The discipline today finds itself precariously balanced between incomprehensible specialisation and cheap self-help

If we want to understand complex constructions, such as ourselves, assembly theory says we must account for the entire history of how such entities came to be.

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Metta bhavana is an ancient Buddhist meditation practice that aims to cultivate the emotional virtue of loving-kindness, known as metta. I have previously explored the benefits of metta meditation for depression, as well as the potential pitfalls of the practice. I would like to return to the benefits of this form of meditation again, specifically…

‎Show On Being with Krista Tippett, Ep [Unedited] Vivek Murthy with Krista Tippett - Apr 13, 2023

Self-enhancement through spiritual practices can fool some of us into thinking we’re evolving and growing when all we’re growing is our ego

The brain is assumed to be hypoactive during cardiac arrest. However, animal models of cardiac and respiratory arrest demonstrate a surge of gamma ...

Introduction: Much research has focused on the modelling of the near-death experience (NDE) by classical and atypical psychedelics, whereas no study has yet been reported on the relationship between the experience of potent, endogenous psychedelic drug 5-Methoxy-DMT (5MeO-DMT) and the NDE. This article presents a case study of an individual popularly documented to have had a profound near-death experience during coma precipitated by bacterial meningoencephalitis, as well as subsequently experiencing 5MeO-DMT. Methods: A semi-structured interview was conducted with the subject concerning his NDE and 5MeO-DMT experience. A basic thematic analysis was performed on both the original text describing the near-death experience, as well as on the interview which mainly focused on the latter 5MeO-DMT experience. This analysis is organised into both the similar and different emergent themes between the two states, including, importantly, the personal perceptions as to similarities and differences held by the experiencer. Results: There is a very high level of comparability between the original NDE and psychedelic experiences in general, including entering other worlds, meeting menacing or benevolent entities, synaesthesia, perinatal regression, and lucid dream-like properties. Much comparability was also identified with the 5MeO-DMT experience, in particular the major mystical experiential domains, such as ego dissolution, but especially transcendence of time and space. This being so, a small constellation of themes (life review, the deceased, the threshold) were present in the experient’s NDE, while not in the 5MeO-DMT nor highly reproducible with psychedelics generally – and thus are more unique to near-death experiences. Discussion: Despite such resonances, the participant asserted that his NDE and psychedelic experiences were insufficiently similar to warrant any explanation by endogenous psychedelics. Several mechanisms of the NDE are discussed, including lucid dreams, perinatal regression, but focusing on the, duly caveated, speculation that unique aetiology of bacterial meningoencephalitis of the neocortex may enact similar down-stream neural activity as that initiated by pyramidal neuronal activation by psychedelic agents.

Learn about art legend Alex Grey and his journey to uncovering the power of psychedelics in his own art. See what psychedelic artists he recommends today.

We are living in an age of reductionism