Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs To Self Actualize
By Leo Gura - August 3, 2015 | 56 Comments
Why Maslow’s pyramid of psychological needs is so important.
neil byrne says: lesson of today, GET YOUR SHIT HANDLED hahaha
neil says: cute! What shit you talkin bout!
neil says: There’s just so much of it ya know! !!
Denis says: Great stuff as always Leo. I will be getting your life purpose course by the end of this week. This video made me think of someone I am a huge fan of and that is Nikola Tesla. I know his pyramid had holes in it as well but he followed his passion and his contribution to humanity is here every day for us to see. Love his 1899 interview.
neil says: They are inspirations aren’t they! I visited Humbolt University, but never saw Einstein’s labs. Guess I should have asked…eh
Arnie says: Einstein was a theoretical physicist, he didn’t need a lab ; D
Elton says: but Leo… is homeostasis a need ?
neil says: I found that homeostasis was only a need to control moderation. Go as fast as you can where you want to go! “Fast as you can” being key here. Some don’t even know where they want to go. And they are going as fast as they can….hahahaha
Mary says: Hey Leo,
I have problems with self esteem, confidence, communicating with people, mostly opposite sex.
How can I help myself?
I can talk with people for the first time. However, I screw it up for the next times. Most of the times, I just don’t even want to approach them again at all! I want to hide from their eyesight. I look away when I see them and I try to pretend that I haven’t seen them, that I’m doing something else. I do a lot of stupid things. But then after that, I feel awful.
neil says: There’s an experience that I think some of us have in life. That removes our fear. For a man, he first thinks it’s when when hear fears no other man. Then he realizes it’s when he fears no woman either.
neil says: I have done so many of Leo’s videos that I don’t know exactly the best place to tell you to find help, but I know them when I find them. And use the suggestions below to pick where to go from there many times.
How to be yourself, how to be more confident, how to be a leader, how to deal with toxic and difficult people, self control, willpower, and communication skills to name a few that I remember helping me with what you described.
Over and over if need be. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back to do the backsliding video, and the Ego video is rising to the top as well.
Hope that helps you Mary! I know how hard it can be to “Get Shit Done”!
neil says: This has some things that may help also.
How To Be Attractive
Mary says: Hey neil! Tnx.
Yeah, I watched some of the videos in your suggestions. I also watched a few other videos across youtube. And I could break down my problems into two categories.
1) Social anxiety: Which I found that the ultimate solution to this issue is to disidentify with thoughts. Understanding that all thoughts are illusions and none of the labels actually define me.
2) Communication skills: Which I have to improve them. Since I realized that I have problems in some parts of it. And they are the reason why I couldn’t communicate with people effectively in the past.
neil says: I think it is fascinating how various the perceptions manifest amongst us all of ourselves and others. I want to see a study on that if anyone knows where to find one. Has anyone put some statistics to groupings of responses say from 100 people about “what do you think about this guy on this topic” or whatever.
Even the perceptions we think we have in private vs. the responses that get all jumbled up or out of order “heirarchy” as we present them to others. Especially when we’ve been in a cave for 10 years in India! That social intelligence appears to me as the map to what Leo refers to as enlightenment. And as we gather a little here and a little there we get enough to become functional in life. Relating to the Maslow pyramid concept.
I liked the audio book Mastery a lot! Except for the darn adds and the fact that it stopped at 11:59:??. So, I will be reviewing it in more completeness next time.
Leo is my go to for sure! He has done a service to humanity with his work!!!
But you still have to do it for yourself for sure!!!
neil says: Matter of fact maybe, but what he has done is a groundbreaking type of work I would imagine. I don’t know if anyone else has had the brilliance to break it up and express these concepts in digestible chunks like he does. And the message is well delivered from the heart! And well, in science these types of things get nobel prizes.
But will the nobel selection committee actually be able to follow such a path and see the results for what they really are. I mean are the judges the kind of people who “did it for themselves”. This path is long and hard as each circle completes itself you become aware. With Leo’s guidance it leads to awareness greater than one could have imagined. His access! His devotion to the work! Goodness….what a great idea for social media and this younger generation. Brilliant. They just have to get the message and again I have to say it “they have to want to”…
Both of the “quotes” above were from friends so just giving them credit if they happen to read this.
neil says: The way of the superior man! Mary, you may find interest in this with the opposite sex. Just finished it and it is good stuff
Brian says: You know, me and my partner can’t have children and sometimes we get down-hearted when you see on TV families with 9 or 10 kids and they seem to live on state benefits. We plan to spend the later part of our lives working for charity or maybe going to disaster zones and when I watched this video, I calmed down about the whole thing. Other people are just as critical to society as me and my partner. Churning out babies might not take that much imagination, but nonetheless, it is a critical job they are fulfilling. We can’t do that, so we can work on higher goals, thinking of the hierarchy of needs. Not having your own offspring certainly doesn’t stop you making progress through Maslow’s Hierarchy, but rather seeing having children as a society task, not a personal one.
neil says: Brian, I think you are right on. Haven’t slept on it like I do major decisions with regard to you being “right on”. But children are the future of our society I feel. So, having them and/or doing good for them is about all we can hope for and strive for in my opinion. It is the animal instinct that awakens when you reach deep inside.
When people are ready for god to speak to them they will let god speak to them. Check out mastery. It helped me with a plateau I reached with the “life purpose” course. Still haven’t returned to the 44th or so part, but I have discovered some of leo’s greats. Like self control, and the next choice you will have to make on your journey which slips my mind just now.
neil says: We must remember that doing good for the next generation means we must do good for ourselves also. That’s why I do hours of personal development every day.
neil says: You must realize that the mental/emotional energy of others affects you and can leave a lasting effect if you aren’t aware of it. So, in relation to Denis’ comment, someone may find homeostasis with certain things and their core may remain static at some level. However, if a person is to dig to that core they will change like the wind on the surface.
neil says: check out barbarosa, or sandman, or elam on youtube. Just for some perspective. I guess one would have to be aware of the chemistry between the male and female bodies to get what I am telling you. But the emotions will work themselves out with some effort on your part. Find your core and you will begin to find happiness.
neil says: just remember it’s your choice in the end
neil says: Did you mean “as a personal one”? There at the end.
shankar says: Awesome stuff Leo as usual. Maslow’s theory on hierarchy of needs has a striking resemblance to the Chakras concept of Energy Body.
neil says: very much so. You may find interest in Mastery.
First, I want to say Thank You Leo! Thank you for giving your time and effort and wisdom to help others! I stumbled upon one of your videos on Youtube 3 weeks ago…How to stop caring what people think of you. From that, I am hooked. I’ve been watching all of your video’s over and over as well as your audio versions. I have been starving for this wisdom and didn’t even know it. My outlook on life has already shown great changes, and instead of being depressed when I visualize my future, I look forward with excitement to what great thing can happen with the new tools I have acquired. I’m 49 years old and it feels like I’m just getting started! You are my mentor! Keep up the glorious work of changing people’s lives and changing the world!!!
neil says: Absolutely!!!!!
Rock on!
neil says: Leo, did the Zen master you spent 4 hours with have the sexual intimacy when they needed it, or did they still have it?
neil says: It seems that they can’t be loyal without force. I choose not to force, they always let other influences in when left to their own devices. Guess that’s the difference between girl and woman. Boy and man.
neil says: I mean some of them will follow shiny things also. But that just isn’t something that sounds fun to me in the long run.
neil says: The hardest part of becoming a man may well be becoming a leader!
Nick says: Great video Leo but would you agree that you don’t necessarily have to meditate for “10 hours a day in a cave in India” to reach enlightenment.
neil says: I had a “10yr in a cave” experience! Interested in Leo’s response, I am…lol
Kind of brings a new meaning to the saying “Man Cave” huh
neil says: It feels like the kind of wisdom that burned during the days of Rome. I’ve heard it said that Alexander the Great conquered the world by the age of 23! Goodness….just the thought is amazing.
But before I take a risk I like to confirm the information!
Reaching one’s own conclusion is huge!
Michael says: I am also a big fan of Nikola Tesla. As well as people like Mooji.
I have been unconsciously skipping some of the steps in the pyramid since I was in Primary School. Since then I found my way to self-actualisation which I am currently working on at the same time as self-transcendence (mainly enlightenment which I have been into since my first year of high school/last year of primary school but only recently got a real grasp of), in fact now I realise I nearly started skipping self-actualisation until today. Now I can use this pyramid as a guide for my self-actualisation and self-transcendence work.
Thanks, your work has been a great help,
Michael
neil says: WOW! Great stuff!
neil says: Mooji on wikipedia was very interesting!
I think Kuji Kiri will be the only way I will get back to my meditation. It will be a real blast!!! Studying all the ways of the body and mind can leave one wondering how did we ever miss it since grade school!
I knew I gravitated to Leo’s video on Backsliding. It is a very powerful force. All of nature is governed by equilibrium at least that was my opinion with chemisty. Why should we think our essence or energy or soul or whatever someone wants to call it should be any different.
So many sayings, so many songs, so many influences…….then we find the core
neil says: “The men that built America”
A favorite!
I may review the 5000 year leap again one day
Nihi says: If I dont get sex for a few days or weeks I will die. Ok man, now THAT is something new!
neil says: I had to look at the ladder again on that one! I’ve been studying Maslow today trying to get into his head a bit. I have realized that during the time mentioned by Michael, that my body was filling in the gaps in my life subconsciously and trying to keep me in emotional equilibrium. It’s amazing how the body does that so easily until we are “Aware”. And then it seems like such a task.
I may even turn out that we just run around inside that pyramid “like a monkey” adding a little here and a little there until it is whole enough to be comfortable. Some of us may never fill in all the gaps and still reach a state that is great, but still imperfect of course. Not saying get stuck in homeostasis or get lazy, but the circle completes itself eventually. Over and over again. Each time we get better and better. We may even go on vacation and practice our new found social intelligence on society. Only to return and study the same things again. Uncovering more light each time.
Ya, that chemistry between male and female can drive folks nuts!!!
neil says: Check this one out if you want.
How To Be Attractive
Marjorie says: There are people, who don’t care about reaching “Trancendence”, i know of some friends that don’t even know about this awareness your bringing about on public. Information like what you just transmitted cost alot of money, again there are people who don’t care. There are people that just read the papers and magazines (Cosmopolitan, Time, Life, National Geographic, Vanity fair, Rolling stones) and just hope they can catch a short story about awareness of this kind, to get on board. I know you can get alot of attention, of the people who do want to see a change in their life, but don’t know where to start.
These are the good lessons of life, very valuable insight for those of many who want to learn how to start their journey. I do want to reach the top of the hierarchy and try to trancend but of some other order of being, whose existence can be inferred from the nature of human reason. I want to come out of the dilemma and experience the joys of trancendence. This is what i am working on today. Thank you Leo
neil says: I call that one the Media Monster! Lol. Telling people what to think and do and buy for years now! Huge market that makes tons of money.
I’ve had the TV on maybe 30 minutes in two weeks.
Guess I was hungry enough to improve myself that I just went all out. I had no interest in transcendence either. But once it started happening and I had a couple little “pops” of enlightenment similar to what Leo recently described, it made itself very clear to me. Transcendence is just a word used to describe something. A definition allowing us to communicate.
A big one for me was to tell myself to quit judging others and to quit judging myself.
Paula says: Leo, I’ll like to thank you for the quality of your videos, they are very well programed
Simon says: No video transcript for this video?
Erx says: If youre like me 40 and just discovering this self actualisation stuff take the short cut
neil says: work smarter than harder!
Kat says: You totally nailed it. It was uncomfortable for me to hear a few things but that’s great. I look forward to seeing the ugly so I can address it and change it. Peeling away the layers. Growth. Evolution. The world needs to hear this. Im serious. I posted it on social media. It’s time for humanity to clean up and GROW up. Here-here! bravo! lols!
brian says: For some reason i was about to shut this video off, but i decided to be open minded and it caught my attention when you said less than 1 percent of people will have a life purpose. Which made me think that if i do have a life purpose, then all of a sudden i am among the top 1 percent which made me think just how true that is. When people have a life purpose you can see it in then by how they talk, it is a presence. It is really important who you associate with.
Brian says: Leo
I am 38 years right now and decided to go back to school and get my masters degree in psychology. My classes are at 6pm so i would have to take a part time job and barely squeak by on my bills. My real dream is to help others and i feel I have a gift in psychology. Do you think taking a low paying job is a bad idea in order to reach my larger goal?
Light says: Leo, thank you so much for your effort. Your work has helped me a lot. But I do think self-transcendence work should not be delayed until I fulfil my basic needs at the mid-thirties.
Light says: I cannot say it is not because I want to find a short-cut so that I could get higher sooner, but truly I feel very difficult emotionally and spiritually to pursue the lowest two to three needs for their own sake. Do you have any comment on this please? Thank you.
Danny Garsee says: Nice Leo, Good stuff bro! Holla at me 318-307-8925
Kelly says: I’m spending a lot of time in self-actualisation and even self-transcendence…but I have a significant gap in my safety section, which I can see is creating a block. Very hard to address it, as the sense of lack of safety comes from trauma and resulting mental unwellness.