Most day-trippers to Ojai (pronounced oh-high) don’t identify as being on a spiritual quest, though nearly everyone will contend there’s something about the vibe. The restaurants, wineries, spas, charming Airbnbs, and quiet hiking trails are enough reason to drive an hour and a half north of LA to get away for a few hours. Many artists, hippies, rich people, and celebrities
Billing itself as “A Spiritual Oasis in the City,” the Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens is a gift of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA) (see pg xxx). A free meditation garden, there are numerous terraces with places to sit and contemplate, listen to the trickle of water fountains, or walk the labyrinth which is a replica
One would expect LA to have over-the-top and charismatic occult celebrities, and these characters who also took prominence on the world stage do not disappoint. All have fascinating biographies which would be worth your while to explore further:
To the curious visitor, Scientologists are nothing but friendly and cordial. Of course, we’ve all heard stories of strange happenings for those who get further involved, but what you’ll witness if you visit is normal-looking people spending time and money to improve themselves and their
A mainstay of the Topanga Canyon scene since the height of the hippie days, the Inn of the Seventh Ray restaurant opened serving healthy organic fare in 1973. It is rumored to have been built on a sacred site of the Chumash Indians (see page xxx) and to have perhaps been a private retreat spot for Aimee Semple McPherson (see page xxx). And one of her lovers? We will never
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