Hello friends. I’d like to introduce you to a project I’ve been quietly nurturing and incubating over the past few years, which I’m now tenderly releasing into the world: Stargate Labs. If you feel inclined to explore alongside this piece, you can find more at stargatelabs.org. I suggest exploring the research, offerings and collaboration pages. Vision The vision of stargate labs is that of a modern alchemical laboratory – even an alchemical startup incubator of sorts – and we are imagining and conducting experiments to that end. Humanity naturally yearns to find its place in relation to the cosmos. I would go so far as to say that this longing underlies all our quests, consciously or unconsciously. We are all explorers: of a new relationship, the experience of having a child, visiting a café or town, or a pilgrimage to a sacred site on Earth, or even an off‑world adventure to another planet. When we make this exploration conscious – when we infuse it with the intent to find our place in the cosmos – the journey can transform into a divine disclosure or revelation. We begin to see ourselves not just as observers, but as creative collaborators in this cosmic project of becoming, with a sense of cosmic responsibility.This conscious intent is also the basis of the ancient traditions of hermeticism or alchemy, the predecessors of western science. If you don’t know what alchemical or hermetic is I will dive into it more in the article next week, but for now one way to look at it is this: Unlike the current scientific paradigm where objectivity or measurement is devoid of the observer or subject; in the hermetic view, the process is reversed and— the subject or observer — is very much at the core of the process of observation. When our subjective perception is refined, meaning and contemplation (literally “being with the temple”) take precedence over meaninglessness and the mundane. To use a metaphysical metaphor, the universe is like a hall of mirrors where each thing is reflected in the other and so there is an interdependency of subject and object. Therefore, man becomes a literal microcosm of the macrocosm which has mind boggling repercussions. Where Our Work Lives So Stargate Labs sits at the intersection of wisdom traditions, emerging science, and technology. We draw from Hermetic and alchemical sciences, from sacred geography and temple building, from astronomy and consciousness research. The through‑line is this: exploring the possible relationships between the microcosm and the macrocosm – between an individual human life and the wider cosmos we’re nested in. And the underlying intention is one of planetary well‑being and a renewed sense of cosmic responsibility. Because StarGate Labs is a “lab,” a lot of our work is experiments. We are specifically researching and prototyping: * Ways of re‑imagining immersive spaces – like planetariums or temples or community gathering spaces – so they become spaces of awe, contemplation, and encounter, not just places of information such as star maps. * We are discovering new microcosm to macrocosm correspondences and revisiting ancient ones to create healing technologies and transformative spaces. * We are looking at cross-cultural and civilizational cousins of what we today call technology in order to re-imagine Frameworks for “healing technology” …. To discover ways of designing technology and infrastructures that are regenerative and transformative rather than merely extractive or utilitarian. Lastly, Stargate Labs is meant to be collaborative. We can’t do this alone, and we don’t want to. It has to be relevant to all of us and the need of our time. So there are a few simple invitations I want to name. If you work with cultural spaces – such as a tech incubator, a research lab, an immersive dome or planetarium - and you’re curious about turning them into sites of contemplation, awe and transformation, we would love to be in conversation. If you are stewarding a space – a community center, retreat place, temple, studio – and you’re interested in experimenting with microcosm–macrocosm correspondences, sacred architecture, or ritual design, I’d love to hear what you’re holding and what you’re dreaming of. If you’re involved in regenerative or consciousness-aligned technology – as a startup founder, builder, or technology incubator – and want to explore hermetic or regenerative tech frameworks together, that’s also a live edge of this work, let’s connect! On the Stargate Labs website you’ll find more about the research pillars, upcoming offerings like study groups and workshops, and ways to collaborate or support the project. We definitely need creative ways to resource this labor of love. Epilogue: What’s Coming Next Next week I will be sharing an article, titled “Reimagining Spaces of Cosmic Orientation — Recovering the Spiritual Roots of Technology”. In it, I offer an alternative history (non mainstream) of humanity’s cosmic longing for meaning and orientation in the cosmos, reflected across time in the form of alchemical laboratories, planetary temples and today’s planetariums, observatories and tech incubators. This piece also aspires to serve as a case study for the healing of technology from an extractive or utilitarian process to one of transformation and well being. If this introduction resonates, I invite you to stay in touch or reach out or comment if you like to have a dialogue – and, perhaps even step into the experiment with us. So from Kenan and Aaron at Stargate Labs, thank you! This is a public episode. 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