Self-Transcendence: The Highest Need

Self-Transcendence

Jean Louise Quino/Diabetic Products

Resounding from the wisdom of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, self-transcendence is sitting at the top of the pyramid. Being at the top of the pyramid means it is of highest importance but only attained by the least number of surviving organisms. 


But what really is self-transcendence? Why is it more important than physiological needs, safety and security, love and belongingness, and self-esteem?


Before delving deeper into those questions, first we must know what we need them for. 


We need physiological needs for our perishable bodies to maintain itself. 
We need security and safety for our minds to be calm. 
We need love and belongingness for our emotions to be in tact. 
We need self-esteem for our will to give reason for our wisdom to push us to move into action. 
And we need self-transcendence to realize we don't need anything because we are everything.


Self-transcendence has been subtly praised, taught and emphasized in all of the world's religions. In Christianity, one who has attained self-transcendence is called a Christ; in Buddhism, a Buddha; in Taoism, one who has seen the Tao; and in Islam, a Pure Muslim. However, most of the great personalities in those religions did not achieve self-transcendence by following a strict observance of religion. In fact, Lao Tzu even stated in the very first sentence of his classic writing Hua Hu Ching "I reach the Integral Way of uniting with the great and mysterious Tao. My teachings are simple; if you try to make a religion or science of them, they will elude you". 


We need things to reinforce the existence of our accepted selves. For example we need food to prolong the existence of our physical bodies because we consider our bodies as our very own selves.  Then we go up to a higher need because we have known ourselves to be more than just physical bodies, but also electromagnetic minds. So if we know ourselves more, we climb up to a higher step in the pyramid until we reach its peak-- knowing who we really are or self-actualization.


When we have come into self-transcendence, we immerse ourselves into the harmonious song of the universe which is self sufficient. The universe at large still exists in its beauty no matter how chaotic the minds of the people on earth are. The stars remain beautiful in space even though we can't see it in a cloudy night or in a bright city. They all stay in their orbits along with their planets in with great order and harmony.


With such oneness and harmony of your existence, it replenishes your will, set your emotions free, calms your mind and aligns your body to a perfect health. Your DNA will respond to the harmony you have attained will themselves become harmonious, ever looking for the unity of all the parts of your body. But then again, one who has attained self-transcendence does not worry of having anything else. He has become an immortal and thus he will not die or perish.


And when you have come to self-transcendence, you will know that it's not at all the highest need for there is no hierarchy at all.