Michael Murphy Reflects on Esalen’s Past and Future

"Our mission at Esalen to facilitate such change within self and society has never been more vital than it is now." —Michael Murphy

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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.

Michael continues to explore unique opportunities for Esalen to advance its work. “The Institute is opening new horizons of human transformation today,” Michael says. “That is at the heart of what we’re about.”

In recent interviews, Michael shared his enthusiasm about the past and future. In Fall 2019, he told the San Francisco Chronicle: “Esalen can go where others are unlikely to go. That’s at the very core of our mission, to go where other organizations cannot or will not go, whether they are academic, commercial or governmental. That was why we started the Institute, to explore the human potential in ways that the culture generally tends to neglect (or cannot see).”

Esalen’s early years were rich in possibility. Michael and Dick (pictured below), who attended Stanford University at the same time, wanted to promote new thought-shifting conversations that could better the world. Michael quickly saw that the serene environment and quiet solitude allowed people to be present with each other in new ways. Unique conversations and ideas sprouted over meals, in various group settings or in the mineral baths. Taken back out into the world, those ideas could catalyze powerful personal and cultural shifts, something Michael feels is particularly necessary today.

“The Esalen environment makes for more creative conversations,” Michael went on to tell the Chronicle. “It’s conducive to inquiry and introspection and conviviality.”

Milestones: Then and Now

One of the most fascinating developments in Esalen’s history not only proves that observation but anchors Michael’s belief that conversation and authentic human connection have the ability to truly change the world.

During the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, as Esalen’s programming continued to evolve, Michael and Dulce Murphy, with Jim Hickman and other colleagues, created the Soviet-American Exchange Program, now Track Two, an institute for citizen diplomacy.

They launched a series of Soviet-American citizen gatherings at Esalen, which generated many cultural exchanges, among them the first spacebridges, which enabled Soviet and American citizens to speak directly with one another via satellite.

In 1989, Esalen sponsored Boris Yeltsin’s first trip to the United States. The eight-day trip allowed Yeltsin to witness the contrast between the prosperity of the U.S. and the poverty of Soviet Communism.

“Our sponsoring Yeltsin’s first trip to the West led him and the Soviet Union to reject Communism with citizen diplomacy. Our work with Russians has been one of the best things Esalen has ever done,” Michael reflects.

“We also brokered the entrance of the Soviet Union’s Writer’s Union, which every writer there had to belong to in order to publish, into PEN International, the world’s leading organization to fight against censorship.

“We catalyzed the creation of the Association of Space Explorers, which includes everyone who has ever traveled into space. We brokered dozens of conferences for Russians and Americans seeking common ground in medicine, political psychology, arms control and other fields.

Those events, along with current initiatives taking place within Esalen’s Center for Theory & Research (CTR), which holds a deep commitment to the development of a new worldview and a transformative practice that can embody it, stand out for Michael.

“Among the new initiatives at CTR is Esalen Board Chairman Jeff Kripal’s work on a major study of what he calls the ‘Super Story,’ which is emerging from cutting-edge work in quantum physics, evolutionary biology and studies of human nature’s further reaches.”

Michael also sees Esalen’s growth in other arenas, primarily a renewed focus on maximizing mission impact, as promising markers for the decade ahead. As previously outlined by General Manager and CEO Terence Gilbey, a set of strategic priorities will propel new changes at Esalen in 2020.

They include: creating a flourishing global community that supports Esalen and human potential; drive higher sustainability and reduce negative environmental impact on campus; design a guest experience that supports personal transformation; foster greater diversity, equity and inclusion in the Esalen community; supporting staff in exploring and realizing their own potential; and maintaining long-term financial viability.

“Our mission at Esalen to facilitate such change within self and society has never been more vital than it is now,” Michael says. “I’m looking forward to the cumulative effect of these new initiatives. They promise to trigger the most creative period in our history. We see better now how we can better serve the world. I think Esalen now may very well be on the verge of its most creative period.”

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