10 articles from SATURDAY 6.8.2022

Being cheerful on the outside can help you – and others – feel it on the inside

Cheerfulness can boost your energy levels, even in tough times – as philosophers and writers have long recognised“The surest sign of wisdom is a constant cheerfulness,” wrote the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne in the 16th century. “Be cheerful,” commands Prospero – arguably the wisest of all of Shakepeare’s characters – in The Tempest. Yet the impact of cheerfulness – and...

VR is as good as psychedelics at helping people reach transcendence

Fifteen years ago, David Glowacki was walking in the mountains when he took a sharp fall. When he hit the ground, blood began leaking into his lungs. As he lay there suffocating, Glowacki’s field of perception swelled. He peered down at his own body—and, instead of his typical form, saw that he was made up of balled-up light. “I knew that the intensity of the light was related to the...