A good night’s sleep? Do you even remember what that feels like?

When my partner and I agreed to move into a newly remodeled loft condo in the historic Hudson’s Bay building in downtown Victoria, we were thrilled by a few interior features: double bathroom sinks, heated tile floors, west-facing (hello sunsets!) and massive floor-to-ceiling windows that were original to the condo’s historic structure.

But while we were busy celebrating our brag-worthy new pad (we might have danced, once or thrice..), there was a nasty secret waiting to reveal itself – those god-forsaken windows.

Being historic, the gigantuous glass panes were nowhere near soundproof, and to make matters worse, we happened to be 4 stories above the busiest road in Victoria, as well as the busiest bus stop *bangs head on desk.* Of course, we found out the hard way, awakening every morning at 7:30am to the abrupt sounds of monster trucks revving, hydraulic squeals, and other obnoxious, penetrating traffic clatter. Even tightly jammed ear plugs proved futile against the noise.

Prescription drug ads: we see them all the time, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in saying that at this point, they are hard to take seriously. While the motivation behind them is arguably well-intended, their similarity to one another in style and overall content can certainly be quite laughable.

99% of the time we are introduced to an individual suffering from something that is taking a toll on their ability to enjoy and experience life. Thankfully, this newly developed prescription medication is capable of remedying that, something that certainly seems wonderful, until, that is, we see the fine print. The restrictions on who exactly can benefit from this miracle drug, and the overwhelming list of potential side effects, somehow seem to put a damper on things.

You’re at a party and you have a drink in your hand. You’re well dressed, the lights are dim, and music is lightly playing in the background. Your friend walks up to you, gives you a hug, and asks how you are doing. You catch up. A couple of minutes later one of their friends walks by and the two of them hug it out. Then you hear, “Hey, meet my friend so-and-so.” It’s not long before you ask or are asked the question: “So what do you do?”

It’s the classic interaction that probably all of us have gone through.

A) “I’m in finance. I help clients determine when to invest and so forth.”

B) “Ahh that’s cool.”

A) “Ya it’s alright, pays the bills”

B) “True, true.”

While this interaction tells you a little something about a person, it misses out on one of the most important things associated with the question. Why do people do what they do?

When one thinks about altered states of consciousness, psychedelic plants and other substances might be the first things which come to mind. Although these substances can be used in this manner, as well as for medicinal purposes (and more), such states can also be achieved through other means.

Meditation is one great example, and there is no shortage of studies explicating this phenomenon, or the subsequent changes in brain activity and in the nervous system which regular meditation produces.In fact, the effects of things like drugs, yoga, self-hypnosis, mutual hypnosis, meditation, and brainwave feedback have all been extensively explored by various scientists, researchers, psychologists (and more) from all over the world. Altered states of consciousness is definitely an interesting area of study.

Dr. Bruce Greyson, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science at the University of Virginia and one of the ‘fathers’ of near-death studies, even urged the United Nations to take these matters more seriously. This is because increasing our knowledge of ‘alternative’ experiences and health practices is incredibly important; studying these phenomena sheds lights on new, unexplored areas of science, and tells us more about the nature of our reality. It is the job of science to examine these so-called ‘fringe’ topics. (source)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, nephew of president John F. Kennedy and son of Robert F. Kennedy, has strongly reiterated his position against the mandatory vaccination of children.

The State of California recently passed a law (SB 277) which requires all school children in California who wish to attend public school to receive all of the recommended vaccinations by the U.S. public health authorities.

Currently working as an environmental lawyer and activist, he addressed a large audience at a Sacramento, California screening of the documentary Trace Amounts, which raises concerns over multiple vaccine ingredients.

It’s not the first time he’s been vocal about vaccines, in 2005 he published an article titled “Dead Immunity” in the Rolling Stone. The article shed light on the collusion between Big Pharma and the US government, as well as the dangers associated with multiple vaccines. The article outlined government efforts to conceal alarming data about the dangers of vaccinations.

Kennedy writes:

“Vaccines are big business. Pharma is a trillion-dollar industry with vaccines accounting for $25 billion in annual sales. CDC’s decision to add a vaccine to the schedule can guarantee its manufacturer millions of customers and billions in revenue with minimal advertising or marketing costs and complete immunity from lawsuits...