Imagination is a core feature of consciousness, whether we regard it in psychological, aesthetic, or esoteric terms. Imagination is how we dream ourselves into the world with others, human and nonhuman, earthly and cosmic. Without the richness and surprise of the imagination, our practice is also likely to be dry, dogmatic, and not much fun. A commitment to the imagination means a commitment to creative innovation, to the arts, and to cultivating and expressing our own visionary capacities.

Perhaps our favorite term for the path is inquiry. Inquiry implies a curious and courageous enjoyment of experiment and investigation, whether we are probing our feelings, assessing claims made by spiritual teachers, deconstructing the self, or encountering the world around us. Inquiry respects both the mystery — the koan of reality — and the amazing fact that sometimes we get answers and know stuff. Inquiry is open, but it is also discerning.

Our approach to meditation is largely rooted in Eastern traditions but makes room for Western contemplative practices, contemporary innovations, and discoveries drawn from neuroscience. We know that meditation can provide healing and pleasure, and even a distinct cognitive edge in our increasingly complex world. We understand these gifts within a deeper framework that embraces awakening, insight, visionary encounter, and transformative compassion. 

Alchemy teaches that spirit and matter are deeply intertwined. At the Alembic, physical movement is as important as meditation, and our programs aim for variety and experiment. So while we offer popular practices like vinyasa yoga and qigong, our program stretches to include dance, somatics, energy work, and interactive movement practices.

The Alembic is actively shaping the conversation about psychedelics as a “skillful means” of awakening and transformation. The Chalice, our popular monthly psychedelic salon, is devoted to the cultural, historical, poetic, ancestral, and spiritual dimension of visionary plants and medicines. We have hosted the University of California Berkeley’s Psychedelic Facilitation Certificate Program, training sessions of the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the Polaris Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy Training Program. We also are happy to host the Sunday Night Dinners, a gathering of thought leaders in the psychedelic community. We also maintain a strict policy against the use of scheduled substances in the space.

The Alembic is devoted to a pluralistic, open-ended, and open-hearted approach to human consciousness. The extraordinary varieties of religious, spiritual, and secular experience all contribute to a broad and discriminating “consciousness culture.” We are inspired by earlier centers that celebrate eclectic exploration and the diversity of human bodymind practices, including the New York Open Center, the Omega Institute, the Ojai Institute, and the Esalen Institute, whose core motto we take very seriously (and very playfully): no-one captures the flag. The path is not to find the “right" path, but to explore and integrate as much as possible the many sides of the beings and creatures and cultures we are.