Poetry & Psychology

1. Self-Transendence in the poetry of
Mary Oliver & the psychology of
Viktor Frankl

2. What is self-transcendence?
• “The overcoming of the limits of the individual self and its desires in spiritual
contemplation and realization.”
• “The act or condition of going/being beyond ego or egoity, usually as a result
of love, service, non-egoic discipline, or undivided attention for another.”
• http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/self-transcendence
• http://www.soulprogress.com/html/Glossary/SelfTranscendenceGlossary.html

3. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl believed that self-
transcendence was an important step in human
development; a step which must happen before
Maslow’s lauded stage of self-actualization
Here:

4. For Frankl, self-transcendence is
marked by encountering meaning.

5. 3 ways to meaning
In Viktor Frankl’s view of human psychology,
there are three ways in which mankind can
experience meaning
• Through Work
• Through experience of something or someone
• Through our attitude toward unavoidable
suffering

6. I’d like to illustrate Viktor Frankl’s ways
of encountering meaning using Mary
Oliver’s poem, The Messenger.

7. The MessengerMy work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

8. Encountering meaning through work or service
Oliver- “My work is loving the
world.”
“Am I no longer young, and still not
half-perfect? Let me keep my mind
on what matters, which is my work.”
• Her work is bringing meaning to
chaos; finding a way to hold the
transitoriness of beauty in a
joyful way. To let it be.
• Her service is bringing that
meaning to others to ease the
anxiety of existence through
joyful revelry. She is the
messenger.
Frankl- “By creating a work or doing
a deed.”
• He speaks of achievement or
accomplishment as well as deeds.
• A life of service; this is also
known as karma yoga, and was
exemplified by Gandhi.

9. Encountering meaning through experience of
something or someone
Oliver- “Here the sunflowers, there
the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness. “
“My work, which is mostly standing
still and learning to be
astonished. “
• In her relationship with nature
she feels connected to other
beings, & senses commonality to
that which is outside of herself.
• She is in a respectful, and
reflective state; a state of being at
awe with the way the world is.
Frankl- “The second way of finding a
meaning in life is by experiencing
something—such as goodness,
truth, and beauty—by experiencing
nature and culture…”
“By (her) love (she) is enabled to see
the essential traits and features in
the beloved…(she) sees that which
is potential in (her)…”
• The self is transcended through
the appreciation of the essence
of another. In this case, nature.

10. Encountering meaning through our attitude
toward unavoidable suffering
Oliver- “Are my boots old? Is my
coat torn? Am I no longer
young…mostly rejoicing, since all
the ingredients are here, celebration
which is gratitude, to be given a
mind and a heart and these body-
clothes, a mouth with which to give
shouts of joy…telling them all, over
and over, how it is that we live
forever. ”
• The ‘shouts of joy’ are the positive
framing of attitude towards death.
• Faced with the transitoriness of all
life, she rejoices in her presence
with all things, which too shall pass.
It is the act of bearing witness
which cannot be changed, and
which is meaningful. Action made
eternal.
Frankl- “We may also find meaning
in life even when facing a fate that
cannot be changed. For what
matters is to bear witness to the
uniquely human potential at its
best, which is to transform a
personal tragedy into triumph.”
“potentialities…as soon as they are
actualized they are rendered
realities at that very moment; they
are saved and delivered into the
past, wherein they are rescued and
preserved…”
• Life is not inherently meaningful,
but rather becomes meaningful in
the choice to apply meaning
where there may seem to be
none.

11. "Which choice will be made an actuality once and forever, an
immortal 'footprint in the sands of time'.“ Viktor Frankl

12. So, how can we bring meaning to our
lives, and self-transcend?
• Through selflessness, an altruistic sense of
obligation to those other than ourselves, we
transcend the ego and find meaning beyond
our own limited frameworks of thought, and
achieve a sense of meaning through being for
another.

13. So, how can we bring meaning to our
lives, and self-transcend?
• Through appreciation of another form other
than our own, such as nature, art, another
person, we transcend the ego by honoring
qualities other than our own.

14. So, how can we bring meaning to our
lives, and self-transcend?
• And finally, through relinquishing control
over that which we have no control, we
engage in a humble practice of recognizing
that we are not in fact the center of the
universe, but rather a piece of a larger, ever
changing framework.

16. by Jeff Zimmerman