When we consider the factors that explain why some people become vegan but not others, or why some find it easier to make the switch than others, one factor that is sometimes overlooked is personality. Vegan activists and campaigners might point to a range of psychological factors that get in the way of people adopting…
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On 10th June, French metal band Mirar released a six-track EP titled Mare. This EP, and the band in general, falls into the metal genre ‘thall’, which combines elements of progressive metal, death metal, and mathcore. Thall is an offshoot of djent and originated with Vildhjarta, who started using the term in 2011; the genre…
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The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, and the novelist Hermann Hesse (who was inspired by Jung), located the source of irritation with others within ourselves. They argued that when we become irritated by others, this can lead to self-understanding, namely, that the specific trait or behaviour that gets under our nerves exists within us. I have…
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I’ve previously written about the Stoic perspective on travel (see here and here), which includes the idea that our strong impulse to travel often comes from a desire to escape the self (which is doomed to fail). Our discontent about who we are can be refashioned, unconsciously, as discontent about where we are. We avoid…
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‘Inner healing intelligence’ is a term derived from Stan Grof that is frequently used in the context of MDMA- and psychedelic-assisted therapy. (The central idea behind the term certainly predates Grof, however.) The MAPS Manual for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (2015) – authored by Michael Mithoefer – places great importance…
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