Esalen Institute

This article is about the non-profit institute. For the historical location, see Slates Hot Springs.
Esalen Institute
Esalen buildings and hot springs
Founder(s)Michael Murphy
Dick Price
Established1962
FocusHumanistic alternative education
PresidentGordon Wheeler
Key peopleCamille Allen Jeffries CEO, CFO

Ana Gadban, Director of Operations
OwnerEsalen Institute
Address55000 Highway One, Big Sur, CA 93920[1]
Location
Slates Hot Springs
,
Big Sur
,
California
,
United States
Coordinates36°07′37″N 121°38′30″W / 36.12701°N 121.64159°W / 36.12701; -121.64159
WebsiteEsalen Institute
Esalen is located in California
Esalen
Esalen
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Location in California
Meditation Room at Esalen
Esalen Art Barn, 2005

The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education.[2] 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.[3]

Esalen was founded by 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".[4][5] Over the next few years, Esalen became the center of practices and beliefs that make up the New Age movement, from Eastern religions/philosophy, to alternative medicine and mind-body interventions, from transpersonal to Gestalt practice.[6]

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[7] in areas including Gestalt practice, personal growth, meditation, massage, yoga, psychology, ecology, spirituality, and organic food.[8] In 2016, about 15,000 people attended its workshops.[9]

In February 2017, the institute was cut off when 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.[9] As of July 2017, due to the limited access resulting from the road closures, the hot springs are only open to Esalen guests.[9]

  1. ^ "How to Contact Us | Esalen". www.esalen.org.
  2. ^ Goldman 2012, pp. 2–
  3. ^ Misiroglu, Gina, ed. (2009). American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History. Armonk, N.Y.: Sharpe Reference. pp. 238–239. ISBN 978-0765680600. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  4. ^ Kripal 2007, p. 66.
  5. ^ Anderson 2004, p. 64
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference economist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Esalen Institute Launches Campus Renewal with Special Gift for Most Significant Renovation in 52-year History" (Press release). May 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  8. ^ Kripal 2007
  9. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference krieger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).