JJ Jeffries on Pathways to Joy and His Esalen Journey

Voices of Esalen

Known to the masses as simply "JJ," JJ Jeffries is a recognizable figure on the Esalen campus, meeting and greeting arrivals with a kind and pleasant vibe, as well as a memorably dry sense of humor. Mentor, Gestalt and Embodied Awareness practitioner, musician, and memory-keeper, JJ teaches a host of classes at Esalen, including "How to Drop Into Esalen" and his suite of "Pathways to Joy" offerings. JJ describes his pre-Esalen self as a “clueless yokel from Indiana” — the middle child of six boys, “born poor, perpetually confused, raised on corn and really bad TV.” Until he hit his stride at 22, when “I joined the privileged ranks of bartenders and ne’er do wells and never looked back.” Says JJ, "Eventually, at Esalen, I was asked to lead meditation, which I crafted to include music, sensory awareness, and the chakras. Then, when asked to do a dance, I chose to delve into my studies of early childhood development, attachment theory and many other somatic arenas as vehicles to transform dance into a format that put these theories into practice. The intention was "how do we connect without words and how do we discover our deepest desires by taking risks and being vulnerable together" - letting the body and experiences be our pathways to joy.