What is Solar Light?

Solar Light is a newsletter written by Lydia Laurenson. My life so far has frequently exemplified the maxim that truth is stranger than fiction. It’s hard to describe my writing, but I have been described as a “reporter on the future of the human heart and mind.”

Here is how one early paid subscriber explained why he supports my Substack: “I've noticed your projects for years. They repeatedly are serious and without fear. I've admired the intensity and willingness to go anywhere that calls.”

Another subscriber recently said: “Time tells all, but you appear to be more aligned with the real culture of the present epoch than any of the big writers in the present moment. If this country survives the present crisis, you will get the recognition that is owed to you and I want to be able to say I was here early lmao.”

Click here to subscribe and receive stuff about spirituality, culture, media, art, technology, and politics. You can also hire me as a creative coach!

Here is a long list of past articles:

— A FEW FAVORITES —
• Pregnancy, Birth, Death, And Life: Reflections On Mother’s Day. — Reflecting on the spiritual experience of motherhood.
• The Inside Story Of Leverage Research 1.0. — Between 2011-2019, Leverage Research explored the deep psychology of Effective Altruism and Silicon Valley, then suddenly dissolved among rumors of “demons.” What happened?
• College At Age Sixteen: What Is Intelligence For? — The challenge of educating and integrating “highly gifted” children into society.
• The Time I Joined Peace Corps And Worked With An African HIV Program For Sex Workers In eSwatini. — Once upon a time, I joined the Peace Corps and worked on HIV in Africa.
• My Year In San Francisco’s $2 Million Secret Society Startup. — The true story of a secret society that was also an art project that was also a startup. Originally published in Vice: Motherboard; this is an updated version with new notes. (Years after this article was published, the BBC interviewed me about it, and I wrote Thoughts On Concealment and Revelation.)
• What It’s Like To Suddenly Start Completely Believing In God. — It happened to me.

— SPIRITUALITY AND WHOLENESS —
• Spiritual Foods. — Recent thoughts on spirituality and energy, inspired by Simone Weil.
• Modern Accounts of Sudden, Unexpected Spiritual Experiences. — Stories of modern people who experienced sudden spiritual breakthroughs or awakenings.
• Spiritual Transmission And Leadership. — Speculations and open questions.
• What Am I Looking At? — I never did find a definition I liked, for “enlightenment.”
• A Translation Is A Betrayal. — Or is it?
• The Parable Of The Barista. — What to do with our material selves.
• Basic Principles Of Ayurveda. — I know little about Ayurveda, but it’s interesting.
• Spirituality, Art, And Architecture. — Interview with the brilliant conceptual artist Abraham Burickson about his experience of spirituality.
• Science And Meditative Spirituality. — A seeker whose awakening led him to look anew at spirituality and technology.
• Spirituality, Psychedelics, And Psychotic Risk. — Interview with Ryan Jay Beauregard, whose psychotic break during an ayahuasca retreat inspired him to work towards alternative mental health support systems.

— MEDIA —
• The Media And The Polycrisis. — How can we, in the media, reimagine what we are doing?
• Notes On Defamation Lawfare And Related Issues, For Media Creators And Educated Consumers. — If you care about the media, learning about this subject clarifies some things.
• “Healing Journalism” And Notes Towards Community Media. — Directional ideas about mediating truth and healing with media.
• Vibe Coding And The Future of Media: I (Sort Of) Built An AI Fact-Checker. — How I learned to stop worrying and love what artificial intelligence will do for journalism. (After the publication of this post, I was invited to speak at the conference Hackers On Planet Earth. Watch the talk: Media, Vibe Coding, And The Long Tail.)
• Polarization And Peacebuilding On Digital Media. — How polarization is happening on the internet, and what people are doing about it. This is a summary of two policy briefs that I published with the Toda Peace Institute.

— POLITICS —
• “It’s Just Politics:” The Time I Met Jeffrey Epstein, Twice. — Yes, that Jeffrey Epstein.
• Social Contracts, Moral Order, Weaving A Better Social Fabric, and Epstein. — How Epstein’s behavior highlights the problems of our reigning moral order and social fabric.
• Why I Was Part Of The Neoreactionary Or Dissident Right Movement In 2020. — And a few things that happened while I was there.
• Canceled Left and Right. — What cancel culture reveals and conceals about redemption. Originally published in The Ick Magazine.
• Sex And Power. — Tell me: What are women for?

— ARTS AND CULTURE —
• What’s The Return On The House Of Eternal Return? — Outsider art, business models, and an adorable Santa Fe arts collective called Meow Wolf. Originally published in The New Modality.
• Why I Love And Care About Pseudonyms On The Internet. — A piece I once penned for The Atlantic about the value of pseudonyms.
• My Top Science Fiction And Fantasy Recommendations. — Favorite books from my favorite genres, plus some frameworks.
• Tanith Lee, BDSM, Feminism, Et Cetera. — A tribute to my favorite author and her brilliant illuminations of femininity.
• Classic Science Fiction About Pandemics Explores Faith In Both Science And Spirituality. — A discussion of faith in Connie Willis’s science fiction book, Doomsday Book, which I wrote at the start of the covid pandemic. Originally published in Reactor Magazine (formerly Tor).
• My Recording Of “Raissa” From Invisible Cities. — A recording of me reading aloud the city of Raissa, from Italo Calvino’s classic magical realist text.
• The Mexican Surrealist Art Garden. — It’s a real place, inspired by orchids. Originally published in The Battery Candy.
• My Life In The Co-Living Scene, And Related Alt Culture Observations. — Some dynamics of small co-living communities, and how they fit into the broader culture.
• “A Lot Of Us Are Really Embarrassed About This Money.” — An interview with a tech employee who made so much money they never had to work again.
• The Laurenson Family Eggnog: A Traditional American Recipe. — Do not drink the store-bought stuff.
• After XOXO: Internet Art and Culture, Feelings, And Business Models. — The XOXO Festival was an incredible community of people who love internet.
• Burning Man 2012. — An old article about Burning Man, updated in 2025 with new notes. Originally published in The Point Magazine.

— SEXUALITY —
• Fidelity. — Monogamy, polyamory, and the spirit of relationship.
• The Psychology Of S&M. — Going into the studies, and then beyond.
• Aftercare Or Brainwashing? — Probably the most detailed article I ever wrote about the distinction between BDSM and abuse.
• Some Of My Old Books About Sexuality. — Long ago and far away, I wrote about BDSM, alternative sexuality, pickup artists, internet culture, and feminism. Most of it was written under the pseudonym Clarisse Thorn.
• Fractured: Being A Kinky Feminist And A Messy Human Being. — An old post about complexities of BDSM.
• Poly Family Anthropology. — Interview with Eli Sheff, an anthropologist who studies polyamorous families.

— SHORT FICTION —
• The Endless World-Changers. — A dream.
• Foxes Have Nice Tails. — The tale of a lovestruck kitsune girl.
• Dancer And Gladiator. — An urban fantasy short story, and the very first thing I was ever paid to write. Originally published in an anthology called Ransom.
• The Obsidian Shards Of Infinity: A Mythic Martial Art. — An excerpt from my work on Exalted, a fantasy roleplaying game by White Wolf Game Studio. Originally published in an Exalted supplement titled Scroll Of The Monk.
• The End Of An Age. — A Ramayana.

— FIND ME ELSEWHERE —
I publish a print magazine, and you can buy your own copy of the magazine here. Sometimes I cross-post articles from my magazine, The New Modality, to Solar Light. My magazine is fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media, a registered 501(c)3 in San Francisco.

You can find me on social media:
• Instagram
• Twitter/X
• Bluesky
• Facebook
• Linkedin

I am available for hire as a writing coach!

Thank you to Tyler Cowen and others who have financially supported my work.

If you are really into my stuff, then you can also read my archive top to bottom.

Thank you for reading. I really, really appreciate it.

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