“Matter”: it’s what atoms and molecules are made up of. On the physical material level, it’s what all physical objects are made up of; it is everything that surrounds us and anything that has mass and volume. When scientists attempt to gain a better understanding of the nature of our reality, matter is what they look to. However, when scientists observe matter at the smallest possible level, they are left with more questions than answers. This is thanks to the fact that a tiny piece of matter, like a photon, or an electron, can exist in multiple possible states (as a “wave”) even though it is one single particle… which makes absolutely no sense.

“We choose to examine a phenomenon which is impossible, absolutely impossible, to explain in any classical way, and which has in it the heart of quantum mechanics. In reality, it contains the only mystery.” (1) Richard Feynman, a Nobel laureate of the twentieth century

We live in a society where sitting in stillness and silence, void of any stimuli, is seen as doing nothing – a view polluted with a negative stigma, with the implication that doing nothing is synonymous with being nothing. However, this could not be further from the truth. To sit in stillness is not actually to do “nothing,” in the sense that time is wasted and there is no gain. It is, in reality, closer to doing everything, as being in touch with our inner stillness, or consciousness, has a powerful ripple effect on every single aspect of our lives in one way or another. Of course, failing to wake up to this truth also effects everything, but only by ensuring that what we consider to be “everything” in our lives has little substance and limited depth.

Back in 2013, we reported on the story of 19 year old Byron Slat, who had developed a device with the capacity to remove 7,250,000 tonnes of plastic and garbage from the worlds oceans in just 5 years. Byron, now 21 and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup Project, has just announced that his project will come into fruition by 2016. The announcement was made during Asia’s largest technology conference, Seoul Digital Forum, in South Korea.

His system spans 2,000 meters, which means it will become the longest floating structure to ever be deployed into the ocean. Launching this device represents a huge milestone in The Ocean Cleanup’s mission to clean and rid the world’s oceans of plastic pollution.

Deployment off the coast of Tsushima, an island located between Japan and South Korea, is currently being researched. The device will be operational for around two years before it reaches the shores of Tsushima Island, where researchers are now looking into whether or not the plastic that is caught can be used as an alternative energy source.

Throughout many cultures, entheogens have been used for thousands of years by Shamanic healers around the world. Modern psychotherapy is just beginning to scratch the surface of realizing the potential applications of using psychedelics in therapy. The past decade has shown a surge in western interest towards shamanic medicines such as Ayahuasca and Iboga. Psychedelics are tools that can help us on our journey, provided that we use them responsibly. It is important to realize that there are psychological implications of abusing them and not using them in the right setting. This article and the video below will detail various steps you can take to prevent yourself from having a bad trip. Armed with this information, you will be able to have a better experience should you choose to add entheogens to the equation of your spiritual exploration.

When using entheogens one should be aware that they have a profound effect on our emotions. Whatever emotion you are experiencing will be felt 10 times more intensely. If you are happy you will feel extremely happy, and if you are sad, you will feel extremely sad...