dianna
22nd March 2014, 17:27
THE RISE OF NARCISSISM AND THE LOSS OF MEANING
(Excerpts from Parts I-IV)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0L15hOhz-s/UqKGYLBbXqI/AAAAAAAAA6E/TIOb-v43fYE/s1600/1-Fullscreen+capture+1272013+74958+AM-001.jpg
“Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology, which express in exaggerated form its underlying character structure.” - Christopher Lasch
The narcissist believes he is better than others. He may fantasize about power and exaggerate his achievements to attain that power. Due to an essential lack and emptiness within, he takes on the role of the archetypal vampire that must seek energy from others in order to function. Boastfulness and haughtiness hide poor self-esteem therefore, constant praise and validation is vital. Everything is focused on externals without any attempt to address the inner self; to do so would be to tear down the huge façade that has been carefully created since childhood. A hyper-sensitivity flows through all of his interactions often creating an anxiety that his façade will be breached at any time and people will discover the awful truth: that he is devoid of any substance within.
Intellectual superiority is all important for maintaining his own conviction that he is significant. This cements the perceived right that he should have special attention and admiration. Whether the narcissist is a spiritual guru, lawyer or bank manager, an automatic sense of entitlement will exist. Therefore, everyone is inferior if they do not match up to his own grandiose visions however impractical and subjective they may be. He becomes jealous if he feels that others are advancing in matters of money or love and expects others to go along with his plans, taking advantage of their good will if necessary, projecting an image of a person that is tough or unemotional, though inside he is emotionally weak and immature. What is more, if success seems to elude him, his bitterness and cynicism will increase to the point where relief will only be obtained by remorselessly criticising others. Yet, if the tables are turned and you criticise or disparage his carefully maintained goals and self-image he will often become highly aggressive in the defence of his precious, subjective realm. [1] (You can imagine the implications within the field of high-level politics).
Consequently, because narcissists so often lie they truly believe their own fabrications since lying is intrinsic to their self-validation that you might as well equate it with eating and drinking. People are seen as tools to get to where he wants to go; they are a means to an end, only worth interacting with insofar as they reflect and augment his own image. Making mistakes and seeking perfection is the endless loop that keeps the narcissist forever chasing his own tail not realising that to obtain anything genuine there must be an authentic emotional interaction.
We may recognise symptoms of the narcissist within ourselves and it should come as no surprise that to varying degrees we all play the narcissist game. Pathological narcissism or Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) means that such a façade is so deep, so hard-wired that is almost impossible to change and indicates a personality that has been almost entirely fabricated. There is no genuine, authentic representation of a person only a protective shell that was never left behind in childhood, possibly due to narcissistic parents and / or emotional trauma.
Many pathological narcissists do not seek treatment as they see nothing wrong. To diagnose yourself with “problems” means to breach your own “perfect” image and thus be vulnerable. The Narcissist will brook no criticism of his false personality, a monstrous ego that acts as his only navigator of the outside world. It is a very real prison that casts the individual down a dark hole away from the light of self-awareness.
The above descriptions are generalised but there are different forms of narcissism that enhance certain attributes over and above others. For example, the compensatory narcissist derives his pathology from: “…an underlying sense of insecurity and weakness, rather than from genuine feelings of self-confidence and high self-esteem.” [2] The American psychologist Theodore Millon listed the primary categories of narcissism that can be increasingly found in populations today:
Unprincipled narcissist: including antisocial features. A charlatan—is a fraudulent, exploitative, deceptive and unscrupulous individual.
Amorous narcissist: including histrionic features. The Don Juan or Casanova of our times—is erotic, exhibitionist.
Compensatory narcissist: including negativistic (passive-aggressive), avoidant features.
Elitist narcissist: variant of pure pattern. Corresponds to Wilhelm Reich’s “phallic narcissistic” personality type.
Fanatic type: including paranoid features. An individual whose self-esteem was severely arrested during childhood, usually with major paranoid tendencies who holds onto an illusion of omnipotence. These people are fighting delusions of insignificance and lost value and are trying to re-establish their self-esteem through grandiose fantasies and self-reinforcement. If unable to gain recognition or support from others, they take on the role of a heroic or worshipped person with a grandiose mission. [3]
It does not take a huge leap of imagination to know that we are immersed in that same pool, all of us staring to some degree or another at an image of ourselves we have mistaken for truth and meaning, where adorning the body and its material extensions is seen as the path to contentment and satisfaction. Many of us lead what we perceive to be perfectly healthy lives without a narcissistic bone in our bodies but is that really true? How much have we been changed by a culture that glorifies narcissistic themes and related pathologies as normal?
All psychopaths are narcissists but not all narcissists are psychopaths, the former having at least a vestigial conscience. But pathological narcissism – the “unprincipled narcissist”- is a hair’s breadth away from psychopathy and lies at the extreme end of the personality disorder scale. But varying degrees of this condition are astonishingly widespread, eroding our ability to live loving, mutually beneficial lives. Narcissists can congregate around the psychopath like tug-boats to an ocean liner and will pave the way for more invasive psychopathological reconnaissance into normal human territory. The ubiquitous growth and dependence of info-tainment technology and the the internet is only increasing the risk.
http://images.sodahead.com/polls/003956997/194825323_Narcissism_book_answer_1_xlarge.jpeg
The late psychologist and social commentator Christopher Lasch believed that there was something very wrong about the foundations of society that produced such increases in narcissism. Though Freudian at heart, Lasch presented some fascinating psychological insights in his book: The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. He argued that it was the imposition of two social changes that brought the narcissistic personality to the front line of “normality” the first of which was the rapid changes in US society since the start of the 20th century and the second the institutions that began to redesign society according to those principle changes. (This theory is closely aligned to the central premise of this book). He also highlighted the intrusion of the state into peoples’ lives, the commoditization of education, the rise of corporatism and the erosion of responsibility all made possible by the reliance on fear as a tool of coercion.
Lasch mentions the rise of the self-help culture that, far from empowering and revealing the root causes of societal malaise, has ultimately given rise to a form of spiritual materialism and an unhealthy self-absorption that tranquilises the possibility of facing deeper work within the self. It represents another crutch that goes only so deep.
This is very much still a problem in much of the New Age movement [1] and various snake-oil sales techniques riding on the principles of the “Law of Attraction” and the publishing phenomenon of The Secret and its sequels which offer highly seductive marketing saddled to a veneer of spirituality. [2] It is not that there is no truth in much of what passes for human potential, simply that it has been twisted and distorted to serve egoistic desires rather than the deeper issues inside. All is predicated on external desire and getting something you want and righteously deserve. As Lasch observes: “The importance of such programs, however, lies not so much in their objectives as in the anxiety to which they appeal and the vision of reality that informs them – the perception that success depends on psychological manipulation and that all of life, even the ostensibly achievement-oriented realm of work, centres on the struggle for interpersonal advantage, the deadly game of intimidating friends and seducing people.” [3]
Our culture habitually turns the potential of spirituality into a commodity that can be bought or sold on a $500 course supplicating at the feet of the latest guru. The point of ancient spiritual wisdom is that it should be accessible, even though the application of those clear-cut truths may not be so easy. Nor is it something that can be neatly categorised into a concept or ready-made construct. In the words of Rabbi Alan Lurie: “It transforms us. It changes how we act, think and feel in all environments. And it is a connection, a profound contact with something and someone outside of ourselves.”[4]
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7zt49VZrgo/UJhAfna0VGI/AAAAAAAAEJg/uk0EbpcG2Kc/s400/407714_10151210356505999_463958435_n.jpg
In so much of the present New Age discourse, self-love and external gain becomes the primary objective often at the expense of effort and self-responsibility. Trusting in the ability of things to work out by themselves if we leave them alone seems lost in the chase to extract the pot of gold from external enticements rather than to focus some of that energy on addressing the negative traits within. New Age courses and products feed into such a preoccupation where the avoidance of struggle and growth is masked for proffered instant gains.
Kobutsu Malone from the Zen Buddhist perspective observes this dichotomy in blunt terms:
In our Western society materialism has become so all-encompassing that we have no clue as to any alternatives, since our foundation, our psychology, our spiritual leanings have all been contaminated by materialism. We have no way to relate to things other than materialistically. The New Age phenomenon is very much a materialistic approach in fact it is a thinly disguised system of conquest applied to what we perceive as the spiritual. In so many cases, our thirst for meaning, our need for fulfilment, can only manifest in terms of wanting to appropriate more “stuff.” In the New Age this means appropriating the spirituality of other cultures because we are so impoverished and have squandered our heritage and fatally polluted it with our materialistic attitude of conquest and ownership. [5]
Alongside spiritual capitalism is the now long integration of East meets West which offers fertile new ground for unscrupulous gurus to take advantage of the naïve, well-intentioned and sensitive individual. Parallel with the rise in sexual “freedom” and spiritual emancipation is covert authoritarianism in another, more subtle form. In understandably rejecting societal constraints in favour of perceived spiritual liberation it has opened the floodgates for financial and emotional extraction. True spiritual freedom rarely comes from adopting the role of devotee, it seems. When you are stripped of your values and conditioned “rules” you are in a fragile and susceptible state to accept things that appeal to the ego. New identities form based on perceived trust, faith and belief. Yet more often than not it is just another authoritarian structure developed from the personality of the guru with overtones of sexual liberation as a means of spiritual ascension. Sometimes it is very difficult to know where a cult begins and ends.
Authors Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad from their book The Guru Papers talk about the rationale behind many spiritual movements headed by Gurus at the top of a hierarchical structure of devotion with some unorthodox ways to liberation. In some instances, the quickest path is through experiencing all desires under the guise of “… modernizing ancient esoteric methodologies (sometimes referred to as ‘tantric’) that attempted to bring self-realization through ritualistically breaking taboos. In the name of freeing people from their limitations and ‘hang-ups,’ this path is presented as the fastest track for contemporary Westerners to achieve spiritual goals, without undo austerity.” The authors believe that this “ intoxicating message” feeds into the familiar belief patterns of “You can have it all” which means you can: “… live out hidden desires and fantasies, experience any pleasure, break taboos around sex and even violence—and be spiritual besides. The assumption is that if one has or cultivates the right attitude (detachment), then ‘Anything goes.’ This seemingly liberating stance of “you-can-have-it-all” gurus has attracted many highly intelligent, experimental people. […] This is but another example of the great myth that an external authority can be the source of inner freedom.” [6] It is also another facet of a narcissistic culture bypassing spiritual authenticity in order to embrace the goodies of sensation.
…..
Individualism does not have to be selfish and uncooperative. On the contrary, individual integrity while communing with the whole is what being human is all about, whereas conforming to a bland, homogenous consensus of selfish dictates that defines so much of economic and cultural discourse is one sure way to lose one’s conception of self. What society seems to be growing is an unhealthy and destructive self-obsession that is rapidly normalised as a symptom of a “dog-eat-dog” world. This is more sophistry where circular arguments merely reinforce rather than repair. To “be someone” one has to have been brain-washed into the population for many decades. But what does that mean? To have wealth, status and to be adored? To be superior? The latter is directly mirroring the Establishment perception made up of corporate leaders, politicians, members of the monarchy and endless TV shows like X-factor and American Idol that tell us if you are not wealthy and do not have power and influence, you do not exist. It is a tired cliché that success does not define individual integrity any more than integrity can define the type and quality of that success. To have personal integrity automatically places value on the type of success you wish to attract and pursue. An entirely different world opens up when fulfilment is achieved not just as an individual but when it is disbursed and shared. Which is perhaps why, despite the obvious material advances for many, we are not getting happier.
…..
Twenge and W. Keith Campbell’s findings are included in their 2009 book: Living in the Age of Entitlement: The Narcissism Epidemic that describes just that: we are living through the results of something very rotten indeed being expressed with increasingly alacrity through the minds of the young. They reveal that: “Nearly 1 out of 10 of Americans in their twenties, and 1 out of 16 of those of all ages, has experienced the symptoms of NPD. Even these shocking numbers are just the tip of the iceberg; lurking underneath is the narcissistic culture that has drawn in many more. The narcissism epidemic has spread to the culture as a whole, affecting both narcissistic and less self-centred people.” [3]
Authors Twenge and Campbell paint a picture of Western culture in dire need of a sense of meaning and purpose away from the thrall of artifice:
On a reality TV show, a girl planning her sixteenth birthday party wants a major road blocked off so a marching band can precede her grand entrance on a red carpet. A book called “My Beautiful Mommy” explains plastic surgery to young children whose mothers are going under the knife for the trendy “Mommy Makeover.” It is now possible to hire fake paparazzi to follow you around snapping your photograph when you go out at night — you can even take home a faux celebrity magazine cover featuring the pictures.
A popular song declares, with no apparent sarcasm, “I believe that the world should revolve around me!” People buy expensive homes with loans far beyond their ability to pay — or at least they did until the mortgage market collapsed as a result. Babies wear bibs embroidered with “Supermodel” or “Chick Magnet” and suck on “Bling” pacifiers while their parents read modernized nursery rhymes from This Little Piggy Went to Prada. People strive to create a “personal brand” (also called “self-branding”), packaging themselves like a product to be sold. Ads for financial services proclaim that retirement helps you return to childhood and pursue your dreams. High school students pummel classmates and then seek attention for their violence by posting YouTube videos of the beatings.
http://www.worldwidehippies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/narcissists-universe-774637.jpg
Although these seem like a random collection of current trends, all are rooted in a single underlying shift in the American psychology: the relentless rise of narcissism in our culture. Not only are there more narcissists than ever, but non-narcissistic people are seduced by the increasing emphasis on material wealth, physical appearance, celebrity worship, and attention seeking. Standards have shifted, sucking otherwise humble people into the vortex of granite countertops, tricked-out MySpace pages, and plastic surgery. A popular dance track repeats the words: ‘success, fame, glamour” over and over, declaring that all other values has “either been discredited or destroyed.’ [4]
An important point is made in the introduction that “Narcissism is a psycho-cultural affliction rather than a physical disease, but the model fits remarkably well.” Indeed it does. This understanding is vital for comprehending the depth to which psychopathy has filtered down from the top after similarly infecting the centres of power within all institutions, examples of which will be explored in the next chapter and beyond.
…..
What if extreme entitlement and exploitation of others makes these individuals more likely to extreme forms of rage, aggression and violence against innocent people even in the absence of provocation? In fact, recent scholarship has identified this probability in narcissists along with some researchers suggesting that pathological narcissism may actually be psychopathy: “…when egocentricity, lack of empathy, and sense of superiority of the narcissist blends with the impulsivity, deceitfulness, and criminal tendencies of the antisocial, the result is a psychopathic individual who seeks gratification of selfish impulses through any means without remorse or empathy.” [7]
Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung saw “Every form of addiction [as] bad, no matter whether the narcotic be it alcohol, morphine or idealism.”
The word “addiction” for most people instantly conjures up the addled alcoholic or heroine user, perhaps the late night gambler or street-child glue-sniffer. There is certainly a case to be made that substance abuse is a major problem in the modern world. When worldwide sales of cocaine earn more than Microsoft, McDonald’s and Kellogg’s combined, then we know we have a major problem in our culture. [1] However, there is a flipside to a more covert form of addiction. A culture that sees only its own reflection will not only stagnate but will seek more and more sensation and distraction to claw back any sense of self. When you have a society bereft of meaning – any old substitute will do, however fake and illusory. If it serves the power brokers strategies for corporate or political compliance, then all the better. The philosopher John Ruskin once said that: “a man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel,” and the smaller the parcel the more difficult it is to unwrap.
http://www.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/MAC47_BOOKS02_208x310.jpg
Narcissism is closely aligned to addiction in all its forms. Both are self-absorbed and consider their own needs before anyone else. Both exhibit a failure of self-regulation [2] the substance abuser visiting greater and greater destructiveness upon his health and relationships and the narcissist, through his addiction to the admiration of others where unimpeachable façade actually repels healthy relationships and increases the intensity of craving. Yet each will exercise self-regulation only insofar as it achieves their self-centred goals. Just as the drug addict feeds his need with crack, so too the narcissist uses people as props to feed his own façade, which unless pathological, phases in an out of intensity. Ultimately, flattery, admiration and attention are never enough and so they seek more and more, just like the substance abuser. If narcissism is a form of addiction and addiction is a form of narcissism, they are surely two sides of the same coin. This means that the definition of addiction is misplaced and encompasses a great deal more than we may realise.
Narcissism and addiction are such close bedfellows because we live in social systems which generally elevate a fake emotional currency as the only means of exchange thus our reality becomes increasingly defined by examples of addictive behaviour en masse. But as we shall discover as we go on, the nature of addiction is compartmentalised towards the obvious like class-A drugs, smoking, alcohol and gambling. What about other less socially acceptable forms? We can be addicted to video-games, i-phones, anti-depressants, sex, pornography, a toxic relationship, exercise, shopping and many more which can slip under the radar of our conceptual models but nevertheless be found under the umbrella of serious addiction.
…..
http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Narcissism-classic-large-simple-golden-copy.jpg
If logical, sensible and innovative alternatives seek a hearing they are hard pressed to penetrate the pathological constructs that now define societies. It is then that we must collectively begin to question, where does this narcissism, addiction and dislocation really come from?
Before we gradually answer that question let’s a have a look at the official culture in which we find ourselves and paint a picture of some of the commercial and institutional pathologies which are now taken as the normal part of our modern day existence in the West. Once we do this we will be in a better position to go deeper as this exploration progresses.
Full Series and Notes:
http://infrakshun.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/the-rise-of-narcissism-and-the-loss-of-meaning-i/
(Excerpts from Parts I-IV)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0L15hOhz-s/UqKGYLBbXqI/AAAAAAAAA6E/TIOb-v43fYE/s1600/1-Fullscreen+capture+1272013+74958+AM-001.jpg
“Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology, which express in exaggerated form its underlying character structure.” - Christopher Lasch
The narcissist believes he is better than others. He may fantasize about power and exaggerate his achievements to attain that power. Due to an essential lack and emptiness within, he takes on the role of the archetypal vampire that must seek energy from others in order to function. Boastfulness and haughtiness hide poor self-esteem therefore, constant praise and validation is vital. Everything is focused on externals without any attempt to address the inner self; to do so would be to tear down the huge façade that has been carefully created since childhood. A hyper-sensitivity flows through all of his interactions often creating an anxiety that his façade will be breached at any time and people will discover the awful truth: that he is devoid of any substance within.
Intellectual superiority is all important for maintaining his own conviction that he is significant. This cements the perceived right that he should have special attention and admiration. Whether the narcissist is a spiritual guru, lawyer or bank manager, an automatic sense of entitlement will exist. Therefore, everyone is inferior if they do not match up to his own grandiose visions however impractical and subjective they may be. He becomes jealous if he feels that others are advancing in matters of money or love and expects others to go along with his plans, taking advantage of their good will if necessary, projecting an image of a person that is tough or unemotional, though inside he is emotionally weak and immature. What is more, if success seems to elude him, his bitterness and cynicism will increase to the point where relief will only be obtained by remorselessly criticising others. Yet, if the tables are turned and you criticise or disparage his carefully maintained goals and self-image he will often become highly aggressive in the defence of his precious, subjective realm. [1] (You can imagine the implications within the field of high-level politics).
Consequently, because narcissists so often lie they truly believe their own fabrications since lying is intrinsic to their self-validation that you might as well equate it with eating and drinking. People are seen as tools to get to where he wants to go; they are a means to an end, only worth interacting with insofar as they reflect and augment his own image. Making mistakes and seeking perfection is the endless loop that keeps the narcissist forever chasing his own tail not realising that to obtain anything genuine there must be an authentic emotional interaction.
We may recognise symptoms of the narcissist within ourselves and it should come as no surprise that to varying degrees we all play the narcissist game. Pathological narcissism or Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) means that such a façade is so deep, so hard-wired that is almost impossible to change and indicates a personality that has been almost entirely fabricated. There is no genuine, authentic representation of a person only a protective shell that was never left behind in childhood, possibly due to narcissistic parents and / or emotional trauma.
Many pathological narcissists do not seek treatment as they see nothing wrong. To diagnose yourself with “problems” means to breach your own “perfect” image and thus be vulnerable. The Narcissist will brook no criticism of his false personality, a monstrous ego that acts as his only navigator of the outside world. It is a very real prison that casts the individual down a dark hole away from the light of self-awareness.
The above descriptions are generalised but there are different forms of narcissism that enhance certain attributes over and above others. For example, the compensatory narcissist derives his pathology from: “…an underlying sense of insecurity and weakness, rather than from genuine feelings of self-confidence and high self-esteem.” [2] The American psychologist Theodore Millon listed the primary categories of narcissism that can be increasingly found in populations today:
Unprincipled narcissist: including antisocial features. A charlatan—is a fraudulent, exploitative, deceptive and unscrupulous individual.
Amorous narcissist: including histrionic features. The Don Juan or Casanova of our times—is erotic, exhibitionist.
Compensatory narcissist: including negativistic (passive-aggressive), avoidant features.
Elitist narcissist: variant of pure pattern. Corresponds to Wilhelm Reich’s “phallic narcissistic” personality type.
Fanatic type: including paranoid features. An individual whose self-esteem was severely arrested during childhood, usually with major paranoid tendencies who holds onto an illusion of omnipotence. These people are fighting delusions of insignificance and lost value and are trying to re-establish their self-esteem through grandiose fantasies and self-reinforcement. If unable to gain recognition or support from others, they take on the role of a heroic or worshipped person with a grandiose mission. [3]
It does not take a huge leap of imagination to know that we are immersed in that same pool, all of us staring to some degree or another at an image of ourselves we have mistaken for truth and meaning, where adorning the body and its material extensions is seen as the path to contentment and satisfaction. Many of us lead what we perceive to be perfectly healthy lives without a narcissistic bone in our bodies but is that really true? How much have we been changed by a culture that glorifies narcissistic themes and related pathologies as normal?
All psychopaths are narcissists but not all narcissists are psychopaths, the former having at least a vestigial conscience. But pathological narcissism – the “unprincipled narcissist”- is a hair’s breadth away from psychopathy and lies at the extreme end of the personality disorder scale. But varying degrees of this condition are astonishingly widespread, eroding our ability to live loving, mutually beneficial lives. Narcissists can congregate around the psychopath like tug-boats to an ocean liner and will pave the way for more invasive psychopathological reconnaissance into normal human territory. The ubiquitous growth and dependence of info-tainment technology and the the internet is only increasing the risk.
http://images.sodahead.com/polls/003956997/194825323_Narcissism_book_answer_1_xlarge.jpeg
The late psychologist and social commentator Christopher Lasch believed that there was something very wrong about the foundations of society that produced such increases in narcissism. Though Freudian at heart, Lasch presented some fascinating psychological insights in his book: The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. He argued that it was the imposition of two social changes that brought the narcissistic personality to the front line of “normality” the first of which was the rapid changes in US society since the start of the 20th century and the second the institutions that began to redesign society according to those principle changes. (This theory is closely aligned to the central premise of this book). He also highlighted the intrusion of the state into peoples’ lives, the commoditization of education, the rise of corporatism and the erosion of responsibility all made possible by the reliance on fear as a tool of coercion.
Lasch mentions the rise of the self-help culture that, far from empowering and revealing the root causes of societal malaise, has ultimately given rise to a form of spiritual materialism and an unhealthy self-absorption that tranquilises the possibility of facing deeper work within the self. It represents another crutch that goes only so deep.
This is very much still a problem in much of the New Age movement [1] and various snake-oil sales techniques riding on the principles of the “Law of Attraction” and the publishing phenomenon of The Secret and its sequels which offer highly seductive marketing saddled to a veneer of spirituality. [2] It is not that there is no truth in much of what passes for human potential, simply that it has been twisted and distorted to serve egoistic desires rather than the deeper issues inside. All is predicated on external desire and getting something you want and righteously deserve. As Lasch observes: “The importance of such programs, however, lies not so much in their objectives as in the anxiety to which they appeal and the vision of reality that informs them – the perception that success depends on psychological manipulation and that all of life, even the ostensibly achievement-oriented realm of work, centres on the struggle for interpersonal advantage, the deadly game of intimidating friends and seducing people.” [3]
Our culture habitually turns the potential of spirituality into a commodity that can be bought or sold on a $500 course supplicating at the feet of the latest guru. The point of ancient spiritual wisdom is that it should be accessible, even though the application of those clear-cut truths may not be so easy. Nor is it something that can be neatly categorised into a concept or ready-made construct. In the words of Rabbi Alan Lurie: “It transforms us. It changes how we act, think and feel in all environments. And it is a connection, a profound contact with something and someone outside of ourselves.”[4]
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7zt49VZrgo/UJhAfna0VGI/AAAAAAAAEJg/uk0EbpcG2Kc/s400/407714_10151210356505999_463958435_n.jpg
In so much of the present New Age discourse, self-love and external gain becomes the primary objective often at the expense of effort and self-responsibility. Trusting in the ability of things to work out by themselves if we leave them alone seems lost in the chase to extract the pot of gold from external enticements rather than to focus some of that energy on addressing the negative traits within. New Age courses and products feed into such a preoccupation where the avoidance of struggle and growth is masked for proffered instant gains.
Kobutsu Malone from the Zen Buddhist perspective observes this dichotomy in blunt terms:
In our Western society materialism has become so all-encompassing that we have no clue as to any alternatives, since our foundation, our psychology, our spiritual leanings have all been contaminated by materialism. We have no way to relate to things other than materialistically. The New Age phenomenon is very much a materialistic approach in fact it is a thinly disguised system of conquest applied to what we perceive as the spiritual. In so many cases, our thirst for meaning, our need for fulfilment, can only manifest in terms of wanting to appropriate more “stuff.” In the New Age this means appropriating the spirituality of other cultures because we are so impoverished and have squandered our heritage and fatally polluted it with our materialistic attitude of conquest and ownership. [5]
Alongside spiritual capitalism is the now long integration of East meets West which offers fertile new ground for unscrupulous gurus to take advantage of the naïve, well-intentioned and sensitive individual. Parallel with the rise in sexual “freedom” and spiritual emancipation is covert authoritarianism in another, more subtle form. In understandably rejecting societal constraints in favour of perceived spiritual liberation it has opened the floodgates for financial and emotional extraction. True spiritual freedom rarely comes from adopting the role of devotee, it seems. When you are stripped of your values and conditioned “rules” you are in a fragile and susceptible state to accept things that appeal to the ego. New identities form based on perceived trust, faith and belief. Yet more often than not it is just another authoritarian structure developed from the personality of the guru with overtones of sexual liberation as a means of spiritual ascension. Sometimes it is very difficult to know where a cult begins and ends.
Authors Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad from their book The Guru Papers talk about the rationale behind many spiritual movements headed by Gurus at the top of a hierarchical structure of devotion with some unorthodox ways to liberation. In some instances, the quickest path is through experiencing all desires under the guise of “… modernizing ancient esoteric methodologies (sometimes referred to as ‘tantric’) that attempted to bring self-realization through ritualistically breaking taboos. In the name of freeing people from their limitations and ‘hang-ups,’ this path is presented as the fastest track for contemporary Westerners to achieve spiritual goals, without undo austerity.” The authors believe that this “ intoxicating message” feeds into the familiar belief patterns of “You can have it all” which means you can: “… live out hidden desires and fantasies, experience any pleasure, break taboos around sex and even violence—and be spiritual besides. The assumption is that if one has or cultivates the right attitude (detachment), then ‘Anything goes.’ This seemingly liberating stance of “you-can-have-it-all” gurus has attracted many highly intelligent, experimental people. […] This is but another example of the great myth that an external authority can be the source of inner freedom.” [6] It is also another facet of a narcissistic culture bypassing spiritual authenticity in order to embrace the goodies of sensation.
…..
Individualism does not have to be selfish and uncooperative. On the contrary, individual integrity while communing with the whole is what being human is all about, whereas conforming to a bland, homogenous consensus of selfish dictates that defines so much of economic and cultural discourse is one sure way to lose one’s conception of self. What society seems to be growing is an unhealthy and destructive self-obsession that is rapidly normalised as a symptom of a “dog-eat-dog” world. This is more sophistry where circular arguments merely reinforce rather than repair. To “be someone” one has to have been brain-washed into the population for many decades. But what does that mean? To have wealth, status and to be adored? To be superior? The latter is directly mirroring the Establishment perception made up of corporate leaders, politicians, members of the monarchy and endless TV shows like X-factor and American Idol that tell us if you are not wealthy and do not have power and influence, you do not exist. It is a tired cliché that success does not define individual integrity any more than integrity can define the type and quality of that success. To have personal integrity automatically places value on the type of success you wish to attract and pursue. An entirely different world opens up when fulfilment is achieved not just as an individual but when it is disbursed and shared. Which is perhaps why, despite the obvious material advances for many, we are not getting happier.
…..
Twenge and W. Keith Campbell’s findings are included in their 2009 book: Living in the Age of Entitlement: The Narcissism Epidemic that describes just that: we are living through the results of something very rotten indeed being expressed with increasingly alacrity through the minds of the young. They reveal that: “Nearly 1 out of 10 of Americans in their twenties, and 1 out of 16 of those of all ages, has experienced the symptoms of NPD. Even these shocking numbers are just the tip of the iceberg; lurking underneath is the narcissistic culture that has drawn in many more. The narcissism epidemic has spread to the culture as a whole, affecting both narcissistic and less self-centred people.” [3]
Authors Twenge and Campbell paint a picture of Western culture in dire need of a sense of meaning and purpose away from the thrall of artifice:
On a reality TV show, a girl planning her sixteenth birthday party wants a major road blocked off so a marching band can precede her grand entrance on a red carpet. A book called “My Beautiful Mommy” explains plastic surgery to young children whose mothers are going under the knife for the trendy “Mommy Makeover.” It is now possible to hire fake paparazzi to follow you around snapping your photograph when you go out at night — you can even take home a faux celebrity magazine cover featuring the pictures.
A popular song declares, with no apparent sarcasm, “I believe that the world should revolve around me!” People buy expensive homes with loans far beyond their ability to pay — or at least they did until the mortgage market collapsed as a result. Babies wear bibs embroidered with “Supermodel” or “Chick Magnet” and suck on “Bling” pacifiers while their parents read modernized nursery rhymes from This Little Piggy Went to Prada. People strive to create a “personal brand” (also called “self-branding”), packaging themselves like a product to be sold. Ads for financial services proclaim that retirement helps you return to childhood and pursue your dreams. High school students pummel classmates and then seek attention for their violence by posting YouTube videos of the beatings.
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Although these seem like a random collection of current trends, all are rooted in a single underlying shift in the American psychology: the relentless rise of narcissism in our culture. Not only are there more narcissists than ever, but non-narcissistic people are seduced by the increasing emphasis on material wealth, physical appearance, celebrity worship, and attention seeking. Standards have shifted, sucking otherwise humble people into the vortex of granite countertops, tricked-out MySpace pages, and plastic surgery. A popular dance track repeats the words: ‘success, fame, glamour” over and over, declaring that all other values has “either been discredited or destroyed.’ [4]
An important point is made in the introduction that “Narcissism is a psycho-cultural affliction rather than a physical disease, but the model fits remarkably well.” Indeed it does. This understanding is vital for comprehending the depth to which psychopathy has filtered down from the top after similarly infecting the centres of power within all institutions, examples of which will be explored in the next chapter and beyond.
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What if extreme entitlement and exploitation of others makes these individuals more likely to extreme forms of rage, aggression and violence against innocent people even in the absence of provocation? In fact, recent scholarship has identified this probability in narcissists along with some researchers suggesting that pathological narcissism may actually be psychopathy: “…when egocentricity, lack of empathy, and sense of superiority of the narcissist blends with the impulsivity, deceitfulness, and criminal tendencies of the antisocial, the result is a psychopathic individual who seeks gratification of selfish impulses through any means without remorse or empathy.” [7]
Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung saw “Every form of addiction [as] bad, no matter whether the narcotic be it alcohol, morphine or idealism.”
The word “addiction” for most people instantly conjures up the addled alcoholic or heroine user, perhaps the late night gambler or street-child glue-sniffer. There is certainly a case to be made that substance abuse is a major problem in the modern world. When worldwide sales of cocaine earn more than Microsoft, McDonald’s and Kellogg’s combined, then we know we have a major problem in our culture. [1] However, there is a flipside to a more covert form of addiction. A culture that sees only its own reflection will not only stagnate but will seek more and more sensation and distraction to claw back any sense of self. When you have a society bereft of meaning – any old substitute will do, however fake and illusory. If it serves the power brokers strategies for corporate or political compliance, then all the better. The philosopher John Ruskin once said that: “a man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel,” and the smaller the parcel the more difficult it is to unwrap.
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Narcissism is closely aligned to addiction in all its forms. Both are self-absorbed and consider their own needs before anyone else. Both exhibit a failure of self-regulation [2] the substance abuser visiting greater and greater destructiveness upon his health and relationships and the narcissist, through his addiction to the admiration of others where unimpeachable façade actually repels healthy relationships and increases the intensity of craving. Yet each will exercise self-regulation only insofar as it achieves their self-centred goals. Just as the drug addict feeds his need with crack, so too the narcissist uses people as props to feed his own façade, which unless pathological, phases in an out of intensity. Ultimately, flattery, admiration and attention are never enough and so they seek more and more, just like the substance abuser. If narcissism is a form of addiction and addiction is a form of narcissism, they are surely two sides of the same coin. This means that the definition of addiction is misplaced and encompasses a great deal more than we may realise.
Narcissism and addiction are such close bedfellows because we live in social systems which generally elevate a fake emotional currency as the only means of exchange thus our reality becomes increasingly defined by examples of addictive behaviour en masse. But as we shall discover as we go on, the nature of addiction is compartmentalised towards the obvious like class-A drugs, smoking, alcohol and gambling. What about other less socially acceptable forms? We can be addicted to video-games, i-phones, anti-depressants, sex, pornography, a toxic relationship, exercise, shopping and many more which can slip under the radar of our conceptual models but nevertheless be found under the umbrella of serious addiction.
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If logical, sensible and innovative alternatives seek a hearing they are hard pressed to penetrate the pathological constructs that now define societies. It is then that we must collectively begin to question, where does this narcissism, addiction and dislocation really come from?
Before we gradually answer that question let’s a have a look at the official culture in which we find ourselves and paint a picture of some of the commercial and institutional pathologies which are now taken as the normal part of our modern day existence in the West. Once we do this we will be in a better position to go deeper as this exploration progresses.
Full Series and Notes:
http://infrakshun.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/the-rise-of-narcissism-and-the-loss-of-meaning-i/