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NATIONAL MUSHROOM MONTH: All through September, National Mushroom Month celebrates the wide variety of "mushrooms" (the fruiting bodies of fungal mycelia) that are available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture also takes advantage of the opportunity to educate people on the versatility mushrooms offer, including their many health benefits.
As a result, mushrooms are gaining more and more appreciation as we learn more about them.
#NationalMushroomMonth
To fully celebrate the heritage of mushrooms (shrooms, toadstools, Easter eggs, fun guys in the garden...), we must first learn about the Mushroom Capital of the World.
Located just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one will find a small town known Kennett Square. Surprisingly, this small Pennsylvanian borough produces over one million pounds of mushrooms a day.
Each year Kennett Square holds the annual Mushroom Festival starting with a parade.
Visitors also enjoy tours of mushroom farms or visit vendors to buy food and other goods.
'Shroom Science
Scientifically, mushrooms belong to the fungi kingdom (not plant, not mineral, not animal).
Fungi grow from carbon and energy from dead plants (particularly the cellulose sugar and chitin proteins from husks) and animals. Interestingly, this has helped scientists to conclude mushroom DNA is more similar to humans than it is to plants, as previously thought.
Through the study of mushrooms, scientists learn more about fungi, especially identifying whether they are single-cell or multicellular organisms.
Mushrooms contain many useful nutrients. Because of this, mushrooms are an excellent source of vitamins (particularly Vitamin D, which significantly increases when cut mushrooms are placed in the sun). Eating mushrooms is a great way to naturally get copper, fiber, potassium, protein, selenium, Vitamin B, and zinc into the human body.
As scientists continue to study mushrooms, there is hope of discovering more medicinal uses -- such as treating depression, PTSD, phobias such as an intense fear of death, and other mental conditions, as with LSD, which is a fungus called ergot that grows on rye). These discoveries only add to the many benefits of mushrooms.
Mushrooms are either edible (nutritious, entheogenic) or inedible (toxic, poisonous). We find edible mushrooms in cuisine throughout the world. Almost all mushrooms available at the store are cultivated and safe rather than wildcrafted (foraged) and risky. These types of mushrooms are available year-round.
The most common cultivated mushroom are the white button, flavorful cremini (just a baby portobello), earthy adult portobello, shiitake, tasty tree oyster, maitake, but most mushroom eat (particularly in the form of mushroom soups) contains no soup at all but the more reliable mycelia).
"There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters, but no old-bold ones."
Inedible mushrooms are often found popping up in the wild, though many also grow in backyards and moist front lawns. However, it can be difficult to determine whether a mushroom is poisonous or safe to eat. It takes more than a guidebook; it takes an expert. There are no reliable shortcuts, hacks, or rules of thumb to depend on. For example, some think mushrooms that have red on the cap or stem are known to be poisonous, or that stems that bruise purple are hallucinogenic, but it is nowhere near that easy to tell. Avoid eating mushrooms with white gills, a skirt, or a ring on the stem -- or anything else until knowing with certainty that it is safe for consumption. Not all poisonous mushrooms are deadly; many might just cause a stomachache or voiding. But often there are no symptoms just liver damage leading to death days later. Because wild mushrooms are hard to identify, leave identification of wild mushrooms to professional mycologists and mushroom hunters and foragers.
Eating poisonous mushrooms, even if not deadly (like the famous fly agaric Amanita muscaria, can and often makes eaters very sick. It can possibly kill a person based on their personal constitution or susceptibilities. So, when in doubt, throw it out. Save it for examination rather than consumption. More
Whether we seek spiritual insight, inner peace, or simply a break from the weight of the world, this gathering offers a space to breathe, to heal, and to remember the deep freedom that is always within reach.
This remote retreat is a unique opportunity for anyone interested in bhakti (Hindu devotion) and Buddhist traditions. The confluence of these two Eastern modalities offers a practical path we can walk in order to become free in this lifetime. Hope to see you there!
Sharon Salzbergvirtually joins Krishna Das, Acharya Shunya, David Nichtern, Nina Rao, Raghu Markus, John Pattern, and friends. The event runs from 8:00 pm, Thursday, August 27, 2026, to 9:00 pm, Monday, August 31, 2026.
Among his early influences, Rupert Sheldrake cites The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) by Thomas Kuhn. He has said this book led him to view contemporary scientific understanding of life as simply a paradigm, which he called "the mechanistic theory of life."
Reading Kuhn's work, Sheldrake says, focused his mind on how scientific paradigms can change [16]. Sheldrake says that although there are similarities between morphic resonance and Hinduism's akashic records[31], he first conceived of the idea while at Cambridge U, before his travels to India, where he later developed it.
He attributes the origin of his idea to two influences, his studies of the holistic tradition in biology, and French philosopher Henri Bergson's 1896 book Matter and Memory. He says he took Bergson's concept of memories not being materially embedded in the brain and generalized it to morphic resonance, where memories are not only immaterial but also under the influence of the collective memories of similar organisms.
While his colleagues at Cambridge were not receptive to the idea, Sheldrake found the opposite to be true in India.
He recounts his Indian colleagues saying, "There's nothing new in this; it was all known millennia ago to the ancient rishis [seers]." Sheldrake thus characterizes morphic resonance as a convergence between Western and Eastern thought yet found by himself first in Western philosophy [15, 151].
Sheldrake has also noted similarities between morphic resonance and Carl Jung's collective unconscious, with regard to collective memories being shared across individuals and the coalescing of particular behaviors through repetition, which Jung called archetypes [15].
But whereas Jung assumed that archetypal forms were transmitted through physical inheritance, Sheldrake attributes collective memories to morphic resonance and rejects any explanation of them involving what he terms "mechanistic biology."
Lewis Wolpert, one of Sheldrake's critics, has described morphic resonance as an updated Drieschian vitalism [28, 152]. More
Why do waves go so well with Buddhism? There's something about sex, sand, and suffering -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the beach. But becoming a greater surfer has much more to do with wu wei (the ease of effortless flow), wushu (martial arts), and applying Taoist principles like yin and yang to Zen (jhana) Buddhist practice, which involves mindful in-the-moment awareness and radical acceptance of what is.
Southland facing a triple threat of heat, humidity, and high surf
Temperatures topping 100 inland raise fire risk
Rong-Gong Lin II (July 21, 2026, Los Angeles); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
Southern California will face a triple threat this week of dangerous heat, muggy weather and, along the coast, hazardous high waves. It may be better for surfing, but it will be risky for all beachgoers who get near the water.
"We're looking at an at least several days -- if not longer -- heat event, which can really be concerning," said meteorologist Robbie Munroe of the National Weather Service's Oxnard office. Hollywood may catch fire on the Sunset Strip from all the tourists dripping sunblock.
Officials warned of elevated fire danger across large swaths of SoCal starting Tuesday, with a high risk of fast-moving and "plume dominated" fires driven by heat and instability. Such blazes have large vertical growth and can spread rapidly even when not driven by the wind. More: latimes.com
Wisdom Quarterly's new book on going with the flow while out to sea among brutal sharks, cancerous sun, chapping wind, and rich territorial surf punks suffering from localism and getting into fights about it.
Why do waves go so well with Buddhist practice? There's something about "sex, sand, and suffering" -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy safely on the beach. But it has much more to do with wu wei, wushu, and applying Taoist principles to Zen practice.
For instance, when out on a wave about to ride, instead of "doing," try "allowing." Go with the flow. Rather than interfering or trying to cut against the grain, embody radical acceptance of what is and ride it out. That's what Wisdom Quarterly's resident Meditation Teacher Seven says is a far better approach than struggling to dominate.
Let the waves dominate so that the only thing to do is allow, allow, allow. Then in this allowing, suddenly it becomes effortless and intuitive, perfectly obvious and impossible to explain with words.
People do sometimes try to express it in words, but it all becomes a jumble of oohs and ahhs like surf slang or Himalayan shoestring spiritual seekers on ayahuasca down in the jungles of the Amazon with shamans Michael Harner.
As a graduate student in the 1950s, Michael Harner undertook field research on the culture of the Jívaro (Shuar)Natives of the Amazon in Ecuador [5] as he began to pursue a career as an ethnologist. His UC Berkeley doctoral dissertation (1963) became the basis for his book, The Jívaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls[6]. In 1960-1961 he reported that he became a participant-observer by experimenting with the powerful plant medicineayahuascawith the Conibo of the Peruvian Amazon [5]. He wrote about in the articles "The Sound of Rushing Water" (1968)[7] and "The Role of Hallucinogenic Plants in European Witchcraft" (1973)[8]. Dr. Harner, Ph.D. returned to the Native Jívaro in 1964, 1969, and 1973, at which time he learned the use of the psychoactiveentheogenmaikua (Daturabrugmansia, jimsonweed) [5]. More
There's a similar feeling to be had by skateboarding or hang gliding, BASE jumping or surviving the pit (slam dancing to a favorite song at a concert). Surfing seems very safe by comparison. It all becomes instinctive and beyond thinking. It's a good place to be just for that moment, rising above the turmoil of the mind or diving into the silence of the heart. Rumi would understand. The historical Buddha pointed out the detailed Path to it.
I'dunno, Bro, looks pretty gnarly. Let's just tan.
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual surfer (or two) uses a carefully modified wood, fiberglass, or polyurethane board to "ride" on the face, the forward section, of a swelling wave of water. This swell usually carries said surfer toward shore or to a watery death by drowning for not respecting Mother Nature enough. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores. But they can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, artificial simulators, lakes, rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or wave pools (and also in a physics experiment when a tide pool is sent back to sea). More
Surf Spots - California Beaches: The Wedge? That's Newport Beach. LA's Palos Verdes Peninsula isn’t known for its surfing outside of local circles, and there is a sad reason for that. It’s called “localism.” The area has a severe case of the disease. Located between Los Angeles and Long Beach, and possessing some excellent breaks, one would think this place would be much better known. Locals know all about surf spots like Palos Verdes Cove (near the crumbling peninsula called Palos Verdes Estates), Lunada Bay, Haggertys at Malaga Cove, among others.
A few weeks ago, LA and OC beaches were being subjected to king tides, riptides, with dangerous surfing conditions for experts only. The cause this time seems to be a tropical storm elsewhere disrupting the height and frequency of waves. Surfers may love it as they avoid great white sharks, but others will find it hard to take a dip or swim. Localism is, of course, a greater danger as human sharks with a sense of entitlement circle strangers and drive them out. Expect swells, tubular conditions at The Wedge and elsewhere. Warning: Water may be a little contaminated due to crumbling infrastructure. Sharks are a tiny worry compared to the microscopic contaminants and plastic particle debris. Enjoy.
Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jennifer B., Seth Auberon, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Classicist and Christian theologian Dr. Ammon Hillman says the historical Jesus took many entheogenic drugs as part of the mystery cult he formed with his very young apostles. This was in keeping with a long imperial Greek and Roman practice of mystery school initiations, like the famous Eleusinian Mysteries many great Western thinkers like Aristotle participated in for mystic visions, divine knowledge, and esoteric understanding.
So Jesus got high in Gethsemane and other places around ancient Palestine?
The Secret Eleusinian Mystery Cult (School) for drug initiation
The Eleusinian rites, ceremonies, and beliefs, like those of other "mystery schools," were kept secret on pain of death and consistently preserved from antiquity [6].
For the initiated, the rebirth of the Greek Goddess Persephone symbolized the eternity of life that flows from generation to generation, and they believed that they would have a reward in the afterlife [7, 8].
There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of these Mysteries. Since the Mysteries involved visions and conjuring of an afterlife, some modern scholars believe that the power and longevity of the Eleusinian Mysteries -- a consistent set of rites, ceremonies, and experiences that spanned two millennia -- came from psychedelic/entheogenic drugs [9, 10].
The name of the town, Eleusis, seems to be pre-Greek and is likely a counterpart with Elysium and the Goddess Eileithyia [11].
Drug-induced mysticism
ETYMOLOGY: Eleusinian Mysteries (Greek Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια) was the name of the "mysteries" [occult, esoteric knowledges] of the City of Eleusis.
The name of the City Eleusis was established before ancient Greece, likely related to the Goddess Eileithyia [12]. Her name Ἐλυσία ("Elysia") in Laconia and Messene probably relates her with the month Eleusinios and Eleusis [13], but this is debated [14].
The Ancient Greek word from which English "mystery" derives, mystḗrion (μυστήριον), means "mystery or secret rite" [15] and is related to the verb myéō (μυέω), which means "(I) teach, initiate into the mysteries" [16], and the noun mýstēs (μύστης), which means "one initiated" [17].
The word mystikós (μυστικός), source of the English word "mystic," means "connected with the mysteries" or "private," "secret" (as in Modern Greek) [18]. More
(Animated) Road-tripping on shrooms with my family (featuring Rosemary "Rosebud" Baker) | Tales from the Trip Pothead culture, marijuana addiction, glassblowing major, Phish as white gypsies reliving the glory of the Grateful Dead, traveling around the country so people can get high and enjoy their long jams.
Rosemary "Rosebud" Baker (born March 16, 1985) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Based in New York City, she is known for her dark humor based on personal and often satirical stories. In 2010, she worked as an actress in independent films, non-union TV projects, and off-Broadway. She later began appearing in a recurring role on the Hulu series Life & Beth. In 2013, she received praise for her performance in the critically acclaimed independent film Turnabout. Baker started her career in stand-up in 2014 by performing at open mics throughout NYC. In 2021, her debut comedy special, Whiskey Fists, premiered on Comedy Central. She became a writer for the HBO Max television series That Damn Michael Che in 2020 and a writer for Saturday Night Live from 2022 to 2025. Her second comedy special, The Mother Lode, was released on Netflix on Feb. 18, 2025. More
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