Meet Marilynn Hughes | Author, Mystic, Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marilynn Hughes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marilynn, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
The Out-of-Body Travel Foundation was founded in 2003 by Author, Marilynn Hughes with the express mission of Reducing Spiritual Hunger Worldwide.

Our mission came from the words of Mother Teresa, “The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty — it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”

As result of these words, the vision for The Out-of-Body Travel Foundation was born. We offer all of our resources, 140 Books, 9 Documentary Films, All the Winds of Heaven Feature Film Series, Music Received in Out of Body Experiences, Classes, Seminars, Interviews, Collaborations, etc. for free download at our websites.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets ‘The Out-of-Body Travel Foundation’ apart is one thing . . . God. Everything that I have done came from a power outside of my control. And it began when I was young and it directed every motion and direction I took from the very beginning throughout until now as it will until the end. Every book, every title, every verse . . . every painting, every piece of music, every film, everything that has been brought in, was done so from an out of body travel/ mystical state.

Everything comes from heaven to earth, and sometimes from the purgatorial and darker worlds to teach us of the harsher realities, as well, of spiritual warfare and the important work of the purification of the soul. My artwork and paintings are all of things I saw in the out of body travel worlds, as my hymnal is all music that I heard in out of body travel states, and my books began from writing and cataloguing the out of body experiences that I began having in my early twenties.

As I did that, I began to see patterns and important things of an educational nature for the soul. And in these experiences, I was directed to write about other things, like the ancient sacred texts, world religions and their place with out of body experiences, and each step, whether it was to paint, to write the music, to perform it, to create film . . . all of these things, I was shown when and how to do them.

Don’t be fooled into thinking I knew how to play all those instruments, or how to paint . . . I knew how to play the piano, the flute, the violin . . . so I had a foundation from which to begin, but I had to learn how to play the guitar, to write the music, to paint, to build websites, to do all those things online. to produce it, to publish, to produce film, to do all those things. And I was taught those things in the mystical spheres, I was instructed on every step. And I continue to learn today as AI has entered into the world.

So my work is a work of everyman, really, it is a work that brings together the work of all the prophets, mystics, saints, sages, and ascetics from all ages together into a cohesive understanding. It brings the misfits who don’t quite fit anywhere else – but yet are really alot of things – some are Catholic, but not quite – some are Christian, but stumble on some points – some are Buddhist, but what about this – Some are Hindu, Some are Atheist, Some are Muslim, Some are Bahai’, Many are Jewish, Many are from Tribal Cultures, Many are just Seekers . . . you all have a place here . . . if you’re seeking, you’re in the right place.

And that’s what my art is about, it’s all about seeking God, and capturing those moments whether it be in music, in words, in paint, in film, or in something else . . . and allowing one another to share in those moments. To find our similarities and our differences and rejoice in them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We always go to Que Bueno first, because I love their fantastic Mexican food. Everyone loves to go take a walk around the Fountain here in Fountain Hills because it’s so beautiful. While they’re here, we will likely go to Munich Gyro’s for some excellent Grape Leaves and Arrivederci’s for some of my favorite Lasagna. On a nice day, we might hike the Lake Overlook Trail and go to the hiking area by Rio Verde. We often like to hang around the house so we can go through my library of Ancient Sacred Texts which is pretty significant so most of my friends like to spend some time going through that. Even walking through the neighborhood here is really beautiful. There is a nice Taqueria that’s kindof hidden over by Glenbrook Blvd., Maskadores Taco shop, which is yummy, and there is a great little food truck on the Avenue which is around at some times of the year which has great burgers and tacos and even bowls! Yum Yum! Being a big Manuel’s fan in Scottsdale, I usually take my friend’s there eventually to get the Pollo Especial, which is covered in a cream cheese with Jalapeno and Nortena sauce, OMG!

Other things we like to do include going to all the really cool churches around here, starting with St. Bernards because they have one of St. Padre Pio’s gloves which makes it a pilgrimage site for the Diocese of Phoenix. However, I just found out that St. Maria Goretti, the parish a very close friend of mind was baptized at a few years back, was the site of significant Marian apparitions in 1991 – 1993, so I’m adding that now to my obligatory places to go. Usually, we like to go to the older churches in Scottsdale of which there are many, but there is one which is the oldest in Scottsdale which no longer has Mass, but they have the original traditional altar and many relics of the original priests. We have really beautiful churches to go to here, and there are a lot of pilgrimage sites across Phoenix and down in Tucson if you make that trek.

But being a book nerd and having some medical issues, I don’t do a ton of traveling, my friends and I love to talk books, get good food, hang out in my library and talk about God and spiritual matters. So, that’s what book nerds kindof do. Recently, I finished a really amazing book about the Franciscan Saints, many of which did really cool things all across the state of Arizona, which kindof makes the entire state a pilgrimage site! The Seraphic Order, by Marion Habig. Covers lots of Franciscan Saints, but I was surprised by some of the really heroic feats of the monks in the state of Arizona.

I love to take my kids and grandkids to the Odyssey aquarium and check out all of their cool activities, and I do really like the Medieval Times place to take kids. That’s a pretty nice place to take family for fun events.

When good religious movies mostly come out in theaters, we usually like to go to Cinemark 16 in Mesa to support them in their theatrical releases, things like the Chosen, The Pope’s Exorcist, Nefarious, The Jesus Revolution, The Shift, The Sound of Freedom, things like that.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d give a shout out to my Documentary Producer, Brian Mahlum, who jumped right in and made magic with eleven Documentary Films on Out-of-Body Travel including The Grand Phases of the Soul, The Stairway from Earth to Heaven, How to Have an Out-of-Body Experience, The Tao of Mysticism, The Initiations into the Mysteries, The Rites of Passage, The Prayer of the Twelfth Hour and At the Feet of the Masters. And also Director/Producer Charles Facas who made a great film featuring my work and the work of many others ‘The Road to Armageddon: A Spiritual Documentary.’

I’d also mention Alex Tsakiris who did the Out of Body Experiment about ten years ago which was really helpful. Also, the late, Dr. Thomas Streicher, who included me in his groundbreaking research with other greats like Dr. Edgar Mitchell and Ingo Swann in his book Extra-Planetary Experiences: Alien Human Contact and the Expansion of Consciousness. Constance Victoria Briggs is also worth a mention in that she made extra effort in holding back the production date of her fantastic book The Encyclopedia of the Unseen World to make sure an entry on my work was included.

I’g give a shout out to K.C. Armstrong, former producer of Howard Stern, who very kindly included me in his book, of Simply Amazing Women. Ironically, as someone who has studied the ancient sacred texts of many of the world religions, I couldn’t not mention my great regard for all the prophets, saints, mystics, sages and ascetics from every tradition across time and space who have contributed to my understanding, much less make mention of the great masters of mystical theology who have written of this great science of the soul and edified my ability to comprehend such great mysteries, and of course, all those teachers who have taught me in the schools of psychology, the great modalities of counseling to aid me in understanding the human psyche and to assist my efforts in spiritual direction and counseling!

In the end, we all stand on many, many very strong shoulders, none of stand alone in any achievement, and anything that we do is a continual flowing which has come from not only these that I mention but from those who have come before us, and my mother and father, and our ancestors, who have laid firm foundations even when they didn’t know that this is what they were doing.

But I’ve collaborated with many excellent people, and you’re welcome to mention any of them featured here – https://outofbodytravel.org/appearances/collaborations/

Or here – https://outofbodytravel.org/home/

Website: https://outofbodytravel.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theoutofbodytravelfoundation/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynnhughes/

Twitter: https://x.com/MarilynnHughes

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilynnhughes/#

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOutofBodyTravelFoundation

Other: Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marilynn-Hughes/author/B001K80JUW?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=6a7e1c46-54a8-453f-bd0b-2c9967484b44

Image Credits
Charles Facas, Harvey Kushner, Brian Mahlum