“Publish or perish”. This phrase is learned early in academic training. It often describes the pressure researchers and academics face to continually produce and publish their work in reputable journals or other scholarly outlets to advance their careers. The concept reflects that in academia, the quantity and quality of a researcher’s publications play a crucial role in their reputation, career progression, tenure decisions, and overall success.

If you’ve been a subject in any of our recent studies, or you’ve seen one of our research presentations at an event, then you probably heard about FLIP. We are using the FLIP app to record a daily “video diary” of the research subjects’ experiences during the week-long events. The roughly 6-7 recordings from thousands of subjects serve as a unique record of the evolution of the human experience. Many describe these events as transformative, and our research aims to quantify transformation using this library as a unique way to inform and evolve the meditative practice.  

Science is a never-ending process of learning and discovery. We, as scientists, are always looking for new ways to learn about the world around us and improve our understanding of the universe. This process of continuous research is what makes science so exciting and dynamic. As we look to evolve our experiments to better understand the impact of meditation on the human condition, we consider again the community that is present at the weeklong events.