New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
On the morning of March 26, 1997, San Diego police were called to a rented mansion in the upscale community of Rancho Santa Fe, California. There they discovered the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult who had each apparently taken their own lives in an act of mass suicide. Why? Because they had been convinced by their leader that by doing so, their souls could hitch a ride on a spaceship they believed was hiding in the tale of the Comet Hale-Bopp, which would then spirit them away to an extraterrestrial heaven. In November 18, 1978, 918 men, women, and children took their lives at the behest of "Reverend" Jim Jones and his henchmen in the jungles of Guyana, all in an effort ...
Strange and beautiful monuments and ruins rise in deserts and jungles, on plains and mountaintops—the great pyramids of the Egyptians and the Mayans, the enigmatic stone giants of Easter Island, the towering megaliths of Stonehenge. These and thousands more serve as reminders of civilizations that rose and fell thousands of years before the adventurous spirits of our modern society designed our own comparatively flimsy monuments of concrete and steel. While many of us occasionally long for a time when life was simpler, slower, and perhaps easier (or so we think), most of us appreciate the myriad ways that technology makes us comfortable. Indoor plumbing, air conditioning, ...
As we approach All Hallows Eve, we start to notice that monsters are suddenly everywhere: at the movies, on television—and making guest appearances in advertisements for just about any product from soft drinks to luxury cars. Werewolves, zombies, vampires, and all manner of monsters are suddenly staring back at you from the window of the convenience store, the lobby of your local bank or perhaps even your own front yard. The Monster Next Door Academics, cultural historians, and those who study our enduring fascination with monsters often point out several reasons for the perennial lure of such fantastic beings. Monsters represent the ultimate “other.” They’re a ...
I learned about death in 1923. During lunch on August 14 of that year I fainted in our home in Brinkley, Arkansas. My husband, Ted Clemons, rushed me to the hospital where doctors found that my appendix was ruptured and gangrenous. I was immediately prepared for surgery. As the ether cone brought oblivion, I discovered I could see through walls! I was high above the people around me and seemed to see everything at once. I saw the nurses and visitors moving through the hall and heard two student nurses whispering about the terminal surgery in progress. The small hospital had only one operating room, so the terminal case had to be me. How silly! I felt fine. Suddenly I remembered my ...
