The biggest thing in Spirit Tech this week

Can Focused Ultrasound Accelerate Deep Meditation?

A new study (preprint) from the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies suggested that focused ultrasound stimulation may help people reach deeper meditative states more quickly.

Researchers studied 48 participants - 36 experienced meditators and 12 beginners, using low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) to stimulate specific, distinct brain regions during meditation. Compared with the sham control, the results revealed an intriguing distinction:

• Experienced meditators: Stimulating the caudate nucleus significantly accelerated the rate of meditative deepening.
• Beginners: Stimulating the posterior cingulate cortex, a region associated with self-referential thinking, significantly accelerated meditative deepening, with an estimated effect approximately 2x larger than that observed in experienced meditators.

Notably, tFUS stimulation increased the rate of meditative deepening without significantly changing the overall intensity of the experience.

While preliminary, and with a relatively small sample size, these findings suggest a potential future in which Spirit Tech companies could build personalized neurotechnology that may help accelerate meditative development and provide direct experiences that boost motivation for meditation practitioners on the path.

Want to know what the experience actually feels like? Spirit Tech Collective founder Eddy Vaisberg was one of the study participants and documented his experience here: Peak Experiences at the Push of a Button: My tFUS Experiment.

Also this week

Equa Quantifies Meditation

Equa has launched Meditation Performance Insights, a new feature that uses a smartphone's motion sensors to track breathing during meditation (no wearable required). Meditators simply rest their phone on their chest during a guided session, then receive personalized insights into their breathing patterns and a meditation performance score.

This use of the breath to quantify the quality of a meditation is rooted in over 15 years of mindfulness research at Carnegie Mellon University from Equa co-founder Dr. David Creswell. And by making meditation progress more measurable, Equa intends to help meditators more rapidly build their meditation skills, while staying motivated in the process.

Equa is also relaunching their app with sliding-scale pricing, an innovative pricing model to ensure cost is not a barrier.

And while it's impossible to quantify all aspects of a meditation session, as we better quantify some aspects of the quality of a meditation session, Spirit Tech builders will be better equipped to provide more personalized guidance to their users toward the contemplative practices that resonate most with them.

Emotiv launched browser-based EEG apps and a cloud analysis layer

EEG headset maker Emotiv launched emotiv.dev, a browser-based platform featuring a collection of interactive apps and developer learning resources. Apps include Alpha Mirror, which visualizes brainwave activity in real time, and Mind Weather, which transforms users' estimated engagement levels into a changing virtual sky.

The company also introduced EmotivIQ, a cloud-based AI analysis platform powered by its proprietary Large Brain Model and other models trained on EEG data. Users must consent to cloud processing and the use of pseudonymized data for model improvement. Those who complete the consent process by November 30th can access the standard tier for free indefinitely, with 100 monthly credits.

By making brainwave feedback accessible through a web browser, Emotiv is lowering the barriers to neurofeedback experimentation and brain-computer interface development. The launch also raises important questions about privacy and ownership as companies increasingly use personal brain data to train AI models.

Company Spotlights

-GentleBirth: Evidence-based birth preparation app that helps expecting mothers feel calm and confident for birth through mindfulness, hypnobirthing, breathwork and daily brain training. Trusted by 200,000+ parents.

-Psio: At-home neurofeedback program that helps psychedelic clinics and facilitators make care last beyond the medicine session. A headband records the client’s brain activity around each psilocybin or ketamine session and turns it into a personalized training program. Clients then do short guided sessions at home, with progress tracked for them and their care team.

Explore our Spirit Tech Organizations directory, a living map of 500+ orgs we track and update weekly.

New Jobs This Week

• Senior Product Manager @ Co–Star: Lead product at Co–Star (now part of Midjourney), the astrology app that blends NASA planetary data, human astrologers, and AI. New York · $180k–$220k.

• Director of People & Culture @ Fetzer Institute: Lead HR strategy, compensation, and organizational development for the foundation working to build "the spiritual foundation for a loving world." Kalamazoo, MI (hybrid) · $165,500.

• Director of Organization Giving @ YouVersion: Build the giving strategy and foundation relationships behind the worldwide Bible app. Edmond, OK.

Browse the Spirit Tech jobs board for more roles, or to post one at your organization.

New from the Community

1. Availability Snapshot: A free, 30-minute reflective self-assessment to notice when you close off and discover what helps you open back up. Receive a personal report with practices for everyday life, relationships and work. Built by Dr. Akasha, a developmental coach with 20 years of experience and founder of The Human Maturity Institute.

Check out a variety of other new ideas and products across Spirit Tech.