Spiritual possession
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Spiritual possession occurs when a spirit god, daemons, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entity takes control of a body which is not its own. The concept of spiritual possession exists in many contemporary religions and can also be seen in the mythology and folklore of many cultures.
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[edit] Types of possession
While not all belief systems consider spirits to be purely good or evil, the term demonic possession is commonly used when the spirit is perceived as malignant (a demon), whereas incorporation or channelling may be used in the case of benign spirits. Other terms applied to spiritual possession include being ridden, being tied down, Get Happy, and Baptism with the Holy Spirit. "Godforming" is a term often associated with these beliefs; however, it is fundamentally different. Godforming is the possessing of the qualities of an archetypal deity, and has nothing to do with worship. It is rather the "possessing" of the nature of the described deity, and not the deity itself. Generally, no belief in the deity being "godformed" is necessary to the practice.
Channelling is the claimed receipt of information or commands by a person functioning as a medium or channel for a spirit or other source. This often involves a séance, or a process of [invocation]] such as "drawing down the moon". Some forms of channeling appear to involve spiritual possession, as the medium's voice or body may appear to be under the direct control of the channelled spiritual being, but some maintain that channeling and possession are distinct. In Spiritism the channeling (in its manifold types) is seen as a process, which can be either good or bad to the medium, while possession (which they term obsession) is seen as inherently bad, though often benign. Spiritists also reject the term channeling. Traditional religions such as Vodoun and Santeria define possession as a neutral thing, but as specifically positive when it involves being "ridden" by a deity or respected ancestor. In this context, channelling is seen as distinct from possession as channelling may only involve repeating the voices one hears in one's head, whereas possession involves complete loss of control to the outside entity, with the possessed person only returning to consciousness later with no memory of what happened while the spirit controlled their body and voice.
The concept is quite old and widespread in the history of religion. The concept was popularised in the West by Helena Blavatsky the founder of theosophy. The claim is also made by many other Spiritualist religions, such as Kardecism.
According to the religious scholar Wouter Hanegraaff, the difference between channeling and spiritism is that the first conveys extensive philosophical and religious messages and belief systems, not just short messages from the deceased or other entities.
Brazilian psychic surgeons, such as José Arigó, claim to work as channels for deceased surgeons.
[edit] Religious and Scientific views
Some religions — in particular, most Abrahamic religions — do not admit the existence of beneficial spiritual possessions; so, if they admit the concept at all, they automatically consider any spiritual possession as malign. Many of those religions have practices, often in ritual, to drive out such evil spirits, generally termed exorcism.
Various forms and denominations of Christianity have developed practices for driving out spirits, most notably Roman Catholicism; there exists a Roman Catholic International Association of Exorcists. Father Gabriele Amorth is a Roman Catholic priest and noted exorcist. Charismatic Christianity includes a tradition of individuals being 'blessed' by the Holy Spirit - either Speaking in tongues, or experiencing some other manifestation - but this is not traditionally considered possession by those who adhere to these beliefs.
Many other creeds, including Shamanism and many African and Afro-American religions, teach that spiritual possession may be benign as well as malign, and their rituals often include incorporation: either of spiritual deities, such as the lwa of Vodou (related to Voodoo), the Orisha of the Yoruba, or of the ghosts of deceased people, as in Kardecism. Depending on the religion, the person who is possessed may be a priest, or a specially gifted medium, or a lay member. In Spiritism, incorporation of spirits is a key aspect of the practice.
The existence of spiritual possession has not been scientifically proven. However, some psychologists acknowledge that occasionally, an individual exhibits behaviors that are consistent with possession as it is understood by the individual or the individual's religious/cultural tradition. Believers hold that these cases provide evidence of spiritual possession, but most psychologists dismiss these claims as anecdotal evidence and suggest that there are other possible explanations for these cases, including delusion and malingering. Some cases may be considered consistent with the psychological-psychiatric category of culture-bound syndrome.
Some cases of demonic possession may also be explainable by purely psychological or social causes, e.g. hysteria — roughly, a grown-up version of childhood tantrums or displays of anger. In fact this explanation was liberally mis-applied since the 19th century. In the past, demonic possession may also have been alleged (by the subject or by others) for the purpose of excusing behavior which would otherwise be severely punished — similar to a defendant falsely claiming temporary insanity in a court of law in many jurisdictions today.
Incarnations have been feigned by priests, religious figures, and mediums for fraudulent purposes, e.g. by pretending to communicate with a person's deceased relatives in exchange for "donations". The famous U.S. escape artist Houdini was instrumental in exposing several such frauds in the 1920s.
[edit] Historical cases
The Salem witch trials (1692) followed a notable string of cases of alleged demonic possession.
[edit] Contemporary cases of possession
According to spiritual science research, spiritual possession is when ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies etc.) control the mind (emotions, thoughts) and intellect (decision making ability) of a person. As a result, they also control the person’s actions.
Spiritual research findings state that spiritual possession is a contemporary phenomenon. The findings demonstrate that people with a physical illness or a weak mind are more likely to be attacked and possessed by ghosts and that up to 30% of the world's population may be possessed by ghosts [1].
In Channeling
In Unknown But Known: My Adventure Into The Meditative Dimension (1969) by Arthur Ford, he describes séances he conducted for several different groups of people. He sat in a chair or laid down to enter a trance. He claimed a spirit man known as Fletcher spoke through him. Those for whom the séance was conducted would typically ask Fletcher to put them into contact with departed loved ones or perhaps famous people. (Interestingly, the chapter, "The Sun Myung Moon Sittings", was removed from the book in editions printed after Rev. Moon gained notoriety. The séances conducted for Rev. Moon and his disciples included strong testimonies from several spirit men, including Fletcher himself, all but averring that Rev. Moon was the Messiah.)
In The Coming of Seth (1966) New Age spiritual medium Jane Roberts describes extra-sensory perception experiments and the beginnings of her experiences speaking for Seth.
Opening to Channel: How to Connect with your Guide (1987) by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer describes how to channel a spirit guide.
- The Book of the Law text
- Conversations with God text allegedly from God channeled by Neale Donald Walsch
- The Indigo Children text
- Kryon text
- Oahspe text
- Seth entity channeled by Jane Roberts
- Toward the Light text
- Ramtha entity channeled by JZ Knight
Several notable books describe entering a trance state to allow a dead or other-dimensional being to speak through them. It's claimed that a guide conveys messages from other spirit men to listeners (see séance), in which case two intermediaries are needed, one on each side of the heavenly divide for a conversation between a living person and a dead one.
[edit] In fiction
Spiritual possession, especially malign, has been a favorite theme of fictional works, especially in horror novels and films. The novel and film The Exorcist may be the best-known examples of the latter. A version of benign possession is Deadman, a ghostly superhero who uses his possession ability in the cause of justice. Jericho, a member of the Teen Titans, could also take possession of someone else's body through eye contact (and was able to control their motor skills, and sometimes speech). Powerful fictional telepaths of the Marvel Universe particularly X-Men characters such as Jean Grey and Professor X can possess other bodies.
Similarly, the animated hero Danny Phantom (half-ghost) and other ghosts in the series can 'overshadow' human beings, so-called presumably to avoid sounding occultic. Ino Yamanaka from Naruto uses Mind Body Switch Technique which transfers her own spirit to someone else's.
Frank E. Peretti's books This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness deal heavily in demonic possession and spiritual warfare from an Abrahamic religious standpoint.
Spiritual possession, though not necessarily malign, also appears as a secondary theme in The Dune Chronicles, a series of novels written by Frank Herbert. The video game Geist's primary game mechanic revolves around possessing people, animals and objects in order to progress.
In fantasy literature, the term channelling is sometimes used in other ways, particularly to describe a person's ability to draw on some form of magical power. For example, the Wheel of Time series uses the term extensively (although it is by no means the only work to do so).
In the animated series South Park, Kenny was killed off for a year in Kenny Dies. Eric Cartman then drunk his ashes thinking it was chocolate milk and became possessed by Kenny. Chef and Cartman's mom took him to Chef's Parents who exorcised Kenny.
In the manga and anime series Shaman King, shamans team up with ghosts and spirits to achieve their goals. The greatest dreams of a shaman is to become the Shaman King, who is able to contact the Great Spirit (the spirit that every soul will eventually go back to) in order to be the savior of the world. Various magical and religious terms are spread through out the story but they merge into something explainable by the time the main plot arrives.
Often in the manga and anime Card Captor Sakura, characters are possessed by spirits, some examples include Rita by The Sword Clow Card, and Sakura herself in the movie by its main antagonist.
[edit] See also
Related ideas:
- Spiritualist Church
- Spiritism
- Automatic writing
- Automatic drawing
- Obsession (Spiritism)
- Demonic possession
- (Alien) Abduction phenomenon
- Post-abduction syndrome
[edit] References
- Klimo, John (1987). Channeling: Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources. St. Martins Press. ISBN 0-87477-431-4.
- Clarke, S. (2006): "What is spiritual possession", SSRF
- Max Heindel, The Web of Destiny (Chapter I - Part III: "The Dweller on the Threshold"--Earth-Bound Spirits, Part IV: The "Sin Body"--Possession by Self-Made Deamons--Elementals, Part V: Obsession of Man and of Animals), ISBN 0-911274-17-0, www
[edit] External links
- All about possession and ghosts Spiritual Science Research Foundation
- Articles and information on channeling
- About Communication with Divine Teachers
- Michael Teachings: A Michael Teachings Online Community & Resource
- Intuition Network: Interview with Arthur Hastings
- Good Shepherd Institute
- Lurancy Vennum - Spiritual Possession?
- Schizophrenics and Others
- Andrew Lang, Demoniacal Possession, The Making of Religion, (Chapter VII), Longmans, Green, and C°, London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 128-146.
