Your Guide to Self-actualization

The goal of this book is to show you how to live in brilliant color, to become self-actualized. To experience the aliveness of life joyously, with all it’s ups and downs. You see, that “somewhere over the rainbow” isn’t a place, it’s a state of mind, and it’s available to all of us. And I’m going to show you how to get it, and in the process, you will realize how amazing you are, and how juicy it is to live life happy, successful, and free. So what is self-actualization anyway? The German psychiatrist, Kurt Goldstein, coined the word, but it was the psychologist, Abraham Maslow in the last century, that made it famous. Abraham Maslow came along and studied the healthiest of people, he wanted to know the qualities and characteristics that made them so. He considered self-actualization to be the highest level of psychological development an individual could attain, and it comprised the top 1% of society. Self-actualization contends that individuals are motivated to reach their full potential, stemming from a desire to be more, to be larger than we thought we were. What makes a person self-actualized? Simple, they have created the life they want. They are doing what they love to provide for themselves, they find joy and passion in their careers and in their relationships. They make the kind of income they want to make. That might be $40,000 a year as a gardener or $1,000,000 a year as a CEO of a company. The amount doesn’t matter, the point is, they make what they want to make. They have the love interests they want to have. This could be a traditional love relationship, or it could be a seventy year old woman with a circle of friends, or it could be someone running an ashram, an orphanage or a pet rescue. These individuals are able to produce what they want and when they get there...excitement, satisfaction and joy. That doesn’t mean their situation remains static. If new needs, desires or situations arise, the self-actualized individual is able to adapt, pivet, and once again create a fulfilling life for themself. If you haven’t seen the classic film The Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland, I highly suggest you get it and watch it. If you’ve already seen it, I urge you to watch it again. There couldn’t be a more perfect metaphor for reaching your full potential or becoming self-actualized. In the beginning we find the main character, Dorothy, living in a black and white world (dissatisfaction). Consumed by fear of loss, she finds herself lost and afraid. In spite of this, Dorothy’s drive to get home (becoming self-actualized) pushes her to begin her search. In doing so, the good witch (her spiritual guide) magically appears to help her. With the support and direction of the good witch, Dorothy begins her journey. And as she does, she steps into a world of brilliant color. When a baby pops out of the womb, what you see is authentic. The baby may be laughing one moment, crying the next, and then laughing once again. It moves fluidly through all it’s emotions with ease. Not a trace of inhibition. They’re alive with feelings. The baby’s life at this point is like a color television. They haven’t learned to suppress their feelings, or to make a good presentation. These things happen over time. Gradually, we learn to adapt to our circumstances so as not to be abandoned or to experience pain. We unconsciously ingest familial and societal programs and develop a myriad of coping mechanisms. When we suppress our feelings, we suppress all of our feelings. It’s not as if we can suppress the pain without muting the pleasure as well. It’s a dulling out of our aliveness, which is the full experience of all of our feelings. Slowly but surely, we move from a life of aliveness and color to a new baseline of black and white. The world of black and white that develops over time is more of a flatline. We still experience high times, like getting a promotion, or low times, the family dog dies. But basically we have sacrificed our aliveness for perceived safety. Happiness is a code. Once you know the code, it’s as if the doors swing wide. Magic and happiness come rushing in. Without the code, you could try a million or more combinations throughout eternity and nothing would happen. It’s like a vault, with the combination it’s easy; without it, it’s hopeless. Remember Dorothy, she endured a long, arduous journey, fraught with dangers and obstacles, only to find at the very end that all she had to do was click her heels together three times and she would be home. I think there is some part in all of us that yearns for something more, that place “somewhere over the rainbow,” where we’re happy, successful and free. Call it the soul’s song, some deep part of ourselves, long forgotten and obscured by our busy, daily lives. Take the first step to make the rest, the best. The time is now, there will never be a better time to start. Begin your journey, open your mind to possibilities, realize you’re awesome, and look forward to reaping the amazing rewards of a fully actualized life. Experience your greatness.