Transference: The virgin is a genius
Transference: The virgin is a genius.
When I was 16 I read a book by Napoleon Hill titled “Think and Grow Rich”, it was great – it taught me things I will never forget. I owe a lot to that book. I remember there was a chapter that explored the transmutation of sexual energy into a creative project or something worthwhile. The word transmute basically means to transfer energy. I was so engaged with that chapter. According to Napoleon Hill, the 5 known stimulants known to man are Friends, Music, Money, Love and Sex; with Sexual desire being the most powerful of human desires. He explained: “When driven by this desire, men develop keenness of imagination, courage, will-power, persistence, and creative ability unknown to them at other times. So strong and impelling is the desire for sexual contact that men freely run the risk of life and reputation to indulge it. When harnessed, and redirected along other lines, this motivating force maintains all of its attributes of keenness of imagination, courage, etc., which may be used as powerful creative forces in literature, art, or in any other profession or calling, including, of course, the accumulation of riches. The desire cannot, and should not be submerged or eliminated. But it should be given an outlet through forms of expression which enrich the body, mind, and spirit of man. If not given this form of outlet, through transmutation, it will seek outlets through purely physical channels.” Napoleon Hill states repressed sexual energy transmuted into an activity will give you untold creative powers and it makes sense, it has ground – we have examples. Namely Albert Einstein who transmuted this sexual energy into Science. The fruits that stemmed are that he developed the theory of relativity, he created the mass-energy equivalence formula, won a Nobel Peace Prize and discovered the law of photoelectric effect, a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. We also have Nikola Tesla, a Serbian Inventor who created AC (Alternating Current) wireless communication and the electric supply system. Nikola Tesla lit up our world! His work is at the basis of the internet, WIFI, Electric vehicles, lights and just about everything electrical. His patents are the foundation of modern life. These two men never engaged in sexual intercourse throughout their whole lives and maybe that’s why their achievements transcend. However, Napoleon Hill never stated be a virgin, he simply said transmute to another activity.
Shaun Carter, an American Rapper, Entrepreneur and Investor was born and raised in Marcy Houses Projects. A tough neighborhood for a young Carter who planned to be a mogul in the future. He was always surrounded by violence and drug activity. To survive and make money, he resorted to selling narcotics but he had a talent and he knew that this talent was the key. Young Carter was a poet, a magician with words and while he was selling narcotics on the side he was going to master and perfect this craft. To help him with the fulfillment of his destiny, he got himself a mentor who would assist him in his apprenticeship phase. A couple of years later, he left the narcotics business and focused solely on his craft. He ended up surpassing his mentor and at 26 in 1996, released his critically acclaimed debut album “Reasonable Doubt”. It was a success. The streets loved it and he was dubbed the future. He released top quality albums every year from 1996 to 2003. He was like a factory that had unlimited creativity and genius. Every day, every month, every year people were talking about Shaun now affectionately known as Jay –Z. He ruled Hip-Hop, he was the face and voice of Hip-Hop and influenced popular culture in a big way. He would start trends only to demolish them and start new ones. He had this power of persuasion, he was untouchable, slick like silk and at the forefront of the music industry. Every album he sold went Platinum – it was a mystery how he had been so good. Throughout his time hustling, Jay had been intelligent. He had been selective all the way through. As a result when he was selling narcotics for a living he couldn’t afford to have links – this resulted in him being alone and working alone. He had no sexual partners or female companions. He was always disciplined and opted to work on his craft instead. Shaun was always locked and focused to his destiny. Even after the success of Reasonable Doubt, he remained grounded in his work and destiny. This sexual transmuted energy into his creative endeavors enabled him to have untold powers – he became literally unstoppable. Winning became automatic. Money became automatic. At the peak of his powers in 2001, he released an album titled “The Blueprint” – without a doubt his best album, he wrote and recorded the lyrics in 2 days! The producers of the album spent more time on the album than him – the primary artist. Overall, the album was completed in 2 weeks – something unheard of considering the quality of the album. It sounds like an album that required 2 years to make. I think Jay –Z read “Think and Grow Rich”.
The godfather of psychology Sigmund Freud noted something interesting in his female clients. The more they offloaded on their problems, the more they fell in love with him. The female clients would exhibit strange behavior towards him. They became obsessive. They became irrational and unpredictable. They expressed their undying love for him. It was an interesting phenomenon. These women were projecting on to Freud. They made up Freud to be bigger than he is in their minds. They saw Freud as a father-figure. And because Freud reserved his comments and just listened, with his face emotionless like a blank screen, he had the aura of being distant which drove his patients wild with desire. Freud termed this type of projection as “Transference”. And he said of it “Transference indicates a need to exert complete control over external circumstance.” Erich Fromm said of this phenomenon “In order to overcome his sense of inner emptiness and impotence (man) chooses an object onto whom he projects all his own human qualities; his love, intelligence, courage etc. By submitting to this object, he feels in touch with his own qualities, he feels strong, wise, courageous, and secure. To lose the object means the danger of losing himself. This mechanism, idolatic worship of an object based on the fact of the individual’s alienation is the central dynamism of transference, that which gives transference its strength and intensity.” I find the transference topic interesting! I mean transference is the taming of terror! The less ego power one has and the more fear, the stronger the transference! I don’t think it’s a bad thing because transference is projection and projection is good, it is necessary because it is how we explore ourselves. Projection is a necessary unburdening of the individual. I will talk about Jay –Z again; In 2000 when he was 30 he met and started communicating with a 19 year old Beyoncé. Their relationship grew and Jay, started projecting himself on Beyoncé and she mirrored this energy that was given on by Jay. By mirroring Jay’s energy she created of herself something awesome. The exchange of energy between the couple was magical because it meant that now finally the great Shaun Carter could relax and let off some steam, now he can afford to trust and love someone and this came from a woman’s love. A woman’s love can move mountains – it changed and transformed Jay forever! And well, Jay’s energy, projection, transference complex and love made Beyoncé into a mogul!
Transference works when there is a level of mastery, when you understand yourself and your underlying motivations. When you have too many insecurities or deep rooted issues it can become a disaster. This is reflected on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s classic “The Sorrows of Young Werther” when a young Werther kills himself because his love interest Charlotte rejects him. Werther spends so much time alone with thoughts of Charlotte that he bills her up to more than she is. For him, she is the most perfect woman in the world. This is also reflected on Marcel Proust’s “In Search Of Lost Time” on the chapter “Swann in Love” when an upper echelon man falls in love with a peasant girl. He too is filled with illusions in his mind about the woman (Odette) that he can’t critically assess the reality of things. It is the classic “Man to save her” projection, he thinks he could make her better, he thinks he could save her, he thinks she loves her but in reality she’s using him to further herself and everyone can see that besides him because well “he is in love”. The man named Swann gives Odette so much power over him and when he realizes that she doesn’t love him, he is crushed and devastated. Such is the nature of the romantic cosmology – its suicide! Hence, Napoleon Hill’s statement on sexual energy is so spot on. Find an outlet for your sexual energy as it will amount to your personal mastery. Like how Jay –Z did it! He is like the biggest winner in life ever! Jay –Z is the first person in the history of humankind to win life! Life is not suffering for Jay- Z, he is happy! Wouldn’t you be happy if you were a Billionaire who had Beyoncé as a wife?
Self-mastery should always take priority over everything. You must have the will, patience and focus to follow through to your goals – there is no excuse! I am inspired by Thanos on the Marvel franchise “Avengers: Infinity Wars” – his focus is unbreakable! He has initiative, he is a thinker and he is imaginative! He thinks of a better world, a better reality for all of life in the Universe. He is Neurotic in the sense that he cannot accept the truth of existence. I think it was the same of Nikola Tesla – he had this remarkable power of imagination, he was a futurist! I think all great artists are neurotic, of course openness has to be another trait of the truly great artist and Thanos is just that. I wish I could see life in the life of a Schizophrenia patience. I mean they see life as it is – the truth of life, the horror, they don’t repress things so everything is on the canvas – imagine the creative power they possess! But I digress. In the movie, Thanos is in pursuit of these 6 stones that have the power to restart the world once collected in their entirety. In his conquest, there are a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of factors to consider, objects that are hindering him but he goes through everything! He does whatever it takes to reach his destiny. His will, focus and determination is awesome! He finally collects all the stones and he restarts the world.
Every living organism should strive to self-actualize. You should be driven to do whatever it takes to get to your desired goal. Not everyone will understand your dreams and goals and its perfect – just as long as you understand. You can’t turn to anyone to make you whole. Often we turn to the love partner for the experience of the heroic, for perfect validation, we expect them to “make us good” through love. This is not possible. One thing that is hopelessly confused in modern relationships is that one person is made the god-like judge over good and bad in the other. In the long run, this doesn’t work. The thing that makes God the perfect spiritual object is precisely that he is abstract. He is not concrete individuality and so He does not limit our development by His own personal will and needs. If you find the ideal love and try to make it the sole judge of good and bad in yourself, the measure of your strivings, you become simply the reflex of another person. You lose yourself in the other. Relationships can be slavery in another form. Napoleon Hill communicates that the suppression of sexual activities in favor of your goals and dreams is the best thing you could do for yourself.
In truth life is a burden and we will all suffer the same fate, namely death and the decaying of our bodies. Sex is disappointing because it strips away personality and objectifies, relegating us to the realm of animals. Hence, women always ask this trivial question “Do you want me for me or for my body?” It’s because sex makes you empty and at the same time restricts and confines you in this mortal decaying container. Sex reminds you of the inevitable, the road we all share – the beautiful! Sex confuses and nullifies existence. Sex reminds us all that we are born between urine and faeces. In being connected and immersed in your particular field, sexual energy can propel you to immortality. It is what geniuses like Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson and Oscar Wilde understood – the virgin is a genius.
