Soul's Code

An interviewer asked me if I knew the meaning and purpose of life. I answered in the affirmative, footnoted by Monty Python, Boston Legal, Animal House and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg

GUEST COLUMN: VAISHALI — The interviewer was somewhat taken aback. He admitted that he did not fully expect me to be able to answer that question. He had posed the same question to Timothy Leary, Ph.D. Leary was surprised by the question and, after stumbling through an awkward response, admitted that he did not know the answer. Needless to say, not exactly the climactic moment the interviewer was anticipating.

It does illustrate the fact that most intelligent people, when asked the “big question,” feel at a loss for an immediate, direct and concise response.

“At that moment, language, distance and time were transcended. Where the sacred brings the past and present together is the point at which each experienced traveler knows that any one of us is open to meeting the next person.”

BY KOHL GLAU — When traveling abroad, I strive not to be just another tourist, either on the inside or the outside. But what else could one possibly be? Stepping foot into another country, by definition, implicitly means you’re a five-year-old again: open to meeting all good people, open to unanticipated ideas, fresh ways of life, speaking a new mother tongue — and like, blending in as much as possible.

So why go through all this trouble as an adult? To paraphrase the great Harold Bloom, we can never meet enough people, and we learn something new about ourselves when we learn something original from another. If this is also the merit of reading great literature, doesn’t the same hold true of travel?

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed tried to use 9/11 to send a message to the world; Let’s use his trial to send a higher-minded one back

At Twilight, it will be a New Moon for Vampire fans everywhere

We mere mortals are obsessed with the undead. Dating from time of the Persians, there have been tales of Blood-Sucking Fiends who strolled the earth under the full moon. But it wasn’t until the 18th century that the term “vampire” came into popular usage. And it was Bram Stoker who helped to popularize the term through the fictional character in his novel, Dracula.

Dracula first appeared on the “big screen” in the 1909 silent movie, Vampire of the Coast. Since then, he has been the subject of more films than any other fictional personality. And our fascination with vampires continues with this week’s release of the second film in the Twilight series, New Moon.

Soul’s Code is here, with our take on vampire movie trivia for you to cut your fangs on. So swoop in, and see how bloody well you know your vampire film facts.

Answer: the real Santa was a Byzantine monk. Yup, Old Saint Nick evolved from a bishop in present-day Turkey who treated opponents harshly but championed the cause of the powerless

BY KOHL GLAU — Santa Claus’ real story begins nearly 1,700 years ago as the powerful Roman empire was quickly becoming Christian. He lived in a moderate Mediterranean climate, opposed Church-branded heretics, financially supported the poor, built churches, and performed miracles.

In other words, the historical St. Nick is a far more spiritual figure than the folkoric Santa Claus who lives near the North Pole, receives letters from children, rides in a reindeer-drawn sleigh, and deliversgifts on Christmas Eve. How did this commercial Santa evolve? Who was the original? Is he even someone on whose knee you’d want to seat your child?

A hypnotherapist describes a case where, by resolving a childhood trauma with hypnotherapy, a client learns to live in the present

GUEST COLUMN: SURJA JESSUP — As a hypnotherapist, body-worker and holistic practitioner, I am frequently challenged in sessions with clients by resistance to change due to experiences in their past.

Thanks to a life-changing trip to India nearly two decades ago, my personal style of hypnotherapy has merged with a practice of spiritual inquiry — the investigation of what is really true, here and now.

The success of Paranormal Activity has eclipsed Dr. Charles T. Tart, the psychologist who turned the concept of the paranormal into a new branch of science

BY PAUL KAIHLA — Paranormal Activity is now the most profitable movie in history ($15,000 to make, it’s earned more than $100 million in box office) but the inventor of the field to which the film owes its name continues to research real cases of the paranormal in relative obscurity and modesty.

In 1969, psychologist Charles Tart coined the term “altered states of consciousness,” and his book of the same name remains a classic in the discipline of paranormal studies.

And around the time that Paramount was preparing its guerrilla marketing campaign for Paranormal, the movie, Tart was releasing The End of Materialism: How Evidence of the Paranormal is Bringing Spirit and Science Together.

Pagan feasts, pious observances, drunken revelry, family get-togethers: The celebration of Christmas is thought to be an age-old tradition. But from which age does this tradition actually derive?

Christmas has evolved from a pagan celebration of the solstice; to a Christian honoring of the birth of Jesus; to a raucous, drunken Mardi Gras-like roving street party; to a secular, family holiday complete with a tree, the story of Santa and the exchange of gifts.

The celebration that we embrace today has changed drastically in the past several hundred years, and continues to evolve as we embrace new ideas and rituals from various cultures. How well do you know the history of the tradition we call Christmas?

Test your knowledge of the influences that have shaped our celebration in Soul’s Code’s Christmas Trivia Quiz below.

“We are flying by the seat of our collective, cosmic pants around a relatively insignificant sun, that is in turn hurtling through the provincial backwaters of a massive galaxy, anchored by a hellishly ravenous black hole.”

Like Pilates, Nia started out as a secret of the dance community. Drawing on yoga, martial arts and ecstatic movement, it gives you the same kind of body-rush

GUEST COLUMN: KATY LEASK— I stood in the doorway of the studio, barefoot and skeptical. After a brutal day at a draining job, I had dragged myself to the gym. My friend, the Nia enthusiast, assured me that I would LOVE this class, so I filed in after a teenager, a couple hard-bodies in Lulu Lemon, a few middle-aged women, and a senior citizen.

It definitely wasn’t aerobics, though there were basic steps and choreography. It wasn’t the dance class of my youth, either.

There was the thrill of dancing in a group, especially with everyone adding frequent sound effects or vocalizations to tighten up the core as we kicked . . .