Farah Yurdozu: Mary Poppins, Alien Abductions, and Gurdijeff.

Farah Yurdozu has a great article in the current issue of UFO Magazine. (Farah is one of our contributors here at Women Of Esoterica.) It's titled Mary Poppins, Alien Abductions, and Gurdijeff. Great title! When I first read the title, I thought it was intriguing and delightful, but couldn't imagine what the three had to do with each other.

While reading the article, I saw why. Farah weaves together these three elements in a way that makes sense. And, there are surprises; things I didn't know about the author of Mary Poppins, but, after reading about her, aren't surprising.

There were three books that had a vivid and intense impact on me when I was young; books that I read over and over again. I still visit them on occasion even now. The Secret Garden,Frances Hodgson Burnett, Jane Erye,Charlotte Brontë, and Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers. I loved Mary Poppins! I read the other Mary Poppins books too ( ) but Mary Poppins, the first one, remains my favorite. (And, as Farah mentions, the movie, while enjoyable -- I'm a musical junkie -- is nothing like the book at all.)

Farah discusses one part in the book where Mary Poppins and the children see a bright star in the night sky, next thing you know, they're visiting other worlds. That was one of my favorite parts in the book. After reading Farah's article, and given my interest and experience with UFOs, aliens, and related phenomena, that connection between the three: Mary Poppins,Alien Abductions, and Gurdijeff, is easy to understand. And why I related so much to that part of the book. (It's not surprising that books such as Alice in Wonderland, the Oz books, and other books that transport the individual -- usually a child -- to another world resonate with many of us invovled in this area.)

This issue of UFO Magazine is interesting for all kinds of reasons, all the great columnists like Lesley (also a Women of Esoterica contributor), Nick Redfern, and Alfred Lehmberg, as well as the items on the Stephenville UFOs. But getting this issue just for Farah's article is worth it.

New Bloggers Here at Women in Esoterica

Some readers may have noticed that this blog is now not just "mine," but Lesley's and Richelle's (Hawk) as well. I am very glad they thought that being a part of this blog was something they wanted to do. I'm very happy and excited to welcome them!

Both women have their own thing going aside from contributing here. Lesely runs her Debris Field blog, Beyond the Dial, Paranormal Meet and more. She also writes the Grey Matters column for Tim Binnall's website, BoA, and has a column each month in UFO Magazine, Beyond the Dial.

Richelle Hawks also writes for AC, UFO Digest, and there may be a surprise or two coming up in regards to her writing. She also has a blog with one of the oddest but charming and neatest names: Beamships Equal Love.

So thanks Lesely and Richelle!

Esoteric Radio Women

Here I am at what I will call the BFFF Blog. Sure those Hollywood types can have their BFF’s, but here we will have the best female fortean friends. In reality, I don’t really know Richelle, but I have read her writings and enjoyed them. On the other hand, Regan and I have been internet pals for a couple years now.

I thought I would use to opportunity of this blog to bring to mind the few women who do paranormal internet radio shows.

First there is The Paranormal Women League. They have some interesting and fun shows about ghosts, ESP, Wicca and other paranormal related topics. It is hosted by Amy and Kristy, two fun and intelligent ladies.

There is also Eye to the Sky with wonderful hostess Dee Andrews. This show is mostly about ufo related phenomena and Dee nabs some really great guests, including, Richard Dolan, Nick Redfern, Peter Robbins and Steven Bassett.

The last show is Karyn Dolan’s Through the Keyhole. As Regan already mentioned I did an interview with Karyn for UFO Magazine which will be in this month and the Jan issue, so I know her a bit better than the other ladies and honestly I found her remarkable. The fact that she manages to do so much, so well, while home schooling her and Richard’s two children amazes me. My hat is off to her, I seem to manage very little with no children in comparison to her.

In a few months you will also find an interview with Dee Andrews in UFO Magazine. I hope to eventually get around to the paranormal women too, but I figure I should at least write a couple articles in between interviews.

I find it pretty sad that out of about 45 shows I have listed at Beyond the Dial, only 3 of them are hosted by women. However, even though I think the numbers are higher than regular radio for the most part all radio is dominated by men. I am thinking of my local “big” talk station and I do not believe there is one local show hosted by a woman and since Dr. Laura was replaced by Sean Hannity I can’t even think of a national syndicated show they run that is hosted by a woman. Pretty sad, isn’t it?

BTW, if I have missed one of the great gals that hosts a internet paranormal show, please let me know. The slight certainly would not be intentional.

Beyond the Dial in UFO Magazine: Karyn Dolan

This issue of UFO Magazine includes an interview by Lesley, who writes the Beyond the Dial column each month. The article is Karyn Dolan: A Ufologist's Best Friend.

Like many of us, Karyn has had an interest in the paranormal since childhood. (And yes, she is married to UFO researcher Richard Dolan.)