A.H. Almaas Diamond Approach
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y

 

Narcissistic Issues

To truly deal with the narcissistic issues one must go through the shell in a very specific way. It is not enough to experience only the narcissistic emptiness; understanding the shell is an important part of the process of understanding and working through the narcissistic constellation. The most important part of this work, the part where a school and a teacher are almost indispensable, is that of exposing to consciousness the narcissistic situation. Most people are not aware of the narcissistic nature of many of their expressions; in fact they resist such awareness. (The Point of Existence, pg 223)

 

narcissistic issues

 

Narcissistic Constellation

We call this group of states, conditions and structures of the self, “the narcissistic constellation.”

  • The disconnection of the self from its essential Presence manifests as a profound and deep wound to the self… Centrally, the narcissistic wound is caused by the decathexis of the Essential Identity.
  • Alienation from Essential Identity leads to the loss of the profound sense of value and preciousness intrinsic to the sense of one’s identity with Being. Value is a quality of Being which, when lost leads to a loss of self-esteem…
  • The alienation from the Essential Identity results in narcissistic emptiness. This feels like a deficient emptiness, the specific deficiency being the feeling of absence of the sense of self…
  • The emptiness and the wound make up one structure, the emptiness wound…
  • Reactions to this injury include narcissistic rage, envy and depression…
  • The narcissistic injury, that is, the emptiness-wound and its various associated affects and reactions is covered over by the self-identity, through the identification with self-images and their associated affects. The overall structure of self-identity is sometimes experienced as a shell around the deficient emptiness
  • One does not usually experience the shell directly as a shell … The usual experience of what we are calling a shell is the sense of self characterized by a specific feeling of identity …
  • The more narcissistic the person, in other words, the greater the distance from the Essential Identity – indicating greater narcissistic injury in childhood – the more her identity is based on the grandiose self. (The Point of Existence, pg 216)