I am willing to pursue personal development; but I will only do it if it is done according to values and practices with which I agree. If you think that love is codependence or transference, or that genius is narcissism, or that religion and spirituality is weakness and irrationality, or that imagination and creativity is compensation for inadequacy, or that altruism is low self-esteem, or that everything that happens to people is a reflection of what’s in their consciousness, then you can count me out. The people who adopt such beliefs don’t get better, they get worse.
Some of the worst beliefs that were ever had found their way into psychology. That is the case with both mainstream psychology and New Age. Mainstream psychology is organized bigotry, claiming spiritual experiences and creativity to be mental illness. And New Age would excuse any crime under the sun under the claim that the person experiencing it has brought it about.
I have known a number of people who had explanations for things. Some of these were better than others. The same thing would be portrayed as great by someone and terrible by someone else. The same person will be portrayed as great by someone and terrible by someone else. In all cases the people proposing these explanations were certain that they were right. Making sense as to who actually was right and about what is a tall task and one that demands a lot of thinking.
Christianity proposes one way to personal development: relationship with Christ. Buddhism and Hinduism proposes another way: meditation and yoga. There are all sorts of paths, both religious and secular, that recommend introspection. That, once again, is valid. What is not valid is many paradigms according to which this introspection is done.
So we have people claiming that I am whining or blaming. No, I am practicing social and political analysis. And we have people claiming that me having been in love a number of times is narcissism. No, it is not about what I feel for myself but about what I feel for the other person. Or people think that my spiritual experiences are insanity. Something is insanity if it exists only in his head. Something that corresponds with events that take place outside of oneself is not insanity, it is reality.
So that while I recommend – and practice – self-analysis, I would caution people away from many who recommend such a thing. They are going to introject into your mind false cognitions and misconstrue or misrepresent you. Do such a thing only with people you can trust, or by yourself. And when the people you cannot trust intrude, keep them away.