is traditionally thought of as
a hierarchically downward process—a manager or supervisor would coach a supervisee or
direct report—should be imparted by all members of an organization: downward (to direct
and indirect reports), between peers, and, at
times, upward, when input to a manager is
necessary. Coaching should take place wher-
ever a transfer of knowledge or experience is
needed and should flow from where the highest expertise resides to all other areas. But
more often than not, managers and leaders
lack the knowledge and experience to provide
effective, impactful coaching.
will be intently creating and bathing in a field
of pure and radiant Qi.”
This highly interactive workshop will address
the development of necessary coaching skills
and provide specific tools and processes to
transform any organization into a learning
one. Participants will get their leadership profile by responding to an online questionnaire
(web address provided upon registration).
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Week of June 15–20
Qigong Empowerment: The Healing
Promise of Qi for Health Maximization,
Healing, and Spiritual Alchemy
Roger Jahnke
Chinese Yoga, known as Qigong (Chi Kung),
is emerging as the self-healing tool of choice
in many people’s lives and in hospitals, spas,
retreat centers, and even corporations. This
retreat is designed for those who seek healing,
empowerment, maximum personal performance, and inner peace.
The program begins with the simplest levels
of self-healing, known as Dao Yin, including
gentle Tai Chi-like movements, self-massage,
breath practice, and meditative mindfulness.
Then, drawing on Dr. Jahnke’s most recent
book, The Healing Promise of Qi, participants
will explore rare insights of the ancient Qi
masters, discover the original meaning of Tai
Chi, and learn the potent Nine Phases Method
of Qi cultivation and mastery. Throughout,
participants will explore Chinese medical theory, journey into the philosophies of the
Taoists, Buddhists, martial artists, and ancient
alchemists, and make enlightening comparisons with Western physiology and quantum
physics. Simple methods of transmitting Qi
to others will be introduced as well.
Reflecting from thirty years of practice of
Chinese medicine and numerous trips to the
hospitals and sacred sites of Asia, Dr. Roger
Jahnke notes: “For those who seek healing
this is an opportunity for deep immersion in
Qigong. For those who seek personal maximization and stress relief, this is an exploration of one of the most eloquent empowerment systems ever developed. For those who
seek the light of spirituality, Qigong is a clear
path to revealing inner radiance. For all, we
For more information see www.FeeltheQi.com.
Recommended reading: Jahnke, The Healer
Within, and The Healing Promise of Qi.
Visionseeker I: Shamanism and the
Modern Mystical Movement
Hank Wesselman &Jill Kuykendall
The rediscovery of shamanism has emerged
as a major thrust in the spiritual reawakening
of the Western world. The techniques of traditional shamans provide an extraordinary
method for accessing hidden dimensions of
reality and connecting with inner sources of
power and wisdom.
Hank Wesselman writes: “We will rediscover
our indigenous heart through the classic
shamanic journey, reestablishing connections
with our spirit helpers, teachers, and ancestors, as we engage in visionary fieldwork and
examine the nature of health, illness, and
healing from the perspective of spirit medicine.” The workshop offers a clear introduction for those new to the shaman’s path, and,
for the more experienced, provides unique
material on the soul cluster from the
Hawaiian kahuna perspective.
Wesselman has worked for more than thirty
years with scientists investigating the mystery of human origins in East Africa and has
spent much of his life with indigenous people. In the 1970s, doing fieldwork in Ethiopia,
he began to have spontaneous visionary experiences strikingly like those of traditional
shamans. His wife Jill Kuykendall is a physical therapist and transpersonal medical practitioner, specializing in soul retrieval.
Bring drums and rattles, a notebook, sketchpad, a small set of oil or chalk pastels, a bandanna or eyeshade, and a light blanket. Please
refrain from alcohol during the workshop.
Recommended reading: Wesselman &
Kuykendall, Spirit Medicine; Wesselman, The
Journey to the Sacred Garden, and The
Spiritwalker Trilogy.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Mountains and Waves:
Wilderness and Continuum
Susan Harper &Steven Harper
Wilderness is a primary teacher of movement,
creativity, and awareness whose richness and
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
73
beauty awakens our senses to the world
around us. Continuum is a unique movement
practice, an inquiry into our capacity to innovate and participate with the essential movement processes of life. Continuum takes us
inward in a dynamic inquiry, rotating
between inner investigation and the flow of
unfolding creative expression. Integrating
day-hiking in the magnificent Big Sur backcountry with the subtle internal explorations
of Continuum movement, this workshop
combines and weaves together these two
practices.
The hikes will introduce participants to
increasingly refined awareness practices to
enhance sensitivity to all that wilderness
can offer, to reawaken those elements of
wilderness within. 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. This will
be a time for contact with nature and
wilderness, inside and out. Participants
need not have previous experience in hik-
ing or movement practices.
Co-leaders Steven and Susan are a brotherand-sister team who have taught this everevolving program annually for over 20 years.
Windows to World Cultures
Dulce Maria Perez
This workshop is designed to enable participants to look through windows of appreciation to other cultures and the profound treasures they have to offer. Dulce Perez writes:
“Together we will explore the cultural, literary, and culinary traditions of foreign
lands—how they mirror our own culture and
how they can enrich our daily lives. Using
multicultural literature and the wisdom and
poetry both of our ancestors and our contemporaries, this workshop is an invitation
to families—children, parents, and grandparents of all ages—to celebrate the ethnic and
social diversity that is characteristic of our
own pluralistic society and of our larger
global community. We will immerse ourselves in storytelling, bookmaking, music,
dance, and cooking, to explore and share the
beauty and traditions of our diverse cultural
heritage.”
Integral Leadership and Transformative
Practice for Generation Next
James Wheal
“Are you committed to making a life of meaning and purpose, but tired of sifting through
practices and teachers that promise far more
than they deliver?” asks Jamie Wheal. “Do you
strive for excellence in your academic, athletic, or professional life, and insist that same
standard inform your personal growth?
“This is a ‘crash course’ in integral leadership
and transformative practice, studying the
works of Michael Murphy, George Leonard,
Robert Kegan, Ken Wilber, and others, learning proven practices that allow you to take the
reins of your future and reach for your deepest potentials. Each day will begin with
focused physical training, ranging from
Astanga yoga to Aikido to proprioceptive balance play. From there, we will spend mornings developing our own Integral
Transformative Practice: comprehensive lifeplans that address our intelligence—kinesthetic, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. We will
begin to assemble custom-designed integral
practices that cultivate our deepest needs for
alignment, authenticity, and effectiveness,
and encourage us to lead ourselves as a vital
prerequisite for leading others. Evenings will
be dedicated to exploring common ‘sticking
points’ of practice, like sex, money, drugs, and
gurus. We will share our thoughts in Council
and celebrate being alive together.
“This course—designed for those between the
ages of 18 and 34 and anyone young at heart—
demands that participants bring their best
to it. It is not for the cynical or gullible, but
rather for the Rational Mystic who insists
that the roots of his or her life anchor as
deeply into the earth as the branches aspire
towards heaven.”
For further information, contact Jamie at
mountainmontessori@earthlink.net or 410-2597003.
Weekend of June 20–22
Spinal Awareness:
Healing (with Humor)—
Feldenkrais and Energy Work
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Patrick Douce
Spinal Awareness is a blend of movement,
touch, and group interaction, based on the
work of Moshe Feldenkrais, Taoist-ChineseIndonesian martial art, and the Esalen experi74
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
ence. It continues to evolve. With Spinal
Awareness you can increase your flexibility,
improve your posture, and help most chronic
and acute pain, stiffness, and stress conditions. There will be special emphasis on any
difficulties participants may have, such as
lower back pain, hip trouble, tension in the
neck and shoulders, and knee injuries. The
workshop will evolve with humor and playfulness. Fun partner lessons will help bring
about not only freedom in the body but a
return to the childlike energy essential to us
all.
The movements of Spinal Awareness are quite
different from normal exercises. You will
learn how to move in ways that stimulate
your body awareness as they help you
improve. Experience how you can use the
floor to organize and integrate your own
spinal column. Learn standing lessons which
lead you to a new awareness of ways to move
with better balance and fluidity.
Lessons inspired by Indonesian Silat will be
used to stimulate the energy body, effecting
internal health and increasing energy. These
movements, originating from the monasteries
of China and Tibet, further increase healing
possibilities.
Safe and noninvasive hands-on lessons will
be shared that greatly speed up your improvements.
This is a program designed for both the beginner and the professional. For more information visit www.spinalawareness.com.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Nature and Contemplation
Steven Harper
From time immemorial, nature has inspired
the human heart to contemplation. Can we
make this experience our own today? This
weekend is designed to help participants
experience, directly and deeply, both nature
and contemplation. Earth underfoot on dayhikes into the wilds, water of the Pacific
pounding against the shore, air of Big Sur’s
refreshing breezes, fire that heats Esalen’s hot
springs—all the elements combine to touch
our bodies and to raise our minds and spirits.
Contemplative practices will be shared that
encourage our relationship to Self and Nature.
The group will venture out on two hikes, 2-6
miles in length, balancing the day between
walking and sitting, inspirational readings
and quiet contemplation, active awareness
exercises and simply being. Further information will be sent upon registration.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Cultivating the Wisdom Heart:
Spiritual Practice and Meditation
from the Kabbalistic Tradition
Rabbi Avram Davis
“Wisdom Heart,” writes Rabbi Avram Davis,
“is a Jewish spiritual practice meant for modern people in any walk of life. It helps guide
and deepen our lives in positive ways. Much
of the practice is interactive and designed to
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
75
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
reassess obstacles that have kept us from
reaching our deeper, heartfelt goals. The
Wisdom Heart system looks to the spiritual
realization of a person, rather than adherence
to a doctrinal system or a set of ritual actions.
Cultivating the Wisdom Heart is a course that
sets out a systematic method to develop and
strengthen a spiritual practice.
“A full life needs a spiritual component. In
Judaism these components are called
Mitzvahs. There are ten Primary Mitzvahs
based in physical action (like prayer and meditation) and ten essential Heart Mitzvahs
based in insight and attitude. During our
weekend we will cultivate three primary
Mitzvahs (and talk about several others):
Prayer/Meditation, Passionate Intentionality,
and Loving Kindness. The practice of Torah is
a path of transformation. Wisdom Heart, an
integrated synthesis of traditional methodologies and modern insights, seeks to manifest
this transformative unity in each individual
and, by extension, community, and, ultimately, humanity.”
76
This class is appropriate for individuals and
families, whether they have no Jewish background or an extensive one. It is also appropriate for non-Jews who are considering joining
Judaism or would simply like to learn more.
covered for embodying essence and guiding it
wisely and intentionally to create peak performance and creativity. The sessions will
include deep relaxation, imagery, music,
movement, and good conversation to enrich
and enliven the experience.
Spirit In Action: Love, Life, Deep
Healing
“When we surrender to truth, accept ourselves as we are, and become attuned to our
inner rhythms, we discover they reflect the
rhythms of the world around us,” says Dr.
Miller. “The result can resemble a beautiful
and pleasurable dance with our loved ones,
and harmony in every phase of our lives.
Excellence appears in our every endeavor and
we radiate a sense of peace that empowers
others to accept themselves. Our every word
and action thus contributes to our own
growth and betterment as well as that of our
fellow human beings and the peace and
wholeness of our planet.”
Emmett Miller
Who are you, really? What is your life’s purpose, and how should you be expressing it at
this point in time? These are crucial questions.
Dr. Emmett Miller writes: “We will explore
the awakening of the human spirit—the Self—
that lives at the core of your being, and how
to nurture it to flower into as long, joyful, productive, and integral a life as ‘humanly’ possible. Spirit in action means breathing life, love,
balance, and excitement into all our relationships as well.”
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
Dr. Miller will share the principles he has dis-
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
Our Commitments to Integrity and
Loving-Kindness
David Richo
Life is a challenging journey. Though we hope
that our lives will be easy, comfortable, and
serene, they are often filled with complication, conflict, and disappointment. Too many
of us bear the scars of painful life experiences,
suffer from low self-esteem, and become
trapped in cycles of self-destructive behavior.
And so the happiness we seek too often
eludes us.
To set our lives on a positive course, many
spiritual traditions encourage us to live in
upright ways and to show loving-kindness
toward ourselves and others. When we learn
to approach ourselves with friendliness and
caring, the dynamics of our lives begin to
shift. We act with love, integrity, and realism
in the world around us.
This seminar explores the commitments that
create a profile of a healthy personality and
spirituality. The commitments are not meant
to be “shoulds” or moral directives, but gentle
invitations that stir and steer us to new possibilities in our way of being in the world. The
commitments are paths to contentment with
ourselves as we are and can be, and with the
world as it is and may be. Our destiny is to
display in our lifetime the timeless design of
love and wholeness that has always been
inside us. Choices and attitudes that show
integrity and loving-kindness help us do that.
This workshop is based on Dave’s book:
Everyday Commitments: Choosing a Life of Love,
Realism, and Acceptance.
Week of June 22–27
SoulMotion™: Sanctuary
Vinn Martí
sanc•tu•ary n, 1. A sacred place, such as a church,
temple, or mosque. 2. A place of refuge or asylum.
Vinn Martí, designer of SoulMotion, asks,
“What is it like to move in a fresh, authentic
manner? Is it possible to hang in the place
within that allows for unbridled expressive
contact with self, other, and divine?” This
week in the natural sanctuary of Esalen will
open doors that enter new rooms of creation,
expression, and union with others.
“SoulMotion,” writes Vinn, “is a movement
ministry, a dance practice, and a philosophy of
living that supports our unconditional acceptance of ‘what is’ and our fearless exploration
outside the box of the familiar, sleep-inducing
trance we sometimes find ourselves dancing
to. We use the dance as metaphor for living a
creative, expressive, and unified life of integrity, immensity, and intensity. Our hearts are
ablaze with love of the divine and divine love
toward all beings, and this becomes the beat,
and the steps, and the music, to which we
dance the everyday dance.
“During this time together we nudge the spirit of innovative action and creativity to awaken and hold a high watch of unconditional
acceptance as we stumble our way toward selfexpression, self-acceptance, and self-recognition: we are spirit dancing this human experience. Through guided imagery and relaxed
induction we track conditions and attitudes
which no longer serve our ability to unwind
in the stream of creative expression, and we
open ourselves to the next movement
moment with radical awe and wonder.”
Meditation and the Spirit of Creativity
Anna Douglas &Wesley Nisker
Inside you there is an artist you don’t know about.
— Rumi
How does sitting practice inform creative
work and how do creative practices illumine
and deepen one’s spiritual unfolding? What
are the dynamic principles of spiritual and
creative unfolding? What are the obstacles
and how do you work with them? What does
it mean to be more engaged in the process
than in a particular result—whether artistic or
spiritual?
Each day you will spend time in silence
exploring the inner landscape through sitting
and walking meditation. Each day there will
be unstructured time for creative exploration
in the medium of your choice—writing,
sketching, singing, movement, painting.
Through supportive teaching and guidance,
you will be encouraged to keep letting go of
your imagined limitations and delve into the
ever-present Unknown. When this occurs,
what is revealed is a natural intelligence and
aliveness which is healing, illuminating, and
the source of all creation.
During the workshop, there will be no critiquing of what is produced. This creates a
safe and nonjudgmental environment for
opening and risk-taking. On the final day
there will be time for sharing.
This workshop is suitable for anyone wanting
to explore or deepen contact with their spiritual and creative unfolding. No prior art experience is required. Bring art materials, appro-
priate clothes, comfortable shoes, and your
curiosity and willingness to be surprised.
Relationships: The Courage to Begin
Mary Goldenson
For one human being to love another: that is
perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the
ultimate test and proof, the work for which all the
other work is but preparation.
— Rilke
Life is a precious gift. We have all experienced
moments of feeling totally alive, especially
within our relationships. When beliefs,
defenses, fears, and emotions from the past
enter into our present-day relationships, we
lose our ability to feel love, trust, and joy.
The goal of this workshop is to experience
these restrictive patterns and to create new
ways to relate to ourselves, others, and our
work, thus enabling us to create new beginnings. This workshop can help you:
•
•
•
•
•
Find out how your relationships mirror you
Clarify what you want and how to get it
Examine ways you sabotage yourself
Learn more about how others see you
Learn practical tools and knowledge that
will help create empowered relationships
In a supportive and safe environment, experiential exercises will help you become more
adept at listening, empathizing, truth telling,
creative problem-solving, and taking responsibility to create the relationships you want.
Come alone or with a partner. The workshop
will draw from Gestalt, Reichian work, dance,
imagery, and meditation.
Recommended reading: Goldenson, It’s Time—
No One’s Coming to Save You.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
and Dialectical Behavior Therapy:
A Clinical Update, 2008
Robert Goisman
The influence of cognitive-behavioral therapy
(CBT) is widening as the importance of costeffective, empirically validated, shorter-term
treatment increases. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a highly effective and popular
form of cognitive-behavioral treatment for
patients with borderline personality disorder.
Topics to be covered include a brief review of
the development of behavioral and cognitive
treatments; anxiety disorders, including
panic, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder,
and post-traumatic stress disorder; mood dis-
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
77
orders; DBT; and social-skills training for
schizophrenia. The course will include a discussion of CBT for bipolar disorder as well as
some new applications of cognitive therapy to
the treatment of delusions and hallucinations.
The program will in part utilize a case presentation format in which a typical case will be
presented at the beginning of a session and
later discussed using the principles developed
that morning. Live role-playing exercises will
be used to illustrate the application of socialskills training principles. Participants will be
invited to present their own cases for cognitive-behavioral consultation.
This course will be helpful to clinicians with
no experience in CBT and DBT, as well as clinicians with a knowledge base in these areas. It
is an evolution of prior such courses and
should prove helpful to past participants. The
program is offered in conjunction with
Harvard Medical School Department of
Continuing Education. For more information,
including how to register, see Special
Programs, page 81.
Weekend of June 27–29
Nancy Bacal with Stephen Grynberg
At the tip of the pen confusion blossoms into riches.
“This is an invitation to join a dynamic community of writers for five days of intimacy
and experimentation, to permit our writing to
be coaxed to new ground,” Nancy Bacal writes.
“Our mission is to translate the bittersweet
paradoxes of life onto the page, to explore the
human condition by writing the stories of our
own lives. The process is risky, evocative, joyous. It will offer enough courage to move past
the critic, beyond blocks and shame. Each
writer will be met at his or her own level, and
be challenged to move beyond habit into the
realm of art. Life is not tidy. Writing will not
change this, but can provide a grateful container to receive it.
“The schedule will include movement, meditation, laughter, tears, moments of resistance
and amazing discovery! With caring support
and guidance, we will write daily in and out
of the group, share and discuss our material.”
Old students are particularly welcome. For
new people, an open mind and heart is crucial
to the process. Some writing experience is
preferred.
The Efficacy of Stress-Reducing
Meditation Techniques on the
Therapeutic Process
Constance Hills &Anne Teich
The mind is a powerful force, creating both
conflict and harmony. This workshop
explores how the mind contributes to the personal sense of dis-ease and also how it is fundamental in fostering greater health and wellbeing on the physical, cognitive, affective, and
spiritual levels.
The meditation sources for this workshop
will be primarily Buddhist in nature, and the
psychotherapeutic resources will be drawn
from clinical research on meditation as complementary to psychotherapy. The principles
and practices involved are basic to, and therefore applicable toward, all forms of healing.
Workshop topics include:
• The necessity of stress-reduction for
practitioners of the healing arts
• Exploration of the therapist’s capacity to be
a healing influence upon clients
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Approved CMEs for physicians.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
The Writer’s Way:
Exploring Personal Truth
78
You can now register on-line at www.esalen.org. Workshops appear on the Web before the Catalog is printed.
• The usefulness of meditation techniques for
physical relaxation, mental clarity, and
applications to psychotherapy
• The interconnectedness of mental and
physical states
• A paradigm of cognitive inquiry into the self
and self-other therapeutic relationship
• Exploration of integrative approaches to
self-care and client care by examining
contributions of contemporary Western
psychology (self psychology, systems theory,
and cognitive-behavioral therapy) and
wisdom traditions such as Abhidhamma
(Buddhist psychology)
The learning goals are:
• To develop an introductory knowledge of
stress-reduction meditation techniques
• To explore ways to integrate meditation into
one’s personal life and psychotherapeutic
practice
• To develop an understanding of how to
apply this learning in the clinical setting
CE credit for psychologists; see page 5.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 5.
Advanced Esalen® Massage
requires less training? This workshop is
designed for parents who want to explore:
• New ways of parenting
• Why they parent the way they do
• How their own family of origin impacts
their current parenting
• Conscious parenting techniques
Workshop sessions will focus on ways to deepen one’s level of contact—relationships, honesty, love—as a parent in order to improve the
health and well-being of one’s children. The
workshop will identify ways we defend ourselves and avoid intimacy, and how this then
impacts our children. Additionally, societal
and cultural realities will be examined, especially as they relate to raising youth in today’s
world. All of this is framed in the context of
raising consciousness, not raising blame.
Participants will explore their own masks and
how what they present to the world may
inhibit contact from a loving place, thereby
negatively impacting the healthy raising of
their children. The role of community, technology, personal responsibility, and our own
emotional blocks will be looked at from a
Gestalt perspective.
Peggy Horan &Jessica Fagan
This workshop approaches massage as a meditation: the practice of being present, mindful
of breath, balance, and movement. Using
Esalen Massage—with its long integrative
strokes, detailed attention to the body, and
nurturing contact—as the foundation, the program will explore advanced moves and working with movement as well as stillness. The
course will include creative stretches not only
to open the body’s tissues and joints, thereby
increasing the client’s range of motion, but
also to support the soul’s capacity to let go and
surrender into a natural state of fluidity, grace,
and aliveness. By weaving flowing long
strokes and creative stretches into your work,
you can create the feeling of dancing with the
body. There will be special attention paid to
back, neck, and shoulders, exploring various
ways to encourage the release of tension and
bring the body back to balance. There will
also be time to enjoy the morning movement
classes, the famous Esalen hot tubs and the
beauty of the Esalen grounds.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Conscious Parenting
Dave Ventimiglia
Parenting: Is there a more important job that
Yoga Ecstasy Summer Solstice Retreat
Micheline Berry &Shaman’s Dream World
Join Micheline Berry, along with musical
guests Craig Kohland, Tony Khalife, and
Shaman’s Dream World Groove Ensemble, in
this rejuvenating summer retreat. Immerse
yourself into mixed-level “Liquid Asana”
vinyasa flow yoga, kirtan chanting, sound
meditations, spontaneous flights of ecstatic
dance, and ritual World music with Shaman’s
Dream. In this workshop, you’ll have the
opportunity to:
Micheline’s retreats are designed to catalyze
healing and transformation through the integration of yoga, meditation, ecstatic World
music and dance, indigenous ritual, bodywork, and deep communion with pristine,
wild environments.
Please bring your own yoga mat.
S
future
programs
The program listed below is scheduled for the
next catalog period. This is not an invitation to
register, but information to assist you in your
long-range plans to participate. Please call the
Esalen office, visit www.esalen.org, or see the
next catalog for more updated information.
November 16–December 14, 2008
28-Day Massage Practitioner
Certification Program
The Esalen monthlong massage program provides comprehensive instruction in basic
massage skills. The training provides a minimum of 150 hours. After the program, students
wishing to fulfill certification requirements
have six months to complete and document
30 massage sessions. Upon payment of a $100
processing fee, a California state-approved
Certificate of Completion will be issued. To
request an application, contact the Esalen
office at 831-667-3000.
• Activate dynamic asana sequences with
creative fluid movement, core stability, and
breath
• Cultivate a deeply nourished and
empowered state of being through the
purifying heat of vinyasa kramas (flowing
sequences) leading to peak states of
embodiment
• Explore the healing aspect of the “flow state”
and how to cultivate its evolutionary dance
• Open a free flow of energy in the spine and
major joint systems and unlock stagnant
areas within the body/mind
Most sessions will be accompanied by World,
Middle Eastern, East Indian, and Latin fusion
grooves by Shaman’s Dream to guide you
deeper into the flow.
See pages 94-95 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
79
special programs
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
S
T
he programs listed below are either
part of an ongoing series, formatted
unusually, or longer than the standard
Esalen workshop.
March 23–April 20
28-Day Massage Practitioner
Certification Program
Char Pias &Oliver Bailey
The 28-day Esalen® Massage program provides professional instruction in fundamental
massage skills. This training includes basic
anatomy, movement, and self-care. The daily
sessions consist of lecture, demonstration,
and supervised hands-on practice in addition
to morning movement classes. Special attention will be given to developing self-awareness, centering, and grounding. In Esalen’s
unique environment learning can easily occur
and a balance of technique, intuition, and creativity can be achieved.
Following successful completion of the 150hour (minimum) program, students wishing
to fulfill certification requirements have six
80
months to complete and document 30 massage
sessions. Upon payment of a $100 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 at 831-667-3000.
Applications will be reviewed in the order
they are received and preference given to
applicants who have completed a weekend
or five-day workshop in Esalen Massage.
CE credit for nurses; see page 5.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 5.
Standard accommodations: $4910
Bunk bed room: $3700
($10 materials fee paid directly to the leaders)
The Santa Barbara Graduate
Institute Embodied Psychotherapy
Certificate Program in Relational
Somatic Psychology
The Certificate Program gives participants a
foundation in the leading-edge field of somat-
ic psychology. It is designed to meet the needs
of professionals and practitioners (educators,
healthcare professionals, therapists, psychologists) as well as individuals interested in
learning an in-depth somatic/psychological
perspective. SBGI faculty or affiliates teach all
courses. An approved application is required.
Complete the application on the Internet at
www.esalen.sbgi.edu and allow one week for
processing and for you and Esalen to be
informed of your status.
This Certificate Program is a series of courses
inspired by the Santa Barbara Graduate
Institute somatic psychology post-graduate
academic curriculum. Completion of six
courses qualifies one for the Foundational
Certificate; completion of nine courses qualifies for the Advanced Certificate.
Each of the segments may be taken individually for a certificate of attendance. The segments are offered every two to four months
with the entire program presented in approximately three years. Graduate course credit is
also available (see below).
Relational Somatic Psychotherapy
Certificate Program Segments
with SBGI
The following segments may be taken in any
order, either as individual courses or as an
entire program.
Jan. 27-Feb. 3: Working with Character,
Trauma, and Developmental Issues:
The Somatic Experience in Psychotherapy.
Experience how character strategies, trauma,
and core beliefs are revealed and transformed
through the body. Faculty: Larry Heller, Ph.D.
& Aline LaPierre, Ph.D.
Apr. 6-11: Mindful Body-Mind Psychology
The
Hakomi Method is a highly sophisticated
mind-body treatment approach that integrates elements of mindfulness practice and
loving presence, enhanced bodily awareness,
and modern methods of psychotherapy.
Faculty: Ron Kurtz & Dyrian Benz, Psy.D.
and Practice: The Hakomi Method.
July 6-11: Neuroscience and Relationship:
Practical Interpersonal Neurobiology,
Attachment Theory, and Psychotherapy.
Explore how neurobiological and attachment
patterns are formed and transformed. With
insights from neuroscience it is possible to
establish a compelling model of how psychotherapy works. Faculty: Louis Cozolino,
Ph.D.
Sept. 28-Oct. 3: The Embodiment of Being:
Body, Soul, and Presence in Somatic
Recognize the connection
between mind-body-being in order to experience the spiritual dimension of the body in
clinical practice. Faculty: Dyrian Benz, Psy.D.
& JoAnna Chartrand.
Psychology.
Mar, 2009: Embodiment and Development:
Foundations of Presence, Compassion, and
An experiential study and overview
of the embodiment of body-oriented psychotherapy addressing the whole person.
Faculty: Susan Aposhyan, M.A. & Dyrian
Benz, Psy.D.
Healing.
July 2009: Integrating Somatic Awareness
and Breath Effectively into Clinical Practice.
Fundamental skills for the somatic-infused
clinical practice, including the use of breath
awareness, the potential of touch, and somatic
experience. Faculty: Christine Caldwell, Ph.D.
Sept. 2009: Body and Self in Relationship:
The therapeutic relationship is explored in terms of
its psychological and somatic dimensions,
including the therapeutic impact of sensations, breath, and somatic experience.
Faculty: to be announced.
Relational Somatic Psychotherapy.
Nov. 2009: Neuroscience and Relationship:
Enhancement of Peak Performance in
Practical Interpersonal Neurobiology and
Sports, the Performing Arts, and the
Our brains are highly
social organisms. Explore how attachment
relationships and the early development of
the brain are formed and transformed and
have massive long-lasting effects throughout
the lifespan. Faculty: Marti Glenn, Ph.D.
Worksite, April 18-20, Daniel Brown, Ph.D.
Somatic Interventions.
Dates to be announced: Practicum in
Experiential
segment practicing somatic psychology with
case presentation, practice, and collaborative
consultation. Faculty: Dyrian Benz, Psy.D. &
JoAnna Chartrand
Relational Somatic Psychology.
Please note: The use of touch is always optional
in each of these segments. For a more extensive description of each of the segments see
www.sbgi.edu.
Graduate Ph.D. Course Credit in
Relational Somatic Psychology
This program can also be taken as a more
scholarly course of study which includes
additional reading and writing for students
who would like to earn graduate credit
toward a doctoral degree program at Santa
Barbara Graduate Institute. To use this training as credit toward a Ph.D. degree, students
must first apply and be accepted in the
Professional Specialty Ph.D. program at SBGI.
Information on the Somatic Psychology
Foundations Certificate and Ph.D.
Professional Specialty Program is available on
the SBGI website: www.sbgi.edu. For information or to register, call 805-963-6896 or e-mail
hfranklin@sbgi.edu.
Please note: An approved application is
required; contact Esalen for registration only
after your application has been accepted by
SBGI.
The Harvard Medical School
Continuing Education Series
Esalen has been selected to host Continuing
Education courses offered by Harvard Medical
School (HMS) Department of Continuing
Education. To reserve a space in any of these
courses, you must first contact HMS at 617998-5028. Only after you have reserved your
place in the course through Harvard will you
be able to reserve your accommodations
through Esalen at 831-667-3005 (course fees
and accommodations are separate). The
courses, dates, and instructors offered during
this catalog period are:
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Top-down
and Bottom-up Processing and Integrating of
Experience, May 2-4, Martha Stark, M.D.
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of
Exercise and the Brain, June 13-15, John
Ratey, M.D.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical
Behavior Therapy: A Clinical Update, 2008,
June 22-27,
Robert Goisman, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
Accreditation
Physicians: Harvard Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for
Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to
provide continuing medical education for
physicians. Harvard Medical School designates the winter and weeklong Esalen seminars for a maximum of 15 and the weekend
Esalen seminars for a maximum of 10 AMA
PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM.
Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in
the activity.
Psychologists: The Massachusetts Mental
Health Center is approved by the American
Psychological Association to offer continuing
education for psychologists. All weeklong
programs offer 15 credit hours. The weekend
seminars offer 10 credit hours. Massachusetts
Mental Health Center maintains responsibility for the program.
Counselors: Massachusetts Mental Health
Center is approved by the National Board of
Certified Counselors to offer continuing education to participants. All weeklong programs
meet the criteria for 15 credit hours. The
weekend seminars meet the criteria for 10
credit hours.
Social Workers: For information on the status
of the application to the Massachusetts
Chapter of the National Association of Social
Workers, please call 617-998-5028 or e-mail:
infocme@bidmc.harvard.edu.
Nurses: Massachusetts Mental Health Center
is approved by the Arizona State Nurses
Association to offer continuing education
credits to participants. All weeklong programs meet the criteria for 18 contact hours.
The weekend seminars meet the criteria for
12 contact hours.
81
S
work study program
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
sions, Wednesday night programs, open hours
in the Art Barn, and round-the-clock access to
the Esalen baths.
T
he Work Study Program at Esalen
is a 35-day program (beginning April 6,
2008, it will be 28 days; see below) for
those interested in an intense involvement
with the Esalen environment and an in-depth
experience of the Esalen approach to holistic
personal and social development. An integrated work, service, and self-directed-learning
program, the program is rich, demanding, and
often physically and emotionally challenging.
Participants work 32 hours per week in one of
Esalen’s departments and participate in that
department’s programs and schedule.
At the heart of the Work Study experience is
the core evening group, in which Work
Scholars are together in one of two groups, four
to five evenings a week plus one intensive
weekend. Each group emphasizes a particular
approach to transformative practice, such as
Gestalt process, meditative practice, creative
arts, movement, bodywork, or other forms of
somatics. Each group has its own leader or
leaders (see schedule below) who are with the
group throughout the program, coordinating
the study schedule and facilitating many of the
evening sessions. Applicants must state their
preferred group and be committed to staying at
Esalen for the duration of the program.
There will be introductory evenings in which
Work Scholars are introduced to the
Institute’s legacy through core practices of the
Esalen curriculum for integrated self-structured learning and self-directed education.
The practices offered include skills in awareness (of self and others), intentionality, personal visioning, goal-setting, building support, communication and relational skills,
self-evaluation, and integration of learnings
into your own life.
In addition to the evening programs, Work
Scholars have the opportunity to participate
in daily open classes at Esalen (movement,
meditation, yoga, and more), “open seat” ses82
Work Scholars are selected by application
only, to Student Services Coordinator Mary
Anne Will. 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-term work students,
in particular, are assigned to departments
largely on the basis of community need (usually the kitchen or housekeeping).
Please note: The Work Study Program is
designed to explore and apply human values and
potentials. It is not intended as a substitute for
therapy or as a “cure.” It is a drug- and alcohol-free
program.
January 27–March 2
Experiencing and expressing emotions are
integral to being alive. Yet, for many of us,
emotions remain mysterious, confusing, and
difficult to constructively express. As a result,
our relationships may be unsatisfying and the
choices we make may not reflect our innermost desires or our true selves. Learning to
fully experience feelings and express them in
healthy ways enables us to be authentic and
to have more fulfilling relationships. In this
month of Gestalt Awareness Practice and
group process with Dorothy Charles, participants will develop awareness of self and other,
explore feelings as sensations in the body, and
learn self-expression and communication
skills. Mini-lectures, paired exercises, and
expressive arts will be part of the curriculum.
($20 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
This massage program may be taken as Part I of
a ten-week, 150-hour Esalen Massage
Certification Program or as a five-week massage
program for personal growth. (Preference will
be given to those committed to completing the
ten-week program; other applicants will be
wait-listed.) Led by Deborah Anne Medow &
Guest Leaders, the program is designed for the
serious massage student who wishes to have an
intensive professional learning experience and
be immersed in the Esalen community.
Through lectures, demonstrations, anatomy
classes, and plenty of supervised hands-on practice time, participants will learn the basics of
Esalen® Massage. Self-awareness practices,
including meditation, yoga, self-care exercises,
and movement classes, will be an essential part
of the curriculum. The sessions, scheduled primarily during late afternoons and evenings, are
in addition to the 32-hour workweek; therefore,
applicants will need a clear and unencumbered
commitment to the program. Class attendance
will be monitored and documented.
Following successful completion of the
course, those seeking certification will have
six months to complete and document 30
massage sessions outside of Esalen. Upon payment of a $100 processing fee, a California
State-approved Certificate of Completion will
be issued. Admission is by application, and
limited to those who have previously participated in the Work Study Program.
In addition to the Work Study Program
Application, please request a Massage Course
application from Student Services
Coordinator Mary Anne Will.
The special ten-week fee is $2640.
CE credit for nurses and bodyworkers.
March 2–April 6
This program with Vicki Topp & Guest
Leaders is Part II of the Esalen Massage
Certification Program. (It also may be taken
as a separate program.) The focus will be on
detailed massage work, experiential anatomy,
and creative table movements. Esalen®
Massage will be taught as a form of somatic
learning. Special attention will be given to
fostering a creative learning environment
emphasizing contact, trust, and support
designed to help achieve a balance of technique, intuition, and creativity. Structure will
be explored through experiential anatomy,
movement patterns, lungs, and breath, and
their application to touch and bodywork in
Esalen Massage. The training will include
supervised practice sessions to integrate the
new material, along with an opportunity to
discuss theoretical issues and problems.
Massage students/practitioners seeking to
improve their skill, stimulate their creativity,
and add an Esalen perspective to their work
may apply to be wait-listed. The five-week fee
is $1320.
CE credit for nurses and bodyworkers.
Biodanza®—“the dance of life”—is a system of
human development that uses music, movement, emotion, and community to establish
an intimate connection with life. Based on
biological and physiological principles, this
system was developed in South America over
forty years ago. This Biodanza program, led by
Jaquelin Levin, will introduce participants to
“vivencia,” or living in the moment. Through
dance exercises—alone, with a partner, or with
the entire group—participants are guided
toward finding their own dance, learning to
express essence, spontaneous joy, and connectedness. The goal is integration on a personal, relational, and environmental level. No
dance experience necessary—just a desire to
live your best life.
April 6–May 4
Beginning April 6, the Work Study Program
will be a 28-day program with a new fee
schedule. Please see below.
Shamanism is the oldest spiritual system in
the world. David Corbin & Nan Moss offer a
monthlong exploration of the shaman's
ancient and universal methods to enter
nonordinary reality for problem solving, wellbeing, and healing. Participants will be guided
to enter the shamanic state of consciousness
and will be initiated into the shamanic journey to experience the same sources of profound wisdom and compassion known to
our ancestors. The group will seek to restore
spiritual power and to apply shamanism in
contemporary daily life to help heal oneself,
others, and the planet. Please bring a drum
or rattle if you have one.
Demand is growing for practitioners who
have mastered the art of moving into the
body's deeper soft-tissue layers with skill and
sensitivity. Perry Holloman will lead a month
in the healing art of Deep Bodywork: deep-tissue techniques for massage practitioners. The
program will focus on freeing the deep softtissue layers surrounding the spine as a way
to give the body greater ease of movement
and freedom from chronic pain. Following
work on the back, the program will cover
techniques for the neck, chest, and hips, presenting material designed to give participants
a well-rounded set of deep-tissue skills to
enhance any bodywork practice. Some experience is recommended.
CE credit for nurses and bodyworkers.
May 4–June 1
How well do you know you? When you are
alone do you enjoy the company you keep?
How frequently are affirmations part of your
self-talk? What about self-talk that is shamebased? Who is the you that shows up in relationships? Is joy part of your connection with
self and others, or do you exist in a paradigm
of pain? Many of us live life with significant
awareness of the behavior of others toward us
and less awareness of who we are. What is it
like to have an intimate relationship with
oneself based on understanding, integration,
compassion, forgiveness, and love? “Knowing
Self: Loving and Intimacy” is the theme of
this program with Rich Berrett. Through
reflection, imagery, movement, art, writing,
and open seats, you will explore who you are
and the part you play when relationships
work and don’t work.
• • •
In today’s world we ask ourselves how can we
be a part of the solution and not the problem?
What exactly does it mean to create a more sustainable culture and what can I do to effect
real change? Two back-to-back monthlong
Permaculture intensives will explore these
questions in an open learning environment
that includes presentations, discussion, activities, and hands-on projects. Using Esalen’s community, facilities, and gardens as a microcosm
of the larger world, the program offers skills in
assessing and recommending ways to increase
sustainability. Benjamin Fahrer will facilitate
this transformative journey along with a dozen
of California’s premier Permaculture teachers.
Permaculture is a set of techniques and principles for designing sustainable human communities. The skills include a base understanding
of design and development principles used in
small- and large-scale applications. If you successfully complete the two months of study,
you will be considered a graduate of the
Permaculture Design Course, certified through
the Permaculture Institute of Australia. As a
graduate, you will possess the skills to design,
consult, and teach Permaculture anywhere in
the world. No previous experience is necessary,
only the desire to “be the change you wish to
see in the world.”
The first month will focus on the concepts
and methods of designing a more sustainable
life and world in which to live. A comprehensive introduction to Permaculture Design will
lead participants through the principles and
practices and explore how the natural elements contribute to a well-designed system.
Topics and activities include:
• Personal sustainability for a balanced life
• Effective communication and interpersonal
skills for strong relationships
• Reading the land: identification and
classification of land components
• Earth stewardship: soil renovation,
restoration, and composting
• Hands-on intensive in “natural” buildings
and earthen construction
• Trees and their energy transactions
• Water awareness: health and conservation
This integrated approach combines the legacy
of Esalen’s intrapersonal development with
how we interact with our environment, in
order to live and function in a more just,
sacred, and sustainable future.
($75 materials fee for the Permaculture Designers
Manual that accompanies this course; other
handbooks and materials are provided.)
June 1–29
As the season changes from spring to summer, work-scholars can dive deeply into specific elements within the physical and social
realms of our culture and how they relate to
one another. If you are already experienced in
Permaculture or other methods of sustainability, this program will provide a refreshing perspective to your practice. Participants will
work on and produce a design for different
aspects of Esalen's new commitment to longterm goals of self-reliance and sustainability.
Topics of focus and activities include:
• Growing and sustaining communities and
eco-village design
• Growing food: whole and organic farming,
food foresting, animal and aquaculture
systems
• Property management and planning from
the tropics to the deserts
• Planning and designing for catastrophe
• Professional consultancy and computer
mapping
• Strategies of an alternative global nation
If you need direction in this overwhelming
time of great change, this program can
empower you to green your life and to be a
valuable contribution to the movement and
your community.
• • •
Each of us is born with an inherent drive for
self-expression. 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
83
our self-knowledge is distorted by family
experiences and cultural expectations. The
focus of a month with Dorothy Charles will
be Gestalt Awareness Practice, using group
process to enhance communication and conflict resolution skills and to develop empathy
for self and others. Mindfulness practice,
meditation, and expressive arts will be part of
the curriculum.
($10 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
June 29–July 27
Patrick Douce will lead an in-depth experience of Spinal Awareness, a program of healing (with humor). Spinal Awareness is a way
of learning that improves body awareness,
flexibility, posture, and most chronic and
acute conditions of the body. Taught with
movement, touch, and group interaction, it is
based on the work of Moshe Feldenkrais,
Chinese-Indonesian martial art, and the
Esalen experience. Spinal Awareness emphasizes learning how to move in ways that stimulate your awareness of your own body. The
course will include hands-on lessons, safe and
noninvasive, to greatly speed improvements.
The program will evolve with humor and
playfulness. Fun partner lessons will be intermixed to help bring about not only freedom
in the body but a return to the childlike energy essential to us all.
CE credit for nurses and bodyworkers.
In our information age, a world that encourages us to conform and consume, how do we
develop practices that allow us to grow toward
self-actualization? Over the past forty-five
years, Esalen has pioneered a full curriculum
for the human potential—mind, heart, body,
spirit, and community. This program, led by
psychotherapist, cultural theorist, and NYU
professor Bradley Lewis, will utilize experiential exercises, discussion, film, and other
media to explore, in a group process setting,
the Esalen curriculum and how it can be
applied to create growth that contributes to a
more just and sustainable world. Many
evenings will be devoted to learning Esalen's
diverse practices for personal growth (such as
massage, meditation, personal and interpersonal group process, and creative expression).
The aim will be a full exploration of our own
human potential—and its application in the
world today.
84
July 27–August 24
A month with sisters Maria Lucia &
Aparecida Sauer is for those who would like
to release the burdens of the past and open up
to more joy, compassion, and love in their
lives. The program includes: ecstatic dance for
grounding, centering, releasing, opening healing psychic abilities, and the embodying
divinity; rituals to focus on and manifest
our deepest desires; and touch with a loving
energy that can heal and uplift. The program
offers Spiritual Massage, Brazilian shamanic
practices, the art of belly dance, teachings on
the Divine Feminine, sacred art, and ecstatic
poetry. Maria Lucia and Aparecida will share
their knowledge and expertise about the
spirit world, illuminating many issues that
seekers encounter on the path to wholeness.
Please bring one all-white outfit for ceremony,
one small object for the altar, and a journal.
CE credit for nurses and bodyworkers.
If the story is in you, it has got to come out.
— William Faulkner
Everything in your life, from the mundane to
the extraordinary, is a story waiting to be told.
This program, led by writer/performer Ann
Randolph, focuses on the process of discovering your own unique and powerful story. By
writing from your deepest source, you gain
insight and self-understanding that can bring
peace, healing, joy, and laughter. You'll learn
how to make your words leap from the page
to the stage, sharing them orally to uncover
the power of storytelling to transform the
lives of you and your listeners. You will also
learn how to speak your truth via the
Internet: guerrilla filmmaking, vlogging, and
blogging. The month will culminate in a theatrical presentation for the Esalen community
as well as the opportunity to post your work
to www.Youtube.com.
Commitment to the Work Study Program
is from 4 PM of the first Sunday to 7:30 PM
of the final Sunday. 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.
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 schedule is $1095 for the first 35-day
period, $1045 for the second 35-day period,
and $995 for the third 35-day period.
Beginning April 6, work scholar fees will be
$995 for the first month, $945 for the second
month, and $895 for the third month. Work
students may be invited to remain for a second
or third term depending on space available
and community needs. There are no scholarships available for the first term of the Work
Study Program.
Occasionally it is possible to stay for a longer
period as an Extended Student.
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, often with
home-grown organic produce, are included
in your tuition.
Transportation: When making travel plans,
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 2 pm. Cost: $40
Monterey Transit Center: Departs 2:20 pm.
Cost: $40
San Francisco Airport: Departs 11:45 am.
Cost: $80
For van reservations call 831-667-3010 or
e-mail workstudy@esalen.org.
Please note: Application is not registration
in the program. Registration is made only
after approval of application. 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.
Cancellation policy: If you choose to cancel,
you will be charged the following amount:
15+ days prior to start, $100; 8-14 days, $200;
3-7 days, $300; 0-2 days, $400.
Please mail the application form (see next
page) with your personal statement and
deposit to:
Work Study Program
Esalen Institute
55000 Hwy 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
or fax to:
Work Study Program
831-667-3069
We will contact you regarding your status
within 14 days of receipt of your application. For more information contact the Work
Study Office at the above address or phone:
831-667-3010; fax: 831-667-3069; e-mail:
workstudy@esalen.org.
Q
work study program application
please print legibly.
Name _______________________________________________________________________________________
❏ Male ❏ Female
Today’s Date __________________________________________
Phone: Evening ( ————— ) ____________________________________ Day ( ————— ) ____________________________________ Cell ( ————— ) _______________________________________
Home Address __________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip __________________________________________________________________________
Country _____________________________ E-mail Address _________________________________________________________________ Date of Birth _________________________ Age ___________
Occupation (previous, if retired)_________________________________________________________________________
Do you have any limiting physical/emotional conditions (e.g., bad back, severe depression) which might affect your full participation in this
program? ❏ Yes ❏ No Are you currently taking any medication? ❏ Yes ❏ No
If yes to either of these questions, please include details in your personal statement.
If a former Work Scholar, list where you worked and approximate dates _________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Work Study Program is for 35 days (28 days, starting April 6), beginning at 4 pm on Sunday and ending at 7:30 pm on the final Sunday.
Sometimes particular dates and/or leaders are not available. List below, in order of preference, the dates/leaders for which you are available.
Please note: Space may become available up until the program start date. You must let us know if you wish to be removed from a wait list; if you’re on a wait
list and space becomes available, you will be automatically placed and then notified. If you cancel after placement, you will be charged a cancellation fee.
start date
Choice 1 ________________________________________ Preferred Leader _________________________________________ If full, wait list? ❏ Yes ❏ No
Choice 2 ________________________________________ Preferred Leader __________________________________________ If full, wait list? ❏ Yes ❏ No
Choice 3 ________________________________________ Preferred Leader __________________________________________ If full, wait list? ❏ Yes ❏ No
Choice 4 ________________________________________ Preferred Leader __________________________________________ If full, wait list? ❏ Yes ❏ No
If your application is approved and we cannot give you your first choice, we will place you in your next available choice.
Work students may be invited to remain for a second or third term, depending on space availability and the needs of the Esalen community.
Please indicate your availability for such an invitation (no obligation): ❏ No extension ❏ One-term extension ❏ Two-term extension
We encourage ridesharing. Are you bringing a vehicle? ❏ Yes ❏ No; Are you willing to give a ride? ❏ Yes ❏ No; Receive a ride? ❏ Yes ❏ 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).
❏ Place me wherever I’m most needed – or – note my preferences below.
Choice 1 __________________________________________________ Skills/Experience ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Choice 2 __________________________________________________ Skills/Experience ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Choice 3 __________________________________________________ Skills/Experience ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please attach a personal statement about your interest in the Work Study Program, telling us why you’d like to participate
and what you hope to take with you when you leave.
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 ❏ Monterey Airport, 2 pm ($40 fee); ❏ Monterey Transit, 2:20 pm ($40); ❏ San Francisco Airport, 11:45 am ($80).
Payment
❏ $400 deposit
❏ $995
Card No. _______________________________________________________________________________
❏ Check (U.S. banks only), attached and payable to Esalen Institute
Credit Card Expiration Date _____________________________________________________
❏ MasterCard ❏ VISA ❏ American Express
Name and phone number (if different from above) _______________________
If you are making a credit card deposit, the balance will be
automatically charged to your card five days before your arrival.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Authorizing signature ______________________________________________________________
Please Note: No pets, drugs, or violence allowed. We cannot accommodate children of work scholars. Applications cannot be considered without a deposit and a personal statement included.
85
R
biographical information
A
Nancy Ellen Abrams is a lawyer,
writer, and former Fulbright scholar, with a
long-term interest in the history, philosophy,
and politics of science. She co-created a
method by which government agencies can
make wise policy decisions in cases involving scientific uncertainty. p. 44
Rachel Carlton Abrams is a family
practice physician specializing in women’s
health and complementary medicine. She
has a holistic consultation practice in Santa
Cruz, Calif. (www.redwoodcircle.net).
She and her husband have published three
books on Taoist sexuality (www.multiorgasmicwoman.com). p. 17
Mark Abramson is a part of the
Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine
and heads the Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction Program at Stanford Hospital
and Stanford University. He teaches at
Stanford’s School of Medicine and is on staff
at Stanford Hospital. p. 17, 61
Mandy Aftel is an artisan natural per-
fumer and author of three books on natural
perfume including Essence and Alchemy:
A Natural History of Perfume. p. 19
Ramon V. Albareda is a clinical psy-
chologist, theologian, and sexologist. He is
the founder/director of Estel, a center of personal growth and school of integral studies
in Barcelona, and creator of Holistic
Sexuality. He is the coauthor of Nacidos
de la Tierra: Sexualidad Origen del Ser
Humano. p. 63
Kathy Altman is on the teaching faculty
for Gabrielle Roth’s institute, The Moving
Center, and has studied with Gabrielle for
25 years. She cofounded The Moving Center
School in California, and maintains a
teaching practice in Mill Valley. p. 63
Katchie Ananda, cofounder of Yoga
Sangha, is dedicated to Anusara Yoga and
Spiritual Activation. Certified in Anusara,
Jivamukti, Ashtanga and Integral Yoga,
Katchie has devoted more than 20 years to
the study and integration of Yoga. Her website is www.yogasangha.com. p. 70
Elaine Aron has been researching “sensory-processing sensitivity” for 12 years, with
findings published in the leading psychology
research journals and in books, including
her best-selling The Highly Sensitive
Person and The Highly Sensitive Child.
p. 34
Nancy Slonim Aronie is the author of
Writing from the Heart: Tapping the
Power of Your Inner Voice. Founder of
the Chilmark Writing Workshop on
Martha’s Vineyard, she is a commentator
for NPR’s All Things Considered, and has
a weekly radio talk show on Sirius Satellite
Lime 114. p. 44
B
Ellen Bass has supported and inspired
Daniel Bianchetta has been teaching
writers for 35 years. Her books include The
Courage to Heal, No More Masks!,
Mules of Love and The Human Line.
Among her awards are the Pablo Neruda
Prize, Larry Levis Prize, and a Pushcart
Prize. p. 14
meditation and intuitive practice at Esalen
for over 20 years. A photographer and
Esalen’s media coordinator, his photographic interests are the Big Sur coast and Native
American rock art. His work is collected
worldwide. His website is www.bigsurphoto.com. p. 59
Nora Bateson is an educator and media
producer. Her work focuses on utilizing
media and storytelling toward the dialogue
of how to bring about cultural understanding, social justice, and environmental
awareness. Her upcoming film is That
Reminds Me of a Story, about her father
Gregory Bateson. p. 34
Baxter Bell is a physician who has been
featured in the Yoga Journal DVD Yoga
for Stress, and has written articles for Yoga
Journal, Yoga for Everybody, and
International Journal of Yoga Therapy.
Trained at the Piedmont Yoga Studio
Advanced Studies Program, he teaches
workshops throughout the U.S. p. 18
Charlie Bloom is an educator, therapist,
and seminar leader. He and his wife Linda
are cofounders of Bloomwork and coauthors
of the widely acclaimed book, 101 Things I
Wish I Knew When I Got Married. He
has facilitated workshops throughout the
world since 1982. p. 27, 45
Michael Ben-Eli is an international
consultant on organization and management, an educator and advocate of systems
thinking whose work, in diverse settings
around the world, has focused on strategy
development, organizational design, change
management, and sustainability. p. 43
Linda Bloom is a licensed clinical social
Dyrian Benz is director of External
Writer and lyricist, she 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. p. 78
Programs for Somatic Psychology at the
Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. A former
trainer for the Hakomi Institute, he is the
author of several books and conducts trainings internationally in GroupField and
Family Constellations. p. 46
Buddhist meditation and healing disciplines
since 1971. He conducts trainings worldwide in MindBody Healing Therapies. A
psychotherapist and consultant to the entertainment industry, he focuses on leadership
coaching, creativity, and communication.
His website is www.ronaldalexander.com.
p. 64
Ingrid Bacci is the author of The Art of
Effortless Living and Effortless Pain
Relief, both Book of the Month Club selections. She has a private practice near New
York City, and is certified in Alexander
Technique and Craniosacral therapy, which
she teaches nationally for the Upledger
Institute. p. 23
Rich Berrett has committed over 35
years to enhancing and embodying awareness. He is a clinician, university professor,
and founding president of Imagery
International. His extensive background
reflects the importance of body awareness,
imagery, family systems, Gestalt and deep
learning. p. 48, 83
Martine Amita Algier is a Certified
Oliver Bailey is a practitioner and
Micheline Berry’s work in yoga and
Ronald Alexander has explored
Trainer with The Center for Nonviolent
Communication and a founding member of
the West Marin Community Mediation
Board, teaching and consulting with families, business groups, schools, and other organizations in California and Europe since
the 1960’s. p. 56
Lillie P. Allen, founder and Executive
Director of Be Present, Inc., has been in public health education for over 30 years. She
developed the Be Present Empowerment
Model and has a broad background in
human development, interpersonal relations, and group dynamics. p. 56
Tsultrim Allione, was ordained as a
Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1970. After several
years as a monastic in the Himalayas, she
returned to the West, gave back her vows,
became a mother of three, and continued to
practice and teach. She wrote Women of
Wisdom and the upcoming Feeding the
Demons. p. 42
86
Nancy Bacal is a longtime Esalen leader.
instructor of Esalen Massage. His background includes training in Gestalt Practice,
neurolinguistic programming, intuitive
work, and meditation. p. 42, 80
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. 47
Juergen Bamberger is an educator
and pioneer in the Gyrotonic field who has
trained countless Gyrotonic instructors
around the world. His 20-year teaching
experience is infused with his background in
dance, many modalities of bodywork and
movement techniques, and energy work.
p. 49
James Baraz has taught vipassana
insight meditation retreats and classes since
1977. Cofounder of Spirit Rock Meditation
Center in Marin County, Calif., he holds an
MA in psychology and has a counseling
practice in Berkeley. p. 39
Richard Blasband is an internationally
recognized authority on the work of
Wilhelm Reich and is a psychiatrist utilizing Reich’s therapeutic methods and
Levashov’s healing methods in the Bay
Area. He has conducted many workshops at
Esalen on Reich’s work (www.functionalresearch.org). p. 60
worker, educator, and seminar leader. She
and her husband Charlie are cofounders of
Bloomwork and coauthors of the widely
acclaimed book, 101 Things I Wish I
Knew When I Got Married. She has
facilitated workshops throughout the world
since 1986. p. 27, 45
Scott Blossom teaches a style of
Tantrik Yoga and Yoga therapy that is
informed by his training as a practitioner of
Traditional Chinese Medicine and an
Ayurvedic consultant. His teachers have
been Dr. Robert Svoboda, Zhander Remete,
and Erich Schiffmann. p. 29
Marlene Moss Blumenthal is a
therapist and school psychologist in
Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in adolescent
and family therapy, psychoeducational
assessment, school consultation, and family
conflict. She authored A Field of
Difference: A Gestalt Consideration
of Learning Disabilities. p. 69
dance combines Prana Vinyasa Flow,
Ashtanga, Forrest, and Iyengar influences
and is informed by her years of study of
Tibetan Buddhism, Somatic Dance, and
Native American purification ritual. She
currently leads yoga workshops and retreats
and Zen Dancing internationally. p. 79
Joseph Bobrow Roshi is a Zen master and the founder and director of Deep
Streams Zen Institute. He is also a licensed
psychologist, relational psychoanalyst, and a
father. He writes on Zen, psychotherapy,
and the interplay of Buddhism and psychology. p. 17
Mani Bhaumik, born on a mud floor in
David Bossman is a Franciscan friar
Bengal, is a world-renowned scientist and
the co-inventor of the laser technology that
led to the highly popular Lasik vision correction. He is the author of the recent international bestseller, Code Name God. p. 64
who teaches Jewish-Christian studies at
Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He
edits the journal Biblical Theology
Bulletin and explores issues that combine
contemporary values with interpersonal
awareness, both secular and religious. p. 41
Cynthia Johnson Bianchetta,
artist, dancer, and photographer, is an authorized Continuum Movement teacher for
more than 30 years. Former director of the
Weston Photographic Gallery, her websites
are www.sacredearthphotography.net,
www.cjbgallery.com, and www.movingspirit.net. p. 59
Julie Bowden, psychotherapist and
author, specializes in childhood trauma,
substance abuse, and forgiveness. Coauthor
of Recovery: A Guide for Adult Children
of Alcoholics and Genesis: Spirituality
in Recovery from Childhood Traumas,
she has been teaching at Esalen for over 20
years. p. 47
Ann Bradney, a senior faculty member
of Core Energetics East for many years,
teaches and leads workshops on Core
Energetics internationally and is co-director
of the Community Healing and Leadership
program in El Cerrito, Calif. She has a
private practice in New York City. p. 24
Charlie Cascio managed the Esalen
kitchen for 6 years. He is a chef, restaurateur, consultant, and lecturer on vegetarian
and living foods who has worked and
taught in the U.S. and throughout Europe
for more than 30 years. Charlie wrote the
Esalen Cookbook. p. 37, 46
Bruce Cornwell has combined Gestalt,
Brooke Deputy, a student of
yoga, meditation, and dynamic theater
forms for more than 30 years—whether leading workshops, working with clients and
actors in his L.A.-based psychotherapy practice, or directing and acting in professional
films and theater productions. p. 28
Caroline Brazier is head of studies at
Marion Cascio comes from a family of
cooks and has been involved with restaurants since childhood. She studied culinary
arts in Germany for five years and has
worked in many famous restaurants and spas.
She was a staff cook at Esalen. p. 37, 46
Jean Couch, author of The Runner’s
Bioenergetics for more than 20 years, teaches
throughout the U.S. She has studied with
some of the world’s senior teachers, including Bioenergetics founder Alexander Lowen,
and is committed to enhancing awareness
through Bioenergetics, dance, and spirituality. p. 62
Tom Case has been practicing massage
Richard Cuadra, director of adult pro-
for the past 15 years. He has been on the
Esalen massage staff since 1993. p. 26
grams for The Center for Attitudinal
Healing, oversees all adult programs including the MFT Internship and San Quentin
Prison Projects. He has been associated with
the Center since 1985, and facilitates in
adult program, spousal bereavement, and
caregivers groups. p. 67
Amida Trust, author of Buddhism on the
Couch, and a registered psychotherapy
supervisor. She is an ordained Buddhist and
on the staff of the Amida Professional
Psychotherapy Training Programme and
Ministry Training Programme. p. 20
David Brazier is head of the Amida
Order, doctor of Buddhist psychology, and
author of Zen Therapy, The Feeling
Buddha, and The New Buddhism. He is
on the staff of the Amida Professional
Psychotherapy Training Programme and
Ministry Training Programme. p. 20
Daniel Brown is an associate clinical
professor of psychology at Harvard Medical
School. He is author of 13 books, including
Transformations of Consciousness
(with Ken Wilber and Jack Engler) and the
recent Pointing Out the Great Way: The
Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra
Tradition. p. 50
Kelly Bulkeley is a Visiting Scholar at
the Graduate Theological Union and teaches in the Dream Studies Program at JFK
University. A former president of the
International Association for the Study of
Dreams, he has written and edited books on
dreaming, religion, psychology, and science.
p. 26
C
Josiah Raison Cain is a landscape
architect and ecological designer with extensive experience in working with site water
management. He founded the gardendesign, green-building company Native
Systems, which aims to expand the envelope
of sustainable human environments. p. 30
Catherine Calderon has been on the
path of yoga and dance for over 30 years. A
professional mambo dancer and filmmaker,
she’s performed with Tito Puento and Celia
Cruz at the famed Apollo Theatre, and owns
Shambhala Yoga & Dance Center in
Brooklyn, N.Y. p. 56
Jon Carlson is distinguished professor at
Governors State University (Ill.) and a psychologist at the Wellness Clinic in Lake
Geneva, Wisc. He has been named one of
the five Living Legends in Counseling by
the American Counseling Association and
has published 40 books. p. 72
Lisa Carlton is a transformational life
coach, art therapist, massage therapist,
painter, and veteran educator. Experienced
in Compassionate Communication, dance,
improvisation, and diversity awareness, she
coaches women in Santa Cruz and teaches
art. For workshop questions, e-mail
livewellisa@yahoo.com. p. 17
Seymour Carter, Gestalt and Sensory
Awareness teacher at Esalen for more than
three decades, is a lifelong student of the
ever-evolving models of personal identity.
He combines studies in family systems theory with Buddhism and other body/mind
practices. p. 11
Joyce Catlett is coauthor of Fear of
Intimacy and is collaborative author, with
Robert W. Firestone, of 20 articles and 7
books, including The Fantasy Bond. Ms.
Catlett produced Glendon Association’s 37
video productions, including a nine-part
series on couple relations and sexuality. p. 25
Joseph Cavanaugh is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in the Sierra
foothills and a psychology instructor at a
local community college. He has facilitated
personal-growth workshops throughout
California for the past 30 years. p. 35
Dorothy Charles has been a student
and teacher at Esalen since 1982. A student
of Esalen cofounder Dick Price, she combines
Esalen body-centered Gestalt with relational
Gestalt theory, and leads workshops in Asia,
Europe, and the U.S. p. 82, 83
Yoga Book, is director of the Balance
Center in Palo Alto, Calif., gleaning new
knowledge about fitness by studying populations of people who have no back or joint
pain. p. 33
Stewart Cubley’s work has carried
him throughout the world in facilitating
groups to access the potential within the
human heart and imagination. Originally
a scientist, he has led seminars in creativity
for more than 25 years. His website is
www.processarts.com. p. 53
Raphael Cushnir is the author of
Unconditional Bliss; Setting Your
Heart on Fire, which is used as a teaching
tool in spiritual centers worldwide; and
How Now: 100 Ways to Celebrate the
Present Moment, named by Spirituality
& Health Magazine one of the Best
Spiritual Books of 2005. p. 58
Chris Chouteau is a biologist and pro-
fessional manager with a thirty-year career
transforming organizations and their environmental policies. He has been a student of
the twelve steps, awareness practice, and
recovery since 1989. p. 47
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s work
with movement, touch, and the body-mind
relationship has influenced the fields of
yoga, dance, bodywork, and many other
body-mind disciplines. She is the founder of
the School for Body-Mind Centering and
the author of Sensing, Feeling, and
Action. p. 67
Gabe Cohen came up with the original
Second City troupe. Artistic director for
Hollywood Actors Theater, he also leads acting seminars for the Screen Actors Guild.
He was most recently seen in a recurring
role for The West Wing and in a featured
film role opposite Doris Roberts. p. 44
Chip Conley created America’s second
largest boutique hotel company, Joie de
Vivre, in 1987 at the age of 26. He is the
author of many inspirational business books
including Marketing That Matters: 10
Practices to Profit Your Business and
Change the World. See www.chipconley.com. p. 50
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. 42, 83
Seane Corn is an accomplished yogini
who has been featured in numerous magazines (including Allure, Self, and Yoga
Journal). Chosen by Nike to represent yoga
in a national campaign, she was seen in
commercials and print worldwide. p. 70
D
Henry Daniel is a choreographer, dancer,
and professor of dance and performance
studies at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
He is artistic director of Full Performing
Bodies, a group comprised of actors, dancers,
and media artists, dedicated to exploring
new performance directions. p. 64
Deanna Darby is a licensed psychotherapist in the Sierra foothills, specializing in
somatic psychotherapy. A certified massage
therapist for 20 years, her passion is bringing together mind, body, and heart to create
the opportunity for profound self-understanding and greater ease. p. 59
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, Darkwood, The Tao of Cello,
and the Grammy-nominated Cello Blue.
p. 16, 17
Rabbi Avram Davis is founder and
director of Chochmat HaLev, a center for
Jewish spirituality in Berkeley, Calif. A doctorate of comparative philosophy, he is the
author of two books, The Way of Flame
and Judaic Mysticism, and editor of
Meditation from the Heart of Judaism.
p. 75
David Deamer is research professor of
biomolecular engineering at the University
of California, Santa Cruz. Professor
Deamer’s research is supported by a grant
from the National Human Genome
Research Institute at NIH. p. 19
Carol DeSanto is the cofounder of
Nervous System Energy Work and a psychotherapist in private practice. She has
been a longtime student of Rev. Rosalyn
Bruyere. Her special interests in energy
work encompass addiction-recovery, health
and healing, and work with cancer and
chronic illness. p. 35
Harvey Deutch has been both a physi-
cal therapist and yogi for the past 25 years.
His life path has blended the intricate
knowledge of movement with the practice of
yoga. He is the owner and one of many
physical therapists at Red Hawk Physical
Therapy in San Francisco. p. 31
Karen Dietz is executive director of the
National Storytelling Network, an association of storytellers across the U.S. She has
over 20 years of experience working with
Fortune 500 executives, professional speakers, community leaders, and activists in stories and storytelling. p. 13
Lisa Lieberman Doctor is the coauthor of A Fiction Writers Workshop At
The Bijou, to be published Fall 2008 by
Writers Digest Books. A former movie executive and Daytime Emmy and Writers
Guild Award nominee, she is a writing
coach in Los Angeles. p. 49
Jason Donahue, after surviving cancer,
completed two Stanford engineering degrees,
and has since gone on to serve as CEO of
several technology companies. Mr. Donahue
travels internationally and stays committed
to leading a fulfilling life. p. 15
Patrick Douce, one of Moshe
Feldenkrais’s first American students, has
been associated with Esalen since 1972.
Since 1986 he lives half of each year in Bali,
developing programs with Indonesian Silat
martial-arts-for-health schools. p. 16, 74, 84
Anna Douglas is a founding teacher of
Spirit Rock Meditation Center, where she
teaches classes and retreats. With a background in psychology and as an avid
painter, her liberating journey of discovery
has been realizing the play between spiritual unfolding and the creative process. p. 77
Emile Hassan Dyer, raised in France
and Senegal, was influenced at an early age
by their rhythms and music. As a drummer
and vocalist he has worked with artists such
as David Darling, Glen Velez, and Jim
Scott, and is a founding member of the a
capella groups Pandora’s Vox and Primitive
Soul. p. 36
E
Chandra Easton has 15 years of com-
bined study and teaching of yoga and
Buddhist meditation. She has studied yoga
extensively with Sarah Powers and
Zhander Remete and blends the receptive
yin style of yoga with more active, dynamic
forms to prepare the body/mind for meditation. p. 29
87
Scott Eaton is a certified Hakomi
Therapist and Hakomi Trainer who has
trained hundreds of psychotherapists in the
Hakomi method. An avid traveler, he also
leads spiritually-based tours of India and
Southeast Asia. Visit www.scotteaton.com.
p. 31
Matt Englar-Carlson is an associate
professor of counseling at California State
University, Fullerton. He specilaizes in educating helping professionals about the mental-health needs of men. He is the coeditor of
In the Room with Men: A Casebook of
Therapeutic Change. p. 17, 72
Zuza Engler has been on the spiral path
of kinesthetic investigation into consciousness for two decades, in motion, stillness,
and process inquiry. She is a long-term student and practitioner of Buddhism,
SoulMotion, and Gestalt Awareness
Practice. Her website is www.transformativedance.com. p. 41, 42
Ulrika Engman has been dancing on the
Thomas Michael Fortel is a long-
Cornelia Gerken integrates a spectrum
Ricky Greenwald is the founder of
time yoga practitioner/teacher, influenced
by the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara
styles of hatha yoga, and drawing from his
devotional experience in Bhakti yoga. He
travels widely, sharing his love for yoga. His
website is www.yogawiththomas.com.
p. 13, 45, 56
of psychosomatic and healing approaches.
With her husband Siegmar, she cofounded
and codirects the International Institute of
Core Evolution. She is the founder of
CoreSoma (www.CoreSoma.com). p. 68
Child Trauma Institute, and was previously
assistant clinical professor at Mount Sinai
School of Medicine. Dr. Greenwald is the
author several books, including Child
Trauma Handbook (2005) and
Overcoming Life’s Challenges (2008).
p. 14
Bruce Cana Fox is an artist, whitewa-
ter guide, and aikido instructor who makes
his living as an electronics engineer at an
airplane factory. He holds an MFA from the
University of Minnesota and has been making mobiles for 40 years. His website is
www.fox-makingmobiles.com. p. 18
Louise Franklin, executive director of
The Center for Attitudinal Healing in
Sausalito, Calif., has 21 years’ experience
conducting workshops. She has consulted
and conducted training programs throughout the U.S. and internationally on
Attitudinal Healing, stress, loss, and grief.
p. 67
Yoga path for 16 years leading popular
workshops and retreats worldwide. Certified
in Anusara Yoga and the Halprin Life/Art
Process, she combines the transformative
power of Yoga with the expressive arts into a
celebration of the heart. p. 50
Patricia Frisch, a licensed psychologist,
Reichian therapist, family therapist, and
experienced group leader, is codirector of the
Northern California Institute for
Orgonomic Therapy. She has decades of
experience in private practice and group
therapy. p. 60
F
Jerome Front is an adjunct faculty at
Jessica Fagan, a member of the Esalen
massage staff, is a dancer and performer
who is deeply immersed in the practice and
teaching of Eastern and Western somatic
therapies as well as Vinyasa Yoga. Her website is www.firewithin.ws. p. 29, 79
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. His website is www.Jerome
Front.com. p. 61
Benjamin Fahrer is an internationally
recognized Permaculture designer, educator,
and farmer. A community organizer and
progressive organic farmer, he has worked
intimately with front-line organizations,
nonprofits, and communities throughout
California. p. 32, 83
Jayson Fann, former Esalen Arts Center
coordinator, has 18 years of experience as a
musician, performer, visual artist, costume
designer, composer, and musical director. He
studied music in Africa and the Caribbean,
and has taught at Cal State University,
Monterey Bay. p. 21
Robin Fann-Costanzo has a lifelong
background in dance and movement. An
Esalen Massage practitioner, CranioSacral
practitioner, and certified yoga instructor,
she has taught and assisted Esalen Massage
trainings, yoga retreats, and Upledger
Institute trainings. p. 48, 68
Warren Farrell, author of the bestsellers
Why Men Are the Way They Are, The
Myth of Male Power, Women Can’t
Hear What Men Don’t Say, plus the
recent Why Men Earn More, has been a
pioneer in both the women and men’s
movements, and appeared on over 1,000
TV shows worldwide. p. 33
Lisa Firestone is Director of Research
and Education with the Glendon
Association. She is a practicing clinical psychologist and coauthor of Conquer Your
Critical Inner Voice; Creating A Life of
Meaning and Compassion: The
Wisdom of Psychotherapy; and Sex and
Love in Intimate Relationships. p. 25
88
G
Kate Gale teaches at Cal Arts. She is
managing editor of Red Hen Press, president
of Pen USA, and editor of The Los Angeles
Review. She is the author of seven books
and editor of four anthologies. p. 12
Jim Gallas, a Shiatsu teacher for over 10
years, has led workshops in California and
internationally. Creator of the video Table
Shiatsu: Deep and Effective Body Work
With Ease, Jim also teaches Reiki, yoga,
and Chi Kung, and is a member of a theater
improvisation group. p. 61, 66
Gangaji, internationally renowned
teacher, has since 1990 offered thousands of
people the invitation to directly experience
the true peace and absolute freedom that are
our essential nature. Her books include The
Diamond in Your Pocket and Freedom
and Resolve. p. 41
Sharon Gannon is the cofounder and
codirector of Jivamukti Yoga Center in New
York City. A student of the philosophies and
sacred arts of India, she travels there yearly
to further her studies. p. 70
Laurie Gerber is president of
HandelGroup Private Coaching Division.
She specializes in private, couples, and family coaching and is a contributing lecturer at
SOHO Parenting Center, the JCC, Reebok,
and Equinox Fitness. She owns Partner
With Parents, Inc., a tutoring and educational consulting service. p. 66
Siegmar Gerken has studied psychology, education, and anthropology. A pioneer
in body-oriented therapy and humanistic
psychology since 1972, he trains professionals
and organizations in the interconnectedness
of psychosomatic processes as they manifest
in the body, mind, will, and spirit. p. 68
Mariah Fenton Gladis, founder/
director of the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center
for Psychotherapy and Training for nearly
three decades, leads workshops and trainings
around the U.S. and in Europe. She is recognized for the sensitive and creative way
she practices the art of Gestalt. p. 26, 28
Richard Glantz is a business/mediation
attorney in Marin County, Calif., with
degrees in accounting as well as extensive
investment experience. He has been on a
spiritual path for 35 years, studying Gurdjieff,
Sufism, and Buddhism. For the last 15 years,
he has been in the Diamond Approach
School. p. 14
Robert M. Goisman is director of
medical student education at Massachusetts
Mental Health Center and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
In 2001 Dr. Goisman received the
Outstanding Psychiatrist Award from the
Massachusetts Psychiatric Society for Public
Sector Service. p. 77
Chris Griffin is a Master ChiRunning/
ChiWalking Instructor, mentoring with the
founder of ChiRunning/ChiWalking,
Danny Dreyer. Chris lives in Mill Valley,
Calif., and travels throughout the U.S. and
Canada teaching this technique. p. 67
Stephen Grynberg is a writer and
film director whose films and short stories
have all been inspired by personal story. He
has led numerous youth writing groups and
was a student of Nancy Bacal’s for 15 years.
More recently, he has acted as a co-facilitator
in her workshops. p. 78
Tara Lynda Guber, creator of Contact
Yoga, is a teacher, yogi, and educational
philanthropist. She founded Yoga Ed., an
organization that takes yoga into schools,
and authored Contact: The Yoga of
Relationship, winner of 2007 Nautilus
Book and Independent Publisher Book
Awards. p. 54, 70
Sylvia Guersenzvaig is a student and
teacher of astrology experienced in somatic
and visionary practices. Sylvia counsels
nationwide and internationally. Since 1983
she has been a massage practitioner and
astrologer at Esalen, where she developed
Openstars—Process Astrology. p. 68
Aviva Gold, painter, author, and thera-
pist, has been leading Painting From The
Source worldwide for over 25 years, as well
as training others to use this method. She
believes authentic soul-touching art comes
from a divine place within and the ritual of
creating such art is central to healing. p. 29
Mary Goldenson is a clinical psycholo-
gist, chiropractor, and certified Radix
teacher in Los Angeles. She has a private
practice specializing in relationship therapy
and transitions, and leads mediation trainings and workshops around the country.
p. 18, 31, 64, 77
Harriet Goslins originated Cortical
Field Reeducation. A Feldenkrais practitioner and Integrated Awareness teacher, her
background is in psychosynthesis, applied
kinesiology, muscle energy, craniosacral
work, and social anthropology. She has been
teaching at Esalen for 23 consecutive years.
p. 43
Tzivia Gover is the author of Mindful
Moments for Stressful Days. Her articles
about mindfulness, mother/daughter relationships, and other topics have been published in Beliefnet.com, The New York
Times, and The Christian Science
Monitor, among other publications. p. 58
Lynda Greenberg is an exhibiting
artist who has taught drawing nationwide
since 1981. An original collaborator with
Dr. Betty Edwards, she was a colleague of
the Center for the Educational Applications
of Brain Hemisphere Research from its
founding in 1985 until its retirement in
1995. p. 13
H
Steven Harper is a wilderness guide,
author, artist, and Big Sur resident. He has
led both traditional and experimental
wilderness expeditions internationally for
over 30 years. He has an MA in psychology
and his work focuses on wild nature as a
vehicle for awakening. p. 53, 59, 64, 73, 75
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. 73
Craig Hart directs the climate change
program for the Center for International
Environmental Law in Washington, D.C.
His research focuses on the private sector’s
capacity to mitigate climate change through
adoption of clean energy infrastructure and
to manage climate risks to the financial system. p. 37
Mary Hartzell has over 30 years’ experience working with children, parents, and
teachers. She is the director of a highly
respected, Reggio-inspired preschool in
Santa Monica, Calif. Mary also teaches parenting classes and has a thriving privateconsulting practice. p. 53
Geneen Marie Haugen is a writer
and guide to the mysteries of Earth and psyche. Her work appears in many anthologies,
including American Nature Writing and
Going Alone: Women’s Adventures in
the Wild. She is committed to cultivating
the planetary imagination. p. 27
Peggy Horan has been practicing and
teaching massage at Esalen for over 35
years. She has also been involved in childbirth education and has practiced midwifery
in Big Sur for 15 years. Peggy is the author
of the forthcoming book, Connecting
Through Touch. p. 39, 79
Roger Housden is the author of 15
books on a variety of spiritual and cultural
themes, including the best-selling Ten
Poems series (Ten Poems to Change
Your Life, etc.), the anthology Risking
Everything: 110 Poems of Love and
Revelation, and How Rembrandt
Reveals Your Beautiful, Imperfect Self.
p. 25
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. 41, 43
Barbara Marx Hubbard is an author,
speaker, and evolutionary pioneer. As president of The Foundation for Conscious
Evolution, she is establishing a first Chair
in Conscious Evolution with Wisdom
University, and is developing the Barbara
Marx Hubbard Library in Conscious
Evolution in Santa Barbara. p. 47
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Terry Hunt is a nationally known psychologist and coauthor of Emotional
Healing; Secrets to Tell, Secrets to
Keep, and Addiction as Transformation.
p. 50
Jack Healey, former executive director of
Ginger Holladay’s first calling was as
Amnesty Internation, heads the Human
Rights Action Center. An innovative leader
in the human rights movement for over 25
years, he helped move the topic of human
rights from closed-door diplomatic negotiations to widespread awareness and direct citizen action. p. 16
a professional singer, recording with Elvis
Presley, Linda Ronstadt, and Joan Baez. Her
personal journey led her to the healing arts,
and she now works as a massage practitioner, yoga instructor, and voice coach for individuals and groups. p. 19
Michele Hébert is a yoga and medita-
clinical psychologist, teacher, and a Gestalt
and Deep Bodywork practitioner. Now
living in Big Sur, she is a certified Esalen
Massage teacher and a professional yoga
teacher on the Esalen Movement staff.
p. 12, 15, 59
tion teacher, natural nutritionist, and
author. A teacher for over 30 years, she is a
senior teacher in the Walt Baptiste Method
of Raja Yoga. She has also studied with
Swami Veda of India and H.H. the Dalai
Lama. p. 65
Johanna Holloman is a German-born
Perry Holloman has been a teacher and
David Hykes, trailblazing composer/
singer, harmonic sound pioneer, and
philosopher/activist, is dedicated to bringing
Harmony more to life on Earth. Founder
of the Harmonic Presence work and
Harmonic Chant, he has collaborated with
the Dalai Lama and the Gyoto Monks, and
released 10 CDs and DVDs. p. 68
I
Felix “Pupy” Insua, born and raised
in Cuba (a featured performer with Grupo
Folklorico Nacional de Cuba), moved to
New York in 1995 to spread the healing
experience of Afro-Cuban music, dance, and
spirituality. He is a priest and healer in the
Cuban Lukumi religion. p. 56
Rik Isensee provides mindfulness-based
somatic psychotherapy in San Francisco. He
is the author of three self-help books for gay
men: Love Between Men, Reclaiming
Your Life, and Are You Ready?—The
Gay Men’s Guide to Thriving at Midlife.
Visit www.rikisensee.com. p. 31
Laurence Heller is a core faculty professor in the somatic psychology program at
Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. He has
been a body-centered psychotherapist for
more than 25 years and is former president
and director of training for the Gestalt
Institute of Denver. p. 20
practitioner of Esalen Massage, Deep
Bodywork, and body-oriented approaches to
Gestalt therapy for over 20 years. He currently teaches in the U.S., Asia, and Europe,
and makes his home in Big Sur, Calif. His
website is www.deepbodywork.com.
p. 12, 15, 59, 83
J
Deborah Ardell Hill is a licensed mas-
Jonathan Horan is Gabrielle Roth’s son
Roger Jahnke has practiced Chinese
sage therapist and reflexologist experienced
in a variety of modalities. Author of Spiritual
Reflexology, she also offers integrations
using quantum physics theories. p. 24, 63
and closest collaborator. He is on the core
faculty of her international institute, The
Moving Center. Jonathan has been immersed
in the 5Rhythms practice throughout his
life and continues to be a key catalyst in its
evolution. p. 63
medicine clinically for over 30 years. He has
traveled to China ten times to explore the
secrets of Qi in hospitals, temples, and sacred
sites. He is the author of the acclaimed The
Healer Within and, more recently, The
Healing Promise of Qi. p. 31, 73
Constance G. Hills is a licensed psychologist working in the mental health field
for over 20 years. She has practiced
Vipassana meditation for 15 years, and is a
student of Dr. Rina Sircar. She maintains a
private psychotherapy and consulting practice in San Francisco. p. 78
Juliet Johnson is an environmental
engineer in charge of sustainability and
property development at Esalen. She also
works for the Esalen Center for Theory and
Research and sits on the Esalen Board.
Juliet is interested in social and economic
solutions to today’s environmental problems.
p. 37
Andrea Juhan balances the catalytic
nature of the 5Rhythms with a finely tuned
therapeutic instinct. Her teaching style is
both lively and challenging, creating a field
where participants are inspired and supported to pursue their own growth. p. 15
K
Leah Kalish is program director for Yoga
Ed. and co-creator of all Yoga Ed. curriculums, trainings, and products. She coauthored the Yoga Pretzel Deck by
Barefoot Books and the Yoga Kit for Kids
and is featured in Gaiam’s Yoga Fitness
for Kids videos. p. 54
Lynne Kaufman is an award-winning
playwright and novelist whose plays have
been produced in New York, San Francisco,
Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. She
teaches writing at UC Berkeley Extension,
S.F. State, Omega, and Esalen Institute.
Her website is www.Lynnekaufman.com.
p. 23
Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa is the
cofounder and director of Golden Bridge
Nite Moon, the premier center for the study
and practice of Kundalini yoga and meditation in Los Angeles. She has taught yoga
and meditation for nearly 30 years, and is
the author of The Eight Human Talents.
p. 55
Sam Keen is the author of numerous
books, including The Passionate Life, Faces
of the Enemy, Hymns to an Unknown
God, and Learning to Fly. p. 28
Georgia Kelly is the founder/
director of Praxis Peace Institute
(www.praxispeace.org). She produced
three international peace conferences in
Croatia and has organized crosscultural dialogues in the Balkans. She has a certificate
in conflict resolution from Sonoma State
and is an experienced mediator. p. 20
Jim Kepner is a psychologist and the
author of Body Process and Healing
Tasks. He teaches internationally on
the application of Gestalt Body Process
Psychotherapy to healing in trauma, stress,
and illness. Jim is the co-originator of
Nervous System Energy Work (www.pathwaysforhealing.com). p. 35
Hala Khouri has spent over 15 years
integrating yoga and counseling, and is
certified in Somatic Experiencing. She
teaches yoga and leads workshops and
retreats internationally. Her website is
www.halakhouri.com. p. 70
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 9 Types of Lovers. p. 22
89
Alan Kishbaugh is a writer with many
Jill Kuykendall is a physical therapist
Dennis Lewis, a longtime student of the
years of experience in book publishing and
in urban planning, parkland, and openspace preservation. He and Stella Resnick
have been married for over 20 years and
have led couples’ seminars together for even
longer. p. 12
and transpersonal medical practitioner who
has worked in the standard Western medical paradigm for 25 years. She is now in
private practice specializing in soul retrieval,
and is the coauthor (with Hank Wesselman)
of Spirit Medicine. p. 44, 73
Gurdjieff Work, Taoism, and Advaita,
teaches the transformative power of presence
through breathing, qigong, meditation,
and self-inquiry. He is the author of Free
Your Breath, Free Your Life, The Tao of
Natural Breathing, and the audio program
Natural Breathing. p. 60
L
David Life co-created the Jivamukti
Yoga method. He completed the Sivananda
Teacher Training in India in 1986, and has
been teaching yoga since. He was initiated
into the sunyas order of Shri Shankaracharya
by Swami Nirmalanda in 1991. p. 70
Charly Kleissner, a philanthropic
entrepreneur, works with social entrepreneurs helping to create sustainable enterprises. He is cofounder of the KL Felicitas
Foundation and the Social-Impact
Initiative helping social entrepreneurs accelerate and increase their social impact. p. 43
Maggie Kline has been a family thera-
pist and a school psychologist for over 20
years and is a senior faculty member for the
Foundation for Human Enrichment, where
she teaches Peter Levine’s method. Maggie
integrates Somatic Experiencing with art
and play therapy with children and teens.
p. 40
Mawuena Kodjovi, a gifted multiinstrumentalist, was born in Paris and
raised in Togo. He absorbed the music of
West Africa, then studied jazz and harmony
in Paris to gain a vast knowledge of musical
traditions. In 1998, he came to New York to
join Babatunde Olatunji on guitar, vocals,
and percussion. p. 31
Deborah Koff-Chapin has been
developing Touch Drawing since 1974, and
has been a teacher and presenter at conferences and graduate programs internationally. She is creator of SOULCARDS 1&2 and
author of Drawing Out Your Soul. For
more information, visit www.touchdrawing.com. p. 45
Pamela Kramer, a senior teacher of
ITP and a student of George Leonard and
Michael Murphy, has led numerous ITP
and LET workshops at Esalen and creates a
supportive community setting to grow,
learn, and enjoy. She is co-leader of the
longest-running ITP group in the country.
p. 52
Sybil Krauter teaches Integrated
Awareness and Cortical Field Reeducation.
Her background is in clinical hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming, and education.
Currently her focus is on how we create
reality. p. 19, 43
Jeffrey Kripal is chairman of the
Department of Religious Studies at Rice
University. He has written four books focusing on the comparative erotics and ethics of
mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religious traditions,
and the history of Western esotericism. p. 67
Jerry Kurtyka is a technology and strategy consultant with industry experience in
information technology, banking, and marketing. He has been a student of systems theory and thinking for over 30 years and has
written extensively about its application to
business strategy and technology. p. 55
Ron Kurtz is the creator of the Hakomi
Method and the Practice of Loving Presence.
He is the author of Body-Centered
Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method
and the coauthor of The Body Reveals and
Grace Unfolding. Ron is respected as one
of the leading thinkers in psychotherapy
today. p. 46
90
Bob Lamp is a mixed-media artist. He
spent four years as the foundry technician
for the School of Art and Design at San Jose
State University. He currently teaches a
wide range of sculpture classes at Monterey
Peninsula College and maintains a studio
in Ben Lomond, Calif. p. 57
Sidney Lanier is cofounder of the
Foundation for Conscious Evolution.
Former Episcopal priest, founder of the
American Place Theater in New York, he
worked with Laurence Rockefeller in the
Fund for the Enhancement of the Human
Spirit. p. 47
Aline LaPierre is a core faculty professor
in the somatic psychology program at Santa
Barbara Graduate Institute where she
teaches and supervises the clinical work and
research of doctoral students. She is an
advanced candidate at the New Center for
Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. p. 20
Carol Lessinger trained with Moshe
Feldenkrais and has given workshops and
private sessions for over 30 years. For the
past 10 years she has co-led Cortical Field
Reeducation workshops with Harriet
Goslins. Carol is devoted to the role that
movement has in expanding health at every
level. p. 19
Jaquelin Levin, a fully qualified
Biodanza Didactic Teacher, trained in
South Africa and the U.K. She has taught
in South Africa, Mozambique, the U.K.,
Europe, and the U.S., and has a background
in the performing arts, education, and healing. See www.biodanzadancesoflife.com.
p. 57, 83
Peter Levine has a background in med-
ical biophysics, psychophysiology, and psychology. He developed Somatic Experiencing
over the past 40 years, and teaches this work
throughout the world. Dr. Levine is the
author of the best-selling book, Waking the
Tiger, and the book/CD, Healing Trauma.
p. 36, 38, 40
Ronald Levine is an ordained rabbi
and licensed clinical psychologist in Van
Nuys, Calif. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in
1978, he participated in the Human
Sexuality Training Program at UCLA. For
the past 25 years his private practice has
focused on marital and sex therapy. p. 69
Gregg Levoy, author of Callings:
Finding and Following an Authentic
Life and This Business of Writing, is a
former adjunct professor of journalism at the
University of New Mexico who teaches
widely on the subject of callings. p. 53
Bradley Lewis is an assistant professor
at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized
Study with affiliated appointments in the
Department of Social and Cultural Analysis
and the Department of Psychiatry. He is the
author of Moving Beyond Prozac, DSM,
and the New Psychiatry: The Birth of
Postpsychiatry. p. 84
Surya Little’s first yoga training was in
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. She lived in Nepal
from 1997-99 and studied with K. Pattabhi
Jois in Mysore, South India. Surya currently
studies in the Iyengar system, and is a longtime student of macrobiotics, Chinese fiveelement theory, and Ayurveda. p. 23
Tias Little’s teaching reflects his exper-
tise in yoga and anatomy, and his training
in Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga. His teaching is suffused with the wisdom of the
Buddhist tradition. Tias lives in Santa Fe,
N.M., where he co-directs Yogasource with
his wife Surya. p. 23
Vinn Martí is a movement artist, teacher,
and spiritual friend, living in Portland, Ore.
He teaches SoulMotion internationally,
and is a certified Chaplain and Prayer
Practitioner through the New Thought
Alliance of Churches. p. 20, 77
Sarah Mata is a certified yoga teacher
trained in the traditions of
Krishnamacharya. Her work ranges from
the vigorous flow for the very fit to the userfriendly application of yoga for people with
heart disease and musculoskeletal injuries.
p. 63
Edward W. Maupin, a psychologist
who was an Esalen scholar-in-residence
from 1966 to 1970, has practiced Rolfing
since 1968, when he was trained by Dr. Ida
Rolf. His early research in Zen Buddhism
strongly influenced his approach to the Rolf
Method. p. 18
Camille Maurine is the coauthor of
Meditation 24/7 and Meditation
Secrets for Women. A dancer and performing artist who has been teaching since
1975, she is the creator of kinAesthetics and
the transformational Moving Theater
process. p. 38
the Stanford Center on Conflict and
Negotiation. A licensed psychologist, he
directs the Stanford Forgiveness Projects
and is the author of Forgive for Good:
A Proven Prescription for Health and
Happiness. p. 17
Jim McCormick began Zero Balancing
training in 1974 with founder Dr. Fritz
Smith. He became the first teacher of ZB
after Dr. Smith, in 1979, and is Chairman
of the Board of Directors of the ZBHA. He
lives in Cambridge, Mass., practicing Zero
Balancing and traditional acupuncture.
p. 49
Marlena Lyons is the cofounder of The
Rebecca McLean is a national trainer
Conscious Living Center, a counseling and
retreat center in the San Francisco Bay
Area. She has been teaching workshops
about how to inhabit the full spectrum of
one’s humanity for the past 20 years. Visit
www.undefendedlove.com. p. 19, 28
and author of The Circle of Life who has
worked in mind/body healthcare and life
coaching for over 25 years. She has facilitated support groups for hospitals, schools,
parishes, agencies, and businesses, and
coached hundreds of individuals. p. 36
Frederic Luskin is a Senior Fellow at
M
Jane Malek trained with Marion Rosen.
She is a senior teacher of Rosen Method
Bodywork and a Rosen Movement Training
teacher who began studying Rosen Method
in 1980. Jane has a practice in the Monterey
area as well as teaching internationally. For
more information visit www.JaneMalek.com.
p. 37
Mia Rose Maltz has been studying
mycology for 11 years. She lives in Sonoma
County where she was certified in Permaculture Design and cofounded the RITES
Project. Mia is a certified Permaculture
teacher who currently attends a Masters
Program at Sonoma State University. p. 32
Paul Mandelstein is the founder of
Father Resource Network (www.father.com),
a nonprofit providing support services that
help solve the problems and challenges associated with fatherhood today. His latest
book is Always Dad: Being a Great
Father During and After Divorce. p. 43
Dean Marson teaches in Esalen’s
Massage Program and Movement Arts
Program, incorporating meditation and selfcare practices to assist people in awakening
and de-stressing their bodies. He has led
workshops at Esalen, in Europe, and in Asia
for over 20 years. p. 19, 48, 65
Deborah Anne Medow, Esalen
workshop leader and bodywork practitioner
since 1969, teaches yoga, massage, creative
movement, awareness practices, and related
healing disciplines throughout the U.S. and
Europe. She is also a certified nutrition educator, and manager of the Esalen Healing
Arts Department. p. 63, 69, 82
Michael Meyer has taught Cortical
Field Reeducation at Esalen since 1993 and
The Feldenkrais Method for the past ten
years. He lives in Laguna Beach, where he
specializes in working with seniors and
those with neurological impairment. p. 43
Emmett Miller is widely recognized as
a founder of mind/body medicine and as the
inventor of the guided-imagery audiocassette/
CD. He is the author of Deep Healing and
has recorded more than 50 deep-relaxation
meditations and talks. p. 76
Sarana Miller is a faculty instructor at
Yoga Journal and teaches at The
Claremont Hotel and her own home studio.
Trained in the Iyengar and Forrest Yoga
traditions, her love of yoga was born at
Esalen, where she continues to assist and
teach with friend and mentor Thomas
Fortel. p. 31, 56
Anneli Molin-Skelton lives to inspire
people to discover the forgotten language of
their souls through the permission to
embrace their sacredness and truth in movement. A cofounder of the movement sanctuary Spiritweaves, her website is www.spiritweaves.com. p. 51
Michael Molin-Skelton listens to
prayers of the wind and hears music, looks
into the windows of the heart and feels
rhythm. “Dance is not something I do,
it’s simply who I am,” says Michael. He
reaches through dance rather than
teaches to dance. His website is
www.spiritweaves.com. p. 51
David Molk is a musician and inter-
N
Mehrad Nazari is a senior teacher of the
Walt Baptiste Method of Raja Yoga and a
continuing education specialist in Yoga for
the American Council on Exercise. He is
personally trained by the Yoga Master Walt
Baptiste, and studied with Zen Master
Kyozan Joshu Roshi. p. 65
mediator, surfer, and lifelong resident of the
Big Sur coast. He has an MA in psychology
and promotes the integration of wilderness
into contemporary life. p. 53
Mark Nicolson directs Ventana, a cen-
Bill Plotkin, founder/president of
Ann Randolph has been described as
Colorado’s Animas Valley Institute, is a
depth psychologist, ecotherapist, and wilderness guide. Author of Soulcraft: Crossing
into the Mysteries of Nature and
Psyche, he has guided thousands of people
through initiatory passages in the underworld of soul. p. 27
“revolutionary,” a “tour de force,”
“Whitmanesque,” and “hilarious” for her
award-winning solo performances. Direct
from an Off-Broadway hit (produced by the
late Anne Bancroft), Randolph teaches and
tours extensively throughout the U.S. p. 15,
84
meditation teacher, author, radio commentator, and performer. His best-selling books
include Essential Crazy Wisdom; The
Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby
Boom; and Buddha’s Nature. He is the
founder and coeditor of the Buddhist journal
Inquiring Mind. p. 77
Sarah Powers blends the insights and
John J. Ratey is an associate professor
of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Ratey has been a leading teacher and
researcher on the brain and personality, and
is the author of Spark: The Revolutionary
New Science of Exercise and the Brain.
p. 73
O
David Presti is a neuroscientist and
Alfonso Montuori is professor and
Wes “Scoop” Nisker is a Buddhist
of health, education, business, and restorative justice since 1985. She has been a
Certified Trainer with the global Center for
Nonviolent Communication since 1989,
and coproduces materials for learning
Compassionate Communication (nvcproducts.com). p. 56
Beverly Kitaen Morse is a marriage
and family therapist in private practice in
Santa Monica, Calif., and executive director
of the Rosenberg-Kitaen Integrative Body
Psychotherapy Central Institute and the 12
IBP International Institutes. She is coauthor of The Intimate Couple. p. 38
Nan Moss is a faculty member of the
Foundation for Shamanic Studies. As a
shamanic practitioner she teaches workshops on shamanism, and has a shamanic
counseling and healing practice in Maine.
p. 42, 83
Robert Moss, the pioneer of Active
Dreaming, works with individuals and
groups throughout the world, teaching innovative techniques to open personal paths to
creativity and healing and find life’s bigger
story. He is a former foreign correspondent
and history professor. Visit www.mossdreams.com. p. 23
Caroline Muir has been a yoga practi-
tioner for over 25 years. She is a Tantric sex
expert who specializes in sexual healing and
awakening the Goddess energy in women.
p. 47
Charles Muir, a professional yoga
instructor for 35 years, is director of the
Source School of Tantra Yoga in Hawaii
and California. He is coauthor of Tantra:
The Art of Conscious Loving. His work
was featured in the Hollywood movies Bliss
and The Best Ever. p. 47
Charu Rachlis, born and raised in
Brazil, has been teaching yoga in San
Francisco since 1997. She teaches in a
Bhakti lineage where her inspirations are
devotional. She has a 20-year history of
Tibetan Buddhist meditation, and is strongly influenced by Iyengar and Ashtanga
yoga. p. 13
Srivatsa Ramaswami was the longeststanding student of the legendary Sri T.
Krishnamacharya outside the Master’s family. He has written scores of articles, four
books, and recorded about 40 CDs and cassettes of Sanskrit mantras. His website is
www.vinyasakrama.org. p. 47
Michael Newman is an attorney-
ter which facilitates transformative learning
in leaders and organizations committed to
social change. Mark’s work is also focused on
life transitions. He is a graduate of Oxford,
Stanford, and the Esalen Extended Student
program. p. 11, 57
Jean Morrison has worked in the areas
sage staff since 1980, teaches internationally,
focusing on bodywork’s energetic, emotional,
and spiritual aspect. She is a Reiki Master/
Teacher, a Circle of Life facilitator/coach,
and a licensed graduate of The Center for
Spiritual Healing. p. 42, 80
Teena Pleshek obtained her massage
certification in 1990, and later found her
calling with Neuromuscular Therapy. In
1999 she was invited by founder Mary
Nelson to become a LaStone instructor, and
now incorporates LaStone and
Neuromuscular Therapy into a treatment.
p. 24
preter of Tibetan who has lived in Big Sur
since 1981. He has translated for numerous
Tibetan masters, edited Chöd in the Ganden
Tradition, and has toured teaching
Buddhism nationally and worldwide.
p. 44
program director of the Transformative
Studies Ph.D. program and the
Transformative Leadership M.A. program
at California Institute of Integral Studies.
He is the author of several books and
numerous articles on creativity, complexity,
and education. p. 34
Char Pias, a member of the Esalen mas-
Jennie Oppenheimer’s work, a play-
ful exploration of pattern, texture, and color
inspired by fabrics, weathered architecture,
and colors found in cultures around the
world, has been featured in cookbooks and
magazines, as gift cards and papers, and as
backdrops for retail environments. p. 59
Brita Ostrom, a licensed MFT, has led
massage and other workshops at Esalen for
over 20 years. She is trained in Gestalt
awareness work and participated in Esalen’s
two-year somatics education project. p. 26,
65
P
Bert Parlee, a licensed clinical psycholo-
gist and published author, serves as chief of
staff and lead seminar trainer at Ken
Wilber’s Integral Institute in Colorado. Bert
has a private psychotherapy and personal
and executive coaching practices in Mill
Valley, Calif. p. 26
Laurel Parnell is an internationally rec-
ognized psychologist, author, consultant, and
EMDR trainer who has trained thousands
of clinicians in the U.S. and abroad. The
author of three books on EMDR, she maintains a private practice in San Rafael, Calif.
p. 33
Dulce Maria Perez, raised in the
Dominican Republic, specializes in multicultural education. A priestess in the Yoruba
tradition of Nigeria, a lover of life, and a
global traveler, she has taught worldwide,
incorporating the rich heritage of many cultures into her teaching, her cooking, her
being. p. 74
practices of Yoga and Buddhism into an
integral practice to enliven body, heart, and
mind. Her Yoga style blends a Yin sequence
of long, held poses with a flow, or Yang,
practice influenced by Viniyoga, Ashtanga,
and Iyengar teachings. See www.sarahpowers.com. p. 21, 42
clinical psychologist who teaches at the
University of California in Berkeley. His
expertise ranges from the treatment of drug
addiction to the use of drugs and plant medicines for healing through ritual and alterations of consciousness. p. 47
Christine Stewart Price is a teacher
and ongoing student of Gestalt Awareness
Practice and other approaches to developing
awareness. p. 14, 53
Joel R. Primack, professor of physics at
UC Santa Cruz, has done foundational
research in cosmology. He and his team use
some of the world’s biggest supercomputers
to simulate the evolution of the universe. He
has recently chaired the Forum on Physics
and Society of the American Physical
Society. p. 44
Jett Psaris is the cofounder of The
Conscious Living Center, a counseling and
retreat center in the San Francisco Bay
Area. She has been teaching workshops
about how to inhabit the full spectrum of
one’s humanity for the past 20 years. Visit
www.undefendedlove.com. p. 19, 28
Johanna Putnoi is a dancer, writer,
and somatics educator who leads workshops
and trainings in Lomi somatics, the movement arts, and the enneagram throughout
the U.S. and in Europe. She has a private
practice in Menlo Park, Calif. p. 56
R
Gustavo Rabin is a licensed psychologist
and an organizational consultant. He specializes in improving the leadership and
effectiveness of individuals, teams, and
organizations. Gustavo is also a cofounder
of The Sapience Group, www.Sapience
Group.net. p. 11, 73
Virginia Ray is a visual/conceptual artist
known for her transformative art work
exhibited in galleries and healing institutions around the Bay Area. She is currently
a resident artist at Wilbur Hot Springs in
Northern California. You can e-mail
Virginia at artistvray@yahoo.com. p. 25
Stella Resnick, a longtime body-based
psychologist in the L.A. area, specializes in
relationship and sexual enhancemen.
Author of The Pleasure Zone: Why We
Resist Good Feelings, she is a past-president of the Western Region of the Society for
the Scientific Study of Sexuality. p. 12
David Richo is a psychotherapist,
teacher, and writer in Santa Barbara and
San Francisco, who emphasizes Jungian,
transpersonal, and spiritual perspectives. He
is the author of When Love Meets Fear,
Shadow Dance, and How To Be An
Adult in Relationships. p. 77
Barry Robbins, a senior teacher of ITP
and a student of George Leonard and
Michael Murphy, has led numerous ITP
and LET workshops at Esalen and creates
a supportive community setting to grow,
learn, and enjoy. He is co-leader of the
longest-running ITP group in the country.
p. 52
John Robbins, author, speaker, and
activist, is the founder and Board Chair
Emeritus of EarthSave International, an
organization dedicated to healthy food choices, preservation of the environment, and a
more compassionate world. p. 70
Lorin Roche has been in love with med-
itation since 1968. His work, Instinctive
Meditation, is set forth in Meditation
24/7, Meditation Secrets for Women,
Meditation Made Easy, Breath Taking,
and Whole Body Meditations. p. 38
91
Karen Roeper, founder of Essential
Bill Say codirects the Community
Motion, has conducted seminars and certifications worldwide for over 22 years. A senior
teacher at the Rosen Bodywork Institute, she
has a private practice in bodywork/movement. Her focus is to explore the relationships between body, emotions, mind, and
Spirit. p. 24
Healing & Leadership Training, is a faculty
member of JFK and Naropa universities,
and has had a private practice in body/
mind/relationship therapy in Berkeley,
Calif., since 1989. His website is
www.CoreCommunity.com. p. 63
teacher. She is director of Estel, a center of
personal growth and school of integral studies in Barcelona, and creator of Holistic
Sexuality. She is the coauthor of Nacidos
de la Tierra: Sexualidad Origen del Ser
Humano. p. 63
Jack Lee Rosenberg is in private
practice in Venice, Calif. Founder and clinical director of the Rosenberg-Kitaen
Integrative Body Psychotherapy Central
Institute and the 12 IBP International
Institutes, he authored Total Orgasm, and
coauthored Body, Self, and Soul and The
Intimate Couple. p. 38
Elizabeth Rosner, novelist, poet,
and essayist, is the author of two highly
acclaimed novels, The Speed of Light and
Blue Nude. Her work has appeared in the
New York Times Magazine, Elle, and
several anthologies. She has taught writing
for 27 years. p. 60
Peter Rosselli is cofounder of Invisible
Elephant Training & Consulting, Inc. He
has developed programs in improvisation,
communication skills, movement psychology, and conflict management for over 20
years. He has consulted with companies
such as Ebay, IBM, and Kaiser Permanente.
p. 24
Peter Russell has degrees in theoretical
physics, experimental psychology, and computer science. He is the author of ten books,
including The Global Brain Awakens,
Waking Up in Time, and, most recently,
From Science to God: A Physicist’s
Journey into the Mystery of
Consciousness. p. 52
Gordy Ryan performed worldwide with
Babatunde Olatunji for three decades while
maintaining a prolific career as a recording
artist and composer. His band OBA has
released two CDs of original songs, One
Breath Away and The Beautiful Game.
See www.obatheband.com. p. 31
M.J. Ryan is the author of Attitudes of
Gratitude and many other books. A member of Professional Thinking Partners, she
currently serves as an advisor to entrepreneurs, executives, individuals and teams
around the world. p. 41
S
Aparecida Sauer is a belly dancer,
trance dancer, ecstatic poetess, energy healer,
and intuitive counselor. Weaving feminine
spirituality, goddess mythology, and tantra
into her work, she teaches and performs
internationally. Aparecida is Maria Lucia’s
sister. p. 38, 84
Maria Lucia Bittencourt Sauer
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. 38, 84
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Howard Joel Schechter is interested
in learning and teaching about emotional
and spiritual liberation. He is the author of
Rekindling the Spirit in Work and
Jupiter’s Rings: Balance from the Inside
Out. p. 60
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. 30,
33, 48
Meir Schneider, author, educator,
pioneer therapist, and founder of San
Francisco’s School for Self-Healing
(www.self-healing.org), overcame congenital blindness. His holistic healthcare system
is profoundly effective with physical and
visual disorders in people of all ages. p. 27
Bruce Schonfeld has taught Structural
Integration in Los Angeles since 1996.
Cross-trained in Rolfing and European
osteopathic manipulation, he has developed
a systems anatomy approach called
Integrated Manual Therapies. See
www.advancedrolfing.com. p. 33
Stephen Schuitevoerder trained as
a psychologist and is an organizational consultant, lecturer, and facilitator. He presents
at conferences and facilitates trainings and
seminars worldwide. He is the CEO and
president, as well as being on the faculty, of
the Process Work Institute. p. 17
DANIEL BIANCHETTA
Marina T. Romero is a therapist and
Alan Schwartz, author of Life Force:
Death Force, pioneered the understanding
of energetic dynamics and its relationship to
Gestalt therapy. A student and colleague of
Laura Perls, he also studied with Lowen
and Pierrakos. He has been leading groups
at Esalen for more than 35 years. p. 32
Richard Schwartz is a former associate
professor in the Department of Psychiatry,
University of Illinois College of Medicine.
He is director of the Center for Self
Leadership in Oak Park, Ill. Author of six
books, he is the developer of the Internal
Family Systems model. p. 13
Susie Self is an international opera
singer and a composer with two symphonies
on CD. She has sung at Covent Garden,
Santiago (Chile), Salzburg, Strasbourg,
Antwerp, and Athens opera houses. She
runs holistic voice workshops for Skyros in
Greece and at Rancho La Puerta in Mexico.
p. 38
Paula Shaw, a professional actress and
acting teacher for over 25 years, conducts
workshops in expanding self-expression,
well-being, and creativity for non-actors
across the United States and Canada.
p. 54, 55
Stephen Sideroff is a clinical psychol-
ogist and peak performance consultant in
Santa Monica, Calif. Assistant professor in
the Department of Psychiatry and
Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA’s School of
Medicine, he was founder and former director of the Stress Strategies Center at Santa
Monica Hospital. p. 25
Eric Simon is an expert in the range of
stress-related disorders and has published
extensively on how mental states can
improve clinical outcomes. Dr. Simon developed the premiere pain-management program for the US Army at Tripler Regional
Medical Center. p. 12
Michael S. Sinel is a board-certified
medical doctor in pain management and
rehabilitation. Assistant clinical professor at
UCLA, Department of Medicine, he has
coauthored two books, Back Pain
Remedies for Dummies and Win the
Battle against Back Pain, and written
several scientific publications. p. 25
Gerald Smith is a licensed psychologist
in private practice in San Mateo, Calif. He
has written two books about relationships,
Couple Therapy and Hidden Meanings.
He has been leading couples groups at
Esalen since 1966. p. 55
Nancee Sobonya is a filmmaker and
the producer/director/writer of The Gifts
of Grief (www.giftsofgrief.com).
Formerly Bereavement Coordinator at
Pathways Hospice in Oakland for 17 years,
she is a grief counselor/educator and teaches
at the graduate level at Starr King School of
Ministry. p. 49
Tom Spanbauer has published four
novels: Faraway Places, The Man Who
Fell in Love with the Moon, In the City
of Shy Hunters, and most recently Now
Is the Hour. Tom has been teaching
Dangerous Writing classes for over 17 years.
Eighteen of his students have published novels. p. 34
Martha Stark is a clinical instructor in
psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and
on the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute
for Psychoanalysis and the Center for
Psychoanalytic Studies at the Massachusetts
General Hospital. She has authored three
books, including Modes of Therapeutic
Action. p. 55
Kat Steele is a Permaculture activist,
designer, and educator. Founder of the
Urban Permaculture Guild in Oakland,
Calif., she facititates workshops on sustainability, natural building, and Permaculture,
as well as speaks about urban eco-social
design, city repair, and the power of placemaking. p. 32
Peter Sterios is an internationally recognized yoga instructor with over 30 years
of study and practice in the U.S. and India.
A writer and former contributing editor
for Yoga Journal, he lives and teaches in
Santa Monica, Calif. His first yoga DVD,
Gravity & Grace, is available at
www.manduka.com. p. 35
Suzanne Sterling is an acclaimed
performer and recording artist who brings
a special blend of music, yoga, kirtan, and
sacred ceremony to a wide range of nationwide events. She teaches workshops and
classes on the yoga of sound, sacred singing
and rhythm, and devotional work with
deity. p. 70
Mark Stevens is a licensed psychologist
Vicki Topp is a senior practitioner and
instructor of Esalen Massage and somatic
bodywork. She teaches workshops and
training groups internationally and is a
Registered Movement Therapist and practitioner of Body-Mind Centering. p. 29, 82
Lobsang Tsultrim is a Tibetan monk
of Ganden Monastery highly skilled in the
fields of Buddhist philosophy and the sacred
art of Buddhist Tantra. He has toured both
nationally and worldwide creating sand
mandalas and teaching thangka painting.
p. 44
and director of university counseling services
at California State University, Northridge.
Past-president of the APA’s Society for the
Psychological Study of Men and
Masculinity, he is coeditor of In the Room
with Men: A Casebook of Therapeutic
Change. p. 17
U
David Streeter is a longtime resident
Daniela Urbassek is a longtime mem-
teacher at Esalen. He instructs and practices
Esalen Massage, Chi Gung, and meditation,
and has recently published a book on the
Tao Te Ching. p. 29, 39
ber of the Esalen massage staff. Her work is
strongly influenced by her studies in craniosacral work, movement, yoga, and dance.
p. 13
Ellen Suckiel is professor of philosophy
and Provost of Stevenson College at
Universtiy of California, Santa Cruz, teaching courses in ethics of genetics and ethics of
biotechnology. She is the author of two books
on William James. p. 19
T
Jim Tamm, a former judge who has
mediated over 1,500 disputes, is the author
of Radical Collaboration: Five Essential
Skills to Reduce Defensiveness and
Build Successful Relationships. He is
on the faculty of the International
Management Program at the Stockholm
School of Economics. p. 69
Russell Targ is a physicist and author
who pioneered the development of the laser
and laser applications, and cofounded the
Stanford Research Institute’s investigation
into psychic abilities in the 1970s and 1980s.
He now pursues ESP research in Palo Alto,
Calif. p. 22
Amaran Tarnoff, a licensed MFT, is
the founder of Results/Support Seminars,
and has been teaching the Inquiry Process
for over 20 years as a professional coach.
He is currently writing a book titled The
Inquiry Process: Learning Together to
Produce Results. p. 34
Jeremy Taylor has worked with his
own and other people’s dreams for over 35
years. He teaches at many Bay Area seminaries, universities, and colleges, and is the
author of three books on working with
dreams. p. 67
Anne Teich earned a doctorate in philos-
ophy and religion from California Institute
of Integral Studies. She trained in Buddhist
meditation under Rina Sircar and Very
Venerable Taungpulu Kaba-Aye Sayadaw.
Her teaching aims to promote the practical
applications of Buddhist Psychology. p. 78
Jack Thomas has taught and performed
in the L.A. area for 25 years. President of
Hollywood Actors Theater, he has appeared
in theater, film, and episodic TV, including
Scrubs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and
The Drew Carey Show. His day job is as a
physician specializing in internal medicine.
p. 44
V
Bessel van der Kolk is a Boston-based
clinical psychiatrist whose work integrates
developmental, biological, psychodynamic,
and interpersonal aspects of the impact of
trauma. Past president of the International
Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, he has
taught at universities and hospitals around
the world. p. 32, 36
Dave Ventimiglia is the founder and
executive director of The Monarch Center
for Family Healing, founded in 1996. For
the past 19 years, he has worked as a therapist, residential director, unit supervisor, and
childcare counselor at various treatment
and detention centers throughout Colorado.
p. 79
Cida Vieira, born at the heart of the
dance circles of Brazil, has choreographed
and performed in the U.S., South America,
and Europe, with dance groups and artists
including Xuxa, Ray Charles, Daniela
Mercury, and Airto. Currently, Cida is on
the Movement Program staff at Esalen.
p. 21
Claudia Villela, born in Rio de Janeiro,
is an award-winning singer, composer, percussionist, and teacher. Arriving in the U.S.
in 1984, she worked with artists such as
Michael Brecker, Toots Thielemans, Airto
Moreira, and Bela Fleck. Claudia has
released 4 CDs of her own compositions.
p. 40
Barry Vissell is a psychiatrist who, with
his wife Joyce, has been conducting workshops worldwide on relationship, parenting,
and growth. He and Joyce coauthored The
Shared Heart, Models of Love, Risk to
be Healed, The Heart’s Wisdom, and
Meant to Be, and raised three children.
p. 37
Joyce Vissell is a nurse/psychotherapist
who, with her husband Barry, founded the
Shared Heart Foundation (www.sharedheart.org) dedicated to bringing consciousness to all relationships. Together they write
a syndicated column for 35 periodicals
worldwide. p. 37
W
Steve Waldrip has been involved with
end-of-life care for the past 17 years and has
been a hospice chaplain for 12 of those. He is
currently chaplain with Hospice of the
Central Coast, Monterey, Calif. He is an
ordained minister in the Ridhwan
Foundation. p. 49
Robert Walter, Joseph Campbell’s edi-
tor for a decade, is president of the Joseph
Campbell Foundation and a poet/playwright with several decades of experience as
group leader, teacher, publisher, and theatrical producer/director/designer. p. 41, 42, 43
Ellen Watson has studied, practiced,
and taught somatic arts and meditation at
Esalen since 1984. Falling in love with
Rumi’s teachings, she developed an ecstatic
dance practice, “Dancing with Rumi.” Ellen
travels extensively, offering this work worldwide (see www.movingventures.org).
p. 13, 68
Judyth O. Weaver has trained with
Eva Reich, William Emerson, has completed Ray Castellino’s Prenatal and Birth
Therapy training, and is certified to lead
Castellino Process Workshops. Cofounder of
Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, she
teaches internationally. p. 39
Kimberly Weichel, a social pioneer
and educator specializing in global communications, conflict resolution, and crosscultural work, has directed projects in South
Africa, Europe, the former Soviet Union,
and the U.S. Kim is cofounder of the
Institute for PeaceBuilding. See
www.kimweichel.org. p. 20
Brian Weller, cofounder of Willits
Economic Localization, is a British native
who has served as an organizational consultant for such major corporations as British
Petroleum. He has more than 30 years’
experience as a facilitator and workshop
leader in corporate and governmental
sectors. p. 67
Jennifer Welwood has been a spiritual practitioner since 1970, and a psychotherapist since 1988. She has been leading
groups, retreats, and seminars that integrate
deep psychological and spiritual work for 18
years. p. 21
Hank Wesselman is an anthropologist
who conducts research in Ethiopia and
teaches in two colleges in Northern
California. He is the author of The
Spiritwalker Trilogy; The Journey to
the Sacred Garden; and (with Jill
Kuykendall) Spirit Medicine. p. 44, 73
Jamie Wheal has devoted his career to
empowering learners of all ages. A scholar
and outdoorsman, he writes and lectures on
transformative experiential education, is
trained in wilderness medicine, surf rescue,
and ski patrol, and has led students to
23,000’ on the Tibetan North face of Everest.
p. 74
Nicholas Wilton’s paintings have
graced best-selling book covers, children’s
books, editorial and corporate print media,
in addition to gallery exhibitions and private collections. Developer of the Artplane
Workshop, he has taught in such places as
Esalen, Tokyo, and Sundance, Utah. p. 59
Anna Wise is an internationally recog-
nized authority on EEG and consciousness.
She is the author of The HighPerformance Mind: Mastering
Brainwaves for Insight, Healing, and
Creativity and Awakening the Mind: A
Guide to Mastering the Power of Your
Brainwaves. p. 20, 54
Adam Wolpert is a painter, teacher,
and art program director at the Occidental
Arts and Ecology Center (www.oaec.org)
in west Sonoma County. He has offered
workshops and exhibited extensively
throughout California. His work can be
viewed at www.adamwolpert.com. p. 66
Birgit Wolz, a movie lover and psychotherapist in Oakland, wrote the popular
book E-Motion Picture Magic, professional articles, and continuing education online
courses. Her commitment to growth and
transformation directed her to various spiritual traditions. Her website: www.cinematherapy.com. p. 29
Z
Dave Zaboski has been teaching cre-
ativity for 15 years. As a fine artist, entrepreneur, and former Disney animator, he has
shown his work internationally and contributed his talents to modern classics such
as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and
Lion King. See his work at www.davezaboski.com. p. 49
Lauren Zander is founder of the
HandelGroup, a corporate consulting and
private coaching company. She coaches executives at BASF, bp, Sony-BMG, and The
New York Times and has been quoted in
Forbes, Inc, Women’s Day, and Marie
Claire. She is also a visiting scholar at MIT.
p. 66
Dana Zed has been making glass sculp-
ture for over 20 years. She has exhibited in
museums and galleries throughout the U.S.
and is currently working on a public commission for the city of San Francisco, creating a permanent colored-glass installation
for the Portola Branch Public Library. p. 41
Nina Zolotow is the coauthor (with
Rodney Yee) of Yoga: The Poetry of the
Body and Moving Toward Balance. A
graduate of the Yoga Room Advanced
Studies Program, she specializes in teaching
yoga for emotional well-being and home
practice. p. 18
Mark Whitwell has enjoyed a lifelong
relationship with the teachings of
Krishnamacharya through his students
T.K.V. Desikachar and Srivatsa
Ramaswami. He travels the world teaching
Yoga and is the author of Yoga of Heart:
The Healing Power of Intimate
Connection. p. 72
93
Q
reservation information
Making Contact with Us
General information on Esalen workshops,
massages, Personal Retreats, FAQs, and
other information is available via our website, by e-mail, or by phone. Phone messages for guests can be left through the
general information voicemail.
Website: http://www.esalen.org
Reservations can now be made on-line.
E-mail: info@esalen.org
General Information: 831-667-3000
Mailing address: Esalen Institute,
55000 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920
Workshop Reservation Fax: 831-667-2724
Workshop Registration & Reservations:
Preregistration for workshops is required
prior to arrival. The most effective way to
register is on-line. You may also mail or fax
your reservation, making sure to include a
completed reservation form (available on
page 96).
Phone Reservations: 831-667-3005
Our phone lines can be busy at peak times.
For those who have previously taken a
workshop at Esalen, reservation information can be left on our Express
Reservations voicemail.
Express Workshop Reservations:
831-667-3000 ext 7321
Phone Reservation Hours (Esalen can be
extremely difficult to reach by phone. The
most opportune hours to call are after 2 PM .
Web registration is also available at
www.esalen.org.):
Monday–Thursday: 9 am to 7 pm
Friday–Sunday:
9 am to 5 pm
Other Reservations (besides workshops):
Preregistration is also necessary for
Personal Retreats, massage, and transportation. Reservations for these can be made
through the general information voicemail: 831-667-3000.
Messages: 831-667-3000 ext 7402
Fees and Accommodations
All workshop fees include:
• Workshop tuition
• Food: Esalen serves a wide variety of food.
Whenever meat is served, a vegetarian and a
vegan option are available. Much of Esalen’s
produce is organically grown on our farm
and picked fresh just hours before mealtime.
• Lodging: Friday and Saturday night
accommodations for weekend workshops;
Sunday through Thursday night
accommodations for 5-day workshops;
Sunday through Saturday night
accommodations for 7-day workshops
94
• 24-hour use of hot mineral-spring bath
facilities, the Arts Center (except when a
workshop is scheduled), meditation Round
House, and the entire Esalen grounds
• Participation in movement classes
scheduled during time on property
• One-year subscription to the Esalen Catalog
Accommodations at Esalen are almost always
shared. Couples will be housed privately.
A variety of accommodation options is possible
with workshop registration. Since some of these
fill more quickly than others, it is advisable to
sign up as early as possible. Please indicate your
second choice for accommodations and workshop in case your initial choice is unavailable.
We cannot guarantee specific room requests.
Point Houses: Esalen’s Mid-Point House and
North-Point House are available as upgraded
accommodation alternatives. Nestled behind
the Esalen Garden at the cliff edge, the Point
Houses are self-contained suites with a furnished living room, full kitchen, and redwood
deck overlooking the Pacific. They can house
up to 2 adults and 2 children. The Point Houses
are available for workshops or Personal
Retreat at $500 per day (in addition to Off-site
Accommodation fees for workshops only).
Reduced Rate Options
Various rate reduction options are available.
Please request the discount at the time of
registration.
Scholarship: Esalen is able to provide some
scholarship assistance to workshop participants in exchange for a work commitment
(housekeeping/kitchen). Scholarship is limited to one scholarship per person, per year, to
allow as many guests as possible to benefit.
Approved scholarship recipients will receive
their work schedules upon arrival at Esalen.
Weekend: $50, 4 hrs 5–7 days: $100, 8 hrs
Prepayment: A $10 per workshop discount
is available if payment in full is received at the
time of reservation. Prepayment also allows
for express check-in upon arrival. This discount does not apply to scholarship recipients, sleeping bag or off-site accommodations,
or the Ongoing Residence Program.
Senior Citizen Discount: A discount is available for workshops only to guests over 65
years of age. Please note, this discount is
available for workshops only.
Discounts: Weekend: $25; 5 days or longer: $50
Standard Accommodations: This is shared
Workshop Deposit
housing, two or three persons per room. In
some cases, bathrooms are shared.
In order to reserve a space in any workshop, we
require full payment of the following deposits:
Weekend: $150
12-14 day: $400
5-7 day: $300
More than 14 days: $600
Deposits paid by credit card will automatically have the workshop balance drawn from
your credit card five days before arrival.
Deposits are payable in U.S. currency only;
overseas residents must pay by checks drawn
on U.S. banks or credit cards and are nonrefundable.
Friends Rate
Regular Rate
Weekend
5-Day
7-Day
$605
$655
$1070
$1120
$1665
$1715
Bunk Bed Accommodations: This is shared
housing, four or more persons per room.
Friends Rate
Regular Rate
Weekend
5-Day
7-Day
$465
$515
$805
$855
$1260
$1310
Sleeping Bag Accommodations: Esalen
meeting rooms are sometimes used as shared
sleeping bag space. Storage space outside the
meeting rooms is available for those using
sleeping bag space when the rooms are being
used for meetings (9 am–11 pm).
Friends Rate
Regular Rate
Weekend
5-Day
7-Day
$320
$370
$535
$585
$845
$895
Off-site Accommodations: If you are attend-
ing a workshop, and staying off property, the
following rates apply:
Friends Rate
Regular Rate
Weekend
5-Day
7-Day
$320
$370
$535
$585
$845
$895
Single housing sometimes is available on a
limited basis for an additional $100 per day.
Workshop Cancellation Policy: Workshop
cancellations must be made by phone with
one of our reservations staff. If you cancel or
change any part of your reservation at least
5 full days before the start of the workshop(s),
your nonrefundable deposit, less a $50-perworkshop processing fee, will be transferred
to a credit account in your name to be used
within 12 months and the balance returned
to you.
If you cancel with less than 5 days’ notice, the
entire deposit will be forfeited. If the entire
fee was paid in advance, Esalen will retain the
deposit and return the balance to you. Donations
to the Friends of Esalen are nonrefundable.
Ongoing Residence Program
Offered beginning mid-September and ending mid-June, the Ongoing Residence
Program is designed for those who would like
an intensive workshop program over a long
term. A Residence Program stay is 26 days
(four “weeks” and three weekends).
Participants may select any of the five-day
workshops offered during their stay, with
weekends open to enjoy a Personal Retreat.
Occasionally workshops are cancelled, so
second choices are advised.
The specially discounted cost is $4750 per 26-day
period for standard accommodations and $3960
for bunk-bed rooms. No other discounts apply.
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.
Personal Retreat Fees
Personal Retreats are available on a limited
basis (to honor our commitment as a workshop facility, Esalen does not offer Personal
Retreats more than one week in advance). A
Personal Retreat at Esalen offers an opportunity for individual education and personal
growth. Resources available to Personal
Retreatants are drawn from movement, yoga,
somatics, dance, and improv classes, as well
as Art Barn facilities, meditation center,
contemplative baths, and community presentations. To book a Personal Retreat you must
be a current Friend of Esalen by making a taxdeductible donation of $50 or more. Additional
benefits of becoming a Friend are listed
on page 3.
Rates (including meals) are per person, per day:
Fri/Sat
Sun-Thurs
Standard
Accommodations
(2-3 persons per room)
$180
$150
Bunk Bed (4 or more
persons per room)
$110
$105
Personal Retreat Cancellation Policy:
Personal Retreat cancellations must be made
by phone with one of our reservations staff.
If you cancel or change any part of your reservation, you will be charged a $50 processing
fee, per reservation.
Massage
Many Esalen guests choose to enhance their
experience by receiving a luxurious Esalen
Massage or other bodywork during their stay,
usually provided at our new baths. In addi-
tion, other types of sessions may also be available to outside guests. Reservations must be
made and paid for in advance by credit card
through our reservation line: 831-667-3005.
Public Bathing in the Hot Springs
In addition to round-the-clock availability for
Esalen guests, the hot springs are open to the
general public, by reservation only, between
1 am and 3 am, for a cost of $20 per person,
payable by credit card only upon reservation.
Reservations can be made at 831-667-3047.
Transportation to Esalen
Ridesharing: We encourage ridesharing to
reduce the number of cars on the road and at
Esalen. See the reservation form for ridesharing options.
Van Service: A van service is available
between Monterey Airport/Monterey Transit
Plaza and Esalen on Fridays and Sundays. The
incoming service departs Monterey Airport at
approximately 4 pm, and arrives at Monterey
Transit Plaza approximately 4:20 pm. Return
service departs Esalen at approximately 5:30
pm. The drive is approximately 1 1/4 hours to
Monterey Airport, so please plan plane flights
accordingly. Van service reservations must be
made with Esalen at least 24 hours prior to
arrival. The $60 one-way fee (subject to
change) is payable to Esalen upon arrival.
Gazebo School Reservations
Reservations for Gazebo School 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: $400; 3rd: $350
Schedules
Check-in/Check-out: Guests are welcome to
arrive at Esalen any time after 2 pm; rooms
become available after 4 pm. Check-out time
is 12 noon on departure day.
Workshops: Workshop schedules normally
begin on 8:30 pm on the first evening and end
at 11:30 am on the final day.
For Your Information
Esalen is located approximately 45 miles from
“civilization.” This isolation and tranquility can
deepen your experience at Esalen yet for many
guests it can be a significant change in environment. We have minimal electronic communications available: there are some terminals
available for internet connection, though
speed is slow and availability limited. There is
no cell phone service at Esalen.
Health Services: Esalen has no medical services or pharmacy on site. If you will require
medical attention or supplies during your
stay, please come prepared to administer to
your own needs.
Money: Esalen is able to accept cash, checks,
and credit cards. Please bring sufficient funds
for incidentals as Esalen does not have an
ATM, nor are we able to cash checks.
Smoking: Esalen is a non-smoking community.
Smoking is not permitted in any accommodations, meeting rooms, or other indoor spaces.
Snoring: All of our accommodations are
shared. You or your roommate may snore.
Please come prepared (nose guards, ear plugs,
etc.) for this possibility.
Illegal Drugs: In accordance with state and
federal laws, the possession or use of illegal
drugs on Esalen grounds is strictly prohibited.
Camping: To limit the impact on our land,
camping is not available at Esalen. A variety of
campgrounds is available in the Big Sur area.
Pets: Other than registered animals in service,
pets are not allowed on the property.
Guests as Volunteers: Esalen is a learning
community/organization made up of guests,
students, staff, and volunteers. A variety of
contributions goes toward enhancing this
community. Guests contribute to this in
many ways, including making their beds and
bussing their dishes. Guests are also welcome
to contribute a couple of hours to work with
the Esalen 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.
Recommended Reading and Mail Order
Merchandise: All recommended reading
is available online through our website
www.esalen.org. All other bookstore merchandise is available via mail order. For ordering
information, please see www.esalen.org/
bookstore.
95
S
esalen institute reservation form
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
phone number. A nonrefundable deposit for each person registering
and each workshop applied for must accompany this form. (Please see
Reservation Information, page 94, under Fees and Accommodations,
Making Contact with Us, and Cancellation Policy.) Reservations can
now be made on-line at www.esalen.org.
Name of Registrant___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE PRINT
Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sex: M ❏ F ❏ Couple ❏
E-mail _____________________________________________________
City ______________________________________________________________________________________
State __________________________________________________
Home Phone ( __________ ) ____________________________________________________________
Work Phone ( __________ )___________________________________________________________________
❏ Check if you have previously been to Esalen and this is a new address.
Passenger Van Service:
I want transportation from (check one):
❏ Monterey Airport at approximately 4:00 pm on
Ridesharing: We support ridesharing and hope you will too. If you are driving to
Esalen and willing to give a ride to someone from your area, check here ❏
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?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please mark your first and second choices for housing after referring to page 94 for accommodation descriptions and rates. Total cost includes workshop fees, lodging, and meals.
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
Check for standard accommodations, if available.
Check for bunk bed room, if available.
Check for sleeping bag space, if available.
Check for off-site accommodations.
Check if you wish to room as a couple.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Other Notes:
All of our rooms are non-smoking. If you smoke, please plan to
do so outside.
automatically drawn from your credit card five days before your arrival.
Your signature below authorizes Esalen to charge your credit card for the balance.
Leader’s Name
No pets allowed, except registered animals in service.
Fee
Snoring: All of our accommodations are shared. Please come prepared for the possibility of rooming with a snorer.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop Deposits Enclosed __________________________
Tax-deductible contribution to Friends of Esalen (Optional, see page 4) __________________________
$5 Catalog Contribution (Optional) __________________________
Subtotal __________________________
Total Amount Enclosed __________________________
Check here for $10 prepay discount (see page 94).
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.
❏ Check here if you do not want your phone number given out
for ridesharing.
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:
❏ MasterCard
❏ Visa
❏ American Express
Name on Card ____________________________________________________________________
Card No. ____________________________________________________________________________
Expiration Date __________________________________________________________________
Authorizing Signature _________________________________________________________
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
DATE REC.
RES INITIALS
CIRCLE DEPOSIT
DEPOSIT AMT.
RES. BK
CC AUTH. #
DATE TYPED
TYPED INITIALS
96
The $60-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
service from Esalen is on Fridays and Sundays at approximately
5:30 pm. If you plan on taking this van please make sure that your
plane reservations are after 8:00 pm. Passenger van service is not
available at any other time.
All workshop reservations require a nonrefundable deposit. The balance will be
❏
❏
❏
❏
___________________________________________________________________________________
(date of arrival, Fridays and Sundays only).
❏ Monterey Transit Plaza at approximately 4:20 pm
(corner of Pearl and Alvarado, next to Ordway Drug)
of the passenger van service change after you have made
your reservation, please notify us. The only departing van
Write here the name(s) of any person(s) with whom you wish to room.
Workshop Date
Zip _______________________________
PP
SCHOL
CC
CK
LIMO
CA
SUS
SENIOR
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.
If you move, please let us know your new
address. It helps us save trees and money.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, California 93920-9546
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PA I D
Permit No. 2543
Las Vegas, NV