Cutting-Edge Research on Consciousness

Participate in Valuable Research

At the heart of holistic centers is the importance of connection to self, others,
our divine nature, the natural world around us, and the exploration of human potential.

The Institute of Noetic Sciences aims to discover how we can better access our sense of interconnectedness – accelerating the creation of a more sustainable human presence on the planet.

The IONS Discovery Lab (IDL) invites workshop participants from around the world to focus the lens of science on transformational practices to discover how our sense of interconnectedness, extended human capacities, and transformation, innovation, and well-being relate to each other.

HCN shares the vision that the strategic alignment of the IONS science team and transformational programs in holistic centers, will greatly accelerate humanity’s potential to apply noetic experience.

The word “noetic” comes from the ancient Greek nous, for which there is no exact equivalent in English. It refers to “inner knowing”, a kind of intuitive consciousness that provides direct and immediate access to knowledge beyond what is available to our normal senses and power of reason.

I’m curious

IONS and HCN

Rusty Shores, Associate Director EarthRise Retreat Center at IONS, attended his first Holistic Centers Gathering in 2017 and has stayed in close connection with HCN.

He holds a B.A. in Physics and Political Economy and an M.A. in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness and has been at IONS for over 11 years. “Being at IONS is a true alignment of purpose as I’ve had a longtime passion for exploring human potential.”

IONS Discovery Lab

Founded by Apollo astronaut, Edgar Mitchell (the 6th man on the moon),
IONS has a 45-year history of research into worldview transformation.

Christine Lines, Executive Director of HCN, visited IONS to meet the team and explore the campus. “Our collaboration with IONS is an incredible opportunity to evaluate the impact of
transformational programs on participants and to foster a holistic worldview.”

The IONS Retreat Center is one of hundreds of other similar like-minded centers in the world dedicated to holding space for millions of people on their personal and interpersonal developmental journeys.

It’s a global movement, one in which IONS is proud to be part of, particularly the unique value
that IONS adds by including scientific research into the nature of interconnected reality
and human potential through the IONS Discovery Lab (IDL).

IONS Scientists

IONS scientists, researchers, thought leaders, visionaries, healers, strategists, and outstanding retreat staff form one of the most dynamic, interdisciplinary teams working in the field today.

Everyone at IONS understands the power of approaching work with both the head and the heart. IONS expert scientists conduct cutting-edge research on consciousness and its role in the physical world.

As a group, they have published over 300 peer-reviewed papers read by hundreds of thousands of people and have presented research findings at hundreds of conferences internationally.

Noetic sciences provide a framework through which we can gain a more holistic understanding of ourselves and our world. As a result, we discover new solutions for ourselves, society, and our future.

I’m curious

IONS Director of Research

Helané Wahbeh is the Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Wahbeh is clinically trained as a naturopathic physician and research trained with a Master of Clinical Research and two post-doctoral research fellowships.

Dr. Wahbeh’s extensive meditation training includes the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teacher Training by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a four-year Meditation Teacher Training with CoreLight, and a 16-year regular meditation practice. She has published on and spoken internationally about her studies on complementary and alternative medicine, mind-body medicine, stress, and posttraumatic stress disorder and their relationships to physiology, health and healing. 

Dr. Wahbeh is also the principal investigator of the IONS Discovery Lab where she pursues her current research interests of healing stress and trauma, examining mechanisms of mind-body medicine, and rigorously studying extended human capacities. 

HCN Research Projects

We create comparative surveys for centers to review holistic business models,
staffing, programming, strategy, financials, vision and culture.

Management Strategic Information Systems (MSIS) can be tailored to your center drawing upon data, trends and analytics within your organisation to help inform decision making.

We seek to partner on research projects to help us understand and co-create a more holistic culture.
This includes enhancing the wellbeing of co-workers and social change agents;
exploring the link between inner work and outer action.

I’m curious