2008 Workshops
Please come back often for updates and additions. Click on a workshop title and date below to view the description and registration information. Click here to download a printer-friendly pdf:
2008 Workshops with Steven Harper
April 27-May 2, 2008 - Big Sur Wilderness Experience at Esalen
May 9-11, 2008 - The Way of Nature at Esalen
May 18-23, 2008 - Walk on the Wild Side at Esalen
May 31, 2008 - Art of Pilgrimage at Green Gulch Zen Center
June 5-8, 2008- Wild Mind Zen Mind at Tassajara Zen Center
June 15-20, 2008- Mountains and Waves at Esalen
June 20-22, 2008- Nature and Contemplation at Esalen
July 3-6, 2008- The Nature of Zen at Tassajara Zen Center
July 6-11, 2008 - Big Sur Wilderness Experience at Esalen
August 22-24, 2008- Simply Wild at Esalen
August 24-29, 2008- Belonging to Earth at Esalen
Sept 20, 2008 - Art of Pilgrimage at Green Gulch Zen Center
September 26-28, 2008 - Nature and Contemplation at Esalen
October 17-19, 2008 -Conscious Embodiment at Esalen
Please bookmark and check back soon! Thank you.
April 27-May 2, 2008
Big Sur Wilderness Experience: Springtime
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper and Michael Newman
Esalen is the trailhead to one of the most spectacular mountainous coastlines in the world. With the Big Sur wilderness as the primary teacher, participants will explore the beauty of this alive and wild coast, from ancient redwood-forested canyons to dramatic coastal beaches, from rugged rocky mountains to the soft grassy slopes of the Big Sur hills. Drawing from nature and various experiential awareness practices, individuals will be encouraged to open both to the natural world and to the landscapes of their inner world. It is said that Big Sur is not just a place but a state of mind. This wilderness experience seeks to merge mind and place, then to embody what is learned.
Participants in this weeklong workshop will venture out into the emerging springtime magnificence of Big Sur on five day-hikes, 4-10 miles in length. The leaders will draw from a wide range of contemporary and age-old wisdom traditions, borrowing from psychology, meditation, aikido, and the natural sciences to weave together a holistic experience of self and the natural world. Each hike begins after breakfast and concludes in time to enjoy the hot springs and dinner at Esalen. Evening sessions include informal sharing, basic awareness practices, and useful outdoor skills, with attention given to incorporating what is learned into our daily lives. All levels of experience are welcome. Be prepared for the invigorating challenge of physical activity and the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet reflection. More information will be sent upon registration.
($20 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Filled and completed!
May 9-11, 2008
The Way of Nature
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper
You didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here. — Alan Watts
Ever since the supposed "primordial soup," nature has been our teacher. We were born of this earth and throughout recorded time people have turned to wilderness to awaken, become whole, and know their belonging to this world.
With wild nature as primary teacher, participants will explore the way of nature, discovering as "civilized" 20th-century humans what it means to walk this ancient pathless path. Hiking the wilderness trails of Big Sur, the group will balance the days between walking and sitting, inspirational readings and quiet contemplation, active awareness exercises and simply being.
The workshop includes two day-hikes (3-6 miles) into the Big Sur backcountry. Previous wilderness experience is not necessary, although participants should be prepared for some vigorous physical activity. Further information will be sent upon registration.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Filled and Completed!
May 18-23, 2008
Walk on the Wild Side: Hiking the Big Sur Country
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper and Michael Newman
"What's the quickest way out of the city?" John Muir is reported to have asked a stranger on the street of the metropolis in which Muir had just arrived. "Where do you want to go?" the man asked. "Anywhere that is wild," Muir replied.
This week is straightforward. You day-hike the mountainous paths into the wilds of Big Sur, breathe in the fresh mountain air, and soak in Esalen's natural hot springs overlooking the waves of the Pacific—in short, you let yourself touch and be touched by Nature.
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul," said Muir. Drawing from various wisdom traditions, the group will be introduced to practices that encourage openness to self and nature. As Muir discovered, "I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."
Hikes (3-10 miles in length) begin after breakfast and finish in time to enjoy the hot springs and wholesome food of Esalen. Participants should be prepared for the challenge of invigorating physical activity as well as the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet contemplation. More information will be sent upon registration.
Muir wrote, "The mountains are calling me and I must go."
($20 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Filled and Completed!
May 31, 2008
9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
The Art of Pilgrimage
Green Gulch Zen Center
with Steven Harper and Luminous Owl
Most of the world's spiritual traditions include some form of pilgrimage. Although not often taught in the West, Buddhism also includes such a practice. This retreat will be a contemporary pilgrimage, exploring the ancient art of walking. While pilgrimage is often from one place to another, we will end at the very place we begin, celebrating the sacred aspect of the journey itself. We will begin at Green Gulch with an introduction to the basic principles of sitting meditation (zazen) and walking practice (kinhin). Much of the day will be spent mindfully hiking trails in the wilds of Marin (3-6 miles in length), moving between silence, instruction, and informal discussion. This is a contemplative journey where each step is the goal. Please bring a bag lunch. Further information will be sent upon registration.
Please call the Green Gulch front office at 415.383.3134 to register (next pilgrimage September 20, 2008)
June 5-8, 2008
Wild Mind, Zen Mind
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
with Steven Harper and Leslie James
This retreat simply offers the finest of Tassajara— Buddhist practice, wilderness walks, wonderful meals, hot springs, and silence. We will explore Zen practice and the natural beauty of Tassajara through daily meditation, group discussions, and day hikes on wilderness trails. Further information will be sent upon registration.
Completed! Next program at Tassajara July 3, 2008
June 15-20, 2008
Mountains and Waves: Wilderness and Continuum
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper and Susan Harper
Wilderness is a primary teacher of movement, creativity, and awareness whose richness and beauty awakens our senses to the world around us. Continuum is a unique movement practice, an inquiry into our capacity to innovate and participate with the essential movement processes of life. Continuum takes us inward in a dynamic inquiry, rotating between inner investigation and the flow of unfolding creative expression. Integrating day-hiking in the magnificent Big Sur backcountry with the subtle internal explorations of Continuum movement, this workshop combines and weaves together these two practices.
The hikes will introduce participants to increasingly refined awareness practices to enhance sensitivity to all that wilderness can offer, to reawaken those elements of wilderness within. During the indoor Continuum sessions, participants will explore movements that express and embody what they have taken in during the hikes, enlivening their ability to feel what they experience in nature as well as in their own inner nature. In this sensual environment, the group will play with movement, breath, sound, dreams, and ritual. This will be a time for contact with nature and wilderness, inside and out. Participants need not have previous experience in hiking or movement practices.
Co-leaders Steven and Susan are a brother-and-sister team who have taught this ever-evolving program annually for over 20 years.
Filled and Completed
June 20-22, 2008
Nature and Contemplation
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper
From time immemorial, nature has inspired the human heart to contemplation. Can we make this experience our own today? This weekend is designed to help participants experience, directly and deeply, both nature and contemplation. Earth underfoot on day-hikes into the wilds, water of the Pacific pounding against the shore, air of Big Sur's refreshing breezes, fire that heats Esalen's hot springs—all the elements combine to touch our bodies and to raise our minds and spirits. Contemplative practices will be shared that encourage our relationship to Self and Nature. The group will venture out on two hikes, 2-6 miles in length, balancing the day between walking and sitting, inspirational readings and quiet contemplation, active awareness exercises and simply being. Further information will be sent upon registration.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Filled and Completed
July 3-6, 2008
The Nature of Zen
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
with Steven Harper and Luminous Owl
Through the ages seekers and mystics of all cultures have gone to nature for inspiration, wisdom, and compassion. Zen in particular has been long associated with the wild nature of mountainous terrain and its potential as an environment for awakening. In this retreat we will explore nature, the essence of Zen teaching and its practices. There will be periods of meditation, group discussions, as well as day-hikes exploring the wilderness backcountry around Tassajara. This is a time to cultivate and nurture awareness, listen deeply to the silence of nature, and discover what nature and Zen practice has to offer our lives. All levels of experience are welcome.
Register Now (Full: canceled due to wildfire)
July 6-11, 2008
Big Sur Wilderness Experience
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper and Michael Newman
Esalen is the trailhead to one of the most spectacular mountainous coastlines in the world. With the Big Sur wilderness as the primary teacher, participants will explore the beauty of this alive and wild coast, from ancient redwood-forested canyons to dramatic coastal beaches, from rugged rocky mountains to the soft grassy slopes of the Big Sur hills. Drawing from nature and various experiential awareness practices, individuals will be encouraged to open both to the natural world and to the landscapes of their inner world. It is said that Big Sur is not just a place but a state of mind. This wilderness experience seeks to merge mind and place, then to embody what is learned.
Participants in this weeklong workshop will venture on five day-hikes, 4-10 miles in length. The leader will draw from a wide range of contemporary and age-old wisdom traditions, borrowing from psychology, meditation, aikido, and the natural sciences to weave together a holistic experience of self and the natural world. Each hike begins after breakfast and concludes in time to enjoy the hot springs and dinner at Esalen. Evening sessions include informal sharing, basic awareness practices, and useful outdoor skills, with attention given to incorporating what is learned during the week into our daily lives. All levels of experience are welcome. Be prepared for the invigorating challenge of physical activity and the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet reflection. More information will be sent upon registration.
($20 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Register Now (Full: canceled due to wildfire)
August 22-24
Simply Wild: Experiencing Nature
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper
“I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done.”
Mary Oliver
The weekend is simple. We stroll through the wilds of Big Sur on hikes, soak in the natural mineral hot springs, eat good wholesome food, commune with ourselves, others, and nature. With the bare attention of awareness, and wilderness as our teacher we show up for our life as it unfolds moment to moment. We come into deep contact with the raw beauty of this mysterious world.
The group will venture out on two hikes 2- 6 miles in length. Simple practices that encourage awareness and contemplation (“how to be idle and blessed”) will be shared with the group as well as the wonders of the rich natural history of Big Sur. No previous experience in simplicity or nature is required. Further information will be sent upon registration.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Register Now (Almost full, book soon)
August 24-29
Belonging to Earth: Finding Our Place in Nature
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper and Michael Newman
In every moment of our lives we are supported by natural systems both seen and unseen. Yet, in our culture, many of us are cut off from the natural world. We have little contact with wild nature, little idea of where we live, and little notion of what directly sustains our daily life. Esalen, surrounded and sustained by wild natural systems, is an ideal place to learn more about our sense of place, of nature, and of belonging to this earth.
This program will explore our relationship to the earth through increasing our knowledge of the basic life and earth sciences, and increasing awareness of self and nature. Participants will be introduced to an overview of the natural sciences and then to the geology, weather, ecology, native peoples, flora, and fauna that make up the incredible landscape we call Big Sur.
This workshop will include evening introductory lectures, dialog, and day-hikes that venture into Big Sur’s backcountry for field sessions that expand our practical knowledge of nature and, more specifically, of Big Sur. Attention will be paid to how we take our newfound eco-literacy and integrate it with how we sense our belonging so that we may more fully inhabit this extraordinary third planet from the sun.
This program is open to all levels of experience in hiking and the natural sciences. Participants should be prepared to hike in varied terrain (4-6 miles), enjoy periods of silence, and have a curiosity about nature and our place in the world.
($20 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Register Now (Almost Full, book soon)
September 20th, 2008
9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
The Art of Pilgrimage
Green Gulch Zen Center
with Steven Harper and Meg Levie
Most of the world's spiritual traditions include some form of pilgrimage. Although not often taught in the West, Buddhism also includes such a practice. This retreat will be a contemporary pilgrimage, exploring the ancient art of walking. While pilgrimage is often from one place to another, we will end at the very place we begin, celebrating the sacred aspect of the journey itself. We will begin at Green Gulch with an introduction to the basic principles of sitting meditation (zazen) and walking practice (kinhin). Much of the day will be spent mindfully hiking trails in the wilds of Marin (3-6 miles in length), moving between silence, instruction, and informal discussion. This is a contemplative journey where each step is the goal. Please bring a bag lunch. Further information will be sent upon registration.
Please call the Green Gulch front office at 415.383.3134 to register
September 26-28, 2008
Nature and Contemplation
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper
From time immemorial, nature has inspired the human heart to contemplation. Can we make this experience our own today? This weekend is designed to help participants experience, directly and deeply, both nature and contemplation. Earth underfoot on day-hikes into the wilds, water of the Pacific pounding against the shore, air of Big Sur's refreshing breezes, fire that heats Esalen's hot springs—all the elements combine to touch our bodies and to raise our minds and spirits. Contemplative practices will be shared that encourage our relationship to Self and Nature. The group will venture out on two hikes, 2-6 miles in length, balancing the day between walking and sitting, inspirational readings and quiet contemplation, active awareness exercises and simply being. Further information will be sent upon registration.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
Register Now
October 17-19, 2008
Conscious Embodiment and the Path of Nature
Esalen Institute
with Steven Harper and Wendy Palmer
There is within each of us the power of presence, wisdom, and compassion. Many of us aspire to manifest this power but return again and again to unskillful reactions and habits, especially when stressed or faced with conflict. How can we embody the changes we desire? This workshop builds primarily from two traditions: Conscious Embodiment and the path of nature.
Throughout the ages and across cultural traditions, nature has inspired the human spirit. The wilderness of Big Sur allows us to imprint the beauty of this alive and wild coast in our bodies. The ancient redwood-forested canyons, dramatic meeting of earth and sea, and soft grassy hills remind us of the presence, wisdom, and compassion that live in each of us.
Conscious Embodiment draws on the traditions of Aikido and mindfulness practice to offer ways of understanding mental and emotional habits of attention from an energetic viewpoint. The workshop will present simple yet deep techniques to illuminate reactive energetic patterns and to access more skillful and unified responses. Through simple physical forms, work in pairs, group discussions, and direct experience of nature you will gain:
- Tools to help you increase your presence, confidence, compassion, and sense of humor as you deal with change
- Increased capacity to live with paradox and the tension between opposites
- Renewed connection and aliveness with self and nature
All levels of experience are welcome. More information will be sent upon registration.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leaders)