Realizing self: A grounded theory study of consciousness transformation during significant transitions in the lives of ordinary adults

The purpose of my study was to answer the research question, "How does consciousness transform during significant transitions in the lives of ordinary adults?" I used the term "consciousness" to refer to a person's sense of who they are. "Ordinary" refers to people who are not notably extraordinary in the way that the Buddha or Jesus were, for example. I focused on significant transitions to narrow the scope of my study.;My research methodology was Glaserian grounded theory. I selected 11 participants using opportunity sampling. I conducted initial interviews using one open-ended question: "Can you please describe how your sense of who you are has changed during significant transitions in your life?" I conducted follow-up interviews based on theoretical sampling, the goal of which is to develop the emerging theory.;In grounded theory, the core variable describes the main concern of participants and how they resolve it. I found that participants distinguished between "Self" (i.e., the deepest, innermost, essential Truth of who we are) and "self" (i.e., a vehicle for expression of Self). Participants were concerned with both knowing and expressing more of who they really are. My core variable is "Realizing Self" because the word "realize" means both to fully comprehend and to make real.;In grounded theory, categories and properties are the conceptual elements of the theory. The theoretical code integrates these categories and properties and in my study I applied "autopoiesis" as the theoretical code. In doing so, I determined that consciousness transforms, or changes in self occur, as a result of internal dynamics and interactions with the environment (i.e., structural coupling). When these changes occur in a positive direction, more of Self is expressed in self.;Realizing Self Theory, then, is a theory that says consciousness transforms during significant transitions as a result of progressively greater Self being expressed in self. My study was limited in terms of scale and scope and, therefore, is preliminary. However, it does create an opening that might add to the dialogue on consciousness transformation. Further research in different contexts will be needed to modify and extend this theory.;Keywords. consciousness transformation, adult development, psychic autopoiesis, transitions.