Editing Esalen Institute

{{Short description|Retreat center in Big Sur, California, US}}
{{about|the non-profit institute|the historical location|Slates Hot Springs}}
{{Update|part=reopening after the 2017 highway closure|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox institute
| name              = Esalen Institute
| image             = Esalen Institute.jpg
| image_upright     =
| alt               =
| caption           = Esalen buildings and hot springs
| motto             =
| founder           = [[Michael Murphy (author)|Michael Murphy]]<br />[[Dick Price]]
| established       = 1962
| mission           =
| focus             = [[Humanism|Humanistic]] [[alternative education]]
| president         = Gordon Wheeler
| chairman          =
| head_label        =
| head              =
| faculty           =
| adjunct_faculty   =
| staff             =
| key_people        = Camille Allen Jeffries CEO, CFO <br> <br>Ana Gadban, Director of Operations
| budget            =
| endowment         =
| debt              =
| num_members       =
| subsidiaries      =
| owner             = Esalen Institute
| non-profit_slogan =
| former_name       =
| location          = [[Slates Hot Springs]]
| city              = [[Big Sur]]
| state             = [[California]]
| country           = [[United States]]
| coor              = {{Coord|36.12701|N|121.64159|W|source:placeopedia|display=inline,title}}
| address           = 55000 [[California State Route 1|Highway One]], Big Sur, CA 93920<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esalen.org/contact|title=How to Contact Us &#124; Esalen|website=www.esalen.org}}</ref>
| website           = [http://www.esalen.org/ Esalen Institute]
| footnotes         = {{Location map | USA California
  | label      = Esalen
  | label_size =
  | alt        =
  | position   = right
  | background =
  | lat        = 36.12701
  | long       = -121.64159
  | border     = none
  | float      = center
  | width      = 250
  | caption    = Location in California
  }}
}}
[[File:Meditation Room - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Meditation Room at Esalen]]
[[File:Art Barn - panoramio - harley photo.jpg|thumb|Esalen Art Barn, 2005]]
The '''Esalen Institute''', commonly called '''Esalen''', is a non-profit American [[Retreat (spiritual)|retreat center]] and [[intentional community]] in [[Big Sur]], [[California]], which focuses on [[humanism|humanistic]] [[alternative education]].<ref name="Goldman2012">{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|pages = [https://books.google.com/books?id=eRMVlSdLz3sC&pg=PA2 2–]}}</ref> The institute played a key role in the [[Human Potential Movement]] beginning in the 1960s. Its innovative use of encounter groups, a focus on the mind-body connection, and their ongoing experimentation in personal awareness introduced many ideas that later became mainstream.<ref name="misirog">{{cite book|editor-first1=Gina |editor-last1=Misiroglu| title=American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j4KsBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA238 |date=2009|publisher=Sharpe Reference|location=Armonk, N.Y.|isbn=978-0765680600|access-date=20 October 2016 |pages=238–239}}</ref>

Esalen was founded by [[Michael Murphy (author)|Michael Murphy]] and [[Dick Price]] in 1962. Their intention was to support alternative methods for exploring human consciousness, what [[Aldous Huxley]] described as "human potentialities".{{sfn|Kripal|2007|p=66}}<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=64}}</ref> Over the next few years, Esalen became the center of practices and beliefs that make up the [[New Age movement]], from [[Eastern religions]]/[[Eastern philosophies|philosophy]], to [[alternative medicine]] and [[mind-body interventions]], from [[transpersonal]] to [[Gestalt practice]].<ref name=economist/>

Price ran the institute until he died in a hiking accident in 1985. In 2012, the board hired professional executives to help raise money and keep the institute profitable. Until 2016, Esalen offered over 500 workshops yearly<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/esalen-institute-launches-campus-renewal-with-special-gift-for-most-significant-renovation-in-52-year-history-300084133.html |title=Esalen Institute Launches Campus Renewal with Special Gift for Most Significant Renovation in 52-year History |date=May 15, 2015 |access-date=October 21, 2016}}</ref> in areas including Gestalt practice, [[personal growth]], [[meditation]], [[massage]], [[yoga]], [[psychology]], [[ecology]], [[spirituality]], and [[organic food]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007}}</ref> In 2016, about 15,000 people attended its workshops.<ref name=krieger/>

In February 2017, the institute was cut off when [[Big Sur Coast Highway|Highway 1]] was closed by a mud slide on either side of the hot springs. It closed its doors, evacuated guests via helicopter, and was forced to lay off 90% of its staff through at least July, when they reopened with limited workshop offerings. It also decided to revamp its offerings to include topics more relevant to a younger generation.<ref name=krieger/> As of July 2017, due to the limited access resulting from the road closures, the hot springs are only open to Esalen guests.<ref name=krieger/>

== Early history ==
{{further|Slates Hot Springs}}

The grounds of the Esalen Institute were first home to a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribe known as the [[Esselen]], from whom the institute adopted its name.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=30}}</ref> [[Carbon dating]] tests of artifacts found on Esalen's property have indicated a human presence as early as 2600 BCE.<ref>Documentation provided by Steven Harper of radiocarbon dating, performed by members of the Sonoma State University Cultural Resources Faculty, that produced the following results: 4,630 +/- 100 years BP (before present). Harper notes confirmation by similar tests from Big Creek (4–5 miles south of Esalen Institute), which produced: 6,400 years BP, as cited in ''The Prehistory of Big Creek'' by Terry Jones (2000).</ref>

The location was homesteaded by Thomas Slate on September 9, 1882, when he filed a land patent under the [[Homestead Act]] of 1862.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thomas B Slate, Patent #CACAAA-092028 |url=https://thelandpatents.com/patents/cacaaa-092028|publisher=The Land Patents|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> The settlement became known as [[Slates Hot Springs, California|Slates Hot Springs]]. It was the first tourist-oriented business in Big Sur, frequented by people seeking relief from physical ailments. In 1910, the land was purchased by Henry Murphy,<ref name="Kripal, J. 2007 p. 32">{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=32}}</ref> a [[Salinas, California]], physician. The official business name was "Big Sur Hot Springs" although it was more generally referred to as "Slate's Hot Springs".<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=95}}</ref>

[[File:Slates Hot Springs - fileDSC 5788-w.jpg|thumb|View of the building on the bluff housing the hot springs]]

== Founding ==

=== Stanford grads meet ===

[[File:RichardPrice68.jpg|thumb|Richard Price in 1968]]

Michael Murphy and [[Dick Price]] both attended [[Stanford University]] in the late 1940s and early 1950s.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|page=56}}</ref> Both had developed an interest in human psychology and earned degrees in the subject in 1952.<ref name="Monterey County Weekly">{{cite web|last1=Abraham|first1=Kera|last2=Andersin|first2=Mark C|title=One Half-Century at Esalen Institute|url=http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/cover/one-half-century-at-esalen-institute/article_97f3e295-a992-523c-90ea-9c082d56ebda.html|website=Monterey County Weekly|date=4 October 2012 |access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> Price was influenced by a lecture he heard [[Aldous Huxley]] give in 1960 titled "Human Potentialities". After graduating from Stanford, Price attended [[Harvard University]] to continue studying [[psychology]]. Murphy, meanwhile, traveled to [[Sri Aurobindo]]'s [[ashram]] in [[India]] where he resided for several months<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=60}}</ref> before returning to San Francisco.

Price's parents involuntarily committed him to a mental hospital for a year, ending on November 26, 1957. He hated the experience and thought he would like to create an environment where people could explore new ideas and thoughts without judgment and influence from the outside world. In May 1960, Price returned to San Francisco and lived at the East-West House with Taoist teacher [[Gia-Fu Feng]]. That year he met fellow [[Stanford University]] graduate [[Michael Murphy (author)|Michael Murphy]] at [[Haridas Chaudhuri]]’s Cultural Integration Fellowship where Murphy was in residence. They met at the suggestion of [[Frederic Spiegelberg]], a Stanford professor of [[comparative religion]] and [[wikt:Indic|Indic]] studies, with whom both had studied.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=47 et seq}}</ref>

By then they had both dropped out of their graduate programs (Price at Harvard and Murphy at Stanford), and had served time in the military.<ref name="Monterey County Weekly"/> Their similar experiences and interests were the basis for the partnership that created Esalen.<ref name="Monterey County Weekly"/> Inspired by Buddhist practices, and based on his own understanding of Taoism, Price developed his teachings. He took what Fritz Perls had taught him and created a "Gestalt Awareness" process that is still taught and followed by many today.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dick Price: An Interview |url=https://www.esalen.org/page/dick-price-interview |website=Esalen Institute - Big Sur, California |access-date=18 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.tribalground.com/thoughts/esalen-legacy-dick-price/ |title = Esalen Legacy - Dick Price}}</ref>

=== Lease property ===

Price and Murphy wanted to create a venue where non-traditional workshops and lecturers could present their ideas free of the dogma associated with traditional education. The two began drawing up plans for a forum that would be open to ways of thinking beyond the constraints of mainstream academia while avoiding the dogma so often seen in groups organized around a single idea promoted by a charismatic leader. They envisioned offering a wide range of philosophies, religious disciplines and psychological techniques.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=48}}</ref>

In 1961, they went to look at property owned by the Murphy family at [[Slates Hot Springs]] in [[Big Sur, California|Big Sur]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dick Price: An Interview|url=http://www.esalen.org/page/dick-price-interview|work=Esalen|access-date=October 3, 2015}}</ref> It included a run-down hotel occupied in part by members of a Pentecostal church.<ref name=hockaday/> The property was patrolled by gun-toting [[Hunter S. Thompson]]. Gay men from San Francisco filled the baths on the weekends.<ref name=hockaday/>

Henry Murphy's widow and Michael's grandmother Vinnie "Bunnie" MacDonald Murphy, who owned the property, lived {{convert|62|miles}} away in Salinas. She had previously refused to lease the property to anyone, even turning down an earlier request from Michael. She was afraid her grandson was going to "give the hotel to the Hindus," Murphy later said. Not long after, Thompson attempted to visit the baths with friends and got into a fistfight after antagonizing some of the gay men present. The men almost tossed him over the cliff. Murphy's father, a lawyer, finally persuaded his mother to allow her grandson to take over<ref name=hockaday/> and she agreed to lease the property to them in 1962.<ref>{{cite census | url =http://person.ancestry.com/tree/55413563/person/13815956882/facts | title = John Andrew Murphy | year =1940 | location = Salinas, California | roll = T627_267| page = 19A | enumdist = 27–5| filmnum = 715| access-date = August 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>Michigan Births and Christenings, 1775–1995, FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009–2010</ref><ref name="Kripal 2007 p. 98">{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=98}}</ref> The two men used capital that Price obtained from his father, who was a vice-president at [[Sears]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|Shuck|2005|page=148}}</ref> They incorporated their business as a non-profit named Esalen Institute in 1963.<ref name=CGN>{{California's Geographic Names|960}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|page=19}}</ref>

=== Develop counterculture workshops ===

Murphy and Price were assisted by Spiegelberg, Watts, Huxley and his wife Laura, as well as by [[Gerald Heard]] and [[Gregory Bateson]]. They modeled the concept of Esalen partially upon [[Trabuco College]], founded by Heard as a quasi-monastic experiment in the mountains east of [[Irvine, California]], and later donated to the Vedanta Society.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=91}}</ref> Their intent was to provide "a forum to bring together a wide variety of approaches to enhancement of the human potential... including experiential sessions involving encounter groups, sensory awakening, gestalt awareness training, related disciplines."<ref>[http://modernhistoryproject.org/mhp?Article=AquarianConspiracy The Aquarian Conspiracy ]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=an7W_mDR9wkC&pg=PA211 The Mother of All Webs Who Gotcha!] Gyeorgos C. Hatonn. page 211</ref> They stated that they did not want to be viewed as a "cult" or a new church but that it was to be a center where people could explore the concepts that Price and Murphy were passionate about. The philosophy of Esalen lies in the idea that "the cosmos, the universe itself, the whole evolutionary unfoldment is what a lot of philosophers call slumbering spirit. The divine is incarnate in the world and is present in us and is trying to manifest," according to Murphy.<ref name="Monterey County Weekly"/>

Alan Watts gave the first lecture at Esalen in January 1962.<ref name="Anderson, Walter Truett 1983, p. 65">{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=65}}</ref> [[Gia-Fu Feng|Gia-fu Feng]] joined Price and Murphy,<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=63}}</ref> along with Bob Breckenridge, Bob Nash, Alice and Jim Sellers, as the first Esalen staff members.<ref name="Kripal 2007 p. 98"/> In the middle of that same year [[Abraham Maslow]], a prominent humanistic psychologist, just happened to drive into the grounds and soon became an important figure at the institute.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|Shuck|2005|page=2}}</ref> In the fall of 1962, they published a catalog advertising workshops with such titles as "Individual and Cultural Definitions of Rationality," "The Expanding Vision" and "Drug-Induced Mysticism".<ref name="Anderson, Walter Truett 1983, p. 65"/> Their first seminar series in the fall of 1962 was "The Human Potentiality," based on a lecture by Huxley.<ref name="misirog"/>

=== Fritz Perls residency ===

In 1964, [[Fritz Perls]] began what became a five-year long residency at Esalen, leaving a lasting influence. Perls offered many [[Gestalt therapy]] seminars at the institute until he left in July 1969.<ref>{{harvnb|Perls|1992}}</ref> [[Jim Simkin]]<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=175}}</ref> and Perls led Gestalt training courses at Esalen. Simkin started a Gestalt training center{{cn|date=April 2024}} on property next door that was later incorporated into Esalen's main campus.<ref>{{cite news|last=Leyde|first=Tom|date=March 20, 2015|title=Esalen Institute to get a face lift|url=http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150320/esalen-institute-to-get-a-face-lift|work=Santa Cruz Sentinel : Architecture, March 20, 2015|access-date=October 2, 2015}}</ref>

When Perls left Esalen he considered it to be "in crisis again". He saw young people without any training leading encounter groups and he feared that charlatans would take the lead.<ref>{{harvnb|Perls|1992|page=249}}</ref> Later, Grogan would write that Perls’ practice at Esalen had been ethically "questionable",<ref>{{harvnb|Grogan|2008|page=196}}</ref> and according to Kripal, Perls insulted Abraham Maslow.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=157}}</ref>

=== Gestalt practice developed ===
{{main|Gestalt practice}}

Dick Price became one of Perls' closest students. Price managed the institute and developed his own form he called Gestalt practice, which he taught at Esalen until his death in a hiking accident in 1985.<ref name="Barclay James Erickson 2005">''The Only Way Out Is In: The Life Of Richard Price'' Barclay James Erickson, in {{harvnb|Kripal|Shuck|2005}}</ref> Michael Murphy lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and wrote non-fiction books about Esalen-related topics, as well as several novels.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fzSP6BRFBzIC&dq=kripal+esalen+golf+in+the+kingdom+page+274&pg=PA274 274, 291–2]}}</ref>

=== Leads counterculture movement ===

Esalen gained popularity quickly and started to regularly publish catalogs full of programs. The facility was large enough to run multiple programs simultaneously, so Esalen created numerous resident teacher positions.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=151}}</ref> Murphy recruited [[William Schutz|Will Schutz]], the well-known encounter group leader, to take up permanent residence at Esalen.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=156}}</ref> All this combined to firmly position Esalen in the nexus of the [[counterculture of the 1960s]].<ref>[[William Irwin Thompson]], "Going Beyond it at Big Sur" in ''At the Edge of History: Speculations on the Transformation of Culture'', p. 27-66, Harper & Row (1971) {{ISBN|978-0686675709}}</ref>

The institute gained increased attention in 1966 when several magazines wrote about it. [[George Leonard]] published an article in [[Look (American magazine)|''Look'']] magazine about the California scene which mentioned Esalen and included a picture of Murphy.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=207}}</ref> [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine published an article about Esalen in September 1967.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=160}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' published an article by [[Leo E. Litwak]] in late December.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Litwak | first = Leo E. | title = A Trip to Esalen Institute – Joy Is the Prize | pages = 119 et seq | publisher = The New York Times Magazine |url-access=registration | date = December 31, 1967 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D11FF3554157A93C3AA1789D95F438685F9&scp=1&sq=A%20Trip%20to%20Esalen%20Institute%20Joy%20Is%20the%20Prize%20&st=cse}}</ref> ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' also published an article about the resort.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=172}}</ref> These articles increased the media and the public's awareness of the institute in the U.S. and abroad. Esalen responded by holding large-scale conferences in [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] and [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] cities,<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=219}}</ref> as well as in Europe. Esalen opened a satellite center in San Francisco that offered extensive programming until it closed in the mid-1970s for financial reasons.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=181 et seq}}</ref>

== Programs and management ==

[[File:Esalen Institute - Sarah Stierch.jpg|thumb|Entrance to Esalen Institute]]
The institute continues to offer workshops about [[humanistic psychology]], physical [[Wellness (alternative medicine)|wellness]], and spiritual awareness. The institute has also added workshops on [[permaculture]] and [[sustainability|ecological sustainability]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.esalen.org/page/farm-garden|title=The Esalen Farm & Garden: Cultivating Soil, Plants and People}}</ref> Other workshops cover a wide range of subjects including arts, health, Gestalt practice, integral thought, martial arts, massage, dance, mythology, [[Philosophy|philosophical inquiry]], somatics, [[Spirituality|spiritual and religious studies]], [[ecopsychology]], [[wilderness|wilderness experience]], yoga, [[tai chi]], [[mindfulness (psychology)|mindfulness practice]], and meditation. The institute was closed for the first half of 2017 and forced to drastically reduce staff. They also decided to revamp their offerings upon reopening to include topics more relevant to a younger generation.<ref name=krieger/>

=== Center for Theory and Research ===

In 1998, Esalen launched the Center for Theory and Research to initiate new areas of practice and action which foster social change and realization of the human potential.<ref>[http://esalen.cfdv.net/ctr Esalen Center for Theory and Research].</ref> It is the research and development arm of Esalen Institute.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=439}}</ref> {{as of|2016}}, Michael Cornwall, who previously worked in the institutes' Schizophrenia Research Project at Agnews State Hospital, was conducting workshops titled the ''Alternative Views and Approaches to Psychosis Initiative'' at Esalen. He was inviting leaders in the field of psychosis treatment to attend the workshops.<ref>Alternative Views and Approaches to Psychosis, November 2012. An Esalen Center For Theory and Research Initiative at Esalen Institute.</ref>

=== Management changes ===

Esalen has been making changes to respond to internal and external factors.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|pages=147ff}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|page = 44}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=463}}</ref> Dick Price was the key leader of the institute until his sudden death in a hiking accident in late 1985 brought about many changes in personnel and programming.<ref name=Kripalp389>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=389}}</ref> Steven Donovan became president of the institute,<ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|page = 65}}</ref> and Brian Lyke served as general manager.<ref name=Kripalp389/> Nancy Lunney became the director of programming,<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=376}}</ref> and Dick Price's son [[David Price (actor)|David Price]] served as general manager of Esalen beginning in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|pages=107ff}}</ref>

The baths were destroyed in 1998 by severe weather and were rebuilt at great expense, but this caused severe institutional stress.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=436}}</ref> Afterward, Andy Nusbaum developed an economic plan to stabilize Esalen's finances.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=437}}</ref>

In 2011, the institute commissioned the company Beyond the Leading Edge to conduct a Leadership Culture Survey to assess the quality of its leadership culture. The results were negative. The survey measured how well the leadership "builds quality relationships, fosters teamwork, collaborates, develops people, involves people in decision making and planning, and demonstrates a high level of interpersonal skill." In the "relating dimension" the survey returned a score of 18%, compared to a desired 88%. It also produced strongly dissonant scores in measures of community welfare, relating with [[interpersonal intelligence]], clearly communicating vision, and building a sense of personal worth within the community. It ranked management as overly compliant and lacking authenticity. However, the survey found that Esalen closely matched its overall goal for customer focus.<ref name="survey">{{cite web|title=Leadership Culture Survey Online Summary |url=http://www.esalenleadership.org |website=Esalen Leadership |access-date=19 October 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729215956/http://www.esalenleadership.org/ |archive-date=2012-07-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Gordon Wheeler dramatically restructured Esalen management.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|page=44}}</ref> These changes prompted Christine Stewart Price, the widow of Dick Price, to withdraw from the institute, and found an organization named the Tribal Ground Circle with the intention to preserve Dick Price's legacy.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|page=65}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tribalground.com/welcome-tribal-ground-christine-price/tribal-ground-circle/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928012053/http://www.tribalground.com/welcome-tribal-ground-christine-price/tribal-ground-circle/ |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |title=Tribal Ground Circle |access-date=September 29, 2016}}</ref>

=== Early leaders and programs ===

[[File:Aldous Huxley.JPG|thumb|Aldous Huxley]]

In the few years after its founding, many of the seminars<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|pages = 101 et seq}}</ref> like "The Value of Psychotic Experience" attempted to challenge the [[status quo]]. There were even Esalen programs that questioned the movement of which Esalen itself was a part—for instance, "Spiritual and Therapeutic Tyranny: The Willingness To Submit". There were also a series of encounter groups focused on racial prejudice.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|pages = 182 et seq}}</ref>

Early leaders included many well-known individuals, including [[Ansel Adams]], [[Gia-Fu Feng|Gia-fu Feng]], [[Buckminster Fuller]], [[Timothy Leary]],
[[Robert Nadeau (aikidoka)|Robert Nadeau]], [[Linus Pauling]], [[Carl Rogers]], [[Virginia Satir]], [[B.F. Skinner]], and [[Arnold J. Toynbee|Arnold Toynbee]]. Rather than merely lecturing, many leaders experimented with what Huxley called the non-verbal humanities: the education of the body, the senses, and the emotions. Their intention was to help individuals develop awareness of their present flow of experience, to express this fully and accurately, and to listen to feedback. These "experiential" workshops were particularly well attended and were influential in shaping Esalen's future course.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|pages = 104}}</ref>
[[File:Will at Chalkboard.jpg|thumb|[[William Schutz]] at Esalen, circa 1987|upright]]

===Staff residency===

Because of Esalen's isolated location, its operational staff members have lived on site from the beginning and for many years collectively contributed to the character of the institute.<ref name="Kripal 2007 401"/> The community has been steeped in a form of Gestalt practice that pervades all aspects of daily life, including meeting structures, workplace practices, and individual language styles.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fzSP6BRFBzIC&dq=esalen+gestalt+community&pg=PA172 172]}}</ref> There is a [[Preschool education|preschool]] on site called the Gazebo, serving the children of staff, some program participants, and affiliated local residents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.esalen.org/page/gazebo-park-school-early-childhood-program|title=Gazebo School Park Early Childhood Program}}</ref>

=== Scholars in residence ===
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2019}}
Esalen has sponsored long-term resident scholars, including notable individuals such as [[Gregory Bateson]], [[Joseph Campbell]], [[Stanislav Grof]], [[Sam Keen]], [[George Leonard]], [[Fritz Perls]], [[Ida Pauline Rolf|Ida Rolf]], [[Virginia Satir]], [[William Schutz]], and
[[Alan Watts]].

=== Esalen Massage and Bodywork Association ===

[[Bodywork (alternative medicine)|Bodywork]] has always been a significant part of the Esalen experience. In the late 1990s, the "EMBA" was organized as a semi-autonomous Esalen association for the regulation of [[Massage#Esalen massage|Esalen massage]] practitioners.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldman|2012|page=67}}</ref>

== Past initiatives and projects ==

Esalen Institute has sponsored many research initiatives, educational projects, and invitational conferences. The Big Sur facility has been used for these events, as well as other locations, including international sites.

=== Arts events ===
[[File:California - Monterey - NARA - 543437.jpg|thumb|Esalen Institute from the air in May 1972]]
In 1964, [[Joan Baez]] led a workshop entitled "The New Folk Music"<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=102}}</ref> which included a free performance. This was the first of seven "Big Sur Folk Festivals" featuring many of the era's music legends. The 1969 concert included musicians who had just come from the [[Woodstock Festival]]. This event was featured in a documentary movie, ''[[Celebration at Big Sur]]'', which was released in 1971.

[[John Cage]] and [[Robert Rauschenberg]] performed together at Esalen. [[Robert Bly]], [[Lawrence Ferlinghetti]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Michael McClure]], [[Kenneth Rexroth]] (who led one of the first workshops), [[Gary Snyder]] and others held poetry readings and workshops.

In 1994, president and CEO Sharon Thom<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=434}}</ref> created an artist-in-residence program to provide artists with a two-week retreat in which to focus upon works in progress. These artists interacted with the staff, offered informal gatherings, and staged performances on the newly created dance platform. Located next to the Art Barn, the dance platform was used by Esalen teachers for dance and martial arts. The platform was later covered by a dome and renamed the Leonard Pavilion after deceased Esalen past president and board member, [[George Leonard]].

In 1995 and 1996, Esalen hosted two arts festivals which gathered together artists, poets, musicians, photographers and performers, including artist Margot McLean, psychotherapist [[James Hillman]], guitarist [[Michael Hedges]] and [[Joan Baez]]. All staff members were allowed to attend every class and performance that did not interfere with their schedules. Arts festivals have since become a popular yearly event at Esalen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bigsurspiritgarden.com/Spirit_Garden_/EsalenArtsFestival2011.html|title=EsalenArtsFestival2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226074322/http://bigsurspiritgarden.com/Spirit_Garden_/EsalenArtsFestival2011.html|archive-date=2013-02-26}}</ref>

=== Schizophrenia Research Project ===

Encouraged by [[Dick Price]], the Schizophrenia Research Project was conducted over a three-year period at [[Agnews State Hospital]] in [[San Jose, California]], involving 80 young males diagnosed with [[schizophrenia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|pages=217–219}}</ref> Funded in part by Esalen Institute, this program was co-sponsored by the California Department of Mental Hygiene (reorganized: [[California Mental Health Services Act|CMHSA]]) and the [[National Institute of Mental Health]]. It explored the [[thesis statement|thesis]] that the health of certain patients would permanently improve if their [[psychotic]] process was not interrupted by administration of [[antipsychotic]] [[pharmaceutical drug]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Rappaport.pdf|title=Rappaport, M. "Are There Schizophrenics for Whom Drugs May be Unnecessary or Contraindicated?" International Pharmacopsychiatry 13 (1978) p. 100 et seq.}}</ref> Julian Silverman was chief of research for the project. He also served as Esalen's general manager in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esalen.org/memorial/julian-silverman|title=Julian Silverman &#124; In Memorium &#124; Esalen|website=www.esalen.org}}</ref> The Agnews [[Blind experiment#Double-blind trials|double blind]] study was the largest first-episode psychosis research project ever conducted in the United States. It demonstrated that the young men given a [[placebo]] had a 75 percent lower re-hospitalization rate and much better outcomes than the men who received anti-psychotic medication. These results were used as justification for medication-free programs in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cornwall|2002|page=4}}</ref> Esalen has recently{{when|date=February 2017}} begun to revive some of this interest in schizophrenia and psychosis, and hosted the [[R.D. Laing]] Symposium and workshops on compassionately responding to psychosis.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

=== Publishing ===

Starting in 1969, in association with [[Viking Press]], the institute published a series of 17 books about Esalen-related topics, including the first edition of [[Michael Murphy (author)|Michael Murphy]]'s novel, ''[[Golf in the Kingdom]]'' (1971).<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=527}}</ref> Some of these books remain in print. In the mid-1980s, Esalen entered into a joint publishing arrangement with [[Lindisfarne Association|Lindisfarne Press]] to publish a small library of Russian philosophical and theological books.<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=320}}</ref>

=== Soviet–American Exchange Program ===

[[File:Борис Николаевич Ельцин.jpg|thumb|Boris Yeltsin]]
In 1979, Esalen began the Soviet–American Exchange Program (later renamed: Track Two, an institute for citizen diplomacy).<ref>[http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/track2_diplomacy/ "Track II (Citizen) Diplomacy" at The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project].</ref> This initiative came at a time when Cold War tensions were at their peak. The program was credited with substantial success in fostering peaceful private exchanges between citizens of the "super powers".<ref>[http://trackii.com/accomplishments.html Track Two, An Institute For Citizen Diplomacy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026090201/http://trackii.com/accomplishments.html |date=2011-10-26 }}.</ref> In the 1980s, Michael Murphy and his wife Dulce were instrumental in organizing the program with Soviet citizen Joseph Goldin, in order to provide a vehicle for citizen-to-citizen relations between Russians and Americans. In 1982, Esalen and Goldin pioneered the first [[U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge]], allowing Soviet and American citizens to speak directly with one another via satellite communication. In 1988, Esalen brought [[Abel Aganbegyan]], one of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s chief economic advisors, to the United States. In 1989, Esalen brought [[Boris Yeltsin]] on [[1989 visit by Boris Yeltsin to the United States|his first trip to the United States]], although Yeltsin did not visit the Esalen facility in Big Sur. Esalen arranged meetings for Yeltsin with then President [[George H. W. Bush]] as well as many other leaders in business and government. Two former presidents of the exchange program included Jim Garrison and Jim Hickman. After Gorbachev stepped down, and effectively dissolved the Soviet Union, Garrison helped establish The State of the World Forum, with Gorbachev as its convening chairman. These successes led to other Esalen citizen diplomacy programs, including exchanges with China, an initiative to further understanding among Jews, Christians and Muslims, as well as further work on Russian-American relations.<ref>[http://www.esalen.org/ctr/pioneering-accomplishments-citizen-diplomacy Esalen CTR: Accomplishments in Citizen Diplomacy].</ref>

== Prices and finances ==

=== 2017 closure ===

On February 12, 2017, a number of mud and land slides closed Highway 1 in several locations to the south and north of the hot springs and caused Esalen to partially shut down.<ref>{{cite web|title=Esalen's Temporary Closure: Frequently Asked Questions {{!}} Esalen|url=http://www.esalen.org/page/esalens-temporary-closure-frequently-asked-questions|website=esalen.org|access-date=20 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> On February 18, 2017, shifting earth damaged a pier supporting the [[Big Sur Coast Highway#2017 closures|Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge]] north of Esalen and forced CalTrans to close Highway 1.<ref name="SFT 20170225">{{cite news|url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bridge-failure-severs-Big-Sur-s-ties-to-outside-10958200.php|title=Bridge failure severs Big Sur's ties to outside world|first= Lizzie |last=Johnson|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date= February 25, 2017|access-date=26 February 2017}}</ref> CalTrans determined that the bridge was damaged beyond repair and announced an accelerated project to replace the bridge by September.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.montereyherald.com/article/NF/20170221/NEWS/170229952i|title=News, Breaking News and More: Monterey County Herald|website=montereyherald.com|access-date=2017-06-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223042108/http://www.montereyherald.com/article/NF/20170221/NEWS/170229952i|archive-date=2017-02-23|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/pfeiffer-canyon-bridge-on-highway-closed-to-traffic-until-further/article_4b49f7aa-f21b-11e6-a98a-9b38fd4b6902.html|title=UPDATE: Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 closed to traffic until further notice.|first=Pam|last=Marino|date=13 February 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/21/california-storms-big-sur-rain-flood|title=Big Sur ravaged by floods, mudslides and storms: 'Paradise can turn on you'|first=Carol|last=Pogash|date=21 February 2017|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Following closure of the bridge, Esalen was cut off, and resorted to evacuating dozens of guests by helicopter.<ref name=krieger/> A landslide at Mud Creek south of the hot springs severely restricted vehicle access to the resort, and Esalen temporarily closed its doors. Then, on May 20, 2017, a new slide at Mud Creek closed Highway 1 for at least a year.

On June 20, Esalen announced that it would lay off 45 staff members through at least July, leaving only about 10 percent of its staff.<ref name=krieger>{{cite news|last1=Krieger|first1=Lisa M.|title=Esalen's survival story: A tale of transformation|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/21/esalens-survival-story-a-tale-of-transformation/|access-date=3 August 2017|work=The Mercury News|date=21 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=lindt>{{cite web|last1=Lindt|first1=John|title=Esalen Institute in Big Sur will lay off 45 employees|url=http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/business/article155767624.html|website=The Tribune|access-date=20 June 2017|language=en}}</ref>

Esalen partially reopened on July 28, 2017, offering limited workshops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kazu.org/post/big-surs-esalen-reopens-after-record-long-closure|title=Big Sur's Esalen Reopens After Record Long Closure|last=Mahoney|first=Erika|access-date=30 July 2017|website=NPR 90.3 KAZU|date=28 July 2017 }}</ref> It plans to add more seminars after the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge reopens in September 2017.

=== Attendance and costs ===

In 2012, 600 Esalen workshops were attended by more than 12,000 people. Topics ranged from sustainable business practices to hypnosis to "The Holy Fool: Crazy Wisdom From Van Gogh to Tina Fey and The Big Lebowski."<ref name=hockaday>{{cite news|last1=Hockaday|first1=Peter|title=Hippies, nudity, and Don Draper: Inside Big Sur's Esalen Institute featured in 'Mad Men'|url=http://www.sfgate.com/tv/article/Hippies-nudity-and-Don-Draper-Inside-Big-Sur-s-6271471.php|access-date=18 October 2016|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 18, 2015}}</ref>

{{as of|2015}}, a weekend workshop, including the program, meals, and a place for a sleeping bag in a communal area, cost a minimum of $405 per person. A couple could rent a private room for $730 per person. Week-long workshops begin at $900 and couples are charged $1,700 per person to stay in a private room.<ref>{{cite web|last1=SHAPIRO|first1=MICHAEL|title=Getaways: Esalen Institute in Big Sur is a place to learn, grow and heal|url=http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/4966364-181/esalen-a-place-to-learn?artslide=0|publisher=Santa Rosa Press Democrat|access-date=18 October 2016|date=December 31, 2015}}</ref> In 2013, the institute charges participants in its month-long, residential licensed massage practitioner training programs, $4910, including board and room.<ref>{{cite web|title=Esalen Massage Practitioner Training Course Catalog|url=http://www.bppe.ca.gov/annual_report/2012/2700571_cat.pdf|access-date=18 October 2016}}</ref> In 1987, a weekend workshop along with a single room and meals cost $270, and a five-day workshop cost $530.<ref name=kahn>{{cite news|last1=Kahn|first1=Alice|title=Ways to 'Do' Esalen|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-06-tm-26655-story.html|access-date= October 18, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 6, 1987}}</ref>

=== Revenue and expenses ===

In 2013, the institute reported revenue of $18,513,254, $13,066,407 from programs, and after expenses of $13,515,552 a net income of $4,997,702. In that year it paid CEO Patricia McEntee $152,077<ref>{{cite web|title=2013 IRS Form 990|url=http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/946/946114235/946114235_201312_990.pdf|access-date=October 18, 2016}}</ref> In 2014, it reported total revenue of $15,934,586, expenses totalling $14,472,201, and net income of $1,462,385. McEntee was paid $157,839.<ref>{{cite web|title=2014 IRS Form 990|url=http://pdfs.citizenaudit.org/2016_02_EO/94-6114235_990_201412.pdf|access-date=October 18, 2016}}</ref>

The company spent nearly $10 million for renovations from 2014 to 2016, including $7.4 million to renovate the main lodge and add a cafe and bar. It also spent $1.8 million on a six-room guesthouse. There is only limited internet cellular service available, but Esalen is planning to make some of its workshops available to online participants.<ref name=krieger/>

=== Lease terms ===

The annual cost of its 87-year lease for the 27-acre site<ref name=lindt/> from the Vinnie A. Murphy Trust—which extends through 2049—was $344,704 in 2014. McEntee told the ''[[Monterey County Weekly]]'' that the cost of the lease is highly discounted, and that the terms of the lease allow the trust to re-assess the lease terms in 2017. This could potentially increase the institute's rent to market value.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/none/esalen-s-a-nonprofit-but-a-visit-doesn-t-come/article_04fbc455-d30f-5a69-8267-24447f385f9c.html |title= Esalen's a nonprofit, but a visit doesn't come cheap |date=October 4, 2012 |access-date=October 18, 2014}}</ref>

== Past teachers ==
{{more citations needed section|date=October 2016}}
Past guest teachers include:
{{columns-list|* [[Ansel Adams]]
* [[Joan Baez]]
* [[Ellen Bass]]
* [[Robert Bly]]
* [[Gregory Bateson]]
* [[Sravana Borkataky Varma]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esalen.org/workshops/tantra-freedom-and-self-sovereignty-svadhikara?fbclid=IwAR39Rp5NcmXOkIC-z3smpQII_f9LIK8lv4r6jjxmAzbKo-0tyCO5PHCHex4|title=Tantra:Freedom and Self-Sovereignty}}</ref>
* [[Ray Bradbury]]
* [[Joseph Campbell]]
* [[Fritjof Capra]]
* [[Carlos Castaneda]]
* [[Deepak Chopra]]
* [[Phil Cousineau]]
* [[Harvey Cox]]
* [[David Darling (musician)|David Darling]]
* [[Erik Davis]]
* [[Warren Farrell]]
* [[Moshe Feldenkrais]]
* [[Richard Feynman]]
* [[Matthew Fox (priest)|Matthew Fox]]
* [[Fred Frith]]
* Betty Fuller<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|pages=159, 178, 179, 207, 220, 234, 253, 320}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=490}}</ref><ref>Wildflower, Leni. ''The Hidden History Of Coaching'', Open University Press (2013) p. 17</ref>
* [[Buckminster Fuller]]
* [[Spalding Gray]]
* [[Stanislav Grof]]
* [[Michael Harner]]
* [[Andrew Harvey (religious writer)|Andrew Harvey]]
* John Heider<ref>{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=547}} [listing numerous citations]</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=159}}</ref><ref>Heider, John ''The Tao of Leadership'' Green Dragon Publishing (2005)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esalen.org/memorial/john-heider|title=John Heider &#124; In Memorium &#124; Esalen|website=www.esalen.org}}</ref>
* [[Paul Horn (musician)|Paul Horn]]
* [[Chungliang Al Huang]]
* [[James Hillman]]
* [[Albert Hofmann]]
* [[Aldous Huxley]]
* [[Sam Keen]]
* [[Stanley Keleman]]
* [[Ken Kesey]]
* [[Paul Krassner]]
* [[R. D. Laing]]
* [[George Burr Leonard|George Leonard]]
* [[Dennis Lewis]]
* [[John C. Lilly]]
* [[Amory Lovins]]
* [[Abraham Maslow]]
* [[Peter Matthiessen]]
* [[Rollo May]]
* [[Terence McKenna]]
* [[Robert Nadeau (aikidoka)|Robert Nadeau]]
* [[Claudio Naranjo]]
* [[Babatunde Olatunji]]
* [[Dean Ornish]]
* [[Humphry Osmond]]
* [[Linus Pauling]]
* [[Fritz Perls]]
* [[J. B. Rhine]]
* [[Carl Rogers]]
* [[Ida Pauline Rolf|Ida Rolf]]
* [[Gabrielle Roth]]
* [[Jerry Rubin]]
* [[Douglas Rushkoff]]
* [[Virginia Satir]]
* [[Will Schutz]]
* [[Charlotte Selver]]
* [[B.F. Skinner]]
* [[Huston Smith]]
* [[Gary Snyder]]
* [[Susan Sontag]]
* [[David Steindl-Rast]]
* [[Paul Tillich]]
* [[Arnold J. Toynbee]]
* [[George Vithoulkas]]
* [[Alan Watts]]
* [[Robert Anton Wilson]]
* [[Andrew Weil]]
* [[Marion Woodman]]
}}

== In popular culture ==

=== Cultural influence ===
{{expand section | with = further criticism and controversy content, which at present is limited to a quote from The Economist, and a stack of citations | small = no | date = December 2024}}
Esalen has been cited as having played a key role in the cultural transformations of the 1960s.<ref>[http://www.chron.com/life/houston-belief/article/40-years-later-Woodstock-s-spiritual-vibes-still-1603612.php "40 years later, Woodstock's spiritual vibes still resonate"], ''Houston Chronicle''. August 6, 2009.</ref> In its beginnings as a "laboratory for new thought", it was seen by some as the headquarters of the human potential movement.<ref name="martin">{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Douglas|title=George Leonard, 86, voice of '60s counterculture – The Boston Globe|url=http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2010/01/19/george_leonard_86_voice_of_60s_counterculture/|access-date=20 October 2016|work=archive.boston.com|date=January 19, 2010}}</ref> Its use of encounter groups, a focus on the mind-body connection, and their ongoing experimentation in personal awareness introduced many ideas to American society that later became mainstream.<ref name="misirog"/> In its early years, guest lecturers and workshop leaders included many leading thinkers, psychologists, and philosophers including [[Erik Erikson]], [[Ken Kesey]], [[Alan Watts]], [[John C. Lilly]], [[Buckminster Fuller]], [[Aldous Huxley]], [[Linus Pauling]], [[Fritz Perls]], [[Joseph Campbell]], [[Robert Bly]] and [[Carl Rogers]].<ref>{{cite news|editor1-last=Ollivier|editor1-first=Debra|title=Esalen: 50 Years Ago, A 'Crazy Place On A Godforsaken Road' Launched The New Age Movement|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debra-ollivier/the-esalen-institute-and-the-human-potential-movement-turn-50_b_1536989.html|access-date=20 October 2016|work=The Huffington Post|publisher=Huffington Post|date=25 May 2012}}</ref>

<!-- needs work: Other criticism may be found in publications cited in the footnotes.-->
Esalen has also been the subject of some criticism and controversy.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-05-tm-esalen36-story.html "Esalen's Identity Crisis"], ''Los Angeles Times Magazine''. September 5, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/like-countless-spiritual-pilgrims-esalen-institute-faces-its-own-midlife-crisis/2012/05/30/gJQAxoFu1U_story.html|title=Like countless spiritual pilgrims, Esalen Institute faces its own midlife crisis|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref><ref name=debate>{{cite news |author=Norimitsu Onishi |title=Celebrating the Past, and Debating the Future |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/us/as-esalen-celebrates-its-past-its-future-is-debated.html?hp |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date= August 19, 2012 |access-date=2012-08-20 |author-link= Norimitsu Onishi}}</ref><ref>[http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/oct/04/esalen-50/ Kera Abraham and Mark Anderson. "One Half-Century at Esalen Institute"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130129011559/http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/oct/04/esalen-50/ |date=2013-01-29 }}. ''Monterey County Weekly''. October 4, 2012.</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'' wrote, "For many others in America and around the world, Esalen stands more vaguely for that metaphorical point where ‘East meets West’ and is transformed into something uniquely and mystically American or New Agey. And for a great many others yet, Esalen is simply that notorious bagno-bordello where people had sex and got high throughout the 1960s and 1970s before coming home talking psychobabble and dangling crystals."<ref name=economist>{{cite news| author = Economist Staff | date=19 December 2007 | title=Where 'California' bubbled up | newspaper=[[The Economist]] | url=http://www.economist.com/node/10278745 | access-date = 18 December 2024 |url-access = subscription}}</ref>

The [[Human Potential Movement]] was criticized for espousing an ethic that the inner-self should be freely expressed in order to reach a person's true potential. Some people saw this ethic as an aspect of Esalen's culture. The historian [[Christopher Lasch]] wrote that humanistic techniques encourage narcissistic, [[Spiritual materialism|spiritual materialistic]] or self-obsessive thoughts and behaviors.<ref>{{harvnb|Lasch|1978|page=13}}</ref> In 1990 a graffiti artist spray painted "Jive shit for rich white folk" on the entrance to Esalen,<ref name="Kripal 2007 401">{{harvnb|Kripal|2007|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fzSP6BRFBzIC&q=jive+shit 401]}}</ref> highlighting class and race issues. Some thought that this was a regression of progress away from true spiritual growth.<ref name="Kripal 2007 401"/> [[Michel Houellebecq|Michel Houellebecq's]] ''[[Atomised]]'' traces the New Age movement's influence on the novel's protagonists to older generations' chance meetings at Esalen.

=== Popular media ===
====Films====
In the comedy-drama ''[[Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice]]'' (1969), sophisticated Los Angeles residents Bob (played by [[Robert Culp]]) and Carol Sanders ([[Natalie Wood]]) spend a weekend of emotional honesty at an Esalen-style retreat,<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|2004|page=140}}</ref> after which they return to their life determined to embrace free love and complete openness.

====Literature====
In [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s novel ''[[Inherent Vice]]'' (2009) and [[Paul Thomas Anderson]]'s eponymous [[Inherent Vice (film)|2014 film adaptation]], the Chryskylodon Institute is modeled after Esalen.<ref name=LAMag-InherentVice-2015>{{cite news|url=http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/southern-california-landscape-inherent-vice/|title=The Southern California Landscape of Inherent Vice |work= Los Angeles Magazine|date=12 December 2014}}</ref>

In [[Norman Rush]]'s novel ''[[Mating (novel)|Mating]]'' (1992), Esalen is referred to as a "twit factory."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mating|last=Rush, Norman.|date=1992|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=067973709X|edition=1st Vintage International|location=New York|oclc=25747644|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mating00rush_0}}</ref>

====Television====
The BBC television series, ''[[The Century of the Self]]'' (2002), is critical of the Human Potentials Movement and includes video segments recorded at Esalen.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6111922724894802811|publisher=YouTube segments|title=The Century of the Self]|date=2002}}</ref>

The ''[[Mad Men season 7|Mad Men]]'' show finale, "[[Person to Person (Mad Men)|Person to Person]]" (airdate May 17, 2015), features Don and Stephanie staying at an Esalen-like coastline retreat in the year 1970.<ref name=Guardian-MadMen-2015>{{cite news|last1=Dean|first1=Will|title=Mad Men recap: season seven, episode 14 – Person to Person (warning: spoilers)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/may/18/mad-men-recap-season-seven-episode-14-person-to-person-warning-spoilers|access-date=18 May 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=17 May 2015}}</ref>

In [[True Detective season 2|''True Detective'' season 2]], the [[Panticapaeum]] Institute is largely based on the Esalen Institute.<ref name=Bustle-TrueDetective-2015>{{cite news|author= Gallagher, Caitlin|title=Is The Panticapaeum Institute From 'True Detective' A Real Place? Ani's Father's Retreat Resembles An Actual Facility|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/94842-is-the-panticapaeum-institute-from-true-detective-a-real-place-anis-fathers-retreat-resembles-an-actual|quote=...there is one real place that Vulture pointed out might have inspired both Mad Men and True Detective — and that's the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.|work=Bustle|access-date=October 3, 2015}}</ref>

====Music====
On July 10, 1968, [[The Beatles]] guitarist [[George Harrison]] was given sitar lessons at Esalen by [[Ravi Shankar]] for the movie [[Raga (film)|''Raga'']].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/T-sTdic2chA Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210613190326/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-sTdic2chA Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite book|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-sTdic2chA|publisher=YouTube segments|title=George Harrison & Ravi Shankar - Raga - Big Sur, CA, US (10.06.1968)]|date=1968}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
* {{Cite book
 | last = Anderson
 | first = Walter Truett
 | author-link = Walter Truett Anderson
 | title = The Upstart Spring: Esalen and the Human Potential Movement: The First Twenty Years
 | publisher = Addison Wesley Publishing Company
 | year = 2004
 | orig-year = 1983
 | isbn = 0-595-30735-3
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Cornwall
 |first = Michael W.
 |title = Alternative Treatment of Psychosis, A Dissertation presented at the California Institute of Integral Studies
 |location = San Francisco, CA
 |year = 2002
 | url = http://www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Cornwall-2002-PhD.pdf
}}
* {{Cite book|last=Goldman|first=Marion S.|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/14600|title=The American Soul Rush: Esalen and the Rise of Spiritual Privilege|publisher=New York University Press|year=2012|via=Project Muse|isbn=978-0-8147-3287-8}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Grogan
 |first = Jessica Lynn
 |title = A Cultural History of the Humanistic Psychology Movement
 |publisher = The University of Texas at Austin
 |year = 2008
 |url = http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2008/groganj03253/groganj03253.pdf
 |access-date = 2015-10-02
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151004062430/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2008/groganj03253/groganj03253.pdf
 |archive-date = 2015-10-04
 |url-status = dead
}}
* {{Cite book
 | last = Kripal
 | first = Jeffrey
 | author-link = Jeffrey Kripal
 | title = Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion
 | publisher = University of Chicago Press
 | year = 2007
 | isbn = 978-0-226-45369-9
}}
* {{Cite book
 | editor1-last = Kripal
 | editor1-first = Jeffrey
 | editor2-last = Shuck
 | editor2-first = Glenn W.
 | title = On The Edge Of The Future: Esalen And The Evolution Of American Culture
 | publisher = Indiana University Press
 | year = 2005
 | isbn = 0-253-21759-8
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/onedgeoffuture00indi
 }}
* {{cite journal
 |last = Lasch
 |first = C.
 |title = The Culture of Narcissism
 |journal = Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic
 |location = New York
 |publisher = W.W. Norton
 |year = 1978
 |volume = 44
 |issue = 5
 |pages = 426–40
 |pmid = 7459500
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Perls
 |first=Frederick
 |author-link = Fritz Perls
 |title=In and Out of the Garbage Pail
 |year=1992 |orig-year=1969
 |publisher=Gestalt Journal Press
 |isbn = 978-0-939266-17-3
}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite magazine |title=In Murphy's Kingdom |first=Jackie |last=Krentzman |date=January–February 2006 |magazine=Stanford Magazine |url=http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/janfeb/articles/murphy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504005908/http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/janfeb/articles/murphy.html |archive-date=2006-05-04}}
* {{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/453699.html |chapter=Totally on Fire: The Experience of Founding Esalen |title=Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion |first=Jeff |last=Kripal |year=2007 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-45369-9 |via=Uchicago.edu |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book
 | last = Lattin
 | first = Don
 | author-link = Don Lattin
 | title = Following Our Bliss : How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today
 | publisher = HarperCollins Publishers
 | year = 2004
 | isbn = 0-06-009394-3
}}
* {{Cite book
 | last = Norman
 | first = Jeff
 | title = Big Sur
 | publisher = Arcadia Publishing
 | series = Images of America Series
 | year = 2004
 | isbn = 0-7385-2913-3
}}
* {{Cite book
 | last = Miller
 | first = Stuart
 | title = Hot Springs: The True Adventures of the First New York Jewish Literary Intellectual in the Human-Potential Movement
 | publisher = Viking Press
 | year = 1971
 | location = New York
 | isbn = 0-226-45369-3
}}
* {{Cite book
 | last = Murphy
 | first = Michael
 | author-link = Michael Murphy (author)
 | title = Golf in the Kingdom
 | publisher = Penguin Books
 | year = 1971
 | isbn = 0-14-019549-1
}}
* {{Cite book
 | last = Murphy
 | first = Michael
 | title = The Future of the Body
 | publisher = Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam
 | year = 1992
 | url = https://archive.org/details/futureofbodyexpl00murp
 | url-access = registration
 | isbn = 0-14-019549-1
}}
* {{cite book 
 | last=Whitmer
 | first=Peter O.
 | title=Aquarius Revisited: Seven Who Created the Sixties Counterculture That Changed America
 | year=2007
 | publisher=Citadel Press
 | isbn=978-0-8065-2856-4
}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{official|http://www.esalen.org/}}

{{Big Sur|state=collapsed}}
{{New Age Movement}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1962 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Gestalt therapy]]
[[Category:Hot springs of California]]
[[Category:Human Potential Movement]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Monterey County, California]]
[[Category:Personal development]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Monterey County, California]]
[[Category:Big Sur]]
[[Category:New Age communities]]
[[Category:New Age organizations]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 1960s]]