rossman michael recipient (1 Ergebnisse)

Correspondence related to Mike Rossman's participation in a symposium to "investigate some of the darker aspects" of religious, therapeutic, and spiritual movements. Organized by the Esalen Institute, the famous New Age educational centre, the two-day event aimed to alert sympathetic minds to the dangers of authoritarianism, tyranny, and "the potential misuse of psychic powers" in large groups. Rossman, a key leader of the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley in 1964, took part in a panel discussion called "On Using Psychic Powers", along with Lee Sannella and Arthur Hastings. The Esalen Institute was founded in 1962 to explore alternative approaches to engaging with human consciousness. In the 1970s, it offered retreats and courses on subjects pertaining to Eastern religions and philosophies, alternative medicines, and mind-body interventions. The symposium, "Spiritual & Therapeutic Tyranny: The Willingness to Submit", was held in San Francisco between 7 and 8 December 1973, in reaction to some high-profile cult leaders and faux gurus who had profited from the era's interest in self-improvement. Participants in the panel discussions, under headings such as "Tyranny in the Small Group" and "Political Action and the Inner Search", included Stewart Brand, Peter Marin, Paul Krassner, Jerry Rubin, and Claude Naranjo, among many others. The symposium addressed individuals accused of exploitative or manipulative practices, including Werner Erhard, himself an Esalen graduate. The fact that no woman spoke at the event was protested with a leafleting campaign outside the symposium. Together, 3 items: 1) single-page typed letter signed from Gail Williams dated 4 September 1973, addressed to Mike Rossman, with handwritten telephone number in Williams's hand and an address and doodle in a separate hand (possibly Rossman); 2) single-page autograph letter signed from Lynn Vandenberg, dated 31 July [1973]; 3) poster for the conference (450 x 450 mm, folded twice as issued), printed in black on purple paper. A little creased with a few marks, nicks to foot of handwritten letter: a well-preserved collection.