Voices of Esalen

East Forest, multidisciplinary artist known for his immersive ambient music and interviews with Ram Dass, discusses the creative process, success, and the potential impact of AI on music. They also explore the power of the heart, their upcoming European tour, and the importance of creating space and actively listening for spiritual connection. They share insights into their creative rituals and discuss the challenges and excitement of being an artist.

Amber and Marcus Capone are founders of VETS solutions, a pioneering organization dedicated to supporting veterans struggling with the invisible wounds of war. Amber and Marcus's journey began with the often difficult reality of life after Marcus's retirement from the U.S. Navy SEALs, where Amber witnessed the devastating toll that Marcus's service had taken on him, as he battled depression, anger, addiction, and an array of mental health challenges. But when all hope seemed lost, a glimmer of possibility emerged—a potential solution that lay beyond the traditional bounds of medicine and therapy. In their quest for healing, Marcus's fellow Navy SEAL friend introduced them to Ibogaine, a psychedelic drug known for its ability to unlock deep-seated traumas and offer profound insights. While he was initially skeptical, Marcus embarked on this intense psychedelic experience, and what would become a life-altering journey, one where both Amber and Marcus would find a way forward, towards renewed clarity and purpose. Join us as Amber and Marcus share their courageous and deeply personal account of how psychedelic-assisted therapy changed their life, and paved a path to supporting veterans through their organization, VETS solutions. https://vetsolutions.org/

Stacia Butterfield is a somatic practitioner and a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator. Stacia's journey into Holotropic breath work started in 1999. Since then, she has been on a quest to explore the wisdom of the body and the intrinsic healing orientation of the psyche. She worked with Dr. Deborah Mash at Healing Visions, an early Ibogaine clinic in the British Virgin Islands and certified as a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator in 2005. She worked closely with Stanislav Grof for over 13 years. In this episode, we delve into Stacia's personal journey into this work, her experience with breathwork versus psychedelics, and the importance of set and setting in creating a safe and supportive environment for healing. We also discuss how she creates and uses an environment for integration after the breathwork sessions, and why Esalen, in particular, is such a significant place for integration.

Katy Bowman is a bestselling author and speaker who’s revolutionizing the way that we think about movement and our need for it in today’s modern culture. In this episode, we explore Katy's unique perspective on movement and discuss her upcoming book, "Rethink Your Position." We touch on topics such as "tech neck," junk-food movement, sedentary culture, furniture-free homes, minimalist footwear, the art of long distance walking, the benefits of hanging, dynamic workstations, your "sleep shapes" and how to change them, trampolines, jumping, creating movement-positive zones for children, and more. https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/ Katy's Podcast, "Move Your DNA" : https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/podcast/ Direct link to Rethink Your Position: https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/product/rethink-your-position-reshape-your-exercise-yoga-and-everyday-movement-one-part-at-a-time/ Check out Katy's website, her podcast, Move Your DNA, and her latest book My Perfect Movement Plan (July 2024). Photo by Mahina Hawley

Deborah Eden Tull is a spiritual activist, author, and sustainability educator who works to teach the integration of compassionate awareness into our everyday lives. For seven years, she trained as a Buddhist monk at a silent Zen monastery. She has been teaching engaged meditation for over 20 years. Her latest book, “Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown” was released in September of 2022. She currently resides in the mountains of western North Carolina, originally Cherokee land, with her husband, offering retreats, workshops, classes, and consultations nationally and internationally, integrating presence and partnership with nature. Eden’s teaching emphasizes the personal, interpersonal, transpersonal, societal, ecological, mystical, and global impacts of awareness practice. She has worked with a wide range of audiences, from dharma students and people wanting to cultivate more compassion in their lives, to concerned citizens and activists, parents, schools, inner city youth, non-profits and corporations, and people who are incarcerated. Her current focus is training and empowering leaders and facilitators in conscious response and regenerative leadership as we collectively navigate the climate crisis. In this episode, we explore her childhood and her journey as a Buddhist monk, then discuss her longstanding interest in shadow work, the path by which she helps individuals release limiting beliefs, and how she believes mindfulness and meditation can help up tap into our full potential. We'll also explore her work on post-patriarchal thought and practices, her insights on relational intelligence, and principally, we discuss the major themes of her book, Luminous Darkness, focusing on her approach of "Endarkenment," which seeks to challenge traditional dualistic understandings of light and dark in spiritual practice. Eden’s work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Tricycle, Yogi Times, Shambhala Times, The Shift Network, Best Self, and The Ecologist. You can visit her and check out her books, upcoming retreats and workshops and many of her podcast interviews at https://www.deborahedentull.com/ Deborah Eden Tull's upcoming workshops and retreats: https://www.deborahedentull.com/retreats

BJ Miller is a renowned palliative care physician, author, and speaker. Well known for his 2015 TED Talk ”What Really Matters at the End of Life,” which has been viewed over 10 million times, BJ is a thought leader in the field of conscious dying. When he was a sophomore at Princeton University, BJ experienced a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of three of his limbs. He followed a path in the medical field, and fell in love with palliative care while in residency. He has been helping patients and their families ever since. In this live conversation at the Esalen Institute, BJ shares his insights on the differences between palliative and hospice care, the emotional and spiritual needs of patients facing terminal diagnoses, and the role of spirituality in end-of-life treatment. BJ also talks about his experiences working with patients and their families, how to help people come to terms with their own impending death, and how to help them become unstuck from a negative narrative. One of the most fascinating topics discussed in this conversation is the role of psychedelics in end-of-life care. BJ shares his thoughts on the recent Johns Hopkins study concerning psilocybin mushrooms and end-of-life anxiety in cancer patients, where up to 80% of participants reported significant reductions in anxiety and improved quality of life As we wrap up the conversation, BJ shares his thoughts on how he sees palliative care evolving in the future, and what role he sees himself playing in that evolution. He also talks about how his online palliative care service, Mettle Health, will free him up to do palliative care the way he wants to do it.

Deborah Eden Tull is the founder of Mindful Living Revolution - a deeply experienced and respected dharma teacher, Tull is a spiritual activist, author, and sustainability educator. She has taught engaged meditation for over 20 years and trained for seven and a half years as a Buddhist monk at a silent Zen monastery. With a focus on post-patriarchal thought and practices, Eden integrates compassionate awareness into her offerings, bridging personal and collective awakening in an age of global change. In this podcast, we’ll be playing a talk that Eden gave to the Esalen community on January 18th, 2023. In it, she explores the concept of duality - feeling special versus not special, and explores the impact duality had on the quality of her life growing up. She describes how it was this feeling of duality that ultimately led her to a spiritual path. Deborah also explores the shared nature of cultural conditioning, her own experience of navigating chronic illness, and how she was able to let go of the myth of self-improvement in order to tap into her own true nature, presence and essence. https://www.deborahedentull.com/

Bill Donius is the author of the New York Times Bestselling book, Thought Revolution. In this book, Donius explains the science behind non-dominant handwriting and teaches how to incorporate this powerful technique into your personal life. Through the simple process of non-dominant hand writing, you can discover how to connect more fully with your subconscious right brain, unlocking hidden talents, reducing stress, and even healing from trauma. This episode is a bit different, in that we feature a process that Bill goes through with a Voices of Esalen listener, oncology nurse and meditation teacher Nicole Longbine. Bill is also a member of the Esalen Board of Trustees. He spent 30 years in corporate America in a number of industries, including health care, television production, and banking. He rose through the ranks to become chairman and CEO of Pulaski Bank in St Louis, growing it eight-fold to $1.4 billion in assets. He serves on a number of boards including the St. Louis Art Museum, Maryville University, and Venture Cafe, and served a two-year term on the U.S. Federal Reserve Board as a banker appointee.

Sam runs through his top 6 favorite things of 2022, including cloning his own voice, messing around with the bizarre world of ChatGPT, microdosing things other than psychedelics, intentionally being different in order to gain an outsize advantage, and being intentional and resourceful in finding new music to revitalize your soul and spirit.

Tim McKee is publisher at North Atlantic Books, an educational non-profit publishing house that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives; nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing; and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature. Tim is interviewed today by S. Rae Peoples, Associate Director of Diversity & Inclusion Education at Tufts University. She has over 25 years of experience serving in leadership roles that revolve around social justice in the arts, education, political, and nonprofit sectors. Her expertise lies in advising organizations on how best to create internal conditions that allow equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice to flourish. Her opinions and writings have been featured in The Washington Post, Oakland Post, BlogHer, and YFS Magazine. A native of California with a Midwest upbringing, S. Rae is currently rooted in motherhood, love, and community in Somerville, MA. To ground this interview, S. Rae People’s writes: “The conversation with Tim McKee, publisher for North Atlantic Books, is of unique importance particularly for white men who want to engage in the collective work toward racial justice. Both candid and coming from a seat of compassion, the conversation explores the distinct role and responsibilities white men have in moving the needle forward on racial justice – given their location within a racialized society where they are beneficiaries given the fact that they are both white and male." Photo credit of Tim McKee: Anna Blackshaw