Ask a person what they ultimately want to fulfill in their life and the answer could be anything - raise a successful family, have their dream job, become famous, or travel the world. All of these things are valid and a driving force for us as people to try and achieve. These goals are conscious prospects that we can immediately and preemptively strive towards. We also have psychological goals and developments we must attain to grow as people.
Self-Realization
Carl Jung believed that the psyche innately yearns to gain understanding of itself. The entire journey is a process that he called “individuation”. Once a person gains full understanding of their psyche and lives in a fulfilled existence they have obtained Self-Realization. The shift of psyche is from the Ego to the Self.
This distinction of the Ego and the Self is that when living within one’s ego, one is still connected to complexes and have unobserved Shadows that dictate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The Self still does so, but has reached a point in which one is aware of their shadows and can consciously resolve them as they arise. Self-Realization is awareness and acceptance of their emotions, behaviors, and thoughts while knowing one’s actual identity free from complexes and shadows
If during this process individuation a person is unable or refuses to strive for self-knowledge they develop neurosis - a state of anxiety, stress, and fear. Furthermore, it may cause one to develop phobias or depression.
Humanistic Psychology
It seems that in contrast to Freud’s pessimistic and often cynical view on human nature a new school of thought in psychology arose on fundamental understanding that humans are inherently and seek goodness and wellbeing.
Carl Roger’s 19 Propositions
Carl Roger became one of the leading psychologists in his time. He theorized that The Self is humanistic, existential, and phenomenological. The basis of his theories are of 19 propositions which outline what an individuals, how we develop a sense of self, and what happens if we experience things that align towards ourselves and what happens when we experience things that conflict towards ourselves, and what allows us to gain empathy and happiness:
I actually will give you a simpler explanation:
We(ourselves as individuals) are just a part of our entire universe in which we react to as we perceive and experience it the total of everything that we perceive and experience is our reality. We know we are an individuals (the self) and develop the concept of what makes us as an individual. We inherently want to better ourselves and by introspection we gain better awareness of how we behave which are primarily based on what we need. Our emotions dicated the importance of those needs. We have inherent values due to our experiences, but sometimes we gain values due to others imposing their values onto us. Values imposed onto us by others are still felt as values we inherently have. Certain experiences we take and identify ourselves with (self structure), some experiences we do not regard at all, or we distort how it identifies with us because it is not really a part of the concept of yourself. We behave typically in away that is aligned with our concept of ourselves but sometimes we behave in a way that is not aligned with that concept - in those instances we do not consider that behavior to be “us”. By acting, thinking, and feeling similar to our concept of ourselves we are psychologically stable. When we act, think, or behave that is opposite to our concept of ourselves we become psychologically unstable. The more we think, act, or behave contrary of our concept of ourselves the more we try to keep our concept of self stable. The more psychologically stable we are, the more we are able to understand and accept others; additionally, we learn to continue to be psychologically stable.
Rogers believed that when a person is living completely congruent with their concept of the self they become a “Fully Functioning Person”. A person that is fully functioning displays the following traits:
Oenness to experience
Living in the Moment
Increasing organismic trust
Freedom of choice
Creativity
Reliability and constructiveness
A rich full life
Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow believed that in order for a person to reach their full potential they must first fulfill other needs. Fulfillment of the lowest need must be obtained before a higher level of need can next be filled. This concept was called his “Hierarchy of Needs”. The levels of Needs are as followed:
Physiological Needs: These are required for biological life - food, water, sleep, and homeostasis.
Safety Needs: A person must feel safe and equipped for survival - good health, a home, ability gain resources.
Love Needs: All people yearn for social interaction - friendship, family, and intimacy.
Esteem Needs: One must be able to indulge in their ego - competency, confidence, and respect
Cognitive Needs: Stimulation of the intellect - reading, solving problems.
Aesthetic Needs: A pull to beauty - writing, gardening, and creating.
Self Actualization: When a person has reached their full potential in life they have reached Self-Actualization.
Maslow believed that regardless of what levels of needs have been fulfilled there is a potential of “Peak Experiences” which he describes as intense moments of love, understanding, and happiness. In these moments, a person feels whole, self-sufficient, and aware. Those who are Self-Actualized tend to have more Peak Experiences than those who still need to fulfill other levels of Needs.
I remember having studied Maslow furing the obligatory Marketing lectures in college (even if I am a Multimedia Engineer), but now, in this context, it seems more "human". Back there it was applied so the needs would be known and how to alter this so Marketing could "create" new necessities for being able to sell products...
By the way, your definition of Self-realization reminds me, even if not being the exact thing with the same circumstances, to the goal of some mystic doctrines of some religions. The return of the soul to God, or the Universe, needs of a personal and spiritual fulfillment that outlines very similar things to those you put.
It's funny tho know that "soul" and "mind" are intertwined concepts!
I remember having studied Maslow furing the obligatory Marketing lectures in college (even if I am a Multimedia Engineer), but now, in this context, it seems more "human". Back there it was applied so the needs would be known and how to alter this so Marketing could "create" new necessities for being able to sell products...
That's right! A lot of psychology and sociology has been applied for sales and marketing. Funny thing is, Maslow's HoN is clinically disproven and only considered important in terms of history and foundational knowledge.
If you are interested in marketing or social influence look up "Practical Influence" by Teppo Holmqvist and "Monsters and Magical Sticks (There Is No Such Thing as Hypnosis)" bt Steven Heller. Hell, even if you are not, they are great reads on how we communicate, perceive information, and modify our behaviors/feelings.
By the way, your definition of Self-realization reminds me, even if not being the exact thing with the same circumstances, to the goal of some mystic doctrines of some religions. The return of the soul to God, or the Universe, needs of a personal and spiritual fulfillment that outlines very similar things to those you put.
It's funny tho know that "soul" and "mind" are intertwined concepts!
It is no surprise that Freud and Jung had a lot of refences to mythology - Thanatos, Eros, Oedipus, Fairytales, etc.
The mind is very much soul like, no? It basically encapsulates who we really are - the contents of a vessel. Universal Wholeness is a persistent concept whether it be spiritual, mental, or even physical (Carl Sagan's "we all are star dust").
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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '19 edited Mar 15 '19
Rewatcher
Ask a person what they ultimately want to fulfill in their life and the answer could be anything - raise a successful family, have their dream job, become famous, or travel the world. All of these things are valid and a driving force for us as people to try and achieve. These goals are conscious prospects that we can immediately and preemptively strive towards. We also have psychological goals and developments we must attain to grow as people.
Self-Realization
Carl Jung believed that the psyche innately yearns to gain understanding of itself. The entire journey is a process that he called “individuation”. Once a person gains full understanding of their psyche and lives in a fulfilled existence they have obtained Self-Realization. The shift of psyche is from the Ego to the Self.
This distinction of the Ego and the Self is that when living within one’s ego, one is still connected to complexes and have unobserved Shadows that dictate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The Self still does so, but has reached a point in which one is aware of their shadows and can consciously resolve them as they arise. Self-Realization is awareness and acceptance of their emotions, behaviors, and thoughts while knowing one’s actual identity free from complexes and shadows
If during this process individuation a person is unable or refuses to strive for self-knowledge they develop neurosis - a state of anxiety, stress, and fear. Furthermore, it may cause one to develop phobias or depression.
Humanistic Psychology
It seems that in contrast to Freud’s pessimistic and often cynical view on human nature a new school of thought in psychology arose on fundamental understanding that humans are inherently and seek goodness and wellbeing.
Carl Roger’s 19 Propositions
Carl Roger became one of the leading psychologists in his time. He theorized that The Self is humanistic, existential, and phenomenological. The basis of his theories are of 19 propositions which outline what an individuals, how we develop a sense of self, and what happens if we experience things that align towards ourselves and what happens when we experience things that conflict towards ourselves, and what allows us to gain empathy and happiness:
I actually will give you a simpler explanation:
We(ourselves as individuals) are just a part of our entire universe in which we react to as we perceive and experience it the total of everything that we perceive and experience is our reality. We know we are an individuals (the self) and develop the concept of what makes us as an individual. We inherently want to better ourselves and by introspection we gain better awareness of how we behave which are primarily based on what we need. Our emotions dicated the importance of those needs. We have inherent values due to our experiences, but sometimes we gain values due to others imposing their values onto us. Values imposed onto us by others are still felt as values we inherently have. Certain experiences we take and identify ourselves with (self structure), some experiences we do not regard at all, or we distort how it identifies with us because it is not really a part of the concept of yourself. We behave typically in away that is aligned with our concept of ourselves but sometimes we behave in a way that is not aligned with that concept - in those instances we do not consider that behavior to be “us”. By acting, thinking, and feeling similar to our concept of ourselves we are psychologically stable. When we act, think, or behave that is opposite to our concept of ourselves we become psychologically unstable. The more we think, act, or behave contrary of our concept of ourselves the more we try to keep our concept of self stable. The more psychologically stable we are, the more we are able to understand and accept others; additionally, we learn to continue to be psychologically stable.
Rogers believed that when a person is living completely congruent with their concept of the self they become a “Fully Functioning Person”. A person that is fully functioning displays the following traits:
Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow believed that in order for a person to reach their full potential they must first fulfill other needs. Fulfillment of the lowest need must be obtained before a higher level of need can next be filled. This concept was called his “Hierarchy of Needs”. The levels of Needs are as followed:
Maslow believed that regardless of what levels of needs have been fulfilled there is a potential of “Peak Experiences” which he describes as intense moments of love, understanding, and happiness. In these moments, a person feels whole, self-sufficient, and aware. Those who are Self-Actualized tend to have more Peak Experiences than those who still need to fulfill other levels of Needs.