Abe Maslow in 2 Minutes

Peak Experiences and Self-Actualization

A couple months ago I shared with you my ten-minute version of the thinking of the great psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) — someone whose thinking tens of millions of people are familiar with.

I thought I’d narrow it down to two minutes for you — about peak experiences and self-actualization.

If Maslow spoke to us, he might call us into the self-actualizing life this way:

Desire to live in a state of wholeness, fulfillment, integrity, and optimal psychological health.  Desire a life of goodness, faith, values, ideals, ethics, courage, beauty, poetry, music, art.  Life at its best is about ideal behavior, kindness, generosity, friendships, compassion, self-sacrifice, love, joy, psychological health and maturity, human well-being, and personal fulfillment.

Let’s aspire to become wise, benevolent people who are alive and fully functioning and who are discovering and developing all that is good, true, and beautiful within ourselves.  People who are sociable, friendly, ego-transcending, altruistic, and loving.

As self-actualizing people, let’s welcome peak experiences.  Let’s invite each experience of wonder, awe, beauty, serenity, happiness, ecstasy, joy – like when we gaze at an infant or our beloved or at a great painting.  A peak experience is an oceanic experience, with a sense of the mysterious, of the numinous – with a sense of awe, of inner strength matched with humility, of being struck dumb.  We’re absorbed in the experience and we fully receive it, along with its insights.  A new horizon, beyond our usual limits, opens up to us.  The experience is complete, sufficient in itself, perfect.

At the moment of the peak experience, we see wonderful possibilities and inscrutable depths in humanity.  We feel that life is worthwhile because beauty, honesty, playfulness, goodness, truth, and meaningfulness exist.  We are in touch with the grandeur and splendor of the universe.  We’re aware of the meaningfulness of life.  We are free of doubt, sure of ourselves, integrated, and fully functioning.  And able to withstand opposition.

Self-actualizing people have frequent peak experiences.  And so they feel whole and complete and enjoy an ever-fresh appreciation for beauty and a sense of wonder, a good-natured sense of humor and playfulness, and both joy and grace.

As self-actualizing people, we live with reverence.  With a consistent choosing of good over evil, and finding it easy to do so.  With an earnest desire to improve the lot of humanity.  With dedication to our mission.  With creative responses to problems.  With healthy self-respect yet enough humility to be open to learning from other people.  With a continued freshness of appreciation.  With aesthetic sensitivity.

We notice how lovely each flower is, how beautiful each sunset is.  We are moved to tears by beauty, by joy, by tragedy.  And yet we are more objective, seeing life clearly, not as we wish it to be, not letting our hopes and wishes distort our observations.  We have clear perceptions of reality and sound judgment.

We live by higher motivations and we’re guided by our own inner directives.  We keep our individuality even as we identify deeply with the human race.  And we care about and respect other people in profoundly affectionate, even altruistic, ways.  We live from a love for the highest values and we live with a fullness of our humanity.