Your research has established that spirituality is neuroanatomically real and profoundly protective. The next frontier is scalable, real-time measurement. What Your Research Has Proven Sustained spirituality thickens the cortex in perception and connectivity regions 60–80% protective against depression, suicidality, and substance abuse Awakened awareness is a distinct, measurable brain state (fMRI-validated) Universal across faiths and spiritual orientations What's Still Needed Scalable psychometric instruments that capture awakened awareness outside the lab Integration with wearable biomarkers for multi-modal validation Digital delivery for longitudinal tracking across populations Applied frameworks for athletes, military, and clinical cohorts
The SportsFlow Psychometric Battery Validated instruments designed to quantify the inner dimensions of human performance FSR-36 Flow State Readiness Measures capacity to enter absorptive, present-centered awareness states during performance — the secular doorway to awakened perception. ZSR-36 Zen Score (Emotional Regulation) Captures the regulation spectrum from hyperarousal through calm presence — maps directly onto achieving vs. awakened awareness. EPAB Enhanced Performance Assessment Battery Psychometric architecture measuring foundational psychological capacities that underlie sustained performance and resilience. MR-40 Mental Readiness Assesses psychological preparedness across cognitive, emotional, and motivational dimensions for high-demand environments.
Where Our Work Converges Shared Neural Territory Flow states and awakened awareness engage overlapping brain regions — parietal, precuneus, and occipital cortex. Reduced default mode network activity. Expanded perception. Diminished self-referential processing. The FSR-36 measures entry into these states. Achieving vs. Awakened Your achieving/awakened awareness axis maps precisely onto the regulation states the ZSR-36 captures. The Zen Score tracks movement from effortful striving to receptive, present-centered awareness — the same continuum your fMRI studies document. Protective Resilience Your research shows spirituality is 60–80% protective against depression and substance abuse. Our instruments measure the psychological architecture — flow readiness, emotional regulation — that may mediate this protection across high-performance populations.
The Multi-Modal Measurement Stack Psychometric depth + physiological data = something neither achieves alone Layer 1: Neuroanatomy Your MRI / fMRI Research Cortical thickness, brain-state mapping, longitudinal neural correlates Layer 2: Psychometrics SportsFlow Battery FSR-36, ZSR-36, EPAB, MR-40 — digitally deployed, longitudinally tracked Layer 3: Physiology Wearable Biomarkers HRV, sleep architecture, strain, recovery (WHOOP, Oura, Garmin, Polar) Convergent Validation
Two Populations, One Framework Flow, emotional regulation, and awakened awareness operate across high-performance populations Athletes Flow states are the performance edge — and the secular entry point to awakened awareness "The zone" in sport shares neurobiological ground with transcendent spiritual experience Rowing, endurance, team sport — populations where rhythmic, meditative movement is built into training Military & First Responders Cognitive dominance and warrior resilience depend on the same regulation capacities our instruments measure DOD, DARPA, and VA fund resilience and performance optimization research You already consult with the US Military — our tools give those engagements quantifiable, trackable outcomes
Flow Is Spiritual Practice The flow states, mindfulness practices, and emotional regulation that SportsFlow measures are not merely performance tools. They are the lived experience of spiritual awareness — presence instead of distraction, connection instead of isolation, transcendence instead of transaction. They are the very things a spiritual practice teaches us. Your research has shown that spirituality is not a belief system — it is a neurobiological capacity we are all born with. It burgeons during adolescence. And right now, an entire generation is searching for it. You have asked: Will Gen Z spark a spiritual revolution? We believe the answer is yes — and sport is the catalyst. When a young rower drops into flow, she is practicing presence. When she learns to regulate her emotions under race pressure, she is building the same neural architecture your MRI studies document. When she connects to something larger than herself through the rhythm of her crew, she is awakening. SportsFlow gives her the language, the measurement, and the tools to know what is happening inside her — and to cultivate it deliberately. This is not just about making better athletes. It is about equipping the next generation to thrive — and ultimately, about the evolution of what it means to be human.
From Lab to Life How SportsFlow brings awakened-brain science to youth athletes, schools, and beyond Youth Athletes First SportsFlow's psychometrics are designed specifically to give young athletes the tools to thrive — in sport and in life. Flow readiness, emotional regulation, and resilience measured and developed during the critical adolescent window your research identifies as the surge period for spiritual development. Sport as the Delivery Vehicle Your Awakened Schools Institute builds spiritual core through school culture. SportsFlow extends that into athletics — the place where youth already practice presence, rhythm, and transcendence. Sport is inclusive, constitutional, and scalable. It reaches kids your school programs may not. Longitudinal Developmental Tracking Repeated measurement across seasons and years creates developmental trajectories. Track how a young athlete's spiritual awareness, flow capacity, and emotional regulation grow alongside their wearable biomarkers — from middle school through college. AI Coaching for Whole-Person Growth Machine learning surfaces patterns between psychometric scores and physiological data, generating personalized guidance that helps youth cultivate awakened awareness and flow states — not just faster splits.
The Wearable Industry Gap 6+ Major wearable platforms 0 Validated psychometric layers $71B Projected wearable market by 2030 Every wearable company is converging on the same physiological metrics — HRV, sleep, strain. None of them measure the inner experience that actually predicts long-term resilience and flourishing. Our Wearable Connector SDK WHOOP Oura Garmin Polar Fitbit Concept2 Validated together, your neuroanatomical research + our psychometrics become the measurement science wearable companies need to move beyond raw physiology.
Proposed Research Collaboration 01 Convergent Validation Study Administer SportsFlow battery alongside your established spiritual awareness measures in the same cohort. Test whether flow readiness, emotional regulation, and awakened awareness share measurable common ground. 02 Multi-Modal Biomarker Fusion Concurrent wearable data collection (HRV, sleep, recovery) during psychometric assessment periods. Identify physiological signatures that distinguish awakened awareness states. 03 Dual-Population Design Recruit across athletes (collegiate/elite rowing) and military/first-responder cohorts. Test whether the same psychometric-physiological patterns predict flourishing in both populations. 04 Publishable Outcomes Co-authored peer-reviewed paper. JAMA Psychiatry, Cerebral Cortex, or APA Spirituality in Clinical Practice — journals you already publish in. Novel contribution: scalable digital measurement of awakened awareness.
Aligned Research Opportunities Studies that extend your existing research program with scalable psychometric and wearable measurement Flow as a Secular Gateway to Awakened Awareness Your MRI studies show spirituality thickens the cortex in perception regions. Flow states engage overlapping neural territory. Study whether athletes who score high on the FSR-36 show the same cortical signatures as spiritually engaged individuals — establishing flow as a measurable entry point to awakened perception. Physiological Signatures of the Achieving-to-Awakened Shift Your fMRI work distinguishes achieving vs. awakened awareness. Our wearable stack captures HRV, respiratory patterns, and sleep architecture in real time. Map the physiological fingerprint of the transition between these states — extending your 2016 phenotype work into continuous, longitudinal biomarker data. Spiritual Resilience in Military & First Responders You already consult with the US Military. Our ZSR-36 measures the emotional regulation spectrum that predicts who thrives under sustained stress. Study whether spiritual awareness — measured via your instruments alongside our psychometrics — mediates PTSD resilience and moral injury recovery in active-duty and veteran cohorts. SportsFlow + Awakened Schools Partnership Your CSE identified 11 Drivers of Awakened School Culture. SportsFlow extends that work into athletics — giving youth athletes tools to thrive in life, not just sport. Sport is scalable, constitutional, and inclusive. Study whether youth using SportsFlow instruments show the same protective benefits: 80% less addiction, 60% less depression.
Further Research Directions Additional studies at the intersection of spiritual awareness, psychometrics, and applied human performance Depression Prevention via Flow-Based Intervention Your landmark finding that depression and spirituality share neurological real estate suggests that cultivating flow states could serve as a preventive intervention. Design a controlled study using SportsFlow's training programs — with pre/post psychometric and wearable data — to test whether structured flow training reduces depressive symptoms in at-risk populations. Caregiver Resilience & Spiritual Awareness Caregivers of individuals with complex medical needs face sustained stress with few evidence-based supports. Study whether spiritual awareness — measured longitudinally through our digital platform — predicts caregiver resilience, and whether wearable biomarkers (HRV, sleep quality) track with psychometric shifts during caregiving periods. Awakened Awareness in Substance Abuse Recovery Your research shows spirituality is up to 80% protective against addiction. Our EPAB and ZSR-36 can track psychological shifts during recovery programs in real time. Study whether psychometric trajectories predict relapse risk and whether wearable-detected physiological patterns distinguish sustained recovery from vulnerability states. Cross-Cultural Universality of Flow-Spiritual Convergence Your 2016 study identified universal spiritual phenotypes across faith traditions. Our platform supports multi-language digital assessment. Conduct a global study testing whether the flow-spirituality convergence holds across cultures, traditions, and athletic disciplines — extending your universality findings into the performance domain.
Funding & Strategic Value DOD / DARPA / VA Military human performance programs actively fund resilience measurement research. A Columbia-affiliated study using validated digital psychometrics integrated with wearable biomarkers fits established grant categories. Clinical Trials Our platform architecture — ePRO/eCOA delivery, adherence monitoring, digital biomarker capture — positions this research for pharmaceutical applications. Spiritual wellness measurement in clinical cohorts is an untapped vertical. Wearable Partnerships Validated research creates the evidence base that wearable companies (WHOOP, Oura, Garmin) need to license or integrate a psychometric layer. We become the measurement science partner, not a competing app.
Funding Roadmap A phased approach — each stage generates the data and credibility to unlock the next PHASE 1 Months 1–12 Pilot Validation $75K – $260K Convergent validation study: SportsFlow battery alongside Miller's measures. 100–150 athletes. Psychometrics only — no MRI. Produces preliminary data for all future grants. Funding Sources: Templeton Foundation exploratory grant, private donors, or self-funded PHASE 2 Months 6–30 Multi-Modal Study $400K – $750K Add MRI neuroimaging and wearable biomarkers. 60–80 participants. Establish convergent validity with cortical thickness data. Co-authored peer-reviewed publication. Funding Sources: NIH R01 or R21, Templeton full grant, WHOOP/Oura in-kind devices PHASE 3 Months 12–48 Dual-Population Expansion $750K – $1.5M Extend to military and first-responder cohorts. Test cross-population generalizability. Digital platform deployment at scale. Wearable company licensing conversations. Funding Sources: DOD SBIR Phase I/II, DARPA BTO, VA grants, Wu Tsai Alliance Total Portfolio: $1.2M – $2.5M over 3–4 years | Initial out-of-pocket: Phase 1 only
Potential Funders & Partners Foundations, private philanthropists, and industry partners aligned with this research Foundations & Institutions John Templeton Foundation Spirituality & science research. $60M+ annually. Up to $260K exploratory grants. Funded Seligman (Miller's advisor). Fetzer Institute $560M endowment. $180M pledged over 5 years. Already partners with Miller's Center at Columbia. Invitation-only — Miller opens the door. Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance $220M for human performance science. Agility seed grants for early-stage research. Stanford-based with 7 partner institutions. Mind & Life Institute Founded by the Dalai Lama. Contemplative science and neuroscience. Flow-as-awakened-awareness study is directly in scope. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Largest US health philanthropy. $13B endowment. Funds wellbeing, resilience, and health equity research. Private Funders & Industry Philanthropic Individuals Tech founders, finance leaders, and athletes with personal connections to wellness, spirituality, or neurological recovery. Personal story resonates with donors who have experienced health challenges. Family Foundations Smaller foundations ($1M–$50M) focused on mental health, veteran wellbeing, disability, or spiritual development. More accessible, faster decisions, less overhead than federal grants. WHOOP / Oura / Garmin In-kind device contributions, data access, co-branding. WHOOP already partners with US Army on wearable studies. Reduces study costs $50–150K per study. DOD SBIR / STTR Phase I: $50K–$275K (6–12 months). Phase II: $750K–$1.75M (24 months). MyoSport applies directly as small business. Miller as academic collaborator. Biotech & Pharma Partners Clinical trial sponsors seeking validated ePRO/eCOA instruments. Spiritual wellness measurement in clinical cohorts is untapped. Sponsored research agreements.
The Person Behind the Science Noah Wickliffe — Founder, MyoSport Inc. / SportsFlow.ai M.S. Exercise Physiology | Cal Men's Crew '93, Varsity 8+ (Stroke Seat) | USPTO Patent Holder At age 10, a life-threatening stroke changed everything. I woke up with the left side of my body permanently impaired — and a choice that would define the rest of my life. I chose movement. I chose the water. Through rowing, I learned that the body is not a limitation — it is a laboratory. I fought my way to the stroke seat of the Cal Men's Varsity 8+, not in spite of my impairment, but because of what it taught me about adaptation, presence, and the relationship between physical struggle and inner capacity. That experience became the foundation for every instrument I've built. The FSR-36 measures the flow states that carried me through thousands of meters when my left side wanted to quit. The ZSR-36 quantifies the emotional regulation I had to develop — not from a textbook, but from a lifetime of navigating a world that wasn't designed for my body. The EPAB captures the psychological architecture that lets a person not just endure adversity, but transform it into performance. I built SportsFlow specifically to give youth athletes these same tools — so that a 14-year-old rower or runner doesn't have to wait until adulthood to learn what took me decades to understand about presence, regulation, and inner capacity. I am also the father of two boys. My eldest has a one-of-a-kind genetic disorder — he remains a wonderful mystery and brings warmth and joy to everyone he meets. As his caregiver and conservator, I live the questions this research asks every single day: What does it mean to flourish when the standard metrics don't apply? That is not an abstract question for me. It is my life. And it is why I built these instruments — not just to measure human performance, but to measure what it means to be fully alive.
Let's Spark the Spiritual Revolution Your research proved the awakened brain is real. Our instruments teach youth to cultivate it through sport. Together, we equip a generation to thrive — and lead the next stage of human flourishing. Noah Wickliffe | MyoSport Inc. | SportsFlow.ai