Everyone experiences pure awareness—consciousness without self—for 500 milliseconds (or 750 milliseconds to a full second in unfamiliar settings) upon waking, during which there is a lag before the self reconstitutes and 'the story starts.'

factualpending

Speaker

Michael Pollan

Evidence Quote

we all have it every morning for 500 milliseconds right when we wake up and there's this lag of um where am I, who am I?

Source

Micheal Pollan On The Mystery Of Consciousness.Essentia Foundation
Created: 8/12/2026, 6:27:20 PM

My Notes

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