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 counseling or psychotherapy.

Psychologists William Miller and Janet C' de Baca were longtime scholars and teachers of traditional approaches to self- improvement when they became intrigued by a different sort of change that was sometimes experienced by people they encountered--something often described as "a bolt from the blue" or "seeing the light." And when they placed a request in a local newspaper for people's stories of unexpected personal transformation, the deluge 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.