Obsession (Spiritism)
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Obsession is one of the cornerstones of the religious activity within Spiritism. It is defined by Allan Kardec as the interference of a subjugating spirit on a weaker one and, although usually taken for granted as meaning the negative influence of the spirit of an evil deceased person on the mind of another one that is alive, can occur either way.
It is discussed by Spiritists as the major danger that the unprepared medium will have to face and is believed to be one of the most frequent causes of mental diseases and criminal behaviour. It is "treated" at Spiritist Centres by means of praying and teaching.
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[edit] Types
Technically, "obsession" is any unwanted influence of a spirit, when it alters or suppresses the normal manifestation of the personality of the subject. It can occur when:
- a spirit influences a living person,
- a living person influences someone else,
- a living person influences a spirit,
- a spirit influences another spirit.
In the first case the victim suffers but does not know whence his suffering comes. The obsessed may be lead to behave abnormally without apparent reason and will not be able to explain his deeds/crimes.
In the second case the victim knows he is being influenced and usually reacts, but is unable to resist the will of the obsessor. The victim may resort to violence.
The third case mostly occurs when the spirit of a deceased person is not able to break his bonds with the living and hangs around, suffering as they suffer.
The fourth case is mostly like the second.
[edit] Degrees of obsession
Kardec proposed a classification of obsessions into three levels (of severity):
- Simple : the spirit(s) influencing the medium cannot disguise his presence: the medium knows that he is being obsessed and, therefore, can resist it easier. This type of obsession disturbs greatly, especially because the medium may let slip random sentences due to influence of the obsessor(s), much to the surprise of those present. Uncontrolled, may cause the medium to be seen as mental and will at least ridicule him and destroy his self-esteem.
- Fascination : the spirit influencing the medium do not bother to disguise (or intentionally reveals himself), but subjugates the medium by cunning and ardilous means, so that the victim will see whatever the spirit dictates as the purest expression of truth. The obsessing spirit will stop communications from any other sources, so that the medium depends solely on him and will produce a large output of communication, mostly worthless.
- Subjugation : the spirit overcomes the medium's will to the extent of controlling his body as his own. During the obsession crisis, the victim will not act as himself and will pursue whatever agenda the obsessor has in mind. After the crisis the victim may not remember anything, or remember everything with great regret.
[edit] Causes of obsession
Obsession has the same kinds of motivation argued by criminals in any terrene crime (envy, revenge, prejudice, sadism) plus some new ones, specific to each type.
- The lust for pleasures that the spirit, without a body of its own, cannot experience will lead him to obsess a living person to share her emotions, eventually leading her to do things so that the spirit can partake on her feelings.
- The unconscious desire to punish or cause suffering to someone one hates or envies may lead the spirit of a living person to use its relative freedom during sleep to attempt to obsess.
- The prolonged grief for the deceased loved ones may keep strong bonds between the living and the dead, preventing the later from leaving the world and going on with their missions.
Simple Obsession is usually the result of the action of low spirits devoted to evil that take pleasure from the suffering imposed on the medium. This type of obsession is usually linked to revenge (the spirit wants the victim to know who he is and why he is doing so).
Fascination maybe plotted to destroy someone's life or as an instrument to spred worthless theories that will hinder the progress of mankind. Some spirits also take pleasure from seeing the nonsensical things the mediums will do and preach following their advice.
Subjugation, however, is of utmost danger because it reveals murderous designs on the part of the obsessor. The victim is often used as instrument to inflict pain on others or commit crimes. Sometimes the obsessor wants do destroy the victim's life, but it maybe the case that the victim is merely the instrument of revenge against the real target of the obsessor.
[edit] Mediumship and Obsession
The Book on Mediums dedicates its entire XXIII chapter to the subject, mostly with the intention of warning newbie mediums for the dangers and responsibilities involved.
According to Spiritism anyone who suffers from obsession has developed his mediumship to some extent (we are all born with mediumship, but only a minority of mankind does keep it). However, most people who are mediums are not aware of their condition and do not know how to deal with it.
[edit] Prevention and treatment
Not all mental perturbations have spiritual origin. It is necessary to rule out any psychological or psychiatric causes prior to any spiritual treatment. "To hear voices" may be a case of obsession, but is usually a simple case of paranoia.
Prevention of obsession is achieved by means of three precautions:
- Learning and developing one's mediumship, if it is strong enough to be used as an instrument by obsessors (one may want to develop his mediumship for other reasons as well).
- Living according to the commandments of God so that one's moral stature can act as a wall between him and the "inferior" would-be obsessors.
- Praying for God's protection and guidance whenever one's will is weakened.
The cure is a lengthy process that involves all of the above, but also:
- Participation on mediunic meetings to assess the reasons why the obsessor is acting.
- Forgiving and asking forgiveness by means of praying the Lord's Prayer.
- Befriend the obsessors (with the help of a Spiritist Centre) so that he understands his condition and how his behaviour is hampering his progress towards his own happiness.
In overall, the solution to problem of obsession is threefold:
- Learning the doctrine of the law of cause and effect
- Living according to the doctrine of Christ (Faith, Hope and Charity)
- Loving each other as Christ taught, forgiving and asking forgiveness
The proceedings used to treat obsession are termed disobsession in Kardecist spiritism and involve mostly the principles mentioned above.
[edit] Purpose
Although obsession is usually understood as an undesirable "side effect" of practicing spiritism, some proponents accept that some cases are intended to be "show cases" to attract the public interest towards spiritism. The victims in such cases may be either people who chose to suffer obsession to purge their guilt for being obsessors in previous incarnations or people who accepted to suffer for altruism, so that more people could find evidence of the existence of spirits.
