6 Things that Happen in the Peak Moments of Our Lives
"The climax of self-actualization is the peak experience... A peak experience is what you feel and perhaps "know" when you gain authentic elevation as a human being." (Henry Geiger, Introduction to “The Farther Reaches of Human Nature” by Abraham Maslow)
"Peak experiences" is a term coined by Abraham Maslow to describe moments of ecstasy in our lives. That is, moments of ecstasy achieved without the help of psychoactive substances. According to Maslow, everyone has these peak experiences throughout their life, but not everyone notices them. Why he was especially interested in them is because he considered it a mark of self-actualizing people that they have peak experiences more frequently than most people and are more aware of them.
Describing peak experiences, Maslow said,
"There is a fusion with the reality being observed (with the matter-in-hand. I shall say more neutrally), a oneness where there was a twoness, An integration of some sort of the self with the non-self. There is universally reported a seeing of formerly hidden truth, a revelation in the strict sense, a stripping away of veils, and finally, almost always, the whole experience is experienced as bliss, ecstasy, rapture, exaltation."
When considered in this way, it is no wonder that peak experiences throughout history, especially in non-secular times, have been associated with mystical experiences and were often considered superhuman or supernatural.
However, now, thanks to psychologists like Maslow studying and researching these experiences, we know that they are natural and happen to everyone. And, most importantly, we know that these experiences can teach us more about all the
"aspects of the full functioning of human beings when they are most fully realizing themselves, most mature and evolved, most healthy, when, in a word, they are most fully human."
Maslow argued that much of what is learned from the study of peak experiences can be transferred directly "to the enriched understanding of the here-and-now experience."
However, if these peak experiences still seem unrelatable, there is no need to worry. Even though all people have peak experiences, Maslow said that there is no need to confine ourselves to these admittedly uncommon experiences in order to better understand what it means to be fully human. We can simply take a look at moments of focus and creativity that are essentially "more modest and moderate versions" of peak experiences.
"...namely fascination, concentration, or absorption in anything which is interesting enough to hold this attention completely. And I mean not only great symphonies or tragedies; the job can be done by a gripping movie or detective story, or simply becoming absorbed with one's work."
If we better understand these all-too-human moments and what happens in them, we will better understand peak experiences as well. And, by doing so, we will be a step closer to understanding what it means to be fully human, and what we can do to move towards it.
So, what are some of the things that happen in those moments?
Giving up the past
Imagine that you encounter an unknown painting. You quickly run back through your knowledge of art history in order to figure out how you are supposed to react to it. At this moment, of course, your eyes may be pointed towards the painting, but you are not really looking at it. You are trying to remember the style or period that his painting would fit into, or an artist with similar works. You are trying to figure out if you are "supposed to" like the painting and enjoy it. Then, if you are supposed to enjoy it, you do, and if you are not, you don’t.
Or maybe you don’t have to imagine this. Because, if we were honest with ourselves, we would notice that all of us encounter the majority of situations in our lives in this way, not just works of art.
However, in peak experiences and moments of absorption in something that interests us, the opposite happens. We free ourselves from the constraints of past experiences and are able to see and discover new ideas, solutions, and connections that were not possible previously.
Giving up the future
"Often we use the present not for its own sake but in order to prepare for the future. Think how often in a conversation we put on a listening face as the other person talks, secretly however preparing what we are going to say, rehearsing, planning a counterttack perhaps. Think how different your attitude would be right now if you knew you were to comment on my remarks in five minutes. Think how hard it would be then to be a good, total listener."
If we are truly listening, looking, or experiencing something or someone, we have at the same time given up on "preparing for the future." We stop treating the present as a means to some future outcome and devalue it in that way. This "forgetting of the future," Maslow says, is the prerequisite for total involvement with the present.
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