Visitors are now able to access Esalen as well as other businesses and trails in northern Big Sur via twice-daily convoys on Highway 1 operated by Caltrans.
Convoys run only at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. These are the only opportunities to travel into and out of Big Sur, so visitors must plan accordingly.
Falling on the heels of the hibernal solstice, Go Within is an invitation to turn inward — an opportunity to go deeper within ourselves in order to create new and to enhance existing practices that enliven creativity and curiosity burning within.
Traditional yogic wisdom speaks of pratyahara, which is best understood as "going to the source of the senses." We are embracing the idea that cocooning toward generative ends leads to better connection and relationships, heightened synergies to cultivate our creative impulses, and nurturance of the self and of others. Winter solstice celebrations are steeped in meaningful symbolic dualities: fire and light, life and death, the rising and setting sun and moon.
Go Within is a winter festival for all who seek the light that inspirationally pours through the darkness. Like our brother and sister wild animals, when we are drawn into the earth, into our bodies, we can welcome sleep to search and discover the cavernous parts within us. Through the embrace of the arts and our own creativity, we unleash the pulsating, reverberating inner curiosity that fuels imagination and sparks innovation.
To create and turn things outward, we must first look inward to explore with a greater heightened sense the depths of what our hidden potentials hold. Winter is our mysterious season — she can be kind and soft. Rather than fear and avoid her, let’s celebrate her (and our own) complexity. To find and uncover our light, let’s together and individually embrace the dark, far reaches and prepare to launch into a new year ever more illuminated.
Expect an artful juxtapositioning of nurture-inward and blossom-outward programming including embodiment and presencing practices, personal reflection, community-building, land-based inquiry, intuitive art making, and play, as well as deeply restful contemplative experiences, like an exploration of dreamwork and dream medicine, wildcrafting and art making for actionable inspiration, transformative breathwork, and meditation. For all we nurture within and inwardly, we then need the space for release; to that end, you’ll enjoy nightly howls up into the big open starry sky, fireside music jams, site-specific sonic journeys, and dance parties designed to ignite the mind, body, and soul.
Savor three hearty, healthy meals per day. Our kitchen draws on global culinary traditions, using the fruits of the Esalen Farm & Garden and other local Big Sur providers to create delicious meals that support holistic health — for you and for the earth.
Esalen’s beloved mineral hot springs perch dramatically over the Pacific Ocean, a juxtaposition of intimate and infinite. A core part of Esalen from its inception, the baths and tubs are an ideal place to reflect, find clarity, and set new intentions.
Taking inspiration from our wildly popular Summer Groove programming, that featured Sanga of the Valley, Go Within will feature Esalen’s own signature faculty in collaboration with piano, zither, and mbira musician, Laraaji in December Snow Raven (Suor) who will all provide unique experiences that complement the season.
Laraaji is a visionary musician, composer, and mystic. Having emerged as a pioneering figure in ambient and new age music after a chance encounter with producer Brian Eno in the 70s, his music transcends conventional boundaries, seamlessly merging ambient textures with cosmic vibrations, creating an immersive and deeply introspective sonic journey.
Laraaji joins us for Go Within in December.
Taking inspiration from our wildly popular Summer Groove programming, that featured Sanga of the Valley, Go Within will feature Esalen’s own signature faculty in collaboration with piano, zither, and mbira musician, Laraaji in December Snow Raven (Suor) who will all provide unique experiences that complement the season.
Laraaji is a visionary musician, composer, and mystic. Having emerged as a pioneering figure in ambient and new age music after a chance encounter with producer Brian Eno in the 70s, his music transcends conventional boundaries, seamlessly merging ambient textures with cosmic vibrations, creating an immersive and deeply introspective sonic journey.
Taking inspiration from our wildly popular Summer Groove programming, that featured Sanga of the Valley, Go Within will feature Esalen’s own signature faculty in collaboration with piano, zither, and mbira musician, Laraaji in December Snow Raven (Suor) who will all provide unique experiences that complement the season.
Born in the Republic of Sakha in Arctic Siberia, Snow Raven was three years old when she started to learn the language of birds and animals. An initiate in the shamanic lore of her homeland, she fuses the traditional Sakha sound with electronic expression, her voice and presence true instruments of healing and wonder.
Please note: On Wednesday September 20, online registration may be unavailable for up to 15 minutes while system maintenance is performed. If the 'Register Now' page does not load, please wait about 15 minutes and try again.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org
