Understanding the dynamics of self-realization: Tension, perseverance, and release

Abstract

This study inquired into the nature and experience of the dynamics of self-realization. The dynamics primarily identified and explored were tension, perseverance, and release. This qualitative research re-defined the philosophical view of participation in light of its findings. Within that context, the research design combined the ancient tradition of revelation through the Dream, with the modern Grounded Theory approach to participant research. Five individuals, whose lives are dedicated to the investigation of realization, were interviewed about their understanding and experience. Participants were recruited from outside structured religious organizations to capture as direct and deconstructed a perspective as possible. The Dream's response to the research inquiry was made up of 22 dreams occurring over the lifetime of the study. These dreams have been directly interpreted and form the structure for the inquiry's findings.

The findings of this research provide a rarely-reported, first-hand perspective on the farther reaches of human development and existence. This perspective challenges some of the conventional “givens” of psychological theory. These findings include experience of external forces in the process of realization, views of existence over the course of many lifetimes, the critical role of direct experience in moral development, the role of tension as essential to transformation, the importance of perseverance and practice in realizing, and the correlation between disconnection from self and brutality to others.