Navigating in the Age of the Narcissist
CNI Evolution, Protips and Supporting CNI
Hello everyone striving to find safe harbors, trustworthy answers and to figure out how to heal and/or do the most “solutional” good in a dysfunctional world.
Six months ago in late February, after a few months of research on Elon Musk, I posted a four part psychological profile monetizing experiment. This often requested profile was definitely more commercially-oriented than the psychological-political analysis my readers on DemCast were used to, so it seemed best on Substack.
I had remembered my stockbroker Dad shared his very expensive investment newsletters with me and thought if Dad paid $100s for information that helped him understand his investments better, those in tech or with financial interests in Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter or a curiosity about any one of Elon’s many endeavors would pay a mere $5 for such useful and unique investment analysis. Certainly anyone invested in Twitter would have known to run for the hills long ago, because psychological probabilities said antisocial Elon was doomed to death-spiral in social media.
Unbeknownst to me, this was also the birth of Counter-Narcissist Intelligence on multiple levels. At the time, CNI was only an interesting phrase thought up the previous year as a possible think tank name. In the beginning, it just fit the bill as a descriptive temporary publication moniker.
As days went by, my first quandaries came about when using CNI in a sentence. Of course the name of a publication is capitalized but as I kept adding more content to establish more credibility, and subscribership and positive feedback grew steadily, it became apparent that the publication was in reality the launch of a long-planned out think tank, school of thought and much more, so while it was not always clear where and when to capitalize the term, it was off to a very nice start.
One of CNI’s first natural evolutions happened when the aspirational think tank’s very clear cause and mission automatically synchronized with the publication without me thinking about it or even noticing. i.e. Almost every value associated with CNI’s cause and mission was taken from my long-contemplated think tank concept research. I suppose I was too focused on new research and creating more good content to immediately register such an organic and seamless merger.
Even more thought-provoking, it also soon became obvious that, “Counter-Narcissist Intelligence” could by definition be the name of an assembled psychological, political, business and life philosophy discovered or re-discovered a decade ago. Since that time, the philosophy has only been steadily growing stronger, but has mostly continued to quietly evolve without paradox or a name until it recently revealed itself by fitting so well with CNI on seemingly every level.
It is inspiring for me personally that Counter-Narcissist Intelligence is so much more than it was just six or even three months ago, so I want to sincerely thank all of the community and Substack for creating the environment that helped, inspired and encouraged CNI’s rapid evolution. You all certainly helped me see how much more sculpture was still hidden beneath the stone.
However, the beauty of this cause and mission is it is not about me because that would be in complete contradiction to everything CNI stands for, and what better thing to have in life than a clear and honorable mission to help others better recognize, understand and defend themselves against unspoken human psychological dangers lurking in every type of situation, community, culture and society.
That is why I am also very happy to report that from an internal perspective, this deep, fun and wild ride in building a community has mostly gone a fair amount better than expected. Of course it is all relative but coming up on 600 subscribers in six months has definitely exceeded expectations. I have always known most people need some Counter-Narcissist Intelligence, because almost every one of us has to deal with at least one or more malignant narcissists sooner or later.
No doubt after experiencing it once, most realize it is definitely much better to recognize who and what you are dealing with early on. With experience, you learn you need to figure out how to best psychologically manage the situation for yourself and others you care about before too much damage is done. Sadly as many of you know, children of narcissists never get that chance until much later in life because they are usually forced to grow up in a trapped, gaslit survival mode. For those who know what I am talking about, CNI is a safe and increasingly stronger space that wants to help you heal.
On the positive side, every member of the CNI community is valued, appreciated and welcome in helping forward the cause and mission of countering unhealthy narcissism. I know this sounds like false flattery but pathological narcissists always try to divide and isolate those they prey on. That means at a minimum, the larger we are and with each additional person who learns they are not alone and is gaining knowledge about the tells, weaknesses and pathologies of narcissists, the more the light side gets exponentially stronger, and the dark side gets exponentially weaker, because exposure usually keeps these toxic manipulators from sneaking up on those in the know and those we look after.
Due to the negative aspects of the subject matter, it only stands to reason that we should always search for signs of positivity, strength and to celebrate our small victories. Especially because pathological narcissists hate all bright sides that do not serve them. Our joy and happiness also weakens them because sincere and true positivity gives us more internal fortitude to defeat their relentless cravings for more. Another bright side that shows our community’s strength is seeing the big name company CNI is now keeping on many subscription lists. Indeed, the journalists, writers, commentators, thinkers and experts CNI is now being assembled with is truly humbling, inspiring and reaffirming.
Speaking of truly humbling and inspiring, I also cannot thank Thom Hartmann enough for his kind recommendation at the publication’s launch. Currently 137 or 23% of CNI’s subscribers have come to our community via his recommendation. My message to Thom and his community is I will always do my best to be worthy of his intuitive recognition and the way he has always conducted himself as a gentleman with honor and integrity. I have seen him off and on for decades and he has always been honest about his beliefs and respectful of the beliefs of others.
Additionally, Thom’s vast international experience and psychotherapist background gives him unique intersectional knowledge and understanding of the interplay between politics and psychology. From what I have seen, because of his background he is better at discussing psychology than every other major media figure I have ever listened to, and I have been listening for many years. More are developing but his long-established unique understanding of malignant narcissism, history and politics is why his recommendation is so personally meaningful, putting him right there with Dr. Bandy X. Lee in my lifetime gratitude book.
While I know I am a bit more aggressive in tone, snark and language due to my mission to drive a mostly hidden subject-matter forward and a bit more fiery nature, like Thom I too consider myself a “radical moderate,” which means while I may be much more blunt and rock n roll style than he is, I am also always striving to be reasonable and inclusive of all valid POVs whenever possible.
That is why few things please me more than having a community that ranges from the far right to the far left. Again, like Thom, I have always been most interested in things that bring us together as a country and a world. What else is uniting almost all ideologies right now other than wanting to identify and remove narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths from positions of power in our countries, politics, cultures, communities and the ones who abuse us, or loved ones in our personal lives?
Another wonderful and inspiring bright side is our broad geographic nature. We are now in 46 states and 32 countries across six continents, so anywhere there is internet in the world, people are finding useful CNI, they find out they are not crazy or alone, and see the problem as the global issue it is.
It is true that the analysis usually has a strong American tilt but if you have not noticed yet, the psychology analyzed and revealed will almost always apply to many other like-minded pathological narcissists in every other country of the world as well. I can say this with some authority because my background is in International Relations. Of course it saddens me that my country, currently being a glass house, makes throwing many overt global stones quite hypocritical, so once again the philosophy’s ethics clearly define the current primary focus.
i.e. I am focused on issues with America’s narcissists first but our issues are mostly the same as any other country’s psychological issues, so when I am talking about our pathological narcissists, I am often talking about every other country too. I will still do my best to cover the most pressing global psychological issues, differences and “dark travelers” like Putin. The CNI focus is always looking for that perfect intersection between what interests us most, is most pertinent to the moment, what the people want to know, and what covers the most or best ground.
Personally, I dream of a day when my focus can go back to mostly global interests, writing stories and songs, because our American situation has improved. All it will take each time this happens again to stop the madness is continuing vigilance, CNI type think tanks, and a critical mass of America forcefully saying about these disordered minds who have snuck into various levels of power they are not qualified for, ENOUGH!
I would much rather be working on my 92 year old Scottish step-father Clifford’s request (who has edited for me for many years so I owe him one or more) for a psychological profile of Modi of India, but that is at least a 4-6 week project to do it justice, so I had to relay it is on the list, but far in the back for now, because America is still in great peril from these mentally disordered minds. Of course if someone wanted to fund a Modi psychological profile or another that would then help fund CNI, it could jump near the top of a very long “to do” list. There is never a shortage of things to psychologically profile in this Narcissist Age.
If you have interest in having someone or something profiled, please note that while the public CNI profiles are honest, deep, cutting, revealing and likely good for the lifetime of the subject, they are the PG-13 versions of what really lies beneath, because certain darknesses are the kinds of things best shared off the record, hence privately commissioned profiles and analysis go far deeper if the evidence and data are there to back it up.
Navigation, Protips, Support and Updated Messages for CNI:
1 - Please do not think of CNI in a traditional Substack publication sense. What is called an “archive” here is really just a listing of various types of psychological intelligence, thought and analysis, with each piece having multiple layers and applications. What makes this nonfiction different is that properly interpreted psychology ages very slowly, so our highest recommendation is to regularly scan the “archive” for areas relevant to your interests, and re-read pieces when applicable. They are written in a way that as your psychological knowledge grows, you will discover new layers that will not register when less versed in the more abstract subject matter.
Thus, a lot of what you really want to know now is already there, and most is as fresh and relevant today as it was on the day it was written, so once again, please regularly scan the “archive” for info relevant to your areas of growth and/or interests.
Just to show the newer members of the community how well the vast majority of CNI’s psychological analysis stays relevant to today, this 2015 trump/christie tweet aged so well it applies to 2024.
CNI recommended starter reads:
trump and His Party of Flying Monkeys
Dark Online Trolls: A Psychological Profile
How Psychiatry and Psychology Are Failing Democracy
How the News is Psychologically Broken and How to Fix It
Counter-Narcissist Intelligence in Action: Weaponizing Paradoxes
The Putin Illusion / The Dangerous Case of the DeSantis Variant
2 - “LIKES” = love (and support)
Hitting LIKES on articles you find worthy is the easiest non-monetary way to help the cause, because “likes” let me know if I am doing a good job from your perspective, makes me feel good about myself and of course boosts the internet ranking of the piece and CNI. i.e. Likes = Love.
Unfortunately, likes are clunky in the email version because Substack would prefer you to use their app. Admittedly, there are almost always a few minor errors and improvements noticed after each post email is sent out. Thus the online edit will almost always be an improved version of the email that comes out hot off the press, so the app is usually a better read. Side benefit, liking something is also easier for the reader in the Substack program. You should not need to download anything new. It is just about using their interface which will pop up by clicking “like” in the email.
3 - Exciting new things coming soon such as amazingly insightful pieces from guest authors, CNI podcasts and more.
4 - If you want to fight back against what narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths are doing to good people and our beautiful world and can easily afford to support CNI’s cause and mission at $5 a month, $60 a year or as a $250 founding member, why wouldn’t you? Until funding is hopefully secured in the near future, your support does so much to keep the mission going strong and focused on the prize of the better world we all seek.
If you are financially well off and like what CNI does, you are helping many others by providing what is essentially a donation to the righteous cause of countering narcissism around the world. If you are like the majority of people in the world where money is tight, know that you are most welcome and loved as a free subscribing member of the community, and should never feel any guilt about not being able to provide financial support, because the CNI mission is in large part for you. The hope is psychology will make your life less stressful by revealing psychological illusions and what or who is really behind the curtain.
Remember, your paid subscription is about far more than a publication. It funds building the foundation of a think tank, Counter-Narcissist research, investigation, analysis and strategy that we can all share with the world for free, as long as there is funding. What is better than better intelligence that can often help others understand how to more strategically and safely stand up and be a bulwark of goodness, freedom and a warrior for truth in The Age of Narcissism?
Of course all financial support is so helpful and appreciated because it adds up, but I do need to give a special shout out to those who have purchased yearly and founding subscriptions. Those larger chunks of change have really helped CNI progress this quickly, and keeps providing proof of concept, that those who believe in the cause and can afford to support the work will do so when they know about it.
It was always the plan of the think tank to find a few like-minded philanthropists to fund the mission, so philanthropist is exactly what anyone who can afford to become a paid subscriber is graciously being for me at the moment. I have not sought out funding yet but hope to do so in the near future. Certainly there are multi-millionaires and billionaires who want to fight back against malignant narcissists ruining our planet and making it so we can’t have nice things. Of course if anyone can assist in connecting potentially interested philanthropists or have commercial work CNI can do for you, all inquiries are welcome.
5 - Not Receiving Email Post Notifications?
At any given time 8-10% never receive an email post notification. It is usually a spam or firewall filter problem. Please find the Substack instructions.
As often noted, narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths are sharks usually stealthily swimming amongst us in society because many in the psychology field, media and academia stay silent due to outdated, misguided and/or financially punitive ethical constraints. One of the competitive advantages that makes CNI different is we are not bound by any outdated or self-destructive ethical constraints of a particular profession, so can say things about psychology the above professions usually cannot or will not say.
Please do not misunderstand. It is CNI code of conduct to uphold the highest forms of moral, ethical and empirical psychological standards and I know most in these fields do too, but to me one of the highest forms of ethics is to not stay silent when someone hypocritically claims high morals and ethics when they are in fact acting immorally and unethically. It does seem very weak and wrong for those in the psychology, media and academic fields who can speak up about these dangerous disorders to stay silent.
As pillars of civil society, do they not all have a “duty to warn” the public of clear and present dangers that are pathologically and predatorily hunting humanity’s freedoms and democracies around the world? A psychological disorder should not be a free pass or cloak of invisibility to destroy society in plain sight. How are experts being muzzled instead of warning society about those who are pathologically trying to destroy us considered ethical?
Like the Scorpion and the Frog fable, for these human scorpions, domination or destruction is their nature. Ergo, if anyone in the psychology, media or academic fields with the knowledge of humanity’s natural predators that are currently destroying our required habitat and freedoms continues to stay silent, they seem either naive, narcissist spectrum ignorant, financially incentivized to stay silent, a follower, cult member, or on the payroll as a like-minded narcissist, sociopath or psychopath primed and ready to act out their scorpion nature.
Yes, the psychology, media and academic fields all have more than their fair share of these types of pathological narcissists malignantly hiding in plain sight as supposedly normal people. Most people understand scorpions will sting, so definitely not the best choice for a scorpion to have a job that requires empathy and caring about other people. This is exactly why free societies must root out of their governments the narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths who are incapable of compassionate empathy and caring for other people. Is it not self-destructive to hire people pre-programmed to exploit their jobs in “public service” due to their profit and power compulsions, and will shamelessly lie, deny and will blame others every single time, until their dying day? Sound like anyone you know?
Thank you again one and all for sharing your interest, valuable time and support, whether free subscriber, paid subscriber, private concern or those interested in funding our unique think tank standing against this current dark psychological tide. If you need intelligence for navigating in the Age of the Narcissist, you have come to the right place.
All My Best,
Sam
And I appreciate all of your work. This was actually my first paid subscription on Substack. May it continue to prosper as well.