3+ week, 4+ day ago (741+ words) Sarah wasn't expecting to experience paralysis at 7 am on a weekday during a meditation at her home. But in August, while listening to "The Gateway Tapes'a set of guided meditations intended to help people reach new planes of consciousnessshe says her limbs froze. Sarah, who is in her early thirties and didn't want her real name used due to privacy concerns, says the tapeswhich she had been listening to on and off for monthstook her on a roller-coaster journey of out-of-body experiences. "I was in and out of time and space, she says. It felt like a bad trip, she says, despite the fact she was sober. She recalls a subsequent three-week period of disorienting instability that veered from feelings of intense spiritual connection to fears that she may never again relate with others. Looking back, she is relieved she…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (1119+ words) The previous month, a flatbed truck carrying a hefty new heat pump system had eased itself onto the church grounds. By late July, the device was fully installed, and soon followed an outdoor thanksgiving service. This story was originally published by The Reengineer. Parts of St. Mary's date back to the 13th century. In more recent times, the building was heated by a wood chip boiler that had become expensive to run and sometimes clogged up. So now, after more than 800 years, St. Mary's has gone electric. "We're all very happy," says Crowhurst. "We want to get through winter knowing that we're going to have a nice warm church." Dozens of churches in Britain'commonly heated by oil or gas boilers'are currently in the process of installing electric-powered heat pumps as part of eco-minded retrofit projects. Many churchgoers view the schemes as…...