Self-Transcendent Experience Quiz: Identify Which of the 6 STE States You Had (Free)
📌 What is this?
A 5-question diagnostic that identifies which of the 6 self-transcendent experience (STE) states you most recently had — based on the research framework from David Yaden, Carl Jung, William James, Maslow, Csikszentmihalyi, and Carhart-Harris. Most people have had 2-3 of these states without realizing they were distinct. This quiz tells you which one, and what to do with it.
For the full guide, see Self-Transcendent Experience Journaling.
What This Quiz Identifies
The quiz above identifies which of the six self-transcendent experience (STE) states you most recently had. The taxonomy comes from David Yaden, Jonathan Haidt, Ralph Hood, David Vago, and Andrew Newberg's 2017 paper The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience (Review of General Psychology) — and from a long lineage of researchers who studied each state individually before the integrative framework existed.
The six states share a common axis (decreased self-salience + increased connectedness) but differ in intensity, content, and trigger. Most people have had multiple states without realizing they were distinct categories with distinct neuroscience. The quiz is the diagnostic; the integration is the practice.
The Six States — Quick Reference
| State | Researcher | Felt Signature | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Awe | Keltner & Haidt | Smallness in vastness; chills; time slows | Mountains, music, moral courage, big ideas |
| 2. Flow | Csikszentmihalyi | Full absorption; lost time awareness | Skill-challenge match, deep work |
| 3. Peak Experience | Maslow | Most fully yourself; integration | Major life moments, completions, deep love |
| 4. Mystical Experience | James, Stace, Pahnke | Unity; ineffability; sacredness | Sustained meditation, contemplative practice |
| 5. Ego Dissolution | Carhart-Harris, Letheby | Self temporarily dissolves | Psychedelics, advanced retreats, near-death |
| 6. Oceanic Feeling | Freud, Yaden | Boundary softens but doesn't break | Nature, music, intimacy, slow ritual |
Why Distinguishing the States Matters
Each STE has its own integration prescription. Awe's right action is "keep noticing vastness." Flow's right action is "engineer the conditions." Peak experience's right action is "protect the identity that just integrated." Mystical experience's right action is "find the lineage and resist over-narration." Ego dissolution's right action is "don't chase, integrate carefully, possibly with clinical support." Oceanic feeling's right action is "reproduce the conditions."
Treating all six as "a spiritual experience" collapses these meaningfully different prescriptions. The quiz is a small tool. The map it gives you is what makes integration accurate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my answers gave a tied result?
Many real experiences blend two states — awe + oceanic, flow + peak, mystical + ego dissolution. The result page flags when your answers were close. Both readings may apply; the dominant integration prompt is for the top state, but the runner-up state's integration approach often pairs well.
Can the quiz be wrong?
Yes — five questions can't fully disambiguate every experience. The quiz is a directional starting point. If the result feels off, read the full STE guide and compare your experience against the longer signatures of all six states.
How is this different from a "spiritual experience" in general?
"Spiritual experience" is the general category that includes all six STEs (and other states like contemplation, faith, devotion). STE is the more specific term used in the academic literature for transient states marked by decreased self-salience and increased connectedness.
Are these states only for religious or spiritual people?
No. STEs occur across all worldviews — atheists, agnostics, religious practitioners, and everyone in between. The neuroscience operates the same way regardless of belief. The names of some states (especially "mystical") carry religious connotation in everyday usage but are used in the research literature in a fully secular way.
What if I've never had any of these?
Most people have had several without realizing. Awe is the most common — even small awe (a song, a tree, a sentence in a book) counts. Flow is the second most common — almost anyone who has done skilled work for hours has had it. The diagnostic might surprise you.
What do I do with the result?
Use the integration prompts on the result page. They are state-specific and based on the research consensus on what helps each state become a lasting resource rather than a fading memory. For deeper work, read the full STE journaling guide with the TRACE method (Type / Recognize / Anchor / Capture / Engage).
Take the Quiz, Then Go Deeper
Most STE moments fade because they aren't integrated. The integration is the practice — and integration starts with knowing which state you actually had.
For the full guide, the TRACE method, 60 prompts organized per state, and three worked examples (including a peak experience misclassified as awe and an ego dissolution example with appropriate clinical context), see Self-Transcendent Experience Journaling.
For a guided journaling practice with mentors trained on the actual writings of researchers and contemplatives across all six states, try Life Note — different mentors are best-suited to different states (William James for mystical, Csikszentmihalyi for flow, Pierre Hadot for peak, Marcus Aurelius for cosmic awe, Carl Jung for oceanic and the individuation work that follows).
Last updated: May 2026.
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