Ecological Messages in Native American Religion, Paganism, and the Psychedelic Experience

In this article, I would like to draw attention to the similarities between the ecological messages in Native American religion, Paganism, and those often conveyed in the psychedelic experience. Embedded in Native American religion is an ecological view of the world – the intrinsic interconnectedness of all things in nature. Unlike the Western world, Native…

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Speculations on the Aesthetic Appreciation of Geometry

Humans have been attracted to geometric shapes and patterns for thousands of years. Geometry has not only been used for the description of physical reality – from the time of Euclid’s Elements to string theory today – it has also been imbued with a sense of the mystical and the beautiful. Sacred geometry, for example,…

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Biocentrism: Robert Lanza’s Controversial View of the Universe

The ‘biocentric universe’, also known as ‘biocentrism’, was a concept proposed in 2007 by Dr Robert Lanza, who works in the fields of regenerative medicine and biology. The biocentric hypothesis states that life and consciousness are fundamental to the nature of the universe – life creates the universe and not the other way around. From…

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Ancient Motifs in Psychedelic Experiences

People commonly report a distinct cultural theme to the visual aspect of their psychedelic experience. Based on the patterns and images seen (either with eyes open or closed), people may compare them to the art and style of many ancient cultures: Egyptian, Aztec, Indian, Native American, African and Islamic. Particular ancient cultural motifs may also…

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Is the Santa Claus Myth Based on Magic Mushrooms?

The story of Santa and his flying reindeer, which we have come to associate with Christmas, may actually have its roots in Siberian shamanism and the consumption of the hallucinogenic mushroom, Amanita muscaria (also known as fly agaric). This is the easily recognisable toadstool mushroom, with its white stem and red cap dotted with white…

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