Awakening to Happiness: Investigating the Impact of an Expanded Sense of Self on Psychological Well-Being

Abstract

This dissertation investigated the nature of happiness through a mixed-methods study of 497 participants, including 18 in-depth interviews with individuals assessed as being high in happiness as well as spiritual development. While conventional models define happiness in terms of positive and negative affect and life satisfaction, this study introduces the state of being theory of happiness, conceptualizing happiness as an intrinsic equilibrium rooted in psycho-spiritual awareness, which then influences reactions to external circumstances and internal thoughts and feelings. Quantitative data were collected using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) and the Emotional State Assessment Tool (ESAT) to assess levels of happiness. To assess psychospiritual development, the Inventory for Secular/Spiritual Wakefulness (WAKE), the Self-Transcendence Measure-Brief (STM-B), were used. Quantitative analysis revealed high degrees of correlation between happiness measures and psychospiritual development measures. Qualitative responses revealed that participants commonly described happiness in terms as contentment, connection, alignment, peace, and joy. It indicates happiness is achieved through a deeper understanding of life, rather than attainments. The interviewees emphasized self-transcendence, a deep connection to life, and an enduring sense of well-being independent of external events. This study challenges dominant hedonic and eudemonic models of happiness by suggesting that happiness is best understood in terms of underlying states of being rather than transient emotional or cognitive reactions to events, both mental and external. By integrating empirical data with subjective experiences, this study provides a holistic framework for understanding happiness, with profound implications for well-being, personal development, and therapeutic interventions.