Transcendence and Well-being
“We can experience a union with something larger than ourselves and in that union find our greatest peace.”
The Small Self
The self is so often the cause of significant anxiety and stress (Yaden, 2017). Damage to the social self plays a crucial role in our fears and worries (Kaufman, 2020). As human beings, we are desperate to be seen in a positive way. It is natural for us to crave acceptance and validation from others. Paradoxically, this desire to be viewed positively by others actually does the opposite of what it intends to do. It makes it more difficult to feel connected to others and grow closer to our potential. When we can quiet our ego, it actually leads to a greater sense of self, not a weaker one (Kaufman, 2020). When a healthy self-loss occurs, a person still knows who they are. They still recognize their name and don’t confuse themselves with other people, but they don’t care about themselves in the same way (Baumeister, 2002). The need to think highly of yourself and the need for others to think the same disappears.
Transcendent experiences allow us to experience our own insignificance in comparison to our world around us. Recognizing this insignificance can relieve some of the pressure we put on ourselves to be liked and accepted by everyone, which opens the door for us to truly connect with our surroundings and the people around us. When we approach life with a quiet ego, we view others with less of a defensive stance and more of a unifying stance (Kaufman, 2020). We can also approach life with a lot more compassion and empathy. Self-loss is a relief!
Prosocial Shift
Victor Frankl made a strong argument that the path to wholeness and human potential was not through trying to become better individuals. It was not about being the best artist you can be, or swimmer, or oral surgeon, or public speaker, or meditator. These individual heights are reached as a byproduct of aligning your purpose with something greater than yourself:
“I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. I have termed this constitutive characteristic “the self-transcendence of human existence.” It denotes the fact that being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself—be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.”
Those who report having peak experiences enjoy more efficient perceptions of reality, are more spontaneous, task-centered, autonomous, acceptant of self and others, appreciate the basic goodness in life, and are more comfortable with solitude (Steindl-Rast, 2014).
Acceptance of self and others is a hallmark trait of the self transcendent. A peak experience presents the world as beautiful, just right, all good. Previous opinions of those parts of the world we once rejected are transformed and we have a greater acceptance of all aspects of life (Maslow, 1964, p. 64). The self-transcendent see the world beyond their own culture regardless of race, religion, gender, class, or sexual orientation. The world is seen as an interdependent unit without categorizing and stereotyping (Frick, 1989; Maslow, 1968). (This is why political causes that vilify groups of people or terrorist causes cannot be considered transcendence).
Self transcendent people are more generous to themselves and others. When we recognize all that is received from the universe it creates a natural desire to share ourselves with the world. Material and immaterial blessings like patience, trust and acceptance are simply passed through you. Jon-Kabat Zinn says it best,
““At the deepest level, there is no giver, no gift, and no recipient…only the universe rearranging itself.”
Self transcending individuals experience less fear, transcending culture and time; they are not governed by the rules of society, but by their own values (Maslow, 1971). According to Yaden (2017), self-transcendent experiences can lead to an increase in perceived social connection, which is linked to better mental and physical health.
Miniotti (2020) took a group of young, Italian medical students to explore what character traits played a part in empathy, an essential quality in patient care. The results of this study showed that the greater the self-transcendence of the medical students, the more empathetic they were towards the patients. Miniotti concluded that “Openness to experience and Self-transcendence might represent a substratum for the ability of attuning to, connecting to and understanding the condition of others, even when marked by suffering, and might guarantee peacefulness and open-mindedness to sustain those attributes.”
Improvements in Wellbeing
Transcendence has been positively correlated to purpose and optimism (Kaufman, 2020). According to Maslow, transcendence can help people feel that life is “worthwhile, even if it is usually drab, pedestrian, painful, or ungratifying, since beauty, truth, and meaningfulness have been demonstrated to exist”. Transcendence can also lead to a more grounded, centered, and stable approach to life; where the events of the moment or the outside world have less influence (Rosenthal, 2011). This stability results in a more rational decision making process.
In addition, transcendent experiences can improve overall mental health. Many studies report an inverse relationship between transcendence and depression (Norberg, 2015). A study by Bajjani-Gebrara (2018) reported that higher levels of self-transcendence were significantly associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression and higher levels of general well-being and decreased patterns of destructive thinking (Esfahani Smith, 2017). Spirituality and religiousness, two forms of transcendence, have also been linked to improved mental health (Rogowska, 2020). These forms of transcendence help human beings feel open, humble, and grateful instead of cynical and short-sighted (Peteet, 2018).
Another study by Kang et. al (2018) used a sample of 220 sedentary adults to determine the effects of self-transcendence on their receptivity about their poor health. The sample was split into two groups. One group completed a self-transcendence task before receiving health messages and one served as the control group. The findings of this study suggest that a self-transcendent mindset can increase behavior change.
Overall, transcendence can improve mental health, increase healthy behavior and attitudes, and increase altruism and prosocial behavior. In the next section, we will discuss possible ways to cultivate transcendent experiences.