Consciousness Field Project: Intention Host Device-mediated Distant Intentionality

Aim of this study is to examine whether intention broadcasted from an Intention Host Device (a device which stores and transmits an intention) will affect self-compassion, general wellness, and awakening. Approximately 300 trial participants will be randomly allocated to equal groups of 1/3 in control and 2/3 in the experimental IHD group, respectively. Differences in outcomes between control and experimental groups are expected. Moreover, investigators and study participants will be blinded as to the allocation of participants.

Participants in the experimental group will receive the information from the intention broadcast for 12 consecutive months, whereas the control condition will receive no treatment for the first 6 months. After the 6-month period, the subjects allocated to the control group will begin to receive treatment in the form of the intention broadcast. To evaluate if treatment gains are sustained past the 12-month intervention period, subjects in the treatment group will provide two follow up assessments at months 15 and 18.

The first six months will enable the investigators to identify any differences in effects between the control and treatment groups. The final six months with the treatment group off the broadcast will enable the study to track the persistence of, or degradation of, any effects. Both groups will have funded 12 months of broadcast, which they will respectively receive, however in a staggered fashion. Participants will not know which group they are in until after the study and will be treated the same throughout.

Random allocation of participants will minimize known and unknown confounding variables between treatment and control group and increase likelihood of one population being studied. Attrition will pose a challenge for this longitudinal design and drop out rate is conservatively estimated to be 25%. The investigators anticipate needing to recruit and enroll approximately 300 subjects in order to attain our goal of 200 - 225 participants with complete data. With 100 subjects in each group, the investigators are expecting to 95% power (2-sided alpha 0.05, effect size d=0.5). The power estimate for this study was based on a prior IHD study by Cindy Reed which was an IRB approved study conducted at Holos University (see references). In that project, of 1784 participants invited to participate in the study nationwide, 452 began the study (took the pre-test) and 303 completed (took the post test), thus an attrition rate of 32%. The investigators anticipate less attrition in this study because of the regular teleconferences that will be offered to both the treatment and control groups.

In addition, to address potential bias, the sub-investigator, Paul Mills, Ph.D., will conduct an analysis comparing the outcomes of those who enter the study but drop out as compared to those who complete the study to gauge potential differences between the two groups, and will report on this potential bias in the published manuscript.