Reading Time: 5 minutes OnlySky · Questioning a Shamanic Love Camp at Auschwitz | Becky Garrison In an email exchange with Eran Yoels, International School of Temple Arts (ISTA)‘s spokesperson for Israel, I inquired about ISTA’s connection to a shamanic “love camp” at Auschwitz that was posted on their website. He sent me the following response. “We, in ISTA, […]
Becky Garrison
As a freelance writer with dual MDiv/MSW degree from Yale Divinity School and Columbia University, I focus on the rise of secular spirituality, religious satire, spiritual health & wellness, faith & politics, as well as historical, cultural, and religious travel.
When I'm not writing on my iPad/iPhone, I can be found cycling, hiking, camping, kayaking, fly-fishing, growing my own cannabis, cooking, traveling, or raising a glass of beer/wine/spirits/cider in celebration of the Pacific Northwest craft culture. More at www.beckygarrison.com.
Posted inDrugs
How to be a discerning cannabis consumer
Reading Time: 4 minutes OnlySky · How To Be A Discerning Cannabis Consumer | Becky Garrison In a cannabis industry projected to rack up $43 billion by 2025, grassroots practitioners such as Luminous Botanicals find themselves struggling to survive in a cannabis market that values commerce over craft. Even though they took home their fifth 1st place finish in […]
Posted inDrugs
The Color of Cannabis
Reading Time: 4 minutes OnlySky · The Color Of Cannabis | Becky Garrison Despite the Biden Administration’s recent pardon of 6,500 people incarcerated under federal law for simple possession of marijuana, The Last Prisoner Project estimates that upwards of 40,000 people remain incarcerated on charges relating to cannabis, including a significantly disproportionate number of people of color. A 2020 […]
Posted inCulture
Setting New Year’s intentions, not resolutions
Reading Time: 3 minutes OnlySky · Setting New Year's Intentions, Not Resolutions | Becky Garrison Setting a New Year’s resolution to lose ten pounds, make more money, or land a coveted gig sounds good on paper. But by mid-January, I’d always find myself in the company of the over 80 percent of Americans who failed to stick to their […]
Posted inCulture
The power of storytelling
Reading Time: 4 minutes In my interview with Monica Guzman, author of I Never Thought of It That Way (BenBella Books, 2022) and Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, she spoke about storytelling as a tool that can bridge seemingly intractable divides. Intrigued, I sat down for a conversation with Mark Yaconelli, founder of the storytelling community […]
Posted inCulture
Beyond Meathead and Archie: Can Braver Angels help bridge our current divide?
Reading Time: 4 minutes A national movement seeks to bring liberals, conservatives, and others together at the grassroots level—not to find a centrist compromise, but to find one another as citizens. Through workshops, debates, campus engagement, and more, Braver Angels helps Americans understand each other beyond stereotypes, form community alliances, and reduce the vitriol that poisons our civic culture.
Posted inDrugs
Unpacking the legality of cannabis in Ukraine
Reading Time: 2 minutes The recent release of WNBA basketball star Brittany Griner, who had been jailed in Russia on charges of possessing and smuggling cannabis, raises questions about the role of cannabis in this region. The Soviet Union has the distinction of being among the world’s biggest manufacturers of hemp, which is used for oil, cloth, and food. […]
Posted inArts
Can a multi-sensory ‘extended reality’ story change our planet?
Reading Time: 4 minutes When I got a press release inviting me to fully immerse myself into a multi-sensory extended reality (XR) story, I almost circularly filed it. Yes, the title “U.S. Premiere of a Multisensory XR Story Symbiosis at PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow” sounded intriguing. But after experiencing an overabundance of screen time for […]
Posted inDrugs
Cannabis and psychedelics initiatives win big at the ballot box
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cannabis news outlet Marijuana Moment tracked six statewide cannabis and drug policy reform initiatives on the 2022 midterm election ballots, in addition to a number of local measures in states across the country. Cannabis legalization expands to 21 states According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 21 states and the District of Columbia have legalized […]
Posted inPsychology
How to identify a ‘victim narcissist’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Social media has a paradoxical effect. We are connected to more people than ever, but the thin, virtual nature of those connections makes us feel more isolated. Psychiatrist Gauri Khurana says this disconnect is responsible for an uptick in narcissism. While Dr. Khurana observes how the term “narcissist” is commonly misused, she notes that the […]