Jeff Kripal on the Cultural History of the Esalen Institute

Voices of Esalen

Jeff Kripal is the Chairman of the Board of the Esalen Institute and holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. His fascinating work includes the history of psychic phenomena, comparative erotics and ethics in mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religions, and the Esalen Institute itself. He is the author of the foundational text "Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion," a must-read for anyone interested in the Esalen Institute. His present areas of writing and research include the articulation of a New Comparativism within the study of religion that will put “the impossible” back on the table again, a robust and even conversation between the sciences and the humanities, and the mapping of an emergent mythology or “Super Story” within paranormal communities and individual visionaries. Have a listen to our conversation on the cultural and historical forces at play during the origin of the Esalen Insitute. Our theme music today is Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund, licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.