Why Web3 needs Mindfulness NFT now more than ever

On the surface, few things seem more at odds with mindfulness than the world of NFTs and Web3. Mindfulness requires an acknowledgment of the contents of consciousness as they arise in the present moment. But Web3 has (for many) become synonymous with a constant and enveloping sense of mental restlessness. The space is often so time-consuming that it is not unusual for those who have helped to build it to struggle with serious psychological problems.

The fact that the digital revolution is digital doesn’t help matters either. At this point, the negative effects of excessive screen time and social media are well documented. Both lead to an increased likelihood of mental and physical illnesses and chronic diseases. People who spend more than six hours a day online, for example, are more likely to experience depression than those who don’t, and the number of adults who say they spend almost all of their time online has increased since at least 2015.

And while many in the NFT ecosystem have proposed healthier ways to approach that world to avoid burnout, a critical, unanswered question remains: How do we become masters—rather than servants—of our inner thinking universes as we partake in Web3- the world we know and love?

Bring attention to Web3

The mindfulness community is working to provide an answer to that question. Moments of Space (MoS), for example, is a mindfulness app launched in March 2022 that plans to use Web3 tools to spread awareness of mindfulness while creating and redistributing economic value to the community. Above all, the project’s founders believe that Web3 desperately needs projects that explicitly advocate for practices that promote greater mental and physical awareness and health.

“It seems like everyone is experiencing the same feelings of burnout or FOMO,” said Ellie Ball, a content writer for MoS, speaking to nft now about the app. “The space is so fast-paced. There’s so much being built. But the effect is that everyone feels like they have to be on all the time, that if they leave the screen for five minutes, they might miss the next big thing. Web3 was built on the idea that we can create our own reality. We want people to apply that same thinking to their minds and emotions through meditation.”

Currently, the app allows users to engage in mindfulness practice for free and offers extended meditation paths for a subscription fee. However, the MoS community is scheduled to have a proper launch by the end of the year with the sale of NFTs for lifetime membership, followed by the release of Twinned Dynamic NFTs (dNFT) in 2023. Holders of a lifetime subscription NFT will get access to the MoS app. They will also receive additional benefits when creating a dNFT, such as the ability to earn “EP” points that a user can burn for USDC (which are drawn from a pool funded by subscription revenue), access to exclusive merchandise, retreats, and native token distribution in the future. Conversely, users can grow and hold onto their EP to be eligible for future exclusive rewards via periodic wallet snapshots.

dNFT sits at the center of the MoS meditation ecosystem. While the team has yet to reveal the artwork for the app’s NFTs, they have hinted that their images will emphasize the themes of the lotus flower. Depending on a user’s interaction with the app, the flower will evolve (or devolve) accordingly. More meditation results in greater evolution.

“The lotus really resonates with us because it symbolizes growth and transformation,” explained Alisha Smith, one of the project’s co-founders, in an interview with nft now. “Having it develop as you practice will help provide a beautiful visual representation of your meditation journey.”

Using meditation principles to give back to society

The twin aspect of dNFT is a way the project shows its commitment to the community. Each dNFT triggers the minting of a second NFT that will be given away for free to lower the entry barrier to the community. Similarly, for every lifetime subscription NFT is minted, the MoS will create another and give it to a community member who cannot afford it.

To further foster a sense of collectivity around the project and Web3 in general, the team has written an open letter urging people to commit to a new, healthier mindset as the digital revolution of Web3 continues to grow. The letter has gathered more than 32,000 signatures and will remain open until December 16. After this date, the MoS will auction off a 1-of-1 NFT from a surprise artist and let all letter signatories have a say in how the proceeds are distributed.

Everyday awareness: little and often

One of the core principles of the MoS project is that it emphasizes integrating mindfulness into the users’ everyday life.

“You don’t have to sit down and close your eyes for an hour with a candle and some incense to meditate,” Smith said. “There are moments you can find throughout the day where you can transform that time. When you’re making a cup of coffee or commuting to work—all the times we’re distracted by social media—you can tap into a moment and find a little moment of space. We really encourage ‘little and often’ when it comes to meditation.”

In addition to the more in-depth and evolving meditation paths that the app offers users (which include mind, body, heart and space), MoS has a bank of stand-alone meditations designed for specific states of mind or times of day, which the team is continually expanding. Since the project wants to emphasize the importance of community, in the future users will be able to engage and co-create meditation sessions with the team. This user-generated content, Smith explained, allows the creator to set their own creator tax to reward them for their contribution to the community.

Moments of Space was also one of the projects selected for the Accelerator program from the Seed Club, a group of Web3 project builders who believe that communities are at the very core of Web3 projects. The group provides educational opportunities for teams looking to execute their Web3 vision into a successful product launch and helps them cultivate their communities as they grow. Having a stable, community-driven DAO is one of Moment’s biggest future goals.

“We want to give ownership to the community in a true way,” Smith said. “The end goal is to hand over something to the community that is going to live far beyond our lives and ultimately blossom into something incredible.”

How to practice mindfulness in Web3

The MoS team emphasized how developing a daily mindfulness practice does not have to be a huge effort. Aside from engaging with the app they’ve built, Ball and Smith believe the best way to incorporate it into your life regularly is to get into the habit of taking stock of your physical and mental state at various times throughout the day.

“One tip is to just take one full deep conscious breath,” Smith suggested. “It’s so simple, but when was the last time you noticed your breath?”

This tip is especially important for those who spend their days behind a desk or at a laptop. In 2008, author, researcher and former Apple and Microsoft executive Linda Stone claimed to have observed a new medical phenomenon she called “email apnea.” From her independent observations, Stone concluded that the majority of people who use laptops for long hours of the day unconsciously hold their breath or breathe in a shallow manner, especially when responding to text messages and emails. While medical studies have yet to confirm this, regularly returning your awareness to how you breathe can potentially make a big difference in your mood and overall health.

Similarly, tuning your mental state can be even more critical.

“When you experience negative thought patterns, bring the same awareness you would bring to your breath or other sensations to your mind,” offered Ball Ball on better handling emotional upheaval. “Don’t just let them go on in the back of your mind. Pay attention to them. And once you are aware of them, you can recognize that you are not these thought patterns; you are the deeper presence observing them. And it can give you a sense of space and freedom from them. That’s essentially what our app is trying to learn.”

Web3 has never been an exceptionally stable setting. Yet, given the recent fall of FTX and the crypto market chaos that has followed in its wake, this volatility has become even more pronounced. The already challenging mental and emotional landscape the NFT community navigates has had brand new valleys and cliffs carved into it. It has never been more valuable to set conscious intentions in managing what we can about our health. And Moments of Space can be an invaluable resource in the struggle to create deeper intentionality as Web3 grows.