Esalen Institute

Two opportunities. One extraordinary place. Here in Big Sur, at Esalen, every detail matters. From T he meals that nourish our guests to the spaces that welcome them home each evening into the morning light . We’re currently hiring for: Sous Chef (6-Month Contract) Housekeeping Supervisor Both roles offer the chance to live and work in Big Sur while helping create the conditions for learning, connection, healing, and transformation for thousands of seekers each year. We’re looking for people who lead with care, thrive in community, take pride in their craft, and want their work to be part of something larger than themselves. Know someone awesome who might be a dynamic fit? Tag them below or share this post. esalen.org/careers

We’re delighted to welcome Charles Stang as Scholar-in-Residence at Esalen for the first two weeks of June. A professor at Harvard Divinity School and member of the Esalen Board of Trustees, Charles, explores the intersections of mysticism, philosophy, ecology, and religious imagination. During his residency, he’ll open the month with a very special Wednesday Evening Program on June 3. Drawing from his recent essay “Thoreau’s Gods,” the evening will explore Henry David Thoreau’s vivid relationship with the animate world — the woods, waters, and unseen presences of New England that he experienced as living intelligences and guiding powers. Charles invites us to reconsider Thoreau not simply as a naturalist, but as a kind of pagan polytheist attuned to the spirits of place. The talk, Skywater: An Elemental Meditation on Walden Pond, unfolds as part contemplative inquiry, part sensory invocation — exploring water as mirror, teacher, threshold, and philosophical companion. Moving between ancient philosophy, Walden Pond, and the question of what immersion — bodily, perceptual, spiritual — reveals about the soul, the evening invites us into a deeper encounter with the living world. If you’d like to spend more time in conversation with Charles during the magical in between moments, there are just a few spaces available in our early June workshops... Read “Thoreau’s Gods” here: https://lnkd.in/gvBzr-kN

We are seeking a General Counsel to serve as a trusted advisor to leadership in support of a mission-driven organization where law, community, and organizational realities intersect daily. This remote role is best suited for a seasoned attorney who brings discernment, emotional intelligence, and clear thinking, along with an interest in aligning their legal career with purpose. This is not a simple role, and it’s not meant to be. It’s an opportunity to contribute meaningfully within a unique and evolving organization. 7–10+ years of experience required Know someone who might be a fit? Tag them below!

Happy 95th birthday, Michael! Esalen co-founder, author, and philosopher — today we celebrate you and a lifetime devoted to exploring the deepest questions of human potential, consciousness, and the mysteries of life after death. Your vision helped establish Esalen as the birthplace of the Human Potential Movement — a revolution in thought and practice. Alongside Dulce, you have been a driving force in back-channel diplomacy, fostering improbable dialogues between Americans and Soviets at the height of the Cold War, softening divides between Arabs and Israelis, and engaging with China and Pacific Rim nations on issues of planetary sustainability. With so many rich life chapters, you are both a seeker and a catalyst. As co-founder of Integral Transformative Practice (ITP) and the Center for Theory & Research (CTR), you have built safe spaces that continue to cultivate daring inquiry, creativity, and dialogue. Fellow seekers: if you are at Esalen this week, you may just encounter Michael himself — and perhaps share in the wonder of his lifelong question: How can humans awaken to their fullest potential? Michael’s 95 turns around the sun remind us that life’s deepest mysteries remain our most compelling invitations to explore, to wonder, and to transform.

Help open the Esalen doors for someone else. When you give, you’re not just helping someone arrive. You’re helping them awaken. At this mid-year moment, we ask you to help widen access to the magic of Esalen — for those who are called, for those who are ready, for those who need a place to begin again… to simply be. Let’s share the great potential of this community and this awe-inspiring land — together. Help open the door for someone else. www.esalen.org/give

Esalen Institute, nestled in the cliffs of Big Sur, CA, gave us more than a few. It gave us a portal. This watercolor is a thank you, to the clips, the Hot Springs, the art and the people. Over one powerful week I led 20 brave souls through the creative cognitive therapy method. Using art, writing and movement to process fear and shift patterns. To reconnect to what really matters. Some people cried. We all laughed. And every single one of us left changed.  #esaleninstitute  #Wellness #health #mentalhealth #motivation #creativity #arttherapy #CBT #wellnessretreats #gratitude #selfcare #watercolorpainting #bigsur #pch https://lnkd.in/ewhYkQHf

Join Pam Kramer & Max Gaenslen at Esalen Institute this Fall for an extraordinary weekend workshop! Learn more and register: https://lnkd.in/gxTSVRk8

We are so excited to be returning to Esalen Institute! Join us, November 14-16, 2025 for an extraordinary weekend workshop. Learn more and register: Learn more and register: https://lnkd.in/gxTSVRk8

Fund a Scholarship, Sponsor a Journey For more than 60 years, people from all walks of life have moved mountains to journey to Esalen — stepping into potent experiences of healing, discovery, and transformation. Some come seeking answers. Others come to rest, to reconnect, to remember who they are. Your gift opens the door. It creates access — through scholarships, through the care of the land, through spaces that hold each moment of growth. Together and solo, we soak in the sacred hot springs and submerge into the quiet of the creek, releasing burdens and welcoming lightness. We walk the Farm & Garden, harvesting the fruits of purpose-driven labor. We wander across the footbridge to the Meditation Hut, the treenet, the treeswing, finding peace in stillness and connection in silence. When you give, you’re not just helping someone arrive. Help open the door for someone else. You’re helping them awaken. At this mid-year moment, we ask you to help widen access to the magic of Esalen — for those who are called, for those who are ready, for those who need a place to begin again… to simply be. Let’s share the great potential of this community and this awe-inspiring land — together. Help open the door for someone else. Donate Today