I’m fascinated by the ethics of gossip. For something so commonplace and natural, we rarely question or discuss the morality of talking about those who aren’t present. I’ve written about the Buddhist view of gossip: it is considered a violation of ‘Right Speech’, the principle of speaking without causing harm to oneself or others. Gossip…
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During the DMT trance, there can be an extremely powerful feeling of déjà vu. The realm is strangely familiar, strangely so because this familiar realm is, at the same time, utterly alien. This world is alien in two senses: it is unlike anything in waking consensus reality, and it appears to be a futuristic, high-tech…
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After ingesting mescaline, Aldous Huxley wrote that he saw “a bunch of flowers shining with their own inner light and all but quivering under the pressure of the significance with which they were charged”. In The Doors of Perception (1954), he describes, as many psychonauts do, the world becoming alive under the influence of psychedelics.…
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When it comes to the belief in plant spirits, there may be a tendency to exoticise indigenous beliefs and be biased towards them over other religious beliefs one is exposed to or familiar with. This is despite the fact that both types of belief propound supernatural entities. The former belief may seem more trustworthy since…
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The UK experienced an unprecedented heatwave last month, along with the rest of Europe. In the UK, where I am, the heatwave broke June temperature records (peaking at 37.7C), while Germany hit an all-time high of 41.7C. The reality of climate change is that heatwaves like this will become longer, more frequent, and more intense.…
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