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World Happiness FoundationMindful Diving™

Science

Measured, not assumed.

Mindful Diving™ is built to be studied, not only believed in. Every claim about its effect on people is treated as a hypothesis until the data says otherwise.

The research programme

Participants are invited — always with consent, always anonymised — to complete validated instruments before and after a programme: wellbeing, perceived stress, state anxiety, sleep quality and nature connectedness, alongside the FP20 Fundamental Peace scale. Findings are reviewed by an independent ethics process and, research suggests, published annually so the method keeps answering to evidence rather than intuition.

What is measured

  • Wellbeing
  • Perceived stress
  • State anxiety
  • Sleep quality
  • Nature connectedness
  • FP20 Fundamental Peace scale

Academic collaboration

The programme is developed with the Chair in Contemplative Sciences at the University of Zaragoza, anchoring Mindful Diving™ in an active academic research line rather than a marketing claim.

Cátedra de Ciencias Contemplativas, Universidad de Zaragoza

Academic home

The research programme runs in collaboration with the Cátedra de Ciencias Contemplativas at Universidad de Zaragoza — the academic chair in contemplative sciences at the Faculty of Medicine, directed by Prof. Javier García Campayo.

Visit the Cátedra

The model

Fundamental Peace describes four trainable capacities. Diving trains each of them in the water, not in theory.

  1. 01

    Flexible attentional control

    Buoyancy and navigation make attention visible: the moment it wanders, the body drifts.

  2. 02

    Emotional coherence across self-states

    Staying soft and precise under task load at depth, rather than tightening against it.

  3. 03

    Reduced self-referential rigidity

    Weightlessness and awe give attention real work to do, starving rumination of fuel.

  4. 04

    Compassionate self-awareness

    Care for the buddy, the reef and one's own pace becomes reflex rather than rule.

Each capacity is measured pre and post with the FP20 Fundamental Peace scale alongside other validated instruments.

Where the model first meets the water

Dive Into Presence, the World Happiness Academy's open program, is where this model is first practised — no prerequisites, no credential required.

Explore Dive Into Presence →

The SDG 3 × SDG 14 bridge

The working hypothesis is simple: a calmer, more present diver is a diver more likely to protect what they've just seen. Research suggests that felt ocean connection can be a bridge between Good Health & Wellbeing (SDG 3) and Life Below Water (SDG 14) — human wellbeing and conservation behaviour reinforcing one another rather than competing.

Participate

For centers: join the measurement network

Talk to us

For researchers: partner with the Institute

Propose a collaboration