We are thrilled to announce that the IONS Discovery Lab is up and running and our doors are open! IONS is conducting what will be the largest study ever conducted on how transformative practices and experiences influence well-being, creativity, intuition and extraordinary human capacities. This groundbreaking project is based on IONS’ research over the past 45 years which tells us that when people recognize how we are interconnected, they take better care of themselves, each other, and the planet. We are the only retreat center in the world that provides the opportunity for workshop leaders and retreatants to be a part of groundbreaking science of this scope. Our work at IONS is committed to discovering how each of us can access that place of interconnection — accelerating the creation of a more just and sustainable presence on this planet.
IONS Discovery Lab (IDL), pronounced “ideal,” aims to provide essential measurement services for workshop leaders, organizations, and businesses to evaluate their offerings, providing evidence-based results about their practices and experiences. We are curating the largest dataset on experiential learning practices in the world which will allow us to crack to code of our human potential and use this knowledge to develop exception science-informed noetic training programs. Much like the Framingham Heart study, which unlocked the mysteries of heart disease or the Human Genome Project, that illuminated the building blocks of being human, IDL will change how we understand human potential, how we understand the nature of reality and who we are as humans in this emerging interconnected reality.
What Happens During the Research? IDL participants take a survey on what we call core measures, before and after any workshop whose leaders signed up for IDL participation. These core measures explore the concepts of interconnectedness, extended human capacities, creativity, transformation and well-being. The core measures can be completed on-campus or off-campus using an online portal. For on-campus workshops, additional measures including 64-channel electroencephalogram (EEG), saliva samples, pupil dilation, and heart rate are also available with associated costs.
As a Workshop/Retreat Leader, How Can I Participate? The IDL core measures are being offered to workshop leaders who host an event at our EarthRise Retreat Center at no cost until July 1, 2019. These measures are available to support leaders and practitioners to assess their program outcomes, enhance certain aspects of their program and gain a better understanding of the impact of their workshop or retreat. All leaders are provided with a detailed report that includes a snapshot of the research from their workshop and statistics on the areas explored, identifying any changes between the pre- and post-workshop data.
How Can I Learn More About IDL?
- Visit the IDL web page
- Workshop Facilitators: Complete the online workshop questionnaire
- Call the IONS Discovery Lab at (707) 779-8271
