Healing Waters: The Enneagram, 5Rhythms & the Art of Human Diplomacy

Healing Waters is a five-day 5Rhythms retreat at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, led by Douglas Drummond and Dr. Deborah Egerton. It brings together 5Rhythms movement, the Enneagram, relational practice and human diplomacy, and it suits anyone curious about how to stay connected, alive and human in the presence of difference. The approach is trauma-informed, built on choice, consent, pacing, agency and relational safety.

What to Expect

The retreat begins from a single question: what if peace starts not with agreement, but with our capacity to remain present with one another across difference? The Enneagram serves as a map of the patterns through which we protect ourselves, connect, belong and make meaning. 5Rhythms brings those patterns into the body, where they can be felt, expressed, softened and moved, with music, rhythm and embodied inquiry to support the work.

Over the days you will explore Enneagram patterns of personality, protection, identity and belonging, and practice human diplomacy through dialogue, witnessing and relational exercises. Love is treated as a courageous practice that can hold truth, compassion, accountability and repair. Joy, play and creativity are cultivated deliberately, as resources for resilience and renewal. A central inquiry is how we move from tolerance toward acceptance and belonging, making room for difference without requiring sameness. Expect movement, music, honest conversation, laughter and some surprises.

The week follows a clear rhythm. Monday opens with a "How to Drop into Esalen" orientation from 5:00 to 6:00 pm, then a welcome circle and opening session from 7:15 to 9:30 pm. Tuesday through Thursday each have a morning session from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and an afternoon session in the late afternoon, moving from Enneagram and movement foundations, to deepening patterns and relational practice, to diplomacy, dialogue and repair. Friday has a final session from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm for integration and closure, with the afternoon free for departure.

About Douglas Drummond

Douglas Drummond is a facilitator, mediator and 5Rhythms teacher with more than fifteen years of experience integrating somatic practice, reconciliation, systems thinking and belonging. He is the founder of Weaving Waters and creates restorative, relational spaces that support agency, collective healing and connection across difference. His work in mediation, reconciliation and restorative systems shapes the diplomacy side of this retreat.

About Dr. Deborah Egerton

Deborah Threadgill Egerton, Ph.D., is an internationally respected psychotherapist, best-selling author and advocate for unity and belonging. Working as a consultant, coach, mentor and spiritual teacher, she guides people toward a more compassionate approach to inner work through the insights of the Enneagram. Her work with race, belonging, inclusion and the dismantling of othering informs this retreat.

The Setting

The retreat takes place at Esalen Institute in Big Sur. Workshop fees cover housing, breakfast, lunch and dinner, coffee, tea and snacks, and access to the hot springs and other campus features, along with classes on Esalen's open schedule. Rooms range from budget-friendly sleeping bag space and shared bunk rooms to private queen and king rooms and yurts, with room type affecting the rate. Off-site stays and day passes are also offered.

Highway 1 access to northern Big Sur has been managed through twice-daily Caltrans convoys, at 7:00 am and 5:00 pm. If that arrangement applies when you travel, plan your arrival and departure around those times.

Before You Go

No prior experience with the Enneagram or 5Rhythms is stated as a requirement. Healing Arts sessions such as Esalen Massage, specialty coffee and tea, bar purchases and bookstore items are extra. For reading beforehand, the leaders suggest Know Justice Know Peace and Enneagram Made Easy by Dr. Deborah Egerton, and Sweat Your Prayers by Gabrielle Roth.