Esalen

America and the Religion of No Religion

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Esalen by Jeffrey J. Kripal, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jeffrey J. Kripal ISBN: 9780226453712
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: September 7, 2011
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Jeffrey J. Kripal
ISBN: 9780226453712
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: September 7, 2011
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Jeffrey Kripal here recounts the spectacular history of Esalen, the institute that has long been a world leader in alternative and experiential education and stands today at the center of the human potential movement. 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 psychology, and Indian yoga 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 could lead to the full realization of our development as human beings.
 
 “An impressive new book. . . . [Kripal] has written the definitive intellectual history of the ideas behind the institute.”—San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Kripal examines Esalen’s extraordinary history and evocatively describes the breech birth of Murphy and Price’s brainchild. His real achievement, though, is effortlessly synthesizing a dizzying array of dissonant phenomena (Cold War espionage, ecstatic religiosity), incongruous pairings (Darwinism, Tantric sex), and otherwise schizy ephemera (psychedelic drugs, spaceflight) into a cogent, satisfyingly complete narrative.”—Atlantic Monthly

 

“Kripal has produced the first all-encompassing history of Esalen: its intellectual, social, personal, literary and spiritual passages. Kripal brings us up-to-date and takes us deep beneath historical surfaces in this definitive, elegantly written book.”—Playboy

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Jeffrey Kripal here recounts the spectacular history of Esalen, the institute that has long been a world leader in alternative and experiential education and stands today at the center of the human potential movement. 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 psychology, and Indian yoga 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 could lead to the full realization of our development as human beings.
 
 “An impressive new book. . . . [Kripal] has written the definitive intellectual history of the ideas behind the institute.”—San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Kripal examines Esalen’s extraordinary history and evocatively describes the breech birth of Murphy and Price’s brainchild. His real achievement, though, is effortlessly synthesizing a dizzying array of dissonant phenomena (Cold War espionage, ecstatic religiosity), incongruous pairings (Darwinism, Tantric sex), and otherwise schizy ephemera (psychedelic drugs, spaceflight) into a cogent, satisfyingly complete narrative.”—Atlantic Monthly

 

“Kripal has produced the first all-encompassing history of Esalen: its intellectual, social, personal, literary and spiritual passages. Kripal brings us up-to-date and takes us deep beneath historical surfaces in this definitive, elegantly written book.”—Playboy

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Posthumous Love by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Revolution of the Ordinary by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book The Book of Shells by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Enterprising America by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Torture and Dignity by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Freedom Regained by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Moral Politics by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Armageddon in Waco by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Miss Cutler and the Case of the Resurrected Horse by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book The Rise and Fall of Modern Japanese Literature by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Making "Nature" by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Cover of the book Inheritance of Loss by Jeffrey J. Kripal
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy