Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
Learn More.

Learn more.

Due to road closures along Highway 1 to our north and south, Esalen is closed through April 11.
Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
past workshop

How We Change and Why We Don't: The Art and Science of Transformation

December 3–5, 2021

with Cassandra Vieten and Bristol Baughan

Have you ever worked hard to make a change, only to find yourself slipping back into old habits and patterns? Want to supercharge your ability to stimulate behavior change in others when it comes to the issues you care about the most? As the uncertainties of the pandemic continue, is it time to break free and build your next chapter? This workshop is for people who are in the process of change, and those who work as change agents with individuals, groups, organizations, or in society.

Through dialogue, experiential practice, and creative process, we will bridge the science of breakthroughs with indigenous, religious, spiritual, and secular models of transformation to:

  • Learn what works and what doesn’t to inspire lasting change in yourself and others.
  • Explore how peak experiences, a-ha! moments and awe can stimulate change.
  • Examine how we and the people we work with can get stuck or lost, and ways to shake free from periods of inertia or patterns that prevent us from moving forward.
  • Investigate the transformative potential of pain, hitting bottom and post-traumatic growth.
  • Delve into stories, symbols, and metaphors of transformation to guide your path.

This workshop is based on over two decades of research on how people transform their worldviews and behaviors. Some of this work is encapsulated in the book Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life, and extended in this report created for the Fetzer Institute. It was further developed into C3: Consciousness, Communication and Change, a program at the Institute of Noetic Sciences that integrates the science of transformation with input from social, cognitive, and brain scientists to help changemakers be more effective, and further adapted to create Campaign Science, for consulting with Democratic politicians to be more effective in their messaging after the election of Donald Trump.

Join us for this transformational exploration of our most deeply entrenched behaviors. Learn how to break free from the patterns that no longer serve you — and create new habits that will change your life.

Recommended reading: Schlitz, Vieten and Amorok, Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life.

Information on Continuing Education Credit for Health Professionals

  • CE credits for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA) which is co-sponsoring this program. The Spiritual Competency Academy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. SCA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CE credits for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFT license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
  • LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFTs, and other mental health professionals from states other than California need to check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
  • SCA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN Provider CEP16887) for licensed nurses in California. RNs must retain this document for 4 years after the course concludes. SCA is an approved CE provider for National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coaches (CEP Number 100196).
  • For questions about enrolling in CE or receiving your Certificate of Attendance, contact Cassandra Vieten at cassandra.vieten@gmail.com. For other questions about CE contact David Lukoff, PhD at CE@spiritualcompetency.com.  

Cassandra Vieten

Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, mind-body medicine researcher, author, consultant, and public speaker. She is a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine's Centers for Integrative Health at the University of California, San Diego, where she serves as the director of the Center for Mindfulness and as Director of Research at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination. Cassi is also co-founder and Clinical Psychology Director at the Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative at UCSD, Senior Advisor of the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation, and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), where she worked for 18 years. She served as CEO/President from 2013-2016.

Full Bio

Bristol Baughan

Bristol Baughan is a professional leadership coach, speaker and executive producer of Emmy®-winning and Oscar®-nominated films. She is a TED fellow, founder of Inner Astronauts, and holds a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

Full Bio