There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a clear mind. Clarity can never be taken for granted. We’ve all suffered moments in our life when our mind felt clouded, inefficient, sluggish. As biohackers, we know how important it is to have a clear mind is and how it affects every other aspect of our life. Our mind is where we hold our foundations of knowledge, and also where we build on it. There are aspects of the body, mind and spirit triangle found in countless dogmas, ideologies, philosophies and the such, over the course of human history. Spirit guides us and acts through our body. Our Mind is where we can receive what the world is showing us, actively or passively, and apply this learned knowledge to serve our spirit in a mutually beneficial way towards growth. Because of this, it cannot be overstated enough that what we put into our minds, passively or actively, has a correlative impact on where we are going in our lives. Its easy to let the world shape our mind. The more difficult path is a narrow one, and involves choosing, each and every day to be the gatekeeper of what enters your mind. Awareness is the shield of any great student of life; without it, we become subject to the vast thoughts of destruction that eat away at and destroy the mind, leaving us feeling lost and in despair. The way to high road is acting as an always alert and aware sentry to your mind’s gate, only allowing thoughts, ideas, and other inputs that relate to creation and life. It all starts in the mind. The battle can go on for what feels like forever, but the battle is lost or won in the mind. Put your attention there and rest assured that you will be well-equipped and prepared to handle the toughest of obstacles that life and the world throws your way. Don’t ask for your life to be easy, ask for you to be better, to be stronger, and to be WISER to tackle and overcome all of the learning experiences. When we see what happens to us in life as an adventure, full of unpredictable events and experiences that forge our armor to be more effective, we go into battle with a clear and set mindset - To come out on top and wiser, after all the ashes of the battlefield fall. To loves wisdom, we must first become aware of what contributes and what attacks our wisdom. Make your mind aware and walk confidently into each challenge life presents you.

Progress. It’s a word with meanings of advancement, improvement, and a clear change towards a goal or objective. From the moment humans have inhabited this Earth, our whole existence as a species has experienced Progress, as well as Decay. Civilizations had flourished and progressed for many years, and then decayed slowly and rotted over time until there was little to nothing left. What is left however are usually things that we following civilizations have studied and learned from. The remnants of civilizations are usually the teachings, technologies, and tools that outlast them. History does love to repeat itself and leave the following generations wondering what their marks on the world and human progress will be. Going beyond the terminology and historical examples, one can ask some more insightful, profound questions. The first is, why is there progress or decay in the first place? There is of course no clear answer to this, but I suppose it can be best summed up with the phrase, ‘First there is time, And then there is what you do with it.’ By that I mean that there is a natural order to the way things are and that to accept that there is life given to each and every being, also means one’s acceptance of this law of progress and de- cay. We, as humans, are bound to grow, just as we’re bound to shrink into old age. Although we cannot change this supernatural law of the universe, we can in many cases choose how fast we progress or decay. We can use our rational human brain towards the consistent progression of ourselves, our community, and our world. We can do this through sustained faith and steady discipline. In turn, this decreases the decaying rate. On the other hand, through the coddled comfort of selfishness and endless pity, we can do just the opposite and plateau our progress while accelerating our rate of decay. One of the main reasons I like Biohacking is because of its communal camaraderie continually focusing on progress. In fact, many famed biohackers discovered and healed themselves through biohacking after finding themselves in a deathly sick cycle of decay and depression. Biohacking, when used safely, conservatively, and respectfully can help us determine what it is that we need to progress in, how we can do it, as well as how we can measure it, and why we should progress and become the best version of ourselves. We as individuals, families, and communities can learn a lot through our experiences with decay and use these dark fragments to build a brighter picture of progress overall. And while history may indeed repeat itself as it continually proves, we as individuals have the power to choose our rate of progression and decay. Choose wisely.

At the end of our lives, do we not all have the will to be able to say that we fully lived our life to the extent of our abilities? In other words, deep down, I believe we all have the desire to leave this the world knowing that although we make mistakes and had some pitfalls, we did our absolute best to be the highest level of the person we were made to be. The reason we all have this desire is not a selfish one but in fact an unselfish one. This is because when we are optimizing ourselves to function at our premium versions of ourselves, we are providing a stronger, more efficient individual to the benefit of the community as a whole. Then the question arises, how do we know who we are at our maximum level, and better yet, how do we reach this utmost level of attainment and fulfillment? The answer can be summed up to one word: Wisdom. Wisdom is our best friend. It guides us and protects us. It strengthens us and nourishes us. There are many other words for this – Discipline, Knowledge, etc. - but Wisdom is perhaps the word with the most meaning. When humans make it their mission to grow towards something higher, something more transcendent than their baseline selves, they are undertaking the process of acquiring wisdom. Wisdom can be sought in many ways - books, orators, experiences. Biohacking in a most fundamental sense is for all intents and purposes an avenue to acquiring wisdom about ourselves both subjectively and objectively, and taking this knowl- edge to optimize our entire self (soul, mind, & body) for purpose of healthy growth and prosperity. In our forever increasingly busy world full of languishing and slothful distractions, we must continually fight back the urge to give more of our time to these easy, mind-numbing diversions and instead see the present and long-term benefits of allocating our time towards to pursuit of wisdom and optimization, essentially the pursuit of happiness. Prioritize your biohacks and self-growth habits in your life and continue leveling up!

Metaverse, Virtual & Mixed Reality: a New Era for Biohacking As the medical industry advances into lipid nanoparticle medicines for oncology and infectious disease management, the Artificial world is taking another dimension. The pandemic has accelerated this development even further because of the sudden increased need for remote collaboration. In the last decade, there is a real buzz for micro-dosing, psychedelics, brainpower and anything related to genetics & neuroscience. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality already gives us access to expanded sensory-based cognitive experiences, but the new category of experience that is emerging now is Neural Reality. When consciousness and the senses are turned inward, Neural Reality is complex and rich with information. And we are back to the basic Biohacks: light and sound effects will be optimized to affect cognitive states in order to perform better, feel better, and potentially cure psychopathological related cases such as anxiety or PTSD... Stay tuned, because the future is now, the new psychedelic experiences in a fully an immersive environment that matches reality is coming sooner than you think!

The world and the humans share a special bond together. The world is a place full of vibrant life, unpredictable events, and a sort of beautiful, self-sustaining chaos. The Human being’s journey on this Earth is one that is corporeal yet also deeply spiritual. The world presents so many things into our lives that often we forget that we are more than just what invokes responses from our physical senses. What separates man from every other creature is his ability to think rationally. What man lacks in survival endowments such as long claws, fur, etc., man makes up for in his ability to know. Man can think and know that he thinks. Man can eat and know that he eats. Man can speak and know that he speaks. The human being is able to conquer and have dominion over the creatures and the world itself, because of this unique ability to know rationally. There are many different areas where the human being shows this separation of pure intellect. One would be his tool-making ability or homo-Faber. It is true that some monkeys can make tools, but it is the only man that makes these tools not just as an extension of their bodily reach, but as direct fruition of their thoughts. Community, Language, Science, Arts, Religion, Death, and Culture are all elements that show man’s rationality, his intellect. The intellect exists in the soul of man and animates the body through the influence on man’s free will. Too often we focus on the superficial parts of ourselves and get lost in the mainstream’s constant influential assault about how we should be physical. While of course we are composed of the body, we must remember that it is the soul that also makes up our life, and its health must also be taken into consideration in everything we do. We can define a human being as a rational animal, a composite of both body and soul. Its soul is the subsistent element, and its powers involve the knowing intellect and the will to do good. With free will aiming toward good, and knowledge aiming towards the truth, the human being works towards becoming more beautiful in the sense of intentionality, of culture. Biohacking in its deepest sense must look beyond the temporal world of physiological and temporal matter and adhere to the health and the growth of the human soul. We are all on this Earth together and as biohackers, we have the mission of increasing our knowledge every single day to feed not only our bodies and brains but most importantly our souls. When one chooses to take the time to explore such questions as who they are and how they act, and where they are going, and what is their purpose, they increase their value as a person through this continual development. Their soul becomes more of a master over their temporal body and they can live life with perhaps more peace and happiness because of their continued growth and development of their soul, which acts through their body.

The importance of continual self-improvement and development cannot be understated, especially in the world of biohacking. But there is also something that cannot be overstated in this same realm of personal health and growth, and that is the vital role that women play. Often argued (and affirmed as) the more intuitive of the 2 sexes, women have and continue to push themselves and their community towards their health, wellness, and wisdom goals. In a lot of ways, men have it easy. Our bodies’ instruction manual is comparable to a generic IKEA coffee table’s guided instructions; not a lot to decipher. But some could compare women bodies’ manuals to NASA’s rocket construction directions; a lot of steps, and A LOT to understand. Granted, the woman’s body is easily the more attractive of the two in my opinion and I want it to be clear that although this statement is bias, I mean this as a more aesthetic, art-like manner. The symmetry, the intricacy, the mysteriousness, the gracefulness, just the way everything connects. Perhaps its because of this clear advantage in the beauty category, that it takes a lot to master all the processes within it. It once was said that in the beginning God first made man, but then afterwards he took a long look at him and then told himself, “I can do better than that”, and then made woman. Women are at the forefront of biohacking and its clear that the industry would not be where it is today without them. Due to women having to figure out all of their complexities, but also having the tenacity and courage to do so, they have stood side by side with men and helped to share the helpful and needed knowledge of health optimization with the world. It is with great pleasure and respect that we dedicate this issue to all of the women in the world striving to promote good health, strong lives, and clearer minds. Although we have had and will continue to have female authors and subject matter in past and future issues, every article contained inside this particular issue is either written by a female author or purely feminine in subject matter. This is our way to take a moment to highlight and thank all those women out there doing their thing. At Biohackers Magazine, we believe, - no, we know that every woman’s thought and word is just as important as every man’s. And we are here to provide this magazine as the ontic evidence to that. Without further ado, enjoy your new ‘woman-ful’ issue!

What is the most expensive mistake you’ve ever made? As humans, we are addicted to success, and as a paradox, this addiction led to neglect our mental health. Our contemporary urban culture makes us suffer and neglect some of the basic psychological nutrients. With advances in technology, there is increased volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity globally. We are no longer able to predict where the technology will take us. We are caught between peace and prosperity. “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius This is a simple reminder to remain closely connected with mindfulness. Identify what you can and cannot control and enhance your self-awareness to enlighten your life. It is the best biohack you can use for free.