ABSTRACT: The actualization process is discussed in association with psychoanalytic theory, and is utilized to define other pertinent concepts. Detachment - i.e., a function of growth motivation - is defined in terms of greater cognitive development, rather than liner or fixed rule object-attachment. Ego development, rather than ego deflation, is defined as a parallel process to actualization and in the same manner as cognitive development. In addition, a critical flaw in the operational definition of experiences associated with 'Being' is identified for the purpose of providing evidence of the value of Rorschach testing as an alternate methodology. Other suggestions for testing and application of the theory of self-actualization are presented.

What is the psychological significance of enlightenment, the ultimate rea1ity or the kingdom of God? The age-old question of existence has become a focus of modern social sciences. Whether the individual has been on a religious path or in modern therapy, by conquering his or her own inner tensions (s)he has served to foster good mental health and typically has contributed to the ideals of the respective (sub)cultures, and in some cases the culture as a whole. The application of this is in the social sciences, where the primary concern is to improve the individuals' self control, personal and social freedoms, and enhance the process of self-actualization through the use psychotherapeutic principals leading to higher levels of consciousness. Thus, in today's world, the two fundamental themes that religion and science have in common are their interdependence with each other and the process of self-actualization.

In philosophical terms, to become enlightened or to enter the kingdom of God is to comprehend the unity of all dualities and multiplicities; the harmonious composite of creation by an all-good God. In fact, according to Augustine, "it is the mark of an unsound mind to be displeased with any single thing in . . . creation" (Warner, 1963; p. 152). Many of Plato's works, particularly the 'Phaedo', elaborate upon this development of the divine essence or spiritual nature in (wo)man (Schneider & Tarshis, l980; Titus & Smith, 1974). In theological terms, enlightenment, the ultimate reality or the kingdom of God is a process; (l) A comprehension, through experience or a process of conversion, of the reunion of God with men, followed by (2) the reunion of God with (wo)mankind (parousia or redemption). In ontological and psychological terms, it is the state of all states, whereby, there is a total loss of ego defense mechanisms resulting in transcendence of the limitation of all sense data. William James (1907; 1950), for example, introduced religious, mystical and spiritual states of consciousness as a perfectly ordinary extension of our normal field of consciousness. In this respect, consciousness can be widened so that the "things that were at margin are suddenly grasped and absorbed. There is no fixed limit, says James, between what is 'central' and what is 'marginal' in consciousness" (Wilson, 1972, p. 82). Fairly recently writings in psychology have reintroduced interest in the area of extraordinary states of consciousness; or peak or religious experience (Bucke 1923; Jacobi, 1962; Maslow, 1964). In fact, it is now a common claim in the field of behavioral medicine that attainment of the higher ranges of consciousness results in the conditions by which all "mental and physical suffering vanish" (Benson, Beary, & Carol, 1974, p.37). Thus, in addition to the religious and/or spiritually inclined, the fundamental question of the psychological significance of the higher ranges of consciousness is now being asked by researchers in science (Maslow, 1968; Bulka, 1976; Wilber, 1975; 1984) and medicine (Benson, 1975; 1982).

A Short Theoretical Background on Failure to Actualize and Some of the Proposed Solutions

Although there has been a great deal of progress, because the subject area has come under scientific investigation, there is really no reason to believe that a person cannot develop toward higher stages of consciousness in a gradual and balanced manner. More than enough preliminary research has been done, and findings indicate that the methods for the development of these higher stages of consciousness need to be more aggressively employed, especially in light of the fact that the theory behind the more popular behavioral development and therapy models for normals and neurotics rely upon the individual to tolerate high levels of cognitive dissonance. In psychotherapeutic terms, this means cognitive dissonance models of learning and behavioral control rely on a degree of neurosis within the ego structure in order to accomplish their desired goals. In essence, based on the model of a so called ideal ego function they rely upon the capacity of the individual to tolerate anxiety: The ability to hold input data in a state of equilibrium within the ego, to tolerate anxiety by holding internal and external stress within the ego while reflecting upon that data, and then based upon reality, to consciously choose appropriate courses of action (Smith, 1973, p. 5).

These high-stress models of learning and behavioral development have had one disastrous weakness. In the attempt to cope with cognitive dissonance or distress, the average person acts out their ego deficit by developing ego defense mechanisms; at times using alcohol, other drugs, food, and sex, etc., to reduce ego disequilibrium (Smith, 1973). And, to whatever degree the hypothesis that it is the stress factor which produces a generalized vulnerability and which depending upon other predisposing factors results in specific disorders (Bloom, 1979) is valid, then in the extreme the results are, of course, alcoholism (Zucker & Gomberg, 1986), drug abuse, obesity or other weight problems, unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, delinquency and all other forms of social disorder, etc. (Schweinhart, Weikart, & Larner, 1986).

". . . psychosocial perspectives view alcoholism as a symptom, not a disease. Alcoholic behavior could be the result of deep-seated psychological or psychiatric problems - for examp1e a manifestation of an obsessive-compulsive neurosis" (Kohn, 1984, p. 251).

Moreover, in this sense the instinctual components (e.g., anxiety, love, hate, fear, attack and defense postures) dominate the affective behavior by a relatively, crude and primitive system - i.e., to the greater degree, responses to uncontrolled stress (Norwood, 1986). It should be obvious that in a society where ego defense mechanisms are the norm, the children who have been less adept at coping with this disadvantage have also been more vulnerable (Schweinhart, Weikart, & Larner, 1986). The lists of undesirable results, of stress related disorders and diseases, are heartbreaking.

"The manifestations of a compulsion to repeat (which we have described as occurring in the early activities of infantile mental life as well as among the events of psychoanalytic treatment) exhibit to a high degree an instinctual character and, when they act in opposition to the pleasure principle, give the appearance of some 'daemonic' force at work. In the case of children's play we seemed to see that children repeat unpleasurable experiences for the additional reason that they can master a powerful impression far more thoroughly by being active than they could by merely experiencing it passively. Each fresh repetition seems to strengthen the mastery they are in search of. . . . It may be presumed, too, that when people unfamiliar with analysis feel an obscure fear - a dread of rousing something that, so they feel, is better left sleeping - what they are afraid of at bottom is the emergence of this compulsion with its hint of possession by some 'daemonic' power" (Freud, 1920, pp. 29-30).

Another way to conceptualize the composite of ego defense mechanisms is as an idealized image of the self which functions as thought processes and is projected onto others through behavior which functions to protect and defend the ego. Much or life is governed by an undue dependency upon surroundings. In this sense, the efforts of the individual and/or collective group are spent defending or obtaining certain characteristics outside the ego; To say the right things in order to impress the right people; to hide true thoughts and feelings; to gain status through certain ways (e.g., being the right therapist or guru or being a client of the right therapist or guru) and things (e.g., dressing in fashionable ways, reading the 'right' books, and being in possession of the 'right' college degrees, 'hot' cars and special homes, etc.). According to Freud (1920), "such behavior is . . . precisely what characterizes purely instinctual as contrasted with intelligent efforts" (p. 33). As such, anxiety and tension problems exist largely as ego defenses or compulsions, which function as mental and behavioral habits that are difficult to break. Erich Fromm put it this way:

"While psychiatry is concerned with the question of why some people become insane, the real question is why most people do not become insane. Considering (wo)man's position in the world, his separateness, aloneness, powerlessness, and his awareness of this, one would expect this burden to become more than he can stand. Most people avoid this outcome by compensatory mechanisms like the overriding routine of life, conformity with the herd, the search for power, prestige, and money, dependence on idols - shared with others in religious cults - a self-sacrificing masochistic life, narcissistic inflation - in short, becoming crippled. All of these compensatory mechanisms can maintain sanity, provided they work, up to a point. The only fundamental solution which truly overcomes potential insanity is the full, productive response to the world which in its highest form is enlightenment" (Suzuki, Fromm, & DeMartino, 1960, p. 122).

When problems become great enough the individual may enter therapy; A two-stage process of integration, whereby (1) the individual begins to learn to separate his/her ego defense mechanisms from the ego (or truest sense of self one can experience at this point in one's development), and then (2) a progressive state of transcendence develops.

"I believe psychoanalytic method and theory is a necessary substructure for any such 'higher' or growth psychology" (Maslow, 1983, p. 7).

In the early stages of therapy, as in real life, the objective is to elicit a meditative state. One method is Freudian psychotherapy, a meditative method coming out of the Judeo-Christian culture (Erikson & Evens, 1964), where the object of therapy is to come under the influence of the pleasure principle:

"The dominating tendency of mental life, and perhaps of nervous life in general, is the effort to reduce, to keep constant or to remove internal tension due to stimuli (the 'Nirvana principle' to borrow a term from Barbara Low [1920, 73]) - a tendency which finds expression in the pleasure principle" (Freud, 1920, pp. 49-50), emphasis/underline added).

Elimination of defense mechanisms leads to elicitation of the pleasure principle and/or eventually to the process referred to as the reality principle (Freud, 1911, pp. 21-28). In this process, the overall stress to the overall personality is reduced, so that, ego strength is enhanced. This allows for input data to be held and appropriately acted upon by the ego, rather than inducing upon the ego and superego structures any system(s) of compulsions.

In modern psychology, it was Jung who was among the first to recognize psychotherapy as leading to the whole of all mental phenomena. He described this as a process of personality development, being directed toward the ultimate outcome of 'individuation.' That is, when psychotherapy is used appropriately (i.e., as a method of meditation) the therapeutic process leads toward the achievement of selfhood, described as the most differentiated and integrated state of psychological development (Jacobi, 1962). The ego psychologists are among the many who have also attempted to address this same issue as if it were synonymous with total ego reduction:

"Life without ego is no new conception. Two thousand years ago Christ preached the necessity of losing one's life in order to find it again. He did not say ego, but that was what he had in mind. The analysts of out time recognize the same truth: they talk also about ego reduction (p. 10). . . . The dilemma encountered in ego-reduction would be best resolved by recognizing that the old ego must go and a new one takes its place. Then no issue would arise about how much or the earliest elements may be retained. . . . Actually the total banishment of the initial state is difficult to achieve. . . . Its final expulsion is a goal which can only be hoped for" (Tiebout, 1980, p. 11).

However, ego deflation and ego defense mechanism deflation are not synonymous subjects, for it is the degree of neurosis within the ego structure (Smith, 1973) which is being deflated through the psychoanalytic method, not the ego. Rowan (1983) states that "even the latest and best attempts" to define this area of experience "seems incomplete or one-sided" (p. 23).

"I am very impressed by Marlan's (1981) argument that it is incorrect to talk about the dissolution of the ego or losing the ego; he says that it is the ego-image that is transcended, not the ego as such" (Rowan, 1983, p. 23).

Maslow (1972) believed that pathologies and meta-pathologies may be overcome by a positive orientation to the process of self-actualization, and that critical phases or peak experiences result in higher levels of actualization. However, as shown thus far within this discussion, one part of this process that psychological literature has not been dealing effectively with is that (1) these stress reduction techniques result in a deflation of (a) the degree of neurosis within the ego structure, and (b) ego defense mechanisms, not a deflation of the ego, and (2) it is this dissolution process that results in an obvious generalization effect whereby it becomes increasingly more difficult to increase the discriminability of the elements of reality from the background. That is, with every new catharsis or peak experience there is a greater tendency to become acquainted with the whole, rather than the parts of the whole. In the initial stages of therapy, as well as the higher levels of actualization, this kind of overshadowing must also be supposed to obscure performance operations or mental function, normally associated with or under the control of ego defense mechanisms, when this is taken to include how that direct performance is directly functionally related to a part of reality, rather than the whole. The idea here is that there is no limit on the number of stimuli or elements of reality that can be simultaneously attended to and hence enter into new associations, but the generalization effect is such that there is a decreasing competition between stimuli for the acquisition of associative strength, which at first appears to reflect incoherent modes of thinking, but under further analysis can be attributed to those factors associated with the diminishment of ego defense mechanisms. More importantly, because of a limited definition (Smith, 1973; also page #3 of this essay for definition of ego), this diminishment of ego defense mechanisms and the corresponding generalization effect has been mistakenly interpreted as a dissolution of the ego. This is not to suggest that ego dissolution is not a viable subject of investigation, but rather it is merely not synonymous with the processes described herein, because as will be shown later in this text the ability to attend to the whole as well as the parts is a long-term or final stage outcome. Hence, the purpose of this essay is to present the relationship of the function of altered states of consciousness, spiritual, and religious experience in psychotherapy and self-actualization; the function of the ego and ego-defense mechanisms is discussed throughout. While there is surely a critical orientation to the process of self-development, this essay is also offered in perhaps a broader perspective than the reader may be accustom to in order to show that approaches to self-actualization in religion and psychology do not involve mutually exclusive expected outcomes.

"In a paper called Theory Z (Maslow, 1973, pp. 293-311) Maslow distinguishes between nonpeaking self-actualization and peaking self-actualization, suggesting that the former is a lower state than the latter. This would mean a two-stage process, whereby contact with the "real self" comes first, through a process of integration, . . . and then the further state of transcendence comes later.
At first, then, Maslow thought that self-actualization and transcendence were one in the same, and then later he thought that the latter succeeded the former. But either way, the process ends with a mystical unity with the All" (Rowan, 1983, p. 12).

This essay uses Rowan's (1983) categories to explain both the immediate phenomena and process issues of self-actualization. The categories are (1) Peak Experiences, (2) Pure Energy, (3) Real Self, (4) Higher Self, (5) Deity as Substance, (6) Deity as Process, and (7) The Ultimate. The categories are further formatted by this text to support the process of self-actualization as a cognitive process of overcoming ego defense mechanisms. Pertinent literature is used to support the format.

(1) Peak Experiences
Rowan (1983) explains Peak experiences or the initial breakthroughs of cognitive development occur as unpredictable experiences with variable affect. In our society people develop defense mechanisms against such experiences, and if they come to an unprepared person the patterning in connection with such experiences, as well as the peek itself, can be interpreted in very negative ways. Feelings of fear and thoughts of insanity may be dependent upon one's assumptions about what the experience means (pp. 13-14). Although modern psychology is making programs in this area, the majority of therapies do nothing to help an individual experience nor understand these initial breakthroughs. For example, having misunderstood the nature of psychotherapy, most therapies attempt to facilitate change through feedback alone. Processes of intervention used by these so-called therapies imply that the client must become aware of how the system contributes to the ineffective functioning of the client, and thus, involves change in the direction of creating a system of ego defense mechanisms or compulsions that mediates stress instead or inducing it. Hence, it should be obvious that with such a treatment design, the client is not being prepared for the experiences associated with actualization. Peake, Van Noord, & Albott (1979) advise that helping people "to develop an expectation from the start" provides the ground work to "begin exploration, and create a positive self-fulfilling prophecy" (p. 103). Rowan (1983) explains that if such around work is done, the peak experiences appear as a sort of crown, reached through the process or seif-development. Thus, when altered states of consciousness do occur, they are welcomed in a very positive and transcendent way, and have the general tendency to make one feel whole (pp. 13-14).

Leading up to peak-experiences is the patterning of responses of organ function and the sympathetic nervous system. This my include awareness of sudden changes of energy, from sudden changes in the level of blood-sugar, and perceptual changes of the self and environment. According to Freud (1920) it is a time of overcoming the great silence, which had mentally obscured conscious experience of stress thresholds and the mass of internal sensations in response to environmental crises. Consistent interpretations quite naturally follow recognition of complex of internal patterning of sensations, particularly awareness of the pleasantness of calm vs. the unpleasantness of aggressive states.

"This view of instincts strikes us as strange because we have become used to seeing in them as a factor impelling toward change and development, whereas we are asked to recognize in them precise contrary - an expression of the conservative nature of living substance" (Freud, 1920, p. 30).

Objective knowledge of progress may be provided through the use of biofeedback instruments - e.g., the electroencephalograph (EEG). EEG training is reflective of four stages: Stage One is reflective of increased synchrony as in sleep, with elicitation or alpha potentials - this involves the entire dominant hemisphere; Stage Two is characterized by increased amplitude or these potentials - this involves the rapid spread of alpha waves to the opposite hemisphere; Stage Three reflects a decline in the frequency of amplitude; and in Stage Four, there is a desynchronization of EEG potentials. As theta potentials appear, there is a defuse cortical excitation as in awakening from deep sleep into emotional excitement and/or ecstasy (Gellhorn & Kelly, 1972, pp. 400-401; Simon, 1977, p. 9). With experience, the pattern of a more desirable sensation begins to generate a stronger affective image of the self.

(2) Pure Energy
According to Rowan (1983), the beginning or this phase is linked with forms of energy of the more universal kind, with a sense of being in touch with the All or Ultimate. It is important here to understand that people can have significantly experiences and be recorded as having the same brain wave activity. Therefore, spiritual experiences do not simply reduce to what is studied through methods of biofeedback (p. 14).

"As with all of these experiences, there may be intense fear at the beginning of the phase - it may seem as if the ultimate risk is being taken, as if all there was to do was to fall through the floor to the ultimate scary place. There can be a feeling of letting go, which may amount to something like a trance state in some cases. As with all the breakthroughs, there may be an intense experience of light" (Rowan, 1983, p. 14).

According to Kohn (1984) all experiences of altered states or consciousness involve the abandonment of left hemispheric functions in favor of the processes of the right hemisphere. What makes the individual's experience special is his or her ability to reintegrate these experiences into a functional balance between the two hemispheres of the brain. Moreover, it is this integration or bimodal consciousness that distinguishes the adept from the psychotic and defines the experiences as useful rather than delusional (p. 254). Maslow put it this way:

"My feeling is that if it were never to happen again, the power of the experience could permanently affect the attitude toward life. A single glimpse of heaven is enough to confirm its existence even if it is never experienced again. It is my strong suspicion that even one such experience might be able to prevent suicide, for instance, and perhaps many varieties of slow self-destruction, e.g., alcoholism, drug-addiction, addiction to violence, etc. I would guess also, on theoretical grounds, that peak-experiences might very well abort "existential meaninglessness," states of valuelessness, etc." (Maslow, 1964, p. 76).

In this same sense, Simon (1977) explains that the process of regression to primary-process thought which later comes under the influence of secondary-process thinking may represent a progressive integration or hemispheric functioning, rather than regression (p. 3).

"Some researchers believe that primary- and secondary-process thought belong to different hemispheres of the brain; that the right hemisphere is responsible for primary, creative thought while the left controls secondary, logical reasoning" (Simon, 1977, p. 3).

Peake, Van Noord, and Albott (1979) explain, the value of the psychotherapeutic process and its concurrent altered states of consciousness is gauged by the individual's ability to understand and beneficially integrate such experiences (p. 99). Proper therapeutic procedures require (1) a therapeutic process analogous to hypnosis, and (2) an understanding of the qualitatively different perspective provided by insights gained within the context of an altered state of awareness, otherwise, the therapist inadvertently becomes part of a detrimental interaction which disallows the insight provided by the altered state of consciousness (p. 100).

"The most valuable understanding is the kind that frees us to learn more (p. 99). . . . Psychotherapy at its best catalyzes emotionally linked cognitive growth. Ingredients such as the appropriate emotional backdrop, the context of the human relationship, and the pressure to formulate a qualitatively different life are needed for the altering state. What is needed can be described, but producing this state-dependent learning at will is more of a challenge. Although recognizing and encouraging these conditions is important, the artistry of therapy is involved with fostering, promoting, allowing, and bringing about these conditions" (Peake, Van Noord, & Albott, 1979, pp. 100-101).

According to current definitions of such experiences, it is commonly believed that they tend to only happen when a person is prepared by the process of self-development, when they are willing and ready to handle them (Anon, 1970, p. 160). However, if a person is unprepared, the effect may be quite different; the individual's response could even be disastrous. Some of the effects have been described in ancient as well as modern literature:

"Kabbala has always had about it an aura of danger, perhaps far good reason. In the light of the later psychoanalytic developments, this danger may be repressed material to consciousness. The warning in connection with Jewish secret doctrine is expressed as early as the Book of Sirach, III, 20-24" (Duken, 1976, p. 70).

However, discussions of side-effects of the discharge of sexual and/or aggressive energies effects have not been given their appropriate position in the psychoanalytic literature. In fact, it should be obvious that one of the critical features of this discharge of aggressive and/or sexual energies is that it produces a generalization effect. Depersonalization syndrome (Kennedy, 1976; Simpson, 1977) - e.g., the inability to distinguish between internal and external realities - can be down right dangerous if ignored or unaddressed simply because it may resolve itself at some later stage of growth therapy.

"Education about the goals and effects of the techniques and guidance with regard to the nature and management of such experiences as mako (A Zen Term) would make the experience safer" (Simpson, 1977, p. 1450).

It is popularly believed that Freud (1964) treated this generalization effect as a psychopathological characteristic of primary ego state, while others have taken this to imp1y that persons with relatively weak ego strength are likely to be susceptible to the oceanic experience (Allison, 1966; Arieti, 1967; Owens, 1972; Prince & Savage, 1972). One of the many problems is that Freud was attempting to keep the elements of illusion within the psychotherapeutic process from falling into the hands of priests (Bettelheim, 1983, p. 35).

[Freud] "wrote, 'I do not know whether you have guessed the hidden link between 'Lay Analysis' and Illusion.' . . . I want to protect analysis . . . from priests. I want to entrust it to a profession that doesn't yet exist, a profession of secular ministers of souls, who must not be priests" (Bettelheim, 1983, p. 35).

As Some of us know all too well, there is a genuine cultural conflict around these kind of experiences that in most cases limit the vital psychological and physiological growth. Cultural conflict inhibits the decision to be healthy. The issues involved in the establishment of policies and practices designed around quality of health issues are complex with life long implications. Unfortunately in the field of psychology, this has resulted in little theoretical development of a commonly accepted orientation, with its otherwise methodological advances. Consequently, it must be supposed that the great number of psychotherapeutic impact studies were conducted with no theoretical underpinnings or even past research as a guide, and would negate the validity of all research involving the classification of altered states of consciousness as a pathological regressive phenomena, which have dominated a large proportion of psychoanalytic literature.

Psychologically, personal expectations, goals and motivation serve to play a critically important role in the degree of therapeutic success; one cannot have one without the other, and therefore, should not be minimized as a requisite. Yet, under conditions of pathological labeling, it is entirely likely that some clients have been able to achieve higher levels of growth in psychotherapy, but only by chance and as a happenstance, and certainly not as a regular phenomenon. Moreover, given that such experiences are a normal phenomena in the process of therapy (Kelman, 1975; Geer, 1993) and result in a greater actualization (Mathes, Zevon, Roter, & Joerger, 1982), then, pathological labeling of the experience independent of the process must not only be considered a negative impact of modern therapy, but the negative labeling of altered states or consciousness, spiritual and/or religious experiences, must also function to disable the individual. Thus, when psychotherapy is used to help disadvantaged subgroups, the rejection of the individual's experiences and the labeling of such spiritual and/or religious experiences as pathological (Freud, 1964) must be considered as a negative impact of modern therapy, and thus, must also be considered as one of the most common abuses of psychotherapeutic ideals.

Furthermore, given this theoretical framework, such states by-and-of-themselves may well be dysfunctional, but relative to therapy, the pathology is seen when the individual is unable to successfully integrate such experiences. In this sense, failure to become more self-actualized may be expressed as a failure to constantly compliment the generalization effect with the illusion of continuity; that is, failure to successfully integrate progressive states of consciousness would result in the various forms of meta-pathologies.

(3) The Real Self
In spite of many pressures against the process of self-actualization, many individuals become addicted to the ideal of becoming more well. With the breakdown of the wedge of consciousness (i.e. the degree of neurosis within the ego structure) between ego defense mechanisms and the real self, there is a gradual eroding of an extremely complex set of patterning abilities, such as the type of perception imposed by a dominantly left-hemisphere culture; a working through of inner conflict. This results in a new kind of functioning in the right hemisphere, and the use of cortical areas of the brain more closely connected to auditory phenomena. Analysis of the past and present seems to come from a controllable location, rather than an a ubiquitous power or subjective consciousness like the superego built up and under particular social pressures. Rowan (1983) calls this the feeling of one's "center," of "identity" and of "true self - the self that lies behind or beyond all self-images or self concepts" (p. 15).

From the very inner workings of consciousness even a triviality seems to be of a profound psychological significance. The transition is perceived as a skill or ability to control misfortune, but after the analysis even this may be seen as an illusion. The important psychological interest or point here is to understand that the sortilege of analysis involves the same kind of generative processes which develop conscious thought or decision-making. It results in a successive proximation of the structure of consciousness. Rowan (1983) calls this evolution in an individual's consciousness "a developmental step, principally discontinuous involving step-jump rather than gradual form" (p. 15).

The very beginning of the new mentality to come is experienced as a peak or crowning of the process, often resulting in the realization that what we call consciousness is totally and completely subjective; change the thought and you change the feeling is one version of this alteration of what we tend to call reality. It is "what Rogers (1961) has often called the fully functioning person." As the "splits of intellect/emotion, left brain/right brain, masculine/feminine, shadow/persona, and so on" are healed, the basic mystical or religious attitude becomes the predominant focus of the individual's experience (Rowan, p. 15).

It could indeed be asked at this point why we simply do not revert to a previous and more concrete level of thought. There is a paradoxical effect to the feelings of freeness and aloneness, which can also be felt as isolation from the rest of humanity. I think most people at this stags are overcome by the sense of aloneness, and do revert to the more concrete level.

"The concept of a breakthrough seems to me very important. I think Wilber (1980) is right when he says that each breakthrough on the spiritual path gives us a new sense of self, . . . Each breakthrough gives us something apparently more risky to hang on to; something less concrete, less publicly acknowledged, less socially acceptable than the last" (Rowan, 1983, p, 23).

Moreover, rejection of experiences associated with the process of self actualization must be supposed to have the potential to outweigh the positive benefits sought in the therapeutic endeavor and reinforce the tendency to revert to the more concrete level. That is, if pathology is understood to be the result of unsuccessful integration of altered states of consciousness, then, those individuals who re-enter the social structure without a support system for such experiences would be more susceptible to forms of social isolation, alienation, experience a new loss or sense of community (Kahn, 1990), and lose whatever faith in community systems and organizations they might have developed, and possibly develop additional mental health problems, as opposed to reverting to the more concrete level of thought.

Yet for some there is a resolution of conflict: There is an irreconcilable commitment to the real self, and a kind or obedience, seen as an extremely important aspect of this stage of self-actualization. The new sense of self denotes a new consciousness; that is, it leads to the supposition of something inside of the self is quite different. Namely that, thoughts, opinions, and delusions are subjective phenomena inside a person because there appears to be no room for an open discussion and an opportunity to work through them in the objective world (Kahn, 1980). Thus, although there are quite different reasons why people are successful at achieving the range of experience discussed thus far, the paradoxical "sentiment at the base of mystical experiences of a religious kind is something that needs to be appreciated" (Rowen, 1593, p. 15), for it is why self-actualization spreads to the even more lofty stages.

(4) The Higher Self
This stage tends to result in rather elaborate phenomena, and with Shirley Maclaine's (1985) recent book, Out on a Limb, there is a lot of new cultural interpretations for these experiences. Soul travel or astral projection, and meetings with spirit guides, ancestors, angles, Christ or Buddha are only among the few categories which can be expected to be reported from individuals at this stage or the actualization process. Rowan (1983) explains the more traditional aspects of this stage as a shift from the perceptual modality of feeling to the more vivid auditory and visual modalities; an exchange and interchange of sensory perceptions which results in an actual voice appearing to be separate from the self, or a vision of the divine with three-dimensional reality. While it may be argued that many get stuck in this state, the reverse argument would lean towards a failure of the support systems (e.g., the therapist or the mode of therapy itself), for as the experience becomes integrated, "it becomes us; we become it. 'Not me, but Christ in me' is one version of this." The most common result of such experiences is the development of what is often referred to as Spiritual Gifts; an accentuated ability to use symbols as a form of special power, "which again seem outside us at first and inside us in the end" (p. 16). With integration, such experiences are thus recognized to not demonstrate anything metaphysical, but simply provide an experience of an arbitrary location of the higher self.

"The end of this stage comes when we have the courage, as Wilbur (1980) puts it, to recognize that the higher being was projection - that it was us all the time. There is no put-down in saying this, because we are projecting from the superconscious, not from the personal unconscious" (Rowan, 1983, p. 16).

Simon (1977) presents this perspective of spiritual growth by concluding that the health individual compliments the mystical, intuitive, and non-teleolical processes of the right hemisphere with the dialectic and logical processes of the left hemisphere. He, furthermore, concludes that severe conflict prevents the analytic process from creating this diffusion of consciousness and de-localization of conflict (p. 6). Under these conditions, states of neurosis, psychosis, psychosomatic disease, and decreased creativity and productivity cannot be alleviated because severely conflicted persons cannot cope with the experience of this level of altered states of consciousness (p. 11).

One critical feature of this type of cognitive development, however, is that the ability to report any of these experiential formulations, of the nature of reality as well as specific predictions based upon such experiences, are limited by their imprecise verbal nature. Kahn (1984) argues that, in addition to the dissolution of the boundaries between self and environment, language difficulties are the most obvious result of spiritual progress. According to this perspective, the locus of the spiritual experience is the right hemisphere of the brain, but because the left hemisphere is the usual location of language function there is a consistent difficulty of describing such experiences in words (p. 254). Peak et al. (1979) present a similar perspective, but add the suggestion that therapy can help to improve the qualitative features of the experience; to enhance the process.

"Tart (1972) argues that some experiences, knowledge, or sciences are understandable only from the content of a person in an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Tart argues for the scientific legitimacy of such experiences.
. . . Fromm emphasizes that integrating the experience through an active ego process (as with a therapist) is crucial to make the . . . experience therapeutic . . . As a result, a qualitatively different kind of knowledge emerges as emotional and intellectual learning" (Peake et al., 1979, p. 99).

(5) Deity as Substance
Although the peak-experiences are quite ecstatic experiences, most of the growth processes are work. Coping with the obvious and progressive generalization effect is not exactly a pleasant experience. In this sense, the process of detachment from ego defense mechanisms can be understood as a cognitive process: As it becomes increasingly difficult to increase the discriminability of the elements of reality from the background, it also becomes more difficult to utilize ego defense mechanisms; to be attached a liner form of consciousness, and its concomitant attachment to materialistic objects.

Rowan (1983) explains that this "is the big league of spirituality." As verbal inadequacy is increased, it becomes apparent that "we are transverbal rather than preverbal." All spiritual and/or religious traditions "warn against idolatry at this point," and as one gives up even the existing sense of self, it "feels like death and rebirth" (p. 17). To provide the reader with an idea of how unpleasant this experience actually is, it might be helpful to understand that the Saints of Western contemplative traditions refer to this part of the process as a state in which those who have died to this world - i.e., normal consciousness - expiate their sins by suffering; by dying with Christ on the cross, etc. What is more important, because "neurosis is the medical euphuism for a state of sin" (Mower, 1964, p. 6), many of the current psychological and/or spiritual treatment models appear to be in essential agreement with the historical features of the perspective of overcoming this state. For example, Kohn (1984) states that factors such as stress and low self-esteem are conditions that may be seen as symptoms of a poorly developed or poorly organized spiritual life. According to the psychoanalytic perspective then, "sin" is the underlying condition. It disables the spiritual life, through deficient hemisphere integration (p. 257).

According to Rowan (1983), "the possibilities for deception and self-deception are also much greater." If the idolic imagery of all the previous levels of consciousness are overcome, the individual is able to recognize the "downward direction" of what had been previously understood as "the skyward Deity" (p. 17). However, even in these higher levels of awareness, there seems to be an overwhelming drive or unfolding of this partial awareness to a higher level of perception where the true cyclical nature of this Deity may be addressed:

"One very difficult area here is the patriarchal culture in which we have been brought up. At very deep levels, we assume somehow the maleness of the Deity, and also the skyward direction. It seems important at this point in history to question both of these assumptions, and to give much more recognition to the femaleness of the Deity, and to her downward direction. . . . Christianity has bean wrestling with these ideas recently, and Dart (1982) has a good summary of some of these controversies. June Singer (1977) has written about androgynous monotheism: I am not sure that this is the answer, but at least it is pointing to the problematic area" (Rowan, 1983, pp. 17-18).

The point to be concerned with here is that with the achievement of this level of self-actualization, there is a more generalized recognition that what had been previously thought of as Deity is not only not the Deity they had envisioned, and that the deity they had envisioned is actually an attribute composite of a cyclical nature. Moreover, because Rowan and many others have defined this as a problematic area, it therefore might be helpful for the reader to understand that the god of the Northern Kingdom and his reign of high places (Numbers 22:41; Jeremias 19:5; 32:35) was not only opposed by the Old Testament Prophets (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, 1963, p. 182), but crucial passages of the New Testament also show that Christian teachings were not meant (Mt 10:25; 12:24-27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15-18f) to be interpreted as a kingdom in the sky where god rides the clouds (Psalms 68:5):

"Is this not why you err - because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? . . . have you not read in the book of Moses about the Bush, how God spoke to him saying, 'I am the God or Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Mark 12:24b-26).

Thus, teachings which relate to the deity of high places are done without ever being aware that the god which they speak of is Baal. He was worshiped at Accaron under the title of Beelzebub (4Kings 1:2f), and was often associated with the goddess Ashtoreth (Judges 2:13), thus, establishing a reign of androgynous monotheism associated with the cycle of birth and death.

"Baal, A very important divinity in the Chanaanite religion, as this is known from the Ugaritic texts. B., or Al'yan B., is the god of the mountaintops, of the clouds, and of the storms; hence he is also called B. Sapan or Sapon (Baal-Saphon: Ex 14, 2.9; Nm 33, 7). Some of his titles are: "he who rides on the clouds" (cf. Ps 68, 5), "the master of the wind," and "the prince (zbl), the lord of the earth." At Accaron he was worshiped under a similar title (Beelzebub). . . . In Israel the cult of B., . . . was very popular; several rulers of the Northern Kingdom promoted it, but it was strenuously opposed by the prophets (Jer 2, 23; 11, 13; Ez 6; Os 13,1ff; Elia)" (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, 1963, p. 182).

At the end of this stage, Rowan's (1983) model suggests that the individual enters either the stage of "Deity as Process" or "The Ultimate." The exact stage of self-actualization seems to depend upon a Western or Eastern philosophical orientation to the progress (p. 19). However, I don't believe this is correct. I am presently unable to support this, but, I believe that redemption and nirvana are synonymous. If so, the full enlightenment of the Eastern traditions would also involve an awareness that the individual can experience this state, but it may be achieved only as a collective goal of (wo)mankind (Greene, 1987).

(6) Deity as Process
According to Rowan (1983), when the individual has transcended the influence of the deity of high places, a new stage of consciousness is developed. He calls this stags of awareness of the divine justice of "the Holy Trinity," "Deity as Process" (p. 18).

This is depicted as true theological enlightenment as well as actualization: It is union with the Absolute; a state or consciousness resulting from a process of conversion experiences resulting in an ontological change and a new level of awareness described as a sharing in the divine nature (Vann, 1947, p. 143). It is reflective of the purely spiritual or mystical side of the Word Made Flesh in early Catholicism; e.g., "from the pure transcendentalism of the Areopagite" (Acts 17:17-34) "through the pontifical kinghood of Byzantium" (Chesterton, 1938, p. 16). The signs and symptoms of a person experiencing this level of consciousness are usually described in terms of the ultimate reality or the Kingdom of God being seen as a process which all (wo)mankind must go through: (1) A comprehension, through experience or a process of conversion or peak experiences, of the reunion of God with (wo)man, followed by (2) the reunion of God with (wo)mankind; ---> parousia or redemption (Apocalypse 20: 5-6).

This stage of awareness of the divine justice is described in terms of the comprehension that, "death is a defect in creation," and that, "immortality" (Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 15, p. 180) is the common goal of (wo)mankind: It has found its expression in many ways including as the Biblical Doctrine of Retribution; i.e., based on the exact proportion of people in union with God, God acts in non-contextual ways by preference to the community to end of all human suffering. This is pure Yahwistic Theory, and the essence of Jewish and Gnostic redemption claims. The promise of everlasting life is the reward!

The basic premise provided by Yahwistic Theory is that triumph over the supreme form of isolation from God, will take place as a result or a three-stage commitment to ending human suffering and extending the human lifespan (i.e., redemption): (1) the union of the individual (wo)man with God; (2) the union of the individual (wo)man with (wo)mankind; the world as a spiritual relationship to God; and (3) as a result of the first two stages, God, then redeems the world from death by means of the union of God-(wo)man-world (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vo1. 14, p. 8):

"For then true unity is created - God-man-world. Eternity enters into being and death is pushed off and the living become immortals in eternal praise of redemption (Kokhav ha-Ge'ullah (1970), 280;" (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 14, p. 8).

(7) The Ultimate
Rowan (1983) explains that at this stage, one is overwhelmed by the generalization effect to consciousness. All the concreteness of consciousness of self and environment seems lost. The process seems endless and bottomless, without any dimensions for reference. The period of time that one might be dysfunctional as a result of this process is rarely, if ever discussed and warrants further research. However, with adequate support and a great deal of effort, as with all other stages, full functioning eventually returns.

"This is the sense of having fallen into the Void, into the Ultimate, of being everything and nothing at the same time. . . . This is the most difficult and final stage of all, where one is left without anything solid to hang on to (p. 19).
. . . There is nowhere further to go - or at least, so it seems. Wilber (1980) has a useful warning, I think, when he says that the individual ultimately has to surrender his or her 'exclusive love affair with the Void' - even this has to go" (Rowan, 1983, p. 20).

According to Kohn (1984), a recognition of the spiritual aspect of self-actualization would necessarily "involve the integration of all mental functions of the individual" (p. 255). But, more importantly, Mathes et al. (l982) have pointed out association with this process was never intended to be measured as a primary affective experience; that according to Maslow, the peak experience or experience of a new stage in the process "is a cognitive experience in which the individual perceives Being, that is, ultimate reality." They state that "by operationally defining the peak experience as an intensely positive experience, a number of pseudo-peak experiences are also gathered. This results in measurement error and difficulties in theory testing" (p. 96). Thus, along with the need to accurately document the period of time that a person might be dysfunctional as a result their growth through this stage, there also exists a need to accurately assess individuals having successfully achieved this level of growth or self-actualization.

The need to assess periods of dysfunctionality continues, however the ability to accurately assess this level of consciousness is presented in one study by Brown and Engler (1980), which avoided operationally defined measurement difficulties by assessing the aforementioned process using the Rorschach test. In their assessment of the full, productive response to the world which in its highest form is referred to by Eastern contemplative traditions as the 4th level of enlightenment, they were able to show that, paradoxically in relation too and at the same time as the generalization effect, there is a continuing tendency to generate formulations or core ideas about the nature of reality. Essentially this would infer that such core ideas are similar to the expectations imposed by and in respect to both right and left hemispheric functioning, but it is the symmetry between the two hemispheres or whole brain function, 'neural net,' which allows for critical differences in the perception of reality: For example, the individuals who were assessed to be fully enlightened, were able to attend to the generalization effect and at the same time attend to all the minute aspects of the reality imposed by the Rorschach test. Thus, this method appears to present as the best possible method for assessing the cognitive experience in which the individual perceives Being, that is, ultimate reality.

Discussion
The evidence used in association with this essay in no way suggest a process of ego-deflation. This is not to suggest that ego dissolution is not a viable subject of investigation, but rather that it is merely not synonymous with the processes described herein. Instead, the evidence used in this essay is reflective of the process of deflation of the degree of neurosis (sin) from the ego structure and is closely connected with a parallel process of overcoming ego defense mechanisms; it is this process which results in the greater cognitive development that Maslow termed 'Being.' Although it is not the purpose of this paper to even attempt to provide anything like a clinical definition of this fully developed ego state, it is important to note, when this paradoxical cognitive development is expressed as a process it may be simply stated that accompaniments or groups or overt sense data contribute to the distinctive qualities of unity, which provides a basis for a sense of direct awareness of the properties contained within the whole.

Judaism and Christianity have traditionally maintained that higher states of human development await. Inner peace and harmony with peak experiences were the principal expected outcomes; with self control and self-actualization being secondary in importance. In general, however, it seems religious societies have lost sight of the most cherished and enduring values and goals of its heritage which had made them great.

"the Christian view of man's perfection may be expressed under six headings: the perfection of the mind; the perfection of heart, will; achieved in unity and hierarchy; issuing in expression of personality, of vision, in creative work; and finding God and therefore a new earth, a new self, through the loss of self in mysticism and worship; there was 1eft, at the end of the evolution of secular humanism only one of the six, the first" (Vann, 1947, p. 27).

Therefore, as a practical and theoretical matter, if an understanding of this cognitive process is to be based on something more than an appeal to inscrutable faith in our systems of education that claim to be concerned with the actualization of society's citizens, in schools of higher learning that claim to be educating their students to offer others the very best of services in behavioral medicine, psychology, education, etc., and in religious and spiritual organizations that claim to be concerned with the higher state of human development, there must be some modification of the qualities which comprise the elements of faith in these organizations. Given proper analysis of causal effects and adequate support, Maslow (1972) believed that humanistic psychology was one avenue which could be useful. He believed that pathologies and meta-pathologies may be overcome by a positive orientation to the process of self-actualization, and that critical phases or peak experiences result in higher levels of actualization.

One rational approach to the application and testing of the theory of self-actualization would be to assess the impact that the subject areas of altered states of consciousness have on the teachers who would be presenting the material to future to future health care workers, as well as to the general public. For in the final analysis, the responsibility for the health of a future generation lies in the hands of educators. Hence, surveys that would look at the relationship of teacher attitudes on the function of altered states of consciousness, spiritual, and religious experience in psychotherapy and self-actualization seems a necessary step in the movement toward a healthy society.

For example, this essay could be used in connection with such a survey. The instructions might be as follows: There are eight sections to this survey. After reading each section, respond to six questions on a seven-point scale, ranging from "no, definite" (1) to a "yes, definite" (7). The questions are: (1) Did you understand the information provided in this section? (2) Do you find this section meaningful? (3) As a person, were your emotions moved in a positive way? (4) As a teacher, could you feel good about teaching the information provided in this section? (5) Did this section imply the movement toward positive mental health?

The results of this essay and survey could be used to determine a (1) general orientation to the process of self-actualization, and (2) general tendency or willingness to teach students about the process. The evidence produced by such a study could be used (3) to determine if an intervention is necessary, and if so (4) to help design and develop interventions to prevent, or mitigate negatively oriented presentations of the subject matter. In either case, this type of criterion would serve as a guideline to reshape a society and further improve community participation in prevention programs.

Another rational approach to the application and testing of the theory of self-actualization would come from the field or neural science. For example, the psychotherapeutic process must also be understood as an extension of the physiological mechanisms of bodily functions and behaviors. That is, as the limbic system becomes more integrated, the higher centers of the brain become more effective. This effect whereby the higher centers are conditionally functioning appears to be a result of an increase of hypothalamic peptides. As such, when there is no organic damage, the higher centers which permit actions to be guided by plans and strategy are entirely dependent upon the level of integration of the limbic system (Kandel & Schwartz, 1985, pp. 608-634). Hence, the psychotherapeutic process may result in a state whereby conscious experience itself becomes less of a stress related phenomena. In such cases, this must also be supposed to result in a consciousness that is an expression of the composite or 'neural net' of brain function, rather than the stress induced split experience when consciousness is predominantly a right or left hemispheric function. Thus, when discussing the right- and left-hemispheric functions of the brain as independent in their function, we are actually indirectly discussing a group of symptoms related to the failure in integration of the limbic system. Under these conditions, physiological evidence comparing the split-brain function of normal individuals versus whole-brain function resulting from the cognitive enhancement techniques may be more readily accepted by a great many of those in academic environments. It is, therefore, imperative that social scientists with a background in neural science develop a body or literature connecting the hypothalamic peptides with the actualization process.

REFERENCES

Allison, J. (1966). Recent empirical studies of religious conversion experiences. Pastoral Psychology, 17, 21-33.

Anon (1970). Seminar on drugs for escape or religious experience. Religious Education, 65, 176-183.

Arieti, S. (1967). The intrapsychic self. New York: Basic Books.

Baken, D. (1969). Sigmund Freud & the Jewish Mystical Tradition. New York: Schocken Books.

Benson, H. (1975). The relaxation response. New York: William Morrow.

Benson, H. (1982). The relaxation response: history, physiological basis and clinical usefulness. Acta Medica Scandivics. Supplementum, 660, 231--237.

Benson, H., Beary, J.F., & Carol, M.P. (1974). The relaxation response. Psychiatry, 37, 37-46.

Bettelheim, B. (1983). Freud and man's soul. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Bloom, B.L. (1979). Prevention of mental disorders: Recent advances in theory and practice. Community Mental Health Journal, 16, 179-191.

Brown, D.P., & Engler, J. (1980). The stages of mindfulness meditation: a validation study. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 12 (2), 143-192.

Bucke, R. (1923). Cosmic consciousness. New York: Dutton.

Bulka, R.P. (1976). Setting the tone: the psychology - Judaism dialogue. Journal of Psychology & Judaism, 1 (1), 3-13.

Chesterton, G.K. (1938). St. Thomas Aquinas. USA: The Polygraphic Co. of America, for Sheed & Ward, Inc., New York.

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1973). Jerusalem Israel: Keter Publishing House Ltd., Vol. 14, 15.

Encyclopedic dictionary of the bible (1963). A translation and adaptation of A. van dun Born's Bijbels Woordenboek, Second Revised Ed, 1945-57, by Louis F. Hartman, C.SS.R., Executive Secretary of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.

Erikson, E., & Evans. R.I. (1964). Interviews with professor Erik Erikson (Part 2). Notable contributions to the psychology of personality: Film No. 19. Texas: University of Huston.

Evoy, J.J., & Christoph, V.F. (1963). Personality development in religious life. New York: Sheed & Ward, Inc.

Freud, S. (1911). Formations regarding the two principles in mental functioning. In Freud: general psychological theory. New York: Collier Books.

Freud, S. (1920). James Strachey (ed.). Beyond the pleasure principle. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1961.

Freud, S. (1964). The future of an illusion. New York: Anchor Books.

Geer, F.C. (1983). Marine-machine to post of the rocks: poetry therapy as a bridge to inner reality: some exploratory observations. Arts in Psychotherapy, 10 (l), 9-14.

Gellhorn, E., & Kelly, W.F. (1972). Mystical states of consciousness: neurophysiological and clinical aspects. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 154 (6), 399-405. Greene, W. (1987). An essay on the quantum field-theory concept or conversion and redemption: The function of contemplative exercises as a parallel distributive processing system, effecting quality of life and longevity (life-everlasting). The Journal of Religion and Psychical Research, 10 (4), 217-226.

Jacobi, J. (1962). The psychology of C.G. Jung. New Haven: Yale University Press.

James, W. (1907). The varieties of religious experience. London and Boston.

James, W. (1950). The principles of psychology, Vol. 1-2, New York; Dover Press.

Kahn, L.S. (1990). The dynamics of scapegoating: the expulsion of evil. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research And Practice, 17 (1), 79-84.

Kandel, E.R., & Schwartz, J.H. (1985). Principles of neural science (2nd ed.). New York: Elsevier Science Publishing Co. , Inc.

Kelman, H. (1975). Altered states of consciousness in therapy. Journal of American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 3 (2), 187-204).

Kennedy, R.B. Jr (1976). Self-induced depersonalization syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133 (11), 1326-1328.

Kohn, G.F. (1984). Toward a model for spirituality and alcoholism. Journal of Religion and Health, 23 (3), 250-259.

Maclaine, S. (1985). Out on a limb. New York: Bantam Books, Inc.

Mowrer, O.H. (1964). The New Group Therapy. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Maslow, A. (1964). Religion, values and peak experiences. Columbus, Ohio: State University Press.

Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Maslow, A. (1972). The farther reaches of human nature. New York: Viking Press.

Mathes, E.W., Zevon, M.A., Roter, P.M., Joerger, S.M. (1982). Peak experience tendencies: scale development and theory testing. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 22 (3), 92-108.

Norwood, R. (1986). Women who love too much. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

0wens, C.M. (1972). The mystical experience: Facts and values. In J. White (ed.), The Highest state of consciousness. New York: Anchor Books, pp. 135-152.

Peake, T.H., Van Noord, R.W., & Albott, W. (1979). Psychotherapy as an altered state of awareness: a common element. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 10 (2), 98-104.

Prince, R., & Savage, C. (1972). Mystical states and the concept of regression. In J. White (ed.), The highest state of consciousness. New York: Anchor Books, pp. 114-134.

Rowan, J. (1983). The real self and mystical experiences. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23 (2), 8-27.

Schneider, A.M., & Tarshis (1980). An introduction to physiological psychology. New York: Random House, Inc., p. 11.

Schweinhart, L.J., Weikart. D.P. & Larner, M.B. (1986). Consequences of three preschool curriculum models through age15. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 1, 15-45.

Simon, J. (1977). Creativity and altered states of consciousness. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 37 (l), 3-12.

Simpson, M.A. (1977). Another approach to self-induced depersonalization. American Journal of Psychiatry, 143 (12), 1449-1450.

Smith, J.A. (1973). Psychiatric research in the etiology of alcoholism. New York: Plunum Press.

Suzuki, D.T., Fromm, E., & DeMartino, R. (1960). Zen Buddhism & Psychoanalysis. New York: Harper & Brothers.

The holy family bible (1955). USA: The Catholic Press, Inc.

Tiebout, H.M. (1980). The ego factors in surrender in alcoholism. MN, USA: Hazelden Educational Services.

Titus, H.H. & Smith M.S. (1974). Living issues in philosophy. New York: D Van Nostrand Company, p. 9.

Vann, G. (1947). Saint Thomas Aquinas. New York: Benzinger Brothers, Inc.

Warner, R. (1963). The confessions of St. Augustine. New York: The American Library of World Literature, Inc.

Wilber, K. (1975). Psychologia perennis: the spectrum of consciousness. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 7 (2), 105-132.

Wilber, K. (1984). Quantum questions; mystical writings of the world's great physicists. Boulder: Shambhala Publications.

Wilson, C. (1972). New pathways in psychology. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company.

Zucker, R.A., & Gomberg, E.S.L. (1986). Etiology of alcoholism reconsidered: the case for a biopsychosocial process. American Psychologist, 41 (7), 783-793.