The Unlikely Buddha

In recent years, a curious trend has emerged among tech executives and entrepreneurs: the exploration of psychedelics as tools for enhancing creativity, emotional resilience, and business acumen. Figures like Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI and a prominent voice in Silicon Valley, have openly shared their experiences with psychedelics, describing them as transformative.  Altman himself has recounted guided psychedelic retreats in Mexico that helped him shift from feeling "anxious and unhappy" to "calm" and more effective in navigating the complexities of his professional life.   This movement is not limited to traditional psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin mushrooms. Many executives are delving into substances historically used in Indigenous spiritual practices, such as peyote and ayahuasca.  These plant-based psychedelics have long been revered by Indigenous communities for their ability to foster deep connections with nature, ancestors, and the spiri...

The snow on Niflheim wasn’t snow; it was stardust, crystallized grief, each flake a miniature echo of dying suns. Robert trudged through the frost-bitten expanse, his boots crunching against the shimmering ground. The Chrono-Sphere rested in his hand—a cold, pulsating weight that felt more like a curse than a tool. Its surface swirled with faint patterns that shifted whenever he looked away, as though mocking his inability to grasp its full power. “Another dead end,” he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the howling winds. His breath solidified into ghostly plumes, but it wasn’t just the cold that made him shiver. “Not quite,” came a voice from behind him. Robert froze. The voice wasn’t just his own—it was slower, deeper, submerged in a strange distortion that made it resonate through the icy air. He turned sharply and saw an echo of himself standing amidst the swirling auroras. This version of Robert was gaunt, his face lined with exhaustion and his e...