Michael Murphy (author)
Encyclopedia
Michael Murphy is the co-founder of the Esalen Institute
, a key figure in the Human Potential Movement
and author of both fiction and non-fiction books on topics related to extraordinary human potential.
father and Basque
mother in Salinas, California
.
In April 1950, while enrolled in the pre-med program at Stanford University
, he mistakenly wandered into a lecture on comparative religions. This lecture so fanned the flame of his interest in the integration of Eastern and Western thought, that he enrolled in the class and subsequently began meditation
.
On January 15, 1951, during seated meditation by Lake Lagunita at Stanford, he experienced what he describes as a "hinge moment", after which he dropped out of the pre-med program with a new vision for the purpose of his life.
He continued with his formal education, earning his B.A. in psychology
in 1952 from Stanford University. After graduation, he was draft
ed by the US Army and spent two years stationed in Puerto Rico
as a psychologist. He returned to Stanford for two quarters of graduate studies in philosophy before he quit in 1956 to go to India
.
in Pondicherry, India. It is likely that his ideas related to the connection between human evolution, human potential, and spiritual growth developed further here.
graduate, Dick Price
. In 1962, they founded Esalen Institute
together in Big Sur
, California
on 127 acre (0.51395122 km²) of property owned by Murphy's family.
In 1972 he retired from actively running Esalen to do more writing. He remains chairman of the board at the institute, and continues to be a key contributor to research projects at the Esalen Center for Theory and Research. He presently resides in Sausalito, California.
's first visit to the US 1990.
In 1992 he published The Future of the Body, a massive historical and cross-cultural collection of documentation of various occurrences of extraordinary human functioning such as healing, hypnosis
, martial arts
, yogic techniques
, telepathy
, clairvoyance
, and feats of superhuman strength. Rather than presenting such documentation as scientific proof, he presents it as a body of evidence to motivate further investigation.
He is also an avid golfer and has written two fictional books relating golf and human potential. His 1971 novel, Golf in the Kingdom
has been in constant publication since its release and has become one of the best selling golf books of all time. It is considered by many to be a classic of sports literature. In 1992 it spawned The Shivas Irons Society, a 501(c)3 organization to explore the transformational potential of sport, of which Michael is the co-chairman of the advisory board. He is in partnership with film producer, Mindy Affrime, on the feature film, being adapted from the best-selling novel, "Golf In The Kingdom". It is being directed by Susan Streitfeld and stars David O'Hara
, Mason Gamble
, Malcolm McDowell
and Frances Fisher
. The complementary one hour TV documentary called Golfers in the Kingdom is being directed by Ellen Spiro
.
Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute is a residential community and retreat in Big Sur, California, which focuses upon humanistic alternative education. Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activites such as meditation, massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, and spirituality...
, a key figure in the Human Potential Movement
Human Potential Movement
The Human Potential Movement arose out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and formed around the concept of cultivating extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people...
and author of both fiction and non-fiction books on topics related to extraordinary human potential.
Biography
Michael Murphy was born in 1930 to an IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
father and Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
mother in Salinas, California
Salinas, California
Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...
.
In April 1950, while enrolled in the pre-med program at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, he mistakenly wandered into a lecture on comparative religions. This lecture so fanned the flame of his interest in the integration of Eastern and Western thought, that he enrolled in the class and subsequently began meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
.
On January 15, 1951, during seated meditation by Lake Lagunita at Stanford, he experienced what he describes as a "hinge moment", after which he dropped out of the pre-med program with a new vision for the purpose of his life.
He continued with his formal education, earning his B.A. in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
in 1952 from Stanford University. After graduation, he was draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
ed by the US Army and spent two years stationed in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
as a psychologist. He returned to Stanford for two quarters of graduate studies in philosophy before he quit in 1956 to go to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
India
During 1956 and 1957 Murphy practiced meditation for 18 months at the Sri Aurobindo AshramSri Aurobindo Ashram
The Sri Aurobindo Ashram was founded by Sri Aurobindo on the 24 November 1926 . At the time there were no more than 24 disciples in the Ashram...
in Pondicherry, India. It is likely that his ideas related to the connection between human evolution, human potential, and spiritual growth developed further here.
Founding Esalen
In 1960, while in residence at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Cultural Integration Fellowship in San Francisco, he met a fellow Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
graduate, Dick Price
Dick Price
Richard “Dick” Price -- co-founded Esalen Institute in 1962.Dick Price was a veteran of the Beat Generation. He ran Esalen in Big Sur for many years, sometimes virtually single-handed. He was an explorer of the Santa Lucia Mountains that define the Big Sur coast...
. In 1962, they founded Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute is a residential community and retreat in Big Sur, California, which focuses upon humanistic alternative education. Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activites such as meditation, massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, and spirituality...
together in Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on 127 acre (0.51395122 km²) of property owned by Murphy's family.
In 1972 he retired from actively running Esalen to do more writing. He remains chairman of the board at the institute, and continues to be a key contributor to research projects at the Esalen Center for Theory and Research. He presently resides in Sausalito, California.
Further contributions
In the 1980s he organized Esalen's Soviet-American Exchange Program which served as a unique form of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy. The program initiated the process that led to Boris YeltsinBoris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
's first visit to the US 1990.
In 1992 he published The Future of the Body, a massive historical and cross-cultural collection of documentation of various occurrences of extraordinary human functioning such as healing, hypnosis
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
, martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, yogic techniques
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
, telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
, and feats of superhuman strength. Rather than presenting such documentation as scientific proof, he presents it as a body of evidence to motivate further investigation.
He is also an avid golfer and has written two fictional books relating golf and human potential. His 1971 novel, Golf in the Kingdom
Golf in the Kingdom
Golf in the Kingdom is a 1971 novel by Michael Murphy. It has sold over a million copies and been translated into 19 languages. Golf in the Kingdom tells the story of Michael Murphy, a young traveler who accidentally stumbles on a mystical golfing expert while in Scotland.Murphy was inspired to...
has been in constant publication since its release and has become one of the best selling golf books of all time. It is considered by many to be a classic of sports literature. In 1992 it spawned The Shivas Irons Society, a 501(c)3 organization to explore the transformational potential of sport, of which Michael is the co-chairman of the advisory board. He is in partnership with film producer, Mindy Affrime, on the feature film, being adapted from the best-selling novel, "Golf In The Kingdom". It is being directed by Susan Streitfeld and stars David O'Hara
David O'Hara
David O'Hara is a Scottish actor.-Life and career:O'Hara was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Martha and Patrick O'Hara, a construction worker....
, Mason Gamble
Mason Gamble
Mason Wilson Gamble is an American actor known for his portrayal of Dennis Mitchell in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace and as Jason Schwartzman's sidekick, Dirk Calloway, in Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson's critically acclaimed 1998 film Rushmore. He also appeared in Anya's Bell with Della Reese,...
, Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
and Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher is a British actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven , and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic .- Early life and education :Fisher was born...
. The complementary one hour TV documentary called Golfers in the Kingdom is being directed by Ellen Spiro
Ellen Spiro
Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. Spiro is known for making humorous social issue films for national and international television broadcasts and theatrical release....
.
External links
- In Murphy's Kingdom by Jackie Krentzman
- An Interview With Dick Price
- Michael Murphy Biography
- http://www.literati.net/Murphy/
- The Shivas Irons Society
- Esalen Alumni Group