Episode 64: The Adventuress With Allison Jornlin

Detail from “The Adventuress.” Mixed media painting by Barbara Fisher 2022.

Allison Jornlin is back, and she’s bringing the history! (And herstory….)

On this visit to our podcast, she tells us about another “forgotten foremother” of the paranormal: Alexandra David-Neel.

Fans of John Keel likely remember her as the lady who brought the concept of tulpas—thought forms created by intense meditation and visualization—to the West, but she did so much more than that!

She is the first European woman to visit Tibet; she brought the Tibetan Buddhist concept of tulku to the attention of the West. She was the first European woman to traverse the Himalayas and enter the Forbidden City of Lhasa. She met the 13th Dalai Lama She wrote over 30 books on her travels and on Buddhism; two of the most noted in English are My Journey to Lhasa and Magic and Mystery in Tibet.

I have to stop, or I will give away too many details. But suffice to say, David-Neel is an amazing historical personage who really influenced our understanding of Buddhism and the paranormal today.

There’s so much goodness here. Where else do you get juicy details about John Keel, (We talked a little bit about his wonderful book, Jadoo) flying hats, dog teeth, backwards feet, Yeti, and hair extension technology?

Only here, my peeps. Only here.