The concept of Self-Transcendent Experience (STE) occupies a distinctive position within the depth-psychology and allied scientific literatures, functioning as an integrative umbrella construct that draws together phenomenologically disparate states — mystical experience, flow, awe, peak experience, mindfulness, and self-transcendent positive emotions — under a shared structural signature: decreased self-salience and increased felt connectedness. Yaden and colleagues (2017) supply the most systematic empirical architecture, proposing two sub-components — annihilational (the dissolution of self-boundaries) and relational (the expansion into unity with others and environment) — and situating STEs along a unitary continuum first articulated by Newberg and d’Aquili. A key theoretical tension pervades the literature: self-loss is simultaneously a marker of psychopathology (depersonalization disorder, certain psychotic states) and a source of profound well-being and prosocial transformation. This ambivalence demands careful differential diagnosis between positive and pathological instances. A further tension concerns etiology — whether STEs represent adaptive group-level functions, individual relational recalibration, or mere evolutionary spandrels. The corpus also registers a spiritual-secular divide: while the term deliberately avoids theological connotation, it necessarily engages classical categories from James, Stace, and the mystical traditions. The convergence of affective neuroscience, transpersonal psychology, and positive psychology around this construct marks it as one of the more generative nodes in contemporary psychological inquiry.
self-transcendent experiences (STEs)—transient mental states marked by decreased self-salience and increased feelings of connectedness
This passage provides the foundational definition and organizational framework for STEs, positioning them as a spectrum of psychological states unified by reduced self-salience and enhanced connectedness, potentially relevant to both mental illness and mental health.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017thesis
The designation ‘self-transcendent experience’ (STE) works best for our purposes because it captures a spectrum of intensities in addition to remaining neutral regarding secular or spiritual connotations.
This passage justifies the adoption of ‘STE’ as the canonical umbrella term, enumerating its constituent varieties — mindfulness, flow, awe, peak experiences, mystical experiences — and cataloguing competing labels in the extant literature.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017thesis
Our definition of STE—transient mental states of decreased self-salience and/or increased feelings of connectedness—includes two broad complementary subcomponents worth decomposing: (a) an ‘annhilational’ component… and (b) a ‘relational’ component
This passage articulates the two-component structure of STEs — annihilational and relational — and distinguishes phenomenological experience of self-transcendence from beliefs, values, or moral orientations.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017thesis
The spectrum of intensity in perceived self-transcendent unity has been called the unitary continuum (Newberg & d’Aquili, 2000) and can be characterized by a phenomenology of varying degrees of intensity during temporary experiences of self-diminishment and increased connectedness.
This passage situates STEs along a unitary continuum of intensity, using Aron’s Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale as an empirical anchor for measuring the degree of boundary dissolution.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017thesis
More intense STEs, like peak or mystical experiences, appear capable of generating positive effects on well-being and altruistic behavior that can last for many months
This passage argues that despite potential pathological manifestations, STEs — especially intense ones — generate durable improvements in well-being and prosocial behavior, making them striking compared to conventional behavioral interventions.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017thesis
both share a subjective sense of decreased self-salience and an increased sense of connectedness with other people and one’s environment… they share a family resemblance (Wittgenstein, 1953)
This passage establishes the family-resemblance logic by which diverse constructs such as mindfulness and awe are grouped under the STE umbrella, using four explicit inclusion criteria.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017thesis
the annhilational component may reduce negative aspects of excessive self-focus while the relational component likely
This passage proposes distinct neurobiological and psychological mechanisms for the two STE sub-components, suggesting they confer benefits through separate pathways.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017thesis
depersonalization episodes may involve the annhilational aspect but not the relational aspect of STEs, although this supposition has not yet been tested empirically
This passage maps the boundary between positive STEs and pathological self-loss by proposing that depersonalization preserves the annihilational component while lacking the relational component central to healthy STEs.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017supporting
The loss of self is commonly experienced as an absorption into something greater than the mere empirical ego
This passage connects STE to the mystical experience literature by showing that Hood’s M-Scale operationalizes precisely the ego-loss and absorption that define the annihilational component of STEs.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017supporting
awe has a self-transcendent quality in that it decreases self-salience and increases feelings of connectedness to other people and has been empirically demonstrated to cause increased prosocial behavior
This passage situates awe as an empirically validated variety of STE, confirming its place within Yaden et al.’s classificatory framework and linking its self-transcendent quality to measurable prosocial outcomes.
, The Function of Emotions: When and Why Emotions Help Us, 2018supporting
STEs are merely ‘sensory pageantry,’ or unusual sensory experiences that happen to reinforce religious and spiritual beliefs by making their presentation more memorable
This passage rehearses the evolutionary skeptic’s position — that STEs are adaptive spandrels or meme-reinforcing anomalies — before countering it with evidence for their relational and group-level adaptive functions.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017supporting
Experiences of self-transcendence, then, do seem to provide some of life’s most positive and meaningful experiences, and, as James claimed, may comprise some of our moments of ‘greatest peace.’
This concluding passage affirms the dual verdict — that STEs contain both common and pathological variants — while endorsing James’s classical characterization of self-transcendence as among the most positive of human states.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017supporting
in STEs a similar process may occur in a brief, viscerally subjective manner
This passage links STE phenomenology to self-expansion theory, arguing that the visceral, transient unity experienced in STEs parallels the cognitive expansion of self-identity to include others.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017supporting
Self-transcendent positive emotions have been shown to increase social connectedness and some, such as gratitude, compassion, and elevation, have been shown to increase the desire to help others
This passage provides empirical grounding for the prosocial sequelae of self-transcendent positive emotions, demonstrating that the relational component of STEs translates into measurable altruistic behavior.
, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, 2017supporting
Self-transcendent emotions and their social functions: Compassion, gratitude, and awe bind us to others through prosociality.
This bibliographic reference identifies self-transcendent emotions as a recognized sub-class with a defined social-binding function, reinforcing the relational component of the STE framework.
, The Function of Emotions: When and Why Emotions Help Us, 2018supporting
Jung (1928/1971) stated that ‘individuation is closely connected with the transcendent function, since this function creates individual lines of development which could never be reached by keeping to the path prescribed by collective norms’
This passage introduces the Jungian transcendent function as a depth-psychological parallel to STE, linking self-transcendence to the individuation process through the integration of unconscious contents.
, Individuation in Addiction Recovery: An Archetypal Astrological Perspective, 2025aside
awe has been framed as motivating scientific inquiry and learning… suggesting a possible mechanism for openness associations with learning and engagement
This passage identifies individual differences in aesthetic engagement and peak emotional experience as downstream correlates of awe, tangentially supporting the beneficial outcomes associated with the STE spectrum.
, Individual Differences in Aesthetic Engagement and Proneness to Aesthetic Chill: Associations With Awe, 2022aside
we have merged the ego and are absolved from the exclusive stresses of our mentality… we enjoy by it our unity with our other selves and with God in all
Aurobindo frames ego-merger and unitive experience within an integral metaphysical scheme, providing a classical spiritual-philosophical counterpart to the empirical STE construct.
, The Life Divine, 1939aside