Esalen : America and the religion of no religion / Jeffrey J. Kripal.
Kripal, Jeffrey J. (Jeffrey John), 1962-
2007
BL2525 .K75 2007
Available at Communal Studies Collection

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Title Esalen : America and the religion of no religion / Jeffrey J. Kripal.
Author Kripal, Jeffrey J. (Jeffrey John), 1962-
ISBN 9780226453699 (hardcover)
0226453693 (hardcover)
Imprint Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Language English
Description xiii, 575 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Call Number BL2525 .K75 2007
Dewey Decimal Classification 150.71/179476
Summary Esalen has always been on the edge. Famous for its natural hot springs and stunning locale on the face of the Pacific coastline, the institute has long been a world leader in alternative and experiential education. Such luminaries as Henry Miller, Joseph Campbell, Aldous Huxley, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson, and others have gathered there to develop their revolutionary ideas, transformative spiritual practices, and innovative art forms. Jeffrey Kripal here recounts the spectacular history of Esalen and its birth in the American counterculture. Forged in the literary and mythical leanings of the Beat Generation, inspired in the lecture halls of Stanford by radical scholars of comparative religion, the institute was the remarkable brainchild of Michael Murphy and Richard Price. Set against the heady backdrop of California during the revolutionary 1960s, Esalen recounts in fascinating detail how these two maverick thinkers sought to fuse the spiritual revelations of the East with the scientific revolutions of the West, or to combine the very best elements of Zen Buddhism, Western alchemy, and Indian yoga particularly in its Tantric forms into a decidedly utopian vision that rejected the dogmas of conventional religion. In their religion of no religion, the natural world was just as crucial as the spiritual one, science and faith not only commingled but became staunch allies, and the enlightenment of the body through self-enhancement and, yes, free love could lead to the full realization of our development as human beings. Darwin, Tantric sex, cold war physics, psychedelic drugs, golf, and, of course, religion all come into play in a book that can only be described as monumental. Esalen is a prehistory of our nation s current fascination with Eastern religions, our steadily growing acceptance of the supernatural in everyday life and a surprising page-turner.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references (pages 521-534) and index.
Linked Resources Table of contents
Contributor biographical information
Publisher description
Record Appears in University Archives & Special Collections > Books and Periodicals
On-Campus Resources > Books
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Openings : Introduction: on wild facts and altered categories
Geographic, historical, and literary orientations (1882-1962)
Slate's Hot Springs : homestead, family spa, literary paradise
The empowerment of the founders (1950-1960)
The professor and the saint : the early inspirations of Michael Murphy
Buddhism, breakdown, breakthrough : the early inspirations of Richard Price
The outlaw era and the American counterculture (1960-1970)
"Totally on fire" : the experience of founding Esalen
Mind manifest : psychedelia at early Esalen and beyond
Mesmer to Maslow : energy and the Freudian left
Perls to Price: consciousness and the gestalt lineage
Esalen goes to the city: the San Francisco center
On ecstasy, education, and the end of sex : George Leonard and the human potential
The serpent spine of spirit and sex : Don Hanlon Johnson and the somatics movement
The occult imaginal and Cold War activism (1970-1985)
The cosmic womb : Stanislav and Christina Grof and the counsels of spiritual emergence
Golf in the kingdom : Plato and Ramakrishna for Republicans
Jacob Atabet and the Tantra of physics
Superpowers : Cold War psychics and citizen diplomats
Sex with the angels : nonlocal mind, UFOs, and an end to ordinary history
The Tao of Esalen : the spiritual art and intuitive business of managing emptiness
Crisis and the religion of no religion (1985-1993)
The religion of no religion : the Donovan era
Realizing Darwin's dream : the transformation project and the future of the body
Before and after the storm (1993-2006)
After the storm : reassessment, disaster, and renewal
(In)conclusion
The future of the past and the mystical idea of "America."

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