Esalen History

Michael Murphy, who will celebrate his 94th on September 3, 2024, shares tales of the Institute’s earliest days — the “bohemian gathering place” he created with Dick Price. It’s the Esalen origin story only Esalen’s co-founder could tell, complete with genius ideas, psychedelics, and legendary figures such as Aldous Huxley, Abraham Maslow, Paul Tillich, Alan Watts, Fritz Perls, Dick Alpert, Tim Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, Anais Nin, Hunter S. Thompson, Gia-Fu Feng, Arnold Toynbee, and the Monterey sheriff who told Michael to get some guns. “It was that wild,” he recalls.

The Esalen check-in is decades old and is a direct outgrowth from Esalen’s Gestalt practice, a foundational cornerstone that shaped Esalen’s culture and continues today both departmentally (internally) and in workshops (externally).

We take a retrospective soak at Esalen’s beloved healing space for a story that’s been flowing for 62 years — with Hunter Thompson, Warhol, McQueen, international relations, and more.

Ever wonder about the humans who laid the foundations for some of the structures we enjoy on campus? We’re honoring Selig Morgenrath, Mickey Muennig, and Arkin-Tilt Architects.

Forty-six years after her first visit, Andrea Juhan remembers the Esalen of the late ’70s. The co-founder of Open Floor International on the personalities, the “pillow pounding,” the emphasis on the humanistic principle, and the entirely unique experience of not “making wrong.” (“I don’t know anywhere else that happened.”) The dedicated teacher and lifelong student shares some of the incredibly valuable lessons, including holding dual relations, that she learned right here on campus.

The Meditation Hut, or the “Roundhouse,” was first built in the 1950s as a secluded writer’s studio for Dennis Murphy, brother of Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy. By 1961, a young Dick Price had moved in. It wasn’t until the ’90s that the space was officially transformed into the Meditation Hut.

Don Hanlon Johnson remembers his incredible journey from Jesuit seminarian to somatics pioneer, the Esalen of the 1960s, and the genius of Ida Rolf, Fritz Perls, Carl Rogers, Moshe Feldenkrais, Charlotte Selver, Michael Murphy, and more.

Built around 1963, the freshwater pool we submerge in today is a replacement of a rectangular hot spring water-filled pool. By the ‘80s, a heat exchange was installed to warm fresh water with heat from the hot springs. In the ‘90s, a salt water chlorination system elevated the institute’s aquatic innovations.

Since the early days of the 1960s, legends and aspiring artists have performed, studied, taught, and found refuge at Esalen. Today, Esalen is once again a destination where widely acclaimed greats energize minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits — and remains a creative laboratory for emerging talents to experiment and grow.

Esalen student, teacher, and workshop leader Jessica Britt on the Esalen of the ‘80s: “A very robust, dynamic place. People were coming to really own and express their dynamic aliveness. We were a sexy bunch, we were an attractive bunch, we were a juicy bunch.”

“And I came back into myself again.” A young grad student is handed a book of Joy and finds a new land of beauty and diversity. LaVerne McLeod remembers how she processed her traumas and transformed herself with dance at Esalen — and giggled her way through a few naked volleyball games.

This longtime Esalen student-turned-teacher reminisces about the Esalen of the early ’80s and discovering a spiritual path through Gestalt therapy. Dorothy speaks of staying open to possibility, working with the children of the Gazebo School, and the innate wisdom we all hold inside: “Dick [Price] always said, ‘Trust process, allow process, and get out of the way.’”

Theda Zawaiza tells us about finding Esalen in 1986 and other life-changing discoveries, including Eli Jackson-Bear and Gangaji's Enneagram workshop, Janet Zuckerman's warm energy, Babatunde Olatunji's exhilarating drums, and Gabrielle Roth's cool magnetism.

The psychedelic pioneer and father of Holotropic Breathwork® tells us about the early days at Esalen, discovering his life’s work, and how building a garden in a patch of poison oak led to the practice’s supportive system of “breathers” and “sitters.”

Perry Holloman, a practitioner of Esalen massage, deep bodywork, and body-oriented approaches to relational Gestalt process work for more than 30 years, takes us back to the early 1980s, when the Ivy League undergrad held court as Esalen’s resident dishwasher, chess player, dancer, and preschool teacher.

We’ve experimented a lot here at Esalen over 60 years. Check out our latest video that touches on some of the transformative theories and ideas that have sparked innovation and reshaped the fields of education, personal growth, psychology, psychedelics, and somatics over the decades.

Peggy Horan found her calling in Esalen Massage®. After managing the Healing Arts department at Esalen for over a decade while teaching workshops and leading teacher training programs, the certified meditation teacher now has a coaching practice. She reflects on the summer of ’69 and the Esalen of that very poignant time in American culture. “I wasn't a hippie,” she says. “But I was fringe; I believed in the movement.” Peggy tells the tale of a formative moment: young dreamers discovering themselves through cutting edge spiritual practices and psychedelics — all to a soundtrack by Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez.

Though he’s one of our most beloved teachers, “perpetual student” is the title Master Huang prefers. “I don't want to be the guru…I am always evolving.” The Tai Chi master and teacher honors us with memories of Esalen’s earliest days — almost 60 years back! — alongside the institute’s founders and legends.

Tom “Little Bear” Nason, Tribal Chairman of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, takes us back to a moment in time when arriving at Esalen was like entering a tribal village.

World-renowned for his research on microdosing psychedelics, Jim Fadiman was one of Esalen’s first workshop leaders, and he’s continued a lifelong association with this institute ever since. His books include "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys", "Be Love Now, Essential Sufism", and "The Other Side of Haight".

Voices of Esalen podcast host Sam Stern shares his own Esalen story, beginning with the history that predates his arrival and continuing through the life, love, purpose, and family he has built around this institution’s ethos.

To spend time with Michael is to witness a truly iterative human, an intrinsic seeker, and a man of insurmountable curiosity. September 3, 2022 marks Michael’s 92nd birthday, and as we all know, age is “just a number” when it comes to this remarkable human.

It’s 1970. A smart kid from Newark drops out, grabs his guitar, and heads west to find magic and meaning in Big Sur. Half a century later, Dr. Ken Dychtwald is a psychologist, best-selling author, and world-renowned expert on aging — and yet he's still enchanted by those early days at Esalen.

Back in the Day is a new feature that spotlights the colorful memories of long-time Esalen community members and alumni — to capture magical moments that happened once upon a time and are still treasured today. We start off by hearing from Brita Ostrom, founding member of the Esalen Massage School, who has been a part of Esalen since 1967.

To heal, we must face the hardest parts of our past. Honoring Native American Heritage Month, we offer a brief history of this sacred land and resources to help begin the cycle of healing and repair where you live.

On the heels of a controversial government report on UFOs, former Chairman of the Board Jeff Kripal (also a paranormal activity academician), tells the story of earlier Esalen inquiries into UFOs, which include a secret meeting.

As Michael Murphy celebrates his 90th birthday, former Esalen Chairman of the Board Jeff Kripal, Esalen President Gordon Wheeler, and Michael's son Mac Murphy pay tribute to and share heartfelt reflections about Esalen's esteemed co-founder.

In 1962, Esalen Co-founders Michael Murphy and Dick Price planted the seeds for a remarkable new endeavor. The creation of Esalen Institute was a rare kind of kismet, one that attracted thinkers such as Alan Watts, Aldous Huxley, Abraham Maslow, Joseph Campbell and Paul Tillich as well as men and women from around the world who wanted to explore new worldviews and ways of growth. The human potential movement was born.

George Leonard, president emeritus of Esalen Institute, co-founder of Integral Transformative Practice and a leading voice of the human potential movement, passed away a decade ago this month. As George often would say "... every idea, every intention, every new thought is a new generative form in the universe," and that as human creators, we are tapping and manifesting only a small part of an unlimited potential for imagination, transformation and social progress. In appreciation of George and his continuing legacy, Esalen’s leadership shares their memories and experiences of this remarkable “poet-philosopher.”

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Esalen co-founder Dick Price, who died in a hiking accident in Hot Springs Canyon. “Dick Price’s influence lives on at Esalen in countless ways, among them our emphasis upon psychophysical healing, intelligent risk taking, independence from cult, and regard for each person’s uniqueness,” said Michael Murphy, co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Esalen’s Board of Trustees. “He embodied a wondrous combination of strength and compassion, skepticism about extravagant claims, and freedom from dogma. He was a great partner when the going got tough. For me, he was a comrade for the ages.”