Esalen President Gordon Wheeler recently sent a message to the Esalen community in which he derided Esaleaks as a “creepy” disinformation campaign, in which we have supposedly discredited ourselves by noting that he and Nancy were compensated over $200k yearly by Esalen. Wheeler’s hefty rebuttal of course ignores the whole thrust of Esaleaks as a platform for the unheard, and the important questions being asked.

On this note we must present Esalen Staff Compensation January 2008, graciously provided by an Esaleaks contributor, in which the Wheelers’ combined total compensation of $282,760.00 is disclosed, based (naturally) on a calculation of their (then) Point House residence at equal value to a room at South Coast.

The ultimate point of course is not the Wheelers’ compensation, but the total balance of power at Esalen, threats to its moral and spiritual constitution, and whether the community can preserve the fundamental qualities of our spiritual home amidst some very destructive influences.

We look forward eagerly to hearing and publishing the community’s words, humbly winnowing for the truth, and inclusively plotting a righteous and resonant path for Esalen. The power of anonymity will serve the community so long as the power of personal intimidation is abused by authority.

The Nine