Narcissism

[Firetree]

I seem to be dealing with an invasion of narcissism ... I mean an 'outside invasion' , of a suspected 'clinical narcissist ' . Its an interesting subject matter . I have been finding the necessity to research lately .

Hmmm ... better make sure about me . I did a variety of on- line psych checks ( yeah I know ... they are little more than a game ) . Seems all good .

But what an intersting history ... I need to go back to some original stuff . I will reread Ovid metamorphosis for the myth and go on from there ?

is anyone familiar with that myth ?

The slog onwards .... there may be more entries related to that . One thing is that some reoate it to the 'magician type' personality ... I can see that , except in the magical tradition where a magician is supposed to be working on developing and balancing themselves , including psychologically ( eg Israel Regardie ; as well as an accomplished magician he was a ..... '' a chiropractor and a lay therapist (psychologist) with training in Jungian and Wilhelm Reichian techniques. While he taught psychiatry at a chiropractic college and used psychological methods in his practice, he was not a medical doctor.''

 

[Dènye Patwon]

Not sure what you're at exactly but balance is always key. I don't deal with narcissist ideations but I do deal with my own problems that do require medications at times to balance myself out so I do not get out of 'whack'. For some, it's easier said than done. For others like myself it may even take more work than just that because it involves letting go of things that do help but also hinder you so you may have to find out more options to getting stable. Assuming you are into magick, you don't want to jump into magick all Willy-Nilly, you want to be level headed and precise. I assume whatever is bothering you has hit a core inside of your well being, otherwise you wouldn't be looking here. I would suggest looking to a doctor with your concerns. I feel that Psychology & Magick go hand in hand.

Take care.

 

[HoldAll]

I'd say the mere fact that you're asking yourself whether you might be a narcissist yourself means that you aren't one. Narcissist wouldn't question themselves in such a way unless they're trying to look cute and insightful, and your post doesn't feel like that in the least.

Am I getting mad at something or someone because my outrage is justified or because of my own hangups, complexes, emotional biases, etc.? Is that person unwittingly pushing my buttons? I think this is why Regardie recommended psychotherapy for fledgeling magicians, and it's also the reason behind Bardon's Soul Mirror or the Ancient Greek Gnothi seauton! ("Know thyself!"). Religions tend to encourage remorseless self-codemnation for perceived sinfulness but I've found that dispassionate introspection is the best way, observing oneself without judging or because any self-flagellation would only feed my personal penchant for needless drama. This advice also pertains to characterstics you approve of and find beneficial, so it's helpful to create a comprehensive personality catalogue (viz. Soul Mirror) instead of focussing exclusively on one's weaknesses. In that way, you'll be able to establish your own personality baseline, so to speak, and become better at deciding whether your intuition is correct in a certain instance or if it's tainted by the peculiarities of your own psychological makeup and thus skewed.

Again, nothing is gained by guilt-tripping over one's flaws and being one's own worst critic. If you've identified some narcissist tendencies inside you after all, observe in which situations they tend to come to the fore, how they help or hinder you, how people react to them, etc. I'm a compulsive journaller but have now discovered that verbal analysis doesn't get me any forrader, so my own personal motto for introspection is "What is really there?", observing myself without discursive thinking and only jotting down a couple of sentences here and there instead of filling page after rambling page with vainglorious descriptions of my insights when not attacking myself for perceived flaws and weaknesses. Sounds cool in theory but may well be just another example of my own self-centredness .

If true narcissists could be bothered to engage in introspection, they'd only find wonderful stuff deep down themselves that would only make them feel more unique and admirable but unless you're a saint, it's pretty mucky down there. Strangely enough, that muck may also be the source of much of my power. I notice that during randori, there seems to be some unwarranted desperation, possibly from childhood imprints, that makes me tense and over-aggressive. However, such muck-raking in the unconscious easily leads to more self-centredness in my case, so I try not to think of it as all-important for my spiritual growth. It's been an adventure so far.