Rituals and celebrations

Creativity and the arts Spirituality and transcendence

Altered states Drugs and psychedelics Mindfulness and meditation Prayer and contemplation Rituals and celebrations Sacred places Spirituality and religion Symbols and myth The irrational and uncanny Transcendent experience Visions and mysticism Wonder and the sublime

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Painting of a woman alone in a closed café with chairs upturned on tables viewed through a window.

Emotion regulation

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Solitude can be profoundly restorative. Here’s how to savour it

Time alone offers unique psychological benefits, once you learn to embrace these quiet moments rather than escape them

by Thuy-vy Nguyen

Ancient Greek marble relief showing three figures in a carved scene.

Rituals and celebrations

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For Plato, rationalists and mystics can walk the same path

Why did such a keen proponent of reason turn to the Eleusinian Mysteries to explain his ideas about knowledge?

by Sam Woodward

Sepia-toned photo of a woman outdoors with eyes closed and hands clasped, wearing a dark shawl against a blurred landscape.

Grief

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How to express your grief

The initial shock might be over. But you need time and space to ‘ride the wave’ of grief if you are to find a sense of peace

by Sue Morris

Illustration of a blue-colored woman balancing on one leg surrounded by plants, flowers, a crab, berries, mushrooms, and a turtle.

Dance

film

Every culture dances. So why did humans evolve to get down?

Directed by Rosanna Wan and Andrew Khosravani

Photo of a crowded street dinner with blue flags, people sitting at long tables amid warm lights in a historic setting.

Community

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Take a seat: the long table is an antidote to loneliness

While some consider the long, shared dining table outdated or inconvenient, it is actually a powerful social tool

by Antone Martinho-Truswell

Photo of a rural landscape with two traditional Asian pavilions, green fields and a cloudy sky in the background.

Rituals and celebrations

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Together forever: ‘at-home burial’ in southern Vietnam

What might a traveller along the Mekong Delta learn about the beliefs and traditions behind the country’s elevated tombs?

by Gina Elia

Painting of a woman in 18th-century attire holding flowers by a window with a small dog on a bench.

Poetry

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How to write a love poem

Flirtatious texts are soon forgotten. Learn to express your feelings in a beautiful way that will make a lasting impression

by Dan Simpson

Painting of an outdoor community gathering, with people dancing and playing music near a house with a thatched roof. Many onlookers are seated.

Rituals and celebrations

film

Come on this painterly journey to Madagascar’s ‘turning of the dead’

Directed by Bastien Dubois

Photo of a dinosaur fossil embedded in rock and soil, with visible bone structures partially exposed.

Rituals and celebrations

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Digging for answers in a cave filled with Neanderthal skeletons

When a team of researchers returned to an Iraqi cave believed to be a Neanderthal burial site, here’s what they found

by Shayla Love

Photo of ancient clay sculptures of human heads partially buried in dirt, showing worn and textured surfaces.

Death and dying

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Why ancient Mesopotamians buried their dead beneath the floor

In an age before photos or audio recordings, people found other ways to stay sensorially connected to their deceased

by Nicola Laneri

Photo of a man in a blue suit sitting on steps, reading a book, holding a coffee cup with a brown bag beside him.

Rituals and celebrations

guide

How to set yourself free with ritual

For a life of harmonious ease, find the rhythm in the everyday: make your world your temple and submit to its sacred ritual

by Alan Jay Levinovitz

People in traditional costumes and masks dance while musicians play instruments in an outdoor setting.

Spirituality and religion

film

An ancient ritual is a window to Mayan culture’s deep past and vibrant present

Directed by Ricky Lopez Bruni