At a meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco overwhelmingly approved a motion to legalize hallucinogenic substances including psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca. According to CBS News, the measure, which is sponsored by Supervisors Dean Preston and Hillary Ronen, asks for city criminal justice resources to not be spent on individuals who are found to be in possession of or using psychedelic substances. It also requests that penalties for possessing or using entheogenic plants be considered “amongst the lowest priority.” In addition to this, the resolution calls for the le ..read more

At a meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco overwhelmingly approved a motion to legalize hallucinogenic substances including psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca. According to CBS News, the measure, which is sponsored by Supervisors Dean Preston and Hillary Ronen, asks for city criminal justice resources to not be spent on individuals who are found to be in possession of or using psychedelic substances. It also requests that penalties for possessing or using entheogenic plants be considered “amongst the lowest priority.” In addition to this, the resolution calls for the le ..read more

Adhara Pérez may only be nine years old, but she already has big dreams – which is only fitting, considering the Mexico City native has an IQ of 162, a score even higher than quantum scientists Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Adhara has been taking IQ tests since she was only four years old, and has been applying her considerable brain power to studying advanced subjects that some of us could only dream of grasping. At the age of seven, she was already ranked by Forbes magazine in 2019 as one of the most powerful women in Mexico. The young prodigy is already studying for two degrees: one ..read more

“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” ~George R.R. Martin There it is: your mind –all leashed-up, bored, bookless and chasing its own tail in the corner. It’s time to unleash it. It’s time to toss it back into the shocking waters of wonder and awe. It’s time to distract it from the all too familiar tail (or tale, to wit), and give it a juicy carrot to chase around instead. Seven juicy carrots, to be exact. So, store that leash, open up your mind, curl up with your best friend, and dive right on in to the following mind-unleashing books. But keep the li ..read more

“Freedom is the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear.” ~George Orwell Sick of all those self-affirmation articles? Tired of all the self-help gurus blowing sunshine up your skirt? Need something a little more grounding? More down-to-earth? More humbling? Here’s a fresh batch of wake-up calls and kicks-in-the-shin straight from the oven. Get it while its hot… 1.) You are an animal: “What a chimera then is humankind. What a novelty; what a monster, what a chaos.” ~Blaise Pascal This one is painfully obvious, but you probably need a reminder. You are a naked ape. You are blood and bo ..read more

Matter is what makes up the Universe, but what makes up matter? This question has long been tricky for those who think about it – especially for the physicists. Reflecting recent trends in physics, my colleague Jeffrey Eischen and I have described an updated way to think about matter. We propose that matter is not made of particles or waves, as was long thought, but – more fundamentally – that matter is made of fragments of energy. From Five to One The ancient Greeks conceived of five building blocks of matter – from bottom to top: earth, water, air ..read more

A neuroscientist has suggested in a new theory that our consciousness is derived from a field of electromagnetic waves given off by neurons. The study published last month in the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness is entirely based off a theory absent of tangible evidence. However, the author of the research Johnjoe McFadden said that his hypothesis could offer a way forward for robots that think and feel emotions. McFadden believes that neuron waves of electrical activity get sent out and as they propagate across the brain, they help compose our entire conscious experience. Johnjoe McFadde ..read more

(TMU) – The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has effectively decriminalized psilocybin or “magic” mushrooms along with other natural psychedelics in the latest sign that public opinion across the U.S. is continuing to turn against prohibitionist policies. On Monday, the Ann Arbor City Council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that would make it the city’s lowest-ranked law enforcement priority to the investigate or arrest anyone planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, using or possessing entheogenic plants or plant compounds. The resolution applies to all psychedeli ..read more

More than 20 years old now, The Matrix is recognized by fans across the world as being one of the most brilliant films in history, most notably for its deeper meaning and esoteric philosophy. One scene that is particularly intriguing, considering the social climate of today, is Neo’s interrogation by the Agents of the Matrix. Now, before we dig into the potential hidden meaning here, as I perceive it, and how Neo found himself in this uncomfortable position to begin with, let’s first establish some key points in relation to the overall story line that will help us to appreciate the implicat ..read more

(TMU) – As 2020 has clearly shown, life is fraught with existential dread and can often resemble a nightmare for many of us. If it were just a matter of cabin fever resulting from the coronavirus health crisis, that would be one thing. But this year has also entailed chaos in the streets, economic instability sweeping through our families and communities, not to mention the usual madness that has been raging across the world in recent years. And if you’ve thought of reaching for some chemicals to escape the madness, even momentarily, you’re hardly alone. As a recent study has shown, a growing ..read more