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Spirituality and religion

Photo of a person with closed eyes and hands clasped, appearing thoughtful or in prayer, set against a dim background.

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Spirituality is a brain state we can all reach, religious or not

Neuroscience shows that spiritual experiences are correlated with brain states that we can all aim for, religious or not

by Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan

Photo of a man walking and a child on a hoverboard near a pink house and a ‘Dead End’ sign on a suburban street.

Technology and media

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To be more tech-savvy, borrow these strategies from the Amish

With their focus on values and intentionality, the Amish offer a lesson in thinking critically about digital technology

by Alex Mayyasi

Painting of a stormy sea with a shipwreck, dramatic waves and a dark sky, conveying intense motion and chaos.

Transcendent experience

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Your consciousness has been completely transformed. Now what?

Awakening experiences are spiritual states often believed to unlock life’s mysteries – but sacred knowledge comes at a cost

by Kevin Berryman

Photo of a person kneeling on a barren landscape under a cloudy sky, capturing a sense of isolation and vastness.

Spirituality and religion

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Religion gives life meaning. Can anything else take its place?

Religious faith promotes a sense of meaning in life – and it might take more than ‘social glue’ to duplicate the effect

by Michael M Prinzing

Ancient painting of two figures under a pine tree with mountains in the background, in traditional East Asian style.

Transcendent experience

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To experience Zen-like awakening, try going the headless way

Try to point to your true self as you’d point to a brick wall, and other experiments in Zen-like awakening

by Brentyn J Ramm

Photo of a person riding a donkey on a rocky hill at sunset with a wide, expansive sky and distant rolling hills.

Spirituality and religion

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Why religion without belief can still make perfect sense

Meet the practising agnostic and the religious fictionalist: people for whom religion can work well without sure belief

by Philip Goff

Photo of ancient ruins on a rocky hill with a cloudy sky and distant mountains in the background.

Spirituality and religion

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This is not the end. Apocalyptic comfort from ancient Iran

Faced with the collapse of their empire, Zoroastrians sought comfort in the apocalyptic – and their literature flourished

by Domenico Agostini & Samuel Thrope

Painting of figures being guided by angels through a tunnel of light in a dark, ethereal setting.

Spirituality and religion

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Near-death experiences have long inspired afterlife beliefs

Through time and across cultures, near-death experiences share common themes and have inspired beliefs about the afterlife

by Gregory Shushan

Engraving of a winged figure with a spear over figures in flames, against a backdrop of a burning structure and swirling clouds.

Spirituality and religion

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The Devil you don’t know: the Satan of the 19th century

Satan wasn’t always a wicked, horned figure. The Romantics imagined the Devil as a resourceful and well-spoken gentleman

by Erik Butler

Photo of a meditating monk with closed eyes in a yellow and black robe, another monk blurred in the background.

Spirituality and religion

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How an intense spiritual retreat might change your brain

Whether through daily meditation or on a week-long retreat, the experience of spiritual enlightenment transforms the brain

by Andrew Newberg

Persian miniature painting of two figures embracing with ornate garments and calligraphy on a decorative background.

Spirituality and religion

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From sexual union to the divine – the teachings of Ibn al-‘Arabi

The Sufi scholar Ibn al-‘Arabi was a divine lover who saw the initial act of creation mirrored in the male-female union

by Heba Yosry

Ink painting of misty mountains with pine trees and an orange sun in the sky; grey and subtle colours dominate the scene.

Spirituality and religion

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There has never been a time when this article didn’t exist

The root of time itself is in fertile nothingness: how ancient Chinese Daoism shatters our illusions about time and being

by David Chai