The “Life Force”…
First, to all clients, but particularly those who feel depressed, without meaning or purpose, he tells them to work on their “Life force”. He describes one’s life force as being built like a pyramid. The pyramid has three levels. The foundation is our relationship with our body. The next is our relationship with others. The final, and top, level is our relationship with ourselves.
When people don’t know what to work on, what their passion is, what their meaning or purpose is; when they feel lost and without direction, particularly when they are depressed, he tells them to work on their life force, on these three aspects of their life.
If we work on these and get them in order, he argues, the rest will take care of itself. Only the life force can guide us to what we are supposed to be doing, what is our true path.
- Body: Focus on exercise, eating, and sleep.
- Relationship with others: When we are struggling emotionally, there is often a distancing from relationships. However, connection and contact is critical, according to Lutz (and others). However, we need to take the initiative in maintaining and creating new relationships.
- Relationship with ourselves: Stutz argues that it is critical to develop a relationship with our subconscious. Writing is the medium to do this, particularly journaling. What the unconscious has to say will come out in the writing. Just give it the space, the time, and the calm to present itself.
If we don’t know what to do in life, if we are desperately seeking purpose or meaning, we let go of this search and work on our life force first. It’ll create the energy, passion, and clarity. By focusing on the pyramid, everything else will fall into place.
This is largely in alignment with, but a simplified version of, the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (my addition)
These needs were outlined by the Humanist Psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943. It aims to explain human motivation, as we are always striving to keep our satisfied needs met while trying to obtain the more complex, higher-order needs at the top. The needs, from most basic to highest are:
1. Physiological Needs: The most basic survival needs, such as food, water, shelter, sleep, and warmth.
2. Safety Needs: Security and protection from physical and emotional harm. This includes stability, law, order, and freedom from fear.
3. Love and Belongingness Needs: After securing safety and bodily needs, individuals seek social connections — friendships, family, intimate relationships, and community. This aims to fulfill our need for love and a sense of belonging.
4. Esteem Needs: The fourth level revolves around self-worth and respect. This is where we are not just seeking acceptance and belonging with others but are seeking this within ourselves. Self-acceptance is a key aspect here.
5. Self-Actualization: The top tier of Maslow’s hierarchy, this is the highest personal aspirational human need in the hierarchy. It is where one’s potential is fully realized after more basic needs, such as for the body and the ego, have been fulfilled.
Towards the end of Maslow’s life, as he saw more examples of people who seemed to be deeply fulfilled and having “transcended” the ego. He saw a degree of human potential beyond “Self-Actualization”, beyond the Self. He used the term, “Self-Transcendence” to describe this state.
“Self-transcendence brings the individual what (Maslow) termed “peak experiences” in which they transcend their own personal concerns and see from a higher perspective. These experiences often bring strong positive emotions like joy, peace, and a well-developed sense of awareness” LINK
As someone who practices Zen and has been interested in Buddhism and other traditions seeking transcendence, I’ve always been drawn to this concept from Maslow and find it to be a loss that so few people, even among those who have strong knowledge of the hierarchy, know about his writings and Self-transcendence (For a good book on this topic, updated and expended from modern psychology, see “Transcend” LINK )
Maslow theorized that higher needs only become motivating once the lower ones are adequately met, though people can fluctuate between levels depending on life circumstances.