The document discusses the significant impact of online communities and technology on personal development, mental health, and education. It highlights trends such as increased acceptance of virtual support, the rise of self-advocacy, and the proliferation of mindfulness and meditation practices in various sectors. Additionally, it notes the demand for transformative technology and the shift towards online solutions for self-improvement and well-being.

1. WIDESPREAD
GROWTH AND
USE OF
ONLINE
COMMUNITIES
PROLIFERATION
OF
MAINSTREAM
ONLINE
EDUCATION
GLOBALIZATION
TREND
& CULTURE
INCREASE
IN FORMAL
SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH
INCREASE IN
INDIVIDUAL
RESEARCH &
SELF ADVOCACY
(due to internet)
PROLIFERATION
OF
SELF HELP
TECHNOLOGY
TRENDS
PROLIFERATION
OF MOBILE
COMMUNITY
AND MICRO
CONTENT
· “Always On, Always Connected”
lifestyles, good and bad
· Increased consumption of
micro interactions vs. RL
· Increased trend towards micro
consumption for dopamine high
· Hyper competition, need
to have an edge to win
· 1 in 10 Americans on
anti-depressants
· Enter Wisdom 2.0 (2010)
· Rise of big desire for
non-Pharma solution
· Increased
sense of loneliness
· Increased online
connectedness,
less RL connection
· Increased mental stress
· Increased social stress
· Increase in unhappiness
· Increased attention
fragmentation
· Rise of “Wearable
for Everything”
problem solving
· Rise of “App
for Everything”
problem solving
· Innovate everything
mentality (Valley
and early adopters
everywhere)
· Reaching boundaries
of traditional self-help,
where is the lasting
change? · Acceptance of self-change
& transformation as a
natural part of adulthood
· Online solutions
and communities
for everything
· ENTER
TRANSFORMATIVE
TECHNOLOGY LAB
@ SOFIA UNIVERSITY
(2014)· Enter Spire,
Muse, Thync and
many more (2012-now) · Sold out TTC
conference (2015)· Tim Chang, JAZZ,
One Earth, Bridgebuilders
and other VC’s enter
· Enter Zen Friend
& many more (2014)
· Enter Headspace App (2013)
· Tim Ferris begins
to meditate (2014)
· Smart phones explode, 2B by
2015, demand content, change behavior
· World of Warcraft,
Online Games & Facebook
shift connection online
· Increased acceptance
of virtual support
· Increased use of virtual counseling
and personal development
· Deep therapeutic work moves
online/skype (for distance/
groups/serious health outcomes)
· Enter Neurograming
Conference (Mindtraining
+ Health Outcome
+ Games 2013)
· Increased access to
info & tools for meditation via online
(Buddha at the Gas Pump, Non-Duality.org)
· Increased acceptance of online
education (internet, mobile,
college costs)
· Increased instances of
people using meditation
& mind-training
· Increased instances of
information entrepreneurs
online
· Enter MOOCS (and PR
around them) (2012)
· Enter MindValley (2003)
· Rise of experts and teachers online
(YouTube teachers proliferate)
· Vedic expands via Tom Knowles,
becomes hip via Charlie Knowles
· Meditation at Davos, Le Web,
TedX and more (2013/2014)
· ENTER FINDERS
COURSE & WILLOW
(2014)
· Enter Google (SIYL 2012)
· Sam Harris writes
Waking Up (2014)
· Celebrity Biz and Culture
Meditators proliferate
(Oprah, Ray Dalio, Loic Le
Meur, Russell Simmons, etc.)
· Rick Hanson writes
Buddha’s Brain (2009)
· Adam Gazzaley creates
Glass Brain @ UCSF
· G. Dietsch 1st QEEG (1932)
· Increased understanding
of brain structure and
neurotransmitters
· Enter Intel, Aetna
with big corporate
programs (2012)
· Insurance companies
begin to cover & HR
depts. to offer
· Increased specific
studies on Happiness
· Military uses meditation
and MBSR to treat PTSD
· Increase in mindfulness in business
theories & HBR cases Major Studies
on meditation and neuroscience
(Richard Davidson, Mind Life,
Harvard etc.)
· Increased awareness of
the benefits of meditation
in public
· Stuart Hameroff
consciousness
research @ UoA
· J. Brewer mindfulness
study @ UMass
· Increase in theories on happiness
/mindfulness and health
· Increased access to long
term meditators from
East as subjects
· Rise of self-advocacy
· Rise of productivity
bloggers
· Enter Consciousness
Hacking Meetup (2014)
· Understanding
of “on” versus “in”
the brain methods
· M. Csikszentmihalyi
studies Flow
· Rise of human
potential communities,
meditation a key tool
· Rise of 4 hour work week
· Rise of Tony Robbins,
“program & condition
yourself” and
measurement
standard · Therapy is socially
acceptable
· Enter Flow Genome Project
· Rise of self-hacking,
then team-hacking
· Seattle Seahawks win
Superbowl (2013), use
meditation, more high
performance teams adopt
· Dan Harris writes 10% Happier (2014)
· DR. JEFFERY MARTIN
PUBLISHES 1ST
WORLDWIDE
STUDY ON PNSE (2013)
· Enter the Path, Ziva
& Unplug (2014)
· Jon Kabat-Zinn creates MBSR
& popularizes “mindfulness”
· Enter Arianna, HuffPo and
Mindfulness bloggers (2012)
· Rise of global middle class and huge
demand for education drives West
models/demand and growth
· Transcendental Meditation (TM) grows.
TM goes into schools to decrease violence
· Buddhist ideas move West,
loses some dogma (a la Yoga)
· Increase in online DIY communities
around human potential: physical
(extreme sports) & psychological
(PNSE and TCDS etc.)
· Surge in instances of PNSE with
online sharing (4 min mile effect)
· Increased acceptance
of virtual relationships
DESIRE FOR
RESULTS IN
TRANSFORMATION
(graduate from issues)
(happiness)
DESIRE FOR
REAL HAPPINESS
(happiness)
ACCEPTANCE
OF ONLINE
EVERYTHING
(adoption)
DESIRE
FOR SPIRITUAL
DEVELOPMENT
(growth)
DESIRE
FOR WORKPLACE
MINDFULNESS
(performance)
DESIRE FOR
PRACTICAL MEDICAL
AND STRESS TOOLS
(health)
DESIRE
FOR POTENTIAL
FULFILLED
(performance)
DEMAND FOR
TRANSFORMATIVE
TECHNOLOGY
(c) Nichol Bradford, Executive Director, Transformative Technology Lab