8/13/2019 Clothes, Emotional Logjams Disappear (Oct. 11, 1978)

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48 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11,  1978

Clothes, emotional logjams disappearB y A R T  H A R R I S

Th e  Wash ing ton PostB I G S U R , C a l i f. —  G r a d -

ua t io n  ceremonies for Ber-nie   Gunthe r ' s 5-day ,  29 0seminar , F rom Sex to   Su -perconsciousness ,  have  ad -journed to the ba ths .

"Ooooooooooooooooh , ' 's ighs a den t i s t  f rom  For tLee, N.J.,  as he  s l i the rs

into  the ho t communa l tub .A n  L .A. spec ia l educa t ionteacher s t rokes   the nape ofhis neck,  fondles  an ea rlobe. A veil of   s team, riseso ff   th e  wa te r ,  so f ten ing  th eexpressions  of   de l igh t  onthe   eight faces sharing theb a th .  They  look  as sweetand con tended as anyoneRaphae l   ever  painted.

"I had   people touchingeach  others '  naked bodiesb efo r e  anyone else  in   this

business," boasts  G u n t h e r ." I 've   a lways been out land -ish."

Five days ago, when theba the rs a r r ived  h e re ' a t t heEsa len I ns t i tu te to loosenup   emot iona l log jams , theyw e r e  s t r a n g e r s t o e a c hothe r  an d  themselves.  A ndn o w?  W e l l ,  th e  c lothes  ar eo f f ;   everyone  is   becoming

his own  best  f r iend .  A   f u l lmoon   dances  l ike  a  m i l l iond ia mo n d s   over a d a r k b lue ,u n d u l a t i n g  Pac i f i c ,  a n d theCo s mic   Caterer  has servedup   a  b a n q u e t o f stars.

" C a l i f o r n i a i s w o n d e r -f u l "  exc la ims  a  b a t h e r .

"We 'd be out laws backHas t ,"  says  ano the r . "Butt h e y ' r e   25  years  b ehin d . ' .W e ' l l  t r y a n y t h i n g o u the re ;  we' re  living on theedge...

N a r a n  h om e recipep t a n  takes o f f ugly fat.

The   N a ra n  Plan c an h e lp  you lose poundsof  unsightly  fa t  r i g h t  in  y o u r  own   home.

T h i s h o m e   re c i p e  we i g h t - c o n t r o l  p la n i s .ea s y t o  fo l lo w  a n d c o s t s little. G o o y o u r

d r u g s t o r e   a n d a s h f o r  t h e N a r a n R ed u c i n gP la n . T h e w h o le p la n i s in c lu d e d in   e v e r y

p a c k a g e .  T he  d i re c t io n s  ar e right o n t helabe. Pour t he  liquid Into  a  pint b o t t l e

a n d a d d e n o u g h   g r a p e f r u i t  j u i c e to fill  th ebottle. T a h e t wo t a b l es po o n s f u l t w i c e ad a y a s  n e e d e d .  T a k e t he   v i t a m in s u p p l e -

m e n t  included a n d f o l l o w t h e l o w c a l o r i e

w e e k l y   fo o d m e n u .Your  first pu r c h a s e s h o u l d s h o w y o u a

s im p le   e a s y wa y lo  lose  bu lk y f a t a n dh e lp re g a in  s l en d er  m o r e  g r a c e f u l  c u r ves ;re d u c ib le   po u n d s a n d i n c h es o f   e x c e s s  fa t

' s h o u ld  d i s a ppea r f r o m n ec k . chin. a rm s ,

hips, a b d o m en , c a l ves  a n d a n k le s . I f  youar e   n o t c o m p l e t e l y s a t i s f i e d with y o u r  lirst

p u r c h a s e  j u s t r e t u r n  t h e e m p t y c a r t o n f o r

y o u r m o n ey h a c k . F o l l o w  this e a s y w a y

en d o r s ed  b y  many w ho   h a ve tried t h i s p la nto   h e lp  b r in g  b a c k  a l lu r in g  c u r v e s a n d

g r a c e f u l s l e n d e r n e s s .  N o t e h ow   qu i c k lyb l o a t d i s a ppea r s , ho w m u c h b e t t e r y o u

f e e l .  M o r e  a l i v e , y o u t h f u l a p p e a r i n ga n d a c t i ve .

 AOVT

George L eonard, 55, for-m er   Look  editor and a Bos-well  of   human po ten t ia l ,  isf l a t   on his  be l ly , worminghis   way th rough the Tun-nel   of Fear.

A d v e n t u r e s  like the Tun-nel   of Fear  ar e  designed  topu t  th e  c l a s s  in   touch  w i t hthe i r inne r  essence.  T het un n e l  is   ac tua l ly  a  h u m a n

g a u n t l e t   of   s e e k e r s  w hopo un d ,  p u m m e l  an d  f rus -t ra te   th e  c r a w le r  as he a t -tempts to belly through tothe   o the r end . The mora l :t ha t  l i f e  just isn' t fair .

In   1961, Michael Murphydrove down to Big Sur wi thpsychologist Dick  Price  tocheck out 375  ac res  ownedby Murphy ' s  la te  g r a n d f a -the r ,  a ' Sa l inas doc tor whoonce  d r e a m e d  of   tu rn ingth e  rugged ,  coastal  p a r a -"dise  into a European-stylespa..  '

M u r p h y   t a lked h is  g r a n d -mothe r in to g iv ing Esa len ac h e a p , l o n g - t e r m   l e a s e( u n t i l 2017) — essentially  sohe   cou ld pursue h i s co l -leage   d a l l i a n c e ' w i t h  East -ern   mys t ic i sm, psycho logyan d   philosophy. When  his

g r a n d m o t h e r   d i e d , t h eprope r ty went  to   M u r p h yan d   assorted  re la t ive s — int r u s t . She  re fused  to   hando v e r t h e l a n d w i t h o u ts t r i n g s .

"You 'd jus t g ive i t tos o m e H i n d u , "  s h e  o n c e

Washington Post Photo

Bernie Gunther, conductor of the five-day, $290 seminar From Sex to Superconsciousness at Esalen Institute in

Big Sur,  Calif., says  I've  always been outlandish. The institute is no longer a way-out outpost.

sniffed."She  w a s n ' t  f a r  o f f , "

l a ug hs   M urphy, 47 , a le anlong   d i s tance runne r whotakes   l i t t le  active part  in

Esalen   these days .T o h i s n o n p r o f i t s a l o n

c a m e w e s t e r n t h e r a p i s t sfascinated   w i t h m i n i n g t hee a s t e rn   d i s c i p l i n e s ,  a n dv a r i o u s   y o g a  p r a c t i c e swere incorpora ted   in to  tra-di t iona l  repe r to i re s  of   dig-

g in g  ou t the  emot ions .  Itw as   at   Esalen  tha t  gesta l tp s y c h o l o g y f i r s t s h o o kh a n d s w i t h K u n d i l i n iYoga .

P u r v e y o r s   o f v a r i o u st h e r a p i e s  w e r e  f o r e v e rd uel in g  over  ho w   best  topeel  the emotional onion-skin.   Non-Freud ian r iva lse x p e r i m e n t e d d a i l y w i t hsome new technique , theyf rquen t ly   sho t f rom  the hip

This person can sellyouyour new car,finance your newcar,or  lease you a new car.

All in one place.He's   your  nearby Chevrolet, Pontiac. Oldsmobile. Buick.  Cadi l lac  or

CM C Truck  dea le r . When you're shopping  for a new  c a r . pay him a visit.

O n ce   you  find  the  mode  you  want, mention  the  words.  G M A C

Financing . Y ou ' l l bea m a z e d at what happens n e x t .Your   CM   dea le r  can arrange the car financing and.fmancing for the

c r e d i t life and disability  i nsura nce right in his showroom. Monthly payments

ca n be arranged. With theG M A C  Plan, he can m a k e it possible for you to get

into your new CM ca r and drive it  a w a y .

Or   m a y b e you're interested  i n l e a s i n g a n e w  c a r .  Y o u r G M d e a l e r c a n

a r r a n g e  thai  too.

G M A C Financing  t a k e s the running around out of car buying.  G M A C

Fi nanc i ng   s av e s  you  time  and  trouble.  G M A C  F i nanc i ng .  Another good

r e a s o n to visit your  G e n e r a l Motors  d ea l er .

GMACFINANCINGCHEVR OLET/PONTIAC/OLDSM OBILE/BUICK/CADILLAC/GMC T R U C K

—   and o f ten a t  each o ther .Fr i tz  Perl s ,  th e  beloved

and fea red godfa the r o fgestalt,   o f ten  accused  Wil lSchutz , the Adam of en-counter groups,  of   sp read-in g   s u p e r f i c i a l i t y  i n theform   of  " ins tan t  joy."

" He wa s  jus t j e a lous  ofm y g a i n i n g p o p u l a r i t y , "says  Schutz .

No   single path to explor-in g  the self was deemedThe Way, a l though Esa lenha d  its experiential  b i a s .Behaviorists ' view   o f ma na s a M r .   S t i m u l u s - R e -sponse was discounted ( toom e c h a n i c a l ) ,  a s w a sF r e u d ' s   o b s e s s i o n  w i t hh u m a n  pa tho logy.  Psychesweren ' t s i ck , s i ck , s i ck , bu tj u s t  f i n e ,  thank you .

Esalen's   B ig  Daddie s  fel tt ha t  so-called normal peo-pl e  we re capab le  of theecsta t ic or "peak   expe r i -ences"   mys t ics have  l ongdescr ibed.   Only  th e  properc o m b i n a t i o n o f  ingred ien t sw as   needed  to   make th ingshappen , and th i s usua l lycons i s ted o f  e s t e r n - s t y l emed i t a t i o n   combined wi thp h y s i c a l   e x e r c i s e . T h ef ocus wa s o n  deve lop ing th e" B o d y - m i n d "  — t h e  m i n d ,th e  body and the emotions,toge the r .

To harmonize the Body-m i n d ,  i t was  necessary  tos t r ip  away repressions,  an da  n u m b e r  o f  f l e d g l i n gtherapies evolved, not theleast among them bioener-g e t i c s ,   a  b o d y t e c h n i q u ethat focuses  on   open ing  upthe body's energy   centersr o ug hly  cor re sponding toth e  chakras o f  eas te rn  t r a -dition.

" W h e n y o u ' r e d e a l i n gw i t h  b locked  e n e r g y ,  al -m o s t   a n y t h i n g  ca n  h a p -pen ,"  says  N ew   Y o r k e r

A l a n  Schwar tz ,  w ho   com-bines gestalt with bioener-get ics . "Some people wouldbreathe three times and gor igh t up the   wa l l — s t a rk ,r a v i n g m a d — o r h a v e a norgasm   on the spot.

O f   course,  E s a l e n ' s  I f -I t-F e e l s - G o o d - D o - I t   a t m o -s p h e r e   n u d g e d t h i n g sa lo n g .  " I f you give people al i cense  to do  th ings theyhave neve r done be fore ,you ' re go ing   to get a  verypow erf u l  v ib ra t ion ,"  saysEsa len p re s iden t Ju l i an  Sil-v e r m a n .  "I t w as an  e m o -t i o n - c h a r g e d e n v i r o n -m e n t . "

N o w a d a y s ,  a  v i s i to r  is asl ike ly  to   e n c o u n t e r  a  gov-e rnment bureau cra t a s theg i r l  nex t door , a movie s t a ras a g roup o f French tour -ists in sex therapy.

So b  s to r ie s abound , as do.tales  of   renewal .

St range rs  ar e  in t roducedto   Esalen ' s  favorite pieceo f   ev idence  —   an th ropo lo-g i s t Gregory Ba te son , 74 , askeptic  w ho   came he re  todie. So far, he hasn' t suc-ceeded.

I t  i s h a r d l y w h a t t h elearned old man expectedw h e n he a r r ived s ix monthsago. Doctors had diagnosedl u n g   cance r .

Esa len  w as  seeking a  res-iden t g randfa the r ,  a n d Ba -teson   f it the bil l . A   f o r m e rUn iv er s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a re -g en t  f a m o u s  for his   "dou-b le -b ind" theory   of  sch izo-p h r e n i a ,  a u t h o r ,p h i l o s o p h e r - a n d e x - h u s -

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band o f M a r g r e t  Mead , Ba-teson  w as   invited t o  l ive inF r i t z  Perl s '  old residencew i t h  his wife , Lois, andtheir  10-year-old  dugh te r tos a m p le  th e  nur tur ing  en -vironment, the health   foodand the   baths .

He   is a  gentle  hu lk  of am an   with  a  long beak nose,tw o   missing front teeth, atwin k le  of   p e r m a n e n t  be-musement   a n d a  penchantfo r wear ing loa fe r s wi thoutsocks.  The daily  doses  ofaffect ion  he   rece ives  ar es t a g g e r i n g .   B e a u t i f u lwomen a re   forever shower-in g  h im wi th  kisses,  an dyoung men vie to sit at hisf ee t .  He doesn' t quite knowwhat  to  m a k e of his  suddenlongevity.

"I   ju s t  don' t  feei  pa r t i cu-l a r l y   l i k e  d y i n g  t h e s edays, he grins . "They 'vebeen pumping   me   f u l l  ofwheat  g ras s j uice ."

More typical of the peo-p l e   h e r e i s a  f o r t y i s hw o m a n  n a m e d B a r b a r awh o  s ays s he   c a m e t o  Esa-le n  a f te r  f l i r t ing  wi th su i -cide .  She has  f ound  solacew o r k i n g   i n t h e  g a r d e n

here .A f t e r  scu t t l ing a  30-year

marr iage fo r ano the r man ,t h e n d u m p i n g  th e  o the rm a n , s he  considered  "dr iv-ing   west  on   Ca l i f o rn ia  1" —t h a t i s , o f f a  c l i f f .  S h eyearned to be hugged, tookest, then c a m e  to Esalen tolea rn how to   "stop p layingmy o ld games.

A s k e d w h a t  s h e h a slearned, she looks up   f romp u l l i n g  weeds , mops he rb r n w  w i t h  a  m u d d y ha n dan d   says,  "Some weeds  ar el ike  peo ple ;  they hur t yourback. I 've learned to lovem y  weeds ."

Once  a  y e a r ,  the NewJ e r s e y   den t i s t comes toEsa len  to  w o r k  up   couraget o   d r o p  b u r d e n s o m ef r i e n d s .  A f t e r w a r d s ,  h e

s tops a t tend ing   d e n t a l  so -c i e t y   m e e t i n g s , t a k e s t ob ur n in g   incense  in the of-f ice  an d  feels  closer  to hisw if e a nd   k ids . "Af te r a cou-ple of  weeks  here ,  I 'm nota f r a i d  o f  th ings  I  though t  Iwas a f ra id o f ," he   says .

Th e  70-odd beds  in  mote l -m o d e r n d o r m i t o r i e s  a r ebooked months  in   a d v a n c eby   p r imar i ly w h i te , mid-dle-class   seekers  who canaf f o rd  $220-$335 for five-dayi n t e n s i v e s a n d a l l t h es p r o u t s t h e y   c a n  e a t .H eal th   c a r e  p ro fe ss iona lsc u r io us  about a l te rna t ivemed ic in e   s e m i n a r s m i n g l ew ith   lawye rs , bus inessmena n d A r m y  b r a s s  s e k i n gv en t i l a t i o n .  A f t e r  y e a r s  inthe red, Esalen has  t igh t-ened the reins; last year 's

$150,000  ope ra t ing  p r o f i tw as   p lowed back  into  thegrounds and  work-scho la r -ships.

There   ar e  workshops  onTranscendenta l  R u n n i n g ;Taoism; L iv ing ; Hypnos is ;B l a c k  D a n c e ; P l e a s u r e ;Sen s ua l i t y ;   F e a r ,  Panic  &Vuln er a b i l i t y ;   T u n i n g  In ;le tting  G o &  Ge t t ing Eve ry-t h i n g ; M a s s a g e , a n d s of o r t h .  Techniques deve -loped here long ago enteredth e  marke tp lace .

In   fac t ,  th e  c u r r e n t g l u tof   self-help,  f rom   holistichea l th   to pop  the rap ie s  ton o u v e a u   a d d i c t i o n s  l i k er u n n i n g ,  h a s  E s a l e n  t ot ha n k  for i ts early role asTH E   laboratory  fo r NewA ge   social scientists. It was

pe rhaps  i n e v i t a b l e  t h a t  af e w   m ad   scientists  w ouldemerge  to vie for the   do l -la r s  an d  m i n d s o f  loya l  re -cru i t s .

Cr i t i c s  in   h u m a n p o t e n-t i a l ' s  h igh society  s n i f f  tha tEsa len i s no longe r thefrontier ,   bu t a boring sett le-m e n t .  I t may  wel l  be themains t ream, but i t ' s no tyet so   middle-of- the-roadt h a t  everyone wants  t he i rf r i e n d s  and ne ighbors toknow   they spent their vaca-tion  here.

"I t  w ould  ru in us ," sa idthe   wi fe  of an  e lec t ron icsexecut ive who fea red he rhus b a n d  w ould  lose  his jobif   the i r name  s a w p r i n t ." I t ' s sad , bu t tha t ' s the wayit   is . You  say,  ' E s a l e n , ' a nd

t h e y  t h i n k ,  'O rgy, loose ,e r o t i c . ' "

"Sure, we've been   se l l ingth e s a m e  ol d s t u f f  f or a  longt i m e . S o   w h a t ? " s a y s  S i l -v e r m a n .  " E s a l e n  is   l ike  ach i ld  tha t ' s gone th roug hado le sence and reached i t sl a t e  20s. L i f e  isn' t t he   s a m eas at 16. A f t e r  a w h i l e , yo ul o o k r i d i c u l o u s  c r a w l i n ga r o un d  in a  c r i b . "