Transcendence and Transformation

Edited by Aaron Michael Ullrey The following Research Reflection is part of an ongoing series spotlighting the academic study of religions. It is challenging for me to imagine a time before the concept of “the psychedelic” existed, despite its emergence...

Irina Tweedie (1907–1999) was a Russian-born British spiritual teacher whose life and writings played a vital role in the transmission of Sufism to the West, especially among women. Best known for her autobiographical work Daughter of Fire: A Diary of...

By Jeffrey Blackwell More than 170 years after the publication of his groundbreaking book Walden and his essay “Civil Disobedience,” the eclectic writer, naturalist, activist, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau continues to resonate with new generations...

Ayahuasca originated in the Amazon and has long been considered sacred by many Indigenous and mestizo communities across South America. Fueled by the “psychedelic renaissance” and growing interest in its visionary and healing potential, groups serving the...

Public conversations about both psychedelics and gender transition have often been constrained by two parallel limits: a focus on clinical applications and the presumption that those who take psychedelics or change gender do so primarily as “patients.”...

According to the 2024 Global Psychedelic Survey, while personal growth and well-being are common reasons for illicit drug use, recreation—music events, festivals, parties, raves—remains a leading but poorly defined motive. This panel featured Michelle...

Anthropologist Manvir Singh, PhD, joined Professor Charles Stang for a conversation about Singh’s new book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion (Knopf, 2025), which draws on immersive research with shamans in Indonesia and the Colombian Amazon. Singh...

In April 1843, the Transcendentalists’ periodical The Dial departed from its usual mix of essays, poems, and reviews to publish a rare catalogue of over two hundred titles, forming a “cabinet of mystic and theosophic lore.” The cabinet was a curated...

Edited by Aaron M. Ullrey Indian religious traditions assign a special role and title to individuals who pursue ascetic religious goals, referring to these figures collectively as sadhu s. The term sadhu is derived from the Sanskrit root sadh ( sādh )...