Technoshaman: From Worldbuilding to Mindbuilding: Part 2 by Ed Lantz is originally published on Mindplex.ai.
This abbreviated content is extracted from the full article.
Transformational and mood-elevating experiences can take on many forms. Here is a partial list:
Awaken the mind
- Inspire imagination, creativity and open-mindedness
- Educate, train, inform
- Epiphanies and new understandings
Open the Heart
- Empathy, compassion, understanding
- Emotional shift towards love, respect, joy, happiness
Activate the Spirit
- Awe, wonder, ecstasy, bliss
- Transcendent, numinous or “unity” experiences
- Cosmic consciousness
Going Deep
- Mindfulness and contemplative states
- Trance, dream, and mystical states
- Psychedelic states
Soothe the Beast
- Relaxation, sense of calmness
- Feeling of safety, restoration
Awaken the Senses
- Arouse passions, romance, sensuality
Energize and Engage
- Awaken the body and mind
- Stimulate, motivate, alert, play
Entrain the Brain
- New kinaesthetic skills, break/make habits, reprogram
Mindfulness states have a broad range of health benefits. Studies have shown decreased anxiety and depression, improved immune function, mitigation of cognitive decline due to aging, increased mental clarity and focus, improved heart health, improved mental health, increased longevity, improved self-confidence, improved moods, improved sleep, pain mitigation and more.
Likewise, studies have shown that psychedelic states may be efficacious in treating obsessive compulsive disorder, end-of-life psychological distress, alcohol and tobacco addiction and major depressive disorder. More research is needed to validate the degree to which XR experiences can evoke such states, however XR applications are emerging to guide patients receiving psychedelic therapies.
Awe is said to be one of the most powerful emotions that one can experience. In a partnership with Cirque du Soleil, Dr. Beau Lotto’s Lab of Misfits conducted an ambitious study on the emotion of awe. The findings suggest that awe motivates us to step forward into a world of uncertainty in search for answers, raises our risk tolerance, increases social behavior and can even reframe who we believe we were in the past. Multiple studies have also found evidence that experiencing awe makes us kinder and more generous. These are all good things for this day and age!
Ed Lantz
Ed Lantz is an engineer, entrepreneur and immersive experience designer. He pioneered digital domes in the mid-90s, designing more than a dozen digital dome theaters worldwide, including the Library of Alexandria’s Planetarium in Egypt and Domodigital at Papalote Museo del Niño in Mexico City. Ed sees modern digital domes as “digital temples of transformation” for their ability to host compelling, immersive journeys, performances and experiences with positive impact. He is the founder and CEO of Vortex Immersion Media and is the executive producer of James Hood’s Mesmerica and The Journey. He also serves as a Board Delegate on the Producers Guild of America’s New Media Council and has chaired the boards of non-profit arts organizations, including Create Now and c3: Center for Conscious Creativity;and is Chair Emeritus of LA
ACM SIGGRAPH. He is co-founder of IMERSA, a trade association focused on immersive media for entertainment, research, science, and arts. Ed holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering.
