Their needs for freedom, love, justice and beauty were found to be universal.¹¹...The need for truth discovery was also essential for most and was listed first above the rest, even though Maslow found growth needs to be of approximately equal importance.

Self-actualizing individuals are in a perpetual state of growth and becoming. Maslow indicated that under healthy conditions growth is rewarding and causes the healthy individual to grow more. He believed that the more one grows, the more one wants to grow. Maslow has stated that, "[T]he process of moment-to-moment growth is itself intrinsically rewarding and delightful in an absolute sense.".¹²...Even though they have a great need for growth, they are less anxious for honors, prestige and rewards. They are more rounded, usually having an appreciation and understanding of art, music, politics and philosophy.

The self-actualizing individual, as defined by Maslow, is the product of one or more peak experiences. However, I have come to believe that there are those who are self-actualizing and have not had a P.E. A P.E. can permanently change one's life in a variety of ways, some of which have been mentioned. In addition, peak experiences produce moments of intense joy for which the individual feels so grateful that they want to do something good for the world as repayment. This actually becomes one of the very strong motivating factors which drives the self-actualizing person. A peak experience can also have beneficial therapeutic effects, with the permanent removal of neurotic symptoms.¹³

The peak experience is a product of the evolution of consciousness, and is thought to occur in an increasingly larger number of individuals. It results in the transformation of certain individuals so that their perception of reality, their basic belief system, and their behavior patterns are dramatically altered. Once a critical mass of self-actualizing persons is reached, a Eupsychian-type society becomes possible.

Based upon my present understanding of reality, it seems unlikely that either humankind or any other intelligent form will ever evolve to a state where absolutely everything can be known and understood, since the universe appears to be in a constant state of flux. There are too many individual random events occurring that can only be predicted on the basis of statistical probability. Nevertheless, if the primary premise of the Integrated Theory of Intelligence is correct, the implication is awesome.

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