If you young fellows were wise, the devil couldn't do anything to you,
but since you aren't wise, you need us who are old.
- Martin Luther
As people age and the end of life comes clearly into view, something weird and interesting happens in the brain. Call it a "cognitive shift" or transcendence for now. This "shift" happens not only to old folks; but also to people who are afflicted by a terminal illness, experience the death of a spouse/child/best friend/sibling/parent, suffer an intense life-threatening accident, lose all of their possessions and/or wealth, experiment with psychedelic drugs, etc. (geez, all the cool stuff right?). See my previous post for some real world anecdotes. In essence, these events act like powerful psychological triggers in the brain, often resulting in a wildly transformative shift away from current views of ourselves, of other people, of deeply held values or beliefs, and of our very understanding of existence. Whew!
But are we shifting for better or worse, and why does it happen at all? You may know of a friend or family member that has either survived to old age and/or suffered through an unfortunate trauma, and subsequently and abruptly quit their job, take up traveling for the first time, learn how to paint, become religious or more spiritual, dedicate themselves to spending time with family, etc. Fortunately for us, if we do experience such a drastic change in life priorities, we can rest assured that it's associated with other numerous psychological benefits as well, including greater satisfaction with life. So essentially, these shifts make people happier... but as you might imagine, it goes deeper than that.
A Rose by any Other Name
The mechanism's universal nature ensures a multitude of definitions in different parts of the world. In Christian/Catholic religion for example, this shift is referred to as divinization, salvation, a union with God, or theosis. In western psychology, it's alluded to with various names and models, including gerotranscendence theory, cognitive shift (when induced by strong psychedelics / entheogens), socioemotional selectivity theory, liberative model of adult development, post-traumatic growth, maturity (when these traits are present in younger people), etc. In eastern philosophy, the degree of transcendence seems to be more complete and dramatic, and it is given more majestic names such as awakening, enlightenment, and nirvana.
Ultimately, I believe that the same mechanism is at work in all these scenarios, though the different terms may signify different degrees along a spectrum of transcendence (check out the image to the right if you haven't yet). And how can we define "transcendence"? Let's simply say "stepping outside." But stepping outside of what exactly?
Reports from 3 Realms of Experience
A study on Post-Traumatic Growth"As survivors make peace with a less secure existence, they begin to reappraise their life and its significance. In a world that is not wholly comprehensible, controllable, or predictable, survivors realize that living can no longer be taken for granted."
69-year old experiencing Gerotranscendence:
"Describing her change she said about her old self that 'I couldn’t see myself from the outside.' Now watching her old self from the outside she can see a good deal of self-infatuation: 'It was all narcissism. I remember as a girl, lying in the beach touching myself, touching and kissing my skin. Playing with a friend’s hair. I mean, it was all narcissism. This has changed a lot. I’m not the slightest bit worried about my belly or bad skin or the wrinkles in my face. It means nothing to me, nothing at all.'"
Entheogen (DMT) user after a particularly strong dose
"It changed me. My self-concept seemed small, stupid and insignificant after what I saw and felt. It's made me admit that I can take more responsibility; I can do more in areas I never thought I could. It's so unnatural and bizarre you have to find your own source of strength to navigate in it."
A Developing Pattern
There is a strong pattern in these subjective experiences. When an individual "steps outside" or "transcends," they experience a diminishing sense of self; meaning that they, as individuals, become less important than they believed themselves to be prior to the event. Despite the fact that these events are quite different from each other, they all somehow trigger that same underlying psychological mechanism that diminishes the self.
Most people that experience one, some, or all of these events report similar aftereffects. Along with a diminished sense of self, here is an unorganized list of some of the more commonly reported ones:
| · Drastic change in life priorities | · Increased optimism, empathy, and compassion |
| · More present-focused instead of future/past-focused | · More time spent developing close relationships |
| · Greater appreciation for life and simpler things | · Reduced stress/anxiety |
| · Increased wisdom and mental clarity | · Less concern for one’s own desires |
| · Generalized fearlessness and sense of personal strength | · Greater focus on positive instead of negative stimuli |
| · Universalism: feeling connected to other people | · Greater resilience to future trauma/stress |
| · More objective, rather than subjective, worldview | · Perception of time as circular instead of linear |
| · Increased immune system functioning (*probable) | · More open-minded, patient, and tolerant |
Not a bad deal, right?
So what is the actual trigger that leads to this diminished sense of self? Why do these experiences generate the same effects? What is the key component in these experiences that prompts us to change our worldview, values, and priorities? This will be the topic of Part 2 of this post, and I will attempt to explain how meditation and other religious experiences fit into the big picture.
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