Maslow and a bit of an argument.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theory by Abraham Maslow that states that humans have five basic needs: psychology, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization. These needs are arranged in a hierarchy where the higher needs come into focus when lower needs are satisfied.

While Maslow's theory makes intuitively sense in our western culture there is no scientific evidence to support such hierarchy. Maslow supposedly rethought his theory at the end of his life. Even though the theory lacks scientific support it is very common in psychology textbooks and many people are exposed to it.

I personally think it is an ill-conceived concept that limits people in their struggle to live fulfilled lives. It gives people the idea that happiness depends on satisfying needs. In reality people overestimate the impact of satisfying a need due to something called impact bias. I think that the struggle of satisfying needs and avoiding pain is a major source of unhappiness in our society today. I think it is time that we get rid of Maslow's theory.

Really???? Yes Really...

Read on....

As a trained Behaviorist, this was the beginning point for Maslow. But then he changed his mind. How did that happen? When? What trigger it? He tells about the change in The Farther Reaches of Human Nature.

“Our first baby changed me as a psychologist. It made the Behaviorism I had been so enthusiastic about look so foolish that is could not stomach it any more. It was impossible.” (p. 163)

As he recognized that babies come with an inner self or inner nature, the over-simplicity of the Behaviorist model would no longer do. As this new understanding grew, he later wrote the following as recorded by Edward Hoffman his biographer in The Right to be Human: A

Biography of Abraham Maslow (1988).

“Man is ultimately not molded or shaped into humanness. . . . The environment does not give him potentialities and capacities; he has them in inchoate or embryonic form, just exactly as he has embryonic arms and legs. And creativeness, spontaneity, selfhood, authenticity, caring for others, being able to love, yearning for truth are embryonic potentialities belonging to his species-membership just as much as are his arms and legs, brain and eyes.” (p. 232, italics added)

So it was in the last year of his life, about 1970, he evaluated his theory and the many case studies of individuals who had taken it up as a way to guide their lives. He found about 95-98% of the people did not do as well as his theory predicted. The reason was that they lacked a general moral and spiritual system of value and contact with God, Spirit.

He then revised his theory, calling it "Theory Z," to include at the top of the self-actualization hierarchy, God-realization or Self-realization. He was back where his intuition began, at the cost of many people not doing as well as they might have, if he'd been more brave.

What are you talking about lass? Ok...keep reading...

Saint Therese of Neumann lived, under 24/7 National Socialist military and medical hostile inspection and guard, without water or food, for decades. She stated she lived on God's Light. She lost no weight, and witnessed Christ Jesus' crucifixion on a weekly Friday basis, during the "Book of Revelation" outpicturing of the "mark of the beast" in Nazi Germany. Paramahansa Yogananda, a Saint, bravely visited her (he was not Blond and Blue-Eyed, you see), and both co-witnessed the Crucifixion records displayed for Saint Therese, and said he understood how she was indeed living on the Light of God. He joked to her, don't tell anyone...it will put the farmers out of a job. (Chronicled in "Autobiography of a Yogi,"

Just consider this...when considering needs...the soul is directly linked with God...and in that...no food, no other needs can or will come between it...and the light of God's Grace...

What proof? Well...let's see...I think Christ is a very good example.

Think it is time to go to sleep...I do need to do that.

Love you all...

The royal pain in the neck...and loving you all for putting up with her.

The Lass

Oh...and El Cid...I read the book...now time to argue...oops...debate...oops...discuss...oh I think you understand...you self-actualized...oops...soulful woman...living in God's good grace.