Beyond Self-Actualization is written as a dialogue between the author and a fictional character named Brian Doyle who comes looking for advice on how to make his life more meaningful. The ensuing discussion quickly moves to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the possibilities that lie ahead once one has reached the state of self-realization. I make the argument that a fully actualized individual, i.e., someone who is living out his or her deepest, idiosyncratic desires, no longer needs love, esteem, and other forms of emotional security. That state, which I call "soaring," brings with it a new freedom to go one’s own way in life..... to become one’s own person.

The essay is 59 pages long and perfect-bound.

Brian Doyle joins me again .... this time with his girlfriend Stephanie ...... to discuss questions of religion and enlightenment as they relate to self-actualization. My own position, hotly debated by Stephanie (a Zen novice) is that a fully realized individual has little or no need for religion. At Stephanie’s prompting, the discussion moves to Zen philosophy and the meaning of enlightenment. Drawing on my own experience, I offer a secular, naturalistic interpretation of satori and what it does and does not mean for our place in the universe.

The essay, written as a dialogue, is 102 pages and is perfect-bound.