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When attempting to make positive changes in our lives, we often approach transformation in a fragmented manner. For example, the care of our physical wellness may be focused on the gym or our physician, while our mental and emotional wellness is buoyed by family and friends or psychotherapy, and spiritual concerns may be addressed by organized religion or a spiritual practice. Yet there is a growing awareness that paying attention to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the self in concert with one another may create exponential shifts in our lives.

IONS scientist Dr. Garret Yount, along with collaborator Dr. Dawson Church, is doing a series of exciting experiments on the effects of Emotion Freedom Techniques (EFT) on biochemistry and gene expression.

In this audio interview, IONS President and CEO Cassandra Vieten talks about the importance of creating a shift in consciousness to help humanity evolve toward a more peaceful and supportive global existence.

The first comprehensive review on the idea that focused collective intention can have a powerful, measurable impact on social conditions has arrived, and just in time.

Happy Positive Thinking Day!

Like a lot of kids, I asked myself those perennial questions as I lay in bed at night. How do I know the world is what my senses tell me? Do I really have freewill? Will I ever have a girlfriend? I remember being preoccupied by the idea that I was my brain. How is it that everything I think of as me – my inner thoughts and feelings – are somehow produced inside my head? And how do we know for sure that they are? At the time I assumed clever scientists already knew the answer, but as I got older, I realized I’d been wrong. Today we call this mystery the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness. It’s the question of how a subjective dimension of experience could arise from the objective processes of brains. There seems to be a distinct ontological difference between even the faintest glimmer of consciousness and no consciousness at all.

Transcendent Mind: Rethinking the Science of Consciousness

Where does consciousness come from? Many scientists have tried to crack the code, but the answer to this question continues to be a point of discussion and debate. Today, most mainstream academics hold a bias that the brain equals consciousness- so when the brain stops at the end of life, the assumption is that consciousness would also cease to exist. And although this is the dominant worldview, there is growing research that points to a very different conclusion- one in which consciousness does not reside in the brain at all.

IONS researcher Arnaud Delorme is in good company on this year's TransTech 200 — in fact, a happy alphabetical correlation puts him right next to Apple!

Curious about meditation research? Ever wonder how you can become a meditation researcher? In this video Dr. Helané Wahbeh talks about her experience as just that! She also describes the historical arc of the field,  where it has been, where it is now, and where it is going– particularly the areas of meditation research that are wide open and waiting for new researchers to study.

We are grateful at IONS to have a spectacular Board of Directors who help guide the Institute in fulfilling its mission and in affecting personal and collective transformation. Made up of approximately 17 talented and accomplished individuals, each board member has a rich professional and personal life, and express their passions to positively impact the world in a variety of ways. In this post, we’d like to highlight one of our Board Members, James Jensen, and his book 7 Keys to Unlock your Full Potential. The following gives a flavor of what you can expect in his new book, touted as “a tool kit to improving performance in every area of your life.” Enjoy!