You Say To-May-To

Even if you have never been to Egypt, there is one pyramid you have most likely come across. Abraham Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs'.

He states that 1) a person first needs to address fundamental needs. The physiological needs of food, clothing, shelter, water and breathing before he can move on to greater needs. 2)The next layer of needs is to be employed, own property, have a family and be of good health. Once you have acquired what is necessary for this level then you move up to 3) wanting friendship,love for family, intimacy and a sense of connection. Then 4) you start wanting the respect of others, you seek achievement, crave confidence and you want to be a unique individual.

Beyond all this you then 5) elevate yourself to the level of self actualization. Where you need to be the most you can be. And you start to explore morality, creativity, spontaneity, you seek higher ideals of creating acceptance and meaning, and you look to tap into your inner potential.

Is It Just Me?

Or do you also think there is something problematic here?

The first problem is that the levels can be moved around, right? One could first want a sense of connection (3) and then want a family (2). You may want the respect of other's(4) so you take a loan to buy a property(2).

And then there are some, don't tell me Maslow as a psychologist didn't come across them, people who don't want level 3. They consider it a waste of time.

And then people on top of the pyramid are struggling to address breathing clean air and drinking good water.

And Then...

Though I have nothing personal against Maslow, his hierarchy of needs feels discriminatory to me. And slightly delusional. It says that people on the top of the pyramid have these wonderful values, while someone struggling on the lower rungs doesn't even want to engage with something like spontaneity, morality or meaning.

And everyone in India knows how creative 'jugaad' is. And that is a working class and middle class trait. To say that these classes cannot display the higher needs until they come to a great position of achievement, is just wrong. And we've seen how creative even a beggar can be.

And then to suggest that a billionaire businessman, (who raced to the top of the pyramid, leaving most of us behind in most aspects,and in greater degrees), has the need to show respect, be creative, moral and find meaning in giving is, by far, more fiction than psychology.

Peak Performance

Maslow also said that self actualized individuals are more likely to have 'peak experiences'.

"Beyond the routine of needs fulfillment, Maslow envisioned moments of extraordinary experience, known as "peak experiences", which are profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, during which a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient and yet a part of the world, more aware of truth, justice, harmony, goodness, and so on."

He relates this experience as akin to mystical and transcendental experiences. A state where one is overcome by emotion in response to the miraculous, awesome and the sacred.

Plateaued

In later writings Maslow added a complementary idea. He said that peak experiences were like intense, short bursts of feeling. And then there were longer periods of time where self actualized individuals experienced simple serenity and being. He termed these states as 'plateau experiences'. And he borrowed this idea from the Indian scientist and yoga practitioner U A Asrani.

I've found calm acceptance, just being, generosity and meaning far more in poorer folks. They are often not plagued by the anxiety that comes from the constant need of idiosyncrasy or status that one finds in people who can afford the luxury to indulge in these ideas.

I've even found peak experiences often in religious jaatres and Kavadi Attams more commonly than I've seen them displayed by the top of the pyramid people of today.

At The Other End Of The World

There is a similar sort of hierarchy in India. It is an ancient system of the hierarchy of inner energy centers. This system is called the Chakra System. A person is said to have several psycho-spiritual vortices along their spine. Each of these chakras , or 'wheels' , 'vortex of energy' symbolizes a need of the individual.

The seven main chakras

1) Root Chakra (Muladhara): Located at the base of the spine, this chakra relates to survival, grounding, and security.

2) Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana):Situated above the genital area, it is linked to creativity, pleasure, and emotional balance.

3) Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura):Found in the upper abdomen, it is associated with personal power, confidence, and mental clarity.

4)Heart Chakra (Anahata):Located in the center of the chest, this is the creative and emotional center, connecting to love and compassion.

5)Throat Chakra (Vishuddha):At the throat, this chakra governs communication, self-expression, and truth.

6)Third Eye Chakra (Ajna):Situated between the eyebrows, it is connected to intuition, insight, and spiritual awareness.

7)Crown Chakra (Sahasrara):At the top of the head, this is the center for spiritual connection and enlightenment.

Everybody, regardless of their position in life, whether they have achieved anything or not, has these centers buzzing with energy. And anyone can tap into these energy centers and ideas to bring about changes in their life.

At the same time everybody, regardless of their position in Maslow's pyramid, can suffer with blockages of energy at any of these centers. These people can tap into the right ideas to bring about more free-flowing harmony.

The Great Problem

Some people who readily accept Maslow's pyramid will throw a fit if you bring up a traditional idea. Even if the age old idea makes more sense than the modern one.

But then people who like the Chakra System will have no problems acknowledging the similarities between Maslow's pyramid and their own system.

In fact, it is said that, Maslow himself developed the idea of the Hierarchy of Needs, after spending some days with the Blackfoot Native Indian Community in the U.S. He studied the importance the community placed on the values of self transcendence, acceptance and giving to each other.

Maslow is acknowledged to be someone who brought in the humanistic approach to Psychology, which until then was severely limited by the ideas of Freud alone.

Freud

I read somewhere that in the earlier works of Freud, he had written a lot about the abuse that his patients faced in the hands of their own family members. Several of his patients spoke of their own fathers abusing them. But as time went on Freud changed the narrative of these women. He brought in the idea of the 'Electra Complex'. He suggested that these events did not actually occur in reality, but were instead fantasied of by his clients.

It is said he changed his point of view because he realized that his clients were not his patients, but were instead their fathers who were ultimately footing the bill.

One Swallow Doesn't Make A Summer

Perhaps that's just an outrageous thing to suggest.

But even so, most of Psychology today, the diagnoses and therapies are based on studies that are conducted on rather small focus groups, comprising of mostly college students. Research is done in University settings , and as a Psychology student I know how one stands in the corridor hoping to bait a research subject for a paper.

So far most research in Psychology is done in the Western World. And often psychological studies cannot be reproduced.

There is also no multi-disciplinary approach. There is one book, like the Bible, that is referred to and conclusions are drawn based on the therapist's say.

And yet, Psychology is considered sacrosanct. I have to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of even writing this post.

The Great Wave

Nevertheless, ancient knowledge systems are seeing a resurgence like never before. Crores of people are turning away from the mainstream, in search of alternative perspectives.

And there are thousands of 'experts' lining themselves up as proponents of these knowledge systems.

How do you navigate in search of some help?

Grass Is Green

Whichever side of the fence you are on. Whether it is modern Psychology or an ancient system such as Astrology, everything depends on whom you are dealing with.

I realize that there is a great emphasis these days on different modalities in psychology. And different practices unique to ancient systems as well.

I believe it is not in the different practices that we find our answers. But instead a change in the way we see can make all the difference.

The rest is up to us.

One Thing That Always Helps

When you feel stuck, and you keep dilly-dallying, feeling quite helpless and the frustration begins to build, it is very important to take a single step forward.

That somehow breaks the stress, and things start picking up.

Do it for yourself.

And do it for us. We need each other as human beings.

As the world is getting plagued by bots, we need to stand by each other.

See you next week. One day at a time, one step ahead of the other....you've got this!