Transpersonal Psychology

1968

Abraham Maslow (1908–1970)

In order to understand what it means to be self-actualized—that is, to fully use one’s talents and reach one’s potential—psychologist Abraham Maslow studied historical figures, such as Abraham Lincoln, and contemporary giants, such as Albert Einstein. He hypothesized that we could learn more by examining whole, healthy personalities than we could by focusing on people’s deficits. One of the things he discovered in the people he researched was that each one had known at least one “peak experience,” by which Maslow meant moments of especially intense feelings or overwhelming beauty.

Among the peak experiences were some particularly rare moments, such as the mystical experiences of poets and saints. As Maslow continued his studies, he came to believe that there are some individuals who experience transcendence and feel connected with the mystery of all things. In doing so, they have a sense of the unity of all life.

By the late 1960s, Maslow was convinced that there was a psychology beyond Humanistic Psychology and a way to live that went beyond self-actualization. He began writing and talking about the farthest reaches of human nature, an area of study that he called transpersonal psychology. His 1968 book, Toward a Psychology of Being, laid the groundwork for further developments. With his colleagues, he defined the task of transpersonal psychology as the scientific study and description of the spiritual dimension of what it is to be human. Unfortunately, just two years after developing the concept, Maslow died of a heart attack while walking on a California beach.

After Maslow’s death, the transpersonal movement was taken up by several psychologists who have written eloquently about its possibilities. As compared with Humanistic Psychology, transpersonal psychology embraces the spiritual traditions and practices of non-Western cultures. This has given the field a richness that appeals to people around the world. By the end of the twentieth century the following definition was given: “Transpersonal psychology is concerned with the study of humanity’s highest potential.”

SEE ALSO Humanistic Psychology (1961), Flow (1990), Positive Psychology (2000)

The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by German painter Johann Caspar Friedrich, 1818.