The first time I visited the Hollywood Vedanta Temple, I nearly passed out from the spiritual energy there. I had wanted to check it out because of its affiliation with the glamorous group of writers and mystics who gathered around
Are UFOs and aliens spiritual beings? Do they belong in a book about LA Spirituality? Plenty of people in the Southland believe they do. More Angelenos than you might imagine have interacted with entities from other planets who amazed, instructed, and enlightened them. Three areas in Greater LA report heightened UFO activity:
Hopi Indian legend told of Snake Brothers who built and occupied underground cities in what are now California, Arizona, Mexico and Central America. These people and settlements were believed to have vanished five thousand years ago.In 1934, an article was published in the Los Angeles Times that one of the Hopi lost cities was believed to be underneath downtown LA. This settlement was believed to be in the shape of a lizard: the head by Dodger Stadium and the tail beneath the Central Library. Warren Shufelt, a mining engineer, was so sure the remains of the city would be found that he was ready to dig up the downtown financial district. His research was actually authorized by the City Council, but later dropped.
Three hours from LA, way out beyond Palm Springs and the Salton Sea, lays Salvation Mountain, one man’s spiritual gift to the world. Proclaimed by Senator Barbara Boxer as a national treasure, this “mountain” is covered in multi-colored paint and proclaims the message that 
A world of beautiful, healthy, pleasure-loving people; a highly advanced civilization – wait – are we talking about California? Or the lost continent of Lemuria, also known as Mu?For centuries occult writers have written about 
Another of LA’s star-shining spiritual rock stars is Marianne Williamson (born July 8, 1952), author of 11 books selling more than 3 million copies, four of which were New York Times bestsellers. Williamson is the spiritual teacher and advisor to many in Hollywood and
As handsome as a 40s movie star, Jack Parsons, (born Marvel Whiteside Parsons; October 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952), died at the age of 37 in a horrific explosion which was either an accident, suicide, or assassination.In his short life Parsons rose to prominence in two widely disparate arenas: as a major player in the history of the US space program, and as one of LA’s and perhaps the 
Aimee Semple McPherson (October 9, 1890- September 27, 1944) ’s charisma was legendary, her theatrical sense: genius. Arriving in LA in 1918 with $100, an old beat-up car, and 2 children, by 1925 she had built an international empire worth more than a million 
One of the rock stars of LA spirituality was the great sorcerer himself, Carlos Castaneda, (born in Peru on December 25, 1925, died in Westwood on April 27, 1998) who brought the use of psychedelic drugs for personal and spiritual growth to the attention of the mainstream. His 12 books still sell well today and to date have sold more than 28 million copies, which catapulted 
It would be easy to make fun of the Aetherius Society if one were so inclined. This international spiritual organization is “dedicated to spreading and acting upon the teachings of advanced extra terrestrials.” Its motto is “Co-operating with Gods from Space.”But are you so inclined to mock