Voices of Esalen the Esalen Institute

Dr. Kamilah Majied is a contemplative inclusivity and equity consultant, mental health therapist, clinical educator, researcher, and internationally engaged consultant on building inclusivity and equity using meditative practices. After 15 years of teaching at Howard University, Dr. Majied joined the faculty at California State University, Monterey Bay as Professor of Social Work. She teaches clinical practice to graduate students employing psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness-based, and artistic approaches to well-being, and authored a chapter in the second edition of Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy, “Contemplative Practices for Assessing and Eliminating Racism in Psychotherapy.” Dr. Majied gave opening remarks at the first White House Conference of Buddhist Leaders on Climate Change and Racial Justice, where she also facilitated a dialogue on ending racism amongst the internationally represented Buddhist leadership. She is the author of the forthcoming book Joyfully Just: Black Wisdom and Buddhist Insights for Liberated Living (Sounds True, 2024).

In this episode we discuss her latest work, 'Joyfully Just: Black Wisdom and Buddhist Insights for Liberated Living ,’ a book that not only challenges us to rethink our approach to justice but also invites us to engage with joy as a radical act of resistance. Through this discussion, Dr. Majied shares how interdependence and Buddhist insights, when blended with Black wisdom traditions, can offer rich perspective and possibility for both justice and joy. In this conversation, we explore how language and culture play pivotal roles in shaping our approach to liberation, and how art, music and contemplative practices can nurture joy as well as help us confronting the biases of our own intuition. So dig in, and get ready to build your discomfort resilience and stoke your fierce compassion.

Music credits - Blue Dot Sessions tracks:

Milkwood https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/251374

10c Coffee https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/251382

Santo Apure https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/251383

Slow Rollout https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/251384

Buy the Book:

https://www.kamilahmajied.com/joyfully-just

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.

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/

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/

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/

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/