Is spiritual enlightenment a valid way attempting to understand the universe and consciousness Are traditional methods of spiritual enlightenment such as Zen, Buddist, etc accepted by psychologists as valid ways of further understanding the workings of consciousness, Or is it considered too subjective, and different from the scientific method to be of use.

Many scientists have argued that ancient introspection like Zen is too unscientific to be used in psychology, while others argue it is important, as its the only way to further our understanding of consciousness.

Is spiritual enlightenment accepted by psychologists universally at this time(2015) to be a valid, scientific way of understanding consciousness
I do have a question though, once you have an awakening, and realize as others have said, that you are in the matrix, aren't you aware of this fact forever? So how can you be not enlightened anymore, but you once were.
Question by tristo in a comment to my previous answer


I'm not sure about the matrix analogy because in the movie they simply replace 'reality' with 'real reality'. This new reality differs in detail from the first but not in nature. It is just one level of illusion down. Illusion hasn't been stripped away altogether.

How can you be enlightened only for a short while? Here's an example:


I stub my toe on a rock. I know intense pain; it's real; it's right now.  A month later I can remember what happened but I am no longer experiencing pain, I'm just remembering it. It's precisely the same with a short-term enlightenment experience.

This highlights the impossibility of communicating the experience. There are some scientifically documented individuals who are born without a sense of pain. How could we tell such a person what pain is like? We couldn't. On the other hand two people who have experienced pain can communicate with each other about it because they have it in common. Two people who have experienced an awakening can similarly discuss it because they both know what they are talking about from their own experience.

I hope this goes some way towards providing an answer.
P.S.
I can accept that some people could be permanently in that state. As I mentioned, I chickened out of staying in it or going even deeper - it was both joyful and scary. Nevertheless what I experienced was immensely powerful.