Researchers define awakening as long-term change in experience
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Researchers synthesized Hindu, Buddhist, and scientific data to define awakening not as a temporary state, but as a lasting change in how people experience the world.
They examined contemplative traditions, psychological measurements, and brain imaging to understand how awakening reorganizes mental processes. The team found evidence suggesting awakening involves shifts in how people process themselves, react emotionally, and perceive time. The researchers propose a new model, the enactive-dereification model, which describes training and awakening as a spectrum.
This model suggests people move from seeing thoughts as fixed things to relating to them more flexibly. They created a definition of awakening that differentiates it from temporary experiences and mental health conditions, focusing on a stable and adaptable shift in perspective. This framework allows scientists to test whether measurable changes in brain activity correspond to reported experiences of awakening, and to distinguish healthy contemplative practice from harmful detachment from the self.
