speech on self realization

Self-Realization .

When your mind and heart are truly open abundance will flow to you effortlessly and easily.

How does a person know when they are fully self – realized?

Self-realization is not an event in time, it is the recognition of the presence of awareness that is there at all times, whether you are awake, asleep, or dreaming. Because of stories we heard in Eastern spiritual traditions we tend to believe that enlightenment is a dramatic experience in the mind and body that radically disrupts our worldly existence. But that story is only a metaphor for the shift of awareness that occurs beyond the mind and body, outside time and space. Self-realization is not an intellectual idea, or the outcome of a process. There is a simple cognition that this abiding awareness is your essential Self and that essence is not limited, defined or diminished by any temporary experience of the mind or body. This initial realization grows and expands into a more mature enlightenment that reveals the full sense of freedom, peace, joy and love in every moment.

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Speech and the self-realization value.

Brian C. Murchison , Washington and Lee University School of Law Follow

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Brian C. Murchison, Speech and the Self-Realization Value , 33 Harvard C.R. - C.L.L. Rev. 443 (1998).

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KalmAwareness

Awaken. Reflect. Transform. Find Serenity.

Can ‘Compare Yourself to an Object Speech’ Transform You?

• July 9, 2023
• Personal Growth

Compare Yourself to an Object Speech: A Path to Self-Awareness

In the journey to self-awareness and personal growth, it’s important to find ways to understand and express who we are. One interesting method is the ‘compare yourself to an object speech.’ This unique concept offers a fresh perspective on self-reflection, encouraging us to identify our characteristics and how they reflect in our interactions with the world.

The Power of Metaphors

Imagine, if you will, that life is like a mirror. In this mirror, we see our reflection, which acts as a metaphor for life itself . This reflection can sometimes be distorted by our perceptions, and this is where the concept of ‘compare yourself to an object speech’ comes into play.

Compare yourself to an object speech is an introspective exercise that challenges us to draw parallels between our personal characteristics and those of an object. It requires insight and empathy, encouraging us to delve deep into our psyche to unravel layers of self-perception, much like peeling back the layers of an onion.

“Comparing oneself to an object can offer a unique perspective on our own strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies. It’s a tool for self-awareness and understanding.” – Anonymous

Why Compare Ourselves to an Object?

It may seem odd at first, but this comparison exercise can be incredibly revealing. It offers an opportunity to explore how others see us and how we see ourselves. For example, if you see yourself as a lighthouse, you might associate with characteristics such as guidance, resilience, and a beacon of hope for others. Understanding how others see us through this object comparison offers invaluable insight into our personal growth journey.

This introspection also allows us to clear our vision, to look past our biases and self-imposed limitations. It provides an avenue for clearing vision and opening our eyes to new perspectives.

Object Lessons and Insights

To further illustrate, consider an object lesson on worry . If we liken ourselves to a piece of coal under pressure, we might see our worries as the intense pressure that shapes us into diamonds. It’s an empowering way to visualize personal growth, reminding us that even in the face of challenges, we have the potential to transform and shine.

This technique is not just about self-reflection but also about empathy and understanding others. For instance, when we’re feeling small or insignificant, we might compare ourselves to a tiny seed , ready to sprout into something majestic given the right conditions. Through such comparisons, we’re able to better empathize with others and appreciate their unique journeys and struggles.

Finding Your Object

The process of identifying an object that aligns with your characteristics requires introspection and honest self-evaluation. The mirror perspective technique can help here, allowing us to see ourselves more clearly and objectively. From this vantage point, we can begin to understand our attributes, strengths, and areas of growth, enabling us to choose an object that truly represents us.

I invite you to continue to the next part of this article where we will dive deeper into how to craft a compelling ‘compare yourself to an object speech.’ We’ll also explore how this exercise can positively impact your personal growth journey, build empathy, and offer unique insights about yourself and others.

Crafting Your Compare Yourself to an Object Speech: Key Considerations

Having grasped the concept and significance of comparing yourself to an object, we now delve into the nuts and bolts of creating an impactful compare yourself to an object speech .

1. Choosing Your Object

The first step towards crafting your speech is choosing an appropriate object. As earlier explained, this should mirror your unique attributes and experiences. While there might be an urge to select objects we find fascinating or appealing, it’s crucial to remain grounded in authenticity. For instance, comparing oneself to a mirror could symbolize an ability to reflect the world around you, take in the good and the bad, and still remain true to oneself.

2. Identifying Key Characteristics

Once you’ve settled on your object, the next step is to outline its key characteristics. This requires a deep understanding of the object, considering all its facets. It’s advisable to make a list of these characteristics as a preliminary step. For instance, if you choose to compare yourself to an angel, as explored in Angelic Whispers , you might list traits like protection, guidance, and serenity.

3. Drawing Parallels

Now, it’s time to draw parallels between the object’s characteristics and your own. This step demands honesty and self-awareness. If the object is a mirror, for example, how well do you reflect the world around you? If it’s a seed, how much growth and potential do you possess? The idea here is to find the intersection between the object’s attributes and your own, forming the basis for your comparison.

4. Structuring Your Speech

The structure of your speech is crucial. It should flow seamlessly, starting with an introduction that presents the object and its significance. The body should consist of the parallels drawn, providing compelling narratives or experiences that embody those comparisons. The conclusion should wrap up your thoughts and perhaps share the impact of this reflection on your self-perception. Remember, the aim is to deliver a speech that’s as insightful as it is inspiring.

5. Practicing Compassionate Directness

As you venture into this reflective exercise, remember the importance of compassionate directness . This entails being honest with oneself while also exhibiting self-compassion. Not all traits we discover about ourselves will be positive, and that’s okay. It’s about understanding, accepting, and looking for areas of improvement.

I invite you to continue to the next part of this article, where we’ll provide examples of ‘compare yourself to an object speeches.’ We’ll also discuss how to utilize feedback to refine your speech, using tools such as the “See yourself through the eyes of others” answer key , which fosters further self-awareness and growth. The chapter will also include some insightful tips to deliver your speech effectively, keeping your audience engaged and touched by your personal reflections.

Mastering Your Compare Yourself to an Object Speech: Examples, Feedback, and Delivery

In the previous sections, we learned how to craft a compare yourself to an object speech . Let’s explore the nuances of mastering such a speech by delving into examples, understanding how to use feedback effectively, and fine-tuning our delivery.

Samples to Inspire Your Speech

To bring everything together, let’s look at some examples. These could offer inspiration as you strive to craft your unique compare yourself to an object speech .

• The Lighthouse : “I am like a lighthouse , sturdy and tall. Through storms and calm, I stand strong, a beacon of hope for lost souls. Like a lighthouse, my resilience has been tested by life’s storms, yet I remain unbroken. My purpose, to guide, mirrors my passion for leadership, directing others towards a safe harbor in troubled times.”
• The Seed : “I liken myself to a seed , filled with potential, waiting for the right conditions to sprout. This seed represents my journey of personal growth and development. Just as a seed transforms into a tree, I too am constantly evolving, learning, and growing.”

Such examples serve as practical applications of the steps and considerations we’ve discussed.

Using Feedback for Improvement

Feedback plays a crucial role in personal development. By using tools such as the “See yourself through the eyes of others” answer key , we can obtain external perspectives on our speech, prompting us to examine areas we might have overlooked. Embracing feedback, particularly compassionate responses , aids us in refining our speech and fostering growth.

Effective Delivery

As Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Delivery is as important as content in a speech. Mastering the art of delivery involves mindful relationship habits such as empathy, active listening, and respectful communication. As you present your speech, keep in mind that it’s not just about conveying information but also about creating an emotional connection with your audience.

Here are some tips for effective delivery:

• Practice : Like any other skill, effective delivery comes with practice. Repeat your speech until you’re comfortable with every word.
• Body Language : Your body language can either amplify or dampen your message. Ensure your posture, gestures, and facial expressions align with your words.
• Pace and Tone : Speak slowly and clearly to ensure your audience can follow along. Vary your tone to convey emotion and keep your audience engaged.
• Use of Silence : Strategic pauses can be powerful. They provide moments for your audience to absorb and reflect on what you’ve shared.

I invite you to continue to the final part of this article, where we’ll delve into the transformative potential of the compare yourself to an object speech , connecting the process to broader themes of self-awareness and growth. We will also discuss the importance of reflection as a tool for personal development, drawing from insights shared in the Dalai Lama’s meditation techniques and the concept of arising and passing away . Lastly, we’ll look at ways to integrate this reflective exercise into daily life, creating an ongoing journey of self-discovery.

The Transformative Potential of Compare Yourself to an Object Speech: Reflection, Insights, and Integration

Now, let’s dive into the transformational power of compare yourself to an object speech . Beyond mere words, it is an insightful exercise that promotes self-awareness and growth. We’ll explore the importance of reflection, insight, empathy, and integrating this self-discovery process into daily life.

The Power of Reflection

At the heart of a compelling compare yourself to an object speech is the practice of self-reflection. Through deep introspection, we can reach inner vision , enabling us to gain insights about ourselves and our journey. To quote Albert Einstein, “The only source of knowledge is experience.” As we reflect on our experiences, we learn more about our strengths, our values, and our ambitions.

A reflective table can help guide you through the self-reflection process:

By filling this table, you embark on an introspective journey, the results of which can be transformative.

Gleaning Insights

A compare yourself to an object speech offers an opportunity to glean insights about oneself. By comparing ourselves to an object, we metaphorically express our self-perception, echoing the sentiment of “ Life is a mirror “.

One of the ways we can deepen our self-understanding is through meditation. Techniques like the 3rd Eye Chakra Frequency meditation or the Anja meditation can open us to new perspectives and insights about ourselves, which can be integrated into our speech.

Empathy and Connection

One of the beautiful outcomes of this exercise is that it fosters empathy. By sharing our unique metaphors, we create space for vulnerability, connecting us on a human level. As writer Stephen King once said, “We never know the impact of our words on other people’s lives.” By courageously sharing our compare yourself to an object speech , we not only inspire others but also make them feel less alone in their struggles.

Integrating Self-Discovery into Daily Life

The compare yourself to an object speech is not a one-time activity. As we grow and evolve, so does our chosen object. Embracing this constant change allows us to see life as a journey of arising and passing away , a series of transformations that mold us into the person we are meant to be.

As you walk this journey of self-discovery, remember the words of Harriet Tubman, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

We invite you to the concluding part of this article, where we’ll summarize our journey together. We’ll revisit key aspects of crafting a compare yourself to an object speech , explore its potential impact on personal growth, and affirm the essential role of self-awareness, reflection, and empathy in our lives.

The Art and Philosophy of a Compare Yourself to an Object Speech: From Metaphors to Self-Realization

This concluding chapter of our journey explores the intricacies and the depth of compare yourself to an object speech . We’ll delve into the power of metaphors, the philosophical nuances of this exercise, the emotions it evokes, and its potential to catalyze profound self-realization.

Unraveling the Power of Metaphors

The essence of a compare yourself to an object speech lies in the clever use of metaphors. Metaphors serve as a bridge, connecting our inner selves to the outer world. The words we use in our speech are like a mirror, reflecting our self-perceptions and innermost feelings. As we’ve discussed in “ Life is like a mirror “, our external reality is often a reflection of our internal state.

In your speech, consider using powerful and evocative metaphors that resonate with your personal experiences. Remember, the object you choose to represent yourself isn’t merely symbolic—it’s an extension of you, a tangible manifestation of your being and your life’s journey.

Philosophy and Perspective: Understanding the Object

A compare yourself to an object speech is more than just a metaphor—it’s a philosophical exercise. It’s an invitation to think deeply about our existence and our role in the world. As we learn in “ and to think… “, contemplating life from different perspectives can lead to profound realizations.

What does the object you’ve chosen say about your perspective on life, your values, and your aspirations? Perhaps you view life as an unending journey, like a flowing river. Or, you might compare yourself to a seed, embodying potential and continuous growth. Whatever your object may be, examining its symbolism can offer valuable insights into your life philosophy.

Evoking Emotion: From Empathy to Enlightenment

A compare yourself to an object speech is an emotional journey, filled with moments of joy, despair, fear, courage, and hope. As we’ve learned from “ Feeling small… “, it’s perfectly normal to experience a wide spectrum of emotions during this process.

As you share your speech, you invite others to connect with you on an emotional level. This empathy can lead to enlightenment—understanding others through understanding yourself. In this way, a compare yourself to an object speech becomes an instrument of connection and compassion, inspiring others to embark on their own journeys of self-discovery.

Self-Realization: The Fruit of Reflection and Insight

A compare yourself to an object speech has the potential to catalyze self-realization, awakening us to our true nature. As we discussed in the article “ Why is it so hard to love yourself? “, self-realization is a crucial aspect of self-love and acceptance.

Your speech can be a stepping stone towards a deeper understanding of yourself, a path leading to self-realization. As you discover the connections between your chosen object and your life, you’ll uncover new facets of your identity and gain a clearer picture of who you truly are.

We’ve journeyed together through the art and philosophy of crafting a compare yourself to an object speech , understanding its emotional impact and transformative potential. Our exploration has illuminated how this unique exercise facilitates self-reflection, insights, empathy, and self-realization. It’s been a journey of discovery, from the first metaphor to the final realization. May the insights gained inspire you in your continuous journey of personal growth.

Epilogue: Embracing the Journey – Comparing Yourself to an Object

As we come to the end of our discussion on compare yourself to an object speech , we realize that this process is not merely an exercise but a journey. It’s a voyage of self-exploration, of deep reflections, and of rediscovering our selves through seemingly ordinary objects. It’s a testament to our inherent creativity and the boundless landscape of our inner world.

The Journey Continues

Remember, comparing yourself to an object is not an end in itself but rather a stepping stone towards understanding the deeper layers of your being. As we learn in “ What we think we know about… ,” self-awareness is a never-ending process. There will always be more to discover, more to understand, and more to accept about ourselves. Embrace the journey and find joy in the continuous process of self-discovery.

When you partake in a compare yourself to an object speech , you embark on a journey of reflection, a crucial element in personal growth. As we have discussed in “ From see yourself through the eyes of others answer key “, introspection can be an enlightening experience, enabling us to view our lives from a different perspective.

Through the process of comparing yourself to an object, you invite others into your world, fostering empathy and understanding. As we’ve learned in the blog post “ Compassionate response ,” empathy can be a powerful tool for connection and mutual understanding.

Inspirational Conclusion

As we conclude our series, I want to leave you with a powerful quote from “ Loving Kind “:

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain

This quote serves as a reminder of the universal power of kindness and compassion. As you continue your journey of self-discovery and personal growth, remember to extend that kindness not only to others but also to yourself.

We’ve traversed the intricate layers of a compare yourself to an object speech , explored its psychological, emotional, and philosophical aspects, and delved deep into the heart of introspection and self-discovery. Our journey may have ended, but the process of self-discovery and self-understanding is an ongoing journey that continues. Take these lessons with you and let them illuminate your path towards self-awareness and personal growth.

And remember, there’s always more to discover at Kalm Awareness. I invite you to explore our other insightful articles and collections and embark on new journeys of self-discovery. Thank you for being part of this journey, and I look forward to our continued exploration in the future.

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The Science of Self-Realization

Articles from Back to Godhead magazine

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Life Potential

How to attain self realization (step-by-step guide).

Chances are, you’re busy hustling between the 40 hours a week you need to work, the family you need to provide for, and the bills that need to be paid.

As the years pass by, you’ve begun to feel the burnout from all the needs and expectations required of you. You don’t feel like you are in control over your own life. In fact, it feels like the circumstances in your life are controlling you.

What if there was a way for you to be able to have better control of your life and create all the positive changes you’ve been aching for?

This can be done through self-realization.

You’ve probably heard of this concept before, but you’re not really sure what it really is or how it can help you.

I’m going to dive into what exactly self-realization is and the exact steps you can take to attain it for yourself. Read on if you want to learn how to unlock your potential and find a way to decrease your stress and anxiety, and gain crystal clear clarity about who you are and what you’re capable of.

Table of Contents

How psychologists define self-realization, how religions define self-realization, why self-realization matters to you, how to start developing self-realization, final thoughts, what is self-realization.

Self-realization has a few big definitions. In the Western world, it’s generally defined as the activation of one’s full potential of talents and abilities.

Humanistic psychology also follows a similar train of thought about self-realization.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow has named people he considered to have reached self-realization such as Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt to name a few. His famous hierarchy of needs theory states in order to achieve self-realization (or in this case, Maslow uses the term “self-actualization”), [1] one needs to have a certain set of needs met before achieving it:

For example, self-realization cannot be achieved if you are struggling financially and too caught up in worrying about how to pay for the rent and provide food for your family. Unfortunately, this is usually the case for many people, which leaves little opportunity for them to maximize their abilities.

In religions, the concept of self-realization is taken from a different perspective altogether. Connecting with your truest self has a lot to do with transcending your own mind and body. This self is often considered as an eternal being that is not confined to the physical space that your mind and body take up. Many recognize this part of yourself as the soul.

To put all of these definitions together, self-realization is ultimately learning the answer to the foundational question, “Who am I?”

The answer lies from understanding that you are not your emotions or your thoughts. Who you really are is not even your body or your mind. These are all things you as a self experience, but they are not you.

And when you are too caught up in these things that are not yours, that’s when you fall victim to and get stuck in your negative experiences such as stress, anxiety and fear.

While your thoughts, feelings, and physical body always changes, you do not.

I know this concept can be a bit confusing to understand, so here’s a great video that explores who you really are explained by Prince EA. It was a video made in response to a bizarre interview session with Comedian Jim Carrey at the red carpet interview at the 2017 New York Fashion Week.

Here’s the video:

How often are you distracted, lost in your thoughts, or overwhelmed by difficult emotions?

Being in the present is more difficult than ever with the technology today. People are often buried in their smartphones or laptops while others around are craving their attention.

Most people spend so little time in the present. They’re usually either hurt and having trouble letting go of their past, or busy worrying about their futures: [2]

“People spend 46.9 percent of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they’re doing, and this mind-wandering typically makes them unhappy.”

Here are some amazing benefits to self-realization:

• The ability to monitor your emotions.  Rather than being controlled by your emotions, you can now use your observations about them during the experience to learn how to effectively handle things like fear, anxiety and stress. Self-realizations helps you do this by giving you the skill of letting go of debilitating feelings and taking hold of the empowering ones instead.
• Improved focus and concentration.  Guided by your own inner goals and values, self-realization helps you easily identify when you are entering into distractions and eliminate them. By getting rid of the meaningless things in your life, you stay committed to what matters most and you begin to see real results as you reach your fullest potential.
• Increased confidence, self-awareness and self-esteem.  By being connected deeply to your truest self, self-realization frees you from any insecurities, worries, and low sense of self worth that you feel tangled up in by helping you really grasp the truth that you are not defined by them.
• Becoming more accepting of yourself and of other people. You are able to be more authentic and express emotions freely and clearly. As a result, you are able to form deeper relationships and spend more time connecting with people rather than trying to impress them.

When people don’t have a strong sense of their own self, they get easily swayed to live life the way other people tell them to live it.

The truth of this has been shown through Bronnie Ware’s famous work, which has shown that one of the top regrets of people who are dying was: [3]

“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

There can be tons of pressure whether it’s from work, society, and even friends and family for you to be a certain way. Maybe your rough upbringing instilled a strong need for other’s approval in you so you do what others expect of you. Maybe you’ve stopped trusting people because of your struggles with letting go of the thoughts and experiences that hurt you.

Whatever the situation, self-realization gives you the safe space you need to heal and grow.

1. Start Meditating Regularly

Aside from all the scientific evidence that shows the health benefits of meditation , it is also a prime way to achieve self-realization.

One of my favorite apps that guide you through meditation is Headspace .

I particularly love this app because it is very straightforward without all the woo-woo types of things you normally associate with meditation. It does a great job of demystifying what meditation really is and how it can benefit you to achieving self-realization.

Here’s a great explanation of what meditation does for you:

You can get the basic meditation guidance for free or pay for a premium version for access to more specific meditations that improve things like self esteem, creativity and relationships.

In case you don’t want to download the app, here is the simple meditation practice you can do right now:

• Sit comfortably on a chair.
• Start by leaving your eyes open with a relaxed soft focus.
• Take about a minute to take deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
• After a few deep breaths, gently close your eyes while you are breathing out.
• Resume normal breathing.
• Take a moment to pause and enjoy being present in the moment with having nothing to do, nowhere to go, nothing to check.
• Take a moment to feel the pressure of your body on the chair beneath you, the feet on the floor and the hands and the arms just resting on the legs.
• Gently bring the focus back to your breathing.
• As you sit there beginning to notice the breath and the body with its rising and falling sensation, don’t try and stop your thoughts. Simply allow them to just come and go.
• At this point, the only thing you need to do is when you’ve realized your mind has wandered, gently bring the focus back to your breath again.
• Gently bring the attention back to your body, back to that feeling of contact to your chair and the space around you and when ready, gently open your eyes again.

Even if it’s only 5-10 minutes a day, learning to train your mind to be present is so important to your journey towards self-realization. You need to take a step back from the craziness of life and recompose yourself to be present for the things that matter most.

Another great method that can be used to achieve self-realization that involves a bit more body strength is yoga. While there are many variations of yoga and has also become a very popular form of exercise in western culture, its original purpose served as a meditative practice to achieve the higher level of consciousness that comes from self-realization.

You can access plenty of free Yoga channels on Youtube or join a gym to get started.

2. Make Time for Self-Realization Every Day

I know what you’re thinking.

“I don’t have time for this!”

I beg to differ.

About 40 percent of the things you do in a day don’t involve you actively making a decision. Instead, it is actually a habit.

Out of all of your habits, there are probably a handful of bad ones. If you can observe your daily routines, there is a simple way to change a bad habit into a good one, which is to start making changes to your environment to make it easier for you to change your habits.

The idea is rather than trying to squeeze in more time to do something, simply alter a daily habit you have into something else .

For example, let’s say you start your morning by brewing your coffee and sitting down on the dining table for 20 minutes to browse the internet to catch up on the news.

The news is usually full of negative information, so why not spend those 20 minutes in meditation instead?

One easy way to make this change is to change your environment up by keeping your laptop and phone in a different room so you don’t have immediate access to it when you sit down on the dining table. You make it easier on yourself to spend time meditating rather than staring at a screen.

Want some more great tips on breaking bad habits? Read How to Break a Bad Habit Fast .

Self-realization doesn’t happen overnight. It will take some time and practice, but if you turn the practices into a habit, you’ll be guaranteed to get there. Once you do, you’ll finally feel like you are in more control over your life and be able to get yourself to the next level.

Now that you have a better understanding of the importance and benefits of self-realization, why not take a moment to put everything down and give it a try?

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This topic is part of the Rebirth stage of the Spiritual Wanderer's Journey

The 9 Stages of Spiritual Self-Realization

by Aletheia · Updated: May 26, 2023 · 110 Comments

Self-realization is one of those phrases that we hear on the spiritual path that goes in one ear and out the other. We don’t give it much thought, yet it’s at the very heart of EVERYTHING.

Without seeing Self-Realization as the ultimate point of the spiritual awakening journey , our paths are vague, blurry, and disjointed. 

We don’t really know why we’re doing what we’re doing. And if we do have some faint reason, we never feel truly satisfied because everything we obtain, all the spiritual brownie points we collect, ultimately feel empty and disappointing.

In fact, when we lose sight of the importance of Self-Realization, our spiritual paths are nothing but one distraction after another.

We become spiritual consumers, dabbling here and there in attractive spiritual “products,” without ever really diving deep.

I call this “Rabbit Hole Spirituality”: like Alice in Wonderland, we’re constantly falling into endless rabbit holes of new trends, exciting practices, and sparkly feel-good philosophies.

But the reality is that we’re lost in a surface world full of superficiality , and eventually, something new will come along and catch our eye, and off into another Rabbit Hole we’ll fall.

Thankfully, there are paths out there that are aligned with a deeper form of spirituality – and all of them lead to Self-Realization in one way or another.

If you’re not quite sure what the hell Self-Realization is, or how to experience it, keep reading.

Table of contents

What is self-realization, the 3 shamanic realms of self-realization, 1. self-awareness, 2. self-exploration, 3. self-discovery, 4. self-understanding, 5. self-love, 6. self-transformation, 7. self-mastery, 8. self-transcendence, 9. self-realization, how to experience a taste of self-realization.

There are two definitions of Self-Realization: one is secular, and the other is spiritual.

According to various Western psychological and philosophical traditions, Self-Realization is the fulfillment of our personal potential in life. Essentially, it’s being all that we can be in an unlimited, expansive sense.

However, according to Eastern spirituality, Self-Realization is the knowledge and embodiment of our True Nature or the Higher Self beyond the ego. 

Here we have two strangely conflicting definitions from the East and West.

Which definition is correct?

Actually, neither definition is right or wrong: both are equally relevant as they uphold, and relate to, each other. I’ll explain why next. 

Self-Realization is not so much of a flashy lights-and-glamor moment as it is a slow and steady process of spiritual unfoldment. This process occurs within the three realms of existence:

• The Middle World
• The Lower World
• The Upper World

Using shamanic terminology, the middle world is the realm where we live everyday life. This is the realm where we go about our daily existence with family, friends, and work colleagues. 

The lower world is the downwards and inwards realm where everything hiding beneath the surface dwells. This is the realm of thoughts, feelings, instincts, dreams, unconscious wounds, and at a core level, the Soul .

The upper world is the upwards and outwards realm where we transcend the body, mind, and Soul, and enter the immaterial, eternal Spirit that permeates all layers of existence.

Each Realm Has a Purpose

Within each realm there is a task for us to fulfill:

• In the middle world, the task is ego growth
• In the lower world, the task is Soul embodiment
• In the upper world, the task is Spirit realization (also known as Self-Realization )

As depth psychologist Bill Plotkin writes,

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Ego growth, soul embodiment, and spirit realization are equally vital to growing whole. Although all three components can be engaged concurrently, there is a natural sequence to their unfolding: ego growth is the foundation upon which soul embodiment rests, and the latter, I believe, most effectively galvanizes spirit realization.

Here we see that all three realms build on top of (and support) one another – the ultimate goal being Self-Realization .

The Difference Between s elf-Realization and S elf-Realization

So here we see there are actually two types of Self-Realization.

The West promotes the realization of the self’s (ego’s) fullest potential. This process occurs within the middle and lower world realm. Some Western schools of psychology, such as those that adhere to Carl Jung’s philosophies, also promote Soul realization (also known as the individuation process).

And the East promotes the realization of the Self – that is, liberation from the small fabricated self (ego), and the embodiment of one’s Higher Self or True Nature. This is an upper world path, a path that transcends the personal ego and Soul, and unites us with the Absolute, Unchanging, and Eternal Spirit. This is the path of enlightenment. 

Most Western and Eastern schools of thought ignore or deny the importance of all three paths working together in unison. But they are all essential paths to embrace so that we can experience true Self-Realization, just as a tree needs roots, a trunk, and branches to be whole.

And should you choose to devote yourself to the ongoing journey of self-realization, you will develop a tremendous sense of respect for who you really are. It is only then that you will come to appreciate the full depth of meaning in the advice: “This above all: to thine own self be true.” – Michael A. Singer

As I mentioned previously, Self-Realization is not so much one great big moment as it is a gradual process of spiritual unfoldment. 

(However, it must be noted here that for some people, Self-Realization does come as one big moment. But for the vast majority of us, it’s a slow and steady process.)

Below you’ll find the nine stages of spiritual Self-Realization: from the beginning of the journey, all the way to the end.

Please note that Self-Realization is not necessarily (and often isn’t) a linear process. We often experience a spiral of blossoming and transformation, and it’s common to move forward and backward along this nine-stage journey.

Here are the nine stages of spiritual Self-Realization:

At the beginning of the journey is the dawning of self-awareness . This new awareness may dawn occur sporadically as a result of temporary moments of introspection or, alternatively, this awareness may suddenly erupt into our lives in the form of an unexpected spiritual awakening .

What is self-awareness? Self-awareness is when we become aware of ourselves (from an ego-based standpoint) and how we interact with the world.

Those who are self-aware move away from their previous psychological ignorance (also commonly referred to as “being asleep”) and into greater self-consciousness.

This gaining of sudden self-awareness can be a painful and humbling period as it tends to illuminate many of our harmful thoughts, habits, choices, and ways of relating to the world. And typically, we don’t like what we see. Thus, we either numb ourselves out of denial or enter the path of self-growth (also known as the spiritual path). 

After the shock of awakening to more self-awareness, we’re driven by the desire to explore ourselves more – this is the journey of self-exploration in a nutshell.

Self-exploration is fuelled by a mixture of curiosity (“ Who am I really? ”) and dissatisfaction (“ I can’t believe I did/said/believed that! ”). We want to find out more about personalities and understand our authentic place in life.

Self-exploration often occurs in the middle world (the realm of everyday life) and the purpose of it is to uncover how we think, feel, and behave. To get answers, we seek to gain knowledge and understanding of ourselves through books , workshops, films, courses, therapists, teachers, personality tests , and other psychological and spiritual practices.

Once we start dabbling in the world of self-exploration, we eventually experience self-discovery, which is what happens when we dig underneath the surface of our egos.

Self-discovery occurs when we move from the “ what? ” to the “ WHY? ” While the previous stage (self-exploration) deals with what we like/feel/do/think, self-discovery deals with why we like/feel/do/think everything that emerges inside of us.

In this stage, it’s common to begin various forms of inner work that get to the root of our core selves.

Self-understanding is a crystallization of the previous three stages: it’s a deep understanding of the dynamics and workings of our ego selves.

People who have reached this stage have a thorough and multi-layered understanding of the origins and reasons why they think, feel, and behave the way they do. Not only have they explored their conscious ego, but they’ve also explored their unconscious mind to meet their shadow selves and other buried core wounds .

Self-Understanding is a lower world path that goes downwards and inwards, touching and revealing the very nature of our Souls.

Next is self-love: the stage where we are filled with compassion for ourselves and all that we’ve been through.

As a lower world path, self-love is what happens when we tap into the fundamental nature of our heart and soul: love.

When we love ourselves, we’re fuelled by a deep understanding of ourselves. In fact, without the previous stage (self-understanding) it’s almost impossible to practice self-love because we don’t know what or why we do, think, and feel what we do. 

Learning how to love ourselves means that we stop punishing ourselves, start nurturing our inner child , and begin experiencing greater self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-forgiveness.

In this stage, we begin to shed our old and limiting habits, perceptions, and compulsions that were created by the false self (ego) and begin to experience transformation.

When we experience self-transformation, we enter a death and rebirth process that can feel uncomfortable and destabilizing at first. But ultimately, any change we undergo is liberating. In other words, we become more Soul-centered instead of ego-centered, and we’re more comfortable in our skin.

Thanks to the previous five stages, we’re able to make space for new growth to occur. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, we feel more expanded, free, and grounded.

As a culmination of stages 1-6, this stage is about reaping the rewards of a stable and well-adjusted ego. Psychologist Carl Jung referred to this stage as individuation, that is, becoming a whole human being who is connected and aligned with the Soul. 

Self-mastery is self-explanatory – it means mastering the false self (or ego) – but not with a tyrannical or domineering stance. Instead, mastering the false self is done with love and understanding. 

Instead of being slaves to our egos, we live from the heart and Soul, and our egos are in service to the Soul. 

When we experience self-mastery, our inner and outer worlds are balanced (i.e., we are spiritually integrated ), and we become the Kings or Queens of our own middle worlds (everyday life) and lower worlds (inner life). We are self-contained, calm, perceptive, wise, compassionate, and lighthearted.

Next is self-transcendence which is where we start entering the world of Spirit (or the upper world). 

When we walk the path of self-transcendence, we are seeking to move beyond our limited egos and attachment to our Souls, and rest in the deep spiritual Oneness at the center of who we really are.

The desire to self-transcend may come naturally throughout time (as a result of diligently walking the spiritual path), through a sudden mystical experience , profound transpersonal insight, or a deep inner calling to taste ultimate freedom.

Common self-transcendence paths and practices out there include meditation, yogic disciplines, mystical and higher consciousness traditions (Sufism, Gnosticism, Taoism , Buddhism , etc.), self-inquiry, non-dual teachings, contemplation, and so forth. 

At last, we come to Self-Realization which is ultimately a gift of grace from Life, Spirit, or the Divine.

While we cannot “achieve” Self-Realization in the linear ego-based sense, we can prepare the soil of our inner garden, so to speak, to receive such a sacred gift.

So how does Self-Realization occur?

Self-Realization occurs when we stop identifying with the limited ego, deepen into a Soul-centered presence, and recognize ourselves as one and the same as the Divine on a visceral level.

Moving past a sense of “me,” “mine,” and “I am …” (aka., the inner stories fabricated by our illusory selves) we come to embody what is referred to as Christ Consciousness , Enlightenment, Buddhahood, Non-Dual Awareness, and Oneness . 

Other names for this energetic expansion and shift in awareness are is Nirvana, Heaven, Moksha, Unio Mystica, Samadhi, Cosmic Consciousness, and so on. However, while this inner shift has been given many wildly exciting names, it has also been described as delightfully ordinary and unfathomably simple by those claiming to have tasted it.

Ultimately, to experience Self-Realization is to see through the insubstantiality and impermanence of the ego, the dreamlike nature of thought, and the illusion of attachment to all phenomena, and into the vast, spacious, and eternal presence that exists everywhere. 

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In this stage, we are free from separation and find our true Home again. What remains is a pure radiance of being, a sacred union with Life, and an ever-deepening blossoming of love, connection, inner peace , and openness to existence. 

Self-Realization is a journey that could take you a few years, decades, an entire lifetime, or longer. But it is a sacred path that is worth every bit of your time, effort, sincerity, and focus. Ultimately, it is the path of enlightenment , the path of freedom, and the path of love. What could be more meaningful than that?

Now that we’ve explored what Self-Realization is and its nine stages, how can we taste – even just briefly – this experience? (I’m sure you’re curious!)

Here are some methods and practices that can help you to dip into this life-changing experience (although nothing is ever guaranteed):

• Long stretches of meditation (45 minutes or more per day) – Keep in mind that it’s important to work up to the goal of longer meditations, especially if you’re a beginner. Find a style of meditation that feels comfortable and beneficial to you and stick with it for at least a month.
• Plant medicine journeying (with ayahuasca, peyote, mescaline, psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, etc.) – If you have a mental illness, I recommend talking to a therapist beforehand or trying another one of these suggestions (as plant medicine can sometimes negatively exacerbate symptoms). Otherwise, plant medicine is an amazing path that I highly recommend approaching with a clear conscious intention and tons of respect.
• Entering altered states of consciousness (such as through a trance state , lucid dreaming , breathwork , and self-hypnosis ) – Remember to be gentle with yourself and go slowly when entering altered states (this can help to prevent overwhelm).
• Nature immersion – Try spending long periods in nature (1+ hours), particularly in wild and untamed areas that aren’t visited by people. Nature has a magical way of opening the heart and mind to new horizons!

If you can recommend any other practices, please share them below!

In the words of great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi:

Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.

Perhaps one of the most important things to understand about this topic is that the journey of Self-Realization is not linear. We don’t simply move from point A (Self-Awareness) to point Z (Self-Realization). There is no straight line here. This journey is certainly not logical or simple.

Instead, see Self-Realization as a spiral or a circle. This is a process of unfolding that ebbs and flows, waxes and wanes, opens and closes like the sun, moon, ocean, clouds, and flowers.

In one period of life, we might return back to the basics of learning about ourselves and developing more ego awareness (even after years of doing that kind of work and thinking we’re “done” with that!).

In other parts of life, we might be called to follow a more transcendental path. And then again, we might be called to return to “beginner’s mind” once again.

No part of the journey is better than the other or more needed than the other: each stage is interdependent and divinely entwined.

However, by listening to the various wisdom traditions in the world that contain Self-Realization at their core and by putting our spiritual journeys into context (rather than getting lost in the rabbit holes of spiritual materialism ), we can understand the deeper purpose of our lives and inner paths.

May your journey of Self-Realization be deep, expansive, and liberating.

Tell me, what stage do you think you’re in on the journey toward Self-Realization? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

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I’m at stage 6, Self-Transformation, it’s been really overwhelming, but I’m grateful for the Transformation

Right now I feel I am at the Self Love stage and many times go back into the stage 1 of becoming more aware. It can be frantic a lot of the time. But I know its worth it. And to be a more conscious and loving man who is awake.

I’m already at The Stage 9  😇 

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What Does Self-Realization Mean?

Sadhguru speaks about what self-realization means, and why it is not a choice, but a must in everyone’s life.

Questioner: I want to leave this daily routine and dedicate myself fully to understand the real “I.” But the moment I think of my family, everything takes the backstage. How do I balance this?

When people hear the word “self-realization,” maybe it conjures up images in their minds of some Himalayan cave. I don’t want to talk about anything that is not yet in your experience because the moment we talk about it, you will lose touch with reality. If you start believing realities that are not yet in your experience, you will lose ground in the reality you are in.

Unfortunately, this is what has happened in the world in the name of spirituality and religion . God is not an enabling factor, God is unfortunately a disabling factor in most people’s lives because they believe God is going to take care of their food, their survival, their health, and their business. So, let us not talk about knowing yourself in some mystical way or another dimension. Let us talk about knowing yourself in the most practical way that we can look at.

Reading Your User’s Manual

If you want to work with anything, for example let us say you want to drive your motorcycle or car. The better you grasp what the machine is, the more control and freedom it gives you as to what you can do with it. Whether you are using your car, computer or even your cell phone, the more you know about it the better you can use it. Or even with the people around, your own family, friends or people who work with you, the better you know them the better you can deal with them. Whatever you wish to deal with, the more you know about it, the better you can handle it.

Why is it that you don’t see this about yourself? The more you know about this piece of life, which you refer to as “myself,” the better your grasp over this and the better your ability to handle it, which definitely gives you more access to life. In other words, self-realization is a way of knowing this piece of life in a much better way than the way you currently know it. You may know something about your thought process, your personality and your emotions – you may have been psycho-analyzed already – but you still do not know anything about the nature of this life – how this happens, where it comes from, where it goes, what is its nature. If you do not know anything about the machine that you are handling, you will handle it by accident.

Please look at this. What do you know about this piece of life? When you live accidentally and exist here as an accident, you are a potential calamity. Whether you actually become a calamity or not, you are a potential calamity. If you live here as a potential calamity, to be anxious and fearful is very natural, and that is how life is happening.

Do not think of self-realization as some weird thing that some yogi does in a Himalayan cave. It is not about that. It is just that if you want to live your life with a certain ease , you have to know this piece of life. If you do not explore and know this, how will you live with ease? When there is no ease, joy is out of question. When there is no ease and joy in your life, questions will come up, “To be or not to be?” People think this is a very intelligent question. This is the most idiotic thing you can ask yourself. This life process is such a phenomenon, but you are asking, “To be or not to be?” Such silly questions have risen in the mind because people have not realized the immensity of what it means to be human. Self-realization is not a choice; it is a must.

Editor’s Note: Excerpted from Mystic’s Musings. Not for the faint-hearted, this book deftly guides us with answers about reality that transcend our fears, angers, hopes, and struggles. Sadhguru keeps us teetering on the edge of logic and captivates us with his answers to questions relating to life, death, rebirth, suffering, karma, and the journey of the Self. Download the sample pdf or purchase the ebook .

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“Your outlook on life is a direct reflection on how much you like yourself.” ~ Lululemon

“My existence on this earth is pointless.”

That thought crossed my mind every night before I fell asleep.

It had been several months since I graduated from high school and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. My future plans were falling to pieces, and everyone around me kept telling me that I needed to start accomplishing things that I had not yet accomplished.

I was not where I thought I should be in life. Everyone had expectations that I hadn’t met. I became too focused on becoming a version of myself that everyone else wanted, and I constantly compared myself to other people who had already taken the dive into the next chapter of their life.

I was relentlessly questioned and judged for my slower progression in life, which convinced me that no one supported me or believed in me. I wondered why I even bothered to exist if I was getting nowhere and disappointing everyone. I began to blame everyone but myself for the state of misery I had fallen into.

My self-esteem began to suffer as the months went by. I felt inferior to everyone and it made me hate myself. I still did not know what I wanted to do with my life—and I was starting to not even care.

But several months and hundreds of needless self insults later, I decided to block out the negativity , both from myself and other people. I silenced the voice in my head that told me I wasn’t good enough and asked myself what would really make me happy.

I’ve always been very creative and expressive. I used to sing, act, and dance when I was younger. But my favorite thing has always been writing.

Some of the happiest moments in my life came from opportunities to express myself or put my heart and soul out for everyone to see. Every path I tried to take always led me back to writing.

I got to a point where I realized that I was only trying to pursue other paths because I thought that’s what other people would accept. I was afraid that if I let my imagination soar to all the different possibilities, people would tear me down or tell me to be “realistic.”

The bottom line is that I became paralyzed with this fear of not being accepted. I was afraid to be different or go my own way and pursue what truly made me happy. I put myself in a box.

One day, I decided that enough was enough. I spent an entire year of my life trying to be “realistic” and conform to the expectations of other people. I realized that you can’t please everyone anyway, so trying will definitely not lead to contentment.

Real happiness comes from being content with and proud of yourself .

I finally decided that I was going to devote my time to learning about writing and working on my writing skills. I am happy with that decision and I feel better about myself because I made it for me.

I have learned a few things about choosing the right path for yourself, focusing on what will make you happy. If you’ve been struggling to make that choice, I recommend:

Drop your worries.

Worry puts a burden on your mind, body, and spirit. They can keep you up all night if you let them. Find comfort in the fact that everything happens for a reason and everything will fall into place at the right time.

During my period of low self-esteem and extreme uncertainty, I relentlessly questioned every aspect of my life. I would go to bed frustrated and upset as I told myself I wasn’t good enough, and that I wished I was like everyone else my age.

By constantly bashing yourself and worrying about every single thing that happens to you, you’re missing out on happiness that you could’ve had all along.

Do not try to please or impress anyone but yourself.

The need to impress, please, and compare ourselves to other people all the time is one of the most common causes of self-loathing. As long as you’re trying to please other people and live up to their expectations, you will not be pleasing yourself.

What I’ve learned is that happiness does not come from pleasing other people. Happiness comes from feeling content with your own life and goals.

Embrace your unique qualities and talents.

Everyone is different. Figure out what you’re good at and what sets you apart from everyone else. Your mission is to create a reason for being here.

Believe in your path.

When you start to figure out what you want in life, there will be obstacles. Do not let anyone or anything discourage you from continuing on. Believe in yourself and believe in your decisions.

Stay positive and keep moving forward.

Take your time.

Life does not come with a rulebook or deadlines for accomplishing certain things. I used to always think that I needed to be at the same level as everyone else my age. Life is not a race or a contest.

Have faith in the fact that you are exactly where you need to be at this very moment in time and as long as you’re content, don’t let anyone convince you that you’re not where you need to be. You be the judge of what you want to change in your life and then do it for you .

Surround yourself with positivity.

Try to limit the amount of time you spend with people who nay-say, judge, or ridicule. Choose to completely surround yourself with positive, inspiring influences. You will feel much happier and better about yourself if you do.

Make a list of sayings or quotes that make you feel encouraged or inspired and keep it where you can see it each day. Try putting the list under your pillow or on your refrigerator door.

The most important thing to remember is that you are worth it, you can go another day, and you can be happy. Life will not throw you anything you cannot handle or overcome.

Once you start to accept and love yourself and your desired path, the smoke will clear and you will breathe easy again. Be kind to yourself and life will be a whole lot brighter.

Photo by QuinnDombrowsky

About Madison Sonnier

Madison is a writer of feelings and lover of animals, music, nature and creativity. You can follow her blog at journeyofasoulsearcher.blogspot.com/ and buy her first eBook through Amazon . She loves making new friends, so be sure to say hi if you like what you see!

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• content locked 1 Collectivist self-realization
• content locked 2 Individualist self-realization
• content locked 3 Further problems
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Self-realization

• Evans, Mark

‘Self-realization’ is the development and expression of characteristic attributes and potentials in a fashion which comprehensively discloses their subject’s real nature. Usually, the ‘self’ in question is the individual person, but the concept has also been applied to corporate bodies held to possess a unitary identity.

What constitutes the self’s ‘real nature’ is the key variable generating the many conceptions of self-realization. These can be grouped broadly into two types: (1) the ‘collectivist’, in which the self-realizing lifestyle, being either the same for all or specific to a person or subgroup of people, is ultimately definable only in the context, and perhaps with reference to the common purposes, of a collective social body; (2) the ‘individualist’, in which a person’s self-realization has no necessary connection with the ends of a particular community.

As an ethic, self-realization can be proposed as the means to achieve a life identified as good by some criterion independent of the self-realizing process, or held to be that which actually defines the good. Its critics typically argue that human nature is such that any equation of ‘self-realization’ and ‘goodness’ is implausible or undesirable.

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12 Short Stories on Self Realization And Finding Your True Self

Awareness of your true self is the difference between feeling empowered or feeling like a victim.

Here are 12 short stories that explain the importance of becoming aware of our true self.

Table of Contents

1. The Man and His Horse

A monk slowly walks along a road when he hears the sound of a galloping horse. He turns around to see a man riding a horse moving swiftly towards his direction. When the man reaches closer, the monk asks, “Where are you going?” . To which the man replies, “I don’t know, ask the horse” and rides away.

Moral of the story:

The horse in the story represents your subconscious mind. The subconscious mind runs on past conditioning. It is nothing but a computer program. If you are lost in the program, the program controls you and leads you wherever it feels like.

Instead, when you become self aware , you start to become aware of your programs and start looking at them objectively. Once you become aware of the program, you start to control the program and not the other way round.

2. The Lion and the Sheep

There was once a pregnant lion that was on its last legs. She dies soon after giving birth. The newborn not knowing what to do, makes its way into a nearby field and mingles with a herd of sheep. The mother sheep sees the cub and decides to raise it as its own.

And so the lion cub grows up along with the other sheep and starts thinking and acting just like a sheep. It would bleat like a sheep and even eat grass!

But it was never truly happy. For one, it always felt that there was something missing. And secondly, the other sheep would constantly ridicule it for being so different.

They would say, “You are so ugly and your voice sounds so weird. Why can’t you bleat properly like the rest of us? You are a disgrace to the sheep community!”

The lion would just stand there and take in all these remarks feeling extremely sad. It felt it had let down the sheep community by being so different and that it was a waste of space.

One day, an older lion from a far off jungle sees the herd of sheep and decides to attack it. While attacking, it sees the young lion running away along with the other sheep.

Curious as to what was happening, the older lion decides to stop chasing the sheep and pursues the younger lion instead. It pounces on the lion and growls asking it why it is running away with the sheep?

The younger lion shakes in fear and says, “please don’t eat me, I am just a young sheep. Please let me go!” .

Upon hearing this, the older lion growls, “That’s nonsense! You are not a sheep, you are a lion, just like me!” .

The younger lion simply repeats, “I know I am a sheep, please let me go” .

At this point the older lion gets an idea. It drags the younger lion to a river nearby and asks it to look at its reflection. Upon looking at the reflection, the lion much to its own astonishment realizes who it really was; it was not a sheep, it was a mighty lion!

The young lion feels so thrilled that it lets out a mighty roar. The roar echoes from all corners of the jungle and frightens the living daylights out of all the sheep that were hiding behind the bushes to see what was happening. They all flee away.

No longer will the sheep be able to make fun of the lion or even stand close to it for the lion had found its true nature and its true herd.

The older lion in the story is a metaphor for ‘self awareness’ and looking at the reflection in the water is a metaphor for ‘self reflection’ .

When the younger lion becomes aware of its limiting beliefs through self reflection it realizes its true nature. It is no longer influenced by its surroundings and develops a bigger vision in alignment with its nature.

Just like the younger lion in this story, you might have been brought up in surroundings that were negative and hence accumulated many negative beliefs about yourself. Bad parenting, bad teachers, bad peers, media, government and society can all have these negative influences on us when we are young.

As an adult, it is easy to lose yourself in negative thoughts and to start feeling like a victim by blaming the past. But that will only keep you stuck in the current reality. To change your reality and find your tribe, you need to start working on your inner self and focus all your energy towards becoming self aware.

The older lion in this story is not an external entity. It is an internal entity. It lives right inside you. The older lion is your true self, your awareness. Allow your awareness to shine light onto all your limiting beliefs and find who you truly are.

3. The Teacup

There was once a well-educated, highly successful man who went to visit a Zen master to ask for solutions to his problems. As the Zen master and the man conversed, the man would frequently interrupt the Zen master to interject his own beliefs, not allowing the Zen master to finish many sentences.

Finally, the Zen master stopped talking and offered the man a cup of tea. When the Zen master poured the tea, he kept pouring after the cup was full, causing it to overflow.

“Stop pouring,” the man said, “The cup is full.”

The Zen master stopped and said, “Similarly, you are too full of your own opinions. You want my help, but you have no room in your own cup to receive my words.”

This Zen story is a reminder that your beliefs are not you. When you unconsciously hold on to your beliefs, you become rigid and closed-mind to learn and expand your consciousness. The path to self realization is to stay conscious of your beliefs and always be open to learning.

4. Elephant and the Pig

An elephant was walking toward its herd after taking bath in a nearby river. On its way the elephant sees a pig walking towards it. The pig as usual was coming after a relaxing dip in muddy waters. It was covered in mud.

Upon approaching closer, the pig sees the elephant moving out of its way allowing the pig to pass. While walking past, the pig makes fun of the elephant accusing the elephant of being afraid of it.

It also tells this to other pigs standing nearby and they all laugh at the elephant. Upon seeing this, some elephants from the herd ask their friend in amazement, “Were you really afraid of that pig?”

To which the elephant replies, “No. I could have pushed the pig aside if I wanted to, but the pig was muddy and the mud would have splashed on me too. I wanted to avoid that, hence I stepped aside.”

The mud covered pig in the story is a metaphor for negative energy. When you interact with negative energy, you allow your space to be infiltrated by that energy too. The evolved way is to let go of such petty distractions and focus all your energy on things that matter.

Even though the elephant must have felt anger, it did not allow the anger to evoke an automatic emotional reaction. Instead it responded after careful examination of the situation and that response was to let the pig go.

Once you are in a higher state of vibration (more self aware), you are no longer distracted by petty things. You no longer automatically react to all external stimuli. You have a deeper understanding of what serves you and what does not.

Spending your precious energy arguing/fighting with someone who is egoistically motivated is never going to serve you. It just leads to a, ‘who is better’ battle where no one wins. You end up giving your energy to an energy vampire who craves attention and drama.

Instead, you are better off diverting all your attention on things that matter and simply discard things that are of a lower significance.

4. Monkey and the Fish

The fish loved the river. It felt blissful swimming around in its clear blue waters. One day while swimming closer to the river banks it hears a voice say, “hey, fish, how is the water?” .

The fish raises its head above the water and sees a monkey seated on a branch of a tree.

The fish replies, “The water is nice and warm, thank you” .

The monkey feels jealous of the fish and wants to put it down. It says, “why don’t you come out of the water and climb this tree. The view from here is amazing!”

The fish feeling a little sad, replies, “I don’t know how to climb a tree and I cannot survive without water” .

Hearing this the monkey makes fun of the fish saying, “you are totally worthless if you cannot climb a tree!”

The fish starts thinking about this remark day and night and becomes extremely depressed, “yes, the monkey is right” , it would think, “I cannot even climb a tree, I must be worthless.”

A sea-horse sees the fish feeling all depressed and asks it what the reason was. Upon knowing the reason, the sea-horse laughs and says, “If the monkey thinks you are worthless for not being able to climb the tree, then the monkey is worthless too cause it cannot swim or live under water.”

Upon hearing this the fish suddenly realized how gifted it was; that it had the ability to survive under water and swim freely which the monkey never could!

The fish feels thankful to nature for giving it such an amazing ability.

This story takes from Einstein’s quote, “ Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid ”.

Take a look at our education system that judges everyone based on the same criterion. Coming out of such a system, it’s easy for many of us to start believing that we are actually less gifted than others. But the reality is far from it.

The fish in the story attains self realization. It realizes what its true power was thanks to its friend. In a similar way, the only way to realize your true potential is to become self aware. The more awareness you bring into your life, the more you realize your true potential.

6. The Afterlife

An Emperor visited a Zen master to ask about the afterlife. “When an enlightened man dies, what happens to his soul?” Asked the emperor.

All the Zen master had to say was: “I have no idea.”

“How could you not know?” Demanded the Emperor. “You’re a Zen master!”

“But I am not a dead Zen master!” He proclaimed.

No one knows the absolute truth of life. Every idea presented is a mere theory based on one’s own subjective interpretations. In this respect, it is important to realize the limitations of the human mind as you continue in your quest for knowledge.

7. Anger Management

A young man approached a Zen master pleading for help with his anger problem. “I have a quick temper, and it’s damaging my relationships,” the young man said.

“I’d love to help,” said the Zen master. “Can you demonstrate your quick temper to me?”

“Not right now. It happens suddenly,” the young man replied.

“Then what is the problem?” asked the Zen master. “If it were a part of your true nature, it would be present all the time. Something that comes and goes is not a part of you, and you shouldn’t concern yourself with it.”

The man nodded in understanding and went on his way. Soon afterwards, he was able to become aware of his temper, thus controlling it and repairing his damaged relationships.

Your emotions are not you but they can gain control over you if you do not reflect on them. The only way to tame a subconscious reaction is to bring the light of consciousness to it. Once you become conscious of a belief, action or emotion, it no longer wields control over you.

8. Glorious Moon

There was an old Zen master who lived a simple life, in a hut in the mountains. One night, a thief broke into the hut while the Zen master was away. However, the Zen master owned very few possessions; thus, the thief found nothing to steal.

At that moment, the Zen master returned home. Upon seeing the thief in his house, he said, “You’ve walked so far to get here. I’d hate for you to return home with nothing.” So, the Zen master gave all of his clothes to the man.

The thief was shocked, but he confusedly took the clothes and left.

Afterward, the now-naked Zen master sat outside and gazed at the moon. “Poor man,” he said to himself. “I wish I could give him this glorious moon.”

A person who has a lower level of consciousness is always preoccupied with material possessions. But once your consciousness expands, you start to think beyond the material. You become richer from within as you start to realize all the magical things that surround you and the power in the mere fact that you exist.

9. Perfect Silence

Four students who practiced meditation together decided to observe a vow of silence for seven days. For the first day, all was perfectly silent. But then, when night fell, one of the students couldn’t help but notice that the lamps were becoming dim.

Without thinking, he blurted to an assistant, “Please fuel the lamps!”

His friend said, “Be quiet, you’re breaking your vow!”

Another student shouted, “Why are you fools talking?”

Finally, the fourth student commented, “I’m the only one who didn’t break my vow!”

With the intention of correcting the other, all four students broke the vow within the first day. The lesson here is to remember, that instead of focusing your energy on criticizing or judging the other person, the prudent thing to do is look at your own self and engage in self reflection . Self reflection is the way to self realization.

10. Differing Perceptions

A young man and his friend were walking along the river bank, when they stopped to gaze at some fish.

“They’re having so much fun,” exclaimed the young man.

“How would you know that? You’re not a fish.” His friend shot back.

“But you’re not a fish either,” argued the young man. “Therefore, how would you know that I don’t know that they’re having fun?”

Remember that other people’s perceptions matter just as much as yours!

There is no absolute truth. Everything is a matter of perspective. The same things appear completely different depending on how you perceive them.

11. Impermanence

A wise old Zen teacher once visited the king’s palace late at night. The guards recognized the trusted teacher, and did not stop him at the door.

Upon approaching the king’s throne, the king greeted him. “How can I help you?” Asked the king.

“I need a place to sleep. May I have a room at this inn for a night?” The teacher responded.

“This is no inn!” Laughed the king. “This is my palace!”

“Is it your palace? If so, who lived here before you were born?” The teacher asked.

“My father lived here; he’s dead now.”

“And who lived here before your father was born?”

“My grandfather, of course, who is dead as well.”

“Well,” the Zen teacher concluded, “It sounds to me as if this is a house where people stay for some time, and then go away. Are you sure that this is not an inn?”

Your possessions are a mere illusion. Realizing this can be truly freeing. This does not mean that you renounce everything and become a monk, it just means that you realize deep inside about this nature of impermanence.

12. Cause and Effect

There was once an old farmer who was tending to his fields one day, when his horse broke the gate and bolted away. His neighbors, upon hearing the news that the farmer lost his horse, offered their sympathy. “That’s terrible luck,” they said.

“We’ll see,” was all the farmer replied.

The next day, the farmer and his neighbors were stunned to see the horse return, along with three other wild horses. “What awesome luck!” Said the farmer’s neighbors.

Again, all the farmer had to say was, “We’ll see”.

The following day, the farmer’s son tried riding one of the wild horses. He was unfortunately thrown from the horse, and broke his leg. “Your poor son,” said the farmer’s neighbors. “This is terrible.”

Once more, what did the farmer say? “We’ll see.”

Finally, the next day, visitors appeared in the village: they were military generals drafting young men into the army. Due to the young man’s broken leg, the farmer’s son was not drafted. “How lucky you are!” Said the farmer’s neighbors to the farmer, once again.

“We’ll see,” the farmer remarked.

The fact of the matter is that your mind cannot predict the future. We can make assumptions but that does not mean that your assumptions will always be true. Therefore, the prudent thing is to live in the now, have patience and let things unfold at their own pace.

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Mukesh Mani

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The Secret of Self-Realization

By: Eckhart Tolle

• Narrated by: Eckhart Tolle
• Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins
• 4.8 out of 5 stars 4.8 (118 ratings)

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Publisher's summary

When you realize that it’s unnecessary to think all the time, something miraculous happens: who you are beyond the self-image in your head begins to emerge. Join Eckhart Tolle in The Secret of Self-Realization for an intensive two-session program pointing us toward the firsthand experience of our essential nature beyond the mind.

After years of anxiety and depression, how was it that Eckhart came to suddenly realize a vastness of peace and inner freedom? Through the cessation of the thinking that was creating all of the drama in the first place, Eckhart discovered a sense of identity beyond “the little me.” The Secret of Self-Realization invites you to transcend the frustration and dissatisfaction of a thought-based life to experience the liberation that unfolds when the dimension of “being” takes precedence. Explore:

• The inner body as the doorway to an “I” of infinite depth.
• The Now as a felt reality—not just an abstract concept.
• Egoic power versus the power of life.
• Connecting to the source of love and compassion.

“Many of us are like transitional beings between two levels of consciousness,” explains Eckhart. The Secret of Self-Realization brings you vital teachings to help you meet the world in the awareness that precedes thought, connected to the limitless source of all that is.

• Categories: Health & Wellness

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What listeners say about The Secret of Self-Realization

• 5 out of 5 stars 4.8 out of 5.0
• 5 Stars 104
• 5 out of 5 stars 4.9 out of 5.0

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Wonderfully useful

covers so many pitfalls and behaviors of the human psyche. identifies them, explains them and points the way through or past them when needed.

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All all right for me

I feel the this audiobook is really clear and easy to use. I suppose that this type of knowledge is the simplest and really deep.

Extraordinary

I had never heard of Mr. Tolle prior to taking a shot at this audio book, and I'm so glad that I did. This is a most extraordinary piece, with explanations that, for me, solidified the ideas of awareness, self-realization and me as a "person". I listened to it twice immediately and plan to do more. It's a concise and at times humorous performance by a deeply knowledgeable author. Highly recommend.

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Eckhart Tolle is a very very knowledgeable person, I can not argue with anything that he says...

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Expression as Realization: Speakers’ Interests in Freedom of Speech

• Published: 09 April 2011
• Volume 30 , pages 517–539, ( 2011 )

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I argue for the recognition of a particular kind of interest that one has in freedom of expression: an interest served by expressive activity in forming and discovering one’s own beliefs, desires, and commitments. In articulating that interest, I aim to contribute to a family of theories of freedom of expression that find its justification in the interests that speakers have in their own speech or thought, to be distinguished from whatever interests they may also have as audiences or third parties for speech. Although there are many differences among such speaker-centered theories, a core commitment that most share is that expressive liberty plays a fundamental role in securing or constituting some form of individual self-realization. My account is a defense and elaboration of what I take to be one specific (but not exclusive) way in which the nature of such self-realization should be understood. In my proposal, self-realization is sometimes internally related to the very activity of expression, viz, expressing ourselves is one way in which we come to form and know our own minds.

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4 Self-Uncertainty as Self-Realization

• Published: December 2017
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A central issue in Hamlet is Hamlet’s attempt to live his life as his—his efforts at discerning a course of action that amounts to “leading” a life, rather than just suffering it. Shakespeare’s play addresses Hamlet’s difficulty in doing this, from two sides. First, Hamlet is framed by the breakdown of the social bonds on which the protagonists depend for the meaning and worth of their lives together. The play shows these bonds to be dissolvable. Second, Hamlet’s predicament does not leave us with a desperate nihilism. On the contrary, the play shows how the meaning of a life as individually lived is best gauged by the way it “bears up” under the collapse of traditional, inherited ways of life. Hamlet is what the testing of a new, radically uncertain practical identity looks like. He cultivates an abiding uncertainty about who he might become, as a mode of self-realization.

In the Poetics , as everyone knows, Aristotle stressed that plot-structure ( mythos ) is the “soul” of tragedy, and he connected this to an account of the impact of tragic dramas on audiences. 1 Tragic plots—thought Aristotle—present a shared understanding of the worldly conditions for the protagonists’ actions and sufferings, a collective understanding of the things in view of which the drama’s main events might occur. The events in a tragic plot must be plausible, after all, and they must unfold on account of one another in some intelligible way. If a tragic story moves us, Aristotle thought, it is because the events depicted seem to us “likely enough” and rational in this way, as if they could happen to any of us. What we watch happen in a tragedy is not likely enough to justify “real” fear, but the events are too close (and too significant) to ignore. 2 The way audiences are moved by what happens—indeed, whether audiences are moved—thus gauges this collective understanding of matters generally, and confirms the “universality” of a shared human condition. 3 Our affective response, Aristotle insists, is linked to the ultimate rationality of the events themselves, and the meaningfulness of the world in which they occur.

And so, for Aristotle, even when tragedies depict the breakdown of deep, abiding social bonds, this does not occur without leaving behind the possibility of our making sense of the crisis. Our affective response to tragedy, and the pleasure we take in the play, are colored by our relief at being able to achieve this kind of sense making, while risking nothing. 4 Histories or epics also portray sequences of events by which we can be moved; but tragedies go further—Aristotle proposes—by condensing those sequences (in a unification of time and place, for instance) so as to intensify and reveal the shared sense we make of what human beings might do or say. According to Aristotle, all of this is structured around a temporal interval between a significant deed and a subsequent “recognition” in tragic plots, where “events occur contrary to expectation yet on account of one another.” 5 Through this retrospective view—this unexpected but intelligible consequentiality—we learn something about the actions, their conditions, and implications. And in this way, the basic rationality of the world in which the events occur is also affirmed.

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet , the threats to the sense we make of the world proliferate considerably, when compared to Aristotle’s view of Oedipus Rex . 6 If the Oresteia or the Oedipus myth could capture anxieties about the balance between matrilineal ties and the structure of the polis, for instance, the complexity of the social-historical world in which Shakespeare wrote (and of which he wrote) seems less suited to the tight plot-structure of these Attic tragedies. As Johann Gottfried Herder put it, in his critique of the appropriateness of Aristotle’s Poetics for an understanding of Shakespeare’s drama: “Shakespeare’s age offered him anything but the simplicity of national customs, deeds, inclinations, and historical traditions which shaped Greek drama.” 7 As every student of Shakespeare knows, not only do Shakespeare’s plays resist easy “plot-summary” (the way that the story of Oedipus might be told in a few sentences); Shakespeare’s drama also has to solve for itself, again and again, with each new play and performance, just what the main events in the play mean , exactly. For instance, Hamlet must work out for himself—and each performance of Hamlet must figure out anew—the meaning of Claudius’s coronation, or his mother’s remarriage, or his dead father’s call for revenge, or what it means to be a “courtier” or “son” or “Prince.” 8

In contrast to Oedipus’s predicament, Hamlet’s knowledge of past events is in not in question; he is not blind to what he and others have done. But the meaning of what Hamlet knows is not clear; so, what is known—along with the practical response that knowledge requires—remains open to conjecture and interpretation. This not only characterizes Hamlet’s predicament internal to Shakespeare’s play—it also characterizes the way Hamlet looks to Herder, as well as to us today. And it helps explain the sheer variety and quantity of critical responses occasioned by Shakespeare’s play in schools, playhouses, and popular culture.

This is largely because the social-historical world in which the events of the play occur (“Elsinore” or “Denmark” or “Shakespeare’s England,” or any other sociohistorical world in which they might plausibly occur) is complicated enough to render each of these events, and all these “types of people,” problematic and unclear. There is, for a start, no universal perspective from which to secure a sense of who Shakespeare’s characters are, exactly, that would be shared by all. Instead, Shakespeare shows us how different situations and individuals look from the standpoint of one individual (Hamlet)—as well as from other standpoints on that individual (Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, each of whom has a worldview of their own)—without ever showing how or whether these multiple, individual viewpoints might coincide. Indeed, the events in Hamlet are motivated by the noncoincidence of these various subjective points of views—the lack of an objective, shared understanding of the situation. Think, for instance, of how different perspectives on Hamlet’s behavior drive much of what actually occurs in the play. (By contrast, to compose an Aristotelian plot meant grasping who the protagonists are, essentially, in light of what they do. Sophocles saw— had to see—that Oedipus was both king of Thebes [hence, Jocasta’s husband] and Jocasta’s son [hence, Laius’s murderer] in order to show how Oedipus himself was brought to “see” the whole picture. While Oedipus’s viewpoint is at first partial and subjective— he thinks he is Jocasta’s husband, even as he is ignorant of the fact that he is her son—the unfolding of events will bring him, too, to see the whole picture as the rest of us see it [within the play, and in the audience].) In Shakespeare, however, any understanding of “what happens in Hamlet ,” as John Dover Wilson once put it, is deeply provisional, historically bounded, and dependent on context. In Hamlet (and other Shakespeare plays), no one ever learns the “whole truth” of who he, or anyone else, fundamentally is . The plot offers no panoptic perspective on human affairs or particular actions and events that could eventually be shared by participants and spectators alike. Subjective-individual viewpoints and an objective grasp of the “way things really are for everyone” never fully coincide.

Because the conditions for human activity generally—social, political, economic, physical—have undergone radical transformations, and must therefore be seen as transformable still, any representation of human actions ( our dramatic art) must also be seen as transformable in ways that no poetic “rules” can govern. If the world of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is to be an intelligible one—and not just chaotic or meaningless—explanatory satisfaction and affective force must come from something other than a kind of Aristotelian plot-structure.

In what follows, I want to suggest some ways that Shakespeare’s play addresses these challenges from two sides. First, my proposal will be that Shakespeare’s Hamlet is framed by the historical breakdown of the social bonds—military life, family or kinship roles, economic activity, monarchical rule, feudal hierarchies—on which the protagonists depend for the meaning and worth of their lives together, for something like a coherent “practical identity.” 9 The play shows these bonds to be dissolvable, in spite of that dependence. To be clear, I do not mean only that these particular forms of social life fall into crisis in Shakespeare’s play—though that happens, too. (No social world can outlive its ability to transmit its own values and commitments, and “something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” 1.4.90). I mean that, as a result of this situation, the constitution of a practical identity via reflective commitments to broadly sharable norms itself starts to look uncertain. The incoherence of Hamlet’s possible role as “obedient” son to Gertrude and “avenger” of his father, for instance, does not lie in any tragic, mutual exclusivity of these two “duties” or in a latent contradiction at the heart Elsinore’s beautiful Sittlichkeit . (Hamlet can kill Claudius while leaving Gertrude out of it, as the Ghost in fact suggests.) It lies in the fact that the fulfillment of any duty (loving obedience to Gertrude or Claudius, vengeful murder) seems to Hamlet to fall short of offering him a chance to live his life. Hamlet is thus not only caught between competing “possible” practical identities—different ways in which he might “become Hamlet the Dane” in Denmark (each of which would come with its own problems and challenges). He also becomes uncertain whether any kind of coherent practical identity is possible for him at all, whether he can really lead a life— become Hamlet at all—just by reflectively endorsing the practical identities on offer (obedient son, avenger, Prince).

At the same time, I shall argue, Hamlet’s predicament does not leave us with a desperate nihilism—with the sense that it does not matter what people do, or suffer, or that all we are left with is mere “vanity.” 10 On the contrary, the play shows how the meaning of a life as individually lived is perhaps best gauged by the way it “bears up” under the collapse of traditional, inherited ways of life—as if the way in which individuals “bear up” completes, and perhaps even helps explain the significance of, the collapse of social conditions which sustain practical identities.

Hamlet himself, for instance, does undergo a kind of existential crisis, as just stated. But that crisis is—I think—different from the way in which it has often been portrayed. When Hamlet says things like, “O that this too too sallied flesh would melt” (1.2.129), he is not expressing the meaninglessness of his life so much as his experience of the meaningless of its possible worth, according to prevailing social norms. (“How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world!” 1.2.134–35). Indeed, precisely because his life as Hamlet—as the person he might become— matters to him so keenly, he feels the meaningless of the social values according to which he feels called to live. Hamlet’s crisis is thus not the expression of nihilism, but of the seriousness with which he tries to take up the task of “becoming himself.” It is a kind of fidelity to the possibility of taking up a practical identity, without quite knowing what direction it will take in view of the social pretenses on offer. 11

Consider, Hamlet can be identified with any number of deeds. He does all sorts of things. For instance, he openly disrespects Claudius, he berates Ophelia, speaks daggers to his mother, and kills Polonius. And yet no one in the play knows exactly what to make of Hamlet’s deeds, or how to assess them in view of any collective “reasons” that adhere in any shared understanding of the world, or any social form of life. Indeed, Hamlet himself does not seem to know; though he seems to think that something in what he does ought to somehow connect with his “task” of becoming a good son, or a worthy prince. Consider his behavior after his father’s death (which Hamlet seems to think is appropriate to the occasion), or of his treatment of Ophelia, or his refusal to treat Polonius’s corpse with appropriate care. Whenever Hamlet seeks the meaning of his actions in the clarity of others’ responses, his social world seems incapable of answering him. (Gertrude: “O me, what hast thou done?” / Hamlet: “Nay, I know not,” 3.4.23–24.) At most, others voice incomprehension; or, finally, they send him away to England. And yet, in each of the cases, Hamlet does not seem to be merely rejecting or repudiating the worth of these roles—lover, mourning son, avenger—rather, he seems to be looking for the right way of faithfully carrying out those roles.

Hamlet’s challenge, under these conditions, is thus not just to figure out how best to carry out what is ostensibly being asked of him in terms of available social pretense—revenge, filial love, loyalty to the court—but to try to take up these “practical identities” under the realization that none of the available social pretenses are sufficient, even in combination. Moreover, it is not that Hamlet “steps back” with a “detached irony” and “critiques” his various roles—as “lover-to-Ophelia” or “avenger-to-his-father.” Rather, by berating Ophelia (“get thee to a nunnery”) or even by slaying Polonius, he is trying to find a way to take up those very commitments, while recognizing that the historically available, “known,” ways of taking up those commitments according to available social pretense are insufficient and stand in need of disruption. Hamlet is committed to the life he is living, or trying to live; but the form that commitment takes, in practice, is the avowal that known ways of being a lover, son, or avenger can collapse. For Hamlet, to cite one instance to which I shall return, saying “I loved you not” (3.1.119) can be a way of trying to be a lover, beyond available social pretense.

My suggestion, then, is that a central issue in Hamlet is Hamlet’s attempt to live his life as his —his efforts at discerning a course of action that might amount to provisionally “leading” a life, rather than just suffering it; or to at least to attaching himself meaningfully to what he has done, under the historical conditions just described. 12 At the same time, if we (in the audience) feel moved in response to Hamlet’s fate, then it must be because we regard Hamlet’s freedom, his leading a life, as important, as being of “universal” concern in Aristotle’s sense—over and beyond what he actually does, accomplishes, or leaves undone. Our affective response to Hamlet thus brings to light our understanding of the importance of individual freedom, in a world where our deepest social bonds can turn out to be insubstantial.

I want to further flesh out these thoughts, in this short essay, by considering Hamlet’s fate in light of three competing forms of social organization, upon which Hamlet depends, but each of which fail to afford Hamlet a livable, coherent normative framework in view of which to establish a practical identity. The first is Hamlet’s natural blood-ties to Gertrude, or what might be called the principle of “matrilineal descent”; the second is revenge, or Hamlet’s duty as his father’s first son, connected to the right of primogeniture; the third stems from the election of Claudius, connected to “courtier” culture, and the assertion of state-sanctioned property rights irrespective of natural geniture. 13 (Again, my point is not just that these forms of social organization are in crisis—and that others need to emerge to take their place; rather, I mean that the crises in these forms of life leave Hamlet uncertain about the possibility of any practical identity he might hope to take up.)

Consider, first, that Hamlet is unable and unwilling to sever the filial ties that chain him to Elsinore, prevent his return to Wittenberg, and oblige him to his mother—and, consequently, to Claudius (who repeatedly calls him “son”) and to the incestuous bed, or “nasty sty,” whose image he cannot get out of his head. 14 This is not to suggest that the elective monarchy of Shakespeare’s fictional Denmark conceives of itself in matrilineal terms. But we should remember that it is central to the play’s dramatic force that Claudius’s accession to the throne appear adjoined to his sexual conquest of Gertrude. 15 Proximity to Gertrude’s womb, to the matrix of power imbued by the flow of her blood, remains an essential bond between one generation and the next. 16

Hamlet’s disgust at this “incestuous” union has received plenty of critical attention, but it is likely that the intensity of Hamlet’s disgust is linked to the very real possibility of his disinheritance, were Claudius and Gertrude to have a child. (In an inversion of the Oedipus model, it is precisely because Hamlet did not have a child with his mother, and thereby insert himself between her and any further offspring, that he stands to lose everything.) 17 At any rate, it is clear that Hamlet is allowed to live, breathe, eat, command servants, speak publically, stage plays, welcome guests, and wield a sword in large part because he is acknowledged to be of royal blood—meaning, he is unquestionably Gertrude’s child, “too much in the ‘son’ ” (1.2.67). In this sense at least, Hamlet’s social place is to some extent determined by a natural fact, the conjugal blood of which he is both loving proof and vessel. Already in his first appearance, Hamlet seems to note this when he pledges allegiance to his mother—“I shall in all my best obey you, madam”—only to then, moments later, lament his situation. Such thoughts lead to further disgust. 18 For in their very adolescence they are also founding questions for human culture generally, as it seeks a nonnatural foothold within natural processes: Am I anything more than natural offspring? Am I—am I at all—without my natural family? Is my life nothing more than a natural interlude, between womb and grave? What is a family for?

In the Phenomenology of Spirit , G. W. F. Hegel posed these same questions, and offered a startling answer which foresees an entire field of subsequent anthropological inquiry: Care for the dead, for one’s own dead. “Blood-relationship,” writes Hegel, “supplements the natural process by . . . interrupting the work of Nature and rescuing the blood-relation from destruction; or better, because destruction is necessary, the passage of the blood-relation into mere being, it takes on itself the act of destruction.” 19 (After someone dies, we “rescue” their body from decay through embalming or some other ritual, only to then “accomplish” the destruction for ourselves, in burial or cremation—turning the natural “fact” of death into a human “deed.”) Care for one’s own dead is, of course, one of Hamlet’s primary challenges. For, it is this very “nature”—“whose common theme / Is death of fathers” (1.2.103–4)— that Claudius invokes when berating Hamlet for “persever[ing] / In obstinate condolement” (1.2.92–93). Indeed, Claudius faults Hamlet precisely for failing to recognize his father’s death as a merely natural event—as the exemplary natural event. He sees Hamlet’s grief as “unmanly,” “a fault against the dead, a fault to nature” (1.2.94, 102). But what Claudius misses are the questions to which both Hamlet and Hegel draw our attention: What happens to someone once they are dead? Do they retreat immediately back into natural life? (“To what base uses we may return, Horatio!” 5.1.192.) If being dead is a merely natural state, if individual deaths are a mere natural occurrence, then the death of Hamlet’s father has no human meaning, no “particular” meaning. There would be no way to distinguish Hamlet’s father from Caesar, Alexander the Great, from Hamlet himself, or any of the other crumbs of nature littering the earth.

This is why Gertrude’s initial query to Hamlet is so galling. “All that lives must die,” she chides, “passing through nature to eternity. “Why?” she asks, “seems it so particular with thee?” (1.2.73, 75) Hamlet’s responses, as everyone knows, is to assert that it does not “seem” particular; it is particular with him (1.2.76). For, without holding to this particularity, there can be no difference between seeming and being—no way to determine what is essential within the ceaselessness of temporal change. But how to make Hamlet’s father’s death (and, hence, his lived life) particular ? How to make the loss of his father worthy of particular note? More generally, how to prevent care for the dead from become a hollow, ritual response enacted in obsequious debt to mere natural facts?

Consider the sequence of failed, botched or perverted funerals in Shakespeare’s play. “Hamlet,” thunders Claudius upon learning what he has done with Polonius’ murdered corpse, “for that which thou hast done—must send thee hence” (4.3.41–42). Tellingly, the deed to which Claudius here refers is not just the actual killing of Polonius but also the obscenity of his “secret” disposal of Polonius’s body, the “guts” he “lug[s]” (3.4.210). Claudius is, I take it, genuinely horrified at Hamlet’s actions here, and by Hamlet’s subsequent extemporization on maggots, worms, and fish, which shows “how a king may go a / progress through the guts of a beggar” (4.3.29–30). But is this not Hamlet’s direct riposte to Claudius’s and Gertrude’s earlier remarks about the “commonness” of death of fathers? Is he not mocking Gertrude’s callous truism, “all that lives must die / Passing through nature” (1.2.72–73). “Ay, madam, it is common,” sneers Hamlet—and his disposal of Polonius punctuates the sneer. You say the passage from life to death is accomplished by nature? Fine, I’ll leave your courtier’s body under the stairs. No offense in the world .

Hamlet’s response to his mother, here and elsewhere, signals a breakdown in the ritual organization of social pretense around birth, and care for the dead. What we see emerge, between Hamlet and his parents, then, is a way of life in which such care is still routinely provided but no longer operates as an uncontested matrix for human self-understanding. “Do not for ever with thy veiled lids / Seek for thy noble father in the dust,” Gertrude implores (1.2.70–71). The dead must be buried, and “yet”—Claudius adds—“so far hath discretion fought with nature / That we with wisest sorrow think on him / Together with remembrance of ourselves” (1.2.5–7).

With this in mind, let me now turn to the second principle of social organization that falls into crisis in the play: Revenge, or Hamlet’s duty as his father’s first son. In a general sense, revenge tragedies symptomize the failure of funerary rites and obsequious care for the dead to do the “cultural” work that is being asked of such rituals. Indeed, revenge is called for when those “rites” are not enough, when the bonds between the living and the dead remain sundered by an individual’s death, by this death. Like care of the dead, successful vengeance seeks to particularize the avenged one, and recuperate the individuality of his connection to the community of the living. 20 So, too, Hamlet must avenge his father in order to properly bury him, as it were; to let him rest in peace.

This inadequacy of funerary rites is marked at several points in Shakespeare’s play. In the first place, the burial was not sufficiently separated—in its ritual doing—from the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude (“Thrift, Horatio, thrift . . . ,” 1.2.179–81). Indeed, what Hamlet finds vexing in the “most wicked speed” with which his “mother’s wedding” followed his “father’s funeral” (1.2.156, 176, 178) is not only the implicit substitutability of his father, but the confused substitution of burial for marriage, love of the dead and love of the living. In the second place, the Ghost calls upon Hamlet to, in effect, accomplish what the funeral itself did not manage—namely, the formation of a practical identity capable of binding son and father. He asks Hamlet to act like his son—“If ever didst thy dear father love . . .” (1.5.23).

Of course, it could be said that revenge is Hamlet’s duty, the norm to which he ought to adhere in the face of whatever might lead him astray; certainly, it is recognizable as such. But, then, to put the question in its traditional form: Why the delay, if Hamlet’s course of action is so clear? It is worth remembering that it also takes Hieronimo and Bel-Imperia an awfully long time to achieve revenge in Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy (c. 1590). Indeed, delayed revenge is so pervasive in the “revenge” tragedies of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries that it might be called a convention of the genre, like the happy marriage at the end of a typical comedy. 21 But in Hamlet this convention reaches a kind of apotheosis insofar as it is connected a perceived shortcoming in the duty itself. As if the duty is not enough for Hamlet—necessary, but not sufficient, for a fully lived life: an indicator that his life (any life) might be lived more fully or less fully. 22

By delaying, Hamlet himself experiences and also shows (us, in the audience) by sheer force of procrastination that his life is not reducible to the doing of this duty; that his life might be more fully lived as his. After all, Hamlet’s delay also serves to show, if nothing else, his individuality or distinctness—his own “sense of self”—with respect to his “role” as avenger; the possibility that Hamlet might distance himself from his father’s demand, at least temporally—by taking his time in the carrying out of his obligation, or by doing it “his way.” And this is true, even if Hamlet’s self-individuation (the “fuller” life he seeks) turns out to be little more than the achievement of this delay, or whatever we watch him do in the “interim.” It is true, in other words, even if he fails to lead a life—or, better, even if the possibility of failure seems intrinsic to the possibility of Hamlet’s succeeding. 23 “It will be short. The interim’s mine, / And a man’s life’s no more than to say one” (5.2.73–75).

At the same time, the delay tests our patience by seeking to make a drama out of letting one’s family duty “sleep” (4.4.58). Whether or not we are moved by Hamlet depends on our patience with this delay, our tarrying with it over the course of the performance. How badly do we want to see in Hamlet something more than the fulfillment of social pretense—his mother’s obedient son, his father’s bloody avenger? If we in the audience feel moved by Hamlet’s fate (and I think we can be) then—to tweak the Aristotelian thought with which I began—it is because we regard Hamlet’s sense of leading his own life as important, beyond whatever he objectively does or leaves undone, beyond any particular practical identity he might achieve, and yet as a kind of commitment (Hamlet does avenge his father, for instance, and repeatedly states his commitment to doing just that). That is to say, we must see Hamlet’s own sense of himself as an agent—his deliberation on his courses of action, his uncertainty about what he has done or might yet do—as themselves of potentially “objective” (universal) significance for all of us who might similarly lead (or fail) to lead a life in a complicated, fractured social world. 24

By “complicated,” I mean that Hamlet’s other social duties (beyond revenge) are in fact not so easy to grasp. As far as his life at Elsinore is concerned, and as a practical matter, it is far from obvious just what he is supposed to do with himself, as a matter of practice, other than be proximate to Claudius and Gertrude—“Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye, / Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son” (1.2.116–17). In being passed over for the kingship, after all, it could be said that Hamlet—rather than delaying—is himself deferred. After all, just what being “most immediate” to the throne means is not at all clear (1.2.109). Hamlet is asked to “obey” without being give any clear duty or responsibility. Of course, courts of the period had names for such figures: courtiers, lieges, noblemen. More on this in a moment. For the time being, I want merely to signal that we are presented with a form of life in which participation through the reflective endorsement of a “norm” or “duty” appears practically implausible.

More generally—to move explicitly to the third social principle under consideration—Claudius’s accession shows that matrilineal descent and the right of primogeniture have been emptied of unquestioned authority. Denmark is now an elective monarchy. 25 And this matters, in the context of my brief discussion here, because it implies that social inheritance has been at least partially severed from the “natural” devolution of generations—the bearing of children. So, while Hamlet’s relation to Gertrude is necessary for his place at court, it is not sufficient to define or stabilize the significance of that place. In this way, an elective monarchy makes explicit—at the level of state organization—what is implicit in modern forms of civil society: that living as an “individual” (a legal person) means being entitled to property, to a sphere of possession irrespective of any claims of parentage. By establishing a kind of collaboration between the state structure and civil society (as in the postfeudal relation between the king and courtiers that one sees in Claudius’ interactions with Hamlet, or with Laertes late in the play) property rights effectively render the “natural” family less and less relevant to the maintenance of the social structure of which it is a part. So, again, although the play shows the lingering force of Gertrude’s maternal bonds, it also shows those bonds to be anachronistic and insufficient for the reflective endorsement of any “norm,” for living out any clear practical identity. 26 And, by the same token, state-sanctioned property rights start to replace care for the dead as the organizing claim of the social itself.

In such a situation, the (natural-blood) family starts to appear increasingly incestuous, doomed to close in on itself in an antigenerative spiral. So, we watch Hamlet and Laertes (whom Hamlet calls “brother,” 5.2.230)—the living ends of their bloodlines—struggle to see who can be buried deepest in the grave of the young Ophelia, from whose “fair and unpolluted flesh” one can expect at best an offspring of “violets,” but no children (5.1.228–29).

Indeed, Ophelia’s funeral shows us the image of a social world in which funerary rites are becoming confused, not just with marriage (as we saw earlier), but with the act of taking up possession and residence. The gravesite has become a bit of terrain to be appropriated and expropriated; so, one by one, the skulls are tossed back up—“There’s another!” (5.1.93). Hamlet, of course, imagines these bones to be those of landowners—politicians, landlords, lawyers; and he sees these objects as having become, themselves, signs of ownership and entitlement. Ophelia, after all, is being given a “Christian burial” because she is a “gentlewoman” (5.1.24–25). Grave and funeral mark property and wealth. Following Ophelia’s corpse, Laertes complains twice, “What ceremony else?” (5.1.212, 214). His concern is not that of, say, Antigone—whose maternal blood-ties obligate her (she thinks) to bury her dead sibling’s body. Rather, they express Laertes’s anxiety over the fragility of his own nobility and wealth—especially in the wake of Polonius’s “obscure funeral” held with “[n]o trophy, sword, nor hatchment o’er his bones / No noble rite, nor formal ostentation” (4.5.206–7).

This erosion of (ancient, traditional-Christian) funerary rites, I take it, prompts Laertes to improvise some action that would help him assert nobility, give him access to wealth and a livable “practical identity” at Elsinore. Provoked by Gertrude’s last words, which seek to bind Ophelia to Hamlet as his “wife” (5.1.233), Laertes leaps forward. “Hold off the earth awhile, / ’Till I have caught her once more in mine arms. . . . Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead / Till of this flat a mountain you have made / T’o’ertop old Pelion or the skyish head / Of blue Olympus” (5.1.238–43). Not to be outdone, Hamlet enters the scene and demands to know, “What is he whose grief / Bears such an emphasis?” I see these displays as motivated, not just by “love” of Ophelia, but by the desire for honor and prestige in the eyes of the King (who can enrich them). Both Laertes and Hamlet have provisionally concluded that without wealth, nobility, and honorable standing, no livable practical identity is open to them—although Hamlet (as we will see) remains ambivalent about this.

So, they fight, first over Ophelia’s body and grave, and then again at court, ostensibly in order to satisfy the King’s wish to see gentlemen play with swords. 27 Perhaps more surprising than Laertes’s own efforts, is Hamlet’s apparently eager participation in the social pretense. (Consider the “tongue” of noblesse that Hamlet affects, “Let the foils be brought, the gentleman willing and the King hold his purpose—I will win for him an I can; if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits,” 5.2.155–58.) To Horatio’s surprise, Hamlet even remarks, “Since [Laertes] went into France, I / have been in continual practice. I shall win at the odds” (5.2.188–89). Honor, nobility, and property—our “third” principle of social organization—turn out to be perhaps the most plausible avenue open to Hamlet, at he sees it. 28

This can be put more formulaically. To be “honorable” or “noble” in the sense under discussion, entails somehow outstripping—or actively disowning—one’s own previous actions with ever newer, improvised endeavors. To be honorable, in this context, is to continually separate oneself from one’s own deeds through a kind of “madness” or “antic disposition,” through practical self-alienation. Such “madness” would be a form of life—an attempt at living “nobly,” as it were—in which one holds open an interpretive stance on what one does—all the while being a kind of fidelity to a practical identity, a kind of enacted nobility. Hamlet in fact articulates a kind of apology for this practical outlook.

What I have done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I here proclaim was madness. Was’t Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet. If Hamlet from himself be ta’en away And when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes, Then Hamlet does it not; Hamlet denies it. Who does it then? His madness. (5.2.208–15)

One implication of these words is that nothing Hamlet does should be counted as the deed of Hamlet’s life, the action on which he stakes of social existence or claims a practical identity. Whatever he does (or did) should rather be seen as a moment of “madness,” of “getting better” at living this kind “mad,” improvised life, and of getting better at “interpreting” it for himself and others along the way. Hamlet undertakes a kind of self-education, then, through this enacted madness.

To be clear, I do not see Hamlet (or Shakespeare) as merely repudiating the vanity or falsity of courtly life—or, as morally indicting the vain corruption of the world. Rather, I see Hamlet as exploring what a self-education into this “mad” way of life might entail, or make possible, or where it might lead. What Hamlet is working out, I think, is his place in relation to a social world in which detached, reflective endorsements (or refusals) of practical identities seem impractical, implausible. Hence, he accepts Osric’s invitation, even as he seeks to sustain an interpretive-critical disruption of the whole affair in his private talk with Horatio (“Thou wouldst not think how ill all’s here about my heart,” 5.2.208–9).

Manifestly, Hamlet is trying to find his way under social conditions in which traditional forms of duty and obligation have broken down for him, and are being replaced by the “falsity” of courtier life. At stake in this negotiation with the new “courtly” world is whether he can nevertheless manage some kind of livable self-relation—without, however, being able to manage the self-constitution of a practical identity or social role through a reflective endorsement of this new courtly culture. Hence, the odd complexity of his “mad” interactions throughout the play. (Consider, as only two examples, the gratuitousness with which he gets Polonius to agree that “yonder cloud” looks “like a camel,” only to then compel him to agree that it is “like a whale,” 3.2.367–72), and the grammar of his self-abuse at the end of the second act: “Am I a coward? / Who calls me villain . . . Why, what an ass am I!” 2.2.506–17.)

The fact that this madness, or “antic disposition,” seems to be a part of Hamlet’s character —rooted in the language Shakespeare supplies—has tempted some readers of the play to conclude, as Harold Bloom does, that this is “the grandest of consciousness as it overhears its own cognitive music.” 29 But Hamlet’s subjectivity is forged, not solipsistically, but within the social-historical conditions of “normative collapse” under analysis here. That is Hamlet’s Bildung : the impossibility of forging a practical identity solely in view of (or wholly apart from) the normative demands of matrilineal descent, duty to his dead father (revenge), care for the dead, property rights (false courtly life). Hamlet’s actions and soliloquys—his “mad” subjectivity, we might say—make that predicament actual and dramatic, as he self-consciously embodies it.

This is not to suggest that the individual “Hamlet” is just an effect or symptom of the historical breakdown of sociality into which he is born. (Had Horatio been born in Hamlet’s place, no doubt a different drama would be on display.) In other words, we ought to take seriously the significance of Hamlet’s singular “personality”—its “formal inevitability,” as Hegel put it. But rather than conclude that Hamlet’s “character” is just thereby the soul of the tragedy Shakespeare composed—as Hegel was tempted to do, and as A. C. Bradley largely did—I want to suggest that the play also shows us Hamlet’s practical efforts to think through (in thought and deed) the relation between his social predicament and himself, the implications of the life he is born into for the self-formation of his character.

After all, we need to understand what makes Hamlet’s fate dramatic . For if Shakespeare’s play were only the tale of Hamlet’s ruin—of this particular character’s coming to ruin because of a “decisive adherence to himself” (as Hegel puts it)—then why would we be moved? What about the “universality” of which Aristotle spoke, and which still seems to apply to Hamlet ?

Here, I think, it helps to recall what Shakespeare shows us over the course of the play. For we are at least shown the possibility of reflectively distancing oneself, not just from the duties one might take up, but from the certainty that duties can be taken up—as well as the historical crisis (the breakdowns in traditional forms of life) that make this possibility real. And this means we are shown how living a life in such a bereft social world is, at least, thinkable and perhaps possible—however, awkwardly—even if Hamlet’s practical self-knowledge breaks down, even if he ultimately fails to form a coherent practical identity.

More than that, we are shown how a certain self-education (Hamlet’s) can take place under these difficult and stifling, historical conditions. And this means, too, that we see how one’s sense of oneself—Hamlet’s self-consciousness, to use a sort of shorthand—might be achieved in the coherence of this kind of drama (I mean, the one we see in Hamlet ). Self-awareness about the importance of living one’s life, or failing to do so, stands as a genuine achievement of the play.

Admittedly, Shakespeare’s Hamlet seems to show us this only in “negative”—but that is still a showing. Consider, to take a moment already mentioned, how Hamlet’s self-alienation (his “attempt” to live like a courtier) is tested out—or, perhaps, starts to be realized—in his efforts to live an adult love-affair with Ophelia. When Ophelia’s answer to Hamlet’s request that he be “remembered” by her is to return his “remembrances” back to him, Hamlet’s response is—like the passage cited a moment ago—to disown his prior acts: “No, not I / I never gave you aught” (3.1.95–96). Hamlet seems “mad” to Ophelia here, true enough. But where self-alienation (that form of “madness” whereby one tries to live one’s life in a false world) appears like a possible form of “leading a life” (not just vanity or falseness, but not a traditional, practical identity either), then perhaps a new kind of love affair might yet be sparked in the denial of one’s past role as “lover.” “I did love you once,” but then again, “I loved you not” (3.1.115, 118–19). Radical equivocation is, in other words, perhaps one way of facing up to the general inauthenticity of social bonds in a world where (Hamlet knows) they are always “playing a role for others.” If only Ophelia could have taken his cue.

And as we watch such scenes, we come to better understand Hamlet—throughout all the changes his “madness” implies—not by finally arriving at the “truth” of who he really is, once and for all. (To search for a fixable essence called “Hamlet” apart from his improvised madness would be a mistake; perhaps the mistake made by Ophelia.) Rather, we watch the shape of Hamlet’s life as he lives it under these difficult circumstances. We hear him and watch him in various situations—and we get better at hearing him through these changes in setting and circumstance. Hamlet, I take it, is what the provisional testing-out of a new, radically uncertain, “mad” practical identity (an attempt at leading a life) looks and sounds like. He cultivates an abiding uncertainty about who he might become, as a mode of self-realization.

Works Cited

Adelman, Janet.   1992 . Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays . New York: Routledge.

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Aristotle . 1987 . The Poetics of Aristotle . Ed. Stephen Halliwell . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Bloom, Harold.   2003 . Hamlet: Poem Unlimited . New York: Riverhead.

Bradley, A. C.   2009 . Philosophers on Shakespeare . Ed. Paul A. Kottman . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Gjesdal, Kristin.   2017 . “Literature, Prejudice, Historicity: The Philosophical Significance of Herder’s Shakespeare Studies.” The Insistence of Art: Aesthetic Philosophy after Early Modernity . Ed. Paul A. Kottman . Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press. 91–115.

Grazia, Margreta de.   2007 . Hamlet without Hamlet . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hegel, G. W. F.   1977 . The Phenomenology of Spirit . Trans. A. V. Miller . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Herder, Johann Gottfried.   2009 . “Shakespeare.” Philosophers on Shakespeare . Ed. Paul A. Kottman . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 21–38.

Jardine, Lisa.   1996 . Reading Shakespeare Historically . New York: Routledge.

Korsgaard, Christine.   1996 . The Sources of Normativity . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kottman, Paul A. , ed. 2009 a. Philosophers on Shakespeare . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

———. 2009 b. Tragic Conditions in Shakespeare . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

———, ed. 2017 . The Insistence of Art: Aesthetic Philosophy after Early Modernity . Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press.

Lear, Jonathan.   1992 . “Katharsis.” Essays on Aristotle’s Poetics . Ed. Amélie Oksenberg Rorty . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 315–40.

———. 2011 . A Case for Irony . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Pippin, Robert.   2005 . “On Becoming Who One Is (and Failing).” The Persistence of Subjectivity . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

———. 2014 . “ Self-Interpreting Selves. ” Journal of Nietzsche Studies 45.2: 118–33.

Rorty, Amélie Oksenberg.   1992 . “The Psychology of Aristotelian Tragedy.” Essays on Aristotle’s Poetics . Ed. Rorty. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1–22.

Wilson, John Dover.   1959 . What Happens in Hamlet . 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

See Aristotle, Poetics , chapter 6 . Although the influence of Aristotle’s Poetics was less evident in Shakespeare’s England than in, say, sixteenth-century Italy or France—Sir Philip Sidney’s Defense of Poetry (1595) is probably the first appearance of Aristotelian ideas about poetry in English—“Aristotelian” attempts to develop generic definitions of tragedy were increasingly visible in Shakespeare’s England, as witnessed in the use of Horace’s Ars Poetica in education.

Any interpretation of the Poetics is open to contestation, especially in view of the long and complicated history of its influence and transmission. And there is of course far more to say about the issues broached here than I can say in this context. Here, I only wish to mention some basic tenets as background for what I have to say about Shakespeare’s Hamlet . For specific readings of Aristotle’s Poetics with which I am agreement, at least with respect to the broad issues raised here, see Amélie Oksenberg Rorty , “The Psychology of Aristotelian Tragedy” and Jonathan Lear , “Katharsis,” in A. O. Rorty , ed., Essays on Aristotle’s Poetics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992) .

Aristotle’s repeated emphasis on the “universality” of these elements in tragedy is connected to his remark that tragedy is “more philosophical” than history in the simple sense that, out of the morass of particular or contingent “happenings” in human affairs, an audience can discern the general sorts of things that “someone like us” might typically do or say.

Were the events “really happening,” we would feel pain, not pleasure. Aristotle, Poetics , chapter 4 .

Aristotle, Poetics 1452a3–4 ( The Poetics of Aristotle , ed. Stephen Halliwell [Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987], 63 ).

Broad comparisons of Shakespeare and ancient tragedy are helpful only to a point, and I wish to make no large historical claims about the relation between ancient and modern tragedy in this context. By invoking Aristotle and Sophocles (hence, leaving aside Euripides, Seneca, and others), and with Herder’s similar invocation of Aristotle in his “Shakespeare” essay in mind, I mean only to frame a few points of relevance to my discussion.

Johann Gottfried Herder , “Shakespeare” in Philosophers on Shakespeare , ed. Paul A. Kottman (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2009), 28 . For a helpful discussion of Herder’s essay on this point, see Kristin Gjesdal , “Literature, Prejudice, Historicity: The Philosophical Significance of Herder’s Shakespeare Studies,” in The Insistence of Art: Aesthetic Philosophy after Early Modernity , ed. Paul A. Kottman (Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press, 2017) .

Just what is Hamlet supposed to do at Elsinore, exactly? Read books? Practice his swordsmanship? Learn the art of flattery? Avenge his dead father? Take up arms, like Fortinbras? It depends largely upon who asks the question, and when.

I have in mind Christine Korsgaard’s definition of practical identity as “a description under which you value yourself, a description under which you find your life to be worth living and your actions to be worth undertaking.” See The Sources of Normativity (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996), 100 .

Compare A. C. Bradley’s apt remark: “[Shakespearean tragedy] makes us realize so vividly the worth of [the life] which is wasted that we cannot possibly seek comfort in the reflection that all is vanity.” Philosophers on Shakespeare , 98.

Which is not the same as saying that Hamlet manages the task. Although I do not recall that he mentions Hamlet in the course of his interpretation of Kierkegaard, I think that Jonathan Lear’s recent discussion of Kierkegaardian “irony” (and his riposte to Christine Korsgaard) might be usefully brought into conversation with Hamlet’s predicament. Lear himself seems to be alert to the possibility, when he speaks of irony as the possible cultivation of “an experience of oneself as uncanny, out of joint.” And his overall discussion of irony as “a peculiar disruption of inherited way[s] of facing life’s possibilities” is pertinent here. But perhaps Shakespeare’s Hamlet helps us to see what it would be to—as Lear puts it—“get the hang of” living ironically, precisely insofar as Hamlet does not quite manage to “get the hang” of living his life. See Jonathan Lear , A Case for Irony (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011), 37, 31 .

I see this reflected, with different implications, in the respective fates of Ophelia or Laertes, as well. But I think Hamlet experiences a deeper ambivalence or uncertainty about what to do under these conditions than either Ophelia or Laertes; and it the significance of this uncertainty on which Shakespeare asks us to reflect by placing Hamlet at the drama’s center.

This is a reconsideration and elaboration of an interpretation that I first sketched in my Tragic Conditions in Shakespeare (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009) , chapter 2 .

Gertrude also has Hamlet’s bed on her mind, as at 5.1.232–34.

This is emphasized at many points in the play—for instance, in the dumb show, where the murderer woos the queen; in the ghost’s lament that Claudius “won to his shameful lust / The will of his most seeming-virtuous queen” (1.5.45–46); at 4.3.48, where Hamlet calls Claudius “dear Mother.” “Father and mother is man and wife / Man and wife is one flesh. So—my mother” (4.3.49–50); and at 5.2.309–10, “Here, thou incestuous damned Dane! / Drink of this potion. Is the union here? / Follow my mother.”

Another way of looking at Gertrude’s importance can be found in Janet Adelman’s suggestive study, which develops work by Coppélia Kahn and others. Adelman argues that Gertrude marks “the origin of [Shakespeare’s] great tragic period.” Whereas the histories and comedies had unfolded “without any serious confrontation with the power of female sexuality,” Hamlet subjects “to material presence the relationships previously exempted from that presence.” Janet Adelman , Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays (New York: Routledge, 1992), 11 .

As Margreta de Grazia puts it, “That a son’s feelings for his mother should be sexual may have seemed less transgressive than prudent at a time when endogamous unions were used to keep dynastic power and property intact.” See her Hamlet without Hamlet (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 106–7 . Also, Lisa Jardine , Reading Shakespeare Historically (New York: Routledge, 2006), 46–47 .

Including sexual disgust; for more, see my discussion in Tragic Conditions in Shakespeare , chapter 2 .

G. W. F. Hegel , The Phenomenology of Spirit , trans. A.V. Miller (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977), 271 , paragraph 452, my emphasis.

As Laertes later makes clear, it is the “natural” bond of blood that also motivates revenge. See 5.2.240–42.

My thanks to Thomas Pavel, to whom I owe this observation and comparison.

Tzachi Zamir suggested to me in correspondence that, perhaps, the Ghost’s return itself hints at what makes a life less than full, at what more fully living one’s life might require, at dying with things left “undone.”

In this sense, Shakespeare’s Hamlet might be said to present a problematic—that of “becoming” or “failing to become” oneself—that has been helpfully analyzed in Robert Pippin’s essay on Proust: “On Becoming Who One Is (and Failing)” in The Persistence of Subjectivity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) ; and in Robert Pippin , “Self-Interpreting Selves,” Journal of Nietzsche Studies 45.2 (2014): 118–33 .

This, I think, is why Hamlet has generated more intense reflection over the years than, say, Thomas Kyd’s Hieronimo.

For context, see de Grazia, Hamlet without Hamlet , 87–89, especially her discussion of William Blackstone.

In this, as in other respects, Laertes’s fate mirrors that of Hamlet (as does Fortinbras’s or Pyrrhus’s). Consider, Laertes does not waste time, upon returning to Elsinore, in describing his predicament in just these terms: “That drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard, / Cries ‘Cuckold!’ to my father, brands the harlot / Even here between the chaste unsmirched brow / Of my true mother” (4.5.117–20).

That, for Laertes, honor and nobility are at stake is plainly clear—not only because he says so (5.2.242), or because of what Osric says on Laertes behalf (5.2.91–97), but because the audience knows that Claudius has pushed Laertes into the poisoned duel with precise words: “Laertes,” he goads, “was your father dear to you? / Or are you like the painting of sorrow, / A face without a heart?” (4.7.106–8). The point, of course, is not whether Laertes “really” grieves (since what really grieving, caring for the dead, is is what is at issue). The point, as Claudius knows, is Laertes’s inheritance, his claims to nobility—and Claudius’s desire to hold onto the throne, in the face of any popular uprising on Laertes’s behalf.

Hamlet confides his misgivings about all of this to Horatio (as at 5.2.190–91), but he nevertheless goes through with the duel.

Harold Bloom , Hamlet: Poem Unlimited (New York: Riverhead, 2003), p. 36 .

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The Caring Heart of Divine Mother

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Self-Realization Fellowship nun Sister Nandini shares wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda on the aspect of God as the ever-compassionate Divine Mother who feels for struggling humanity with the greatest of concern and love. “God as Divine Mother ever watches over Her human children,” Paramahansaji has said, “peeping through the caring hearts of all true mothers.”

This talk, recorded at the SRF Mother Center in Los Angeles, illustrates how we all can have a personal relationship with the Divine Mother who understands us completely and cherishes each step we take on the spiritual path.

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Humanistic psychology has provided a series of fundamental theories about human personality and its development. Prominent representatives such as A. Maslow, C. Rogers or R. Assagiolli, along with the psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, have defined the basic concepts that help us today to better understand the individual evolutionary path from intuitive thinking structures and primary group integration, to elements of metacognition, creativity and integration into society through high moral values. Self-realization is a complex process that needs to be addressed from a number of perspectives, to provide a more complex and true picture of how individual development takes place. The paper aims to identify the role of family, interpersonal relationships, to understand which are the functions of knowledge and emotional experiences during development and actualization of individual’s own potential. Achieving self-realization involves going through some stages, overcoming various difficulties and, above all, practicing self-regulation over individual emotions and behaviors. Education also provides the logical-scientific basis of going beyond the stages of self-realization, it provides insight and understanding, but it also means overcoming the theoretical boundaries, through personal involvement in actions that reflect moral and humanistic values. Positive and active approaches are ways that lead to self-realization.

Self-Realization , Self-Actualization , Personality , Moral Values , Motivation

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1. Introduction

Making an insight into the series of theories that discuss about personality fulfillment, we have taken into account the most important personality traits and have consistently referred to the moral values and social commitment of the individual. As a psycho-social being, man succeeds in getting to know himself and others, to build an ideal of life only by interacting with others and only by reference to the social-moral values specific to the historical times in which he/she lives. Humanistic psychology has provided a series of fundamental theories about human personality and its development. Prominent representatives such as A. Maslow, C. Rogers or R. Assagiolli, along with the psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, have defined the basic concepts that help us today to better understand the individual evolutionary path from intuitive thinking structures and primary group integration, to elements of metacognition, creativity and integration into society through high moral values. Self-realization is a complex process that needs to be addressed from a number of perspectives, to provide a more complex and true picture of how individual development takes place.

The motivation of this research of a theoretical and conceptual nature is provided by the current need for personality development in accordance with its own tendencies and abilities. Today’s society, due to its vast complexity, does not want an individual development that only pursues the requirements and standards of society, but wants the fulfillment or achievement of each individual's potential in the direction he/she can and wishes.

The methods used in this investigation include analysis, comparison and synthesis. Also, some analogies and generalizations are made in presenting and analyzing the theories and their fundamental concepts.

Thus, we will analyze Maslow, Rogers and Jung’s humanist and psychoanalytic approaches, followed by the analysis of Assagioli’s psychosynthesis theory, concluding this overview with the spiritualist theory of Ken Wilber, calling for a superior, transcendental dimension, in explaining the self-realization of the individual. Each of the described theories is accompanied by a critical, final approach.

2. The Process of Individualization in Carl G. Jung’s Theory

1) Self-Realization. Although at the beginning of his career Jung (1875-1961) embraced the concepts of psychoanalysis and important ideas of Freud (1933, 1937), however, he later considered that some of them are not truthful and cannot explain the delicate mechanisms of psychic functioning. Thus, Jung did not agree with Freud that religion was a neurosis, a return to childhood fears that had to be left aside as a sign of the development of adult life. Jung considers religion to be psychologically necessary for mental well-being, especially in the second half of life, but also to achieve social cohesion. He rejected the Freudian thesis, which claims that neurosis is a consequence of sexual conflicts and repressed aggressive tendencies, and said: “A psychoneurosis must ultimately be understood as the suffering of a soul who has not discovered yet its meaning” (Jung, 2016: p. 199) .

Jung is the one who introduced the term “self-realization,” which was later taken over and analyzed by the humanistic psychological movement. This was one of the most important concepts in the systems of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Jung spoke about individuation as a tendency of the evolution of personality towards a coherent and integrated ensemble. The idea of accumulation and lifelong personality development was an unprecedented approach to psychological theories of the last century. Even a very old person, Jung said, could have surprising and useful insights if he were willing to look deep inside. This was a new, modern approach to personality.

2) Individuation. One of the essential elements in the Jungian theory, individuation, at the same time gives meaning, purpose and law, and can be considered another kind of “getting out of concealment” (Jung, 2011: p. 89) , a disclosure of the self. This is because the individuation that C. G. Jung called the “central concept” of his psychology, although it is an unconscious process, refers to a widening of the sphere of consciousness and conscious psychic life. This means differentiating and becoming of the individual, otherwise than prescribe the collective norms; as Jung said, “to become an individual being, to the extent that, by individuality, we understand our most intimate, ultimate and incomparable uniqueness, means to become our own self” (Jaffe, 1996: p. 408) . Jung believes that this process is not just about psychic life because it is manifested in all living organisms. Thus, he states explicitly: “Individuality is the expression of that biological process—simple or complicated, as is the case—by which every living thing becomes what was destined to be from the beginning” (Jung, 2011: p. 73) . We have to do with a long and difficult process through which each “becomes himself”. Thus, an unconscious and timeless integration of the self takes place in the conscious personality related to the present world we live in (Rusu, 2001, 2003a) .

The stages of the individuation process go through both unconscious and conscious level, as it is evident from Jung’s statement: if it “unfolds unconsciously, as it has always done, it does not mean no more than the transformation of an acorn into an oak… and of a child into an adult. But if the process of individualization is conscious, the conscious must be confronted with the unconscious for this purpose, and a balance must be found between opposites” (Jung, 1994: p. 306) . It then continues to further deepen the differences between the two ways of realizing individualization: “The difference between the process of natural individuation, which unfolds unconsciously, and the consciousness one is huge. In the first case, consciousness does not intervene anywhere, therefore, the end remains as obscure as the beginning. In the second case, on the contrary, there is so much obscurity in the light that the consciousness gains inevitably, in breadth and understanding. The confrontation between the conscious and the unconscious must guard, as the light that shines in the darkness, and not only to perceive and understand the darkness, but to understand the darkness itself” (Jung, 1994: p. 292) . By balancing contradictions as well as understanding shadows, Jung states, in fact, the need to complement the contradictions existing within us, which must be transformed into a coexistence of the opposites.

3) Sacred Psychology. Introducing the idea of the soul and the importance of meaning as a critical factor in overcoming psychological stress, Jung recontextualized psychology as a sacred psychology and promoted a religious attitude, a relationship with God, and the cultivation of a spiritual life essential to a healthy personal development. We must note, however, that on many occasions Jung insisted that he does not speak of God as an absolute being, since it is not accessible to our knowledge but affirms the experience and the psychodynamic image of the divine, and recalls how it was expressed by people in different cultural symbols and images. Jung is not a theologian. He points out that human beings have this unique ability to formulate positive and/or negative images of an absolute creator. Jung (2016: p. 214) believes that the essence of psychic nature is a kind of disposition for this creator, while a religious attitude can be reflected either in devotion to a traditional god, or in patriotism, or in the fervor for a football team, or in pursuit of its success in any other form that ordinates people’s lives and gives them meaning and purpose.

4) Archetypes. It is important to emphasize that the self is the integration and improvement of personality resulting from a continuous process of development that Jung calls individuation or the inherent unity of human being with its own nature (Brinich & Shelley, 2002) . Individuation as a developmental process involves the differentiation and integration of such personality components as: the ego (the organizer of the conscious mind), the shadow (the unconscious aspect of the individual), the persona (the social mask adopted in response to the requirements of the environment) and the animus/anima (the male and female contradictions of the person). By exercising the psychological functions of thinking, feeling and intuition, they gradually pass under the conscious control of the self, which constitutes the new, recent ego, so that the person attains self-realization, thus becoming an individual who feels the psychic fulfillment. Jung can be called a precursor of transpersonal psychology as he confers the primordial role of the spirit in human actions and brings the soul and the spirit to the counseling room, offering invaluable concepts and techniques for the psychological work. The need for individuation, this genuine “evolutionary process of personality,” is viewed by Jung as introspection, which it regards as “self-focusing” and which, far from subduing it, regards it as an integrative, unifying process: “Introspection or the need for individualization—which is the same thing—gathers what is scattered and multiple, elevating them to the original form of the One, the primordial man. Through this separate existence, the Ego category is abolished, the circle of consciousness is widened and, through the awareness of paradoxes, the sources of conflict are exhausted” (Jung, 1994: pp. 167-168) .

5) Stages of individuation. This essential, but long, permanent and endless process that is the individuation, that crosses our life from the beginning to the end, is completed in two major stages; the first ends in mid-life (30 - 40 years), and the second in old age. The first stage is defined by the adaptation of man to the external environment, accompanied by the establishment and maintenance of personal relationships in a broad social framework as well as by the development of an appropriate Persona. Personality is the external attitude, the outer character, “a functional complex consisting of means of adaptation, but which does not identify with individuality”. “This functional complex refers exclusively to the relationship with objects” (Jung, 2016: p. 515) .

6) Conscious and Unconscious. Once the Self is the central archetype, it means that the process of realizing the Self will have to be directed archetypally. The self, therefore, has a double role in this process: on the one hand, it is the initiator of the process, on the other, is the goal it is aiming for. It becomes both process and finality, the way and the truth that comes to its end. From this perspective, individuation can be seen as a process by which man discovers and attains divinity from himself, becomes the “image and likeness of God”. This does not happen without much suffering, reflection, determination, but supposed efforts, when successful, are fully rewarded by the end result: reaching the joy of living by reaching unity/totality with the Self. If we were to look at the process of individuation through the metaphor of the journey, for example, where the journey itself is more exciting and thrilling, more satisfying and joyful than the point of arrival, then it means that the essence of individuation is “the journey” itself, the process of self-realization of the individual. Individuation is a continuous process of development, accumulation and resignation of meaning throughout life, a creative process: to the extent that we integrate and accept the unconscious part of us, we become more authentic, remodeling ourselves, and that brings us closer to perfection. The permanent confrontation between conscious and unconscious in the form of a continuous dialogue in which their contents are unified in symbols, leads to individuation. Practically, the symbol of the Self can be anything and anyone, from Christ to Buddha, from a circle to a square. Carl Jung stated: “The conscious and the unconscious do not make a whole if they repress and mutter each other. If they have to fight each other, then at least it should be a right fight and each side should have the same rights. Both are aspects of life. Conscience should defend reason and the possibility of self-protection, and the chaotic life of the unconscious should be able to follow its own path, as long as we can endure it. It means open struggle and open collaboration at the same time. This is how it seems people’s life should look. It’s the old hammer and the anvil game. The iron that suffers between the two is polished and becomes an indestructible whole, namely an ‘individual’. That’s about the individuation process. As the name indicates, it is a process or a development that comes from the conflict of the two basic soul realities.” (Jung, 2012) . Returning to oneself is a complex process that will be accomplished not only through introspection but also through education, by taking over and understanding spiritual and moral values in the history of mankind.

Synthesizing we can say that for Jung’s psychoanalytic theory, self-realization is the result of confronting the contents of the conscious and unconscious level of the individual. This is the only way to move from child to adult stage. A characteristic feature of this approach is the introduction of the soul idea and the re-contextualization of psychology (sacred psychology). Self-realization, claims Jung is a developmental process that involves the differentiation and integration of such personality components as: ego, shadow, persona and animus/anima. Individuation is a continuous process of accumulation and resignation of meaning throughout life, a creative process. To the extent that we integrate and accept the unconscious as a part of us, we become more authentic, remodeling ourselves, being closer to perfection.

3. Abraham Maslow—Motivation and Self-Actualization

If Jung appealed to the levels of consciousness, showing the importance of its abisal dimensions in the process of thought and creation, Maslow, in particular, brings into discussion the role of awareness and the will to become a fully-actualized being.

1) Pyramid of Needs. Acquisitioning the term of self-actualization from Jung’s theory, Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) integrates it into a complex theory of individual development. The known pyramid of needs, which presents the psycho-physiological causes of individual evolution, includes as a corollary, the stage of self-actualization, of personal perfection. By explaining a dialectic that exists between the unconscious/conscious levels, Maslow actually gets to say that the level of awareness of the ego represents the entry into the higher category of B needs (meta needs). Once we reach this level, we can say that the self-actualization process really starts. But what are the meta needs and how do they help us in self-realization?

2) Meta-Needs. Starting from the premise that the motivation of healthy people with exceptional achievements is at least as interesting and valuable as that of people with mental disorders, Maslow has been concerned about understanding how these people become intrinsically motivated in their work, enrolling in an ascending spiral of self-improvement. Self-actualization is a growth motivation that is found within each individual, a need to develop his own psychic potential, of the body itself (Maslow, 1993: p. 289) . His study included eminent people from different areas of his contemporary social life, who accepted to participate in the research, subject to confidentiality, historical figures with extensive biographical data, cases studied by other psychologists. The common factor of all these personalities is of a motivational nature: all those subjects were animated by needs that Maslow will call them meta needs (or B needs, Maslow: 1970, p. 19 ), which are a special form of motivation. “Individuals who become self-actualizing (becoming more mature, more plenary human) by definition have acceptably satisfied their basic needs and are now motivated in superior ways, which can be called meta-motivation” (Maslow, 1970: p. 20) . Broadly speaking, Maslow differentiates two categories of motivational forces:

· D-needs (deficiency needs)—needs induced by a deficit—when unsatisfaction produces tension, and satisfaction produces tension reduction (they have a homeostatic role);

· B-needs (needs)—needs to become/grow—where satisfaction generates new tensions, thus propelling the being into an ascending process of self-improvement, a process that results in outstanding social or professional achievements.

This differentiation is maintained at the level of knowledge (B-cognition and D-cognition) and extends to the functioning of the whole personality (affectivity, activity). The psychology of personality, as he proposes, is a psychology of becoming (Being Psychology, Maslow, 1968 ). The failure of achieving the meta-needs produces a meta-pathology that is different from the disturbances which accompany the pathology associated with deprivation in the case of type D needs. Meta-needs are present in people whose lives have been marked by peak experiences, through which these individuals have achieved the integrity of the self, the sense of identity and personal completeness. From the set of meta-needs identified—B-values, some of a greater important are revealed: truth, kindness, beauty, transcendence, justice, wealth/multiplicity, perfection, uniqueness, vivacity, etc.

3) Growth or Stagnation. Self-actualization means courage, effort, risk-taking, and sometimes suffering. Many people are afraid to risk, because every action in the direction of change can be successful or failing. Man is ambivalent to his success or that of others: “…We certainly love and admire any person who embodies the values of truth, kindness, beauty, righteousness, perfection, and ultimately, success. And yet, these people make us feel embarrassed, anxious, confused, maybe a little jealous and envious, a little bit inferior and left-handed. They make us lose our aplomb, self-mastery and self-esteem” (Maslow, 1993: p. 72) .

An interesting concept described in Maslow’s humanistic theory is the Iona complex. Every individual is at a certain moment in life, in front of a choice between growth and stagnation. First-time employment is risky and people who have not acquired the motivation, courage and the ability to take risks during their training will choose the way of stagnation (they will never get out of the belly of the whale). If we plan goals that are below our potential, we risk being unhappy and tense for the rest of our lives just because we have escaped from the trajectory of personal fulfillment (Maslow, 1970: p. 32) .

4) Multiple Motivations of Behavior. These needs should be understood not to be exclusive or unique to certain types of behavior. An example can be found in any behavior that appears to be physiologically motivated, such as food, sexual play, or the like. Clinical psychologists have long found that any behavior can be a means by which different determinants are manifested. Most of our behavior has a multiple motivation. The need to eat may be partly due to filling the stomach and partly for reasons of comfort and improvement of other needs. It is possible to make love not only for pure sexual release, but also to convince someone of our masculinity/femininity, or to make a conquest, to feel strong or to gain more affection or safety. Analyzing a single act of an individual we can see in it the expression of his physiological needs, safety, love, self-actualization needs. This contrasts with the more naive idea of psychology of traits, where a feature or reason represents a certain type of act (for example, an aggressive act is the result of an aggression trait).

5) The Need for Love. If both physiological and safety needs are well-satisfied, then the needs of love, affection and belonging and the whole cycle already described will be repeated having this new center (Maslow, 1993: p. 381) . Now, the person will feel—stronger than ever—the absence of friends or a lover, a wife or the absence of children. He/she will neglect strict physiological needs in favor of affective relations with people in general, that is, for a place in his group, and will strive with great intensity to achieve this goal. He/she will want to get such a place more than anything else in the world. In our society, alleviating these needs is the most common nucleus in more severe maladaptation and psychopathology. Love and affection, as well as their possible expression in sexuality, are generally viewed with ambivalence and are usually accompanied by many restrictions and inhibitions. In essence, all theoreticians of psychopathology have emphasized that the improvement of the need for love is essential in the image of individual inadequacy. Therefore, many clinical trials have been done on this need and we know more about it than any of the other needs (Maslow, 1968: p. 112) . In this analysis, love is not synonymous with sex. Sex can be studied as a purely physiological necessity. Regular sexual behavior is multidimensional, that is, determined not only by sexual needs, but also by other needs, including the needs of love and affection. It should not be neglected that the need for love implies both giving and receiving love.

6) The Need to Be Respected. All the people in our society (with some pathological exceptions) have the need or the desire for a stable, solid (usually) self-required assessment to gain self-esteem and respect from others. Through self-esteem, we understand the capacity and real respect for others. These needs can be classified into two subsidiary sets: the desire for power, achievement, suitability, trust in the world, independence and freedom. Secondly, we have what we may call the desire for reputation or prestige (defining it as respect or appreciation by other people), recognition, attention, importance or appreciation (Maslow, 1970: p. 33) . These needs were relatively underlined by Alfred Adler (1938) and his followers and were relatively neglected by Freud and psychoanalysts. More and more today, they are considered to be of central importance. “Satisfaction of self-esteem need leads to feelings of self-confidence, worth, strength, ability and adequacy of being useful and necessary in the world. But the thwarting of these needs produces feelings of inferiority, of weakness and of helplessness. These feelings in turn give rise to either basic discouragement or else compensatory or neurotic trends. An appreciation of the necessity of basic self-confidence and the understanding of how helpless people are without it, can be easily gained from a study of severe traumatic neurosis” (1970: p. 21).

7) The Need for Self-Actualization. Even if all these needs are met, we can still often (if not always) expect new discontent and anxiety to develop soon, if the individual does not do what is right. A musician has to make music, an artist has to paint, a poet must write, if he wants to be, finally, happy. What a man can be, it must be. This need can be called self-actualization. This term, originally conceived by Kurt Goldstein (quoted by Washburn, 1994: p. 54 ), is used in a much more specific and limited way. It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency to become everything that someone is capable of becoming. The specific form of these needs will be very different from person to person. In one case, it may take the form of the desire to be an ideal mother, for another person it can be expressed in athletic performances, and for another may be expressed in making photos or inventions. The clear emergence of these needs, Maslow believes, is based on the prior satisfaction of physiological, safety, love and esteem needs. Such an affirmation is a partial solution to the general problems of curiosity, the search for knowledge, truth and wisdom, and the ever more persistent need to solve the cosmic mysteries.

8) Relative Satisfaction. What we have previously presented may create the impression that basic needs respect a certain logical, “wise” order in their fulfillment. We have stated that “if a need is satisfied, then another appears” (Maslow, 1970: p. 24) . The false impression is that a necessity must be satisfied 100% before the next need arises. In fact, most members of our society who are normal are partially satisfied in all their basic needs and partly unsatisfied in all basic needs at the same time. A more realistic description of the hierarchy would be in terms of lowering satisfaction rates as we ascend higher in the hierarchy. We could exemplify through an average model of satisfaction: probably 85% of its physiological needs, 70% in its safety needs, 50% in its love needs, 40% in its self-esteem needs and 10% in its needs of self-actualization (Maslow, 1970: p. 30) .

The normal person is animated by meta-needs—B-values—and is characterized by functioning at the highest level of his/her potential. This kind of functioning is the sign of mental health. The psychological pathology is given by limiting and distorting the satisfaction of these needs of becoming (B-values). If we define the normal person as being adapted, in terms of the plenary development of his capacities, we do so by reference to an ideal man who, in fact, is the natural and healthy man. Ultimately, the normal person is the mature personality, who is self-actualized.

In conclusion, we can say that Maslow’s theory brings into the center of self-realization process (which he calls self-actualization) the concept of the awakening consciousness, the awareness of the ego that makes the transition to the needs of being (Beta needs)—which include the moral values: truth, kindness, beauty, transcendence, justice, wealth/multiplicity, perfection, uniqueness, vivacity, etc. Starting from these ideas, current psychology is increasingly focusing on career success (Dai & Song, 2016) , as an analogous motivation to self-realization. Also, Jim Meade (2000) suggested that career success is the result of personal experience and could be seen as personal experience and the accumulation of real or perceived accomplishments, so that career success involves subjective career successes and objective career successes (Hosseinkhanzadeh & Taher, 2013) .

At the same time “parent’s education, home stability, economic issues, cultural interests, home relationships, and cultural community opportunities are factors that determine the quantity and quality of the information received by the child, producing learning” (Lanz, Fernández, Fernández, & Valdez, 2017: p. 281) . It is important to understand the relationship between parental education and children academic performance, as the results show that parents with professional degree and postgraduate have children with good academic performance, compared with the parents with lower grade studies (Lanz et al., 2017: p. 283) .

Self-actualization to be fulfilled implies courage, effort, risk-taking, and sometimes suffering, frustration and isolation. Self-actualization is a growth motivation that is found within each individual, a need to develop his own psychic potential. The needs to grow—bring a satisfaction that generates new tensions, thus propelling the being into an ascending process of self-improvement, a process that results in outstanding social or professional achievements.

Two other key-concepts of this theory are: the multiple motivation of most of our behavior and the relative satisfaction of our important needs.

4. Carl Rogers Humanistic Psychology

While Maslow emphasizes the idea of effort in self-actualization, Rogers quotes this process as a natural tendency in nature, which only acquires a specific characteristic in the case of man.

1) Actualization, states C. Rogers (1902-1987), is a biological phenomenon, but it becomes an active tendency towards self-actualization in human beings. The general tendency towards self-actualization is the inherent contribution of the body in the development of all its capacities for maintaining or improving it. This constructive biological tendency, the only postulated by C. Rogers (2008, 2012) , is the central source of energy in the human body. The actualization tendency is expressed in a wide range of behaviors in response to a wide variety of needs. It has four significant features:

· is an organic, natural, innate predisposition.

· is an active process of initiating, exploring, producing change in the environment, playing and even creating (to meet human needs).

· it is direct and guides every form of life towards growth, self-regulation, fulfillment, reproduction, and independence from external control.

· it is selective—which means that not all the potentials of an organism develop with necessity.

2) Self-Actualization. Rogers has postulated that the human tendency is naturally directed towards self-actualization. The tendency toward self-actualization is the whole process through which the individual achieves his potential, to become a fully functioning person. What is actualized is the expression of the self-fulfillment of the human body—specific tendency to be what only what it can be. The tendency of self-actualization is always towards a “better life”. Rogers has associated the process of self-actualization with the stimulation of functioning in three areas:

· first of all, self-realization requires an increased openness to a diversity of experiences.

· secondly, self-actualized people participate in every moment in their lives, live in full. All life experience is now without preconceptions.

· third, people give confidence to their own body, to what they feel and perceive. They trust the freedom of decision, creativity, etc.

3) The Importance of Self (Ego). The concept of self-actualization suggests the central role of the ego in Rogers’s theory. The existence of the self seems to be clearly implicated in our daily language: I am in love; these books are mine etc. In short, the importance of self is one that distinguishes humanist psychology from other currents. Rogers distinguishes the actual self from the ideal self. The present ego includes our perceptions of how we are now. The ideal self is everything we imagine, we hope and wish to be.

4) Personality. Rogers’ work with clients, within his therapy, led him to identify the three necessary and sufficient conditions for the growth and change of personality:

· positive, unconditional approach: which assumes acceptance of being the person you are.

· accuracy of empathy: Rogers considered that the ability to understand another person is an essential value. The ability to correctly perceive a person’s own world in a non-evaluative way has been named accurate empathy.

· congruence in interpersonal relationships. In the direction of knowing a person, others need to demonstrate their ability to be themselves in relation to this natural and open person.

5) Client-Centered Therapy. The theory of C. Rogers gives the person a full attention. Every individual is seen as having innate inclinations for self-actualization, under conditions of a favorable environment. If certain conditions exist, then a characteristic process of personality change will occur. These conditions include the three necessary and sufficient conditions mentioned above. In addition to them is added the client’s anxiety. This therapy includes the client’s motivation for change. Current research demonstrated scientifically that there is a link between intelligence and positive, open, unprejudiced attitude to the life (Furnham, 2017) .

Summarily, C. Rogers builds his theory focusing on actualization as a biological, natural tendency of nature, which, however, becomes a conscious tendency in the case of self-actualization of human beings. It is an organic, natural, innate predisposition. This process can be characterized by the following specific features: it is an active process of initiating, exploring and it is selective—which means that not all the potentials of an organism will be developed with necessity. The purpose of this innate tendency is to become a fully functioning person. Also, self-realization requires an increased openness to a diversity of experiences, the capacity to live in full their lives, to give confidence to their own body, to trust the freedom of decision, creativity, etc. Regarding the personality development, Rogers describes a fundamental concept: the positive, unconditional approach.

5. Roberto Assagioli and the Concept of Psychosynthesis

The optimistic approach of Rogers’s theory and client-centered therapy is continued by Assagioli, who adds the spiritual dimension to interpreting the individual’s psychic life.

Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974) developed psychosynthesis, which, while has much in common with Jungian psychology, but differs in many important points. Assagioli’s statement is that the development of the individual is not just an end in itself but a means to finish it. He believes that there is a natural progression to synthesis—a principle of sophisticated interdependence, which means the creation of higher level of organization both within the individual, between and beyond individuals. Synthesis is a dynamic towards integrity that reconciles the daily experience of multiplicity with a familial desire for unity. It is an intrapsychic, interpersonal and transpersonal organizational principle: “…the spirit that works on and within the whole creation …shaping in order, harmony and beauty, uniting all beings …with each other through love ties, slowly realizing and in silence, yet powerful and irresistible – the Supreme Synthesis” (Assagioli & Firman, 1965/2010: p. 31) . Assagioli notes: “…the spiritual is as basic as the material part in man” (Assagioli, 1965: p. 193) . Psychosynthesis definitely affirms the reality of spiritual experience, the existence of higher values and of the noetic or noological dimension (Assagioli, 1965: p. 195) . The aim of psychosynthesis is: “…to include within the study of psychological facts all those which may be related to the higher urges within man which tends to make him grow towards greater realizations of his spiritual essence” (Assagioli & Firman, 1965/2010: p. 193) .

The spiritual word in its wider connotation therefore includes not only the specific religious experience, but all the states of awareness, all the functions and activities that have as a common denominator the possession of higher than average values, such as aesthetic ethics, heroic, humanitarian and altruistic values (Assagioli & Firman, 1965/2010: p. 38) . “Self-awareness rests at the core of a person’s sense of self; thus, the human capacity to direct attention toward the self has fundamental personal, social, and cultural consequences” (Goukens et al., 2009: p. 685) . According to original self-awareness theory, self-focused attention makes people more conscious of their attitudes and beliefs (Gu & Su, 2016: p. 228) .

The principle of synthesis is identified in the process of developing consciousness and increasing will in forming individual personality (Rusu, 2003b) . Psychosynthesis affirms that the essential human identity is that of a spiritual self and that this self exists as an ontological reality. It is the pure being and the stable center of life. Assagioli’s assertion about the ontological reality of the self is quite different from that of Jung—as an archetype or primordial idea that seems to emphasize a more conceptual and abstract principle of psychic regulation.

Assagioli asserts that at the level of self-realization our experience with ourselves is a pure act of consciousness. We do not identify with our past or any mental construction or try to be others than those who we are spontaneously and truly at a particular moment. There is no effort to be alone and there is no need to do anything to be ourselves. We simply are. The individual can and often has the direct experience of self in altered states of consciousness such as joy, ecstasy, play and intuition, and there is, of course, a psychological journey that must be made to turn to who we are in essence and to those who we have always been. Certain features of that psychological journey are well described in psychoanalytic psychology, but gain a rather different emphasis in the theory of psychosynthesis development. Assagioli’s assertions about development have been extended by Joan Evans (1995, 2003) and Jarlath Benson (2001) at the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London and are briefly summarized as follows:

1) In the First Stage of Development, the ego is the initial expression of self in the concrete world and the formation of the successful ego is the primary task of childhood. The ego is a vehicle or a psychological environment for the self and allows it to appear physically in the world. The ego has a consciousness and is a structure built from life experiences, fed by desires and instincts, supplemented with defense mechanisms, reacting to the environment and ensuring survival; but the ego is not yet aware of its own existence. Due to the normal and pathological processes of identification with the physical, emotional and mental aspects of his experience, the ego can mistakenly deceive us to become the source of our being; he does not understand that it is just the means by which we have to express who we are in essence. The psychosocial journey of the person through the life cycle is the usual method of correcting this erroneous identity.

2) The Second Stage of the Synthesis is the self-awakening in the concrete world or the appearance of the “ego” consciousness and purpose. Usually, in adolescence and afterwards, personal self or the feeling of “I” begins to appear. This experience of “I-ness” offers a sense of identity and continuity, even if our everyday experience and the world is constantly changing and developing. Will and intentionality are a function of the emergence of the “I” identity, and the evocation and activation of the will is a vital factor in its development. Since will is the direct expression and ability of individuals to function freely according to their own intrinsic nature and not to the constraint of external forces, the conscious act of will is one of the most powerful ways to experience the self as an autodynamic being, a free and responsible agent which initiates and regulates the action. That is why so much psychosynthetic therapy is aimed at evoking the aspects, qualities and stages of the expression of will.

3) The Third Stage of Development is mentioned in psychosynthesis as the stage of self-realization—the gradual consciousness that each one is essentially a self. This is usually a task of maturity and results from the experience and belief that the highest values of the individual extend beyond their personal character: they are aligned in action, service and compassion with the social and global spirit of the times and that the person, through his own psychological journey is indistinguishably identified with the greater journey of mankind. Thus, there is a psycho-spiritual context that not only serves to restructure and reorient personality but also to stabilization of belief that the purpose and objectives that appear are indeed resonant with the Spirit (Evans, 1995, 2003; Benson, 2001) .

In conclusion, there is a natural progression to synthesis striving to reach a higher level of organization both within the individual, between and beyond individuals. Synthesis is a dynamic towards integrity and involves values higher than average, such as aesthetic ethics, heroic, humanitarian and altruistic values. The principle of synthesis is identified in the process of developing consciousness and increasing will in modelling individual personality. Psychosynthesis affirms that the essential human identity is that of a spiritual self. The three stages of self-realization in Assagioli’s theory are: 1) Detachment from the identification with the physical, emotional and mental aspects of the personal experience (the ego); 2) Will and intentionality become a function of the emergence of the “I” identity—the evocation and activation of the will (specific of adolescence and afterwards); 3) The third stage is usually a task of maturity and it includes the reference to the destiny of all humanity, in a spiritual vision.

It can be said that psychosynthesis involves knowing and deepening the personality, realizing the true self, and finally, re-forming or reconstructing the personality around this new center.

6. Levels of Consciousness. Ken Wilber and Evolution towards Transcendence

Assagioli offered openness to the spiritual interpretation of the self but Wilber was the one who presented in a particularly complex picture of the stages and their content in the individual evolution towards self-fulfillment and realization.

1) Spectrum of Consciousness. Kenneth Earl Wilber II (born January 31, 1949) is an American writer on transpersonal psychology and his own integral theory (Rentschler, 2006) is a systematic philosophy which suggests the synthesis of all human knowledge and experience. Ken Wilber is probably the most important transpersonal theoretician who has developed a model of growth and human development that integrates Western psychology and philosophy with Eastern concepts of personality and consciousness. His model of spectrum of consciousness describes a series of stages in development in which successive tasks must be performed successively before the person can move to the next stage (Wilber, 2001, 2002) . This linear model is based on a gradual ascension, from primitive, inferior states of consciousness to superior mystical experiences, and ultimately, to a peak that is made by very few but theoretically it is accessible to anyone.

2) Seven Stages and Three Areas. Wilber has distilled the 7 basic levels or structures that constitute the fields of matter, body, mind, soul, and spirit in seven stages and three domains (Wilber, 1998) .

· The first stage, which is called the “archaic” stage—includes the material body, sensations, perceptions and emotions. This is roughly equivalent to Jean Piaget’s (1976) , Piaget & Inhelder (1963) description of sensory-motor intelligence and Abraham Maslow’s image of physiological needs. If the self develops poorly at this stage, the individual may suffer psychotic disorders in later life, but if the self develops normally, it progresses smoothly in the next stage.

· In the second phase, Wiber calls for a “magical” vision of the world, because the oldest mental productions and rudimentary concepts represent a shift towards the “omnipotence of thought”. This stage is similar to Freud’s concept of primary process, Piaget’s preoperative thinking, and is correlated with Lawrence Kohlberg’s preconventional morality and Maslow’s safety needs. Disturbance at this stage will lead to narcissistic and limit pathologies.

· The third stage is called “mythical” and although it is more advanced than the magical state, the self is not yet capable of clear rationality, hypothesis, or rational thinking.

· The fourth stage of development is called “rational” because the evolving self can not only think but also think; is thus introspective and capable of hypothetical reasoning and testing as well. This stage is equivalent to Piaget’s formal operational thinking, Kohlberg’s post-conventional morality (Kohlberg, 1981) and Maslow’s self-esteem needs.

· The fifth stage of human growth is called by Wilber “psyche”, which does not refer to paranormal, but refers more to the beginning of transpersonal, spiritual or contemplative development, imagination, vision, and soul life. Maslow would describe this stage as being concerned about self-actualization needs.

· The sixth stage is the “subtle” or intermediate stage of spiritual development and is concerned with intuition and enlightenment. It correlates with Jung’s archetypal level and with Maslow’s need for self-transcendence.

· The seventh stage is called “causal” in the sense that it is the limit of growth and development and is the “the theme of being”, well described by Tillich (1952) .

Wilber has consolidated his evolutionary consciousness model in three very useful ways of differentiating reality—prepersonal, personal and transpersonal. As we have seen, each of these levels has its own achievements and failures in development, and various schools of psychotherapy and philosophical systems have evolved to meet the specific requirements of reality. This perspective eliminates competition between schools and thinking systems and demonstrates convincingly that the different schools have special expertise and competence in each of these areas.

3) Pre/Trans Fallacy. Wilber also contributed with an interesting analysis of the common confusions between prepersonal and transpersonal experiences that he calls the pre/trans fallacy (2001). This differentiation is very useful for the clinician who wishes to determine whether a particular individual suffers from psychotic illusions or has truly reached a spiritual knowledge. This error or misconception of phenomena has two major forms. In the first form, transpersonal experiences are reduced to the functioning of the predominant psychological dynamics. Wilber appreciates Freud for all his indisputable merits, but considers an incorrect and inconsistent approach to true religious and spiritual experience in expressions such as id, sex, emotion and nature, thereby removing the possibility of transcendence of ego and of a higher-level integrity.

Synthesizing we can say that Wilber created a consistent model of growth and human development that integrates Western psychology and philosophy with Eastern concepts of personality and consciousness. His model of spectrum of consciousness describes a series of stages in which successive tasks must be performed before the person can move to the next stage. This linear model is based on a gradual ascension, from primitive, inferior states of consciousness to superior mystical experiences, and ultimately, to a peak that is reached by very few but theoretically it is accessible to anyone.

The seven stages in spiritual evolution, as presented by Wilber, are: 1) The “archaic” stage; 2) The “magical” vision of the world; 3) The “mythical”—the self is not yet capable of clear rationality, hypothesis, or rational thinking; 4) The “rational” stage; 5) The “psyche” stage, which refers to the beginning of transpersonal, spiritual or contemplative development, imagination, vision, and soul life; 6) The “subtle” or intermediate stage of spiritual development—intuition and enlightenment; 7) The “causal” in the sense that it is the limit of growth and development. A key-concept created by Wilber is the one who talks about the common confusion between prepersonal and transpersonal experiences named the pre/trans fallacy.

There is no doubt that Wilber is a first-rate theoretician and constructor of models, and his ability to differentiate and integrate concepts has contributed in particular to the development of transpersonal and psycho-spiritual psychology and its growing acceptance as a new paradigm in psychology. However, John Heron (1998) emphasized, inter alia, that Wilber’s model of the transpersonal and psycho-spiritual domain does not have a dynamic polarity, by pointing out rather the “ascension” than the “descent” and is a linear and hierarchical simplistic model.

7. Comparative Analysis

The theories presented are certainly a source of inspiration for contemporary psychology and therapy. The need for achievement is to accomplish something difficult, to master, manipulate or organize physical objects, human beings, or ideas (Sharma, 2013; Appel & Kim-Appel, 2010) that are explained in these theories. However, a number of incompletely described elements, concepts without identifiable content through empirical data, or inconsistencies between theoretical descriptions and the very life of the individual can not be neglected.

Thus, if we mention some of the weak points of Jung’s theory, we should recall its mystical and metaphysical tendency in interpretation, the lack of research accompanied by experimental measurements (Zappia, 2018) . His concepts were created through a combination of the theoretical study and his practical experience as a psychiatrist, often avoiding direct confrontation with the confirmation or refutation of his theoretical predictions. Adam Frank (2009) is of the opinion that the archetypes described by Jung are not only elusive and incomplete, but lead to the preservation of cultural prejudices and myths contrary to the development of today’s society. M. R. Gundry (2006) notes that we are confronted in Jung’s theory with a subjective point of view, preferring the inner, subjective, empirical, experimental experience. As a result, we find here a specific form of reductionism, namely the tendency to reduce everything to a subjective, inner interpretation, doubled by a quasi-mystical, spiritualist perspective.

In the case of Maslow’s theory of motivation, criticism points to the inconsistency between the sequence (hierarchy) of the needs and the real life of the individual (Kaur, 2013) . At the top of the pyramid of needs, self-realization seems a purpose accessible to individuals, theoretically, but in reality, few are those who really achieve this level of professional or individual fulfillment.

The criticism of the theory of psychosynthesis and of the analogous therapy refers in particular to the lack of direct engagement with the concerns of the modern world, politically, socially and ethically (Parfitt, 2015) . In the consulting room, the client feels helped, supported and guided, but once the session is over, he remains alone in the face of conflicts and stressful situations. The therapy promoted by the theory of psychosynthesis does not have the power to penetrate the life of the client.

Thorne and Sanders (2012) have made a critical approach to Rogers’s theory, showing that he does not have enough empirical data taken over by research and experimentation. The holistic approach is interesting and generous, but it prevents the definition of concrete variables that could be investigated with accuracy. Likewise, as with Jung’s theory, the tendency of subjective interpretation of psychic life is exaggerated, to the detriment of understanding the other dimensions of personality, such as the impact of society on personality development.

Michael Washburn (1994) compared the models of Wilber and Jung (Assagioli’s), concluding that these are two different paradigms that guide transpersonal theory and reflect different cultural perspectives. Washburn asserts that the Jungian (Asagiolian) paradigm conceive the human development as a result of a spiral course, a departure, and a higher return to the origins of being. From this perspective, ego initially starts from the deeper sources of the psyche, and then separates itself from these sources in the first half of life—the ego development and domination tendency period. In the second part of life, the ego returns to the deep regions of the psyche to be integrated, based on a more developed trans-ego level.

Wilber’s model is, according to Washburn (1994) , rooted in traditional cognitive-developmental psychology, and approaches human development as a straight line of ascension, from pre-egoic levels to egoic levels, and to trans-egoic levels. Washburn calls this model a paradigm of scale because it determines the path of development as a step-by-step climb in a hierarchy of psychic structures, including: knowledge, moral consciousness, and the structures of the self. Washburn suggests that the spiral paradigm owes much to Jung’s theory of Western spirituality and esoterism, while the scale paradigm reflects Wilber’s deep interest in Eastern spirituality, especially Buddhism and Vedanta, which emphasizes the linear progression of consciousness. The identification of the contrasting paradigms of sacred psychology by Washburn is a useful guide and allows the counselor/psychotherapist to properly find different models of human development and to select valuable elements about the client’s particular trajectory.

Personality development theories have been criticized for neglecting or ignoring the significance of the historical, social, cultural and political context which led to their emergence and formation (Brinich & Shelley, 2002) . Intra-personal emphasis is so strong that many authors seem often aware of how much they are influenced by class, age, race, and gender attitudes in their own experience. Erikson (1968) attempted to address this perspective by placing his subjects in relation to society, but because his model is psychodinamic, he was still influenced by Freud’s patriarchal attitudes and focused on autonomy and separation as top points of success. Levinson (apud Washburn, 1994 ), despite his apology, based his ten-year research project on men alone. It is therefore not surprising that theories (as many aspects of therapy) may be of no relevance to minority groups such as migrant workers in Europe or the US who struggle with daily demands to earn their bread in a unequal society.

Despite all the deficiencies of interpretation or approach to personality development, the great psychological trends have brought more insight into the levels/stages of development and the fundamental mechanisms which underlie this development. The critics of the old theories have only enriched and deepened the new approaches, continuing to understand the meaning of existence and self-realization.

8. Conclusion

The current research aimed at highlighting the distinctive elements of the process of self-realization from different perspectives. We find a complex approach to personality, starting from the level of the unconscious and overcoming it through awareness and self-knowledge (Jung, Assagioli). Self-actualization, an intimate concept linked to self-realization, opens the way of non-conformism and freethinking, of achieving personal fulfillment and professional performance (Rogers).

The stage of self-awareness, overcoming the ego, justifies our access to aesthetic, moral values, to meta-needs and meta-values, towards the Truth, Good, and Beautiful of the ancient Greek philosophy. A special complexity requires self-realization at the spiritual level, sustains Wilber. It requires an entire psychic alchemy, a true instinctual, emotional “purification” to get to contemplation and enlightenment.

The contribution of this work is to emphasize the need to give importance to all levels of consciousness, to be able to be constantly overcome, and to gain self-realization and self-actualization. Contemporary education should integrate into its structures the reference to the ideal of life, to individual development consistent with its own tendencies and abilities. The theories presented represent the pillars on which contemporary psychology is built and their fundamental concepts have remained valid today in the approach and understanding of the human personality. Starting from this data, a comparative/evolutionary analysis of the current psychology guidelines can be made in the future in relation to the basic theories that generated it.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Charles M. Blow

Liberals Needed a Beyoncé Moment. Kamala Harris Is Delivering One.

By Charles M. Blow

Opinion Columnist, reporting from Chicago

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