Psychedelics like (from top) pscilocybin, peyote, and ayahuasca (made in part from this Banisteriopsis caapi vine), are all relatively safe substances, especially as compared to alcohol, cocaine, meth, and other drugs. The author writes of their potential to liberate human consciousness. More

Vertumnus ( 4sightfoto.com ) Art installations like this “Dust City Diner” — a 1950s-style eatery flawlessly recreated amid the dust devils of the Black Rock Desert — add to the festival’s surreal atmosphere. Installations range from a giant vagina through which one can be “reborn More

Like Argentina’s popular rebellion, Occupy is about “a collective refusal to remain passive in an untenable situation,” the author writes. Here, protesters participate in an Occupy Wall Street General Assembly on October 15, 2011. More

Like Occupy Wall Street, a true religious counterculture rejects the dominant culture, instead seeking to embody a radical vision of loving community. Here, three ministers mock the worship of money with a golden calf modeled after the Wall Street Bull. More

Creative Commons/DonkeyHotey Billionaires like Sheldon Adelson cast a long shadow over Washington due to their outsized campaign contributions. Adelson donated millions of dollars to right-wing PACs to support Republican candidates during the 2012 elections. More

Most residents of the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya, like those pictured here, earn less than one dollar per day. Eliminating $1.25-a-day poverty could require just 0.2 percent of global income, Makwana writes. More

“The hope I long for is a more contrary breed … like the small luminous blooms that cluster at the crumbling edge of asphalt,” Belser writes. Illustration by Milton Glaser. Milton Glaser ( miltonglaser.com ) More

Trond Viken/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs What would it be like if global financial institutions followed Bhutan’s lead in prioritizing Gross National Happiness? Here, Bhutan’s prime minister meets with Norway’s minister of international development to discuss efforts to increase happiness More

U.S.-sponsored dictators like these led their countries to the IMF’s regime of deregulation and privatization. More

The author (right) is inspired by the energy and hope of Ugandans like human rights lawyer and activist Sarah Kihika (left) despite their facing a very tough political and economic climate. More

Polaris Images/Christopher Brown The stories of child brides, like the girl in the photo above, rarely receive the same level of attention as war or terrorism, but these forms of violence are closely connected. More

Cheryl Kaplan “Is this what disability spiritualities might look like?” the author writes. “Here is a sanctuary, created by nothing but bodies, attention, and soft fabrics.” More

Even amid Israeli attacks like the one that turned these three homes to rubble in Anata, a town in the central West Bank, Palestinians have managed to build new schools, new roads, and new health centers within the last few years. Credit: Creative Commons/Michael.Loadenthal. More

RJOY (Eleanor Cooney) For the restorative justice movement to grow strong, it must recall its past, like the Sankofa bird. More