November 28, 2025 (menalive.com)

By  Jed Diamond

                Those who receive my weekly newsletter know that I write a new article each week that I send out for free to those who subscribe. The articles are my way of connecting with my community and sharing information that fulfills my commitment to help men and their families to live fully, love deeply, and make a positive difference in the world. The articles also address issues that help me improve my life for myself and my family.

                Not every article is helpful for all 12,000 current subscribers, but some articles speak to many, and a few go viral on the web and are read by millions. That was the case with an article I wrote on February 3, 2017 titled “The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex Is The One Thing Women Find It Hard to Give.” Within a few months after it was published it was read by more than three-million people.

                The article began this way:

                “How many times have we heard the phrase, ‘All men want is sex?’ When I was 17 years old I was sure it was true. When I was 37 years old, I suspected it might not be true. And now that I’m 73 years old, I know it’s not true. Now don’t get me wrong, sex can be wonderful at any age, but there’s something that is more important than sex, but it’s something that men have difficulty admitting and women have difficulty giving.”

                “This understanding has dawned on me slowly and became most evident to me in my men’s group. I’ve been meeting regularly with six other guys for thirty-eight years and sex has been a topic that has run through our discussions over the years.”

                The men’s group has now been meeting for forty-six years. Four of the seven guys have died and only three of us are still on the earth and able to meet live. When we began meeting in 1979, there were three guys older than me and three guys younger. I am the oldest now and I’ll be 82 in December. The other two guys are approaching eighty. We met yesterday and one of the guys shared that he had been asked by a friend: “If you died tomorrow, is there anything you would regret?”  

                He thought about the question and admitted that there were probably a number of things, but one there was something he knew for sure.

                “The time I have spent with you guys in the men’s group gave me the gift of a life-time knowing that I am safe — that nothing I say or do will ever cause the guys in the group to reject me.”

                That’s exactly what I had written about in the original article:

                “So, what do men want more than sex? We’ve all heard that women need to feel loved to have sex, but men need to have sex to feel loved. Let’s look more deeply at what it is exactly that men are getting when they get sex. Sure, there is the physical pleasure, but there is a deeper need that is being satisfied. I call it the need for a safe harbor.”

                When people visit my website, they see my welcome video “Confessions of a Twice-Divorced Marriage Counselor.” One of the seventeen books I’ve written was titled Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places. It captured the challenges I had finding real, lasting, love. My present wife, Carlin, will tell you that one of the main reasons she and I have been married for forty-five years now is because I have been in a men’s group for forty-six years.

                We live in a world where most of us do not feel safe. The environment that is our life support system continues to deteriorate, and our relationships often feel fraught with danger and conflict. During my forty-six years in the men’s group, I found the safe harbor that I believe we are all looking to find in our love lives.

                Ultimately, the safe harbor we all crave is inside each one of us. We must learn to love ourselves unconditionally, to know that we will accept ourselves despite the mistakes we all make being imperfect human beings. To do that, I believe we must be surrounded by family, friends, and communities that are healthy and supportive.

                AI, or artificial intelligence, has become a significant presence in everyone’s lives. Like a great deal in the world today, the response to AI polarizes people. There are those who believe at AI will solve all the problems that humans have created and lead to a world beauty and wonder. Others believe AI will kill us all.

                One of the true experts I have learned to trust is Mo Gawdat, author of a number of books including Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You can Save Our World. Mo is the former chief business officer of Google X, a serial entrepreneur, and host of a successful podcast, Slo Mo, where I had the pleasure of being interviewed.

                In Scary Smart, Mo says,

                “This book is a wake-up call. It is written for you and for me and for everyone who is uninformed about the approaching pandemic — the imminent arrival of artificial intelligence.” He goes on to say that “this book will be criticized by experts, but it is not experts who have the capability to alleviate the threat facing humanity as a result of the emergence of superintelligence. No, it is you and I who have that power. More importantly it is you and I who have that responsibility.”

                In a recent article on MenAlive, I wrote an article highlighting the work of two colleagues, Scott Galloway and Richard Reeves, who have taken that responsibility seriously. Though Scott, Richard, and I have very different professional backgrounds, we are also fathers of sons, and we share a concern for the well-being of all children everywhere.

                Scott Galloway is a professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of business and a serial entrepreneur. He credits Richard Reeves as “my Yoda and expert on boys and men.” (Reeves is the Founder of the American Institute for Boys and Men and author of the book Of Boys and Men: Why The Modern Male is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It).

                In his recently released book, Notes on Being a Man, Galloway devotes a chapter to “Sex, Love, and Marriage,” and warns about the dangers boys and men are experiencing as a result of the increasing use of online search for sex, love, and intimacy.

                “We used to meet potential mates at school, at work, through friends, and out in the world,” says Galloway. “No longer. Online dating shares the flaws with other technologies that scale our instincts. Algorithms are indifferent to social interests, and that, coupled with human nature, gave us January 6 and QAnon.”

                In his No Mercy/No Malice article, September 5, 2025, Galloway noted “Loneliness is lucrative” and cited the following:

                “Leonid Radvinsky, the secretive owner of OnlyFans, received a $700 million windfall last year, while the platform’s top tier of content creators — mostly women — earn millions annually. With $7.2 billion in annual gross revenue and just 46 employees, OnlyFans may be one of the most profitable companies on the planet. The site is viewed as a porn-centric hub where men pay women for sexual content.”

                Galloway concludes saying,

                “While OnlyFans is known for its subscription model, one-off transactions are driving 88 percent of the revenue growth. These ‘tips’ are an arbitrage on the disparity between the biological impulse to mate and the lack of mating opportunities.”

                And males pay a high price in money spent and emotions manipulated through on-line hope to find someone to satisfy our human needs for connection.  

                But it isn’t just a site like OnlyFans that concerns Galloway. In Notes on Being a Man he looks more broadly at the online world that attracts so many boys and men.

                “Dating apps sort potential partners into a tiny group of haves and a titanic group of have-nots,” says Galloway. “On Hinge, the top 10 percent of men receive nearly 60 percent of the ‘likes;’ the comparable figure for women is 45 percent. The bottom 80 percent of male Tinder users, based on percentage of likes received, are competing for the bottom 22 percent of women. If it were a country, Tinder would be among the most unequal in the world.”

                Galloway encourages boys and men to take risks to meet people in the real world, not the artificial world on-line.

                “Look up and around you when you’re out, to see if anyone catches your eye. Talk to strangers. Be open to possibility.”

                That may be easier said than done. I have learned that it is easy to become addicted to the online world. As I described in my book, Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Overcoming Romantic and Sexual Addictions. We need to support boys and men in re-learning the skills to look for love in all the right places.

                I appreciate you reading my articles, sharing them, and offering your comments or questions. You can write me to Jed@MenAlive.com. I read all emails and respond to as many as I can. You can subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here.

                “Will AI make us smarter or just faster fools? I’m betting heavily on the ‘faster fools’ outcome unless we get very, very smart about designing these systems to counteract our worst instincts, not just cater to them.” Vivienne L’Ecuyer Ming

Best Wishes,

Jed Diamond

Founder and VHS (Visionary Healer Scholar) of MenAlive

(irreview.org)

(Image from roatanet.com)

Próspera, Honduras sits on the island of Roatán in the Caribbean Sea. Though it attracts a lot of foreign visitors, it is not a beach town, nor is it a resort. Próspera is a special economic zone, specifically a “Zone for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDE),” as established by the Honduran government in 2013. The legality of these zones was originally enshrined in the Honduran Constitution by former President Juan Orlando Hernandez to attract investment and for economic development. In 2017, Honduras Próspera Inc., a U.S. based company, signed an agreement with the Honduran government, taking control of the zone. Its identity as a semi-autonomous zone is unique; the Honduran government has little control over it, Honduran law does not apply there, and the zone does not pay taxes. For example, labor laws and regulations are different, as well as the court system, which is not headed by Honduran judges. 

Since the agreement was implemented, major changes have occurred. The zone is effectively governed by the corporation and has a completely different legal framework from Honduras itself. Founder Erick Brimen says that its guiding principles include low taxation rates and deregulation of businesses. Próspera boasts single-digit tax rates, for example, levying a one percent tax on gross business income, compared to Honduras’ 25 percent tax. Furthermore, corporations operating in Próspera can choose which regulatory framework they want to adopt, being allowed to take bits and pieces from different (OECD) countries’ industry rules. Próspera’s free-market values have drawn a wide range of political ideologues. Notably, libertarian-leaning tech billionaires such as Peter Thiel and Marc Andressen have invested in Próspera’s development, and some libertarians see the zone as an important experiment in corporate governance. Although the ZEDE includes labor laws, such as a minimum wage and the workers’ right to unionize, many of its critics argue that corporations’ regulatory autonomy puts workers at risk of exploitation and workplace hazards. Duna Residences, an apartment building, is the largest tower on the island of Roatán, and is much taller than what local Honduran building code outside of the zone allows. In 2024, a worker passed away after an accident during construction of the tower. Though Próspera claims his family was compensated appropriately in respect to Honduran law, no public investigation was conducted. Critics claim this lack of transparency is directly correlated with Próspera’s leniency on corporations. 

At its core, Brimen claims that he originally set up Próspera in order to reduce poverty and contribute to Honduras’ economic development even outside the zone, yet many argue that these goals have been forgotten along the way. Economist and former World Bank leader, Paul Romer, was a key figure in developing ideas about “charter cities,” a predecessor of the new ZEDEs, and he believed that their creation and special status would increase economic growth for the entire country. He argued that “charter cities” would allow a country to explore various methods of governance and institutions to see what could enhance growth and development. The zone might be overseen by parts of the domestic government, another country, or even a corporation. He makes sure to distinguish his model from old structures of colonialism, because charter cities are supposedly free from coercion and have an element of underlying “choice”, where residents may decide if they would like to move into the zone and live under its laws. Romer, who once was a supporter of Próspera and its goals, has since changed his mind about the benefits of Próspera for Honduras. He says that Próspera has “lost its way.” 

Special economic zones have existed for a long time across the globe. One such example is Shenzhen, China, a charter city which has grown into a large commercial metropolis since the 1970s after the Chinese government lowered economic restrictions by opening to foreign investment. While it has developed rapidly, at the same time its rapid industrialization has caused risks of pollution and corruption. The original inhabitants of the island of Roatán voiced similar concerns. 

Right next to Próspera, in the fishing village Crawfish Rock, the majority of the community feel threatened by its continual expansion. Many residents lament that Próspera’s recent influx of residents has put a massive strain on the local public systems, such as roads and police forces. All the while, taxes that residents of Próspera pay do not go towards these services; instead, they are reinvested solely inside of the zone’s development. In addition, residents of Crawfish Rock and the rest of Honduras are worried about the growing power of Próspera and how it may undermine the sovereignty of the state. The current Honduran president, Xiomara Castro, has achieved widespread support in her goal to challenge the constitutionality of ZEDEs. Following a Supreme Court decision in September 2024 declaring ZEDEs unconstitutional, Próspera and the Castro administration have been locked in a legal battle, each challenging the other’s right to autonomy and sovereignty. The question remains: are Próspera and other ZEDEs legitimate ways of boosting economic development, or are they another form of neo-colonization?

Laurence Rees

How could the Nazis have committed the crimes they did? Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly – often enthusiastically – oversee mass murder? How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews? In THE NAZI MIND, bestselling author Laurence Rees combines history and the latest research in psychology to help answer some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why these people were capable of committing the worst crime in the history of the world. Rees traces the rise and eventual fall of the Nazis through the lens of ‘twelve warnings’ – from talk about ‘them’ and ‘us’ to the escalation of racism – whilst also highlighting signs to look out for in present day leaders.

Rees uses previously unpublished testimony from former Nazis and those who grew up in the Nazi system, and in-depth psychological insights including cutting edge work on obedience, authority and the brain. THE NAZI MIND is a revelatory new way of understanding how so many people committed the most appalling crime of the 20th century.

About the author

Laurence Rees

In addition to writing, Rees has also produced films about World War II for the BBC.

In New York in January 2009, Laurence was presented with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by ‘History Makers’, the worldwide congress of History and Current Affairs programme makers

In 2011 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (DUniv) by The Open University(UK).

(Goodreads.com)

(Astrobutterfly.com)

December 2025 carries the feeling of “the moment before everything changes”.

Neptune stations direct in the last degree of Pisces, a Full Moon squares the Nodes, and a New Moon touches the Galactic Center – all pointing to a shift that’s been a long time coming.

There’s a sense of inevitability – like we’re being prepared for something larger than ourselves, something that officially begins in early 2026.

With the first half of the month drenched in Sagittarius, the arrow flies, and the preparation begins. By the time we move into the Capricorn season, the path becomes ever clearer.

December feels like standing with one foot in the old world and one foot in the new – the story is changing, and we’re changing with it.

December 4th, 2025 – Full Moon In Gemini

On December 4th or 5th, 2025 (depending on where you are on the globe) we have a Full Moon at 13° Gemini.

This Full Moon is square the Lunar Nodes, bringing us to a crossroads where the narrative we’ve been running starts to show whether it aligns with our real path – orneeds adjusting.

Our mind finally catches up with our soul’s direction, as we get a clearer understanding of what our hero’s – or heroine’s – task ahead is about.

At the full Moon in Gemini, the call to adventure has been answered – and there’s no turning back.

December 6th, 2025 – Grand Water Trine

On December 6th, 2025, we have one more Grand Water Trine. Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Pisces are this time joined by Mercury, now direct and at 24° Scorpio.

With Mercury as the activator, we now find clarity not by logic or external metrics, but by our internal barometer – how we actually feel inside.

Mercury in Scorpio trine Jupiter and Saturn just “knows” what makes sense and what doesn’t. Mercury becomes the translator of what we’ve been feeling but couldn’t quite name. “That” feels right. “This” is what I need.

This is a grand water trine, so it’s meant to be experienced. There’s no need to look outside for direction. What you’re feeling now IS the direction.

December 11th, 2025 – Neptune Turns Direct

On December 11th, 2025, Neptune turns direct at 29° Pisces, the very last degree of the zodiac.

From now on, my friend, there’s really no turning back.

With both Saturn and Neptune direct in the final degrees of Pisces, the momentum starts building toward the BIG ONE – the Saturn-Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries in February 2026.

One looooong 165-year journey is coming to an end. Pay attention to what’s reaching its inevitable culmination – what’s completing itself so a completely new cycle can begin.

December 11th, 2025 – Mercury Opposite Uranus

On December 11th, 2025, Mercury is opposing Uranus for the 3rd time.

This opposition is particularly important because it’s the last in the series of 3 – so it comes with some sort of conclusion or breakthrough.

The whole saga started back at the end of October, when Mercury and Uranus met for the first time. Mid-way through, the 2nd hit coincided with the New Moon in Scorpio in November – and now, we reach the 3rd and final chapter, where the plot twist finally makes sense.

Pay attention to any thread that started brewing back then and is now coming full circle. Given Mercury is direct now, we can expect surprising (and to some, not that surprising) news, insights, or realizations to land.

December 12th, 2025 – Mercury Re-enters Sagittarius

On December 12th, 2025, Mercury re-enters the Sadge territory, after its retrograde wanderings in Scorpio.

5 days later, on December 17th, it clears the first 6 degrees of Sagittarius – its retrograde shadow area.

What needed to be done was done, what needed to be said was said. NEXT!

December 15th, 2025 – Mars Enters Capricorn

On December 15th, 2025, Mars enters his sign of exaltation, Capricorn.

This is the most outcome-oriented Mars. If you want not to just get active or busy, but actually get things done – this is your transit.

Mars in Capricorn sticks around over the holiday period, which is great because this tends to be a chaotic time, and efficiency is… well, in short supply.

There’s no such thing as overwhelm for this “Chuck Norris” of Mars transits – you name it, Mars in Capricorn will do it.

In the weeks ahead, Mars in Capricorn will give you extra stamina, discipline, and staying power to follow through with your projects, no matter what.

December 20th, 2025 – New Moon In Sagittarius

On December 19th or 20th, 2025 – depending where you are on the globe – we have a New Moon at 28° Sagittarius.

The New Moon is conjunct Venus and Mars, and square Saturn and Neptune in Pisces.

We are ready for a new journey. We can feel the calling in our bones. BUT can we really move beyond the legacy of the past? Can we slay the old story and start fresh?

Or will this new beginning always be influenced by the narratives we’ve inherited?

How much of this journey called life is ours, and how much do we carry for others?

As with any Sagittarius transit, the answers are complex and philosophical. It’s rarely an “either/or” – it’s usually an “and.”

A new beginning and an old thread. A calling forward and a reckoning with what came before.

December 21st, 2025 – Sun Enters Capricorn

On December 21st, 2025, the Sun enters Capricorn. Happy b-day to all Capricorns, and happy Solstice to everyone!

Ancient civilizations across the globe built structures to honor the solstices and equinoxes – a reminder of how important these turning points were, moments when the Sun appears to shift direction in the sky.

The tropical astrology we use today is based precisely on these 4 markers: the 2 solstices and the 2 equinoxes.

While we may have lost some of the direct, earthy connection to nature that our ancestors lived by, tropical astrology is our modern way to stay attuned – using software instead of Stonehenge, angle-measuring sticks, or light temples – and still tap into the cyclical intelligence of nature.

December 24th, 2025 – Venus Enters Capricorn

On December 24th, 2025, Venus joins the Capricorn party right before Christmas – and that’s on theme, because in Capricorn, Venus loves traditions and anything that has substance and meaning.

She likes real Christmas trees, proper ornaments, handwritten cards, grandma’s recipes – with quality ingredients, of course. All those things that have weight, show commitment, and honor what (and who) matters.

Venus in Capricorn is responsible and committed. She’s not a “maybe.” She doesn’t overpromise. She’s discerning, has strong boundaries, and values what’s proven itself over time.

In a world of “I want it all, and I want it now,” Venus in Capricorn brings long-term vision and emotional maturity.

Notice how your value system subtly shifts when Venus enters Capricorn – and how you can pour this grounded, grown-up Venus energy into your life.

December 30th, 2025 – Mercury Square Saturn

On December 30th, 2025, Mercury (at 26° Sagittarius) is squaring Saturn (at 26° Pisces).

This is the perfect transit for an end-of-the-year retrospective – a time to look back, get honest, and understand what the year has actually taught us.

This is the final square of the Mercury-Saturn cycle, so something lands. We finally see, with no filters, the relationship between our goals and visions (Mercury in Sagittarius) and the actual outcomes (Saturn in Pisces).

What worked well? What didn’t? What needs to be left behind?

And this clarity naturally reveals new openings and possibilities. Mercury is now at the Galactic Center, tapping into an intelligence and perspective we normally don’t access in day-to-day life.

And next year, when Saturn (and Neptune) move into Aries, a completely new chapter begins – with completely new ‘everything’, a reset on every level.

Until then, and before you write your New Year’s resolutions, take time to write your 2025 retrospective. The best future always comes from understanding the past.

Gloria Jean Watkins, better known by her pen name bell hooks (September 25, 1952 – December 15, 2021), was an American author, theorist, educator, and social critic who was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. She was best known for her writings on race, feminism, and class. Wikipedia

(Image from VanityFair.com)

“In many ways, writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act. You can disguise its aggressiveness all you want with veils of subordinate clauses and qualifiers and tentative subjunctives, with ellipses and evasions—with the whole manner of intimating rather than claiming, of alluding rather than stating—but there’s no getting around the fact that setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully, an invasion, an imposition of the writer’s sensibility on the reader’s most private space. ”

–Joan Didion

Joan Didion (December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American journalist, essayist, novelist, memoirist, and screenwriter. A key figure in New Journalism, she wrote sharp and evocative analyses of politics, culture, literature, family, and loss. Her 1968 essay collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem brought her national attention. In 2005, she won the National Book Award for The Year of Magical Thinking. Didion’s later essays explored universal themes of love, life, and loss.  (Wikipedia.org)

By Maria Popova (themarginalian.org)

It is not easy, in these lives haunted by loneliness and loss, menaced by war and heartbreak, witness to genocides and commonplace cruelties, to live in gratitude. And yet it may be the only thing that saves us from mere survival. In these blamethirsty times, to praise is an act of courage and resistance. To insist on what is beautiful without turning away from the broken. To bless what is simply for being, knowing that none of it had to be.

My recent love affair with artist and poet Rachel Hébert’s almost unbearably beautiful Book of Thanks reminded me of a poem by W.S. Merwin (September 30, 1927–March 15, 2019), found in his collection Migration: New & Selected Poems (public library) — a book that lodges itself in the deepest recesses of your soul and stays with you for life.

THANKS
by W.S. Merwin

Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water thanking it
standing by the windows looking out
in our directions

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you

over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks we are saying thank you
in the faces of the officials and the rich
and of all who will never change
we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us
taking our feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
thank you we are saying and waving
dark though it is

Couple with Billy Collins’s ode to gratitude, then revisit Albert Camus, writing in the middle of a world war, on how to live whole in a broken world, and Oliver Sacks, writing at the event horizon of death, on the deepest measure of gratitude.

By Maria Popova (themarginalian.org)

One day not long after I moved to New York, I looked up from my writing desk at a shared studio space on the Brooklyn waterfront and saw the Manhattan Bridge halved, only the Brooklyn side remaining, the rest vanished into a sea of fog that had erased Manhattan.

A sight with the strangeness of a dream, piercing the reality of the late-autumn morning.

An augury, a living metaphor, a revelation: Every moment of transition is a bridge receding from the firm ground of the known life it into the fog of the possible, promising and menacing in all its opacity. We can only see one step ahead, but the bridge reveals itself firm under our feet as we keep walking, advancing by “the next right thing,” parting the fog to touch the future.

Vanish by Maria Popova. (Available as a print.)

For all its mystical quality, fog has a materiality that embodies the metabolism of this rocky world. It is a conversation between the landscape, its bodies of water, and the wind. Fog forms when the atmosphere cools enough for water droplets to condense into a low-flying cloud. In fact, it is a species of stratus cloud that has landed — an endangered species: Throughout Europe, fog has declined by 50% since 1970 and coastal fog all around the world is vanishing due to climate change, parching ecosystems and leaving landscapes much more vulnerable to wildfires.

While it is still here, let it come — sudden as an owl or slow as daybreak, lasting just long for you to feel the breath of the Earth on your cheek, wet and primordial.

In Chasing Fog (public library), writer and photographer Laura Pashby composes a beguiling love letter to “the wonder and soothing balm of fog,” to “the irresistible romance of stepping into a cloud at ground level,” to what it teaches us about the visible and the invisible.

Laura Pashby: self-portrait in fog

A childhood like hers — spent under the sunless leaden skies of the Dartmoor’s wilderness margined with fog, a castle ruin as her playground, the desolate moor as her pool — shapes a person, shapes how she sees the half-seen world. She writes:

Fog is my muse: when I am in it, I see things differently. The known becomes unknown, the familiar unfamiliar. Fog disorientates, blurring the edges of everything — changing landscape, altering colour and softening light… A foggy morning is rich with mystery and magic, but also with possibility — the everyday feels otherworldly… Fog, like salt water, is completely other — it provides a shock, an escape, a release.

[…]

While fog may seem to hang heavy, it is often vital, not static: dipping, waving, seeping, drifting and flowing. Fog is unpredictable — it is not soft and benign like cotton wool. In his 1919 essay “Das Unheimliche,” Freud defined the uncanny as something that is both frightening yet familiar: the strangeness of the ordinary. This is exactly the effect that fog can have upon a landscape: when it quickly descends, it disorientates us, obscuring sight, changing familiar surroundings and making the known world seem odd and unsettling. It was this sensory experience that I felt compelled to explore first: the loss of sight as our vision is diminished by fog’s descent; the feeling of a veil being drawn.

Photograph by Laura Pashby

In a lovely instance of the unphotographable, Pashby paints an enchanting picture in words:

The fog flows up from the valley and slowly, slowly it fills the town. From my little loft-room study window, I watch it edge along the street like a whisper made visible, gently enveloping house after house, until it reaches mine. The huge beech tree in the garden opposite disappears completely, leaving only the echoing calls of its resident jackdaws — ghostly in the viscous air. The world beyond my open window fades to white. I want the fog to drift right in, curl cool tendrils around me and encircle me like smoke.

What emerges is the sense that fog is not only a phenomenon but an invitation — to draw the veil of the world and see it more closely, to see yourself unveiled and saturated with aliveness. (Anything you polish with attention will become a mirror.) Pashby writes:

By paying close attention to fog… I have tried (imperfectly, truthfully) to bear witness, looking for beauty in a darkening world, for abundance where there so often is none, for clarity through a misted lens.

[…]

If we listen, fog has much to teach us: about the landscape, the weatherscape and about who we are. We are all made of water — it passes through us and moves on, into the rain, into the river, into the ocean, into the fog. Each of us is fluid, mutable, magic, and we are not distinct from nature, we are nature. We are fog.

Photograph by Laura Pashby

Couple Chasing Fog with artist, poet, and philosopher Etel Adnan’s slender and splendid book Sea & Fog, then revisit the Cloud Appreciation Society’s delightful illustrated field guide to the science and wonder of clouds.

Evolutionary Leaders/Source of Synergy Foundation

 In This Issue

NEWS

• Gratitude: A Radiant Expression of the Heart – HeartMath
• Indigenous Leaders Disappointed at COP30 – Mindahi Bastida
• World Peace Forum South Africa 2025 – Anne-Marie Voorhoeve
• Peace Pals Art Winners Announced – Fumi Johns Stewart

OPPORTUNITIES

• 4-Day Challenge Mastering Therapeutic Presence, Dec. 1, Free Online – Lori Leyden
• Enhancing Your Intuition and Psychic Abilities, Dec. 5-7, Kripalu Center, MA – Karen Noé
• 17th Global Women’s Congress, Dec. 6, Online – Laura George
• 6-Week Breath Mastery Challenge, Special Until Dec. 13 – Nate “Anaez” Zeleznick
• Enlightening Our Way Together 2025, Dec. 19–22 – Jon Ramer 
• All Abundance: The Future Coherence Economy, Dec. 20, Online – Scarlett
• Annual Global Silent Minute, Dec. 21-22 – Dot Maver
• New Year’s Retreat for Restoration & Renewal, Dec. 27-Jan. 1, Asheville, NC – Cynthia Brix and Will Keepin
• Launching the Politics of Being Book Club, Jan. 8 – Aug. 13, Online – Thomas Legrand
• Getting Real About Aging, Jan. 13-Feb. 24, 2026 – Joan Borysenko
• Embody the Goddess: Women’s Empowerment Retreat, Feb. 6-8, 2026, Sedona, AZ – Tanjila
• The Human Blueprint, 10-Module Online Course – Gregg Braden
• Conscious Evolution, 8-Module Online Course – Bruce Lipton
• TCCHE San Diego, Jan. 30 – Feb. 2, San Diego, CA – Gregg Braden, J.J. & Desiree Hurtak, Bruce Lipton, Gabor Maté, Anita Moorjani
• Experience Your Brave Voice, Free Online – Isaac and Thorald Koren
• The Soul Song Process: Singing Your Emergent Self into Being – Gary Malkin
• The Holomovement Wave 2026 – May 29 – June 2, Cascais, Portugal

NEW BOOKS

• Awakening – Deepak Chopra
• What’s TRUE About YOU – Katherine Woodward Thomas

AWARDS

• Gusi Peace Prize Awarded to Rama Mani and Alexander Schieffer

VIDEOS & PODCASTS

• Cosmic Convergence: A Soul-Aligned Dialogue on the 26,000-Year Galactic Shift – Fernanado Ausin, Susan Manewich
• 11-11 Catapult: The Choice to Embody – Julie Krull, Teresa Collins, Anita Sanchez, Tatiana Speed, Rama Mani, Alexander Schieffer
• Indigenous Message to G20 on Behalf of the Digital Power of Women (DPOW), Johannesburg, South Africa – Phil Lane, Jr., Shenali Rajaratnam
• Two Videos from the Conscious Evolution Summit – Puria, Patricia Albere, Jude Currivan
• RAIN / SHINE Video – Kristin Hoffmann
• The Sixth Dimension and Living In The Heart – Yasmeen Turayhi
• Peace Begins At Home Summit – Riane Eisler
• The Future of Humanity – David Korten
• Honoring the Divine Masculine – Scott Catamas, Pato Banton, Phil Lane, Jr., Omashar

ARTICLES

• The Relationship Between Soul and AI – J.J. and Desiree Hurtak
• Are We Ready to Awaken Our Consciousness and Embrace Empathy in the Age of AI? – Miranda Clendening
• Nondual Science – Jeff Vander Clute
• Dreaming a New World, a New Earth – Mitchell J. Rabin
• Jane Goodall: Breaking Barriers in Consciousness, Interspecies and Interstellar Communication – Barbara Layton

“Our Moment of Choice”
We Answered THE CALL 
Visit the Evolutionary Leaders YouTube Channel
Invest in Synergy to Power a Transformed World

New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Nov 30, 2025 Psychology and Psychotherapy Arnaud Delorme is a university professor at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the Schwarz Center for Computational Neuroscience at the University of California San Diego and a consulting research scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. His research encompasses pure neuroscience methods as well as the neurology involved in mind wandering. He is the author of Why Our Minds Wander: Understand the Science and Learn How to Focus Your Thoughts. Arnaud explores the neuroscience of mind wandering, explaining how spontaneous thought arises, why it is universal, and how it relates to meditation and brain networks. He discusses the default mode network, metacognition, and how awareness of wandering thoughts reveals the dynamic nature of consciousness. Delorme also shares practical insights into tuning the mind through meditation and understanding the evolutionary, emotional, and creative roles of mind wandering. 00:01 Introduction: mind-wandering begins 01:41 Defining mind-wandering in neuroscience 04:46 Meditation and internal attention 07:19 Evolutionary reasons for wandering 11:02 Voluntary versus involuntary thoughts 14:53 Consciousness as primary experience 19:33 Training attention and tuning thought 20:58 Default mode network explained 31:09 Cycles of focus and wandering 41:09 Conclusion New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science. (Recorded on November 7, 2025)