There is some debate as to whether Islamophobia is a valid term. Strictly speaking, it means an irrational fear or unfounded prejudice against Islam, but in its more widely used context, it means an irrational fear or hatred towards Muslims. In 1997, the British Runnymede Trust first defined Islamophobia as the “dread or hatred of…
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Benny Shanon is currently a professor of psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, having received his PhD in experimental psychology from Stanford University. In 2002 he wrote Antipodes of the Mind, in which he details the effects of ayahuasca and recounts his several hundred trips with the hallucinogenic brew. Shanon is perhaps most well known…
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There have been many cults – the most infamous found in America – which have made headline news for their violent, abusive, reclusive and suicidal tendencies. Some infamous American cults include the Branch Davidians, the Peoples Temple, Heaven’s Gate and Children of God. News reports describe these cults as being extreme and dangerous, but what exactly…
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Sacred geometry is the idea that certain geometric shapes have a symbolic, sacred or spiritual meaning behind them. These sacred shapes have been used throughout history in the construction of religious buildings, temples, and architecture. Going back to ancient times, certain numbers (and the polygons which corresponded to these numbers – e.g. the number three…
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Some people might have heard about Kabbalah through celebrities becoming fans of it – Madonna in particular. However, the way in which Kabbalah is presented in the media does not reveal its deeper and more mystical aspects. The word Kabbalah in Hebrew and means “to receive” and like other mystical traditions found in Buddhism, Christianity,…
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