Transformation In Action
How might the Institute's study of consciousness shed light on the relationship between complex social, political, and ecological processes and the experience of reality? Beginning to answer it in our own small way, we have created a series of applied research projects that link us to the larger world. This initiative--called "Transformation in Action" --includes developing noetic training programs, testing and evaluating these programs, and, if they work, making these noetic interventions available to communities to empower individual and collective transformation. Tackling the specific issues of teen pregnancy and homelessness, we are seeking to apply the findings from IONS' thirty years of research to challenging social issues.
Conscious Parenting
The Canal District of San Rafael, California, is a low income enclave with a primarily Latin American population in one of the wealthiest counties of the United States. Here our small team of researchers and community volunteers addressed a complex and challenging issue: teen pregnancy. In particular, we wondered if we might use our research on the health benefits of transformational practices to enhance the mother/child bond for a group of pregnant girls.
We found differences for the noetic intervention group in several of the biological measures we looked at.
In partnership with a professional social worker named Cio Hernandez, who each day deals hands-on with the social challenges of young Latina mothers, we created an eight-week integral health training program to nurture body, mind, and spirit. Each session included fun and accessible educational and experiential modules on nutrition, exercise, and body awareness. We also included mindfulness meditation, group support, and various practices meant to increase self-esteem and communication with babies, including improvisation led by Nina Wise, body painting led by Nola Lewis, and self-expression led by Hernandez.
Our primary research analysis relied on the examination of birth charts, through which we were able to look at biological differences in birth outcomes between our noetic intervention group and a matched comparison group at a local community center. While this was only a small pilot study, we found differences for the noetic intervention group in several of the biological measures we looked at, such as fewer childbirth complications and reduced time of labor.
Perhaps more striking than the biological effects in these studies was the chance to learn more about these girls' experiences. The mothers-to-be told amazing stories of their life experiences. Reports of extreme loneliness were shared. One young woman broke into tears as she described her experiences of domestic violence. In another poignant account, a Central American woman described her journey to the US. Trapped in a container on the roof of a vehicle, she stayed for days with the bodies of fellow travelers who died during the trip. In each case, we attempted to create a loving and nurturing setting for these women to tell their life stories and to build their connection to the unborn child. Over the course of the intervention, we noticed a clear sense of bonding and greater self-expression. A follow-up meeting with the girls--with babes in arms-- suggested that this strengthened sense of self lasted well beyond the end of the intervention.
At Home Within
According to John Records, Director of the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS), many homeless people dream of having a home. Sadly, they often lack the resources to make the dream a reality, or their ability to develop necessary commitment or intention is undermined by obstacles such as disabilities, trauma, addictions--or a history of failure that discourages them from daring to hope for anything better.
In a new IONS study called "At Home Within," funded by several private foundations, we are hoping to address this problem by piloting a personal growth program for homeless adults. The study, led by Dr Cassandra Vieten, is applying the latest research on personal growth and transformation to create an intervention that encourages a feeling of being "at home within" while participants seek a home on the outside.
Vieten, a research psychologist and addiction expert, describes the premise behind the work: "This project is based on the idea that while homelessness and associated problems of addiction, trauma, poverty, and unemployment can be incredibly disorienting, many of the world's spiritual and transformative practices point to a place of refuge within oneself where one can find peace. Some traditions speak of this as a place where people can not only find a personal internal organizing principle that can direct their lives with a sense of inner authority, but also find a shared common ground with others. Our hypothesis is that direct and repeated experience of connecting to that place can have a profound effect on the capacity to make new choices and overcome barriers."
Key components of the eight-week training program include body awareness through somatic practices such as walking, stretching, yoga, and t'ai chi; mind awareness through improved understanding of individual learning style and mindfulness practice; cultural awareness through re-establishment of supportive family and social institutions outside of the homeless shelter; and an ecological awareness through immersion in nature. Outcomes that researchers are measuring include increased self-awareness, stress management skills, improved relapse prevention, increased social skills and support, and a more solid connection with self and life-purpose.
Ions' Work In The World
These two programs build directly upon ongoing studies by IONS researchers about how people from all walks of life engaged in variations of spiritual practice can experience a more meaningful, compassionate, and purpose-filled life. Our study of teachers from a variety of religions and spiritual traditions has revealed the nature of transformational practices that are not only applicable for people who want to improve their quality of life, but also those facing major life transitions. As Vieten notes, "Whether these transitions are life-affirming like marriage, childbirth, or changing careers, or life-shattering like homelessness, incarceration, or addiction and illness, they all provide a window of opportunity for transformation-- to make such a fundamental shift in one's worldview and being that nothing is ever the same again. These kinds of transitions can be very unsettling, but they paradoxically provide a chance to re-orient oneself in an entirely new way, which is more aligned with one's authentic values and goals."
Marilyn Schlitz, Ph.D. is Director of Research at
the Institute of Noetic Sciences and Senior Scientist at the
Complementary Medicine Research Institute at the California Pacific
Medical Center. She has published numerous articles on psi research and
psychophysiology, cross cultural healing, consciousness studies, and
creativity.
