The Black Ribbon Campaign

"Your ego is your own worst
enemy, and anybody
being nice to it is not
being compassionate to you."
- Ken Wilber


The problem is staring us in the face

According to a recent Population Reference Bureau study on cross-cultural neuroses, over 2.5 billion people around the world suffer from the same disease: narcissism. By late 2012, through the increasing trend of globalization, or what New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman calls the “flattening” of the world, this epidemic may affect nearly every human being on the planet.

The plague is only growing. It’s time to find a cure.

What is narcissism?

Psychologists define it one way, spiritual teachers another. Here we define narcissism as the incessant self-infatuation displayed by the separate sense of self, or ego. In the classic Greek story of Echo and Narcissus, from which the term “narcissism” originates, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection. Ignoring the cries of Echo, his would-be friend and lover, he withered away as he admired himself reflected in the surface of a pond.

Detached, uncaring, isolated, and alone: this is the fate of all narcissists. Don’t let it happen to you.

Is it really such a big deal?

The world is in a state of crisis. Today, like never before, humanity faces serious threats to its continued existence on this planet. Global warming, religious terrorism, nuclear arms proliferation, incurable viral contagions, peak oil, unchecked bioengineering, environmental degradation, Paris Hilton, and the ever-present threat of killer asteroids may seem like big problems. But these problems get far bigger when no one has the mental space to deal with them—when 99% of everyone’s attention is focused, 24/7, on themselves.

So what can I do about it?

“If you would deny the ego and scorch it by ignoring it,” said the 20th-century spiritual master Ramana Maharshi, “you would be free.”

That’s sage advice. Here at the Black Ribbon Campaign, we’re committed to making such a freedom a reality—not only for the chosen few, the spiritual elites, but for millions of perfectly ordinary narcissists out there just like you. On this website you’ll find the tools and information you need to help yourself, your friends, and your family to overcome the scourge of endless self-concern. You’ll find the inspiration, the direction, and the subversive techniques required to begin spreading the word about this most egregious and debilitating dis-ease.

So wear the black ribbon with pride, and join us in our fight against ego everywhere.

Together, we can find a cure.

http://www.theblackribbon.org/