The Point of Existence

The Point of Existence: Transformations of Narcissism in Self-Realization

by A. H. Almaas

ISBN: 0936713097
ISBN-13: 9780936713090


From the Publisher

THE POINT OF EXISTENCE describes the underlying spiritual basis for the common understanding of narcissism, which is the experience of a disturbance in the inner sense of self and the resulting need for constant reflection from the outside. This vulnerability in the inner experience of identity arises out of a basic separation from the essential presence which is the source of a true self.

The purpose of this book is to support the reader in the development of spiritual maturity and completeness. The larger aim is to contribute to the development of humanity in the service of ultimate spiritual truth.

Reviews

"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 one's deepest most essential nature. This is a book to study, to contemplate, to live with, and to use as a guide on one's journey." — John Welwood, Ph.D., author of Toward a Psychology of Awakening

"Almaas's 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 of Consciousness

"This pioneering work renders outdated both the psychologist's traditional avoidance of deeper dimensions of experience and the mystics dismissal of psychology.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