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The Magic That Is EsalenBy Susan R. NortonSomehow, I missed the 60’s. Perhaps, I was just too busy pursuing other interests, such as bee hive hairdos, hot pants and the pursuit for a perfect husband, to have the time or inclination to delve any deeper into self awareness than a full length mirror would provide. “Getting In Touch” to me meant feeling the fabric to make sure there was no polyester in it!
As I drove up Highway #1, I could feel the muscles in my
neck and shoulders loosen and the desire to take in deep cleansing breaths of
moist sea air. I seemed to want to shake my head to clear away the hassle and
heat of L.A. and an over programmed life.
My accommodations were better than I expected, clean and functional. No tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner and hand lotion could be found, just those lowly rectangular slivers of generic white soap like the ones that graced the motels of the 60’s. I felt rather like I was at summer camp for baby boomers. The crowning feature though was the balcony, which overlooked an expansive flower garden and then the ocean. The magnificent view and the sounds of seagulls and surf were glorious. I stood out there early every morning just drinking in the scene while doing my rotator cuff exercises.
Before I knew it, dinnertime was here, and I got in line for what turned out to be a wonderful buffet. There is a salad bar along with two or three soups offered at both lunch and dinner. The fruits and vegetables, mostly grown right there on the property, are the freshest I’ve ever tasted, and I had never seen such gorgeous, red tomatoes. This evening, the entree was salmon cakes and was utterly delicious. I had feared the food would be bland and tasteless but it was not. There is even a small bar that serves beer and wine.
After dinner, while following a path up the hill, I glanced at the night sky and actually gasped out loud at the infinite number of stars that were visible. It was a glorious experience! I continued on to my Poetry Workshop. It was in a circular rock and red wood house, filled with huge cushions instead of furniture. Sliding glass doors opened out onto a large porch that seemed to hover over the ocean. You could hear the surf surge and the wind whistle through the surrounding pine trees. It was an enchanted place to write poetry, to meditate or to simply just be. I spent the next five days gratefully accepting all that Esalen had to offer, even the “clothing optional” Baths. My grown children would be mortified but somehow, after reluctantly relinquishing my outerwear and entering the Baths au natural, it seemed the only way to fully experience it. I even had a massage on an open top deck with the sun and trained hands relaxing my tense muscles, while being lulled by the calls of sea gulls and the gentle lapping of the waves just fifty feet below. Esalen is world renown for its bodywork massages and I am sold on them, too.
Five-Day Workshop with standard lodging - $1060 Weekend Workshop with standard lodging - $595 Room and Board, (standard & bunk bed) when available, Esalen is a 4 1/2- 5 hour drive from Los Angeles, |
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However, now in the mid life of my crisis years, I found
myself drawn to Esalen, the irrefutable Big Sur Mecca of personal evaluation,
transition and growth. Esalen is a community, perched on a cliff overlooking the
Pacific, known for its sulfur baths, massages and its self-exploration
workshops. I decided to take a five day workshop in August, entitled “The
Medicine of Poetry” by John Fox, a highly respected poet/therapist from Northern
California. I am a poet of dubious talent but probably in desperate need of
therapy, so I figured I would qualify.
Finally there,
I passed through the guard gate after a warm greeting and locating my name on a
list of seminarians as we were called. Esalen allows no looky - loo's to intrude
but puts out an extensive, pictorial catalogue.
Since my workshop didn’t begin until that evening, I spent
the afternoon wandering around the extensive 27 acres. There are so many
enchanting spots to go to for simple reflection, giant introspection or simply
quiet appreciation of natural beauty. There is even a waterfall, art barn, rocky
beach, swimming pool, several lotus ponds, a secluded meditation hut nestled by
a quiet stream, and, of course, the famous Esalen Baths, fed by a natural hot
spring.
After getting your food, you have several choices of where
to sit: outside on an expansive patio at tables of six with a magnificent ocean
view, inside at long picnic type tables, regular rectangular tables or in a
stepped up area at huge abstract shaped coffee tables surrounded by plush
pillows. I chose the outside and shared a table with an overworked
cardiologist from Hawaii, a crazed homemaker from the San Fernando Valley, an
emotionally exhausted book editor from London and a burnt out stockbroker from
San Diego, who had just sold her house, her BMW and her three Armani suits. All
of us had come here for different reasons but we were beginning to feel bonded
in a special way if only because we were each open to whatever we might learn in
the next few days.
As the time to leave drew near, I simply wasn't ready,
willing or able to do so. I put my name on the waiting list for another
workshop. Miraculously, as I came to the desk to grudgingly hand in
my room key, they informed me an opening had just come available. “Saved by the
gods," I murmured. This weekend workshop was on "Relationships" and lead by Mary Goldenson, a Los Angeles psychologist. I figured that I qualified here, too,
since I had gone on two blind dates in my life, married and divorced them both.
My sons had been begging me to let them pick the next husband.
Anyway, it was just what I needed, especially when I
learned that "the most important relationship you will ever have is with
yourself." I read, I wrote, I hiked, I luxuriated in the Baths and I learned a
lot about myself - a perfect vacation. Perhaps, I had missed the 60's the first
time around, but Esalen had saved the best of the times and I felt it was just
for me!