Soul’s Code

The Esalen Institute is where legends like Joseph Campbell, Abraham Maslow and Fritz Perls did some of their seminal work.

It’s one reason we call Esalen “the cradle of West Coast civilization” in the Soul’s Code slideshow, The 10 Best Spiritual Resorts.

We ranked Esalen No. 2 in that series because of its unparalleled physical amenities — like these luxurious cliff-hanger mineral baths that jut off Big Sur over Pacific breakers.

But California’s wildfires are now within a mile of Esalen’s magical property, and the remaining skeleton staff of 50-odd people can see flames on the ridges of the coastal mountains (the image above was taken by one of them from the Esalen grounds).

A house in a small town in Wisconsin where a mass-murder took place last October is being demolished by the owner, local clergy and government.

Soul’s Code contributor Cyndi Ingle asked in a recent essay on peak experiences, Do you need a building to feel spiritual?

Conversely, can a structure be evil? We believe, but cannot prove, the answer is “no”

BY PAUL KAIHLA —  It was 40 years ago today in the late, great 1968 that Robert Kennedy was martyred by Sirhan Sirhan at LA’s Ambassador Hotel (the venue was demolished in 2005). The man with the unconscious gun was a Palestinian born in Jerusalem who was initially sentenced to death in a California gas chamber, and is now 64. He has spent his adult life in a nasty CA cell.

When the assassin was raised, there was no Israel. Palestine was a creature of the British colonial office.

The Kennedy clan has served as a crucible for some of America’s most noble ideals — and downside projections (adultery, addictions, affairs).

Today we join the prayers at Arlington Cemetery, and for all who were touched by the pain of this loss.

To this petition and appeal by Debby Dernberger of Menlo Park, CA, we add our prayers:

“I am in search of a long lost relative, my brother. His name is Michael Jay Dernberger and he was a vagrant and homeless alcoholic living on skid row in Washington State. It is tragic what happened to him, and he is not the only one. I just want to find my brother.

“Is he alive or dead? Is he in jail, or is he OK? No one has heard from him since 1990. By posting this, it would help get the word out.”

Carl and Pat Turner are elderly and ailing. They require, at turns, the help of siblings, their three children,  neighbors — or hospital inpatient care. This request comes from their daughter . . .

We have a prayer request for Theresa Martin, from one of her daughters coping with this elderly woman’s recent admission to a Kitchener, ON hospital. Her daughter’s petition for intercessory prayers and description of Theresa’s condition . . .

A single mother whom we’ll call by her first initial, “M,” to protect her and her daughters’ identity and location, wrote to us to ask for advice and prayers. She’s just had a relationship-shocker that she compares to the movie, American Beauty, and the secret life of Amber Frey’s notorious (and married) ex, Scott Peterson. If that were not enough, M also just lost her corporate job.

In M’s own words . . .