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The Esalen Institute is a workshop and retreat center in Big Sur, California. It is considered to be the center of the Human potential movement.
Their website states
- The Esalen Institute was founded by Michael Murphy and Dick Price in 1962 as an alternative educational center devoted to the exploration of what Aldous Huxley called the "human potential," the world of unrealized human capacities that lies beyond the imagination. Esalen soon became known for its blend of East/West philosophies, its experiential/didactic workshops, the steady influx of philosophers, psychologists, artists, and religious thinkers, and its breathtaking grounds blessed with natural hot springs. Once home to a Native American tribe known as the Esselen, Esalen is situated on 27 acres (109,000 m²) of spectacular Big Sur coastline with the Santa Lucia Mountains rising sharply behind.
Workshops may cover many subjects including:
- Anthropology
- The Arts
- Biofeedback
- Children
- Communication
- Contemplative
- Creativity
- Dance
- Dreams
- Ecopsychology
- Education
- Families
- Healing
- Health
- Hypnosis
- Integral
- Intellectual Play
- Intuitive Development
- Martial Arts
- Massage Therapy
- Men's Issues
- Movement
- Myth
- Philosophical Inquiry
- Practices
- Professional Growth & Training
- Relationship
- Ritual
- Shamanism
- Social Responsibility
- Somatics
- Spiritual & Religious Studies
- Sport
- Transpersonal Process
- Wilderness
- Women's Issues
- Workplace
- Yoga
Richard Feynman enjoyed the atmosphere but was put off by the pseudoscientific attitudes of some of the participants. He nonetheless gave a workshop. Fritz Perls, Alan Watts, Babatunde Olatunji, Robert Bly, Stanislav Grof, Moshe Feldenkrais, and Rusty Schweickart have taught and spoken at the Esalen Institute as well. Massage and soaking in the natural hot springs are popular activities at Esalen.
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