Interesting question, At first thought, Self Actualization and Enlightenment (Eastern) appear to be at odds - - Self Actualization being about perpetuating and securing the identity and hierarchy of the (small) self and its role in the world . . . and Enlightenment as realization of the (small) self as illusion, or perhaps a function of memory.
or to put it metaphorically; getting on that 'motorcycle' of self actualization or riding that 'train' of enlightenment motorcycle=being the one in control (intellect) train=a silent witness to reality (transcendent) Oh, to appreciate the difference between intellect and transcendence!!! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, new.morning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I am wondering how mnay of us got on the "self-actualization" train, > and not the Enlightenment train.* > > In the mid to late 60's and early 70's, TM, as well as life's quest, > was all about actualization (or Actualization) not Enlightnement. The > latter was not a term used, AFAIR, and we were a bit shocked when MMY > came out with the term "Age of Enlightenment" in the mid 70's. > > I have a funny skit in my head about two (imaginary) lectures. One on > Actualization and the other on Enlightenment, given around 1967-9 at > UCLA or Berkeley. > > The latter given by someone using a lot of Rory/Jim-speak (with > perhaps some good rants on the REAL nature of consciousness by in > Peter-speak). > > The former, enthusiastic, glowing, healthy, vibrant 20-30ishs > lecturers, on campus, giving an articulate vision of possibilities > about human potential. > > Which line would you have, did you, get in? > > ----------------------- > Some definitiions, not necessarily definitive: > > Self-actualization is a term that has been used in various psychology > theories, often in slightly different ways (e.g., Goldstein, Maslow, > Rogers). The term was originally introduced by the organismic theorist > Kurt Goldstein for the motive to realize all of one's potentialities. > In his view, it was the master motive - indeed, the only real motive a > person has, all others being merely manifestations of it. However, the > concept was brought to prominence in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of > needs theory, as the final level of psychological development that can > be achieved when all basic and meta needs are fulfilled and the > `actualization' of the full personal potential takes place. > > > According to Kurt Goldstein in his book The Organism: A Holistic > Approach to Biology Derived from Pathological Data in Man > self-actualization is "the tendency to actualize, as much as possible, > its [the organism's] individual capacities", in the world. The > tendency for self-actualization is "the only drive by which the life > of an organism is determined." [1] Goldstein defined > self-actualization as a driving life force that will ultimately lead > to maximizing one's abilities and determine the path of one's life. > > The term was later used by Abraham Maslow in his article, A Theory of > Human Motivation. Maslow explicitly defines self-actualization to be > "the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for him [the > individual] to become actualized in what he is potentially. This > tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what > one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming." [2] > ... > > A basic definition from a typical college text book defines self > actualization according to Maslow simply as "the full realization of > one's potential" without any mention of antiquated Goldstein. [4] > > A more explicit definition of self actualization according to Maslow > is "intrinsic growth of what is already in the organism, or more > accurately of what is the organism itselfÂ…self actualization is > growth-motivated rather than deficiency-motivated." ... > > > People that have reached self actualization are characterized by > certain behaviors. Common traits amongst people that have reached self > actualization are as follows: [6] > > * They embrace reality and facts rather than denying truth. > * They are spontaneous. > * They are interested in solving problems which may include > personal problems or the emotional conflicts of others. > * They are accepting of themselves and others and lack prejudice. > > For Goldstein it was a motive and for Maslow it was a level of > development; for both, however, roughly the same kinds of qualities > were expressed: independence, autonomy, a tendency to form few but > deep friendships, a `philosophical' sense of humor, a tendency to > resist outside pressures and a general transcendence of the > environment rather than a simple `coping' with it. [7] > > ... > > The humanistic approach focuses on healthy, motivated people and tries > to determine how they define the `self' while maximizing their > potential. [9] > > People who are self actualized have had peak experiences. Peak > experiences are situations that are so intense that the person loses > all sense of self and they find themselves in the flow of the event. > These are often religious or mystical experiences. > > --------------------- > > * (Enlightenement vs Self-Enlightnement is an interesting quetion, > given the parallel structure of self-actualization and the implicit > "Actualization" >
