Dear Friend of Esalen,
Welcome to the second volume of the Esalen eZine. As you may recall from our first eZine on Conscious Business, these occasional eZines will tell the tales about Esalen that aren’t often told elsewhere. In this issue, we explore Esalen’s role in citizen diplomacy, both with Russia and in the Middle East.
Citizen diplomacy is at the very heart of Esalen’s commitment to pioneering deep change in self and society. With a long history of fostering open communication and respect, Esalen has worked to help resolve conflicts and diffuse emotionally charged situations around the globe. Building on past experiences, Esalen now turns its attention to uniting the Abrahamic family.
This issue’s special editor is Joe Montville. For 23 years, starting in 1965, he served in the U.S. State Department as a diplomat in Iraq (Baghdad, Basra), Lebanon (Beirut), Libya (Baida, Benghazi, Tripoli), and Morocco (Rabat).
Montville is currently Director of the Program on Healing Historical Memory in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Virginia, and Director of the Abrahamic Family Reunion, Esalen’s project to promote Muslim-Christian-Jewish reconciliation.
Thank you, Joe, and our six other authors, for your moving stories.
Jay Ogilvy
Esalen eZine Editor-in-chief
