Abraham Maslow (1908-70) was a psychologist who became famous
for his hierarchy of human needs. When he developed his theory
in the 1950s, he predicted the transformation of humanity
into a realm of spiritual transcendence, but he had no idea
just how soon this would develop into a major movement.
Maslow's hierarchy of human needs shows that basic human needs
have to be fulfilled before people can attend to higher needs
and values.
First, the basic physiological needs of food and shelter must
be catered for in order to ensure survival.
Second, once food and shelter are obtained, safety and
security must be achieved.
Third, acceptance by others is sought, in both the social and
romantic senses. To fulfill this 'belonging' need, people
become part of a group, a tribe, an extended family or a
community.
When these deficiency, or outer-directed, needs are
satisfied, then the individual works to acquire self-respect.
Recognition by others produces self-esteem.
Once the outer needs are fulfilled, the inner-directed need
for self-actualization comes into play. To self-actualize
means to become the best you personally can be.
Self-actualized people include those who have achieved
material abundance, and also those who, as a decision of
personal power, have chosen simplicity over the pursuit
of further abundance. At some point, when a person says
"That's enough" to the endless pursuit of additional
financial security, then they become free to accomplish
anything that inspires their inner joy the most.
Self-actualization is achieved after the individual ceases to
have deference to hierarchical authority, and instead matures
into the ability to make their own rules of personal
responsibility. Personal responsibility is always more
powerful and effective than any system of imposed rules.
For example, you can threaten to punish someone if they
steal and hope that the threat works. But, a self-responsible
person simply wouldn't steal because they would feel empathy
for the loss that a would-be victim would feel. They simply
wouldn't have the heart to do such a thing to another person.
It's a matter of increased maturity. When a person abandons
the impositions of external authority and becomes their own,
self-directed authority, then they become far more
functional in the world. This is, in fact, a higher state
of consciousness, one which provides a higher vista of
awareness. From this expanded vista, they see clearly how
they as an individual can best serve humanity.
In this state of awareness, the person acquires the ability
to think and analyze situations independently. As a result,
new and creative solutions spring to mind. They have enough
self-esteem to be able to clearly see their own needs,
skills, strengths and weaknesses, and from that they see
where they can best be of service to humanity.
Once basic needs are fulfilled, the next values to require
attention relate to being. The first of these being-values
is self-actualization, which is the instinctual need of a
human to make the most of their unique abilities.
Above that, Maslow placed transcendence, which he considered
a spiritual value. Traditional universities typically presume
that spiritual matters are beyond the understanding of their
students, so they present the Maslow hierarchy of human needs
differently. They present it with self-actualization as the
ultimate human goal, and omit the transcendence stage beyond
that.
The being-values of self-actualization and transcendence are
the higher, more beautiful aspects of human consciousness.
They include unconditional love, altruism, inner joy, a love
of nature, the development of intuition (in males as well as
females), idealism, and a sense of wisdom which springs from
within. These skills develop the right-brain functions of
creativity and intuition.
In the 1950s, Maslow believed that only 2% of the population
had achieved self-actualization. The mid-1960s changed all
that when masses of people began the search for the higher
values, such as unconditional love and spiritual wisdom.
Today, that core group of progressive society has blossomed
from 2% to over 20%, and is climbing every year.
The Shift is not a temporary by-product of the baby boom
generation, or any other generation of modern society.
It is not a passing fad. It is not going away. It is a
cosmic pressure that is unfolding and relentlessly
increasing the frequency of all consciousness upon the
planet.
It is a part of the plan of Infinite Being that we progress
to the next stage of conscious human achievement. The Shift
is, to put it simply, the most wonderful transformation in
recorded history. This is where humanity gets to build,
literally, Heaven on Earth.
....Owen Waters
