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Feel free to ask me any questions, thanks for all the comments. I have a blog post coming up about how I developed the concept using an Arduino and Clojure to m

Feel free to ask me any questions, thanks for all the comments. I have a blog post coming up about how I developed the concept using an Arduino and Clojure to measure my meditation. You can read a bit about that over at my blog: http://www.kpkaiser.com/mindhack/hacking-meditation-with-the-arduino/ http://www.kpkaiser.com/mindhack/hacking-meditation-with-the...

peregrine 14y ago
Nice article! Have you considered open sourcing your hardware design and components? And even your software? I'd love to start messing with things like this need a starting point.
- burningion 14y ago
  Yes! I originally built this platform on an Arduino with some off the shelf components. I wanted to build a meditation device that works with Bluetooth LE, so all phones can use it, and really build the platform for meditation. You can read about it on my blog and sign up for more info. A post will be forthcoming, and I might do a kickstarter to give people startup kits to build their own meditation and mind experiments using measuring devices. http://www.kpkaiser.com/ http://www.kpkaiser.com/
loeg 14y ago
Looking at the heart rate charts on the front page, it seems that the rates during meditation are actually much higher on average (eyeballed at 92 bpm) than the rates while surfing the internet (eyeballed average of 75 bpm) (and while the meditation rates have a lower variance, their mean seems to be in about the same range as the absolute highest heart rates while surfing the web). As someone who knows nothing about meditation (but obviously I have some background assumptions), this is surprising to me. I would expect meditation to be relaxing, and I would expect to see lower, i.e., closer to resting heart rates (<60 bpm). Can you explain this?
- burningion 14y ago
  Yes, sorry, that part was a bit weird. I'd taken that meditation from after I'd gone running. My normal meditations have heart rate variance between 66 and 96 BPM. Very good eye in observing the higher rate. And I'm not trying to judge or interpret anything from the data, I'm just giving to users to explore the ways in which meditation changes things for themselves.
  - loeg 14y ago
    Great answer, the app / front page both look good, and congrats on the HN front page publicity =). (I don't have an iPhone or a HR monitor myself, sadly, or I'd give it a spin.)
- daivd 14y ago
  From my own experience measuring heart rate while meditating, my heart rate is at lowest at normal sitting rest rate and often even a few beats higher. This surprised me.

peregrine 14y ago

Nice article! Have you considered open sourcing your hardware design and components? And even your software? I'd love to start messing with things like this need a starting point.

burningion 14y ago
Yes! I originally built this platform on an Arduino with some off the shelf components. I wanted to build a meditation device that works with Bluetooth LE, so all phones can use it, and really build the platform for meditation. You can read about it on my blog and sign up for more info. A post will be forthcoming, and I might do a kickstarter to give people startup kits to build their own meditation and mind experiments using measuring devices. http://www.kpkaiser.com/ http://www.kpkaiser.com/

loeg 14y ago

Looking at the heart rate charts on the front page, it seems that the rates during meditation are actually much higher on average (eyeballed at 92 bpm) than the rates while surfing the internet (eyeballed average of 75 bpm) (and while the meditation rates have a lower variance, their mean seems to be in about the same range as the absolute highest heart rates while surfing the web). As someone who knows nothing about meditation (but obviously I have some background assumptions), this is surprising to me. I would expect meditation to be relaxing, and I would expect to see lower, i.e., closer to resting heart rates (<60 bpm). Can you explain this?

burningion 14y ago
Yes, sorry, that part was a bit weird. I'd taken that meditation from after I'd gone running. My normal meditations have heart rate variance between 66 and 96 BPM. Very good eye in observing the higher rate. And I'm not trying to judge or interpret anything from the data, I'm just giving to users to explore the ways in which meditation changes things for themselves.
- loeg 14y ago
  Great answer, the app / front page both look good, and congrats on the HN front page publicity =). (I don't have an iPhone or a HR monitor myself, sadly, or I'd give it a spin.)
daivd 14y ago
From my own experience measuring heart rate while meditating, my heart rate is at lowest at normal sitting rest rate and often even a few beats higher. This surprised me.