Next?

Wow.

I've been back in New York for three weeks now and have managed to
keep my Esalen glow legit, although the challenges of daily life have
dimmed it a bit I admit.

But still...what a transcendent month!

My time there was a potent combination of a location overflowing with
physical beauty and spiritual power, a supportive community of like-
minded people, a lack of outside distractions and a workshop that's
all about helping you reach your full potential as a human being.

I was especially surprised about the effect of being largely cut off
from the outside world. There was no cell phone reception at Esalen,
limited Internet access and only 3 (lightly read) newspapers for 300
people. I likened this lack of distractions to a falling water level
in a stream; as the water level drops you start exposing rocks that
were previously hidden. This quiet allowed me to pay better attention
to what was going on around, and inside of, me.

In one month I was able to explore issues of self, relationship,
career and family. It was a priceless opportunity to look inward. Now
the much bigger challenge is to integrate what I found into my daily
life. From that perspective I was glad to leave; I've uncovered more
than enough issues for now. But I so miss the beauty of Esalen and the
beauty of all the wonderful friends I made there. It was the first
time since college that I've lived in a community that was as fun as
it was supportive. I'm used to living alone and although the immersion
took some getting used to, what I miss most about Esalen are the
friends I made there.

So what is next? I need to decide whether to use this watershed event
to make some fundamental changes in my life or to continue down the
familiar and more comfortable path that thus far hasn't gotten me
where I want to go. I have made some changes already, and feel good
about that, but they were low hanging fruit. Time to pull out the
ladder and get climbing.