Voices of Esalen

Jazsalyn is the creative and curatorial Director of black beyond, a radical space for artists and activists to define alternate realities for Blackness. As an anti-disciplinary artist, she combines new media and community organizing practices to reimagine Black futures and to decolonize and re-indigenize social and creative practice. Her work has been featured in CULTURED Magazine, Vogue, The New Yorker, and Huffington Post. Jazsalyn was interviewed for today’s episode by Michelle McCrary. Michelle is a daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, mother, wife, and friend who lives on occupied Duwamish land in the Pacific Northwest.  She has roots in Coastal Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.  When she's not leading the Communications team at Esalen, she's training to become a facilitator with the Healing and Reconciliation Institute, tending to her winter garden, reading her way through a massive pile of books on her nightstand, and working on the screenplay for her horror anthology.  some links from this great conversation: SUPPORT black beyond at https://www.nyfa.org/ EXPLORE https://newart.city/show/blackbeyond XR on New Art City SHOP black beyond https://blackbeyond.myshopify.com/ FOLLOW https://www.blackbeyond.xyz/ Instagram @blackbeyond_ Twitter @blackbeyond_ #blackbeyond And here’s a dublab mix from black beyond — alternate realities Featured artist KESSWA reps Detroit and explores afro surrealist soundscapes across genres on this continuum of alternate realities. https://www.dublab.com/archive/black-beyond-alternate-realities-w-kesswa-07-28-21 And in Esalen news: Last year, Friends of Esalen helped us to survive closures due to the pandemic, fires and mudslides.  We're here today because of you. When you become a Friend of Esalen with a donation, your contribution helps us finance our day to day operations in Big Sur-from staff to infrastructure. This year, our goal is to raise 450K and make 300 new friends so that we can continue to keep our doors open for generations to come.   Become A Friend Now: https://www.esalen.org/give Give Yourself the Gift of More Time Are you ready to gift yourself more time at Esalen this winter season? With the weeklong Self-Guided Exploration program, you’ll have more time to learn, connect, and reflect. Spend five days and four nights in Big Sur and soak in the baths, experience Esalen massage, and explore our menu of open classes.  As an added bonus, when you reserve premium plus, point house, and point house plus accomodations for a weeklong Self-Guided Exploration program, an Esalen Massage will be included with your stay. You’ll receive the promo code for your complimentary massage in your confirmation email after booking your stay. Dates from November to December are still available, but going fast.   Book now  https://www.esalen.org/learn/self-guided-explorations A New Way To Experience Esalen If you can’t come to Big Sur, our Digital Extended Education Program (DEEP) offers an online Esalen workshop you can experience from the comfort of your home. The first six-week workshop, We’re All Gonna Die, led by Reverend Bodhi Be, kicks off on January 10, 2022. Bodhi will lead students through an exploration of how a healthy life includes a healthy relationship to death, how that awareness can help shape who we are as a community, and how we care for each other now and when we are dying.   The second online course, Moon Lodge, begins January 17, 2022. Moon Lodge is a six-week online workshop focused on celebrating the body of Woman+ and the sacred feminine within. Through ritual practices, instructors Lucia Horan and Dr. Julia Von will share in the sisterhood of humanity and all that it encompasses.  Register Now for We’re All Gonna Die https://www.esalen.org/online/were-all-gonna-die Register Now for Moon Lodge https://www.esalen.org/online/moon-lodge-2022

Sandor Katz has taught hundreds of workshops demystifying fermentation and empowering people to reclaim this transformational process. His book, "The Art of Fermentation" received a James Beard award and was a finalist at the International Association of Culinary Professionals. in 2009, he was named one of Chow magazine’s top “provacateurs, trendsetters, and rabble-rousers.” This self-described "fermentation fetishist" treats us to a discussion of his new book, Fermentation Journeys. We talk about food writing and favorite food writers, the benefits of fermentation, being an adventurer in the kitchen, and what's fermenting in his refrigerator. Coming soon at Esalen: Gratitude Healing Wisdom for Modern Times Join wisdom keeper Erika Gagnon November 8–12 for Healing Wisdom For Modern Times: You are Your Greatest Healer, a sacred journey to explore the healing wisdom of the “Americas.” Students will learn about the importance of ancestral lineage, rites of passage, ceremonies and rituals, sacred altars, medicinal plants, and the origins of dis-ease in our physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual bodies. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a water prayer blessing, a sound healing journey, and a traditional South American healing ceremony. Book your spot now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/healing-wisdom-for-modern-times-you-are-your-greatest-healer-110821 Esalen End of Year Campaign: Help Us Make 300 New Friends Last year, Friends of Esalen helped us to survive closures due to the pandemic, fires and mudslides. We're here today because of our friends. When you become a Friend of Esalen with a donation, your contribution helps us finance our day to day operations in Big Sur-from staff to infrastructure. This year, our goal is to raise 450K and make 300 new friends so that we can continue to keep our doors open for generations to come. Become A Friend Now: https://www.esalen.org/give Becoming Of The Land: Right Relationship Without Dominance - Understanding The Terrains We Inhabit In this workshop which runs from December 17-20 Vivien Sansour will guide students to humble themselves so they can become one with the ground under their feet, and listen to the world around them. Through a series of exercises that involve contemplation, walking meditation, and explorations of plants, writing, and storytelling, students will unlock the sacred trilogy of bird, soil, and plant in order to develop a deeper understanding of the terrain. Sign Up Today https://www.esalen.org/workshops/becoming-of-the-land-right-relationship-without-dominance-understanding-the-terrains-we-inhabit

Vivien Sansour is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. Trained in the field of Anthropology, Vivien has worked with farmers worldwide on issues relating to agriculture and independence. She is a 2020-2021 Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative Fellow at Harvard University where she is working on an autobiographical book documenting her work saving seeds in Palestine and around the world. Together we discussed how food sovereignty aligns with the struggle of Palestinian resistance , how biodiversity reflects and intersects with cultural diversity, how the military occupation of Palestine affects the farming practices that go on there, and how love is the greatest form of resistance to colonial oppression. She's brilliant. Coming up at Esalen: Esalen Hosts Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Virtual Book Tour with Susanna Barkataki October 21 at 5:00 PST, Esalen is honored to host a virtual book tour with Susanna Barkataki, author of Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice.  An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence.  Join Susanna for a conversation with Danny Fluker Jr., queer Atlanta native and the creator and executive director of Black Boys OM. Danny is a Esalen Teacher in Residence alum and a yoga/meditation teacher, writer, and activist whose vision is to uplift the Black community, Black boys in particular, with programs centering on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.    Tickets to the event are $35, but as part of our End of Year Campaign, Esalen is offering free tickets to the first 50 people who sign up to become a Friend of Esalen between October 1-October 21.   You’ll receive the comp code when and the RSVP link to the event when you become a friend..  Become a friend today: https://www.esalen.org/give/friends-of-esalen Grief Into Beauty: Creating Nature Altars to Transform and Heal from This Year October 29-31, internationally renowned author and artist Day Schildkret of Morning Altars will teach students how to use nature, art, and ritual to transform, heal, and make meaning from this chaotic time.  Book your Spot https://www.esalen.org/post/whats-happening-at-esalen-nature-altars-to-heal-grief-spirit-dive-and-a-gratitude-retreat Embodying Grace in times of Change: Rising into Spiritual Maturity   Join Miranda Macpherson October 25–29, in a course that shares a holistic and feminine approach to surrender and nondual realization based on a practice she calls Ego Relaxation — embracing the totality of our experience as a gateway into our deepest nature.

Ayana Young is a protector of wild nature and host of the podcast For the Wild - an interview-based show that examines and champions intersectional environmental and social justice, deep ecology, and land-based restoration. Topics include the Future History of Water, Queering Permaculture, Unruly Beauty, the Divine Time of Fungal Evolution, the Violence of Globalization, and much more. Together we talked about capitalisim, her involvement with the early stages of Occupy Wall Street, why she lives off the grid and how exactly that works with being an activist and media producer, the manner in which she curates her guests and creates episodic structure, and her thoughts on the future of humanity. Visit her work at https://forthewild.world/podcast And upcoming at Esalen: Move like the ocean. Sit like a mountain. What would it feel like to integrate that into your life? Take the first step on a leading-edge path to transform your body, heart, and spirit. Zuza and Scott Engler guide conscious movement, body-based inquiries of the Gestalt Practice, and stillness within nature to bring you to your authentic, luminescent, and radically alive version of you. It’s happening at Esalen August 27th to 29th. Sign up for the workshop now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/the-luminescent-body-moving-like-the-ocean-sitting-like-a-mountain Money should never be a barrier to transformation. Did you know Esalen has a scholarship program that can cover up to 90% of workshop tuition, accommodations, and travel expenses? Combined with our mission to increase diversity, apply to explore your own potential or give, to support the journey of another human. https://www.esalen.org/visit/scholarships What does it mean to be happy? Do you know your take on the meaning of life? A workshop exploring the practical aspects of R.D. Laing - at one time the most widely-read psychiatrist in the world - is happening at Esalen August 30th through September 3rd. Best suited for those familiar with Laing and his take on altered states, the nature of love, authenticity, and spirituality…. You’ll explore fundamental theories and experiential exercises for modern life with leaders Michael Guy Thompson, Nita Gage, and Fritjof Capra. Register now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/r-d-laing-in-the-21st-century-what-is-happiness

Richie Reseda and Indigo Mateo are the co-owners and founders of Question Culture, an activist-artistic art label whose projects support grassroots organizing. Richie Reseda is an abolistionist-feminist, formerly incarcerated in the state of California and the subject of the CNN documentary" Feminist in Cell Block Y," a film that chronicles his journey educating and combatting toxic masculinity within the walls of the prison system. Indigo Mateo is a singer, healer, abolitionist, survivor, and artist. She’s releasing her sophomore album on the label this summer. Indigo met Richie while visiting him in prison; her partner, 88, also an artist on the Question Culture label, is currently incarcerated. Together we discussed how patriarchy functions in culture and in jail, what the school to prison pipeline is, and why it exists, how economies sprout up around the prison system and in neighboring towns, how meritocracy has led to a culture of vengeance, and why“the prison system is,” in Richie Reseda's words, “the deadbeat boyfriend of America.” Coming soon at Esalen: Join authors Camille Maurine and Lorin Roche August 16–20 for WILD SERENITY: At Play with the Radiance Sutras. Camille and Lorin will lead an immersion in deep relaxation and refreshment to help you fall in love with meditation. They’ll customize the practice so it flows in harmony with your inner nature. Space is limited, book now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/wild-serenity-at-play-with-the-radiance-sutras Relational Mindfulness, Power, and the Deep Feminine: An Experiential and Restorative Retreat for Women, August 30th to September 3rd with Deborah Eden Tull. You’ll explore how meditation, relational mindfulness, and other rituals can yield more compassionate, wise, and embodied practitioners. Register now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/relational-mindfulness-power-and-the-deep-feminine-an-experiential-and-restorative-retreat-for-women Discover your electric body, get in tune with the power of your voice, and liberate your human instrument with Electric Health/Sound Therapy pioneer Eileen Day McKusick and musical facilitators The Brothers Koren in their workshop Sing the Body Electric, September 17–19 in Big Sur.  sign up at https://www.esalen.org/workshops/sing-the-body-electric

Reverend Bodhi Be is the Executive Director of "Doorway into Light," a non-profit that seeks to re-invent and revolutionize the funeral home and the funeral industry, transforming the “business of dying” and returning it to “sacred service." Bodhi is an ordained minister in the universal Sufi lineage, an independent funeral director, hospice volunteer, end-of-life bereavement counselor, as well as a grandparent, coffin maker, death doula, educator, artist, and entrepreneur. He lives on Maui, where he is also the founder and president of the Death Store, Hawaii's only community educational resource center and store for those who are living with a life-threatening illness, those grieving the death of a loved one, and those wishing to explore their own approaching death. Here are a few upcoming workshops to check out: - Join us in Big Sur July 23rd to 25th for “Reclaiming Your Authentic Power,” a workshop led  by the award-winning instructor Justin Michael Williams, author of "Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us." In this dynamic three-day course, you’ll learn how to build habits that help you uncover hidden fears, break toxic habits, and make practical changes to help you overcome personal patterns standing in the way of your goals.  Find out more or enroll now at https://www.esalen.org/workshops/reclaiming-your-authentic-power - Are you a transgender, non-binary, gender-fluid or gender-exploring individual interested in delving more deeply into your gender journey, sharing your experiences, and building community connections? Join Ben Geilhufe and Dr. Jen Hastings in Big Sur July 9th through July 11th for “Gender Journeys: Exploring Identity in Community.”  Geilhufe and Dr. Hastings will create a safe space for participants to explore how gender impacts, influences and informs their  day-to-day experiences with a range of lecture-based sessions and personal explorations including art, movement, and journaling. Find out more or enroll now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/gender-journeys-exploring-identity-in-community - Discover new ways to harness your intuition and uncover profound insights about yourself with author Bill Donius. His upcoming workshop “Meet Your Better Half: Unlock Your Right Brain,” is based on his best-selling book Thought Revolution. This workshop will teach you how to activate the right side of your brain to unlock the insights necessary to break through self-limiting patterns. You’ll develop practical tools you can apply each time you face an important decision in life, and go home with new ways to unlock your own inner genius to  create your best life. The workshop takes place August 11th to 13th in Big Sur. Find out more or enroll now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/meet-your-better-half-unlock-your-right-brain Thanks and we'll see you in Big Sur!

Lauren Taus is a licensed clinical therapist with a specialty in addiction and trauma treatment. She utilizes ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in her clinical work, where she’s had success treating a number of challenging conditions, including depression, anxiety, suicidality, eating disorders, OCD, and more. Lauren trained at The Trauma Institute in Boston in Trauma-sensitive yoga, and with the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for complex PTSD. She's an experienced clinician whose work is firmly rooted in creating a safe and loving connection between herself and her clients. She's also the host of a podcast about Psychedelics and Psychedelic Psychotherapy: INBodied Life. To check out her show and her practice, visit her online at https://www.inbodiedlife.com/. Also ... The past year saw a tremendous loss of life, grief, chaos and pain.  The need to find space to process and transform this grief collectively is more important than ever. Esalen’s upcoming workshop Grief Dancer speaks directly to this need for a collective practice of releasing grief. The Grief Dancer workshop will take place May 14th to 16th, 2021, facilitated by physician and author Peter Selwyn and Lucia Horan, who was trained by Gabrielle Roth, creator of the visionary 5Rhythms method. Using the tools of the 5Rhythms movement practice combined with a process of grief work grounded in emotional presence, non-judgment, and supportive witnessing, participants will come together in a safe space to help heal mind, body, and spirit.  Secure your place for the workshop now at https://www.esalen.org/workshops/grief-dancer.

Sara Gael is the Harm Reduction Officer at the MAPS-sponsored Zendo project. Sara received her master's degree in transpersonal counseling psychology at Naropa University. She started working with MAPS in 2012, coordinating psychedelic harm reduction services at festivals and events worldwide with the Zendo project. Sara served as Director of Harm Reduction at MAPS from 2017 to 2020, and she continues to train individuals and organizations in principles of psychedelic peer support. Sara is a therapist for MAPS clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in Boulder. She also maintains a private practice as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma, integration, Non-ordinary States of consciousness, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. She's presented at conferences, universities, and events around the world, serves on the board of directors at DanceSafe, and as the harm reduction advocate on the city of Denver psilocybin policy review panel. Sara believes that developing a comprehensive understanding of psychedelic medicines through research and education is essential for the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities, and the planet. and . . . Do you want to know more about sacred plant medicine and psilocybin? If you’re interested in sacred plant medicine, we encourage you to register for Esalen’s upcoming series with Entheowheel. Learn everything you want to know as Esalen presents DNA Journeys’ Entheowheel: The Ceremony and Science of Psilocybin. This educational and experiential event will be live-streamed from Esalen from April 23 to April 26, 2021. The online odyssey will be guided by: Jyoti Ma, Xochitl Ashe, Paul Stamets & Pam Kryskow (live streaming from Canada), East Forest, Millana Snow, Justin Boretta, Allan Badiner, Dream Mullick, James Fadiman (live streaming from CA), Robin Carhart-Harris (live streaming from the UK), Grace Oh, Rhada Wapner and a digital transmission from Francoise Bourzat. Secure your place for this online experience now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/online-entheowheel-the-ceremony-and-science-of-psilocybin-an-educational-workshop-and-experiential-event Scholarships for BIPOC folks who want to attend are available - to apply, head to: forms.gle/4bxyUaucEGcZTaTe8

Terence Ching is a US-based Chinese Singaporean currently completing his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut. Terence has assumed a co-therapist role in a MAPS-sponsored trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, where he infused the research process with culturally-informed recruitment and assessment procedures. Terence is working on his doctoral dissertation with an emphasis on examining possible differences in efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD between white participants and participants of color across MAPS-sponsored study sites. We spoke about intersectionality, diversity with regards to identity, and how psychedelics can change conditions previously thought of as intractable, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. and . . . Do you want to know more about sacred plant medicine and psilocybin? If you’re interested in sacred plant medicine, we encourage you to register for Esalen’s upcoming series with Entheowheel. Learn everything you want to know as Esalen presents DNA Journeys’ Entheowheel: The Ceremony and Science of Psilocybin. This educational and experiential event will be live-streamed from Esalen from April 23 to April 26, 2021.  The online odyssey will be guided by: Jyoti Ma, Xochitl Ashe, Paul Stamets & Pam Kryskow (live streaming from Canada), East Forest, Millana Snow, Justin Boretta, Allan Badiner, Dream Mullick, James Fadiman (live streaming from CA), Robin Carhart-Harris (live streaming from the UK), Grace Oh, Rhada Wapner and a digital transmission from Francoise Bourzat. Secure your place for this online experience now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/entheowheel-the-ceremony-and-science-of-psilocybin-live-stream-experiential-event Scholarships for BIPOC folks who want to attend are available - to apply, head to: https://forms.gle/4bxyUaucEGcZTaTe8

Laura Dev is a Postdoctoral scholar in public political ecology at UC Merced whose work investigates the relations and practices surrounding ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant mixture, focusing on the pathways by which plants, rituals, and knowledge associated with the use of ayahuasca travel between Shipibo communities in the rural Peruvian Amazon and the Global North. Together we chatted about global ayahuasca tourism, why ayahuasca became fashionable among middle-class and upper middle-class American searchers and seekers, the various specificities of the "Ayahuasca Economy," how spiritual use of plants can transform native landscapes, what socially responsible use may look like, how Laura asks for and receives wisdom from plants and sometimes helpful writing advice. To follow her work and stay updated on news about her book: lauradev.com For organizations in the Amazon to support - Laura recommends Alianza Arkana: www.alianzaarkana.org Laura is also working directly with Farmacia Viva Shipibo Sanken Yaka, a Shipibo-run organization that protects and preserves medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in their community: www.farmaciavivashipibo.org