Michael Murphy, Co-Founder of Esalen, on the Institute's Origin Story

Michael Murphy is the co-founder of the Esalen Institute, a key figure in the Human Potential Movement and an extraordinary human being. He is the author of many remarkable books, including Golf in the Kingdom, The Future of the Body, Jacob Atabet, and In the Zone: Transcendent Experience in Sports. Today we spoke about the 1960's and how Esalen was born, touching upon his encounters with notables like Hunter S. Thompson, Alduous Huxley, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), Timothy Leary, Sri Aurobindo, Abraham Maslow, and Esalen's co-founder Richard Price. Michael also described his own origin story, from his altar boy roots to his journey to India, Big Sur, and beyond. Today's music was created by Esalen's own Daniel Knipprath.