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Gamification for a Brighter Future

Over the past few weeks it has become apparent how much more we can all be doing to show our support and solidarity as global citizens. As a company, Andromeda is committed to raising the vibration of our communities and is looking for new ways that we can increase the focus on creating racial justice. We stand in solidarity with all people raising their voices to assert that #blacklivesmatter.

Today, I am writing to share a message of offerings that can improve mental health and provide some much needed release in these times of major shifts in our world view.

Something that really struck me over the last couple weeks is the ways we can be actively involved in the Black Lives Matters movement with or without going to a protest. I hold a weekly men's group where we discuss how systematic racism shows up in our lives and our families lives and how we can address them. I have meditated on my family's history of looking down upon illegal immigrants and the deep-seated subconscious thought patterns that I tend to ignore. I have journaled about how these things show up for me, and how I can bring them from my/subconscious mind into my awareness and look at that shadow self.

The most important practice for me is self cultivation. This beautiful quote really sums it up, “The Revolution begins at home. If you overthrow yourself again and again, you might earn the right to help overthrow the rest of us.”

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This global shift is not going to be easy, lives will continue to be lost, senseless injustice will occur. We will come out on the other side a more aware and accepting society. With these ideas in mind, I wanted to share some unorthodox approaches and ideas that have been consuming my attention.

In February, I started an epic health regimen. As we practice social distancing, isolated from friends and family, prioritizing our inner awareness and our subsequent internal health is something to which many of us can now dedicate time.

Right before COVID swept through the country, I spent the best $200 of my life at Next Health, a state-of-the-art biohacking center in LA. I purchased a comprehensive blood panel followed by an hour long holistic nurse consultation. More information is found here.

I threw out all of my generic vitamins and became hyper-focused on what my body requires. Four months later, I look and feel better than ever. As my nurse put it, "Your test is normal for western medicine standards, but we can get you way beyond normal; we will get you to fully optimized levels of well-being." And with that I set out on a journey to find my new ceiling. It is amazing to me that we are all so unaware of what our true 100 percent feels like until we reach the 110% mark and never look back.

Additionally this has been a HUGE two month for us at Andromeda, our psychedelic-inspired, voice-driven, meditative, creative mind F*** that is SoundSelf: A Technodelic - is finally available to the world - right here. Along with re-tuning my biology, I credit a majority of my mental health to this experience. SoundSelf has inspired me to practice vagus nerve stimulation through vocal toning in my everyday life (even outside of the headset).

So much to share on all fronts as the New Earth unfolds. Let's get to it.

Question I Have Been Pondering

What does it look like to live in a gamified world?

The most inspiring thing this pandemic has shown me is what happens when humanity unites together for a common cause. The planet began to heal at an alarming rate, corporate and political agendas were exposed, people everywhere were reunited with families and connected digitally with old friends. The shadows that we still had not addressed with our community, family, living situation, and our life purpose all bubbled to the surface. This is destabilizing as it happened so abruptly, but nonetheless it showed our collective power.
Without government enforcement and/or fear of death it is hard to get any large collective group to take initiative. Crowdfunding and nonprofits can raise large sums of money, but their initiatives soon fade away as the next holiday or sporting event takes its place. 
Gamification is a subject few discuss, as it goes beyond the standard "reward programs" of credit cards, airlines and hotels. It is focused on not spending money but doing measurable tasks in order to level up, unlock secret features, and go on epic quests with friends. I have been into this subject for a long time, sparked years ago by reading one of my favorite books on the subject called Gamify by Brian Burke. It has a ton of case studies on how companies are taking initiatives to make this happen. One I happened to stumble into was the outdoor company Cotopaxi and their city wide scavenger hunt called Questival. Another that played a large role in the music festival world, Cadence and Cause, have created a "real time social impact tracker" that enables you to make a profile and see how much charitable good you are doing dollar for dollar. You can then win experiences like playing ping pong or going snorkeling with your favorite DJ before the festival begins.
I believe the evolution of a gamified world will inspire us to pridefully pursue social good initiatives and sign up for impactful projects in real time (Maybe even inside of your Augmented reality glasses). Motivated by real world achievement points, boss levels, and hidden treasure the community at large is inspired by. The model has continued to work again and again, but I haven’t seen a relevant platform come out to support this on a global scale.  VR, of course, would be a tool in this ever-expanding world. Imagine using applications inside the headset for your inner work. You go inside your headset to go inside your awareness. Your personal development is gamified by gaining the biohacking tricks that we all need to become the best and brightest versions of ourselves. A recent example being Jamie Wheal and the Flow Genome project. They recently started beta testing Heartmath’s new Global Coherence app. This app lets you track your personal and collective heart coherence in real time on a shared dashboard. And as Jamie put it, “This app... along with an inspiring video on Gratitude by Brother David Steindl Rast, and the New York Times’ 36 Questions to Fall in Love, were able to foster some long distance communitas. 

So, with three easy, off the shelf bits of tech (a Zoom app, an Inner Balance HRV monitor, and a bottle of wine) you too can host a Group Flow Zoom Party!”

>> Here's the Group Flow Over Zoom guide

As the world's problems continue to grow, so will our need to address them in more creative, rewarding ways.

Projects I Have My Eyes On
TRU LUV

#selfcare their first app on the market that came out in 2018 caught my interest this past week. Tru Luv’s Eve Thomas states, “The way to keep people at that sweet spot of engagement has been the same. Social media, gambling, games – they all follow a design card of rising tension so that the stress response is triggered. Life is stressful enough. Yet we turn to our phones or tech to escape and find more of the same.” It is clear that Eve and her team are on a noble mission to create a healthy relationship between humans and technology.

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Strata I just came across this project from a studio called The Mill. The video itself blew me away, basically taking to the extreme what biosensors and VR can look like. Measuring heart rate, GSR, chest expansions, and brain waves; they see this application being used to put athletes into flow state before competition, or as a distraction during unpleasant treatments like chemotherapy. They even mention using their program as a way to implement real time anger management!
Unyte I discovered this company during a visit in LA with Don Estes, he is what some considered to be the godfather of biohacking technology and within minutes of my visit with him he shared with me a game called Wild Divine. Released in 2004 this game was incredibly ahead of its time, using biofeedback in beautifully constructed 
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digital temples all via CD-ROM! Since then the company has pivoted to an online store that sells meditative content and upgraded HRV sensors to integrate into your computer.
The Latest With Our Projects SoundSelf We have loved to see the positive response from the global community, the press we have received has been incredible. We feel that Soundself is our official flag in the sand for what “games for good” can really be, symbolizing what we truly believe is the dawn of wellness gaming.  Here is one of my favorite articles that covers our launch- BBC - How Gaming Became A Form Of Meditation
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We now have a free trial of the game that you can download onto your Mac or PC. Give it a shot or send it to a friend or family member  that could use a little boost to  their own wellbeing!
Audio Trip Now available for Quest and the reviews are incredible! I use this game more than any other title (and I have played a ton of VR at this point). There is just nothing like it. If I feel in a funk and want to get into a flow state, I need to add some cardo to my workout, or want to show some friends during a dinner party. It is my go to experience, the only downside is my friends never want to take the headset off once they jump in!  Now that location based experiences have grinded to a halt, I figured I can substitute my previous section on the latest in spas and biohacking centers with similar experiences we can do from anywhere. The world of wearable technology does not end with Apple Watch and Fit Bit; buckle your seat belts....
CTRL LABS This company has taken the gold metal in the "Ability To Blow My Mind" category, sending it beyond the stratosphere. This has compelled me to continue my research into the foremost leaders in neural-interfacing technology. 

I highly recommend watching this talk by the founder (and former co-founder of Internet Explorer) Thomas Reardon. He described their technology as “the ability to measure human intention.” This is a new skill humans will acquire to interact with computers using their minds. All of this is possible with a noninvasive wristband that is already being shipped to developers! Facebook thought it was as brilliant as I do; buying them for a cool 1 Billion. This makes Facebook’s largest acquisition since Instagram. We are already starting to see where they want to go with the technology. Read: Road to VR: Facebook is Researching Brain-Computer Interfaces, “Just the Kind of Interface AR Needs.”

Mojo Vision

I have been tracking this smart lens company that seems to be leading the space, after completing another 51 Million in investment. They’re using a display the size of a grain of sand to project images directly onto your retina. How that doesn't cause eye irritation is anyone's guess, but when perfected, the applications are endless.

NextMind

Similar to Looxid Labs who I have mentioned in a previous newsletter this company is jumping ahead of the next generation of headsets that will implement eye tracking and going right for the brain. They already have a dev kit available to start experimenting with, they’ve won awards at the last two CES conferences, too. It seems VR is the most natural fit for their product. Soon, with the smart contacts and full haptic suits, we may be closer to the future portrayed in the movie Upgrade than we might have believed.

Additional Articles

'Dreams' PSVR Expansion Now in Final Development Stage, Suggesting Nearby Launch

Do You Honestly Find Spas Kind of Boring?

Business Gets Ready To Trip: How Psychedelic Drugs May Revolutionize Mental Health Care

How Virtual Reality Meditation Helps Me Control My Anxiety

Sundance: Breathe Is A Multi-Person Mixed Reality Experience Powered By Breathing

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