Translation

Your Brain is Beautiful, Let’s Study it Together

Our understanding of brain and mind is permanently distant from us. We are a universe trying to understand itself, a brain trying to model itself, a soul trying to feel itself. Models are always translations, and something is always lost in translation. We are thus eternally trapped in our own beautifully tangled web of connected confusion.

Neuroscientists work tirelessly to represent brain data in different ways. Most of the time we look at numbers on a screen: tables of data which represent location and activity. You might imagine that we view stunning three-dimensional brain movies, but those are rare, highly processed outputs. The truth is, we spend most of our time far away, and even when we feel close, such as when we generate one of those beautiful brain images, we’ve trimmed away so much that we’re only looking at a sliver of the truth. In the end, we are always far away.

When we revel in the beauty of the brain, we feel a little bit closer to ourselves. It’s these images that inspire us to lean in and wonder, when something meaningful is felt through the display of a world not normally seen. We should spend more time in those moments of mystery, before we have settled on an explanation for what we see.

This perspective inspired me to start playing with brain art, generative art which is born out of brain activity. By feeding numbers from brain data into a script, I translate them into the shape and color of a mandala. The result is an image that is entirely unique to the brain that was recorded. It’s like a fingerprint for the mind.

I’ve officially partnered with Psynautics to offer this brain art as part of a citizen research study of psychedelic experiences. I’ve been working with Psynautics for two years now, slowly helping bring an IRB approved research study into reality. Psynautics has partnered with Muse, a company which sells mobile EEG devices, to allow for the largest naturalistic study of psychedelic brain activity to date. By coding the protocol into the Muse mobile application, we’ve made it easier than ever to collect data on the brain and mind before, during, and after psychedelics, without the need to come into the laboratory.

Joining Psynautics is more than participating in a research study. It’s an invitation to reflect on your own transformation, to see your mind rendered in form, and to explore the mystery of consciousness alongside others who are equally curious. You’ll receive a unique piece of art born from your own brain activity and become part of a citizen science community asking deep questions about the nature of self, healing, and awareness. I’ll always be here to answer questions and expand on insights from the study.

This is something I’ve poured myself into—slowly, carefully, and with a lot of love. There’s so much more ahead. If it speaks to you, I’d be honored to have you join us.

With Love,

Michael