a life beyond maslow

Sep 9, '09 6:30 PM for everyone

according to the book i was reading on human resources management, there is another layer to maslow's hierarchy of needs. i forgot the name of the guy, but his rendition of man's hierarchy of needs is brilliant.  instead of self-actualization, the topmost layer he calls TRANSCENDENCE.

i remember back in the 90s when i was still taking up mba in la salle, i came to school halfway thru midterms. it's because i was coming from preparations for a board meeting - i being part of the super alalay team.. i don't know what got into me, but i decided to disagree with maslow's hierarchy of needs. something just hit my brain the moment i sat down. i postulated that "man's hierarchy of needs actually starts with self-actualization" - self-actualization being defined in all psych books as the point when one already knows who he is. i went on to write an essay about why, if a person does not know who and what he really is, and has not come to terms with his limitations and abilities, he then would not have self-esteem; would not know what kind of recognition he wants; what kind of people he wants to belong with; indeed, not even the kind of shelter/dwelling that suits him, down to the kind of food he needs. In other words, I REVERSED the maslow model.

at that point, i know i put myself on the line for a 1.0, which is the failing grade in la salle. who in his right mind would invert man's hierarchy of needs that the world has been following for decades? but, that's it. i just said i disagree with this universal psychological model, and that i believe the order should actually be reversed. then i signed the greenbook "grace melgar", which is NOT my name.

I was prepared for 1.0 (fail).  I thought, it’s ok, i really just wanted to express my thoughts.  the following week, the prof went: one of you has a revolutionary theory in psychology. Her theory  deserves further research by sociologists and psychologists. i want to commend her brilliance. may i call on grace to share her new psych theory with us?

my classmates and i turned to each other: who is grace? for i also forgot that i wrote grace as my name, HAHAHA!

the prof said: grace melgar. where are you?

and of course at that point my classmates freaked out with me, as they usually did, HAHAHA!

i remember this now because of the TRANSCENDENT layer in the maslow model that i read about this afternoon. i stared at the new model for about 2 minutes and thought: yeah, he is correct!

indeed, if one has realized his potential at the self-actualization stage, one moves into a mental state that does not care anymore - which is what transcendent means. at this stage of human development, you are so confident of what you are; sure of what you can and cannot do; and had proven yourself far beyond what is expected of you by the world and your own self. this is the point when you can honestly and proudly say, BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. when you are at this level, you just don’t care anymore about making an impression.  You are comfortable in your own skin and do not order food you don’t really like.  You don’t put a baby grand in your living room even if no one in the house knows Mozart.  You don’t have a swimming pool the size of which allows no one to swim.  At the transcendent stage, you even pity those who are doomed in the "need to belong" stage. You actually do what you want to do, which is to bum around. J  in other words, you do not want attention – let alone admiration - from anyone.

being transcendent means you are already contained; resplendent from the inner core of your being. in tagalog, WALA KA NANG PAKIALAM.

at only 40, i praise Almighty God that He brought me to that stage; and i can truly look at the world with compassion and sometimes even pity for mankind.