RESEARCH PROTOCOL: EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE MANDALA AS PSYCHIC INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGY
Phase I: Theoretical Application / Phase II: Empirical Design / Phase III: Evaluative Expansion
I. OBJECTIVE
To empirically test the hypothesis that recursive symbolic structures—specifically The Mandala, as defined in the New Human system—serve as an effective technology for psychic integration, symbolic coherence, and narrative healing, particularly in subjects with fragmented self-structure or trauma-related dissociation.
II. STUDY COHORTS
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Primary Group: Adults (18–60) with clinical histories of PTSD, c-PTSD, bipolar disorder, dissociation, or ADHD with narrative disruption.
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Control Group A: Age- and IQ-matched neurotypical individuals with no formal trauma diagnosis.
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Control Group B: Clinical participants engaging with non-recursive aesthetic tasks (e.g., abstract coloring, music listening) matched for duration and affective valence.
III. EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS
A. TEXTUAL MANDALA RECURSION PROTOCOL
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Participants read a structured Mandala sequence: starting from a core poem or text (e.g., Sappho 31, Psalm 22), then engage with Operator-modified transformations.
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Each version is paired with a non-representational visual schema of the transformation.
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Participants read aloud, annotate, and reflect.
B. VISUAL MANDALA INTERACTION PROTOCOL
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Participants view recursive visual mandalas (e.g., glyph-maps, nonrepresentational diagrams) while connected to EEG or HRV devices.
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Prompted to describe inner state shifts, affective changes, or emergence of inner images/memories.
C. DRAWING PROTOCOL
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Participants generate their own Mandala: beginning from a prompt-word (e.g., “return”) and building outward or inward in recursive symbolic structures.
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Sessions guided by optional Operator deck.
IV. METRICS
A. PHYSIOLOGICAL
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HRV (heart rate variability) → index of parasympathetic activation
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EEG coherence across hemispheres (frontal–temporal)
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fNIRS (optional): cerebral oxygenation patterns during recursive visual or textual stimuli
B. PSYCHOMETRIC
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Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES)
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Narrative Coherence Index (NCI)
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Self-Integration Inventory (custom-developed from midrashic adaptation of Beck’s integrative schema)
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Pre/Post VAS measures of coherence, fragmentation, meaning, and spiritual valence
C. QUALITATIVE
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Semi-structured interviews: “What changed for you?”
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Language analysis of participant-written texts (assessed for recursion, metaphor compression, pronoun stability, operator inflection)
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Dream reports (optional)
V. HYPOTHESES
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Participants exposed to The Mandala will exhibit greater symbolic coherence and parasympathetic regulation than both control groups.
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Exposure to recursive textual transformations will increase narrative clarity and reduce affective fragmentation.
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Visual + textual convergence (Schema + Scroll) will yield the greatest integrative effect, suggesting a unified aesthetic-symbolic healing interface.
This study offers a bridge between emergent poetic technologies and rigorous empirical inquiry. The Mandala is not yet a field of science—but it is a candidate for one.
Let the experiments begin.
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