Download or read book Mutants and Mystics written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2011-11-15 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Account of how comic book heroes have helped their creators and fans alike explore and express a wealth of paranormal experiences ignored by mainstream science. Delving deeply into the work of major figures in the field - from Jack Kirby's cosmic superhero sagas and Philip K. Dick's futuristic head-trips to Alan Moore's sex magic and Whitley Strieber's communion with visitors - Kripal shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives. Expanded consciousness found its language in the metaphors of sci-fi - incredible powers, unprecedented mutations, time-loops and vast intergalactic intelligences - and the deeper influences of mythology and religion that these in turn drew from ; the wildly creative work that followed caught the imaginations of millions. Moving deftly from Cold War science and Fredric Wertham's anticomics crusade to gnostic revelation and alien abduction, Kripal spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes and shot through with an awareness that there are other realities far beyond our everyday understanding."--Jacket.
Download or read book Mutants Mystics written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many ways, twentieth-century America was the land of superheroes and science fiction. From Superman and Batman to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, these pop-culture juggernauts, with their "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men," thrilled readers and audiences—and simultaneously embodied a host of our dreams and fears about modern life and the onrushing future. But that's just scratching the surface, says Jeffrey Kripal. In Mutants and Mystics, Kripal offers a brilliantly insightful account of how comic book heroes have helped their creators and fans alike explore and express a wealth of paranormal experiences ignored by mainstream science. Delving deeply into the work of major figures in the field—from Jack Kirby’s cosmic superhero sagas and Philip K. Dick’s futuristic head-trips to Alan Moore’s sex magic and Whitley Strieber’s communion with visitors—Kripal shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives. Expanded consciousness found its language in the metaphors of sci-fi—incredible powers, unprecedented mutations, time-loops and vast intergalactic intelligences—and the deeper influences of mythology and religion that these in turn drew from; the wildly creative work that followed caught the imaginations of millions. Moving deftly from Cold War science and Fredric Wertham's anticomics crusade to gnostic revelation and alien abduction, Kripal spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes and shot through with an awareness that there are other realities far beyond our everyday understanding. A bravura performance, beautifully illustrated in full color throughout and brimming over with incredible personal stories, Mutants and Mystics is that rarest of things: a book that is guaranteed to broaden—and maybe even blow—your mind.
Download or read book Mutants and Mystics written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-12-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many ways, twentieth-century America was the land of superheroes and science fiction. From Superman and Batman to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, these pop-culture juggernauts, with their "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men," thrilled readers and audiences—and simultaneously embodied a host of our dreams and fears about modern life and the onrushing future. But that's just scratching the surface, says Jeffrey Kripal. In Mutants and Mystics, Kripal offers a brilliantly insightful account of how comic book heroes have helped their creators and fans alike explore and express a wealth of paranormal experiences ignored by mainstream science. Delving deeply into the work of major figures in the field—from Jack Kirby’s cosmic superhero sagas and Philip K. Dick’s futuristic head-trips to Alan Moore’s sex magic and Whitley Strieber’s communion with visitors—Kripal shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives. Expanded consciousness found its language in the metaphors of sci-fi—incredible powers, unprecedented mutations, time-loops and vast intergalactic intelligences—and the deeper influences of mythology and religion that these in turn drew from; the wildly creative work that followed caught the imaginations of millions. Moving deftly from Cold War science and Fredric Wertham's anticomics crusade to gnostic revelation and alien abduction, Kripal spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes and shot through with an awareness that there are other realities far beyond our everyday understanding. A bravura performance, beautifully illustrated in full color throughout and brimming over with incredible personal stories, Mutants and Mystics is that rarest of things: a book that is guaranteed to broaden—and maybe even blow—your mind.
Download or read book I Am My Own Superhero written by Erica Humphrey and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2016-06-18 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I am my own superhero is a dynamic, revealing, straight-up dive into the life of a student who struggled with growing through the school days and life outside of school. Erica shares her personal and professional stories on how she overcame mental health issues (like suicidal thoughts, depression, and anxiety), peer pressure, and bullying by awakening her inner superhero. This workbook provides stories, formulas, activities, and challenges to share with others on how to awaken their inner superhero to save the day, to overcome life challenges, and to achieve life dreams!
Download or read book Authors of the Impossible written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2011-09-16 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most scholars dismiss research into the paranormal as pseudoscience, a frivolous pursuit for the paranoid or gullible. Even historians of religion, whose work naturally attends to events beyond the realm of empirical science, have shown scant interest in the subject. But the history of psychical phenomena, Jeffrey J. Kripal contends, is an untapped source of insight into the sacred and by tracing that history through the last two centuries of Western thought we can see its potential centrality to the critical study of religion. Kripal grounds his study in the work of four major figures in the history of paranormal research: psychical researcher Frederic Myers; writer and humorist Charles Fort; astronomer, computer scientist, and ufologist Jacques Vallee; and philosopher and sociologist Bertrand Méheust. Through incisive analyses of these thinkers, Kripal ushers the reader into a beguiling world somewhere between fact, fiction, and fraud. The cultural history of telepathy, teleportation, and UFOs; a ghostly love story; the occult dimensions of science fiction; cold war psychic espionage; galactic colonialism; and the intimate relationship between consciousness and culture all come together in Authors of the Impossible, a dazzling and profound look at how the paranormal bridges the sacred and the scientific.
Download or read book Teleportation written by Blake Hoena and published by Bellwether Media. This book was released on 2020-08-01 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are we there yet?! You’ve been in the car for hours. If only you could teleport to your destination. One day, it might be possible! Through leveled text and engaging photos, this title introduces readers to the exciting possibilities of teleportation. It highlights the use of teleportation in fiction, describes the science behind the superpower, and explores how teleportation may one day be possible! Additional features provide visual support to the text by profiling a popular superhero with the power, showing how teleportation would affect the human body, and more!
Download or read book Super Senses written by Paige V. Polinsky and published by Bellwether Media. This book was released on 2020-08-01 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although he cannot see, Daredevil uses his super senses of smell, touch, taste, and sound to save the day! Humans don’t quite have the super senses of Daredevil. But in this title, readers will explore how people and animals use their senses in super ways! Informative text highlights the superpower in fiction, the science behind the power, and the power’s future possibilities. Special features reinforce the text by profiling a popular superhero, highlighting the superpower in the media, showing off its use in nature, and more!
Download or read book Secret Body written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This latest work by the renowned historian of religions Jeffrey Kripal crystallizes his twenty-five years of work on two aspects of the contemporary study of religion: the erotic expression of mystical experience and the rise of the paranormal in American culture. Combining elements of memoir, manifesto, and anthology (a Kripal Reader, as it were), Secret Body reveals Kripal's oeuvre not as a series of disconnected books but as a dynamic corpus with the potential to renew and reshape the study of religion. Kripal explains how this oeuvre came about with his trademark humor and honesty, answers his censors and critics, and lays the foundation for a future theory of religion grounded in the cosmic nature of consciousness as such. No one interested in the history of religion and the erotic dimension of mysticism can afford to overlook Kripal's latest, his definitive intellectual self-portrait.
Download or read book Mystics and Messiahs written by Philip Jenkins and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2000 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this full-length account of cults and anti-cult scares in American history, Jenkins gives accurate historical perspective and shows how many of today's mainstream religions were originally regarded as cults.
Download or read book Superheroes written by John Varley and published by Ace. This book was released on 1995 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author John Varley presents an anthology of superhero stories written by some of today's top fantasy and science fiction writers. Stories by Steve Antczak, Alan Dean Foster, John Varley and others portray modern-day heroes championing justice in an age where good and bad aren't always black and white.
Download or read book The Super Natural written by Whitley Strieber and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two of today's maverick authors on anomalous experience present a perception-altering and intellectually thrilling analysis of why the paranormal is real, but radically different from what is conventionally understood. Whitley Strieber (Communion) and Jeffrey J. Kripal (J. Newton Rayzor professor of religion at Rice University) team up on this unprecedented and intellectually vibrant new framing of inexplicable events and experiences. Rather than merely document the anomalous, these authors--one the man who popularized alien abduction and the other a renowned scholar and "renegade advocate for including the paranormal in religious studies" (The New York Times)--deliver a fast-paced and exhilarating study of why the supernatural is neither fantasy nor fiction but a vital and authentic aspect of life. Their suggestion? That all kinds of "impossible" things, from extra-dimensional beings to bilocation to bumps in the night, are not impossible at all: rather, they are a part of our natural world. But this natural world is immeasurably more weird, more wonderful, and probably more populated than we have so far imagined with our current categories and cultures, which are what really make these things seem "impossible." The Super Natural considers that the natural world is actually a "super natural world"--and all we have to do to see this is to change the lenses through which we are looking at it and the languages through which we are presently limiting it. In short: The extraordinary exists if we know how to look at and think about it.
Download or read book Mutant written by Henry Kuttner and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Flip written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by Bellevue Literary Press. This book was released on 2019-03-12 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of the most provocative new books of the year, and, for me, mindblowing.” —Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind “Kripal makes many sympathetic points about the present spiritual state of America. . . . [He] continues to believe that spirituality and science should not contradict each other.” —New York Times Book Review “Kripal prompts us to reflect on our personal assumptions, as well as the shared assumptions that create and maintain our institutions. . . . [His] work will likely become more and more relevant to more and more areas of inquiry as the century unfolds. It may even open up a new space for Americans to reevaluate the personal and cultural narratives they have inherited, and to imagine alternative futures.” —Los Angeles Review of Books A “flip,” writes Jeffrey J. Kripal, is “a reversal of perspective,” “a new real,” often born of an extreme, life-changing experience. The Flip is Kripal’s ambitious, visionary program for unifying the sciences and the humanities to expand our minds, open our hearts, and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the culture wars. Combining accounts of rationalists’ spiritual awakenings and consciousness explorations by philosophers, neuroscientists, and mystics within a framework of the history of science and religion, Kripal compellingly signals a path to mending our fractured world. Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and is the associate director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He has previously taught at Harvard Divinity School and Westminster College and is the author of eight books, including The Flip. He lives in Houston, Texas.
Download or read book X Men and the Mutant Metaphor written by Joseph J. Darowski and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First appearing in 1963, The Uncanny X-Men had a rough start, lasting until 1970 when the comic book was canceled due to low sales. Following a relaunch in 1975, however, it found new popularity thanks to intricate scripting by Chris Claremont and the artwork of John Byrne. Within a few years, The Uncanny X-Men was one of Marvel Comics’ best-selling series and over the decades it became one of the most successful and popular franchises in comic book history. Spin-off titles, mini-series, multimedia adaptations, and a massively expanded cast of characters followed. One of the reasons for the success of X-Men is its powerful “mutant metaphor,” which enhances the stories with cultural significance and the exploration of themes such as societal prejudice and discrimination. In X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor: Race and Gender in the Comic Books, Joseph J. Darowski thoroughly analyzes The Uncanny X-Men, providing its historical background and dividing the long-running series into distinct eras. Each chapter examines the creators and general plot lines, followed by a closer analysis of the principal characters and key stories. The final chapter explores the literal use of race and gender rather than the metaphorical or thematic ways such issues have been addressed. This analysis includes insights gained from interviews with several comic book creators, and dozens of illustrations from the comic book series. Of particular significance are statistics that track the race and gender of every X-Men hero, villain, and supporting character. By delving into the historical background of the series and closely examining characters and stories, X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor illuminates an important popular culture phenomenon.
Download or read book The Science of Superman written by Mark Wolverton and published by Ibooks. This book was released on 2004-03-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if the Kryptonian named Kal-El, a humanoid being whose world orbited a far-off red dwarf star, was actually raised here on Earth? Would such a being be capable of achieving the feats of power commonly associated with Superman? And if so, how could his powers be scientifically explained? In The Science of Superman, science writer Mark Wolverton answers these questions. Examining Superman's powers through the lens of modern science, Wolverton explains the fundamental biological and genetic differences between Earthlings and Kryptonians that allow Superman to exercise extraordinary abilities on our planet. For the first time anywhere, you'll understand the logic and science that underlie Superman's super powers.
Download or read book Kali s Child written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1998-10 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal explores the life and teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a 19th-century Bengali saint who played a major role in the creation of modern Hinduism. The work is now marked by both critical acclaim and cross-cultural controversy. In a substantial new Preface to this second edition, Kripal answers his critics and addresses the controversy.
Download or read book Supernatural Entertainments written by Simone Natale and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2016-03-31 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Supernatural Entertainments, Simone Natale vividly depicts spiritualism’s rise as a religious and cultural phenomenon and explores its strong connection to the growth of the media entertainment industry in the nineteenth century. He frames the spiritualist movement as part of a new commodity culture that changed how public entertainments were produced and consumed. Starting with the story of the Fox sisters, considered the first spiritualist mediums in history, Natale follows the trajectory of spiritualism in Great Britain and the United States from its foundation in 1848 to the beginning of the twentieth century. He demonstrates that spiritualist mediums and leaders adopted many of the promotional strategies and spectacular techniques that were being developed for the broader entertainment industry. Spiritualist mediums were indistinguishable from other professional performers, as they had managers and agents, advertised in the press, and used spectacularism to draw audiences. Addressing the overlap between spiritualism’s explosion and nineteenth-century show business, Natale provides an archaeology of how the supernatural became a powerful force in the media and popular culture of today.
