Return Of The Mummy

March 30, 2007 9:13 AM

Modern Mummification. For yourself or your pets. The Summum organization, which incorporates a variety of religious and spiritual philosophies into its belief system, introduced modern mummification in 1975 as a means to "guide one's essence to a greater destination following the death of the body." They even have their own pyramid, in Utah of all places. There are several webpages for the kiddies, even very young ones. One presentation for kids explains that mummification is like "a caterpillar turning into a butterfly." Some people would like to expose the whole thing as a batshitinsane, money-making cult.
posted by amyms (20 comments total)

And here's a 2003 interview with the Summum founder, Corky Ra: If you like sex, wine, pyramids and Egyptian philosophy, Corky Ra has your religion.
posted by amyms at 9:16 AM on March 30, 2007

Why wait till you're dead?
posted by hermitosis at 9:20 AM on March 30, 2007

Through the use of exacting tools, its large concrete foundation is aligned with true north of the Earth, allowing the sides of the pyramid to face the cardinal points of the universe. Resting at the apex and four corners of the pyramid are large Brazilian quartz crystals. These crystals are cut in precise shapes and tuned (programmed) to specific frequencies. This creates a highly sophisticated resonant chamber which in turn energizes the pyramid through the operative Neter forces

Too bad it has aluminum siding, it looks like an exotic garden shed.
posted by doctor_negative at 9:31 AM on March 30, 2007

Damn.

Flagged as "fantastic post/comment"

Thanks, amy!
posted by jason's_planet at 9:44 AM on March 30, 2007

One presentation for kids explains that mummification is like "a caterpillar turning into a butterfly."

*dips caterpillar into rubbing alcohol, wraps with scotch tape*

fly, damn you, fly!
posted by pyramid termite at 9:57 AM on March 30, 2007

I saw Ramses II up close last year. It's a trip. He still has his hair and fingernails.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:01 AM on March 30, 2007

W T F

Do you like Mummification? I sure do. I think it's cool. Especially the new Modern Mummification that my friends at Summum do.
posted by DU at 10:01 AM on March 30, 2007

or was it Ramses I? I get all of those dead guys confused.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:03 AM on March 30, 2007

Do you like Mummification? I sure do. I think it's cool. Especially the new Modern Mummification that my friends at Summum do.

lol... That's the page that freaked me out the most, DU. Especially the creepy "Mummy Bear" mascot and cursor.
posted by amyms at 10:05 AM on March 30, 2007

Nice pyramid. Nothing says "built for the ages" like corrugated sheet metal.
posted by WPW at 10:19 AM on March 30, 2007

I'm just imagining the archaeologists of the future digging this up and trying to decipher it all, especially with the pyramid not being that far from Las Vegas.

Maybe they'll speculate that civilization imploded into the desert for its own survival, and the more affluent did what the pharoes did, tried to "take it with them".

But I'll tell ya, my ghost is gonna laugh and laugh and laugh if all they find are mummified cats and dogs and the occasional gerbil.

That's a wrap!

I'm sorry, I had to do it
posted by lysdexic at 10:30 AM on March 30, 2007

Whoa... this is the Ogden Ten Commandments people. Small friggin' world. ...weird one, too.
http://www.summum.us/about/freespeech.shtml (scroll down toward the bottom)
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:50 AM on March 30, 2007

Comic artist Spike and her husband's mummification of her pet rat, Beavis. Warning: Contains graphic pictures of rat innards.
posted by SansPoint at 11:14 AM on March 30, 2007

Oh man ... I MET Corky Ra in Newport Beach, California in 1988, apparently when he was just starting out. A note was left on my car windshield to "come meet a man who has had contact with beings from outer space." This was during the height of the Whitley Strieber "Contact" meme.

I got the note the same day as the talk, and I had time to kill, so I went to the meeting, which was in an alternative bookstore 100 yards away. Apparently, they were out trying to get an audience at the last minute.

The guy is a great speaker in person, but it all veered into crackpot-land very rapidly. I beat a hasty retreat when he pulled out the books about the "Summum Individuals," who he described as looking like Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen comic books.

The guy wants to be a modern Joseph Smith -- an old-school charlatan trying to start his own religion. Corky's "proof" is very similar to "testimonies" of Smith's contemporaries and fellow con-men. I shit you not -- he has sworn affadavits about events where the aliens telekinetically threw berries (yes, berries, like from a tree) at his friends.
posted by frogan at 11:27 AM on March 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Through the use of exacting tools, its large concrete foundation is aligned with true north of the Earth, allowing the sides of the pyramid to face the cardinal points of the universe.

Hmm. I had no idea that the cardinal points of the universe spun through a 360 degree rotation every day, and precessed around the heavens in a yearly parade. Guess we'll have to rethink a few things, like the speed of light and other conflicting trivialities.

The things you learn on Metafilter.

:-)
posted by Malor at 1:02 PM on March 30, 2007

It's that whole pulling the brain out of the nostril thing that always gets me...
posted by miss lynnster at 1:06 PM on March 30, 2007

lsd is not only more efficient and less nasty than pulling your brain out of your nostril, but afterwards, you can have cool ideas like corky ra
posted by pyramid termite at 4:22 PM on March 30, 2007

In the early 80s as a teenager I would hang out at Summum; everyone there was friendly, and chilling in the pyramid was cool. I was pretty good friends with Corky (the founder) and Bernie and Oscar, the house cat. We'd play volleyball after the Sunday meetings. Then I left SLC for a year, and when I returned everything had changed.

There was no more "hanging out"... you were there to learn The Summum Way or you weren't there at all. I sat through a couple of videotapes and talked with Bernie a bit. I commented how cool the place looked with all of the new Egyptian decor - I particularly liked the statues of tall Egyptian cats that were all over the place. I asked where Oscar was, and Bernie pointed to the cat 'statue' I had been admiring before. Then he launched into a long speech about mummification and the 'true teachings' that awaited anyone who would quit messing around and just sign up for the expensive classes already. As for Corky - well, mere mortals didn't really just sit and talk with Corky, and he sure as hell didn't play volleyball anymore.

I guess I feel the same way about Corky and Summum that L. Ron Hubbard's friends must have felt after The Change. Any higher truths that make you less capable of real human interaction seem pretty suspect to me. Any enlightenment that doesn't have room for voolleyball can count me out.
posted by foobario at 3:20 AM on March 31, 2007 [5 favorites]

Any higher truths that make you less capable of real human interaction seem pretty suspect to me.

Amen.
posted by amyms at 12:16 PM on March 31, 2007

dont forget rob keller's

http://www.animalmummies.net/
posted by oigocosas at 12:37 AM on April 1, 2007