> On 02/11/2014 12:09 AM, TurquoiseB wrote:
> >
> > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote:
> > >
> > > I'm glad I went back to check out the remaining episodes of
season one
> > > of "The Following" on Netflix. I had bailed after episode three
because
> > > it seemed to formulaic. Perhaps Bacon was thinking that too as the
> > > storylines improved over the remainder of the season. But now I'm
> > > caught up on the first three episodes of season two they are
pushing
> > the
> > > envelope farther.
> >
> > */Glad to hear it...I think it's an interesting series. Naturally,
> > given the three-year tutelage I spent talking with my psychiatrist
> > friend in Santa Fe who used to specialize in NPD (before he gave it
> > up, experience having taught him that the disorder was
untreatable), I
> > think the series kinda nails it. Also naturally, I see some strong
> > parallels between the TV show and what's going on lately on Fairfield
> > Life.
> >
> > My friend understood immediately my interest in his former specialty,
> > and spend considerable time talking with me and giving me
textbooks to
> > read about NPD, so that we could discuss my particular interest --
NPD
> > and how it relates to the "spiritual teacher" or "faux spiritual
> > teacher." They were great discussions, and I learned much from them.
> >
> > Now, of course, the Joe Carroll character in "The Following" is not a
> > one-to-one match for Robin Carlsen (or Rama, or any of the other
> > NPD-impaired teachers we discussed). Joe is a true psychopath, one
who
> > has allowed such free rein to his NPD that he's become a mass
> > murderer. But it's all three of their *tactics* when dealing with
> > their followers that interests me, and in which I see a strong
parallel.
> >
> > The person with NPD doesn't *have* a fixed history or "story." He or
> > she *makes it up as they go along*. They *tailor* what they say to
> > what the follower or prospective follower wants to hear, telling them
> > things "that they can't tell anyone else," making them feel
"special,"
> > as if "no one really understands them" the way that the person being
> > talked or written to does. Many people -- desperate for attention and
> > "specialness" -- fall for this routine, and actually *believe* the
> > stories being told to them. But none of them are true. They're just
> > tactics to get -- and keep -- another person "in their fold" and on
> > the hook.
> >
> > Now that it's finally been revealed that Robin conducted his cult
> > indoctrination/recruitment number not only in public on FFL but
> > individually (via "private email"), isn't it easier to understand
Judy
> > and Ann's near-psychotic devotion to him? Chances are in each of
those
> > emails he "tailored" what he said to each of them differently,
playing
> > off of each of their weaknesses and needs to make them feel
"special,"
> > and thus cause them to develop an allegiance with him. According to
> > Judy, he told her he was "near suicide" several times; does anyone
> > suspect that he didn't tell that to anyone else because he perceived
> > that as *her* weakness and samskara, and was "tailoring" his spiel to
> > her to make her feel "special?" And, of course, it worked. He
probably
> > told different things to Ann to get *her* to feel just as "devoted."
> >
> > The thing about Narcissistic Personality Disorder -- ironically,
given
> > Judy's hangup about lies and truth -- is that the truly NPD-afflicted
> > personality is *incapable* of "truth." EVERYTHING they say is a lie,
> > fabricated in the moment to "tailor" their spiel to the perceived
> > target they're trying to make feel "special." Judy is an "easy mark."
> > There has never been a person who CARES more about what other people
> > think of her on FFL than Judy Stein. Almost *all* of her posts are
> > about trying to force other people to see her the way that she sees
> > herself. In other words, she's budding NPD herself. Ann has more than
> > a little attention-seeking driving her as well, so she became another
> > "easy mark," even though *her own past history* with the guy should
> > have tipped her off as to how meaningless anything he says to her
> > really is.
> >
> > This is really my only interest in Robin Woolworth's Carlsen.
Given my
> > tutelage in NPD, its symptoms, and its unique ways of acting itself
> > out, I nailed him as NPD from his first "wall of words" solipsistic
> > posts. Had it not been for their weaknesses -- trying to find an
> > "ally" in their silly "war" against their "enemies" here on FFL --
> > Judy and Ann might have seen these traits as well. But they didn't.
> > Instead, they became followers.
> >
> > And they still are. Between the two of them, they have made 182 posts
> > this "posting week," in just over 72 hours, all but a few of them
> > about Robin Carlsen -- trying to "defend" him, trying to "explain"
his
> > oh-so-fabulous beliefs and theories, trying to "get" those who don't
> > like him and somehow get other people on the forum to discount what
> > they say.
> >
> > I call this cult behavior, and more specifically, behavior generated
> > as the result of being "played" by a person suffering from
> > Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Judy and Ann are the *victims*
> > here, and as such (and as human beings) deserve our pity. Their
> > *methods*, however, deserve to be pointed out and either made fun of
> > or questioned. They *really can't see* how far gone they are into
> > these Robin fantasies they try to share with us. Both of them seem to
> > imagine actual *relationships* with this guy, based on a few chat
> > posts and emails. One of these women never met the guy, and the other
> > hasn't seen him in 30 years, but they've been convinced by his NPD
> > spiel that "only they really know him." Sad, sad, sad.
> > /*
> >
> >
>