A. H. Almaas - The Point of Existence: Transformations of Narcissism in Self-Realization

Almaas is one of the most significant voices for a new and remarkably integrated spiritual vision. His work connects the personal, the universal, the psychological and the spiritual not as pieces put together, but as the inseparable mandala of the sacred that we are. I respect his work to the highest degree and commend it to anyone interested in living the life of the spirit.

Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., author of After the Ecstasy, the Laundry

Almaas is an astute and brilliant explorer. The Point of Existence is remarkable in its thoroughness, detail and depth. In it he shows how the universal narcissism of everyday life is an incomplete stage of development which can only be overcome through realization of ones deepest most essential nature. This is a book to study, to contemplate, to live with, and to use as a guide on ones journey.

John Welwood, Ph.D., author of Toward a Psychology of Awakening

Almaass The Point of Existence is a supremely original and unique work, of immense significance for anyone involved in a spiritual path. Its far-reaching reformulations of narcissism as the defining dimension of ordinary personality and the major barrier to self-realization offer a great promise and challenge to both transpersonal and psychotherapeutic orthodoxies. It will be studied and debated by psychologists, spiritual practitioners, and theologians for years to come.

Harry Hunt, Ph.D., author of On the Nature ofConsciousness

This pioneering work renders outdated both the psychologists traditional avoidance of deeper dimensions of experience and the mystics dismissal of psychology. The sophistication of this work is stunning and the views stimulating to our sense of what human identity is and what we can be.

Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D., co-author of The Feminine Face of God

ABOUT THE BOOK

In this book, the author explores the underlying spiritual understanding of narcissism. He presents a detailed map of the steps involved in working through barriers that prevent us from recognizing the most essential nature of our true identity.

A. H. ALMAAS is the pen name of Hameed Ali, the Kuwaiti-born originator of the Diamond Approach, who has been guiding individuals and groups in Colorado, California, and Europe since 1976. He is the author of Spacecruiser Inquiry, The Pearl Beyond Price, Facets of Unity, and other books.

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DIAMOND MIND SERIES: III

THE POINTofEXISTENCE

Transformations of Narcissism in Self-Realization

A. H. Almaas

SHAMBHALA

Boston & London

2012

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, MA 02115

www.shambhala.com

1996 A-Hameed Ali

Published by arrangement with Diamond Books

Cover photo: NASA/courtesy of World Perspectives, San Raphael, CA.

Cover design: Chris Mol

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Almaas, A.H.

The point of existence: transformation of narcissism in self-realization / A.H. Almass.1st Shambhala ed.

p. cm.

Originally published: Berkeley, CA: Diamond Books, 1996.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2509-3

ISBN 978-0-936713-09-0 (alk. paper)

1. Narcissism. 2. Self-actualization (Psychology) I. Title.

BF575.N35 A45 2000

158.1dc21

00040032

DEDICATION

Dedicated with love, humility, joy and gratitude to

The majestic mystery of Being;

The authentic fulfillment of our lives and hearts,

The essence of liberation,

The truth of divinity,

Our true nature and the true nature of everything,

Our true home,

And ultimate source.

CONTENTS

to the

Diamond Mind Series

The Point of Existence is the third volume in the Diamond Mind Series. This series is a systematic presentation of a particular body of knowledge, which we call Diamond Mind, and its corresponding modus operandi, a way of working with people toward inner realization, which we call the Diamond ApproachSM. The presentation is somewhat technical and hence, it will be useful to psychologists, psychotherapists, educators and spiritual teachers, but also accessible to the educated reader. This work is in response to a need being felt in many quarters; a need for a spiritually informed psychology, or conversely, for a psychologically grounded spirituality. This perspective does not separate psychological and spiritual experience and hence, sees no dichotomy between depth psychology and spiritual work. Through a creative critique and investigation, this system incorporates elements of depth psychologyparticularly those of ego psychology and object relations theory, and extends them into realms of the human psyche which are usually considered the domain of religion, spirituality and metaphysics.

This body of knowledge is not an integration or synthesis of modern depth psychology and traditional spiritual understanding. The inclination to think in terms of integration of the two is due to the prevailing belief in the dichotomy between the fields of psychology and spirituality, a dichotomy in which the Diamond Mind understanding does not participate.

The Diamond Mind knowledge is a multifaceted understanding of the nature of human beings, our consciousness or psyche, and the potential for expansion of our capacity for experience and inner development. Several points regarding the nature of this understanding will help to place it in context:

1. This knowledge includes an understanding of normal psychological functioning which also sheds light on some prevalent mental disorders. It adopts many of the findings of modern depth psychology, situates them in a more comprehensive view of humankind, and also establishes their relevance for the pursuit of deeper truths about human nature beyond the levels psychology generally penetrates.

2. The psychological understanding is set within a metapsychological perspective that includes a broad outline of the domains of experience and functioning of the human psyche or soul. This metapsychology is not spelled out in any one of the volumes of the series, but is gradually developed throughout its several books.

3. This metapsychology is in turn set within a metaphysical outlook in which psychological experience is situated within a phenomenology of Being.

4. This work demonstrates that what is usually considered psychological investigation can arrive at dimensions of experience which have always been considered to be the product of spiritual practice or discipline. The psychological work is seen here not as an adjunct to spiritual practice, but as a spiritual practice on its own. This is the specific contribution of the Diamond Mind body of knowledge which inspired this series.

5. Not only can psychological investigation lead to realms of experience previously relegated to the spiritual; this work shows that when psychological understanding is refined by an openness to ones spiritual nature, such investigation, if pursued deeply, inevitably will penetrate into the realm of spiritual, religious or mystical understanding. In the course of such exploration, one result is that many currently prevalent psychological dysfunctions, such as some forms of narcissism and schizoid isolation, are revealed as direct consequences of spiritual alienation, which therefore cannot be truly resolved by traditional psychotherapy.