Quantum Change: When Epiphanies and Sudden Insights Transform Ordinary Lives

Most of us walk through each day expecting few surprises. If we want to better ourselves or our lives, we map out a path of gradual change; perhaps in therapy or a 12-step group. University of New Mexico psychologists William Miller and Janet C'de Baca were longtime scholars and teachers of this approach to self-improvement when they became intrigued by a different sort of change that was sometimes experienced by people and often described as "a bolt from the blue" or "seeing the light." When they placed a request in a local newspaper for people's stories of unexpected personal transformation, the deluge of of responses was astounding. These compelling stories of epiphanies and sudden insights inspired Miller and C'de Baca to examine the experience of "quantum change" through the lens of scientific psychology. Where does quantum change come from? Why do some of us experience it, and what kind of people do we become as a result? The answers that this book arrives at yield remarkable insights into how human beings achieve lasting change - sometimes, even, in spite of ourselves. Drs Miller and C'de Baca began their collaborative research on quantum change in 1990, and this book is the first full report of their work.