The trillions of dollars generated annually by the tech industry has not bought inner peace to guilt-ridden executives of Silicon Valley, it was reported on Monday.
The heads of the largest tech companies have sought solace at Esalen Institute, a nonprofit spiritual retreat where visitors do yoga and meditation exercises, eat organic food, and learn about tantric sex.
Esalen, which is a four-hour drive from San Francisco, rests atop the scenic bluff of Big Sur.
Now it has become the preferred retreat of a growing number of Silicon Valley tech executives who look to make the journey inward, according to The New York Times.
‘There’s a dawning consciousness emerging in Silicon Valley as people recognize that their conventional success isn’t necessarily making the world a better place,’ said Ben Tauber, the new executive director at Esalen.
The heads of the largest tech companies have sought solace at Esalen Institute, a nonprofit spiritual retreat where visitors do yoga and meditation exercises, eat organic food, and learn about tantric sex. Esalen is located in scenic Big Sur, California (above)
The heads of the largest tech companies have sought solace at Esalen Institute, a nonprofit spiritual retreat where visitors do yoga and meditation exercises, eat organic food, and learn about tantric sex
Participants engage in new-age techniques like mindful walking, mindful eating, self-compassion, visualization, yoga, and chanting
A weekend at the retreat costs from as little as $420 to $2,890 – depending on the accomodations
Esalen has historically attracted hippies looking for inner salvation. In the above file photo, a woman sitting on a rock on the cliffs overlooking an ocean playing a wooden flute at the Esalen Institute
On the left, a woman roars with laughter as she undergoes a head-tapping session, part of a sensory awareness class in an encounter group at the Esalen Institute. On the right, participants take part in a nude encounter group therapy session
Tauber is familiar with the tech world – having worked as a product manager at Google and a start-up executive coach.
‘The CEOs, inside they’re hurting. They can’t sleep at night.’
The collective existential crisis gripping the tech world has prompted executives to reserve spots and lead sessions.
Dave Morin, a venture capitalist and former Facebook employee, is scheduled to teach a course on depression and tech.
Tristan Harris, formerly an ethicist at Google, will teach a class on internet addiction.
‘There’s a dawning consciousness emerging in Silicon Valley as people recognize that their conventional success isn’t necessarily making the world a better place,’ said Ben Tauber (left), the new executive director at Esalen. Dave Morin (right), a venture capitalist and former Facebook employee, is scheduled to teach a course on depression and tech
Bodhi Kalayjian (right) worked as a chef at Google before the company became a phenomenon worth billions. Eventually, he decided to leave the company and move to Big Sur, where he works at Esalen as a baker and a masseuse
Visitors also do other exercises, like walking around in a circle and introducing themselves.
Another class is titled ‘Connect to Your Inner-Net.’
Participants engage in new-age techniques like mindful walking, mindful eating, self-compassion, visualization, yoga, and chanting.
There is also chakra meditation and guitar class.
‘I just sold my start-up and needed a place to reflect,’ said Sam McBride, a 31-year-old former tech executive from Chicago.
‘To give me some perspective.’
‘It’s about putting Silicon Valley back in their bodies,’ said Bodhi Kalayjian, 47.
‘Everybody’s got a soul. It’s about finding it.’
Kalayjian worked as a chef at Google before the company became a phenomenon worth billions.
‘Once the IPO happened it was less fun,’ he said.
Eventually, he decided to leave the company and move to Big Sur, where he works at Esalen as a baker and a masseuse.
‘The old-timey hippies are moving into the history books, but why would you ever want to keep things static?’ he said.
‘If you do your work, things are always in a state of change.’
Visitors can also expect their bank accounts to undergo a state of change.
A weekend at the retreat costs from as little as $420 to $2,890 – depending on the accomodations.
A five-day workshop will run you anywhere from $675 to $5,605, while a seven-day workshop ranges from $900 to $7,000.
This past August, Esalen re-opened its doors after a six-month hiatus because of mud slides that blocked access to the retreat.
Last winter’s stormy weather resulted in a bridge collapsing and mud blocking the entrance point from the south, according to The Mercury News.
The closure resulted in heavy losses of money. After renovations totaling $10million, the place reopened.
‘God knows what it is doing to our children’: First Facebook president Sean Parker blasts social media
Sean Parker was the founding president of Facebook – the social media giant that he says may not be so good for children
One of the biggest names in Silicon Valley criticized Facebook and other social media sites in an interview with Axios last month.
Sean Parker said that people like himself and Mark Zuckerberg had just one goal it mind when it came to these platforms: ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible.’
The answer, according to Parker, was by exploiting human weakness.
Parker said that he now sees himself as ‘something of a conscientious objector’ to social media, despite the fact that he owes most of his massive $2.4 billion fortune to his involvement with Facebook.
He also joked that Mark Zuckerberg would probably end up blocking him in the wake of his comments.
Parker said that he and people like Zuckerberg realized they could keep their users engaged by ‘exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology’ and creating ‘a social-validation feedback loop.’
He explained: ‘And that means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever. And that’s going to get you to contribute more content, and that’s going to get you … more likes and comments.’
Parker, who now has two children, said: ‘It probably interferes with productivity in weird ways. God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.’
Parker seemed to suggest that he now regrets his involvement with Facebook during his remarks in Philadelphia.