Adelaide is the driest capital city in the driest inhabited continent on Earth, and it has known this about itself for long enough to have developed some genuinely instructive responses. Its investment in recycled water infrastructure, its early and serious engagement with urban heat as a public health emergency, and its stewardship of one of the great metropolitan parkland systems in the Southern Hemisphere all represent hard-won lessons rather than inherited advantages. Whether those lessons are being applied at the speed and scale that a warming Mediterranean climate demands is a more complicated question — and one the city is still in the process of honestly answering
Buddhism treats kindness as something you practise rather than something that visits you. On mettā as a trainable skill, Buddhaghosa's near enemies, and what happens when the most developed doctrine of loving-kindness in the world is set beside its own record
The satellites have named the mountain — the same massif that destroyed Langtang village in 2015. K.J. Parker sorts a month of evidence into fact, inference, contested and speculation, states the Langtang hypothesis, and sets out how it could actually be tested
Melbourne's liveability rankings measure the compact, tram-served inner city. They do not measure Tarneit on a 45-degree day. On 27 January 2026 the western suburbs ran three degrees hotter than the centre — and that gap, not the weather, is the story of a world-class urban forest, a sprawling metropolis, falling reservoirs and two cities under one name.
This piece is by way of tribute to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. I was privileged to meet him in the mid-1990s when I was National Campaign Director of the Australian Wilderness Society and we convened a conference on Tibetan Wilderness (an idea conceived by activist Chris Doran) held in Sydney, Australia. It was a honor to speak on the same platform as this extraordinary human being who exemplifies compassion and consistency of purpose. This extended article looks back on his life, philosophies and his ongoing contribution to advancing peace, compassion and kindness as a mantra for everyday living.
Overview and Historical Context
Drunvalo Melchizedek (born Bernard Perona, 1941) emerged as a pivotal figure in the New Age movement during the late 20th century,...
Introduction
Sufism, often described as the mystical dimension of Islam, represents one of the world's most profound spiritual traditions. Far from being merely an esoteric...
I have long had a fascination with the concept of reincarnation and past lives reinforced by exploration via my shamanic training and other exploratory...
Introduction
Alan Wilson Watts (1915-1973) emerged as one of the most influential interpreters of Eastern philosophy for Western audiences during the twentieth century. His unique...