>[!abstract] >A peak experience, in Abraham Maslow’s psychology, refers to an intense, transcendent state of consciousness marked by feelings of unity, profound joy, heightened awareness, and a sense of timelessness or connectedness to something greater than the self. These moments often arise spontaneously, triggered by art, nature, love, creativity, or spiritual practice, and are characterized by a temporary dissolution of ego boundaries. Maslow saw peak experiences as expressions of self-actualization, offering glimpses of higher human potential and serving as benchmarks for meaning, authenticity, and psychological growth. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Humanistic psychology]] >- **West** (similar): [[Brainwave entrainment]], [[Flow]] (Csíkszentmihályi’s concept of total absorption in an activity) >- **East** (different): [[Anhedonia]] >- **South** (downstream): [[Self-actualization]]