Meditative Transformations of Narcissism

Attempts by theorists of transpersonal psychology to explain the place of meditation within an overall framework encompassing Western notions of the development of the self often see meditation as a "therapeutic" intervention most appropriate for those possessing a "fully developed" sense of self. This approach has been useful in distinguishing transpersonal levels of development from early, pre-oedipal levels, but appears to have sidestepped the issue of how Buddhist meditation practice, for example, could be seen as therapeutic for psychological issues that have their origin in the infantile experience of the meditator. The emergence of object relations theory and the psychodynamics of narcissism has provided a vocabulary more relevant for the discussion of such influences than was Freud's original drive theory that stressed the evolution and persistence of unconscious (Russell, 1986) aspects of libido and aggression. It has been noted that some of those attracted to meditation have demonstrable narcissistic pathology (Epstein & Lieff, 1981;Engler, 1983; 1984),but the role of meditation in transforming narcissistic pathology has not yet been explored. By focusing on two particular dynamic structures relevant to narcissism, the ego ideal and the ideal ego, and charting how these psychic structures are affected by the meditative path, it is possible to begin to unravel the complex relationship between meditation and narcissism.