Serpent symbolism is a near ubiquitous motif that stretches across all geographical lines and historical epochs. It is commonly associated with issues of spirituality and healing. Here at the threshold of the Year of the Snake, all healers can benefit from becoming cognizant of the power inherent in the energy of the serpent. (more)

Today's most widespread social attitudes and activities are those typically associated with the phase of life we describe as adolescence. As adventuresome and filled with discovery as humanity's teenage era has been, that chapter is coming to an end. We're all blessed to be here at the exact moment when humanity is beginning a brand new chapter. (more)

Born in the fear of German missiles and culminating in the 1960's Space Race, space exploration has been muddled by militaristic and nationalistic overtones. Now that the experience of spaceflight is merely $200,000 and a waiting list away, what kind of transformation will be sparked by the successive crops of space-travellers returning to Earth? (more)

The story of Terence and Dennis McKenna in contemporary mass consciousness is inextricably associated with the so-called "Experiment at La Chorrera." We were children of the 60s lured by the passion to discover something truly astonishing. Terence told the tale in True Hallucinations. But until the publication of my recent book, few had heard the story from my perspective.  (more)

Frank Jacob is an internationally active film maker, producer and composer. His newest project, which he directed, co produced and edited, is the feature documentary, Solar Revolution, which deals with the mental and physical advancement of humanity as it relates to solar activity. (more)

To understand the play of surface events in the world -- whether social and political upheavals, natural cataclysmic events and gradual shifts such as climate change, or unpredictable and uncanny events in one's personal life -- it is necessary to understand the deep play of the Supreme Intelligence that underlies and pervades reality. (more)

I don't like the idea of soul-mates. It suggests the wish-fulfillment of a pre-destined fixed-deck, which reduces you to a hapless rube at the card table of love. If your heart is open, if your curiosity is great, if your enthusiasm for life abounds, potential soul-mates will keep skipping toward you out of the mist. (more)

As I was re-reading Lin Yutang's masterwork, I found so many passages that seem custom-made for the Dude that I thought it might be fun to explore the points of departure and arrival of both works, in tandem. To do that, I need to start from the not-so-distant premises that prompted Lin Yutang himself, back in 1937, to write his book. (more)

With Her many devotees among society's dispossessed, Santa Muerte, Saint or Holy Death, has drawn the ire of orthodoxies both religious and legal. Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut's new book is one of the first academic studies in English of this complex and controversial figure. He was kind enough to provide some insight into this fast growing devotional tradition. (more)

Many people who call themselves "new agers" like to say "I'm spiritual not religious." But what if there is no difference between the two? Why is everyone so reluctant to admit that they might be religious, and where does the urge to separate the two come from anyway? (more)

Suppose for a moment that all your favorite stories are true. Not literally true or true in every detail, but true in essence. What if the stories of our lives are not so different from, say, that of Bilbo Baggins? It may be profoundly un-postmodern of me, but I am suggesting that it's time to reacquaint ourselves with the notion of destiny. (more)

Many persons who have been labeled "mentally ill" by the psychiatric system have had spiritual experiences or visions, often messianic, and thus they have a contribution to make to the redemption of humanity. They could be the midwives of the messianic age. (more)

The greatest protection against the evil aspects of wetiko is to be in touch with our intrinsic wholeness. In Buddhism, the wholeness of our true nature is likened to a mirror, which reflects whatever is put before it but is never tainted nor stained by its reflections. When we are in touch with our true nature, the evil of wetiko cannot ‘touch' us. (more)

Daniel Northcott was an artist, a filmmaker, and above all, a visionary. After years of traveling and filming, Daniel was diagnosed with leukemia, and passed away in 2009. He left over 1000 hours worth of unedited footage to his sister. The project, Be Brave, is now being crowd-funded through Indiegogo. (more)

The unprecedented apocalyptic monstrosity of the internet makes it obvious that our universe, and everybody in it, is hurtling into the final few screams of the Great Dissolution, as promised in the Vishnu Purana. The Night of Brahma will follow, when we all have to shut the fuck up, and even stop publishing e-books. (more)

While Tolkien might be surprised to find his fantasy works compared with the enthnography of Amazonian Indians drinking psychoactive brews, his depictions of characters singing over plant medicine in the forest reminds us how the Amazonian shaman will icarar the marirí of the plants into manifestation in the world. (more)

Plato says that at one time Atlantis was a wondrous civilization, but it angered the gods through its arrogance, pride, and cruelty. The planet, which itself is a god, responded to this by striking Atlantis down. Our civilization today looks very much like the next Atlantis. But my point is, it doesn't have to be that way. We have choices.  (more)

We've heard the story before. A patient slips into a coma and nearly dies. He experiences lights, colors, and landscapes, all while disconnected from his body.  Messages are imparted, deep feelings are felt, and then he is sucked back into the material world, his whole perspective changed. The difference this time is that the patient is a neurosurgeon. (more)

The heroic journey usually entails a quest for an object of highest value. In spiritual language, the object is enlightenment. In alchemical terms, enlightenment is the recovery of our true "stellar" nature, the real gold, an "undivided mind." It is more than just a poetic metaphor that the unearthed gold which completes this transformation is sourced primordially in the cataclysmic union of stars. (more)

On the one hand, we have Material abundance, which encourages individualism, and on the other we have Spiritual abundance, which encourages community and sharing. How can we achieve both? (more)