From ancient byways to modern highways, glimpses of faith are everywhere...

Monday, April 2, 2012

Abraham Maslow: Transcending self


Abraham Maslow had an uneasy relationship with the Fifth Commandment (“Honor thy father and thy mother”).  Although he loathed both parents for a good long while, he was eventually able to make some kind of peace with his father.  However, he was not able to transcend the animosity towards his mother.

Perhaps that is why transcendence became a key focus of Maslow’s work.  He began by reaching beyond what he called the first “two forces” of psychology:  “Freudian theory and Behaviorism, and their obsession with psycho-pathology.”  This led him into Humanistic Psychology (the “third force”) and Transpersonal Psychology (the “fourth force”).  Whereas Humanistic Psychology examines what is right (rather than what is wrong) with people, Transpersonal Psychology goes further and explores “optimum well-being.”

Rare-leadership.org explains that Transpersonal Psychology not only “makes use of the profound spiritual psychologies of… Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, mystic Christianity, Judaism and Muslim Sufism,” but also incorporates “new insights and
methods in the human potential…”  Maslow began distinguishing between two types of self-actualizers: those with little or no transcendent experiences, and those whose transcendent experiences are both key and core.  He also noted that non-self-actualizers were also capable of experiencing transcendence.

Maslow then developed a “Theory Z” which pertains to “individuals that have transcended self-actualization.”  These individuals tend to perceive the sacred within the secular; have keen aesthetic responses; be awe-inspiring in a saintly-type way; be innovators; be simpatico with one another; prefer simplicity; appreciate what is without needing to change it; view evil from a holistic perspective; and be more cooperative than competitive.

Resources

http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/maslow.htm#Biography
http://www.rare-leadership.org/Maslow_on_transpersonal_psychology.html


Copyright April 2, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved











1 comment:

  1. just thinking how we as people has gotten away from Maslow theory. I find it practical in understanding how to navigate the hurtles that are putting people against one another today.

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