Today we celebrate Bicycle Day, a modern semi-holiday (unrecognized by official governmental agencies yet observed by psychedelic enthusiasts across the globe) that commemorates Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman’s bike ride home from his lab on April 19th, 1943, after ingesting 250 micrograms of lysergic acid diethlymide, and in the process creating the world's first recorded intentional LSD trip. When Hoffman originally synthesized the compound in 1938, in the Sandoz Pharmeacuticals laboratory, in Basel, he had deemed it next to useless, and put it up on the shelf to be forgotten - but five years later, something within him told him to take a second look. The rest, as they say, is history. 
Today’s Voices of Esalen episode is a treasure drawn from our extensive archives - an interview with Albert Hoffman himself, conducted by none other than Stanislav Grof, sometimes known as the godfather of LSD psychotherapy. Grof was a Czechoslovakian psychoanalyst who was enormously influenced by Hoffman’s discovery of LSD; in his research in Czechoslovakia he oversaw tens of thousands of supervised therapeutic LSD trips. Grof would emigrate to the United States in the late 1960’s, a move precipitated by the Soviet invasion of his country. Grof spent more than ten years as a teacher in residence at the Esalen Institute during the 1970’s and 80’s, where he developed the practice of holotropic breath work and became one of the founders of the school of transpersonal psychology. In this interview, Grof and Hoffman explore a host of topics, including Hoffman’s discovery of LSD and how on his first trip, Hoffman freaked out and thought he was going insane, then thought he was dying; how Hoffman then became aware that his new discovery would have immense significance to the field of psychiatry; why Hoffman believed LSD could be used as a model psychosis and a way to study schizophrenia; how Hoffman collaborated with amateur mycologist R. Gordon Wasson to create a synthetic version of so-called magic mushrooms, which would be known as psilocybin; how Hoffman traveled to Mexico to deliver this modern version of mushrooms to the famed curandera Maria Sabina, who had introduced Wasson to the mushrooms in the first place, and more. They end this interview by speaking about Hoffman’s reaction to the way LSD escaped the laboratory and infiltrated culture during the turbulent 1960s. 
This interview was conducted at Esalen Institute in 1984 - just one part of the ever evolving and complex tapestry of history that unfolded here in Big Sur.

Albert Hoffman: Stan Grof Interviews Hoffman at Esalen, 1984

BJ Miller is a renowned palliative care physician, author, and speaker.  Well known for his 2015 TED Talk ”What Really Matters at the End of Life,” which has been viewed over 10 million times, BJ is a thought leader in the field of conscious dying. 

When he was a sophomore at Princeton University, BJ experienced a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of three of his limbs. He followed a path in the medical field, and fell in love with palliative care while in residency. He has been helping patients and their families ever since.

In this live conversation at the Esalen Institute, BJ shares his insights on the differences between palliative and hospice care, the emotional and spiritual needs of patients facing terminal diagnoses, and the role of spirituality in end-of-life treatment.

BJ also talks about his experiences working with patients and their families, how to help people come to terms with their own impending death, and how to help them become unstuck from a negative narrative.

One of the most fascinating topics discussed in this conversation is the role of psychedelics in end-of-life care. BJ shares his thoughts on the recent Johns Hopkins study concerning psilocybin mushrooms and end-of-life anxiety in cancer patients, where up to 80% of participants reported significant reductions in anxiety and improved quality of life

As we wrap up the conversation, BJ shares his thoughts on how he sees palliative care evolving in the future, and what role he sees himself playing in that evolution. He also talks about how his online palliative care service, Mettle Health, will free him up to do palliative care the way he wants to do it.

Life and Death with BJ Miller: A Live Conversation at Esalen Institute

Deborah Eden Tull is a spiritual activist, author, and sustainability educator who works to teach the integration of compassionate awareness into our everyday lives. For seven years, she trained as a Buddhist monk at a silent Zen monastery. She has been teaching engaged meditation for over 20 years. Her latest book, “Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown”  was released in September of 2022. 

She currently resides in the mountains of western North Carolina, originally Cherokee land, with her husband, offering retreats, workshops, classes, and consultations nationally and internationally, integrating presence and partnership with nature.

Eden’s teaching emphasizes the personal, interpersonal, transpersonal, societal, ecological, mystical, and global impacts of awareness practice. She has worked with a wide range of audiences, from dharma students and people wanting to cultivate more compassion in their lives, to concerned citizens and activists, parents, schools, inner city youth, non-profits and corporations, and people who are incarcerated. Her current focus is training and empowering leaders and facilitators in conscious response and regenerative leadership as we collectively navigate the climate crisis.

In this episode, we explore her childhood and her journey as a Buddhist monk, then discuss her longstanding interest in shadow work, the path by which she helps individuals release limiting beliefs, and how she believes mindfulness and meditation can help up tap into our full potential. We'll also explore her work on post-patriarchal thought and practices, her insights on relational intelligence, and principally, we discuss the major themes of her book, Luminous Darkness, focusing on  her approach of "Endarkenment," which seeks to challenge traditional dualistic understandings of light and dark in spiritual practice.

Eden’s work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Tricycle, Yogi Times, Shambhala Times, The Shift Network, Best Self, and The Ecologist. You can visit her and check out her books, upcoming retreats and workshops and many of her podcast interviews at https://www.deborahedentull.com/

Deborah Eden Tull's upcoming workshops and retreats:
https://www.deborahedentull.com/retreats

Deborah Eden Tull: Shadow Work, Limiting Beliefs, and Luminous Darkness

Today our episode centers on a talk given at Esalen in 1985 by Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. Weil is a prominent figure and a trailblazer in the field of integrative medicine, which combines conventional medical practices with alternative and complementary therapies such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, and mind-body techniques.  (All of this of course used to be rather fringe; Esalen in the 1980’s, was a bit fringe, too. Nowadays, things like acupuncture and herbal medicine raise nary an eyebrow, and Esalen, to be honest, is pretty darn mainstream too.)
On this date in 1985, Dr. Weil speaks about various drugs and psychedelics, as well as the cultural attitudes attached to them. Weil to this point had had a curious relationship to psychedelics: in the early 1960s, while a student at Harvard, he observed the infamous Harvard Psilocybin experiments conducted by Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, and then reported on them in the Harvard Crimson, ultimately leading to the academic downfall and subsequent dismissal of Leary and Alpert. Later in his life, Weil would reconnect with Alpert, who had by then assumed the moniker of Ram Das, and he would finally taste the forbidden fruit, and henceforth become an advocate of psychedelics. 
Weil speaks a great deal during this talk about the drug MDMA, otherwise known as Ecstasy, which on June 1st of that very year was made illegal and classified as a Schedule 1 substance. MDMA had been widely used as a therapy drug for nearly 15 years since its rediscovery in the 1970s by chemist Sasha Shulgin, but in the early 1980s, it also became quite popular in dance subcultures, particularly in the gay community, and most notably in Dallas, Texas. Of course, in the mid 1980’s, Ronald Reagan’s war on drugs was raging, and it provided the perfect storm for MDMA to be made unlawful. So given this context, it’s both interesting and informative to hear Weil, the former psychedelic whistleblower turned hippie physician, speak at length and quite intelligently about MDMA. He also addresses a host of other topics, including whether or not marijuana causes brain damage, peyote, how DEA scheduling works, the so-called new physics , how belief interacts with the physical mechanisms of the body, hypnotherapy, fire-walking, coffee, chocolate, and more. It's a fun episode. 

By the way . . . Esalen Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing human potential and promoting positive social change. Your support helps us continue to offer transformative programs and retreats that promote personal growth and collective wellbeing. To learn more about Esalen and how you can support our mission, visit our website at esalen.org.

Dr. Andrew Weil's 1985 Lecture at Esalen on Psychedelic Drugs (MDMA, Peyote, Marijuana)

Katy Bowman is a bestselling author and speaker who’s revolutionizing the way that we think about movement and our need for it in today’s modern culture. 

In this episode, we explore Katy's unique perspective on movement and discuss her upcoming book, "Rethink Your Position." We touch on topics such as "tech neck," junk-food movement, sedentary culture, furniture-free homes, minimalist footwear, the art of long distance walking, the benefits of hanging, dynamic workstations, your "sleep shapes" and how to change them, trampolines, jumping, creating movement-positive zones for children, and more.

https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/

Katy's Podcast, "Move Your DNA" : https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/podcast/

Direct link to Rethink Your Position: https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/product/rethink-your-position-reshape-your-exercise-yoga-and-everyday-movement-one-part-at-a-time/

Katy Bowman: Rethink Your Position

Stacia Butterfield is a somatic practitioner and a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator.

Stacia's journey into Holotropic breath work started in 1999. Since then, she has been on a quest to explore the wisdom of the body and the intrinsic healing orientation of the psyche. She worked with Dr. Deborah Mash at Healing Visions, an early Ibogaine clinic in the British Virgin Islands and certified as a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator in 2005. She worked closely with Stanislav Grof for over 13 years. 

In this episode, we delve into Stacia's personal journey into this work, her experience with breathwork versus psychedelics, and the importance of set and setting in creating a safe and supportive environment for healing. We also discuss how she creates and uses an environment for integration after the breathwork sessions, and why Esalen, in particular, is such a significant place for integration.

Stacia Butterfield: Holotropic Breathwork's Unique Power

East Forest is a multidisciplinary artist, known by some for his 5-hour album "Music for Mushrooms," designed to accompany a psychedelic journey. Other folks may know him from his album "Ram Dass," where he created beautiful soundscapes to accompany interviews he did with Ram Dass, in fact the last known interviews ever done with Ram Dass before he passed into the next realm. Some people know him from his podcast, Ten Laws with East Forest, an extraordinary interview podcast where he talks with the likes of Duncan Trussell, Aurbrey Marcus, Danica Patrick. He has found a unique way to combine music, meditation, technology, and the experience of deep listening as a doorway, as a pathway towards acknowledging our own human essence. Its fair to say his creations are not just musical compositions; they are gateways to spiritual encounters, designed to inspire introspection. 

In this episode, we dive deep into his thoughts around the creative process, and get into his early days as a musician, when he was an up and coming Brooklynite around the time of Occupy Wall Street. We speak about his success, and about how success can actually make the creative process much more difficult. We talk a little bit about generative AI and how it’s coming for musicians, the ambient musicians in particular, and what can be done about it. We of course chat about his collaboration with Ram Das and how the track "Sit Around the Fire," a collaboration with Jon Hopkins, was created.
I just love this dude and his commitment to simple honesty, to discipline, to ritual, to reverence, to creativity. He’s good people and a great artist. One of my most enjoyable conversations in recent memory. 

Check out his recent single, The Cosmic Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0CsBuoR-_U

Photo: George Evan

East Forest on Immersive Ambient Music, Tools for Deep Introspection, AI, and Creativity

Rhonda McGee is the author of the book “The Inner Work of Racial Justice." She is a visionary law professor and mindfulness teacher who has dedicated her life and her work to integrating contemplative practices with issues of social justice.

In this episode, we dive deep into the idea that inner transformation can serve as a useful and effective catalyst for societal change. We discuss how mindfulness practices can support individuals in recognizing and transforming their own internalized biases - although of course, it’s no guarantee. To this point, Rhonda touches upon some of the obstacles individuals may face when engaging in the kind of inner work designed to confront privilege. 

As Rhonda explores this interplay between compassion and fear, she highlights the dual nature of realizing our shared humanity -  the complex emotions , the joys and fears that arise when acknowledging our interconnectedness - as well as the internal conflicts individuals face when confronted with the need for societal change and personal discomfort.

Throughout this conversation, Rhonda emphasizes the importance of creating spaces, spaces like Esalen, where we can honestly explore and embrace our emotions. She urges us to examine this collective longing for a new way forward, one that transcends historical patterns of oppression, one that invites all individuals to a grounded and inclusive existence. 

We also get into the history of the human potential movement, and talk about how the focus from individual human potential is shifting to a collective vision, and we talk about how institutions can leverage mindfulness and compassion to create more inclusive and equitable organizations.

https://www.rhondavmagee.com/

Inner Transformation for Collective Justice: A Conversation with Rhonda Magee

Congressman David Price is a veteran of American politics. He served North Carolina's 4th congressional district for over three decades, retiring recently in 2022. Price was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina and a graduate of Yale University, where he received a PhD in Political Science. In Congress, he was for many years a key member of the House Appropriations Committee, well-known for being able to work both sides of the aisle. In addition, he was an early opponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and a studied adversary of media consolidation. In recent years, he worked diligently to promote parliamentary democracy in other countries. 

Together we delve into the diminishing bipartisanship in the United States Congress, a topic that Price has experienced firsthand, and explore the nature of conflict and its resolution within the political landscape. We also take a deep dive into the intricacies of North Carolina's electoral politics, shedding light on how Price leveraged polling data to secure his initial victories in the 1980s. Finally, we will touch upon the ongoing battle against cynicism in politics, a struggle that the congressman has confronted throughout his career.

Congressman David Price: Navigating Political Conflict and Partisanship in Congress

Sonya Renee Taylor is a renowned activist, best-selling author, and celebrated thought leader whose work in racial justice, body liberation, and radical self-love has reshaped conversations around identity and healing.

At the heart of her groundbreaking book, “The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love” lies a transformative message that dismantles shame and oppression, offering a profound roadmap to reclaiming innate self-worth, and fostering a revolutionary connection with the world around us.

Beyond her notable talents as a poet, writer and speaker, Sonya has a rich history in advocacy and activism, which including work as a sexuality health educator, therapeutic wilderness counselor; mental health case worker; Director of Peer Education at HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive) in Washington, D.C.; and Capacity Building and Training Director at the Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute. 

She is a great follow on social media; her series "What's up Y'all?" features Sonya riffing extemporaneously on issues of the day, including abortion, climate change, AI, white supremacy culture, the Supreme Court, and a lot more. 

Above all, Sonya's journey has been marked by a dedication to reshaping narratives. Join us as we explore her journey, her insights, and her relentless pursuit of a world where self-love intersects with justice, redefining what it means to truly embrace others and ourselves.

https://www.sonyareneetaylor.com/

Photo by Thais Aquino
https://www.thaisaquino.com/

Sonya Renee Taylor: Mastering Radical Self-Love for Epic Transformation

John Bucher is a mythologist, storyteller, and writer based out of Hollywood, California. He serves as Executive Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation and is an author, podcaster, and speaker. He has worked with government and cultural leaders around the world as well as organizations such as  HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, Atlas Obscura, and The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation. He has served as a producer, consultant, and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. He is the author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. He holds a PhD in Mythology and Depth Psychology and has spoken on 6 continents about using the power of story and myth to reframe how individuals, organizations, cultures, and nations believe and behave.

Today he explicates the work of Joseph Campbell, focusing on the Hero's Journey, Follow Your Bliss, Bill Moyers, Jung's influence on Campbell, Campbell's love for Big Sur and his special relationship with Esalen, and much more. We're joined by a special guest: Cloned Joseph Campbell, who peppers John with several incisive questions. Tons of fun, kind of uncanny, and overall quite educational.

The Hero's Journey and Beyond: Mythologist John Bucher on the work of Joseph Campbell

Dr. Ken Dychtwald is best described as a visionary thinker - he’s a psychologist, a gerontologist, a masterful public speaker, and the best-selling author of more than 19 books. Ken has dedicated his life's work to understanding the implications of human potential for all people. Over the course of his career, he has become one of America’s foremost authorities on aging-related issues, shaping our understanding of lifestyle, marketing, healthcare, economics, and the workforce, all in the context of an evolving and aging society.

Ken Dychtwald is the co Founder and CEO of Age Wave, an acclaimed think tank and consultancy focused on the global opportunities of rising longevity. His groundbreaking insights have garnered international recognition, earning him prestigious awards and accolades. In 2016 he and his wife Maddy Kent Dychtwald received the Esalen Prize for outstanding contributions to advancing human potential. 

In this captivating talk recorded live at Esalen in April of 2023, Ken dives deep into his Esalen story, from the first encounter groups he ended up in as a 19 year old, to rubbing shoulders with John Lilly, Ram Dass, and Timothy Leary, to the best selling book he would write at age 22, "Body Mind." He also traces his path into the field of gerontology, and reveals some of the  cosmic magic that awaits us as we embrace the power of aging.

Please note: all the of the wonderful stories and life lessons you’re about to hear,  and many, many more can be found in Ken’s newly released memoir Radical Curiosity: My Life on the Age Wave. And by the way, all of Ken’s earnings from this book are being generously donated to Esalen.

To purchase Ken's new book and support Esalen, please visit:

https://rb.gy/aogla

Ken Dychtwald: Radical Curiosity, Esalen Memories, and His Life on the Age Wave

Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga®, and the author of  The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom. He is renowned for making ancient wisdom and practices accessible to modern audiences.  Raised in Los Angeles, Rod was just 19 years old when he began his study of yoga. He taught his first class in 1980 and went on to teach here at Esalen, among many, many other locales. In addition to mentoring thousands of students worldwide, Rod also serves on the board of Give Back Yoga Foundation and is a featured faculty member of Yoga International. He is a father to four amazing souls and currently lives in Boise, Idaho.

In there role of co-host and wisdom contributor is Sadia Bruce. Sadia serves as head of Experiential Programming at Esalen, where she also teaches yoga in the tradition of Krishnamacharya. Sadia endeavors to create energized, radically-inclusive learning environments that are guided by breath and driven by inquiry - she hopes to share an understanding of yoga that is integrative, sensorial, and enlivening. Sadia is also committed to bringing yoga and yoga-based practices to non-traditional environments and underserved populations, and to mentoring new teachers in relational dynamics, development of teaching voice, and teaching to economically, ethnically and culturally diverse populations. She is an insightful, sensitive teacher whose breath-based teaching encourages pleasurable practice that nourishes rather than depletes— inspiring new openings rather than the deepening of old patterns.

Rod Stryker: Yoga Pedagogy, Hierarchies, and the Quest for Relational Learning

Today, we're taking a journey into the Esalen archives to explore the thought-provoking theories of Terence McKenna - an Esalen luminary if there’s ever been one - a thinker who's had a profound impact on modern culture, particularly regarding our understanding of altered states of consciousness. 

For those of you who've been with us on this Voices of Esalen journey for a while, you'll know that this isn't our first foray into the world of Terence McKenna - he lectured at Esalen hundreds of times, and we've featured his insights in multiple previous episodes.

But I believe that the more you listen to McKenna, the more you recognize the layers of depth and significance in his body of work. It's a bit like the Talmud, or maybe the Grateful Dead, where every piece feels like a vital segment of a larger tapestry. There simply are no missteps or unremarkable talks when it comes to McKenna. it all matters. Thus, we venture on. 

This episode is actually just part of a talk that McKenna gave in August, 1992 at Esalen, but in it, McKenna outlines one of his most popular theories, that which has been referred to as his Stoned Ape Hypothesis. (If there was a greatest hits album for Terence McKenna, this would certainly be on it.) The Stoned Ape hypothesis posits that the ingestion of psilocybin mushrooms had transformative effects on early Homo Sapiens communities, likely shaping the course of our evolution. McKenna believes psilocybin may have altered human behavior and societal structures, by suppressing male dominance hierarchies, enhancing communal values, improving hunting capabilities and in many cases fueling ecstatic orgies.

Plus, he just says some absolutely magical sentences. Like this:" . . . the book called 'Food of the Gods' was deliberately designed as a kind of Trojan horse... It is something left on the doorstep of anthropology, a foundling as it were . . and when they open the door, they will find this thing on their doorstep and it hopefully take it inside and then discover too late that the elf machines of hyperspace like Greek militiamen are inside, ready to pour out and take over the bastions of human emergence theory."

So sit back, relax, and savor the eloquence of one of the most compelling orators in the annals of Esalen history.

Terence McKenna: The Stoned Ape Hypothesis (8/22/92)

Sadia Bruce is head of experiential programming at the Esalen Institute, where she also teaches yoga in the tradition of Krishnamacharya but enjoys drawing from rich array of teachers, a panoply of movement modalities, and indeed the entire spectrum of human experience to share an understanding of yoga that is integrative, sensorial, and enlivening.
Sadia’s work revolves around creating energized, radically-inclusive learning environments that are guided by breath and driven by inquiry. She is also deeply committed to bringing yoga-based practices to non-traditional environments and underserved populations, to mentoring new teachers, and to reaching economically, ethnically and culturally diverse populations. 

This interview was conducted live at Esalen on October 18, 2023.

Sadia Bruce: Exploring the Synergy of Breath, Land, Yoga, Creativity, and Intimate Connection

Neil Baldwin is a longtime Esalen community member and preschool teacher, first with Esalen's Gazebo Preschool, established 1977, and now with Big Sur Park School, still located at Esalen. Neil came to Esalen from England in the early 1980’s at the behest of a psychic named Jenny O’Connor. He would end up living at Esalen for more than two decades, working in a great many capacities over the years, and finally settling into his zone of genius, at the Gazebo preschool, where he held sway as a trusted and beloved park keeper and teacher. In this chat, Neil and I discuss the Esalen of the 1980’s, with its profound emphasis on and many flavor of Gestalt psychology, as well as the influence of Dick Price before his untimely passing in 1985, Werner Erhard's est, the work of Paula Shaw, his friendship with Dick Price's son, David, the ways that Esalen assisted his own personal growth, his experiences with dolphins and whales, and much more.

Neil Baldwin on Esalen of the '80's: Gestalt, Gazebo, and Psychic Phenomena

Rahshaana Green is the Director of Equity and Contemplative Psychotherapy at the Nalanda Institute.  After receiving her BA in Biophysical Chemistry from Dartmouth College and an MBA from University of Texas-Austin, Rahshaana combined her passion for science and business skills to spend 15+ years in Marketing and Business Development for medical device and life science companies.

One day, a car accident helped her find her way to a yoga mat as a means of recovery and it opened her eyes to the power of embodied practices as a tool for self-discovery, self-care and self-healing. Rahshaana got trained in Forrest yoga to help bring these tools to others.  She then pursued personal study in meditation, mindfulness, and compassion practices to deepen her own growth and to empower others to cultivate well-being and resilience.  When she’s not teaching or coaching, Rahshaana is a global explorer, continuously seeking new methods of movement to enrich her life and the lives of those she teaches.

 In this conversation, we really drilled down into what makes diversity initiatives successful versus unsuccessful, potent versus ineffective. We discussed how and why code switching functions, what are some of the key traits of a truly inclusive leader, what she believes is the future of diversity and equity work, and how she’s able to stay positive, focused and radiantly alive while pursuing what can be a challenging career path. 
Visit Rahshaana on the web at https://www.rahshaanagreen.com/

Mindful Inclusivity: Rahshaana Green on Bridging Equity and Embodied Practices

Dr. Bia Labate is a queer Brazilian anthropologist and Executive director of the Chacruna Insitute for Plant Medicines. She also serves as Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Chacruna promotes reciprocity in the psychedelic community, and supports the protection of sacred plants and cultural traditions. They advance psychedelic justice through curating critical conversations and uplifting the voices of women, queer people, Indigenous peoples, people of color, and the Global South in the field of psychedelic science.

Chacruna Psychedelic Culture Conference, 2024: https://chacruna.net/conferences/

Chacruna Membership: https://chacruna.net/membership/

People of Color Making a Difference in Psychedelic Healing:
https://chacruna.net/people-of-color-making-a-difference-in-psychedelic-healing/

Voices of Unity: Advancing Psychedelic Justice with Bia Labate

Please note that Terence McKenna spools forth a kind of complicated, highly erudite babble of text that is designed to be imbibed or absorbed in an almost osmotic fashion. His words don’t necessarily need to be decoded; they can simply be enjoyed, for their texture, for their sound, and absolutely for their message, though the message is often so abstract or so dense or so inventive so as to render it difficult to comprehend. Here are his words, from a random Terence talk delivered at Esalen in 1992: “Our task is not to understand. It is to appreciate.” Yes indeed. 

Rupert Sheldrake is a scientist and author, sometimes accused of being a new age author, who’s achieved some level of notoriety, primarily due to his widely debated concept of “morphic resonance.” Morphic resonance essentially suggests that there is a kind of collective memory in nature. According to Sheldrake, similar forms , or morphic units, resonate with and influence each other through time and space. For example, he suggests that if rats learn a new trick in one part of the world, rats elsewhere will learn it more quickly, as the morphic field of rats has been "tuned" to this new behavior. In Sheldrake’s words, natural systems ... “inherit a collective memory from all previous things of their kind."  This collective memory is responsible for "telepathy-type interconnections between organisms.”  Critics have cited a lack of evidence for the concept of morphic resonance, and noted the ways that it contrasts with established thought in genetics, embryology, neuroscience, and biochemistry. Yet this is precisely the sort of reasoning that a man like Terence McKenna, who was highly scientific and precise in his thinking yet wildly out of the box and creative when it came to systems of thinking, would be fascinated by. 
Ralph Abraham is a mathematician and pioneer in the study of chaos theory. What is chaos theory? Simply put, chaos theory explores how any action, no matter how small, can lead to complex and unpredictable behavior in physical systems. 

Abraham founded the Visual Math Institute in Santa Cruz and continues to teach there now. His work like McKenna’s and Sheldrake’s, examines consciousness, the nature of reality, and the intersection of science and spirituality. He is the author of a great number of books that tackle a variety of subjects, including the tome Foundations of Mechanics,  the Evolutionary Mind , written with McKenna and Sheldrake, as well as “Hip Santa Cruz: First-Person Accounts of the Hip Culture of Santa Cruz, California in the 1960s.”  Like the other two persons showcased in this delightful episode of Voices of Esalen, drawn from the prodigious Esalen archives, he is undoubtedly a really smart person. 

I hope you’ll enjoy this trialogue - this episode is really a part one of a really long, cool, strange conversation, that would eventually lead to a book authored by these three great minds, if I’m not mistaken: "Trialogues at the Edge of the West."

Terence McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph Abraham: Trialogue at Esalen, 9/8/89 Pt. 1

Good gracious. 2023 was a heck of a year: Not only did Voices of Esalen pass the 1 million download marker, yes indeed, but we had a host of superb guests, and I managed to make friends with the AI and not get replaced - yet.
Beyond the walls of Esalen, 2023 was a little terrifying - by all accounts it was the hottest year in recorded history; according to European Union scientists, global temperatures have not been this high in 125,000 years. Ukraine’s counteroffensive fizzled, and in the United States, Ukraine fatigue set in among lawmakers who dug in their heels against sending more aid to Kyiv. Civil war broke out in Sudan. US China tensions rose. Israel and Hamas embarked upon a bloody conflict that threatens to spread further throughout the Middle East. India became the world’s most populous country - not China. Elon Musk bought Twitter, changed it’s name to X, tanked it’s stock price, and in the name of so-called free-speech absolutism replatformed a host of dangerous conspiracy theorists, including snake oil salesman and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting denier Alex Jones. Tucker Carlson got fired from Fox. Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering as well as defrauding investors in his crypto exchange, FTX.  Hawaii wildfires burned 17,000 acres of land in Maui, killing 100; in Canada, 68 % of the Northwest Territories were forced to evacuate to other regions of the country in their own enormous set of wildfires. Oregon rolled out the United State’s first legal psychedelic services program, while MAPS inched closer and closer to an FDA-approved MDMA therapy program.
But alongside this cavalcade of geopolitical news, AI made great strides. In this episode, we'll explore the AI tools that apply to audio, including voice cloning, voice translation, audio dubbing, automatic song creation, voice to voice chatting with Chat GPT for educational purposes, and voice to voice connecting with Pi for advanced emotive and brainstorming purposes. 
Much love to you and to yours in 2024. Thank you so much for being on this Voices of Esalen ride. Your support and interest means so much to Esalen and so much to me. Peace.
Photograph: Michelle Magdalena Maddox

Harmonizing with the Uncanny: Sam Recaps 2023 and AI's Surreal Audio Innovations

Laraaji is often thought of as one of progenitors of new age music. He was discovered by Brian Eno while playing meditational music in Washington Square Park in the early 1980's. After studying classical composition at Howard University’s College of Fine arts from 1962 to 1964, Laraaji was initially drawn to the world of stand-up comedy, which he excelled in. He was featured in the movie Putney Swope, but though the career path of an actor did not blend well enough with his interest in spirituality, laughter remained a key trope in the composition of his life. His playful, trickster persona pleasantly offsets the meaningful koans of wisdom he gifts throughout his work.  

Laraaji’s approach to creating music and to making speech is not just an art form; it's a deep, meditative process that invites both the performer and the listener into a state of present-moment awareness. In doing so, Laraaji bridges the gap between the terrestrial and the cosmic, awakening a dormant understanding that everything in the universe is interconnected, and playing out simultaneously. 

Beyond his unique perspective, Laraaji is quite simply a musical genius, very very prolific, with more than 50 albums to date and a full 2024 performance schedule. His music provides a wonderful companion to meditation, to journeying, to walking, to breathing, to being. 

Laraaji was at Esalen as part of Esalen’s inagural Go Within series, curated and hosted by Sadia Bruce, which also featured performances from Mary Lattimore and Snow Raven. 

https://www.esalen.org/learn/go-within-winter-series-2023-2024

Laraaji and Sam sat down and did this in front of a live studio audience in late December 2023. We began with a beautiful micro concert, performed by Laraaji and Arji Oceananda. 

Laraaji's 2024 tour schedule and more: 

http://laraaji.blogspot.com/

Vertical Vibrations: Laraaji's Dance with Time, Music, and Cosmic Laughter - Live at Esalen

In this particular moment, there is a call to reawaken our inherent belonging to the Earth and to cultivate a relationship with the land that is based on mutual respect, deep listening, and coexistence. Wildtender answers that call. 
Noël Vietor and Fletcher Tucker are co-founders of Wildtender. They offer immersive wilderness programs that cultivate intimacy with the natural world, connect with wisdom traditions, and nurture human wholeness.  Today, in this conversation, Noël and Fletcher guide us through their philosophy, which is rooted in the ancient paths of kincentric animism, embodied awareness, and the deep, interconnected wisdom of living beings. They also dig into their history at Esalen Institute, including the deep influence that Gestalt had on them, and mention some of their most profound Esalen influences, including but not limited to the work of Dick Price, Dorothy Charles, and Steven Harper. Additionally, they acknowledge the Esselen Tribe. With great respect and admiration for the Esselen (ancestors and descendants alike), Wildtender vows to operate as reverent and respectful guests on their sacred tribal lands, and to honor them in action and intention. 

To learn more about Wildtender and to be up to date on their offerings, go to their site, https://www.wildtender.com/ 

Next Wildtender / Esalen offering: 

Backpacking Journey to Esalen
April 29 - May 5, 2024

Embark on an intentional wilderness journey through the sublime and seldom-traveled backcountry of Big Sur, concluding at the coastal grounds of the Esalen Institute. Among the fleeting gifts of Spring – free-flowing creeks, boundless wildflower fields and vibrant wildlife – immerse in the wild with an intimate cohort (up to twelve participants), practice awareness and community, and learn fundamental skills to feel at home on the earth. Over the course of five nights and four full days on the trail, we will embody a contemporary form of pilgrimage, traveling as reverent guests through this sacred wilderness (historic Esselen tribal territory). Inspired by Esalen’s co-founder Dick Price, who found healing and transformation wandering the Big Sur wild, we will engage Gestalt practices from the Esalen lineage – including group check-ins to help us connect with ourselves, each other, and the land…

https://www.wildtender.com/

Our Ancient Kinship with the Wild: A Conversation with Noël Vietor & Fletcher Tucker of Wildtender

Stephen Dubner is the New York Times best-selling author and host of the podcast Freakonomics. I met Stephen when he and his Freakonomics crew came to Esalen for an on-site interview that centered around deceased Nobel Prize winner and occasional Esalen lecturer Richard Feynman. Feynman assisted in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II; later in his career, he investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. 
During the 1980s, in Big Sur, three women who had experience with underground psychedelic therapy, Debby Harlow, Barbara Berg, and Cheryl Haley, initiated Feynman through the psychedelic experience. Now, the Freakonomics team was interested in interviewing these three women, at Esalen, where they had initially met Feynman. 

We gathered together in the famed Fritz room at the southern most tip of the Esalen property, and I got to see Stephen do his work. He seemed fascinated with Feynman, not just as an intellect, but as a human being. And in many ways, as a person, Feynman exemplified the human potential project — he pursued expansion and fulfillment, right up to the very end of his life.

I am thankful for Feynman, if only because it linked me to Stephen Dubner, one of my favorite writers, thinkers and interviewers alive today. In our conversation, we delve into the life of Feynman, but save a little time to talk AI, job loss, storytelling, the future of work, and the critical role of community. In this episode, I play some short clips from one of the recent Freakonomics episodes: "Mr Feynman Takes a Trip — But Doesn’t Fall." I also play a few brief segments from one of Feynman’s talks at Esalen Institute in 1984, which he called Tiny Machines.

Enjoy Freakonomics: 

https://freakonomics.com/series/freakonomics-radio/

Stephen Dubner: Freakonomics, Feynman, AI, and the Future of Work

Bayo Akomolafe is an author, teacher, and modern philosopher whose work challenges the boundaries of conventional thought. Bayo was born in 1983 into a Christian home to Yoruban parents in western Nigeria. Soon after he was born, his family moved to Bonn, Germany, to accommodate his diplomat father. While in Zaire, Bayo’s father passed away suddenly, leaving a teenaged Bayo to grapple with the painful loss. 

As a young, restless academic, Bayo studied psychology and notions of healing, eventually meeting with scores of traditional shamans as a quest to better understand the notion trauma, healing and well-being. His concerns for decolonized landscapes congealed into a life spent exploring the nuances of a “magical” world he describes as “too promiscuous to fit neatly into our fondest notions of it.”

I think you’ll find that Bayo's work is deeply rooted in the trickster archetype, which above all else encourages us to reconsider the solidity of things: of our understandings of reality, identity, and activism.  He’s an advocate for a world beyond fixed boundaries, where his only clear allegiance is to emergence, to a perpetual becoming rather than being.

I had such a wonderful time talking to Bayo - and I’ll mention that his ideas, so rich in density and expressed with a true poetic grace, might not unfold their meanings upon first listening. Let the buyer beware. Yet, as we navigate this conversation, the layers begin to reveal themselves, and in the end, they present a convincing argument for reconceiving reality, not as a static entity but as a dynamic unfolding of relations.

https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/

Bayo Akomolafe on Tricksterism, Post Activism, and Artificial Intelligence

In recent times, an essential piece of our nation’s history is facing challenges and censorship across the country, making it all the more crucial we reaffirm our commitment to honoring and understanding our shared narrative. Our discussion today is not just a journey through the past; it's a conversation about the importance of preserving these narratives in the face of attempts to erase them. 

Historian Jan Batiste Adkin’s work meticulously documents the rich history of Black people in these regions, shedding light on the experiences of these communities. She is the author of "African Americans of San Francisco," "African Americans of Monterey County," and "African Americans of San Jose and Santa Clara County" and in this conversation she sheds light on the major trends and experiences of Black communities in the California Bay Area from the time of the establishment of the Golden State.

This conversation was recorded live at Esalen in late February of 2024. 

Visit Jan Adkins at https://www.africanamericanhistories.com/

African American History of the California Bay Area with Jan Batiste Adkins

Dr. Andrea Juhan is a revered figure in the realms of somatic psychotherapy, dance, and yoga. With over forty years dedicated to exploring embodiment through diverse avenues—be it bodywork, somatic psychotherapy, or dance—Dr. Juhan has profoundly impacted the fields of mindful movement and therapeutic practices.

Andrea is not only a licensed Marriage and Family Psychotherapist but also holds a Ph.D. in Dance and Movement Therapy. Her commitment to the development of body awareness and embodied movement practices has guided hundreds of movement teachers, psychotherapists, and healthcare professionals.

As a co-founder of Open Floor International, Andrea has helped foster a global community dedicated to using conscious movement and dance to promote creativity, social justice, and well-being. Her journey reflects a deep devotion to the felt sense of life, blending the transformative qualities of presence, compassion, and spiritual union.

In our conversation, Andrea shares her experiences from those formative years at Esalen—how the dynamic and expressive environment fostered her deep interest in the embodied movement practices that would define her career. She reflects on the support of pivotal figures like Janet Ledterman, Dick Price, Chris Price, Dean Juhan, Gabrielle Roth, her father, Dr. Jack Rosenberg, and the Esalen massage crew of the 1980's. 

We also get into catharsis, trauma, holotropic breathwork, Open Seats, the original encounter groups, the genesis of Open Floor, and much more. 

Join us as we delve into a thoughtful discussion on the healing powers of movement and the continuous journey of self-discovery.

Grounded in Movement: Andrea Juhan on Encounter, Open Floor, and the Healing Power of Esalen

Paul Selig is considered one of the foremost mediums working today. He is the author of several rather extraordinary works of channeled literature, including I Am the Word, The Book of Love and Creation, The Book of Knowing and Worth, and The Book of Mastery. I spoke to Paul at length about the work he'd done before becoming a medium (he was a well-known playwright, as well as the director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College), and we discussed the creative process, wondering if there was some sort of useful comparison between that and the work of channeling. Then we turned to the content of his work, the remarkable message of his guides. This is a must-listen episode for those who are fascinated by the art of channeling, and those who find their interest piqued by the message of the Word. 
Today's music is "Slow Dissolve" and was used courtesy of www.purple-planet.com. 

Paul Selig, I am the Word: The Extraordinary Life of a Spiritual Channel

Archive Edition: Today we're pleased to bring you an interview conducted on August 5th, 1985, with the godfather of psychedelic psychotherapy, Stanislav Grof. At this point, Grof had been a scholar-in-residence at Esalen for more than ten years. The interview was conducted at Esalen by a young Perry Holloman, now a well-known figure at Esalen himself, having become over the course of his career an accomplished bodyworker and beloved Gestalt therapist. During this recording, he and Stan investigate the emergent tendencies of transpersonal psychology, and the context from which they emerged out of Abraham Maslow's and Tony Suttich's Humanistic psychology, touching upon the non-ordinary states of consciousness which Grof is known for as well as Jungian archetypes and the concept of synchronicity. They also go into the profound connection between Freudianism and Newtonian thinking, and chat about how new discoveries in quantum physics have affected most other scientific disciplines, including psychology. It’s a superb discussion conducted by two very smart people. By its end, if you're listening closely, you will have an enhanced understanding of why transpersonal psychology became an appropriate container for psychedelic psychotherapy - and indeed any therapy that seeks to go beyond personal biography and delve into the realm of the spiritual and the mystic. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Stanislav Grof in 1985 : Transpersonal Psychology and Quantum Physics

Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., is the founder of Internal Family Systems, a unique and astoundingly effective modality of psychotherapy that focuses on the various parts within a person. Internal Family Systems, or IFS, views multiplicity of mind as our natural state and our “parts” as sub-personalities that may be healed and transformed by bringing the Self into its rightful role as leader of the internal system. In this interview, he guides Sam through some transformational trauma work.

Dr. Richard Schwartz: Internal Family Systems

This Archive Edition of Voices of Esalen features a talk by the inimitable Terence McKenna, delivered at Esalen in August 1992. For those not familiar with his work, McKenna was the ultimate psychedelic intellectual: an acclaimed ethnobotanist, mystic, and hyper-articulate lecturer, he spoke and wrote fluently about a variety of subjects, including entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, semiotics, technology, futurism, environmentalism, and human consciousness, to name only a few. His rambling brand of wisdom is admittedly sometimes challenging to decrypt, yet his admirers find that a McKenna lecture is always worth the time, and that the wisdom of the words, even those which defy rational understanding, can be absorbed almost osmotically. 

Some of McKenna's notable books include The Invisible Landscape, True Hallucinations, and the Archaic Revival; his brother Dennis McKenna penned a notable memoir of their life together, entitled The Brotherhood of The Screaming Abyss. McKenna enjoyed a long and extraordinarily close association with Esalen and with Big Sur; before his death on April 3rd, 2000, he had been scholar in residence many times and delivered scores of talks which are housed in the Esalen archives. “Politics and Ethos” covers a lot of ground (typical for McKenna), including psychedelic ontologies, modernity, language, reason, religion, freedom, nostalgia and more. Tune into the nasal-voiced genius. Take the ride.

Terence McKenna's 1992 Talk at Esalen: Politics and Ethos

"Voices of Esalen" features provocative, in-depth interviews with the dynamic leaders, teachers, and thinkers who reflect the mission of the Esalen Institute.

For more about the Esalen Institute, head to esalen.org 

Follow Esalen on Facebook and Twitter

Voices of Esalen

Popular tracks