Inspired by 20th-century French writer Marcel Proust, we here at Esalen have created our own version of his favorite parlor game to dig just a little deeper — and differently — into our incredible faculty and staff.
Psychotherapist, researcher, poet, teacher, facilitator, and author Shannon Algeo wants to help rewire your relationship to creativity: “How we can support one another to free ourselves from digital distraction and creative inaction,” he explains. The faculty lead of December’s In Our Hands: Reclaiming the Lost Self from Technology talks about the poetic questions, curious minds, deep listeners, and great writers he admires and why he fears holding back most of all: “That something deep inside me would somehow fail to find its way forward into this wild and precious world.”
What do you do/are you doing at Esalen?
I am creating a container for participants to tend to their inner creative callings by contending with our relationship with and attachment to the digital distractions of our times.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A cool, crisp morning, a warm cup of coffee, and a calling toward living fully into a brand new day.
What is your greatest fear in your work?
My greatest fear is missing the mark — that somehow, because of fear or hesitation or distraction or delay, something deep inside me would somehow fail to find its way forward into this wild and precious world.
Which living or dead person do you most admire in your field?
Living: Queer Vietnamese-American writer and poet Ocean Vuong.
Dead: The great late Irish poet John O’Donohue.
What is your current state of mind?
Curious. After a soul-stirring summer of travels through Europe, my spirit feels revitalized, and my soul feels alive. I am curious about healing together in community and how we can support one another to free ourselves from digital distraction and creative inaction.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Slowing down and breathing.
What is the quality you most like in a human?
The inherent quality of the heart to take care of one another.
What about your work brings you the most happiness?
Connection and, in the words of Dacher Keltner, “collective effervescence.” Over the last decade, I have done a great deal of one-on-one work with people — whether in private yoga or meditation sessions, psychotherapy, or coaching, and I have witnessed firsthand the incredible power of a therapeutic relationship. With that being true and real, the amplified healing resonance and corrective belonging that can be experienced in a safe, secure, and brave group container never ceases to amaze me. I believe the future of healing work is group work! Our capacity for resilience lies not in our ability to prevent stress or hardship or trauma, but rather in the ability to be held and supported in our humanity as we face inevitable adversity. Collective effervescence is an amplification of “we,” which allows us to know — on an embodied, experiential level — that we are held by a web of humanity that is larger than ourselves, and yet that we are intimately a part of. When I get to facilitate or be a part of a group container that harnesses and unleashes this quality of community resilience, I feel a great sense of purpose and joy.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I think it would be delightful, empowering, effervescent, and mystical to come back as a geyser in Iceland. As a Scorpio sun, Aries moon, Cancer rising, I think this elemental wonder of the world must embody my natural inclination toward both water and fire. The geyser softly stews beneath the earth's surface, steaming in the cold Icelandic wind. After many minutes of temperature rising, the geyser starts to swell until suddenly, while an eager crowd waits with wondrous anticipation, the geyser bursts hundreds of feet into the air — in a natural explosion of effervescence, beauty, power, and joy. And then, stillness for several minutes while the next swell stirs from within. If I were to die and come back, I think this would be a most satisfying way to be alive. And to know I would be visited by lovely humans from around the world, gathering around me in a circle of wonder, would be a most welcome and comforting warmth amidst the cold winter.
How do you maintain your practice(s) during challenging times?
I go inside through meditation, journaling, or walks without my phone and try my best to remember to align with the pulse of aliveness within me. Then I ask myself my favorite question by the great poet Mary Oliver: “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
What is your favorite component of your work?
The sense of belonging I get to experience and share with my clients, students, colleagues, and friends. I feel less alone and more interconnected through hearing and sharing stories that evoke shared resonance and evocative empathy between me and others.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I am both serious and silly — perhaps seriously silly? I love how reverence and irreverence dance together so closely and coyly.
Who are your inspirations?
Artists who are present to the pulse of expression that wants to move through them and dare to listen to the hunch of intuition within. Curious minds. Deep listeners. Comedians who reflect the collective unconscious back to us with playful intentionality. Stand up comics are the archetypal jesters of our time. Through writing a joke, they are able to identify a loose thread from the collective unconscious and through telling it on stage, they find a way to pull it forward into our consciousness in a way and space where we feel safe enough to release one of the most joyful expressions of humanity — a laugh. A good, well-told joke is a mirror that helps us to see ourselves more clearly. After taking a stand up comedy class a few years ago where we had to do a 5-7 minute set for our final class show, I gained a great respect for the courage comedians access within themselves to help shed light on the shadow of our collective unconscious.
What is your greatest regret?
Moments where I have stayed too long in my suffering, doubting the guidance of my inner knowing.
How would you like to die?
Free and ready.
“Remembering to be as self compassionate as I can and praying to the divine that we're all a part of.”
–Aaron
“Prayer, reading, meditation, walking.”
–Karen
“Erratically — which is an ongoing stream of practice to find peace.”
–Charles
“Try on a daily basis to be kind to myself and to realize that making mistakes is a part of the human condition. Learning from our mistakes is a journey. But it starts with compassion and caring. First for oneself.”
–Steve
“Physically: aerobic exercise, volleyball, ice hockey, cycling, sailing. Emotionally: unfortunately I have to work to ‘not care’ about people or situations which may end painfully. Along the lines of ‘attachment is the source of suffering’, so best to avoid it or limit its scope. Sad though because it could also be the source of great joy. Is it worth the risk?“
–Rainer
“It's time for my heart to be nurtured on one level yet contained on another. To go easy on me and to allow my feelings to be validated, not judged harshly. On the other hand, to let the heart rule with equanimity and not lead the mind and body around like a master.”
–Suzanne
“I spend time thinking of everything I am grateful for, and I try to develop my ability to express compassion for myself and others without reservation. I take time to do the things I need to do to keep myself healthy and happy. This includes taking experiential workshops, fostering relationships, and participating within groups which have a similar interest to become a more compassionate and fulfilled being.“
–Peter
“Self-forgiveness for my own judgments. And oh yeah, coming to Esalen.”
–David B.
“Hmm, this is a tough one! I guess I take care of my heart through fostering relationships with people I feel connected to. Spending quality time with them (whether we're on the phone, through messages/letters, on Zoom, or in-person). Being there for them, listening to them, sharing what's going on with me, my struggles and my successes... like we do in the Esalen weekly Friends of Esalen Zoom sessions!”
–Lori
“I remind myself in many ways of the fact that " Love is all there is!" LOVE is the prize and this one precious life is the stage we get to learn our lessons. I get out into nature, hike, camp, river kayak, fly fish, garden, I create, I dance (not enough!), and I remain grateful for each day, each breath, each moment. Being in the moment, awake, and remembering the gift of life and my feeling of gratitude for all of creation.”
–Steven
“My physical heart by limiting stress and eating a heart-healthy diet. My emotional heart by staying in love with the world and by knowing that all disappointment and loss will pass.“
–David Z.
Today, September 29, is World Heart Day. Strike up a conversation with your own heart and as you feel comfortable, encourage others to do the same. As part of our own transformations and self-care, we sometimes ask for others to illuminate and enliven our hearts or speak our love language.
What if we could do this for ourselves too, even if just for today… or to start a heart practice, forever?
Inspired by 20th-century French writer Marcel Proust, we here at Esalen have created our own version of his favorite parlor game to dig just a little deeper — and differently — into our incredible faculty and staff.
Psychotherapist, researcher, poet, teacher, facilitator, and author Shannon Algeo wants to help rewire your relationship to creativity: “How we can support one another to free ourselves from digital distraction and creative inaction,” he explains. The faculty lead of December’s In Our Hands: Reclaiming the Lost Self from Technology talks about the poetic questions, curious minds, deep listeners, and great writers he admires and why he fears holding back most of all: “That something deep inside me would somehow fail to find its way forward into this wild and precious world.”
What do you do/are you doing at Esalen?
I am creating a container for participants to tend to their inner creative callings by contending with our relationship with and attachment to the digital distractions of our times.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A cool, crisp morning, a warm cup of coffee, and a calling toward living fully into a brand new day.
What is your greatest fear in your work?
My greatest fear is missing the mark — that somehow, because of fear or hesitation or distraction or delay, something deep inside me would somehow fail to find its way forward into this wild and precious world.
Which living or dead person do you most admire in your field?
Living: Queer Vietnamese-American writer and poet Ocean Vuong.
Dead: The great late Irish poet John O’Donohue.
What is your current state of mind?
Curious. After a soul-stirring summer of travels through Europe, my spirit feels revitalized, and my soul feels alive. I am curious about healing together in community and how we can support one another to free ourselves from digital distraction and creative inaction.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Slowing down and breathing.
What is the quality you most like in a human?
The inherent quality of the heart to take care of one another.
What about your work brings you the most happiness?
Connection and, in the words of Dacher Keltner, “collective effervescence.” Over the last decade, I have done a great deal of one-on-one work with people — whether in private yoga or meditation sessions, psychotherapy, or coaching, and I have witnessed firsthand the incredible power of a therapeutic relationship. With that being true and real, the amplified healing resonance and corrective belonging that can be experienced in a safe, secure, and brave group container never ceases to amaze me. I believe the future of healing work is group work! Our capacity for resilience lies not in our ability to prevent stress or hardship or trauma, but rather in the ability to be held and supported in our humanity as we face inevitable adversity. Collective effervescence is an amplification of “we,” which allows us to know — on an embodied, experiential level — that we are held by a web of humanity that is larger than ourselves, and yet that we are intimately a part of. When I get to facilitate or be a part of a group container that harnesses and unleashes this quality of community resilience, I feel a great sense of purpose and joy.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I think it would be delightful, empowering, effervescent, and mystical to come back as a geyser in Iceland. As a Scorpio sun, Aries moon, Cancer rising, I think this elemental wonder of the world must embody my natural inclination toward both water and fire. The geyser softly stews beneath the earth's surface, steaming in the cold Icelandic wind. After many minutes of temperature rising, the geyser starts to swell until suddenly, while an eager crowd waits with wondrous anticipation, the geyser bursts hundreds of feet into the air — in a natural explosion of effervescence, beauty, power, and joy. And then, stillness for several minutes while the next swell stirs from within. If I were to die and come back, I think this would be a most satisfying way to be alive. And to know I would be visited by lovely humans from around the world, gathering around me in a circle of wonder, would be a most welcome and comforting warmth amidst the cold winter.
How do you maintain your practice(s) during challenging times?
I go inside through meditation, journaling, or walks without my phone and try my best to remember to align with the pulse of aliveness within me. Then I ask myself my favorite question by the great poet Mary Oliver: “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
What is your favorite component of your work?
The sense of belonging I get to experience and share with my clients, students, colleagues, and friends. I feel less alone and more interconnected through hearing and sharing stories that evoke shared resonance and evocative empathy between me and others.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I am both serious and silly — perhaps seriously silly? I love how reverence and irreverence dance together so closely and coyly.
Who are your inspirations?
Artists who are present to the pulse of expression that wants to move through them and dare to listen to the hunch of intuition within. Curious minds. Deep listeners. Comedians who reflect the collective unconscious back to us with playful intentionality. Stand up comics are the archetypal jesters of our time. Through writing a joke, they are able to identify a loose thread from the collective unconscious and through telling it on stage, they find a way to pull it forward into our consciousness in a way and space where we feel safe enough to release one of the most joyful expressions of humanity — a laugh. A good, well-told joke is a mirror that helps us to see ourselves more clearly. After taking a stand up comedy class a few years ago where we had to do a 5-7 minute set for our final class show, I gained a great respect for the courage comedians access within themselves to help shed light on the shadow of our collective unconscious.
What is your greatest regret?
Moments where I have stayed too long in my suffering, doubting the guidance of my inner knowing.
How would you like to die?
Free and ready.
“Remembering to be as self compassionate as I can and praying to the divine that we're all a part of.”
–Aaron
“Prayer, reading, meditation, walking.”
–Karen
“Erratically — which is an ongoing stream of practice to find peace.”
–Charles
“Try on a daily basis to be kind to myself and to realize that making mistakes is a part of the human condition. Learning from our mistakes is a journey. But it starts with compassion and caring. First for oneself.”
–Steve
“Physically: aerobic exercise, volleyball, ice hockey, cycling, sailing. Emotionally: unfortunately I have to work to ‘not care’ about people or situations which may end painfully. Along the lines of ‘attachment is the source of suffering’, so best to avoid it or limit its scope. Sad though because it could also be the source of great joy. Is it worth the risk?“
–Rainer
“It's time for my heart to be nurtured on one level yet contained on another. To go easy on me and to allow my feelings to be validated, not judged harshly. On the other hand, to let the heart rule with equanimity and not lead the mind and body around like a master.”
–Suzanne
“I spend time thinking of everything I am grateful for, and I try to develop my ability to express compassion for myself and others without reservation. I take time to do the things I need to do to keep myself healthy and happy. This includes taking experiential workshops, fostering relationships, and participating within groups which have a similar interest to become a more compassionate and fulfilled being.“
–Peter
“Self-forgiveness for my own judgments. And oh yeah, coming to Esalen.”
–David B.
“Hmm, this is a tough one! I guess I take care of my heart through fostering relationships with people I feel connected to. Spending quality time with them (whether we're on the phone, through messages/letters, on Zoom, or in-person). Being there for them, listening to them, sharing what's going on with me, my struggles and my successes... like we do in the Esalen weekly Friends of Esalen Zoom sessions!”
–Lori
“I remind myself in many ways of the fact that " Love is all there is!" LOVE is the prize and this one precious life is the stage we get to learn our lessons. I get out into nature, hike, camp, river kayak, fly fish, garden, I create, I dance (not enough!), and I remain grateful for each day, each breath, each moment. Being in the moment, awake, and remembering the gift of life and my feeling of gratitude for all of creation.”
–Steven
“My physical heart by limiting stress and eating a heart-healthy diet. My emotional heart by staying in love with the world and by knowing that all disappointment and loss will pass.“
–David Z.
Today, September 29, is World Heart Day. Strike up a conversation with your own heart and as you feel comfortable, encourage others to do the same. As part of our own transformations and self-care, we sometimes ask for others to illuminate and enliven our hearts or speak our love language.
What if we could do this for ourselves too, even if just for today… or to start a heart practice, forever?
Inspired by 20th-century French writer Marcel Proust, we here at Esalen have created our own version of his favorite parlor game to dig just a little deeper — and differently — into our incredible faculty and staff.
Psychotherapist, researcher, poet, teacher, facilitator, and author Shannon Algeo wants to help rewire your relationship to creativity: “How we can support one another to free ourselves from digital distraction and creative inaction,” he explains. The faculty lead of December’s In Our Hands: Reclaiming the Lost Self from Technology talks about the poetic questions, curious minds, deep listeners, and great writers he admires and why he fears holding back most of all: “That something deep inside me would somehow fail to find its way forward into this wild and precious world.”
What do you do/are you doing at Esalen?
I am creating a container for participants to tend to their inner creative callings by contending with our relationship with and attachment to the digital distractions of our times.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A cool, crisp morning, a warm cup of coffee, and a calling toward living fully into a brand new day.
What is your greatest fear in your work?
My greatest fear is missing the mark — that somehow, because of fear or hesitation or distraction or delay, something deep inside me would somehow fail to find its way forward into this wild and precious world.
Which living or dead person do you most admire in your field?
Living: Queer Vietnamese-American writer and poet Ocean Vuong.
Dead: The great late Irish poet John O’Donohue.
What is your current state of mind?
Curious. After a soul-stirring summer of travels through Europe, my spirit feels revitalized, and my soul feels alive. I am curious about healing together in community and how we can support one another to free ourselves from digital distraction and creative inaction.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Slowing down and breathing.
What is the quality you most like in a human?
The inherent quality of the heart to take care of one another.
What about your work brings you the most happiness?
Connection and, in the words of Dacher Keltner, “collective effervescence.” Over the last decade, I have done a great deal of one-on-one work with people — whether in private yoga or meditation sessions, psychotherapy, or coaching, and I have witnessed firsthand the incredible power of a therapeutic relationship. With that being true and real, the amplified healing resonance and corrective belonging that can be experienced in a safe, secure, and brave group container never ceases to amaze me. I believe the future of healing work is group work! Our capacity for resilience lies not in our ability to prevent stress or hardship or trauma, but rather in the ability to be held and supported in our humanity as we face inevitable adversity. Collective effervescence is an amplification of “we,” which allows us to know — on an embodied, experiential level — that we are held by a web of humanity that is larger than ourselves, and yet that we are intimately a part of. When I get to facilitate or be a part of a group container that harnesses and unleashes this quality of community resilience, I feel a great sense of purpose and joy.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I think it would be delightful, empowering, effervescent, and mystical to come back as a geyser in Iceland. As a Scorpio sun, Aries moon, Cancer rising, I think this elemental wonder of the world must embody my natural inclination toward both water and fire. The geyser softly stews beneath the earth's surface, steaming in the cold Icelandic wind. After many minutes of temperature rising, the geyser starts to swell until suddenly, while an eager crowd waits with wondrous anticipation, the geyser bursts hundreds of feet into the air — in a natural explosion of effervescence, beauty, power, and joy. And then, stillness for several minutes while the next swell stirs from within. If I were to die and come back, I think this would be a most satisfying way to be alive. And to know I would be visited by lovely humans from around the world, gathering around me in a circle of wonder, would be a most welcome and comforting warmth amidst the cold winter.
How do you maintain your practice(s) during challenging times?
I go inside through meditation, journaling, or walks without my phone and try my best to remember to align with the pulse of aliveness within me. Then I ask myself my favorite question by the great poet Mary Oliver: “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
What is your favorite component of your work?
The sense of belonging I get to experience and share with my clients, students, colleagues, and friends. I feel less alone and more interconnected through hearing and sharing stories that evoke shared resonance and evocative empathy between me and others.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I am both serious and silly — perhaps seriously silly? I love how reverence and irreverence dance together so closely and coyly.
Who are your inspirations?
Artists who are present to the pulse of expression that wants to move through them and dare to listen to the hunch of intuition within. Curious minds. Deep listeners. Comedians who reflect the collective unconscious back to us with playful intentionality. Stand up comics are the archetypal jesters of our time. Through writing a joke, they are able to identify a loose thread from the collective unconscious and through telling it on stage, they find a way to pull it forward into our consciousness in a way and space where we feel safe enough to release one of the most joyful expressions of humanity — a laugh. A good, well-told joke is a mirror that helps us to see ourselves more clearly. After taking a stand up comedy class a few years ago where we had to do a 5-7 minute set for our final class show, I gained a great respect for the courage comedians access within themselves to help shed light on the shadow of our collective unconscious.
What is your greatest regret?
Moments where I have stayed too long in my suffering, doubting the guidance of my inner knowing.
How would you like to die?
Free and ready.
“Remembering to be as self compassionate as I can and praying to the divine that we're all a part of.”
–Aaron
“Prayer, reading, meditation, walking.”
–Karen
“Erratically — which is an ongoing stream of practice to find peace.”
–Charles
“Try on a daily basis to be kind to myself and to realize that making mistakes is a part of the human condition. Learning from our mistakes is a journey. But it starts with compassion and caring. First for oneself.”
–Steve
“Physically: aerobic exercise, volleyball, ice hockey, cycling, sailing. Emotionally: unfortunately I have to work to ‘not care’ about people or situations which may end painfully. Along the lines of ‘attachment is the source of suffering’, so best to avoid it or limit its scope. Sad though because it could also be the source of great joy. Is it worth the risk?“
–Rainer
“It's time for my heart to be nurtured on one level yet contained on another. To go easy on me and to allow my feelings to be validated, not judged harshly. On the other hand, to let the heart rule with equanimity and not lead the mind and body around like a master.”
–Suzanne
“I spend time thinking of everything I am grateful for, and I try to develop my ability to express compassion for myself and others without reservation. I take time to do the things I need to do to keep myself healthy and happy. This includes taking experiential workshops, fostering relationships, and participating within groups which have a similar interest to become a more compassionate and fulfilled being.“
–Peter
“Self-forgiveness for my own judgments. And oh yeah, coming to Esalen.”
–David B.
“Hmm, this is a tough one! I guess I take care of my heart through fostering relationships with people I feel connected to. Spending quality time with them (whether we're on the phone, through messages/letters, on Zoom, or in-person). Being there for them, listening to them, sharing what's going on with me, my struggles and my successes... like we do in the Esalen weekly Friends of Esalen Zoom sessions!”
–Lori
“I remind myself in many ways of the fact that " Love is all there is!" LOVE is the prize and this one precious life is the stage we get to learn our lessons. I get out into nature, hike, camp, river kayak, fly fish, garden, I create, I dance (not enough!), and I remain grateful for each day, each breath, each moment. Being in the moment, awake, and remembering the gift of life and my feeling of gratitude for all of creation.”
–Steven
“My physical heart by limiting stress and eating a heart-healthy diet. My emotional heart by staying in love with the world and by knowing that all disappointment and loss will pass.“
–David Z.
Today, September 29, is World Heart Day. Strike up a conversation with your own heart and as you feel comfortable, encourage others to do the same. As part of our own transformations and self-care, we sometimes ask for others to illuminate and enliven our hearts or speak our love language.
What if we could do this for ourselves too, even if just for today… or to start a heart practice, forever?
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org
