Social sciences

Science writer David DiSalvo distills the latest research on how our brains work into easy-to-understand lessons that will give average readers insights into their habitual behavior.This book reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "happy" leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which cloud our judgment a

Claudio Naranjo’s psychedelic autobiography with previously unpublished interviews and research papers • Explores Dr. Naranjo’s pioneering work with MDMA, ayahuasca, cannabis, iboga, and psilocybin • Shares his personal accounts of psychedelic sessions and experimentation, including his work with Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin and Leo Zeff • Includes the author’s reflections on the spiritual aspe

A comprehensive guide to the ancient beliefs and spiritual power of subterranean spaces • Examines in depth the myths, symbology, deities, and beliefs connected to the underworld from many different cultures and mystery traditions • Investigates the role of the underworld in initiatory rites and mystical practices, such as the Orphic Mysteries, the chambers of reflections in Freemasonry, the c

An animal both mythical and real, a terrifying predator and the villain in many a fairytale, the wolf has haunted the human imagination since prehistoric times. Even more disturbing is the possibility that some individuals can change into wolves. These werewolves, or lycanthropes, are able to divest themselves of their human nature and transform into enemies that are all the more dangerous as no o

Explores how emotion underlies personality, triggers the development of non-ordinary states and perceptions, and connects all life • Shows how the flow of our emotions shapes individual minds and personalities • Reveals the significant role of emotion in PTSD, alexithymia (not knowing what one is feeling), autism, savantism, synesthesia (overlapping senses), déjà vu, phantom pain, migraines, a

Found throughout the plant and animal kingdom, DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is also naturally occurring in humans, where it is released during near-death and actual death experiences, earning it the title “the spirit molecule.” When taken as a psychedelic, either via ayahuasca or in pure form, DMT is experientially considered to be the strongest and strangest of all entheogens. The majority of high-do

In this newly revised and expanded edition, updated throughout with recent developments, geologist Robert Schoch builds upon his revolutionary theory that the origins of the Sphinx date back much further than 2500 BCE and examines scientific evidence of the catastrophe that destroyed early high culture nearly 12,000 years ago. Combining evidence from multiple scientific disciplines, Schoch makes t

The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the biggest event of our lifetimes. This global experience has affected human history, ecology, epidemiology and supply chains with the suddenness of 9/11, yet with a far greater extent, duration and toll - the end of which is not yet in sight. Exploring a broad spectrum of new perspectives on COVID-19, from the physical to the metaphysical, f

Exploring the latest developments from the flourishing field of modern psychedelic psychotherapy, this book shares practical experiences and insights from both elders and newer research voices in the psychedelic research and clinical communities. The contributors examine new findings on safe and skilful work with psychedelic and expanded states for therapeutic, personal, and spiritual growth as we

In this practical guide, Mark Stavish details the spiritual lessons and rituals of Freemasonry as a step-by-step path of spiritual development and self-improvement for both Masons and non-Masons, men and women, alike. He explores the history and meaning of Freemasonry and its symbols--from its origins in the Temple of Solomon to the Medieval craft guilds to the Renaissance--and explains how the Cr

Drawing on her 25 years of research into brain development as well as decades of meditation practice, psychotherapist Marianne Bentzen shows how neuroaffective meditation--the holistic integration of meditation, neuroscience, and psychology--can be used for personal growth and conscious maturation. She also explores how the practice can help address embedded traumas and allow access to the best pe

The fossil record confirms that humanity originated in Africa. Yet somehow we have overlooked that Africa is also at the root of all that makes us human--our spirituality, civilization, arts, sciences, philosophy, and our conscious and unconscious minds. In this African-revisioned look at the unfolding of human history and culture, Edward Bruce Bynum reveals how our collective unconscious is Afric

One of the most important texts in the Western magical tradition for nearly 500 years, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's 1533 work THREE BOOKS OF OCCULT PHILOSOPHY collates a multitude of sources from the Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance periods and organizes them into a coherent explanation of the magical world. Divided into three parts - the natural world, the celestial world, and the divine worl

From Moses to Merlin to the power of the royal scepter, the wand has been a key magical device found in nearly every civilization and esoteric tradition throughout history. The fundamental purpose of a wand is to act as a spiritual conduit, harnessing the power of the adept's intention and channeling it into manifestation.Exploring the history, lore, and creation of living wands—those crafted from

Artist, activist, and influencer Laetitia Ky, known for sculpting her own hair to create powerful and joyful artwork that embraces the beauty of Black hair and style, the fight for social justice, and the journey toward self-love, tells her personal story that fans have been waiting for, through words and photos. Laetitia Ky is a self-described polyvalent artist and a one-of-a-kind creative voi

At present religious adherents outnumber non-religious by nearly 6 to 1 and world culture is divided between traditional and modern outlooks. In each of world culture's seven disciplines there are conflicting metaphysical and secular approaches. A unified world culture is essential if there is to be a World State, and The Secret American Destiny shows how America can heal this division by reviving

Madame Blavatsky was a pioneering woman, and not only as a traveller, writer and spiritual teacher. She was an inspiration to men and women around the world in Victorian times who desired to follow an independent path. In our own times, the New Age owes most of its spiritual knowledge to her. Blavatsky s travels in Russia, India and Tibet; her absorbing of many different cultures and her personal

We may live in astonishing times, but they are not incomprehensible when you know how to read the signs. Everybody says we're entering the Age of Aquarius, but when does it start, and how will we know what it looks and feels like? Ray Grasse deciphers the signs and correspondences of our nearing Aquarian future, using the tools of astrology, synchronicity, and mythology. He draws richly from co

Why don't people heal? Why do they stay wounded--some even driven to suicide by their pain-despite the best that organic and psychological medicine can offer? To find the answers, Russian--born psychiatrist Olga Kharitidi traveled to exotic Samarkand, a major cultural and spiritual crossroads, and ancient capital of Uzbekistan, in the heart of Central Asia. No stranger to mystical and shamanic

Richard Leviton has become the pre-eminent authority on sacred sites and visionary geography. Through books such as Signs on the Earth, The Emerald Modem, and The Galaxy on Earth he has explored both the personal and universal aspects of our connection to the planet. Now he shows in Encyclopedia of Earth Myths how many of the oldest and most evocative of the world's myths contain a secret abou