Seven Essential Needs

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The Seven Essential Needs are the seven needs the physical body and mind (i.e. Physical Unit) is required to meet in order to grow, develop, and finally achieve and maintain strong Connection.[1] [2] The Seven Essential Needs are broken down into two general categories, basic needs and inner needs.The basic needs include the physiological, cognitive, environmental, emotional, and psychological needs of the body. The inner needs include the need for Alignment and the need for Connection.

Seven Essential Needs

Syncretic Terms

Seven Essential Needs > Cognitive Interests

Related LP Terms

Seven Essential Needs > Active Need Fulfillment, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, Essential Needs, Health, Hierarchy of Basic Needs, Hierarchy of Cognitive Needs, Human Development, Needs, Polyvagal Theory, Seven Toxic Needs, Violence

Non-LP Related Terms

Seven Essential Needs > 3Ds of Toxic Existence, Attachments, Basic Needs, Dependent Need Fulfillment, Essential Needs Rule Set, Physical Unit, Realistic Empowerment, Sufficient Satisfaction, Toxic Socialization

Notes

The Seven Essential Needs are broken down into two general categories, basic needs and inner needs. Basic needs are foundational needs. In order for an individual to grow healthy and connected, these needs must be sufficiently met. Meeting these needs puts an individual in Growth Mode while thwarting these needs leads to adaptions (Deficit Mode and Defense Mode) and impairments that undermine health, well being, daily function, and potential, and that make Alignment and Connection much more difficult.

The Basic Needs

The basic needs include our physiological, emotional, cognitive, psychological, and environmental needs.

Physiological Needs

Physiological needs include the need for healthy food, water, vitamins, and air, the need for physical exercise, the need for clothing, the need for sleep, and so on. Physiological needs also include the absence of physical pain.

Satisfaction of physiological needs has profound benefits for our physiological, emotional, cognitive, egoic, and spiritual well-being.

  1. Physiological Outcomes: Fulfilling physiological needs leads to overall improved health and vitality. Good nutrition promotes immune system function,[3] while regular physical activity can reduce the risk of various diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.[4] Adequate sleep is associated with enhanced immune function, improved metabolic health, and lower risk of chronic diseases.[5] Proper clothing protects the body from environmental hazards, while the absence of physical pain improves quality of life.[6]
  2. Egoic Outcomes:
  3. Emotional Outcomes: With physiological needs met, individuals are less likely to experience stress, anxiety, and depression related to survival worries. Moreover, regular physical exercise can lead to improved mood and reduced anxiety.[7]
  4. Cognitive Outcomes: Adequate nutrition, particularly intake of essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and B vitamins, can enhance cognitive function and slow cognitive decline.[8] Regular physical exercise and good sleep quality are also associated with better cognitive performance and reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases.[9]
  5. Spiritual Outcomes: Meeting physiological needs can free up mental and emotional resources, allowing individuals to pursue Alignment and engage in Connection Practice Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory suggests that fulfilling basic needs is a prerequisite for addressing higher-level needs, including spirituality.[10]

A failure to meet physiological needs leads to a host of sequelae, including

  1. Physiological Impairments: Long-term deprivation of physiological needs can lead to various health issues. Lack of proper nutrition can cause malnutrition which in turn leads to structural changes and reduced brain volume,[11] a weakened immune system, and increased susceptibility to diseases.[12] Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic health problems.[13] The absence of physical exercise can lead to obesity, heart diseases, and a decreased life expectancy.[14] Constant physical pain can deteriorate overall health and quality of life.[15] Note that physiological deprivations experienced by the mother have negative consequences for the fetus.
  2. Egoic Impairments:
  3. Emotional Impairments: Long-term deprivation of physiological needs can lead to emotional stress, anxiety, and depression, primarily due to feelings of vulnerability and an incessant state of fear and anxiety over meeting basic needs.[16] Chronic stress and anxiety can in turn lead to additional mental health impairments.[17]
  4. Cognitive Impairments: Chronic malnutrition, particularly during the "brain growth spurt," can impact cognitive development and function, causing deficits in memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility.[18] Lack of sleep can significantly affect cognitive functions such as attention, memory, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.[19] Finally, the constant worry about meeting basic needs can distract from cognitive tasks, reducing productivity and learning capacity.[20]
  5. Spiritual Impairments:

Adam Smith said an interesting thing about the deprivation of physiological needs, particularly in relation to poverty.[21]

Emotional Needs

Emotional needs include our “love and belonging needs,” our need for support, acceptance, connection, and inclusion in family and friend groupings. These needs are particular important need, evolutionarily speaking, since humans have always needed to be in groups to survive and thrive.

Sufficient satisfaction of emotional needs leads to, among other things,

  1. Physiological Outcomes: Satisfying emotional needs has been linked to better physiological health. Individuals who feel loved and supported have been found to have lower blood pressure, healthier heart rates, and stronger immune systems.[22][23]
  2. Emotional Outcomes: Fulfilling emotional needs contributes to emotional stability and satisfaction. Feelings of acceptance, love, and inclusion are associated with lower levels of stress,[24] anxiety, and depression.[25] Increasde life satisfaction and overall happiness.[26]
  3. Egoic Outcomes: Enhanced Self-Esteem and Confidence: Emotional support and acceptance can reinforce an individual's self-worth, thus promoting higher self-esteem and confidence.[27]
  4. Cognitive Outcomes: Emotional well-being, fostered by satisfying emotional needs, has been linked to improved cognitive function. Positive emotional states can enhance memory, attention. Feeling emotionally secure can enable better focus on cognitive tasks[28]and problem-solving skills.[29]
  5. Spiritual Outcomes: When emotional needs are met, individuals may experience enhanced spiritual well-being. This includes a greater sense of purpose, connection to others and the universe, and inner peace.[30]

Cognitive Needs

Our cognitive needs are our biologically and spiritually rooted need to know and understand the world. Basically, our powerful need for truth.[31]</nowiki></ref> [32] The cognitive needs are self-evident in children where they are expressed at a very early age in the incessant questioning of young children. “Mommy, why is the sky blue?” “Why is daddy angry all the time?”

Just like all your other basic needs, your truth needs are biologically rooted needs important for individual and collective survival, growth, and connection. An organism that does not know and understand its environment, an organism that does not pay attention and seek out the truth of things, is an organism not long for this world.

Psychological Needs

In addition to physiological, environmental, and emotional needs, we also have basic psychological needs. Our psychological needs include our need for positive self-esteem and sense of self, our need to feel powerful and competent,[33] our need to feel good about and to have faith in ourselves,[34] and our need for autonomy and freedom,[35] We need to feel we are a good person that is worthy of love and acceptance. We also need to feel competent and powerful, like we can accomplish the things we want to accomplish in life.[36][37][38][39]

Satisfaction of these needs has been linked to well-being,[40] competence, vitality,[41] and enhanced creativity. Satisfaction of these leads also support Alignment and Connection, which together allow for the full expression of the Spiritual Ego.

Ryan and Deci note that “The Fullest representations of humanity show people to be curious, vital, and self-motivated. At their best, they are agentic and inspired, striving to learn; extend themselves; master new skills; and apply their talents responsibly. That most people show considerable effort, agency, and commitment in their lives appears, in fact, to be more normative than exceptional, suggesting some very positive and persistent features of human nature.”[42] In other words, left to their own devices, people are naturally motivated to develop skills and mastery, to strive for autonomy and competence. This drive is part of an individual’s “inherent growth tendencies and innate psychological needs.”

Environmental Needs

Environmental needs include our need for safe, secure, nurturing, stable, and aesthetically pleasing environments. This includes a need for a safe spaces where we can rest, develop, and grow, secure finances, consistency, and stability. Note that safety includes the absence of violence of any kind, including physical violence (e.g., spanking), emotional violence (name-calling, shaming), and psychological violence (verbal aggression, intimidation, condescension, passive-aggressive attacks, etc). Stability includes the emotional consistency of stable and nurturing parental relationships, as well as financial stability sufficient enough to remove the anxieties and uncertainties of basic survival.

The consequences of a failure to provide safe environments is cumulative psychological, emotional, physical, and spiritual damage. For example, Swami Vivekananda notes "The older we grow, the longer we are knocked about in the world, the more callous we become."[43]

Inner Needs

Alignment

express and unfold [33]

We all have a need to express[44] and unfold. Aristotle, Carl Rogers, and others capture these needs with the concept Eudaimonia which is the expression of human excellence and virtue (read Alignment),the doing of what is worth doing.[45]

Moving to the inner needs now, our alignment need is essentially our need to be “synced-up” with our spiritual ego, to be in alignment with our spiritual ego,. To express and actualize who we truly are deep inside. It can be a little challenging to wrap your head around this, and we talk about it in much greater detail later. For now, just imagine your Spiritual Ego for what it is, a very bright, powerful, kind, compassionate, loving, and aware spiritual being. To be in alignment means that your bodily ego thinks, acts, and feels with the same power, kindness, compassion, love, and awareness that characterizes your spiritual ego. If you are not acting like that, you are not acting in alignment with your spiritual ego.

If you want to know what alignment looks like, think Jesus Christ, the Buddha, and, for all his patriarchal and elitist imperfections, Ghandi or Mother Theresa. Though they may not have been perfect, these individuals strove to meet their need for alignment between the spiritual ego and bodily ego by expressing power, kindness, compassion, love, and awareness.

For your information, Maslow has some thoughts on this inner need for alignment in his article “How we Diminish Ourselves," and how this need to align with our "deepest nature" finds a way to push through even when we actively resist. <ref>Abraham H. Maslow, “How We Diminish Ourselves,” The Journal of Humanistic Education and Development 29, no. 3 (March 1, 1991): 117–20.</ref>

Alignment needs are your needs to be in alignment/agreement with your own ethics, values, and purpose.  In LP terms, this means being in alignment with your Spiritual Ego.

in Humanistic psychology, self-actualization.[46] Presuming the existence of a “soul,” or a spark of Consciousness that exists independent of the physical body, we need to align our bodily ego, our body’s self or Bodily Ego, with this higher level our Self, our Spiritual Ego.

Connection

Connection needs are your needs to be connected, to your family, to your friends, to your work place, and to your own higher self.

  1. Our biological programmed Need for Connection with family, Spirit, Highest Self, place (land), the ancestors,[47] Pachamama,[48]and God.
    • It is not enough to actualize our highest self, we need to go beyond and actually make a strong connection with this inner Self.
    • This is a common desideratum of human spiritual systems. In Transpersonal Psychology, transcendence; in Christianity, Islamic, salvation; in Buddhism, enlightenment; etc.) In Transpersonal Psychology, this is known as transcendence; in Christianity and Islamic traditions, this is known as salvation, “Entering the Kingdom,” etc. in Buddhism and Easter traditions, enlightenment). In Sociology, this notion is expressed in a Christian form in Troelstech’s conception of mysticism as the “perfection of the spiritual life” and “unity with the divine” (Steeman, 1975). Evelyn Underhill points directly to this need when she says that we have an “innate tendency...towards complete harmony with the transcendental order, whatever the theological formula under which that order is understood” (Underhill, 2002). Jung referred to this as the experience of the numinosum (Jung, 1938, p. 6).

In Vedanta, this is the highest need, the most " outstanding urge in people is the search after the abiding spirit or God. There is an inherent desire in every man to experience the abiding spirit, and until he reaches that goal there is no hope for real peace of mind."[49] Satisfaction of one's essential needs leads to wellbeing, physical, mental, and emotional health, creativity, and Eudaimonia.[50]

Need for Connection with Spiritual Ego

Our final need, our core essential need, is a deep and abiding need for connection between your bodily ego and spiritual ego. As always, this essential need for connection is biologically programmed by evolutionary processes for several reasons, most important of which, as outlined in Lightning Rod on the Positive Outcomes of Connection, is that being connected makes you smarter, more capable, healthier, happier, and more adaptable than you would be without connection, thereby increasing your chances of surviving and living a happy and fulfilling life. Basically, the spiritual ego is a better, more powerful, more capable version of your body ego. If you want the most out of life, you definitely want to connect the two.

In the literature

George Simmel speaks of " religiousness as an inner state or need of man..."[51]

Underhill says "Broadly speaking, I understand it to be the expression of the innate tendency of the human spirit towards complete harmony with the transcendental order; whatever be the theological formula under which that order is understood."[52]

Einstein says... "There is a mystical drive in man to learn about his own existence...the dignity of man depends not on his membership in a church, but on his scrutinizing mind, his confidence in his intellect, his figuring things out for himself, and above all his respect for the laws of creation" (Hermanns, 1983: np)

Grof says "spiritual search [i.e., search for connection] appears to be an understandable and legitimate human activity." [53] Further, "The deepest motivating force in the human psyche on all the levels of our development is the craving to return to the experience of our divinity"[54]

The satisfaction of the seventh essential need - connection. "Only the experience of one's divinity in a non-ordinary state of consciousness can ever fulfill our deepest needs"[55]

Grof also notes that "Full satisfaction comes ultimately from the experience of...our own divinity, not the pursuit of material goals of any scope or kind [56].

"It is now becoming increasingly evident that a craving for transcendence and a need for inner development are basic and normal aspects of human nature." (alignment and connection) [57]

Huxley (PP) notes that Totalitarian regimes exploit humanity's need for "unity" (read Connection) by "by means of a philosophy of political monism, according to which the state is God on earth, unification under the heel of the divine state is salvation, and all means to such unification, however intrinsically wicked, are right and may be used without scruple."

St. Teresa of Avila notes speaks of a need for actualization and connection suggesting that is "quenches thirst." "Oh, my Lord, if only one could be plunged so deeply into this living water that one’s life would end! Can that be? Yes: 34 this love and desire for God35 can increase so much that human nature is unable to bear it, and so there have been persons who have died of it."[58]

Sri Swami Sivananda notes that religion (I would say Authentic Religion) a "deep inward craving" (i.e., a need for connection)[59]

Swami Vivekananda speaks of the critical importance of meeting people's needs. Though he did not use that name, intimations of a hierarchy of needs was first proposed by Swami Vivekananda in "The Secret Work" in his book Karma Yoga. [60]

Essential needs are equivalent to "basic needs" in that they represent "an energizing state that, if satisfied, conduces toward health and well-being but, if not satisfied, contributes to pathology and ill-being." [61]

Neglect of Emotional Needs

When unmet, the need for love, positive regard, and attention can become desperation. Individuals with unmet emotional needs can "go through life craving and seeking satisfaction" of these needs."[62] This craving, which is often completely unconscious, can be exploited by disreputable or mentally ill actors. See for example Layton who cites Jim Jones attention and manipulative praise as psychological reasons for her toxic attachment to the Jonestown cult. [63]

Neglect of Psychological Needs

A failure to meet psychological needs can result in various physiological, emotional, cognitive impairments which, together, can result in series ego impairments.

  1. Emotional Impairments
    1. Depression and Anxiety Disorders: These often occur when individuals are unable to meet their needs for self-esteem and competence. Feeling unworthy, incompetent, or unloved can lead to a persistent feeling of sadness, hopelessness, or excessive worry. Both depression and anxiety disorders are known to have a strong association with low self-esteem and self-worth.[64]
  2. Cognitive Impairments
  3. Egoic/Personality Impairments.
    1. Personality Disorders: Particularly, narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) may arise from an inflated sense of self-worth and a desperate need for validation, while borderline personality disorder (BPD) might occur when an individual feels chronically invalidated and struggles with self-image and fear of abandonment.[65][66]
    2. Eating Disorders: Unmet needs for self-esteem and competence can contribute to the development of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. These disorders often stem from a distorted body image and an extreme desire for control.[67]
    3. Substance Use Disorders: These disorders may occur when individuals use substances as a coping mechanism to deal with feelings of low self-esteem, powerlessness, or lack of freedom. Substance use disorders are closely linked to poor mental health and unmet psychological needs.[68]

Related LP Courses

Footnotes

  1. Sosteric and Ratkovic. “Seven Essential Needs,” 2018. https://www.academia.edu/38114100/The_Seven_Essential_Needs.
  2. Also see Ratkovic, Gina and Sosteric, MIke. “It Takes a Village: Advancing Attachment Theory and Recovering the Roots of Human Health with the Seven Essential Needs.” Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 2022. https://www.academia.edu/61410417
  3. Catherine Field, and Glen P. Johnson, "Vitamins and Immunity," Journal of Immunology Research 2019 (2019): 6752693. 10.1155/2019/6752693
  4. Steven N. Blair, "Physical inactivity: the biggest public health problem of the 21st century," British Journal of Sports Medicine 43, no. 1 (2009): 1-2. 10.1136/bjsm.2008.055616
  5. Kristen L. Knutson, "Sleep duration and cardiometabolic risk: A review of the epidemiologic evidence," Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 24, no. 5 (2010): 731-743. 10.1016/j.beem.2010.07.001
  6. >Paul J. Goadsby, "Recent advances in understanding migraine mechanisms, molecules and therapeutics," Trends in Molecular Medicine 13, no. 1 (2007): 39-44. 10.1016/j.molmed.2006.11.005
  7. Michael W. Otto, Jasper A. J. Smits, "Exercise for mood and anxiety: Proven strategies for overcoming depression and enhancing well-being," (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).
  8. Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Marshall G. Miller, Nopporn Thangthaeng, Amanda N. Poulose, "Berry Fruit Enhances Beneficial Signaling in the Brain," Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 65, no. 5 (2017): 820-827. 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03110
  9. Laura D. Baker, Laura L. Frank, Karen Foster-Schubert, Pattie S. Green, Charles W. Wilkinson, Anne McTiernan, "Aerobic Exercise Improves Cognition for Older Adults with Glucose Intolerance, A Risk Factor for Alzheimer's Disease," Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 22, no. 2 (2010): 569-579. 10.3233/JAD-2010-100768
  10. Abraham H. Maslow, "A theory of human motivation," Psychological Review 50, no. 4 (1943): 370-396.
  11. Isaacson, R. L. (1974). The effect of malnutrition on the developing brain. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 27(6), 667–676
  12. Ann M. Prendergast, and Eleanor M. Riley, "Immune Mechanisms in Malaria: New Insights in Vaccine Development," Nature Medicine 19, no. 2 (2013): 168.10.1038/nm.3083
  13. Kristen L. Knutson, and Eve Van Cauter, "Associations Between Sleep Loss and Increased Risk of Obesity and Diabetes," Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1129, no. 1 (2008): 287-304. 10.1196/annals.1417.033
  14. Steven N. Blair, and William L. Haskell, "Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Mortality in Older Adults," JAMA 296, no. 2 (2006): 216-218. 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31828b076a
  15. Abraham H. Maslow, "A Theory of Human Motivation," Psychological Review 50, no. 4 (1943): 370.
  16. Mary C. Sutter, "Fear, Anxiety and Worry," Psychiatry 3, no. 2 (2004): 45-48.
  17. Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, "How Does Sexual Minority Stigma "Get Under the Skin"? A Psychological Mediation Framework," Psychological Bulletin 135, no. 5 (2009): 707. 10.1037/a0016441
  18. Lynne Georgiadis, Alan Jackson, and Lucy Eaton, "Undernutrition and Cognitive Function in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review," BMJ Open 10, no. 5 (2020): e035378. 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035378
  19. Hans P.A. Van Dongen, Greg Maislin, Janet M. Mullington, and David F. Dinges, "The Cumulative Cost of Additional Wakefulness: Dose-Response Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and Sleep Physiology From Chronic Sleep Restriction and Total Sleep Deprivation," Sleep 26, no. 2 (2003): 117-26.
  20. Rachel T. Kimbro, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, and Sara McLanahan, "Young Children in Urban Areas: Links Among Neighborhood Characteristics, Weight Status, Outdoor Play, and Television-Watching," Social Science & Medicine 72, no. 5 (2011): 668-76.
  21. "But poverty, though it does not prevent the generation, is extremely unfavourable to the rearing of children. The tender plant is produced, but in so cold a soil and so severe a climate, soon withers and dies. " Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations - An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Bantam Classics, 2003.
  22. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Timothy B. Smith, Mark Baker, Tyler Harris, David Stephenson, "Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review," Perspectives on Psychological Science 10, no. 2 (2015): 227-237. 10.1177/1745691614568352
  23. Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," BMJ 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609.10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608
  24. heldon Cohen and Thomas A. Wills, "Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis," Psychological Bulletin 98, no. 2 (1985): 310-357. 10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310
  25. Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," BMJ 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609. 10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608
  26. Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener, "The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?" Psychological Bulletin 131, no. 6 (2005): 803-855. 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803
  27. Roy F. Baumeister, Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger, and Kathleen D. Vohs, "Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?" Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4, no. 1 (2003): 1-44. 10.1111/1529-1006.01431
  28. Stacey Wood, Eryn Brown, "Insightful problem solving and emotion: A selective review," The Journal of Creative Behavior 45, no. 3 (2011): 204-220.
  29. Michael A. Yassa, and Maria A. Stark, "Pattern separation in the hippocampus," Trends in Neurosciences 34, no. 10 (2011): 515-525. 10.1016/j.tins.2011.06.006
  30. Lisa Miller, Brien Kelley, Seungmin Jahng, Roberta Payne, "Spirituality and Health: The Role of Religion," Spirituality in Clinical Practice 1, no. 1 (2014): 42-50. 10.1037/scp0000006
  31. As psychologist Abraham Maslow said, "the most important characteristics of psychological health was simply the ability to perceive clearly—that is, to see the truth, to penetrate falsehood, phoniness, hypocrisy, and so on." In other words, the need to be in touch with reality. Abraham Maslow, “Eupsychia—The Good Society,” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 1, no. 2 (1961): 3.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">[[#cite_ref-32|↑]]</span> <span class="reference-text">Habermas's provides a similar conception for cognitive needs in [[Cognitive Interests]] Scott, John P. “Critical Social Theory: An Introduction and Critique.” The British Journal of Sociology 29, no. 1 (1978): 1. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.2307/589216. p. 2
  32. 33.0 33.1 Ryan, R. M., and E. L. Deci. “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 2000.
  33. Akhilananda, Swami. Hindu Psychology: Its Meaning in the West. Routledge, 1948. p. 80
  34. Edward L Deci and Richard M Ryan, Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behaviour (New York: Springer Science, 1985).
  35. A Bandura, “Human Agency in Social-Cognition Theory,” American Psychologist 44 (1989): 1175–84
  36. A. H. Maslow, Towards a Psychology of Being (2nd Edition) (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968)
  37. Carl Rogers, Freedom to Learn (Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1969)
  38. C. Rogers, A Way of Being. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1980); R White, Ego and Reality in Psychoanalytic Theory, vol. Psychological Issues Series, Monograph No. 11. (New York: International Universities Press, 1963).
  39. Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R., & Reis, H. T. (1996, January 1). What Makes for a Good Day? Competence and Autonomy in the Day and in the Person. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, 22(12), 1270–1279. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings
  40. Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R., & Reis, H. T. (1996, January 1). What Makes for a Good Day? Competence and Autonomy in the Day and in the Person. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, 22(12), 1270–1279. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings
  41. R. M. Ryan and E. L. Deci, “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being,” American Psychologist, 2000. p. 68.
  42. Vivekananda, Swami. “Karma Yoga.” Collected Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol. 1. 9 vols. Advaita Ashrama, 2016. https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/SWAMI-VIVEKANANDA-COMPLETE-WORKS-Vol-1.pdf
  43. Expression is identified as an emotional need in Akhilananda, Swami. Hindu Psychology: Its Meaning in the West. Routledge, 1948.
  44. Ryan, Richard M, and Edward L Deci. Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York: The Guilford Press, 2017
  45. The term self-actualization, originally coined by Kurt Goldstein, was picked up by Abraham Maslow. For Maslow, the need for self-actualization is the need to be creative, to express one’s essence and desire, and to do what one is “fitted for.” As he says, “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man [sic] can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization” (Maslow, 1943, pp. 382). This is all true, but in LP psychology we would understand self-actualization as actualization/expression of Self, with a capital "S".
  46. Lucana, Sonia, and John Elfers. “Sacred Medicine: Indigenous Healing and Mental Health.” The Qualitative Report 25, no. 12 (December 1, 2020): 4482
  47. Lucana, Sonia, and John Elfers. “Sacred Medicine: Indigenous Healing and Mental Health.” The Qualitative Report 25, no. 12 (December 1, 2020): 4482.
  48. Akhilananda, Swami. Hindu Psychology: Its Meaning in the West. Routledge, 1948. p. 51-2.
  49. Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. “The Darker and Brighter Sides of Human Existence: Basic Psychological Needs as a Unifying Concept.” Psychological Inquiry 11, no. 4 (October 1, 2000): 319–38. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_03
  50. Simmel, George. Essays on Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. p. 3.
  51. Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness. New York: Dover Publications, 2002. https://amzn.to/2C91xNY.
  52. Grof, Stanislav. Technologies of the Sacred Part Two.” The International Journal of Humanities and Peace 15, no. 1 (1999): 93–96. p. 93.
  53. Grof, S. (1999). Technologies of the Sacred—Part Two. The International Journal of Humanities and Peace, 15(1), 93–96. p.96 https://www.lightningpath.org/readings/Technologies_of_the_sacred_II.pdf
  54. Laszlo, Ervin, Stanislav Grof, and Peter Russell. The Consciousness Revolution. Las Vegas: Elf Rock Productions, 1999. https://amzn.to/2TlOCmC. p. 67.
  55. Laszlo, Ervin, Stanislav Grof, and Peter Russell. The Consciousness Revolution. Las Vegas: Elf Rock Productions, 1999. https://amzn.to/2TlOCmC. p. 8.
  56. Grof, Christina, and Stanislav Grof. The Stormy Search for the Self: A Guide to Personal Growth Through Transformational Crises. Penguin, 1990. https://amzn.to/2UtkgP1. p. 31.
  57. St. Teresa of Avila. The Way of Perfection. New York: Dover Publications, 2012. https://amzn.to/2Id75es.
  58. Sivananda, Sri Swami. All About Hinduism. Uttar Predesh, Humalayas, India: Divine Life Trust, 1999. https://www.academia.edu/32682910
  59. Vivekananda, Swami. "The Secret of Work." Collected Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol. 5. 9 vols. Advaita Ashrama, 2016. https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/SWAMI-VIVEKANANDA-COMPLETE-WORKS-Vol-1.pdf
  60. Ryan, R. M., and E. L. Deci. “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 2000. p. 74.
  61. Grof, Stanislav. When the Impossible Happens. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2006.
  62. Layton, Deborah. Seductive Poison. New York: Anchor Books, 2010. https://amzn.to/2wxOse4.
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