“Once we change the very way we see, we may begin to experience the connections that tie us all together.” –Lynne McTaggart
What do Albert Einstein, Aldous Huxley, William James,Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Schweitzer have in common?
Lynne McTaggart, author of The Field answers this question in a blog post entitled “Transcending the Self.” In it she writes…
Although all of us are capable of having a transcendent moment, it was Maslow’s view that certain people were more predisposed to experience them than others. Maslow came to believe this after studying the biographies and writings of historical figures who’d had such an experience – Albert Einstein, Aldous Huxley, William James, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Schweitzer – for similarities of character. Maslow characterized all these notables as ‘self-actualized’, and noted that, as a whole, they…
• were problem-centered, viewing life’s difficulties clinically as a problem to be solved, not a personal issue inspiring anger or defeat
• believed that the means — the journey of life — was often more important than the end result
• enjoyed and were comfortable with solitude, but had deeper personal relations with a few close friends and family
• liked to be independent of physical and social needs
• were non-conformists without the need to be either well-adjusted or fit in a social situation
• had a gentle sense of humor, able to joke at their own expense, or at the world
• accepted both themselves and others as they were rather than changing them to what they should be; preferred to be themselves, too
• were motivated to improve their own worst qualities
• were often quite conformist on the surface
• felt a sense of humility and respect toward others
• had a social conscience and compassion
• had a strong sense of ethics and spirituality, but rarely a conventional religion
• retained a sense of wonderWhat all of these notables shared, in short, was a tendency to remain free of small and self-interested concerns and to recognize in every way that they were part of a greater whole. [Bold text for emphasis by sbv]
–Excerpted from “Transcending the Self” by Lynne McTaggart
