Voices of Esalen

Lisa Littlebird is a singer, composer, writer, voice coach, and visionary, as well as the former executive director of the Denver Women’s Chorus and the founder of the Wholehearted Chorus, a heart-led, joy-based community chorus, open to all voices on the Central Coast of California. During our conversation at the Esalen Institute, we talked about how she is able to invite singers of ALL abilities...

Today we present an edition of Voices of Esalen On the Road. Our intrepid correspondent Greg Archer took a jaunt to the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, where the film Fantastic Fungi: The Magic Beneath us was having its California premiere. While he was there, he spoke to renowned filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg about the mysteries and magic of mycology. Together they discussed Louie’s unique stop-m...

We’re pleased to introduce a new segment where we dive deep into the history of the Esalen Institute, in order to focus on a lecture previously recorded here in Big Sur. Today our subject is Terence McKenna and his talk entitled “Tryptamine Hallucinogen Consciousness”, recorded in December, 1982. McKenna was an American ethnobotanist, author, lecturer and widely-respected psychonaut known internat...

Yoga Nidra is a conscious relaxation process intended to induce physical, mental, and emotional restoration. It has been shown to ease anxiety, heighten awareness and focus, transform negative habits, and foster feelings of peace, calm, and clarity. John Vosler is a Senior Teacher at the Amrit Yoga Institute, where he leads Yoga Nidra Certification programs. His infectious humor and compassionate...

Gordon Wheeler is the president of Esalen. He's also a licensed clinical psychologist, as well as the author of numerous books on Gestalt psychology, including Gestalt Reconsidered, Beyond Individualism, and The Heart of Development. He is noted for his work integrating the Gestalt tradition with relational and developmental psychology.  Gordon teaches and trains clinicians around the world, also...

Today's episode is part of a series of panels presented at the 9th annual Blue Mind Summit at the Esalen Institute in the summer of 2019. Representing Mindfulness in the summit, Dr. Shauna Shapiro is a professor, author, and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and compassion. She has published over 150 journal articles and co-authored two critically acclaimed books translated into 14...

In the final installment of our Psychedelic Integration series, Marsha Rosenbaum (director of Drug Policy Alliance and author of “Kids, Drug, and Drug Education: A Harm Reduction Approach”), Kristi Panik (chief of psychiatric services of the University Student Health Services at UC Berkeley), and Martin Lee (co-founder, Project CBD) discuss reasonable, realistic, and comprehensive drug-education f...

Martin Lee (Project CBD), Julie Holland (psychiatrist and author of “Moody Bitches” and “The Pot Book”), Rick Doblin (MAPS), Marsha Rosenbaum (director, Drug Policy Alliance), Allan Badiner (conference convener and author of “Zig Zag Zen”), and Dr. Ben Sessa speak about the adaptive capacities of cannabis from a medicinal, therapeutic and historical perspective. Martin Lee then delivers a keynote...

In part 5 of Esalen's Psychedelic Integration series, mycologist Paul Stamets, UC Berkeley professor of neurobiology David Presti, and psychiatrist Ben Sessa explore the contemporary landscape of psilocybin mushrooms, touching upon how mushrooms can help treat depression and other chronic illnesses, the concepts of synchronicity and hyper-focus, how the intravenous administration of psilocybin fun...

Rick Doblin is the founder and executive director of MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. He’s been a tireless proponent of the effort to develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics. At Esalen, he discussed the historical trajectory of MAPS, the legal narrative surrounding psychedelics - in particular MDMA - and why MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has bee...

Michael Pollan's keynote address from the Psychedelic Integration Conference at Esalen Institute, 2019, is part two of a seven-part series drawn from the week's lectures. Pollan is the author of six New York Times bestsellers: "Cooked," "Food Rules; In Defense of Food"; "The Omnivore’s Dilemma," "The Botany of Desire," and now “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches...

The first in a 7-part series, this episode will present a sampler of some of the most notable moments of the 2019 Psychedelic Integration Conference at the Esalen Institute. Environmentalist, conference convener, and Buddhist author Allan Badiner introduces each of the participants, and discusses why psychedelics have become a key touchstone in our current society. Over the course of this 7-episod...

Linda Bloom, LCSW and Charlie Bloom, MSW, are psychotherapists and relationship counselors. They have worked with individuals, couples, groups, and organizations since 1975, and have been married since 1972. In a very open and candid conversation, they share a host of actionable tips culled from their decades of experience with couples. Together we addressed whether couples should share their fina...

During the Esalen Inspirational Film Festival, Ricki Lake stopped by to talk about her new documentary film, "Weed The People," which advocates for the use of cannabis for pediatric cancer patients, citing palliative care advantages as well as tumor shrinkage. She also spoke about a host of topics, including her breakthrough film, "Hairspray," advice she got from John Waters, her first foray into...

Michael Ableman is a farmer, author, photographer and urban and local food systems advocate. Michael has been farming organically since the early 1970′s and is considered one of the pioneers of the organic farming and urban agriculture movements. He is a frequent lecturer to audiences all over the world, and winner of numerous awards for his work. He is also the founder of the Center for Urban Agr...

Peggy Horan is a longtime Esalen staff member, known far and wide for her exceptional work as an Esalen massage therapist and massage teacher. She has been practicing and teaching Esalen Massage for four decades and is the author of Connecting Through Touch, A Couples Massage Book. It was my pleasure to visit Peggy recently at her home on Gorda mountain, which she shares with her husband, artist R...

The esteemed Michael Murphy is the co-founder of the Esalen Institute, and a very smart guy; this is accepted as established fact. What’s somewhat less known about Michael is that he is a sports nut - and an expert on mysticism within the realm of sports. In 1972, Murphy published his first book, Golf in the Kingdom, which went on to sell more than one million copies, becoming a cult classic among...

Paul Selig is a psychic gifted with the skill of clairvoyance. He is sometimes described as a “medium for the living.” Paul is also the award-winning author of many channeled texts, including I am the Word, the book of Love and Creation, the Book of Mastery, and most recently, the Book of Freedom. Of course, Paul will tell you he transcribes these books, rather than writes them - that the true aut...

Mark Coleman is the author of "Make Peace with Your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Help Free You from the Inner Critic" and "Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery." Mark is a senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and has taught there since 2000. He also holds a MA in Clinical Psychology. We spoke about the unique path that brought Mark...

I've always been mystified by the concept of transpersonal psychology and Ken Wilber's Integral Theory. Dustin DiPerna, Harvard-trained scholar of world religions, meditation teacher, and author of several books, including Streams of Wisdom, Evolution's Ally, and Earth is Eden, took this one on for me. Dustin and I spoke about a host of topics, including his brief foray into the fashion industry a...

Dr. Rick Hanson is a psychologist and author whose interests lie in the confluence of modern neuroscience and ancient contemplative practices. Hanson is the author of Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, Hardwiring Happiness, and most recently, Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness, which discusses using positive neuroplasticity to develop vital inner strengths like...

Mikey Siegel is the founder of the Consciousness Hacking movement. Siegel studied computer engineering at UC Santa Cruz, then worked at NASA in the field of Intelligent Robotics. He’s also worked at the MIT Media Lab, focusing in part on social robotics. He uses technology to facilitate a path toward higher consciousness, self-realization, awakening, and transcendence.

Perry Holloman is an internationally renowned massage instructor - he has been a teacher and practitioner of Esalen Massage, Deep Bodywork, and body-oriented approaches to Relational Gestalt Process work for more than 30 years. He and his wife Johanna Holloman teach in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, and enjoy legions of faithful followers with their brand of Deep Bodywork. Together we explored a bit...

Suzanne Scurlock-Durana is one of the world’s leading authorities on conscious awareness. A longtime leader at Esalen, Suzanne is a Craniosacral therapist and an instructor with the Upledger Institute. She created the comprehensive Healing From the Core training curriculum, empowering her audience with practical tools that enable them to experience joy in each moment without burning out. She also...

Steve Paulson is the Executive Producer and one of the founders of the beloved NPR radio show,To The Best Of Our Knowledge. He is a master interviewer, having conducted many thousands of interviews over the course of a 27-year career. Steve has been a contributing writer for Salon.com, Slate, Huffington Post and The Atlantic. His radio reports have also been broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition and...