Psychedelic experiences can be weird – sometimes extremely weird. Yet, the notion of weirdness is often not the primary focus in the psychedelic renaissance or psychedelic culture. Instead, the focus is often around the therapeutic or spiritual aspects of psychedelic experiences – themes like healing, mental health, personal growth, mystical experiences, etc. This isn’t to…
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From around 2006 to 2008, in my ‘scene kid’ phase, I was listening to a lot of deathcore – a genre combining death metal with metalcore – as a lot of scene kids were. We wanted to hear breakdowns, guttural vocals, and pig squeals (vocals that go “breeeee”). It was part of the cultural zeitgeist.…
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Apeirophobia – the fear of eternal life – is not a common phobia (it is considered extremely rare, although it’s true prevalence is unknown, as there is very little research on it), nor is it a commonly well-known phobia (it isn’t discussed much, and perhaps those with it are hesitant to do so for fear…
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The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer is well known for his defence of solitude; as he said, “A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.” Distinct from…
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The Brain in a Vat podcast, one of my favourite podcasts – hosted by Dr Jason Werbeloff and Mark Oppenheimer – had as a guest Brad Duchaine, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth. (Brain in a Vat is a philosophy podcast, but this particular episode – a rebroadcast – was more psychology-focused.) The…
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