Directory Is Rebirth of Sorts--in Hollywood

Suppose that your psyche is on the fritz and your guru has gone on vacation. Is there anywhere to turn? Yes, if you have a copy of the New Age Telephone Book.

Gurus, channelers, shamans, psychics, healers, numerologists, ghost hunters and even plumbers and electricians abound in the 160-page directory, which was published in Hollywood and is being distributed free at stores throughout the Los Angeles area that cater to the New Age culture.

The people behind the guide, who are followers of the widely divergent philosophies and practices that fall under the New Age banner, say the movement deserves its own phone book.

Non-Traditional Beliefs

“We want to be the book that you pick up first if you have this particular consciousness,” said Caryn Goldberg, the managing editor. “After all, the Pacific Bell Yellow Pages doesn’t exactly have a category for rebirthers.”

Nor do traditional Yellow Pages invite their readers to let their “mind’s eye” do the walking through its ads. Of course, most telephone directories are not devoted to a segment of the community that believes in out-of-body experiences, “astrological psychology,” “mind and body integration” and other such disciplines.

Jeanne Cordova, the publisher, lets her patrons know what to expect from her yellow pages--the pages are that color--in an introduction that is loaded with New Age terminology.

“This book is a tool for transformation,” the introduction says. “It is a guide to the spiritual locksmiths who can help you open whatever doors you choose.”

Cordova and Goldberg, who also publish gay and lesbian yellow pages from the cluttered office behind Cordova’s house in the Hollywood Hills, put the New Age book together earlier this year and printed 50,000 copies.

Cordova, 40, said they initially had a hard time selling the idea to advertisers, even though they produced a survey that reported that New Agers tend to have college backgrounds and earn about $37,500 a year. Ads cost from $35 for the smallest listing to $3,000 for the cover.

Some channelers and other New Age teachers thought that they didn’t need to advertise because clients would naturally be drawn to them, Cordova said. Others outside the field, she added, were wary of being bunched in with people who make their living from “energy balancing” and “vision quests.”

“When you do something unusual it’s hard to get people used to it,” Cordova said. “But our thinking was that New Age living is bigger than just your mind. It’s a way of looking at life that cuts across all sectors.”

That may explain why a promotion for Mike Diamond Plumbing runs beside an ad for Psyvestics Premonition Registry, or why two brokers from Fred Sands Realtors tailored their message to appeal to New Agers.

“You deserve your own place in the universe,” state the brokers’ half-page advertisement on the back page of the book. “Secure it today through real estate!”

Ivy Bottini, one of the brokers, said she is not sure if the ad has brought in many clients, but she likes the idea of reaching out to specific groups.

“I look upon it as a get-acquainted kind of thing,” Bottini said. “If the book is distributed well and wisely, then the business will come.”

Advertiser Taryn Krive, a psychic counselor, said response to her ad, which offers extrasensory perception at no extra charge, has been slow. That may be due to a glut in the New Age market, she said.

“Everybody is trying to put out their products,” Krive noted. “The people and products are coming in faster than the market has grown.”

One business that offers the New Age Telephone Book, the Bodhi Tree Bookstore on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, reports that distribution has been brisk. The store usually has to restock the directory every week, employee Neisha Ghiatis said.

The book is not commonly available outside the New Age community. Because of the subject matter, however, even non-believers may find it entertaining.

There is the “gentle dentist” who offers his patients complimentary wine and stereo headphones. An acupressurist says he can “unlock the magic” in patients’ bodies. “You Got Married Together? Why Not Get Divorced Together?” asks an attorney. And a meditation instructor inquires: “When was the last time you attended that all important meeting with yourself?”

Even listings dealing with serious diseases have a certain effervescence, with one ad for a medical clinic proclaiming: “Some people with AIDS could be looking forward to the best years of their lives.”

“That ad stretches the limits of your imagination,” Cordova conceded. “But the New Age movement says you can change your mind and change your life.”

Cordova and Goldberg won’t say whether the first edition of the New Age yellow pages has turned a profit, but they plan to release a second edition next year. They hope that it will eventually become a fixture alongside more traditional telephone directories.

“We want this to become the New Age bible,” Cordova said.

“A lot of people laugh at the New Age movement and say you really have to be far out,” said Goldberg, 35. But the approach to life has worked for her, she said.

“I’ve been focusing on healing myself and the world and everything around me,” she explained.