International NGO Transcendence Lab has expanded its 'Creating for Healing & Growth' project, focusing specifically on Substack writers who have shown the most success with the organization's protocol. Unlike conventional creator-growth strategies that emphasize tactical approaches, this initiative operates on the principle that building a subscriber base can coincide with meaningful emotional and cognitive development.
The program addresses what the organization identifies as a modern deficiency—individuals living lives less emotionally and cognitively evolutionary than possible—through practical, repeatable in-person and online experiences. These experiences help participants discover feeling-states that facilitate change, according to Education Director John Toomey.
Central to the initiative are six core 'Portals': gratitude, laughter, awe, group brainstorming, storytelling, and novelty. Transcendence Lab describes these as gateways to expanded experience, emphasizing they represent more than simple emotions. They involve complex blends of feelings and thoughts that can be intentionally cultivated in online groups with artificial intelligence assistance.
The organization has been developing and facilitating these experiences since 2016, with significant improvements following the widespread availability of AI tools in 2022-2023. A fundamental question guiding the work is whether humans have something akin to a 'Recommended Daily Allowance' for beneficial emotional experiences that have supported mental health for centuries, and whether modern tools including AI, social platforms, video, and online gatherings can help people access them more efficiently and consistently.
Collaborations Coordinator Amy Chang distinguishes the approach from typical platforms, stating, 'Most platforms help you broadcast. What we do helps you bond—and it succeeds because so many heart-centered, sensitive, forward-thinking creators are already on Substack, looking for a way to grow alongside others.'
Teams Director Soani Gunawan highlighted how one portal-based practice—the 'mini-Hero's Journey'—evolved into what became the Hero Award, which now ranks at the top of search results for that term despite more than fifteen organizations offering similar awards. Information about this award is available at https://theheroaward.substack.com/.
One participant described the cumulative effect of progressing through the portals with a compatible group—either in person or via Zoom—as 'like graduation day from a school where you made many friends, learned a lot about others and yourself, and experienced many transformations… you fall in love with being human.' The initiative represents a growing intersection between audience development and personal transformation in digital creator ecosystems.
