Upcoming Alien Worlds column - excerpt

For those who are wondering what happened to the Seven Wonders of the Ufological world series I began here before I left on my last trip to the United States, here's an excerpt from my next column for Stuart Miller's great new magazine, Alien Worlds, which you can subscribe to here.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

“The Seven Wonders of the Ufological World”

To many people, the UFO subject is a super-secret, paradigm-altering, world-changing excuse to be Grade A sticks-in-the-mud. Who are they? Well, you’ll know them when you see them, or more likely hear or read them, because they never get out and experience the real world. The rest of us, however, realize that you can study the UFO phenomenon seriously, and have some fun at the same time, and the world will not come to an end.

In my opinion, one of the best ways to enjoy oneself is travel. I figure that if the “real world” can have "Seven Wonders", the world of UFOs and ufology can have its own “Seven Wonders” - places that everyone interested in the subject of UFOs should visit before they shuffle off of this mortal coil. Some are related to actual UFO cases, some are related to the cultural phenomenon that is ufology, but all are worthwhile visits.

#7
The Aetherius Society HQ
Los Angeles, California, USA
You may not have heard of the Aetherius Society, which is a shame, because they’re an interesting bunch (featured prominently in the classic 1992 documentary Farewell Good Brothers). The organization was founded by the late George King in London in 1955 as the result of what King claimed were contacts with advanced extraterrestrial intelligences. The group's tax exempt status was recognized by the US in 1960, which was decades before the recognition of Scientology, and a decade before Rael hit the scene, which makes the Aetherians the first UFO- religion. Through what they call Operation Prayer Power, they claim to be able to store prayer energy in a Spiritual Power Battery. This spiritual energy, invoked through prayer, can be directed under tremendous concentration and released at a later date to areas of the world in need… or so they claim. The great thing is that every Thursday night, whether you believe or not, you can pop by their headquarters and participate in Operation Prayer Power! Also, since 1955 the Aetherius Society has offered free “Spiritual Healing” treatments to all who request it. They claim that this is a natural healing method, based on ancient principles of metaphysical science, to bring relief to those who need it. Who knows? You may even be able to commune with one of the Space Brothers. If not, their Los Angeles HQ is only a few minutes from Hollywood Boulevard, where you can always find some strange creatures!

Make sure you pick up the next issue in June to find out what the other six "Wonders" are - along with the usual assortment of top notch articles and commentary, found only in Alien Worlds.

Paul Kimball