Voices of Esalen

Steven Harper is a wilderness guide, author, artist, and longtime teacher at the Esalen Institute. He focuses on wild nature as a vehicle for awakening; his work is inspired by a deep connection to inner wild nature. Steven is a contributor to the emerging field of ecopsychology, and has written at length on the subject. He was also a longtime student and close friend of Esalen founder Dick Price, and in our conversation, Steven’s son Kai and I spoke to him about his history with Dick. We also touched upon Esalen in the 80’s, what it was like to raise a family in Big Sur, and how he continues to connect to wild spirit.

Dorothy Charles writes, "The practice of being present is simple and not easy. We call it a practice because that’s what it takes – returning to the moment whenever I notice that I’m not present." Dorothy is a long-time and beloved teacher and Gestalt Practitioner at Esalen since 1985, where she continues to lead workshops and training groups. Dorothy received her training at Esalen with Richard and Christine Price. She lives in Aptos, California, where she and Christine Price lead and curate Tribal Ground, an educational and congregational organization dedicated to Gestalt Awareness Practice, Relational Gestalt Practice, and recognizing the sacredness in both life and death. http://www.tribalground.com

Dr. Kristin Neff writes, "Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time, fail, or notice something you don’t like about yourself. Instead of just ignoring your pain with a “stiff upper lip” mentality, you stop to tell yourself “this is really difficult right now,” how can I comfort and care for myself in this moment?" In this conversation, Kristin describes the difference between self-esteem and self-compassion, describes the scientific research she has been conducting in self-compassion, and gives us a few simple, actionable techniques to help direct compassion toward ourselves.

David Crow is one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of botanical medicine and grassroots healthcare. He is a master herbalist, aromatherapist and acupuncturist with over 30 years experience in the Ayurvedic and Chinese medical systems, as well as a renowned author, poet, and co-founder of The Learning Garden at Venice High School in Los Angeles, one of the country's largest and most successful school gardens. We explore the ins and outs of essential oils, aromatherapy, flower essences, ayurveda, psychedelics, energy bodies, and gardening.

Digital Raign is a conference that recently convened at Esalen with the intention of creating an "experiential ecosystem," dedicated to exploring the links between Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Technology, and essential human nature. Co-founders Alison Raby, founder of Mariposa Search, LifeBeforeDeath and Co-Founder of Wisdompreneurs, and James Hanusa, cultural strategist, entrepreneur, and advisor to Burning Man, walk us through unchartered territory in this interview. If you're looking to learn about new technologies and holistic ways to relate to them, this talk will provide helpful information.

Today we take a small step back in time to speak with Phillip Burrus, longtime member of the Esalen community and former Executive Chef. Recorded in the spring of 2017, only days before Phillip and his wife Isabel Chave-Manso set off for the next chapter of their lives in Spain, we spoke at length about Phillip's take on sustainability, the importance of locally-grown produce in food preparation, land stewardship, and community in Big Sur. He is a brilliant guy. If you ever wanted to learn more about what goes on in one of the best healthy kitchens in California, have a listen. Voices of Esalen is produced in conjunction with Cheryl Franzel, Jerilyn Hesse, Lori Putnam, Shannon Hudson, and Ean Golden. Our theme music is by Nico Holloman. Subscribe to Voices of Esalen on iTunes, and if you find the time, please rate and review.

Byron Katie was severely depressed in her early thirties. For almost a decade, she spiraled down into rage and self-loathing, battling constant thoughts of suicide. Then one morning in February 1986, she experienced a life-changing realization: "I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn't believe them, I didn't suffer. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional." Together we discussed The Work, the philosophy and process of self-inquiry that Byron Katie has brought to millions of people across the world.We also spoke about her new book, "A Mind at Home with Itself," written with her husband Stephen Mitchell. I found her to be a remarkable person to be around, and our conversation as enjoyable and revelatory as any I can remember in recent memory. Please enjoy.

Noah Levine is a punk, a father, a remarkable teacher of Buddhism, and the author of the books Dharma Punx, Against the Stream, The Heart of the Revolution, and Refuge Recovery. His memoir, Dharma Punx, details teenage years filled with drugs, violence, incarceration and suicide attempts - as well as his path to vipassana meditation. During our far-ranging conversation, we discussed what it means to look back on a memoir he wrote more than fourteen years ago, and how Noah is able to live a life of leadership that's not contingent upon tending to an unhealthy ego. We also spoke about Refuge Recovery, Levine's book and similarly-named addiction program which provides a non-theistic path of recovery for addicts. Our track today is "Machine Elves" by Anamorphic Orchestra and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Michael Murphy is the co-founder of the Esalen Institute, a key figure in the Human Potential Movement and an extraordinary human being. He is the author of many remarkable books, including Golf in the Kingdom, The Future of the Body, Jacob Atabet, and In the Zone: Transcendent Experience in Sports. Today we spoke about the 1960's and how Esalen was born, touching upon his encounters with notables like Hunter S. Thompson, Alduous Huxley, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), Timothy Leary, Sri Aurobindo, Abraham Maslow, and Esalen's co-founder Richard Price. Michael also described his own origin story, from his altar boy roots to his journey to India, Big Sur, and beyond. Today's music was created by Esalen's own Daniel Knipprath.

Jeff Kripal is the Chairman of the Board of the Esalen Institute and holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. His fascinating work includes the history of psychic phenomena, comparative erotics and ethics in mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religions, and the Esalen Institute itself. He is the author of the foundational text "Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion," a must-read for anyone interested in the Esalen Institute. His present areas of writing and research include the articulation of a New Comparativism within the study of religion that will put “the impossible” back on the table again, a robust and even conversation between the sciences and the humanities, and the mapping of an emergent mythology or “Super Story” within paranormal communities and individual visionaries. Have a listen to our conversation on the cultural and historical forces at play during the origin of the Esalen Insitute. Our theme music today is Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund, licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.