Inventory of Modes of Existential Awareness (IMEA): A new tool for assessing distinct self-transcendent and non-dual awareness states
June 4, 2025 Dusana Dorjee, Thy Nguyen, Oliveira Martins 1 citation preprint
A new questionnaire, the Inventory of Modes of Existential Awareness (IMEA), measures 15 distinct self-transcendent states—positive, negative, and incomplete. In 97 meditators, positive states occurred most often, especially during meditation, and were linked to more meditation hours, retreat experience, decentering, mindfulness, psychological wellbeing, meditation depth, and conscientiousness, while being negatively related to neuroticism. Negative states were more common outside meditation and showed the opposite pattern. Incomplete states had no consistent relationships. The IMEA offers a flexible tool for studying how self-transcendent awareness contributes to meditation's therapeutic effects.