tyler ward.

I find myself in my small world that has made “love” trendy. It has taken the most dynamic entity in history and made it a tool, strategy, or means to an end. My teenage years, invested in trying to stay out of trouble, told me “love” was the only other option. My scholarly life taught me to present “love” as a currency for good relations with my teachers and, in turn, graduation. My evangelical roots taught me to “love” people to save people. My professional existence gives “love” the role of creating trust and respect in order to empower a contract or partnership. My marriage has persevered through it’s share of days where “love” was simply a tool to make our lives less turbulent, to have better sex, or to get what i want.  Read more...

Maslow, one of the more respected psychologists throughout history, throws twelve people he believes to have “self-transcended” (to be explained) in a room. They had three things in common. Each had had a significant mystical or ecstatic experience in their past that changed their view of themselves and the world, they project a serene and stable personality, and they possess the same five qualities as defining values in their lives: compassion, creativity, humility, intelligence, and divergent thinking. Maslow defined self-transcendence as the ability to rise above oneself and the material world to deeply give, care about, and love another…and in turn, experience a quality life. More importantly, Maslow preached that this ability to transcend oneself happens only after ones basic needs of life are taken care of. In real words, when our basic needs of life are being taken care of, we then have the ability to rise above the material system and ourselves to experience a quality lifestyle of love.  Read more...