A recent study shows that ketamine quickly relieves depression in patients who fail to find relief with other anti-depressants. (more)

After a dramatic rescue attempt, a beached humpback whale returned to the ocean only after two men serenaded it with a traditional Haida song.

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The so-called summer of love was also the summer of riots, and being a product of that period has shaped my life. In 1987 I moved to inner-city Detroit, where it looked like the riot was still going on twenty years later. I also attended my first Rainbow Gathering to verify that the hippie vision of communal love still commanded converts. My reflections on love and riots are not so much my story, but the story that this world we inhabit has made of me. (more)

During an ayahuasca ceremony in the Peruvian Amazon, I was taught a yoga asana lesson by a startlingly large praying mantis-like creature. Now it seems obvious that before there were designer studios and sticky mats, the first yogis took their teachings from plants, animals – and yes, insects. Much like yoga itself, ayahuasca and other plant medicines have the ability to reunite human consciousness with natural and supernatural rhythms. Taken with the correct intention, they can help catalyze a profound shift in our all-too-limited perspective. (more)

[The Electric Jesus] • What a long, strange burn it’s been. There was the dissident reveler who set the Man on fire early, a tragic suicide, tent-crushing whiteouts, and nearly 10,00 more revelers than the previous year. But with all of its craziness, the playa once again worked its magic, which can be seen in the double rainbow shown here. In this podcast, I share the first time I "grokked" Burning Man - a night involving alien dance camps, a submarine-styled bus, and a dose of “spreckling" to rid me of my fear of death. As always, I’d like to hear your insights in the comments section. How did your burn go? Any transformative moments you’d like to share from this year or past ones? PLAY PODCAST (more)

A German mathematician has discovered that there are a variety of infinite realms - some larger than others. (more)

In this interview for RS, Parker Palmer, author of The Courage to Teach, discusses classroom "fear culture," non-linear education, and embracing paradox in academic institutions. (more)

Scientists in London are causing micro-objects to levitate. The Pentagon may be next. (more)

When I separated from my last partner, I realized that I did not feel that monogamy was working for me as a model. Yet I also knew that I craved long-lasting, deep, and sustainable relationships. Since then, I have sought to reconcile my conflicting yearnings, and wondered if other models of relationships are possible or desirable. (more)

Changing your eating habits is often a consequence of spiritual journeying. But food itself, and the philosophy of those who craft it, can inspire a broader awareness of sustainability and spirituality. (more)

Come meet the contributors, readers, and behind-the-scenesters of Reality Sandwich for a pint at the pub in London. Monday, Aug. 6. (more)

[Sex and Spirit] • It seems like sacred sex communities are becoming all the rage, so Jonathan and I decided to check out some of the players in this burgeoning scene at the "Symposium on Sacred Sexual Communities," hosted by New Realities and Sexy Spirits. In this podcast, we tell how Caroline Muir and Joan Heartfield get their “heart on” through Divine Feminine workshops, Anton Diaz gives up Latin dancing to seek his higher self, OneTaste attempts to take Manhattan, and Patricia Taylor shares the glory of three-hour expanded orgasms. PLAY PODCAST (more)

New research suggests that eating disorders are caused, in part, by actual visual distortions of the body occurring in the brain. (more)

There was a world of difference between prison and jail. Jail was for fuck-ups and drunks – loud-mouthed drunks and well-meaning drunks, people who’d yelled at a cop or decked other people in bars. Prison was something else. Prison was bad motherfuckers, guys strutting around who did not share Paul’s awareness that it was all, on some very deep level, a joke.  (more)

Is monogamy the natural order of our species? It would seem that thousands of people around the world are architecting pluralistic relationships, undeterred by the fact that this lifestyle is more closeted, and arguably more scandalous, than homosexuality. But if poly people are anything, they are communicative. (more)

Members of Congress press the DEA to end a 40-year monopoly on supplies of medicinal marijuana. (more)

[The New Masculine] • Loving a promiscuous woman will make a man of you... I've learned a lot from sex, but I think I may have learned more from the desperate, lonely nights spent wrestling with jealousy while my lover is somewhere else, riding another man's body to orgasm, than I have from my own ecstatic exploration. (more)

In the full throes of ecstatic trance the body can shake and convulse almost uncontrollably, and the contemporary seeker experiences a quality of bliss, connection and healing that few other activities can offer. Trance dance practices from the oldest extant cultures in the world allow us to see beyond common appearances into a realm language and thought cannot touch. (more)

New research suggests that meditation calms the part of the brain associated with emotional processing. (more)

A new book on lowering the speed limit in our lives, and reflections on the delightful consequences… (more)

A recent scientific study suggests benefits for delaying or withholding orgasms in a sexual relationship. (more)

On June 27, meet the contributors, readers, and behind-the-scenesters of Reality Sandwich for a revelrous evening of pizza, beer, and herbal tea. (more)

I’d been relaxing on a Baja, Mexico beach with my friend Eileen Myles when I got a call that my boyfriend had been arrested in Clifton, Arizona, en route to LA. The jail was to Clifton what Target is to a derelict mall: a commercial anchor, expected to draw visitors, money and jobs. (more)

Plants behave differently depending on whether they are situated next to kin or strangers, according to a fascinating new study.
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In his new book, Daniel Siegel describes the potentially powerful effects of meditation from a neuroscience perspective. (more)

The psychoactive plant Salvia divinorum has become the focus of research for scientists who believe it holds promise as a medication for mania. (more)

A desert shrub used by Native Americans as a healing remedy is showing promise as an anti-aging medicine. (more)

Have you heard about The Philadelphia Experiment? No, not that twisted bit of occult paranoia involving extraterrestrials, space-time teleportation, and the US Navy. This Philadelphia Experiment is an arts collective that has embraced the community and philosophy of Burning Man, and has launched an inspired new scene in the City of Brotherly Love. (more)

Kink. Sadomasochism. Bondage. Dominance and submission. In mainstream society, these things are often associated with a kind of wink-wink nudge-nudge secret sexuality, uncharted territory that surely lies just beyond the fuzzy pink handcuffs and nurses'-uniform lingerie. Within the world of spiritual BDSM practitioners, however, these activities are far from a novelty.  (more)

Imagine what the world would look like if there were millions of women who were anchors of ecstatic bliss energy. Imagine millions of women eschewing convention and walking their path towards their authentic nature, letting go the norms of social conformity in favor of following their heart bliss. Imagine if the world was filled with juicy mamas who love to be loved, and love to get loved on. We would live in a world where the top priority is to take care of each other, because taking care of each other is taking care of the whole. (more)