The Feeling of Transcendence
“Awe is the emotion of self-transcendence.”
As difficult as it is to define transcendent experiences, a common characteristic is positive emotions. People report feeling serenity, bliss, happiness, joy, calm, peace, pleasure (Rosenthal, 2011), as well as admiration and inspiration. Admiration can cause people to expand their self-boundaries and transcend their normal state of consciousness, and inspiration can help people align themselves with something much greater than themselves (Haidt & Morris, 2009). Other common emotions felt during transcendence are gratitude, compassion, and awe (see our mini module on Awe).
Overall, transcendent emotions are influenced by the concern for the welfare of others and therefore promote prosocial behavior and altruism (Stellar, 2017).
More Common Than You Might Think
Gallup polls indicate approximately ⅓ of the U.S. population has had an experience where they have “felt at one with all things” (Yaden, et al. 2017). Through his research, Maslow discovered peak experiences were surprisingly common. A wide variety of people reported having these moments through a range of experiences. Music, love and sex, creativity, giving birth, aesthetic beauty, and moments of deepened understanding and insight were commonly reported as pathways to transcendence experiences. Not all transcendent experiences are considered spiritual or mystical (Kaufman, 2020) and a transcendent experience doesn’t have to be a peak - knock your socks off and blow your mind - moment. David Yaden (2017) and his team propose that transcendent experiences can vary in intensity from subtle to extremely intense and transformational. States of flow, gratitude, mindfulness, interconnection, and awe all have the potential to produce more subtle levels of transcendent self-loss and connection. Using the staircase in the house metaphor, some transcendent experiences open staircases that take you a few steps higher, while others may lead all the way to the roof. So, if you’re not in the 30% who can say they have had an intense peak experience where the boundaries between self and the world have completely dissolved, most likely you have lost yourself in a project, been brought to tears by a magnificent natural scene, or loved someone so that their needs became yours. These more subtle transcendent states can also, little by little, change your perspective on life and move you toward wholeness.
Listen to David Yaden explain the variety of transcendent experiences
And here’s David Yaden retelling his peak experience:
From Peak to Plateau
“ The great lesson from the true mystics [is that] the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s backyard.
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The fleeting and powerful peak experience may only last for a few moments yet often has long term effects and is transformative to the person who has it. Maslow argued that those who had frequent peak experiences could eventually enjoy a more enduring state of conscience where the sacred is continually seen in the ordinary. Toward the end of his life, Maslow experienced a heart attack which forced him to face and come to peace with his mortality. In his journal entries he described a changed outlook, a sustained serenity which he called the plateau experience. “I now perceive under the aspect of eternity and become mystic, poetic, and symbolic about ordinary things… it is miraculous and yet doesn’t produce an autonomic burst.” “A witnessing, an appreciating [which can have] a quality of casualness and of lounging about '' (Krippner, 1970). Unlike the unpredictable nature of peak experiences, plateau states can be cultivated through an effort to see the world through new eyes - such as through meditation, or, as Maslow proposed, focusing intently on a tiny flower, or a loved one and imagining they may die soon (Hoffman, 2011). Kaufman emphasizes that though being in a constant state of transcendence is not something a human realistically achieves, it can be a north star to aim for, and when we’re motivated by these higher values through peak and plateau experiences we become closer to our human potential (Kaufman, 2020)