[Excerpted from, 9 Keys to Optimism: Positive Psychology, ©2023]

Along with ‘stay curious’, we could add: ‘be grateful’.

Gratitude is surely on the public radar of late. Along with kindness, gratitude as a means to health began trending several years ago, when we began to more clearly understand through research that it directly contributes to our wellbeing. It’s in being grateful for our lives, in many aspects and in spite of specific circumstances, that we expand our openness to new experience, our ability to love and be loved, our creative capacity, and thus, our optimism.

Yes, grateful, ‘in spite of’. Even when facing challenges, or grieving a loss, there are aspects of our lives and our world for which we can experience gratitude, each and every day.

At this moment, I’m flooded with gratitude that the sky, outside the window before me as I write, is a robin-egg blue, while early spring sunshine streams across my desk. It is enough.

This character strength is another located within the virtue of transcendence, as the feeling of thankfulness itself is transcendent beyond the self and the ordinary. By feeling grateful for all that we have – for sunshine, a good friend, a favorite food, a skill, or the simple yet profound fact that we woke to yet another day (and for sleep itself, and for dreams), and so much more – that we become our best selves. We know our lives to have meaning and purpose. In short, we feel connected — to everyone and everything.

Gratitude can be thought of 2 ways, as specific thankfulness for some benefit – a kindness or favor done for you by someone, for example – and as a generalized emotion by which we live. One has a clear stimulus, while the other is more intangible, and both benefit our physical and mental health and wellbeing, as well as our enjoyment of life.

Its health benefits, physical and psychological, are enormous, often overlapping with those of optimism. A recent study by Newman et al. (2021) demonstrated that both gratitude and optimism were predictors for lower heart rate and blood pressure, or better cardiovascular health; they both improved sleep and reduced stress response; both produced feelings of positive emotion and life satisfaction. They differed, too, in that optimism contributed more to sleep quality, decreased stress, and reduced discomfort when considering negative events, whereas gratitude contributed more to wellbeing aspects such as recall of positive events and appreciation of others, or love.

Gratitude is a clear predictor of optimism, as well as self-esteem and resilience; the more gratitude one integrates into one’s life, the greater the optimism (Daniel-González et al., 2023). Along with perceived social support, gratitude also predicts wellbeing and optimism among the very old, as demonstrated in a geriatric nursing facility study conducted by Liu et al. (2022). And in a clear indication of their power, a study by Kumar et al. (2022) indicated gratitude and optimism as contributors to resilience in young adult survivors of sexual violence; posttraumatic stress and suicidal ideation were lower for those in whom gratitude and optimism were high.

Gratitude, hope, and optimism have been identified as predictors of our life satisfaction (Kardas et al., 2019), none of which were directly related to acquisition or capability (though we can surely be grateful for these things as well). The relationship of optimism with life satisfaction is continually mediated by gratitude as well as a sense of meaning in one’s life (Oriol et al., 2020); that is to say, optimism by itself isn’t always sufficient for life satisfaction, but the two are generally bridged by our gratitude and our sense that life has purpose.

And how can we bolster our character strength of gratitude?

This goes hand-in-hand with mindfulness, to be discussed. When we pay careful attention to the details of our lives, and our day, we begin to notice many opportunities for gratitude. The simpler, the better; this isn’t “I’m grateful to have won the lottery” or to have been born rich; surely, gratitude for such good fortune is appropriate, but when we speak of gratitude in psychological terms, it’s a state of mind. We’re grateful for all the simple benefits, and moments of joy and beauty, and supportive individuals, in our lives. We’re grateful for sunshine, for the affection of our dog or cat, for springtime flowers, for a cool breeze, for how good it feels to stretch our bodies after sitting too long, for waking up in the morning and for having rested well.

And we let people know. We share with others that we’re grateful for them, for something they’ve done to help us, for their presence in our lives, for their love. We share with them, too, other things that we’re grateful for; sharing our gratitude expands the experience of it.

We can even be grateful for the negatives at times. In the 1980s in New York, the AIDS epidemic had just arrived and many young men I knew were dying, a profoundly tragic time. A young adult myself, I immersed myself in this work both professionally and in activism, and I encountered quite a few who were living with AIDS — making enormous life changes for the better in terms of health practices, self-care, self-compassion, deepening relationships, and a sense of meaning and purpose – and many a time, I heard someone express gratitude for their diagnosis and the ways that it had changed their life for the better.

Each day provides countless opportunities for gratitude.

Exercises:

The classic activity is to keep a gratitude journal, one in which we write about all for which we’re grateful. We can adapt this to a brainstorming version, in which we begin with ‘gratitude’ in the center of a sheet of paper and then fill that page with every possible word or phrase that enters our mind – or use the mind-mapping technique in which we draw lines, connections, conclusions between and among those words and phrases.

We can also set the tone for the day, by identifying 3 such points of gratitude upon waking each morning, and 3 more before going to sleep at night. (Throw in another 3 as a midday break, for a complete set.)

Consider the past, too – there’s so much material there. Not all of it was positive, to be sure. But we can find plenty to fill us with gratitude. Think back to when you were 5 years old or so, going to school for the first time. Consider your parents giving you chores, which taught you how to manage your own life. Recall people, now gone, for whose presence in your life you remain eternally grateful. Think about delicious vacations you’ve taken, destinations you’ve visited. Remember the time you splashed in mud puddles, and danced in the rain.

A useful relationship exercise is to sit facing one another, and each tell the other what we’re grateful for in them, alternating, each making one such statement at a time. This can be done between family members or close friends, too.

Consider sending just one message of gratitude per day, each day to a different person, rotating among your contacts of family and friends. You can even find or make a meme – “Today, I’m grateful for you” – and just send it to a different person each day. Be sure to feel the gratitude when you send it, rather than it becoming a rote exercise; think about that person first, and what you’re grateful for.

Take a walk in nature, and let your gratitude for what you see, hear, and feel flow from you out into the atmosphere. Identify as you walk all that you’re grateful for: the trees, the cool breeze, the sunshine on your face, the birdsong, the color green, those pesky seagulls.

We can be grateful for surprising things.

References:

Daniel-González L, Moral-de la Rubia J, Valle-de la O A, et al. (2023). A predictive model of happiness among medical students. Current Psychology 42, 955–966. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01485-1

Kardas F, Cam Z, Eskisu M, et al. (2019). Gratitude, Hope, Optimism and Life Satisfaction as Predictors of Psychological Well-Being. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research 19:82, 81-100. Retrieved at: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ejer/issue/48089/608137

Kumar SA, Jaffe AE, Brock RL, et al. (2022). Resilience to suicidal ideation among college sexual assault survivors: The protective role of optimism and gratitude in the context of posttraumatic stress. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy 14:S1, S91–S100. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001141

Liu C, Luo D, Zhou Y, et al. (2022). Optimism and subjective well-being in nursing home older adults: The mediating roles of gratitude and social support. Geriatric Nursing, 47, 232-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2022.07.020

Newman DB, Gordon AM, and Mendes WB (2021). Comparing daily physiological and psychological benefits of gratitude and optimism using a digital platform. Emotion, 21:7, 1357–1365. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001025

Oriol X, Miranda R, Bazán C, et al. (2020). Distinct Routes to Understand the Relationship Between Dispositional Optimism and Life Satisfaction: Self-Control and Grit, Positive Affect, Gratitude, and Meaning in Life. Frontiers in Psychology 11:907. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00907

[excerpted from, 9 Keys to Happiness: Positive Psychology ©2023]

Let’s talk now about our creativity, and being in a ‘flow’ state – zen, or zone.

One of the more significant concepts of positive psychology, mentioned a couple of times now, is that of flow. Being in a flow state of mind is also known as a ‘zen’ state in Buddhism, or in slang terms, ‘in the zone’ — much as an athlete, a creative, or even a religious devotee might describe. Often connected with creativity and inspiration, it’s a particular state of consciousness that’s highly focused and conducive to productivity, one in which external distractions are naturally shut out and one’s focus becomes singular – what scientists call focused attention. It’s also akin to serenity, a state of equilibrium in which we feel especially calm, balanced, and undisturbed, similar to the state we’re in during meditation.

Mihaly R Csikszentmihalyi (1935-2021) developed the theory of flow, publishing his first book on the topic, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, in 1996; soon thereafter, he became one of the founders of the positive psychology field and one of its most significant researchers. He identified 8 characteristics of the flow state: a deep concentration on the task at hand which is inherently rewarding, sense of challenge accompanied by the necessary skill, sense of agency or control over the outcome, blending of action and awareness, crisp clarity of one’s goals, transformation or distortion of time, feeling of serenity coupled with a lack of self-awareness, clear feedback from the task and the mental state itself in real time, and sense of meaning and purpose contained within both the task and the flow state (Csikszentmihalyi, 2021; Engeser, 2021).

This state has a purpose, in increasing the pleasure of the activity and providing a sense of fulfillment, improving performance and engagement which engender motivation to continue, providing an opportunity for self-actualization or development of our higher self, and opening us up to ever-increasing creativity.

What’s flow got to do with happiness? Plenty, as it turns out. Being in this state of deep calm, of complete focus, of deep peace boosts immunity, releases tension and anxiety, and generally contributes to health. It’s the state of mind most often described in creative acts, and quite possibly engenders creativity. It’s when our minds, free from the clutter of daily life, are able to better understand, to see things clearly, to come up with new ideas.

This flow state and the creativity associated with it have a direct link to wellbeing and happiness. It’s also bidirectional: creative people tend to report greater levels of happiness and wellbeing, and in turn, those who experience wellbeing and happiness are more likely to engage in creativity — thus providing a clear feedback loop (Acar et al., 2021; Tan et al., 2021). We can achieve a state of flow at will, with practice; it typically takes 10-15 minutes to achieve, then lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, and can also occur more than once in the course of a day (Csikszentmihalyi, 2021).

We are creative in a wide range of ways, each and every day, whether it’s problem-solving, brainstorming, developing new concepts, cooking a meal, or any other number of forms. We humans are creative, and creativity is a deep source of happiness. Thus, by engaging in our own creativity, we exponentially increase our happiness.

Exercises:

To deliberately create a flow state, we must first become clear about our intention, including an element of challenge (I will bake this bread / paint this picture / write my report); we must also minimize all distractions to the degree possible. Then, we practice meditation or a mindfulness exercise (e.g., focusing on breathing; very slow walking with complete focus) for 10-15 minutes while maintaining a focus on our intention — and immediately thereafter, engage in the activity as planned.

Meditating to bring about a flow state doesn’t need to be the lotus-sitting, mind-emptying version. In fact, there are 4 universal forms of meditation which relate to body position (Arrien, 1993), and it’s moving meditation, achieving a serene state of consciousness through a repetitive movement, that’s associated with creativity. Any type of repetitive and sustained motion, whether sport or rocking your body or vacuuming, can result in a state of flow.

For creativity, it’s useful to engage in as many forms as possible; try your hand at drawing or painting, bake a cake, write a poem, and as many other forms of creative acts as you can manage. You are opening windows into your happiness.

We can increase our creativity through various means. A daily walk, or moving meditation, is one such tool. We can also set limits or constraints on a task, such as writing for only 15 minutes with a timer set, or the famous Ernest Hemingway writing exercise of telling a story in just 6 words – or writing a 3-line haiku. Such parameters force our brains to become more creative, akin to problem-solving. As well, when we regularly engage in a creative act already familiar to us, it will spill over into other areas — creativity leads to more creativity. Visualization can also be helpful, whether guided or self-induced; the exercise of creating a fantasy scenario requires us to engage our imagination, an aspect of our creativity.

And so, creativity and a flow state of serenity and hyperfocus, the ‘zone’, are both useful for achieving happiness — and closely related to one another.

References:

Acar S, Tadik H, Myers D et al. (2021). Creativity and Well-being: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Creative Behavior, 55: 738-751. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.485

Csikszentmihalyi M (2021). Flow: A Component of the Good Life. Positive Psychology: An International Perspective, 193-200.

Engeser S, Schiepe-Tiska A, and Peifer C (2021). Historical Lines and an Overview of Current Research on Flow. In: Peifer, C., Engeser, S. (eds) Advances in Flow Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53468-4_1

Tan C, Chuah C, Lee S et al. (2021). Being Creative Makes You Happier: The Positive Effect of Creativity on Subjective Well-Being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14):7244. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147244

[excerpted from, 9 Keys to Creativity: Positive Psychology ©2023]

Whether school was a positive experience for you or not, whether you think of yourself for whom learning is easy or difficult, whether you seek out new ideas or stay with what you know: this key is for you.

I would go so far as to say, all humans have a love of learning. It just takes countless forms.

When we’re young children, toddlers even, we’re consumed by learning — that natural learning of how the world, and our own bodies for that matter, function. Some children are more curious than others, and of course, some are born with mental challenges. Even so, on some level, a desire to learn dwells in each of us.

In a UK study by Nocon et al. (2022) of neurodivergent adults, specifically those on the autism spectrum, love of learning was among the 5 most frequently reported character strengths; this is consistent with the wider body of autism literature. Umucu et al. (2022), in a large study (11,699 subjects) of these character strengths across a wide range of disabilities, also found that love of learning was among the top five.

Why is this a key for enhancing our creativity?

Being creative is one of the methods of learning and experiencing the world, which is why it’s in the wisdom category of virtues. In being creative, we try new things, do things differently, solve problems, invent things, make art, consider new ideas. All of this relates closely to our desire to learn, to experiment, to see what we can do.

Wagner et al. (2020) found that love of learning consistently demonstrated a relationship with flow and enjoyment, which as we’ve seen relates to our quest for creativity, and also with achievement. This superseded a student’s actual cognitive ability – that is, the love of learning was more important than intellectual capability – across the spectrum of learning environments.

Love of learning is also protective, correlated with happiness and wellbeing – even amid a pandemic. Diponegoro and Hanurawan (2022) demonstrated that all 5 character strengths of the wisdom virtue, including love of learning, creativity, and curiosity as well as judgment or open-mindedness and perspective, positively influenced the happiness and wellbeing of a young adult / university student population in Yogyakarta during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, a time when their young lives were upended. It’s this young adult cohort worldwide that’s considered by researchers to be one of the most impacted by the restrictions and social isolation of that period, according to OECD, World Bank, and others (Defker, 2022; Walsh, 2021).

What forms can this love of learning take? And how can we develop it, at any age, as a key to accessing our creativity?

I’m always saddened by the child who hates school – and angered by the system (for it usually isn’t the teacher, though some can be lazy) that dictates achievement tests and rankings and other methods counter to a joy of learning.

A love of learning often begins with, “Let’s see what I can do here” or what my body can do, or whether I can sing, or bake bread, or find my way through the forest, or make a new friend or nurture a love affair, or develop an entirely new concept. It’s stretching our muscles – mentally, physically, emotionally, socially. It’s our growing, and our experiencing. When I try a new food, I’m learning whether I like it or not – and whether I’ll seek it out again. I might try to learn how to make it myself. Or I’ve learned that spicy food isn’t to my liking. Any new activity, whether for pleasure or because it’s required of me by my employer, is a challenge: can I learn how to do this? Can I learn the information or skill that I’ll need? Surely, I’ll learn whether I like it, am good at it, or if it’s for me.

Every single day we’re learning. We often hear, “Learn something new each day.” (I’ve just written it in the previous chapter, on open-mindedness.) But in reality – we are. Already. (We can still use it as a consciously applied tool, however.) This key isn’t just about learning, though, but about developing our love for it. Does learning something new excite you? Is it appealing even if the topic itself is not? (Do you feel anticipation when you need to learn something new about math, or accounting, in order to file your taxes?) If you enjoy the sensation of expanding your mind, adding to your ever-growing cache of new experiences, experimentation and discovery, then it really doesn’t matter the topic – that love of learning for its own sake precedes all. (This doesn’t mean we enjoy doing our tax form.)

I begin each day, before rising from bed, with mini-lessons in 2 languages – and the next day, in 2 other ones, and so on, in a rotation among fourteen languages in total. This is a mental exercise to awaken, enliven, and maintain my mental capacity. It’s also because I happen to enjoy language learning. (I’m not fluent in any of these, though my proficiency varies among them.) For someone else, it might be Sudoku. Or poetry.

So if this key to creativity is the love of learning, how can we help that love to grow? The same way that any love — or for that matter, anything — grows. We feed it.

In a new love affair, that first blush of romance when both parties simply can’t get enough of the other, there’s excitement in the air. Even when we’re not with our new love, the air seems fresher, the sun brighter, people friendlier, the world a better place. We try to spend as much time as we can with the one we love, giving them gifts, doing things for them, sharing ideas, trying new experiences together. It’s the same with learning. The more time we give it, the more attention we pay, the more love we allow ourselves to feel, the more it will grow. Fall in love, just a little bit more, with learning today – learning just for its own sake, with no end goal or achievement (or competition) in mind.

Naturally, there are many things we study in order to achieve proficiency. (Language is typically one of those – unless you happen to enjoy a slow, dabbling sort of progression in a range from Chinese to Arabic to Russian, as I do.) We often need to learn something for our jobs or professions, for example, and studying ‘hard’ just feels like work. The love of learning, however, is when we are simply delighted that we learned something new. It not only lays down new neural pathways in the brain, excellent for brain health throughout the lifespan, but also stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers, making us want more of it. So – learn something new every day. More importantly, notice all those things that you’re already learning each day. Notice and celebrate them. And seek out more. (If you feel a time constraint, spend the first 5 minutes after waking on 1 language lesson via an app.)

There are times, and I’m certain it’s a common experience, when I suddenly realize how something should best be done, even a tiny thing, something I’ve done otherwise and perhaps less efficiently in my many decades of life thus far. I love those moments. I love when I discover that if I put the screw into the wall this way instead of that way, it works better. And I laugh with delight, that the thing I’ve been doing all my life just became easier or superior because I learned a new way to do it, often quite by accident. As the currently popular meme goes, “I was today old when I learned…”

So how do we cultivate our love of learning?

By learning within areas that delight us, first of all. Topics that we’re passionate about, areas that have always interested us but we never took the time to explore – yet, skills we’d love to acquire. By connecting our keen interest with what we’re learning, motivation comes naturally; the new knowledge gives us ever-increasing pleasure, even when it isn’t easy. From there, when we feel our love of learning for its own sake growing, we can more easily branch into areas that we’d like to learn but aren’t especially excited about, such as skills we know would be beneficial to us even though they don’t thrill us. And from there, it’s a short leap to things we aren’t actually interested in – but that we love learning purely for the sake of knowledge acquisition and brain development.

Love of learning. Many moments of delight. Every day. Learn something new today.

Exercises:

Find some quiet time and calm your mind. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, imagine yourself as a very young child – when the world was new to you. Feel the inquisitiveness as you learn about everything around you all at once. Sense the delight bubbling up from deep within you, as you begin to understand that the language you’ve newly acquired gives a name to everything that you see. Hold that giant seashell to your ear, sniff the air for what’s wafting from the kitchen, gaze at the stars, taste something for the first time, sense the soft blanket against your skin. Sit with this for a while. And when you emerge from your meditative state — write about it, make an audio recording, talk about it with someone, or in whatever way works for you, process it. And integrate that feeling of wonder, and joy.

Choose one thing you’ve always wanted to learn but have been putting off. A musical instrument? A language? Advanced calculus? How to grow a garden, or cut your own hair? Begin learning that one thing, embracing the fact that you’re finally getting to learn something you’ve long desired, feeling the joy and excitement. Sit with those feelings, recognize them, know them deeply. And after some time, choose another.

Laugh. Often. When learning, that is. As you learn something new, have difficulty pronouncing the word or remembering how to put something together, burn the cake, end up with a ridiculous haircut – laugh. Not only as a way of coping with the frustration that also comes in learning something new, but with sheer delight that you’re doing it. As we learn and are still far from mastery, we create our own comedic events. Normalize this.

Tell someone close to you about that new thing you’re learning. Ask their indulgence, that they listen to you without interruption (promise to do the same for them), and tell them all about it, with passion. You’ll feel that excitement welling up within you. Remember it.

Find others who share your passion. Even one other person, or better yet, a group. Pursuing this new knowledge or skill together with others equally passionate is contagious.

Move. Some of the things we want to learn are in fact movement – dance, exercise, a martial art. If not, then embrace movement as an outlet. When learning, take short breaks and move. It will not only refresh you for learning some more, but it will resuscitate your joy any time that it begins to wane.

Let go of your self-assumptions. If you believe yourself incapable of something (okay, after a certain age there may be a few things we can no longer do – but fewer limitations than we may think) – erase that from your mind. No, we cannot fly. (Really too bad about that one.) And we can’t breathe underwater. (Ditto.) But otherwise – let yourself go.

References:

Defker W (2022). The Covid generation: the effects of the pandemic on youth mental health.Horizon / European Commission. Retrieved at: https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine/covid-generation-effects-pandemic-youth-mental-health

Diponegoro AM and Hanurawan F (2022). Creativity, Curiosity, Open Mindedness, Love of Learning, and Perspective Character Strengths in Students’ Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic. KnE Social Sciences 7:1, 93-98. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v7i1.10203

Nocon AS, Roestorf A, and Menéndez LMG (2022). Positive psychology in neurodiversity: An investigation of character strengths in autistic adults in the United Kingdom in a community setting. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 99:102071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2022.102071

OECD (2021a). Supporting young people’s mental health through the COVID-19 crisis.  Retrieved at: https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/supporting-young-people-s-mental-health-through-the-covid-19-crisis-84e143e5/

OECD (2021b). Young people’s concerns during COVID-19: Results from risks that matter 2020. Retrieved at: https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/young-people-s-concerns-during-covid-19-results-from-risks-that-matter-2020-64b51763/  

Umucu E, Lee B, Genova HM et al. (2022). Character Strengths Across Disabilities: An International Exploratory Study and Implications for Positive Psychiatry and Psychology. Frontiers in Psychiatry 13:863977. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.863977

Wagner L, Holenstein M, Wepf H et al. (2020). Character Strengths Are Related to Students’ Achievement, Flow Experiences, and Enjoyment in Teacher-Centered Learning, Individual, and Group Work Beyond Cognitive Ability. Frontiers in Psychology 11:1324. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01324

Walsh C (2021). Young adults hardest hit by loneliness during pandemic. The Harvard Gazette / Harvard University. Retrieved at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/02/young-adults-teens-loneliness-mental-health-coronavirus-covid-pandemic/

World Bank (2023). We are losing a generation: The devastating impacts of COVID-19. Retrieved at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/we-are-losing-generation-devastating-impacts-covid-19

[excerpted from, 9 Keys to Integrative Wellness: Personal Growth ©2023]

And now: transpersonal psychology.

As we saw in our introduction, this branch of psychology was developed in the 1960s, emerging from both Jungian theory and humanistic psychology while returning the spiritual aspect to mental wellbeing.

For a truly integrative approach to our own wellness, then, there’s a direct application; in order to approach health as comprehensively as we can, we include not only the biological, psychological, and social realms as seen in health psychology, but also our spiritual wellbeing.

You may have a particular religious path. Or, you may consider yourself ‘spiritual, not religious’ by which you mean that you seek a deeper experience of life and perhaps follow a certain (nonreligious) tradition, including that of nature as previously mentioned. Perhaps you don’t see yourself as spiritual at all but rather as scientific, humanist, agnostic / atheist. No matter. Transpersonal psychology defines the term broadly, to indicate a deepening: that which brings meaning and significance to our lives, a sense of morals and ethics, the valuing of and interconnectedness with others, a cherishing of the earth.

Above all: integrative wellness considers the whole human experience, in which we’re animals, yes, but also with a complex brain that compels us to seek significance, engage in meaning-making, and to discover and maintain a sense of purpose. We know that as we age, for example, an ongoing engagement and purpose is essential to our wellbeing; no one wants to feel useless, invisible, ignored, or that they’re just waiting to die. In fact, none of us at any age wants to feel that life is meaningless, though how we interpret meaning is highly variable and subjective, while some are more focused on such than others.

Religious beliefs, the classic definition of spirituality, provides meaning for many. Others may find meaning in family, and in the act of raising children; still others, in prosocial behavior or contributing toward the greater good, which can take countless forms. Meaning can be interpreted through one’s values, morals, ethics, all that constitutes being a kind and decent person and member of society. One’s profession is yet another common source of meaning, particularly those which result in an obvious contribution to community. A teacher educates, while the researcher contributes to our body of knowledge. A health care provider helps people toward wellness, and a clergy member provides guidance. The farmer increases the food supply, while those in numerous other professions and jobs provide essential goods and services. Creativity too is necessary to our wellbeing, and the sense of meaning and purpose of the artist, writer, or musician equally clear; what’s more, creativity can be a definition of meaning in itself, providing life with a clear sense of purpose. Some would argue that life itself is meaningful, and that seeking meaning is redundant. All of these and more serve to establish and maintain one’s presence of meaning, without which life would seem pointless and we’d live in despair instead.

Transpersonal psychology not only includes this spiritual aspect within the realm of human psychology but also focuses on mystical experience, that which extends beyond one’s personhood (i.e., transpersonal), alongside altered states of consciousness and extraordinary phenomena.

When we meditate, or are ‘in the zone’ as we create art or engage in physical exercise, or experience the state of bliss associated with peak experiences especially when in nature, or fall in love, or undergo hypnosis, or dream at night, or induce a trance state and visualize what we’re working to change within ourselves – we’re in an altered state of consciousness. In fact, we experience many such throughout our lives, as ‘altered’ refers to anything other than our alert / waking and sleep states.

Such states may be spontaneous or deliberately induced, with or without a purpose, yet often with a mystical or otherworldly quality and sometimes a life-changing outcome. Mystical experience itself, a specific state of consciousness, is more precise. It has been noted in long-term meditators, shamans, and certain religious experiences, as well as in the current field of psychedelic research; the common denominator among all of these is an ecstatic or blissful state. The phenomena most commonly associated with mystical experience include oceanic boundlessness, in which one experiences an expansion of selfhood beyond personal bodily boundary and out into the cosmos; universal interconnectedness, by which one feels integrated not only with the whole of humanity but with all sentient beings and even the earth itself; noetic experience, in which one experiences new knowledge and awareness without any attributable source; and, an associated sense of deep peace.

Who doesn’t want some of that?

This is a direct application, then, of transpersonal psychology to our own pursuit of integrative wellness. First, we can explore our presence of meaning, in brainstorming, journal-writing, and meditation, among other methods of introspection. Prompts for such exploration may include: What gives your own life meaning? What do you think is the meaning of life itself? What are large and significant sources of meaning, and what are smaller aspects found in daily life? We can also explore the search for meaning, primarily undertaken when ours has been shaken due to some major negative event including sudden loss or disaster. How do you search for meaning when life suddenly feels meaningless? What would you hold onto as your anchor, your rootedness, during such time? (Best to have more than one anchor. Anything, including one’s religious beliefs, can be thrown into question when disaster strikes.)

And, we can utilize states of consciousness for our personal growth. Surely, a regular practice of meditation is one of the more obvious such, along with physical exercise. We may also wish to engage in self-hypnosis or trance for a specific purpose, such as exploring and resolving early experiences of trauma, or undergoing a change in perspective. We may want to pursue lucid dreaming, or general dream analysis and interpretation, for self-knowledge. Perhaps we wish to integrate more creativity into our lives, for wellbeing and a greater sense of meaning, during which we’re likely to enter a flow state. Maybe we’re attempting to increase self-confidence, and use visualization exercises to imagine ourselves as powerfully confident when giving a presentation, for example.

I mentioned previously my weekly immersion in nature, during which I engage in both sitting and walking meditation. At times, this also includes ritual and/or trance; as nature is one of the most likely inducers of peak experience, both by witnessing immense beauty and experiencing encounters with other species, this is also a fairly common outcome of my excursions – spotting dolphins in the sea, for example, or breathtaking scenes of beauty, or chance encounters with animals.

As also mentioned, I’ve practiced meditation for several decades. The deliberate use of ritual and altered states of consciousness for psychological processing and growth has also been a regular part of my life for 40 years now. I’ve a deep appreciation for Jung’s theories of archetypes and persona, animus/anima, the shadow, and much more, all of which are key elements of transpersonal psychology. And, due to my longtime engagement with mindfulness, I’ve great respect for principles of Buddhism. Yet – I’m not religious, though the natural world for me is as sacred as it comes.

Transpersonal psychology. Jung, humanism, and the spiritual, for meaningful living.