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21 December 2012 was believed to mark the end of the thirteenth B'ak'tun cycle in the Long Count of the Mayan calendar. Many people believed this date to mark the end of the world or, at the very least, a shift to a new form of global consciousness. Examining how much of the phenomenon is based on the historical record and how much is contemporary fiction, the book explores the landscape of the modern apocalyptic imagination, the economics of the spiritual marketplace, the commodification of countercultural values, and the cult of celebrity.
A groundbreaking collection of essays highlighting the links between contemporary society's over-reliance on both media and drugs.
The author of The End of Science chronicles the most advanced research into such experiences as prayer, fasting, and trances in this “great read” (The Washington Post). How do trances, visions, prayer, satori, and other mystical experiences “work”? What induces and defines them? Is there a scientific explanation for religious mysteries and transcendent meditation? John Horgan investigates a wide range of fields—chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, theology, and more—to narrow the gap between reason and mystical phenomena. As both a seeker and an award-winning journalist, Horgan consulted a wide range of experts, including theologian Huston Smith, spiritual heir to J...
For centuries scientists and theologians have argued about the origin, structure, function, and purpose of the universe, with no end in sight. In the meantime, the average human being, when not overwhelmed by activities needed for mere survival, has wondered who we are, where we came from, and why were here. Dr. Michael Bohley believes that the answers we seek are hiding in plain sight, available to anyone with a healthy brain, regardless of level of education or specialization in certain obscure fields of science, theology, or philosophy. The answers are to be found within the sphere of our beliefs and how they help to shape the world around us.
In 1897, an Indian yogi named Bava Lachman Dass exhibited himself at the Westminster Aquarium in London, demonstrating forty-eight yoga positions to a bemused audience. Four years earlier, Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda had spoken at the first World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where theosophist Annie Besant rhapsodized about 'his inborn sense of worth' and the 'exquisite beauty' of his spiritual message. The Victorians had conflicted views on the religious beliefs and practices of the Indian subcontinent, blending fascination and suspicion. But within two generations, legions of young Westerners would be following the 'hippie trail' to India, and the Beatles would be meditating ...
The Graphic Art of the Underground: A Countercultural History takes the reader on a dazzling journey through the visual art and design of alternative and youth cultures from the 1950s to the present day. Ian Lowey and Suzy Prince ’s compelling account draws upon the work of an array of artistic figures – many of whose lives have proved as colourful as their work– such as Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, Kenny ‘Von Dutch’ Howard, Robert Williams, Robert Crumb, Martin Sharp, Jamie Reid, Linder Sterling, Gee Vaucher, Winston Smith, Barney Bubbles, Mark Ryden, Shag, Camille Rose Garcia, Marion Peck and Pete Fowler among numerous others.
Phantasmagoria of the Uncanny: Nomadism, Technique and Aesthetics in the Psychedelic Rave examines the psychedelic rave music and culture with a focus on the multiday phantasmagoric events organized in mountains, deserts, beaches, and other exotic destinations. Using mobile and multi-sited ethnography, the author follows the routes of a diverse group of Greek EDM and party enthusiasts across the festival map of psychedelic-trance gatherings, including Hungary, Morocco, and Greece, with the aim of investigating the revelatory experience of the chemical psychedelic raving. By situating the rave experience within the phantasmagoria of the festival – a dreamworld par excellence of the alien an...
Psychedelics are part of a resurgence of interest in consciousness studies, especially as altered states of consciousness are being re-examined in the context of psychedelic-assisted therapies. To date, discussions about psychedelics in modern medicine have been dominated by studies in biomedicine. However, given that cultural factors play a significant role in the subjective effects of psychedelics, psychedelics can be considered a uniquely powerful point of convergence between the cultural and biomedical. Writers and artists, alongside psychiatrists and pharmacologists, have participated in shaping ‘the psychedelic experience’ by drawing on a rich set of approaches that blend narrative, arts, and humanities concepts to explain and interpret psychedelic experiences and explore consciousness for creative purposes. Psychedelic studies, past and present, emphasize the importance of ‘set and setting’ or the context of psychedelic consumption and its paramount importance in shaping psychedelic experiences. These non-pharmacological factors rely on a different set of methods and interpretations that necessarily rely on studies conducted outside of the biomedical sciences.