[FRIAM] narcissism

[uǝlƃ ☣]

That's a fantastic question! I can't answer. But I'll definitely start injecting that question into what I read. I have run across those communities that talk about techniques for increasing one's charisma, mostly in the context of trying to understand the alt-right, involuntary celibates, pick-up-artists, and their intersection with the rationalists. That concept of installing new triggers was from the rationalists and, I think, enlightened by cognitive behavior therapy.  Such conscious manipulation of other people must overlap with the tactics of narcissists.

But the inverse map is more interesting, I suppose. To what extent is there an innate charisma? And to what extent do people with innate charisma, as they grow up from babies, *learn* to be entitled and/or manipulative because their charisma facilitates such entitlement/manipulation? We've all heard that "beautiful people" have easier lives. To what extent is that folk psychology true, real, amenable to experimentation? There must be some science out there about that.

On 4/29/20 5:36 PM, Prof David West wrote:
> In early-mid 1970, I did a study of cults in California. It was an ethnographic study and my methodology was participant observation which means I spent a lot of time participating in cult activities as well as interviewing and observing cult leaders cult rituals, and cult practices.
> 
> I spent the summer interacting with about twenty cults including the Raelians, Heaven's Gate, Peoples Temple, Eckanar, Children of God, Source Family, Fellowship of Friends ...  I met some Branch Davidians but did not meet David Koresh. I did meet Jim Jones and attended several Peoples Temple services in Oakland before they went to Guyana.
> 
> The smallest, and strangest, cult was three people: two of the most beautiful and sexual women I have ever met and I guy that put himself in suspended animation — yogic style lowered respiration, heartbeat, and body temperature — for period up to 13 consecutive days. The women would anoint his body with oils, clean up his eliminations, and watch over him while "working on another plane" then have non-stop 3-way Roman orgies (food, drink, drugs, sex) when he was "awake."
> 
> I never used the term or the description of narcissist to describe any of the cult leaders I met. Charismatic was the most used descriptive term, followed very closely with empathic. Empathic in the sense of being aware of the psychic needs of the membership and able to cater to them. The same skill used by Tarot readers and "psychics."
> 
> I am looking for the paper - it is on a Zip drive somewhere in either Word 1.0 or WordPerfect format.
> 
> The question for this thread: what is the relationship, if any, between narcissism and charisma?

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