The Core of Transcending Ego

According to (Maslow, 1971, p. 269) “Transcendence ascribes the most inclusive and the highest or the holistic level of human consciousness that is behaving and relating to, as ends rather than means. This directly connotes to oneself and to a significant other that might include humans, nature, other species, and the cosmos.”

When Abraham Maslow gave the pyramid of needs, he placed self-actualization at the top and concluded that this is the highest goal for humans to achieve. He said that when humans have fulfilled all their basic needs of Food, Water, Shelter, Safety, Family, Friendship, Self-esteem then they move to Self- actualization, where they fulfill all the needs of luxury. But later on, he contradicted himself and said that self-transcendence in altruism and spirituality is the ultimate infinite or the “peak experiences.” These experiences frequently induce strong positive emotions such as happiness, peace, and a well-developed sense of awareness.

Transcendence is thus our existence beyond the normal or physical level. In a philosophical sense, Transcendence is going beyond the bounds, albeit with varying connotations in its different stages. Now that we know what transcendence is, let us discover the various stages of transcendence. There are three kinds of transcendence.