We hypothesize that everything is interconnected, and that embodying this awareness reveals information and energy not limited by space and time, which can create breakthroughs in transformation, innovation, and well-being.
As Edgar Mitchell returned from the moon and floated toward Earth, viewing the planet from space, he was overcome with a profound sense of his interconnection with all of existence. Deep in his very being, he understood that everything in the universe is connected and he vowed to explore this realization upon his return. Two years later, Mitchell founded IONS to study this powerful sense of internal knowing through rigorous scientific research.
At IONS, we study an individual’s sense of interconnectedness primarily through the IONS Discovery Lab. We evaluate participants through a carefully-crafted questionnaire and corresponding biometrics, assessing their perceived sense of interconnection with themselves, with others, and with nature.
We find that one’s sense of social connectedness provides more than simply the context through which we can understand an individual’s behavior. Indeed, it is a capacity that can be internalized as part of a person’s social identity. Individuals with a sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging often experience positive psychological states, which result from embracing a social environment comprised of others (communities, families; Haslam, 2009).
By testing groups with varying methodologies and practices, before and after their retreat, we intend to better understand what is meant by “interconnected” and in so doing, better understand how to regularly access this feeling to create beneficial impacts for ourselves, each other, and the planet.
Haslam, S.A., Jetten, J., Postmes, T., & Haslam, C. (2009). Social identity, health and well-being: An emerging agenda for applied psychology. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 58(1), 1-23.
