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For nearly 50 years, Parabola’s pages have showcased the breadth of spirituality, literary arts, and what it is to be a person on this planet. When a magazine’s subject matter is human existence, readers are bound to resonate deeply. So when I recently found out the publication was shutting down operations, it sort of felt like losing a friend.
I was admittedly (very) late to the game. Parabola was founded in 1976, but only found me in 2020. Parabola’s pages felt prestigious, with cosmic art alongside words from Alan Watts, poems by Mary Oliver, and more. From personal essays focusing on various schools of spirituality to interviews with thought leaders such as Ram Dass, meditations on myth to short stories and poems, Parabola was a catch-all for play, deep reflection, and meaning making. Within the framework of that year’s tumult, the content felt almost medicinal. I immediately subscribed to the quarterly.
Understanding Parabola Magazine
If you ask publisher and editor Jeff Zaleski, Parabola changed little over the half century that it existed—and that’s a good thing. “It was the first, and for many years, the only popular magazine to consider basic human questions or themes from the perspective of myriad spiritual teachings,” he says, citing as examples the hero, God, and life after death. The first issue was actually titled “The Hero;” the last, “The Mystery of Time.”
According to Zaleski, the idea for Parabola arose from discussions between founder and editorial director Dorothea Dooling and her friends (and ultimately contributors) Pamela Travers (author of the Mary Poppins books), photographer Minor White, and more. The project was informed by the teachings and perspectives of Greek-Armenian philosopher and mystic G.I. Gurdjieff.
Gurdjieff believed that humans exist in a sort of “waking sleep” with a stunted perception of the world, but through development, we are capable of developing awareness, leading us to transformation and even enlightenment. He asserted eschewing commitments to gurus and teachers as well as places of worship, rituals, or abstinence, insisting that those who wish to “awaken” could do so in their own environment with their own tools.
While Zaleski notes that the magazine was not a product of Gurdjieff, he says the influence was clear. “It holds to that traditional perspective, that life has meaning and that there are many paths to enlightenment, salvation, and being,” he explains.
Along with a consistent lean toward quality contributors—Zaleski also cites Oliver along with the Dalai Lama, poet and author Gary Snyder, and more—the magazine was committed to highlighting life’s meaning. And its ethos never wavered.
Regardless of intention, the realities of modern media can be difficult to overcome. In an April Facebook post announcing Parabola’s cessation (the share titled “All Things Must Pass”), the publication cited the “financial challenges posed by today’s publishing environment” as an insurmountable hurdle.
“We are immensely grateful to our readers and supporters, surely among the most intelligent, thoughtful, and devoted any magazine has ever enjoyed,” read the post. “It has been a privilege to carry on this fifty-year conversation with you.”
The future of media may be murky, but Zaleski believes that honoring our human experience will see us through. “There is something sacred in humanity and in the natural world around us, a sacredness celebrated by all the great spiritual traditions, something that stands apart from mechanicality and algorithm,” says Zaleski.
While he asserts that Parabola has fulfilled its mission, he and the staff express regret at its closure, and gratitude for the opportunity to have contributed to its pages.
“The good it did will live on,” he says.
Though the magazine’s website is no more, those wishing to flip through past pages of Parabola can find back issues on Amazon and eBay.
