Brain Science - Peak Experiences
Peak Experiences
It is very likely that you have already experienced something of the excitement and the sense of supreme confidence that comes from being able to harness the stupendous intellectual driving force of the human mind.
The pioneering studies of the late Professor Abraham Maslow of Brandeis University, the founder of humanistic psychology, showed that almost everyone has been able to make contact with this power at some time in their lives.
According to Professor Maslow, we make contact with this inner intellectual force during what he termed "peak experiences," moments when mind and body perform with total excellence and we know that whatever is attempted will be accomplished.
Peak performance
Nearly everyone has enjoyed at least a few peak experiences and, if you reflect back, we are fairly certain that you will be able to recall, perhaps vividly, such moments for yourself. They were times when all doubts were resolved, all obstacles disappeared, and you knew for certain you could give the performance of a lifetime. "There are signals from inside," Maslow said. "There are voices that yell out 'By gosh, this is good, don't you ever doubt it.'"
As Maslow pointed out, performance does dramatically improve during such experiences. After interviewing thousands of men and women, he reported that peak experiences are most likely to occur during such intellectually demanding tasks as learning, problem solving, and decision making.
Complete confidence
Students talked of the time when they took an exam knowing they were answering every question near perfectly and being so confident of getting a maximum grade they never endured a moments doubt before the marks came out.
Your brain has a potential for brilliance and can attain almost any intellectual goal you care to set.
Business men and women recounted occasions when they made important decisions completely and justifiably confident that the choice made would turn out right. Scientists spoke of suddenly gaining insight into a previously intractable problem and being absolutely certain their ideas were correct.
Even if you are unable to recall a similar Peak Experience right now, you should take a little time at some point during the day to think about any moment when you were inspired by the knowledge that everything was going to go your way. All at once, as if blinkers had fallen from the mind, you understood how to solve a problem, knew what was needed to reach a decision, found that previously difficult information could be learned with ease.
Peak experiences every day
At times like these, you discovered a small part of what the brain can achieve when used correctly. This is the kind of moment we aspire to make almost routine - to enjoy peak experiences in our everyday thinking through the brain training techniques we have developed.