Paranormal Conferences

SoCalParaCon.com

Ghosts and restless spirits of the dead (pretas) are a common feature of Buddhism. Buddhism, Halloween, and Ghosts

For one weekend a year, the curtain (or veil) between this life and the next lifts. The dead rise. Senses dance on the stage of the unknown as we gather together in celebration of curiosity and all things paranormal. Friday-Saturday: Join two death-defying days of exciting lectures and workshops from leaders in the field of paranormal investigation.

• SoCal Paranormal Convention
  
• Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles
• 506 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90071
• (213) 612-1565
• Sept. 9, 2011 and Sept. 10, 2011
• Tickets

There will be appearances by paranormal TV/radio/Internet personalities, food, shopping, entertainment, and more. This event is for everyone from enthusiasts to investigators to Halloween, horror, goth, fantasy, and sci-fi fans. Anyone interested in the macabre side of life (and beyond) will have a great time at Para-Con!

Saturday Night: Gather under the glowing lights of the big top for a one of a kind evening of dance, ghoulish delights, and fantasy freak shows at the Carnivale of the Dead Costume Ball, presented by the So Cal Para-Con. Mingle with celebrity guests, enjoy roving circus acts and entertainment that will tingle the senses. After the convention, there is a special Ghost Hunt with celebrities and guest speakers!

• Guest Speakers include Loyd Auerbach (author), Thomas Durant (occult specialist), Stefan Brigati (A&E, author), Marie D. Jones (author, TV), Scott Gruenwald (Internet personality), AJ Barrera and the "From Beyond" Telemundo cast, the creators of A&E Biography's "My Ghost Story," and others.

Upcoming Events
The following is a list of upcoming conventions, symposiums, presentations, festivals, and conferences. It is frequently updated, so check back often. Report events.

Body Mind Spirit Expo
September 24 – 25, 2011
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Conscious Life Expo
September 30 – October 2, 2011
Los Angeles, California, USA

Official Star Trek Convention
September 30 – October 2, 2011
Chicago, Illinois, USA

UFO Territory Conference
October, 2011
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Salute to Supernatural
October 7 – 9, 2011
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Body Mind Spirit Expo
October 8 – 9, 2011
San Diego, California, USA

Central Texas Paranormal Convention
October 8 – 9, 2011
Austin, Texas, USA

50 Years of Close Encounters
October 15 – 16, 2011
Ponterfract, Wakefield, UK

Salute to Supernatural
October 21 – 23, 2011
Chicago, Illinois, USA

CanAm ParaFest
October 28 – 29, 2011
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Body Mind Spirit Expo
November 5 – 6, 2011
Portland, Oregon, USA

Crystal Skulls Mysteries Gateway
November 11 – 13, 2011
Los Angeles, California, USA

Pythagoras Conference 2011
November 11 – 13, 2011
Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Official Stargate Convention
November 18 – 20, 2011
Los Angeles, California, USA

Official Farscape Convention
November 18 – 20, 2011
Los Angeles, California, USA

Conscious Life Expo
February 10 – 12, 2012
Los Angeles, California, USA

International UFO Congress
February 21 – 26, 2012
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Salute to Supernatural
March 2 – 4, 2012
Burbank, California, USA

Ozarks UFO Conference
April 13 – 15, 2012
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA

Stargate Convention
April 27 – 29, 2012
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Buddhist Geeks Conference begins

Buddhist Geeks Conference


Keynote Presenters

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Nalandabodhi

Jane Mcgonigal Reality is Broken

Shinzen Young The Five Ways

Other Conference Presenters

Diane “Musho” Hamilton Dragon Heart Sangha	Ken McLeod Unfettered Mind	Trudy Goodman InsightLA
Ethan Nichtern The ID Project	Vincent Horn Buddhist Geeks	Hokai Sobol Mandala Society
Danny Fisher University of the West	Diana Winston UCLA	Rohan Gunatillake 21awake.com
Kenneth Folk Kenneth Folk Dharma	Afra Moenter Ordinary Awakenings	Emily Horn Ordinary Awakenings
Kelly McGonigal Stanford University	Michael Trigilio StarveLab	Benjamin Beirs Classical Guitarist

Click to enlarge:

Amazing Weekend for Los Angeles

Los Angeles is gearing up for a weekend of delightful overwhelm:

• Buddhist Geeks' The [First] Conference
• Shinzen Young keynote address at Geeks Conference
• MUFON Conference

• X Games and X Fest take over downtown
• (AdultCon going on at the Convention Center)
• L.A. Rising: Rage Against the Machine/Muse/Rise Against concert

Faith in Action: UFO and spiritual headlines

"Live and Let Live" - 2011 Jainism convention in Houston

Prayers for Compassion

Urgyen Samten Ling Gonpa -- the Tibetan Buddhist Temple at 740 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City -- will continue its annual Prayers for Compassion through Sunday at 2:00 p.m., according to the Salt Lake City Tribune. Participants can engage in continuous recitation of prayers and mantras. Individuals can join in anytime during the day or night.

Feast day

Holy Apostles Orthodox Church, 280 W. Center St., Orem, will celebrate its parish feast day with a potluck after the 10 a.m. liturgy serviceSaturday. The next reader service will be Sunday at 10 a.m.

Dalai Lama’s birthday

The Utah Tibetan Association will mark the Dalai Lama’s 76th birthday on Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Indian Walk-in Center, 120 W. 1300 South, Salt Lake City.

Rumi Poetry

The Rumi Poetry Club will present "The Empty Flute," a series of talks on [Sufi] Rumi’s poetic vision and life philosophy, Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Anderson-Foothill Library, 1135 S. 2100 East, Salt Lake City.

• Faith in Action: Buddhist, Hindu prayers, Bible school, more
• Fresno, California Buddhist Festival will honor ancestors

Solution to the people in Nepal camps

KuenselOnline.com, July 2, 2011

A group of nine countries, led by the US have offered a solution to tragedy: resettlement in third countries for ethnically-Nepalese Bhutanese held in refugee camps in Nepal. The countries are the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, the UK, and Sweden. A total of 45,686 [Bhutanese] people have been resettled in the US and other countries until the end of May this year. “The Bhutanese people and the government are extremely grateful to the host countries for having offered a choice to the unfortunate inhabitants of the camps,” said Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley...

• Refugees warn of Bhutan's new tide of ethnic expulsions
• Nepal NGOs anticipate wider role after refugee involvement
• Buddhist monks to sing for Chinese Communist Party’s 90th
• L.A. locals discuss abductions by aliens at MUFON meetings
• FOX questions "Motherships over London" videos
• Huge triangle UFO seen over Kentucky (photos)
• CIA killed JFK over UFO inquiry - John Alexander
• Abusive relationships don't go away on their own
• Weirdest theories about the Loch Ness Monster
• GhostTheory.com debunks New Orleans Bigfoot
• New bird species confirmed in eastern Nepal
• The Real Mahatma Gandhi:
  Questioning the moral heroism of India’s most revered figure
  
  (Christopher Hitchens) JOSEPH LELYVELD SUBTLY tips his hand in his title. The word Mahatma is not Mohandas' first name, but an honorific Sanskrit title meaning “Great Soul.” It achieved currency in the West by association with Madame Blavatsky’s somewhat risible “Theosophy” movement, forerunner of many American and European tendencies to be found in writers, as discrepant as Annie Besant and T. S. Eliot, who nurture themselves on the supposedly holy character of the subcontinent.