“Revolution, involution, narcissism, and evolution are the four stages through which we progress to attain self-esteem and spiritual maturity. A spiritual adult inconspicuously involves his or her inner spiritual qualities in everyday decisions. One’s ‘spiritual’ thoughts and activities are inseparable from other aspects of life: all becomes one.
A person may spend years in each phase or only months, but regardless of how long each phase lasts, she will inevitably grapple with its particular challenges to her character, ethics, morality, and self-respect.
Developing self -esteem requires an act of revolution, or several mini-revolutions, in which we begin to separate from group thought and establish our own sense of authority.
In the phase, involution, we assess our external world and how well it is serving our needs. 
Often this self-examination leads us to want to focus on our relationship with God and our life’s purpose.
Although it has a bad rap, narcissism is sometimes an extremely necessary energy for us as we work to develop a strong sense of self. Giving ourselves a new image – a new hairstyle, new clothes, perhaps even a new body shape from personal training – indicates that changes are also occurring within us.
The last stage of evolution in developing self-esteem is an internal one. People who can maintain their principles, their dignity, and their faith without compromising any energy from their spirit are internally evolved: people such as Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. These people’s spirits took charge of their physical environments – and the environments changed to accommodate the power of their spirits.”
Caroline Myss, PH.D., The Anatomy Of The Spirit, P. 187-191.
