I am actually experiencing a "peak experience" as we speak.

To be completely honest brisket I have experienced it twice in my lifetime. It was like 'being at one with the world' or a wave of peacefullness washing over me. I can assure you that no illicit substances were involved at the time.

Lovely description lainy

Brisket, it sounds very similar to the way I felt, as I held each of my sons for the first time.

The other night.

Yes I have have, but it was back in the day and illicit substances most definitely were involved, so I dont suppose it counts.

ikataili - apparently some research has claimed they can be triggered pharmacologically.

Yep, while swimming here:



Waimea Falls, Hawaii. It wasn't sunny like in this pic - it was misty and slightly drizzly and as I looked up through the canopy of trees surrounding it, I knew it was the most perfect of perfect moments. It was 9 years ago but whenever I think of it, that feeling comes back.

Spiritual ..yes ..and nothing will ever come close.

Yep, most weekends in my 20's, my word but you'd pay for it on a Tuesday and Wednesday.

Some of these descriptions are so vivid and described with such intensity that the reader could not doubt they were peak experiences.
I feel pretty sure this is what Maslow had in mind.
They are so special that is a good thing they are comparatively rare.

That's exactly what I was going to say Yogi, in my case my daughters.

Like Yogi, I had the same feeling when I held my sons, it was euphoria. I suppose nothing can compare to that but I`ve had different experiences of a "peak experience."  
I was in Greece with my sister and we walked to the back trails and saw the real life of the Greek farming people, growing lemons, oranges, goats grazing in their back yards. An old Greek lady came out of her house and picked herbs from the side of the path and waved hello to us. 
It was so quiet and peaceful. We both felt a sense of peace. I`ll never forget it.

I think it is rather good that Maslow described these feelings in the way he did.
Not everyone is good with words (this forum is an exception of course  , so when asked to describe suich a wonderful and intense feeling many may simply resort to seeing something such as "it was great" or "I was speechless."
But to hear a psychologists fuller and more detailed description emables us to become more aware that we have indeed experienced a very special moment in our lives.
The posts on here convey it wonderfully.

I can think of another one. Up on one of the Uists (Outer Hebrides) on a wide, empty beach, late afternoon in winter, no-one else around but me and the OH. Because the island's so flat, I could see from horizon to horizon and the sensation was one of being surrounded by the sky on all sides - rainbows, dark clouds and sunlit blues all at once. And no sound except sea birds and our boots on the sand..

oh yes ..... but it wouldn't count in this case as LSD was involved ..... I am much older now & would never condone young people using drugs etc .... but it was a bloody fabulous experience ..... I've never laughed so much in all my life

No. It's been all lowlights looking back.

I still live in hope though.

Don't despair velvet.
"Peak experiences" are often very sudden.

Too right.  I did a fart of such volume and length a few weeks ago I swear my ears were ringing after.  Came out of nowhere it did.  I could have wept with joy. 

Yes I have. I firmly believe that the universe has a purpose for all of us and when something slips  into place, when something just goes right and everything around it goes right too then that is a Peak moment.

Me too Isa I've had a few But the one I remember the most was 2 days after my son was born, I was sitting outside the hospital having a ciggy and just taking stock of what the hell was going on and rather amazed at what had happened. Then it just hit me like a truck and although I can't describe the feeling in words, I'll never forget it.

Nope....

or if i have it didn't impact on me and i've now forgotten it.

I love my peak moments.

I have to say at the birth of my children too. Also my wedding day was a very very happy day for me - I had a big smile on my face all day and loved it all. (23rd wedding anniversary this wkend )

I had a peak moment jumping over a road on my bike in France this summer.  It lasted all of 2 seconds - followed swiftly after by ploughing into a mountain and damned near ripping a leg clean off.  Still, good while it lasted.

Your words jumped out at me because me too  Some things cannot be described in words so I won't even attempt it, I agree nothing else comes close

you can work on experiencing that feeling more and more. I used to get it diving but have found lots of joy in little moments. I believe life is made up of lots of little moments and the trick is to enjoy them. The big and bad shit happens to us all but we can try and focus less on it and enjoy all the little stuff. I genuinely like to stop and admire all that's around me, literally, my hubby thinks I'm odd sometimes as I'll go and touch leaves and just stand still in a forest for a bit (we live near a country park) having said that I get mental and scream and stress at times too !

On the Brocken a few years ago.

Ive had a few, one smelled of melon

 Well you have another leg.

Hi Karma
It is great isn't it. So many things have happened to me this year that it is almost like a swing in a different direction- a huge scary swing but one that has made me so much happier and at peace with myself.
And even now, I have had more news today that has made me think " oh okay, perhaps the universe has been trying to tell me something".
I finally feel that I am on the path I was supposed to be on.. 

nope... I'm a reet miserable bugger

yes, in the australian outback, dead of night...I got out of the car.  looking up at the stars.. my god the stars were amazing.. milky way directly above, not a sound to be heard or a light anywhere. Then i spotted asteroids flying across the sky.. twas magical

My partner and I were laying in bed one lazy Sunday morning.

 6 months earlier he had spent nearly 2 weeks on conorary care with a particularly bad case of a viral infection. At that time I thought he was either gonna die or at least be severely disabled or even only have a few months to live.

Laying in bed entwined in only the warmth of our bodies 6 months later, him recovering physically.....me recovering mentally.......a pure peak experience.......personified.

Oh my God that sounds like my idea of heaven! We very rarely get clear stars in London, just polluted crap and being near to the airport doesn't help either. The stars in the west country are beautiful, though. But your experience sounds amazing.

I had a very similar experience to that Clumsycat. Except I was a young teenager on holiday with my parents in the Caribbean. We went on a guided night into the canefields to see the stars. The guide brought telescopes and told us what we were going to see.

But because it was so unpolluted everything was visible and I saw deep into the Milky Way through the telescope. I was too young to experience it as I should have, but remember to this day how much differently I would have done now.  

However. brisket, I think I've had exactly the sort of thing you've described!

I'd been on a trip in France with a mate. We'd been traveling around at a fairly hectic pace in northern France having spent a few fab days in Paris (Pompidou Centre being my highlight there. My mate hates modern art, so you can imagine how that went down with me!)  I'd put up with the very dull Bayeaux Tapestry for him btw.  

Anyhoo.. having discovered the Monet gardens were shut on the afternoon we intended to visit them, we headed further south to Chartres (can't do accents, sorry.)

As we approached Chartres over the flatlands the cathedral suddenly sprung up out of an apparently hidden hollow. I was impressed then, but it disappeared as we tried to navigate into the town to park.

So when we'd parked, we wandered up to the front of the cathedral. Very underwhelming, I thought.

However. When I entered I had that peak experience. I'm not in the slightest religious, have visited many amazing churches and cathedrals, Venice etc. But when I entered Chartres cathedral I gasped... don't know why. But it became like walking into the Tardis!

I had that transcendent sense of amazement and unimportance in the universe. I can still call on that memory. I spent hours there that day just absorbing that feeling.  

Bloody hell!   Sorry about that!!! I should have blogged it!... Actually, I will now! 

oh I felt like that when I walked into St Peter's - dunno if it was strong enough to be a peak experience though (for me I mean)