I write a lot about this personal attribute as I, along with humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), believe it to be the highest attribute and achievement possible in the human experience.
Signature qualities of a self-actualized person include: realizing one’s full potential; self-fulfillment; self-expression; a striving for personal growth and peak experiences; the search for knowledge and meaning; a basic acceptance of nature, or “the way things are;” and a strong sense of morals, ethics, insight, and self-transcendence.
In Karma, I speak of the highest spiritual goals being Self-actualization and re-union with God. That is, the full knowledge and expression of our spiritual individuality–a reclamation of our original, “immaculate concept” in the mind of our Creator–along with the will to free ourselves from karmic ties and earthly attachments in order to be free to make our spiritual ascension.
I am currently editing my next work, Ten Difficult Women: Their Impact and Legacy (copyright 2012). When relating these ten remarkable subject women–from different times, places, cultures, ethnicity’s, and socio-economic backgrounds–one thing they all share is their self-actualization: as women and as human beings.
As a consequence, each has transcended her personal interests and concerns, felt-needs, and desire for ease and pleasure to make important, lasting contributions to her own society and future generations.
Maslow believed that, in order to attain this highest, most fulfilling state of being, we must first find ways to fulfill the four lower needs in his hierarchy: biological and physiological, safety, emotion-based needs of belonging and love, and self-esteem.
If you haven’t given much thought to why you sometimes feel “something is missing;” or, that you aren’t giving enough or Being and becoming all you are capable of Being and becoming, you might find his construct and theories both interesting and enlightening.
You can obtain a listing of his various books, articles, and audio/visual downloads at: http://www.maslow.com/index.html.
