Consider the esorcism that inspired the movie, "The Exorcist."  The young boy had superhuman strength.  He was strong enough to rip out bed springs with his bare hand and stab a well-meaning, loving Lutheran pastor who came in the namo of love but was inexperienced in such matters.  His physical injuries made him realize he was in way over his head and Jersuits were summoned instead, who realized no loving negotiation or reasoning is possible with a true demon.  So at the right time, "the clash" was effectively employed; and since the boy's mind had been temporarily realized enough to say "dominus", the Latin word for "Lord" and to take Communion, the exorcism wqs finally effective and consumated by a loud explosion with blue light heard across the street! 

Also, my cousin Eldon (now a psychiatrist and expdert on pain medications)  was possessed as an innocent 3-year-old, the moment his minister Dad (my uncle George) had successfully exorcised a woman in a house.  Eldon knew nothing about demons; he was waiting outside in the car with my aunt Ruth.  When the exorcism was completed, Eldon's eyes rolled up in his head, so that only the whites were visible and he screamed uncontrollably for a long time.  Only after continuous prayer for protection for several minutes was he released from this entity.  He now recalls that as his parents fervently prayed, he had a vision of Jesus cradling him in His arms. 

Then I think of well-documented shamanistic curses that kill innocent victims on the other side of the world.  Scott Peck reports that the victims in the exorcisms he witnessed were very spiritual souls. 

Don

I think we're in agreement that negative influence, possession could happen, but it might be more productive to discuss how to avoid or prevent it from happening. 

To me, the bottom line is to grow up by letting go of fear and becoming love, because then you will have the power to be in control of your intent, have the ability to be fearless and not allow any kind of ego attachment or negative connection to take place.  This is true power.  This is the power Jesus demonstrated.

You could also if you choose to, keep a "force field" around you such as using a metaphor such as wrapping a cocoon of white light around you as RAM suggested, but being sufficiently evolved is enough.  Metaphors can help us to focus our intent so they can be very useful.

If one has fear, beliefs, ego attachments, etc., then that person may become an easy target for being influenced by all kinds of things in ELS such as salesmen, hustlers, politicians, advertising, peers, etc., etc.  The same goes for influence, or possession, from the non-physical.  If you have fear and attachments "they" or "it" can find and access you.  However, if you are fearless, have control of your intent, then very little, if anything at all that is negative will be more powerful than you are.

Kathy

Talking about fear reminds me of something Mike Tyson once said about "plans."  He said the best of plans go out the window right after the first punch.

Meaning, of course, that even when we think we are prepared we don't know for sure until we are tested.

Speaking for myself, I would like to think I wouldn't be fearful if confronted with something evil, but I would not bet money on it.  Even Scott Peck, in his book People of the Lie, was confronted with people who frightened him and he was a trained and experienced psychiatrist.  Plus the fact that these were humans, not disembodied demons or demon-like entities.

I seriously doubt that if Peck tried to "send" love to those patients it would have had any affect whatsoever except perhaps enraging them.

R

But the concept of demonic possession seems to throw up more questions than answers. Why for example are cases of apparent demonic possession so highly correllated to specific time and places ? I'm thinking of examples such as Salem in the late 17th C or modern areas of religious fervour such as within the charismatic christian community. I live in a relatively secular part of the world where demonic possession is pretty much unheard of but I don't think that is because people around here are any more spiritually advanced than people with religious sentiment. To me this points, in a large way, to the power of belief systems - particularly the overriding belief in an ongoing cosmic battle of good v evil which is at the heart of traditional Christianity.We have many tales of hauntings and supernaturality locally but they are simply interpreted differently i.e not as examples of demonic possession.

Much of the time fear does stem from our beliefs.  Fear makes us uncomfortable, so we try to avoid it by manipulating our inner and outer worlds.  Fear is an emotion.  One that causes us to feel confused and unable to think clearly.  Fear makes us feel nervous, shaky, weak and panicky, and fear may cause us to act inappropriately to a situation.  Fear is the problem.

Being fearless means that you will be able to use your intellect in productive ways such as having control of your intent and acting with courage and determination to rebuke any negative force, physical or otherwise that tries to access or manipulate you.  If the negative force has a stronger intent than you do, then you may not succeed, however, being fearless greatly optimizes your chances of coming out of a situation unscathed.  So it's not necessarily about trying to send love/PUL... it's about being fearless in the face of adversity.

However, if your intent to send love/PUL makes you fearless, that could be one useful strategy.  If you use your intent to create an impenetrable shield around yourself and that makes you fearless, that could be another useful strategy.  If you are someone who has evolved a high quality of being/consciousness, then you are naturally, innately fearless.  You are the embodiment of PUL.  Not many, if any of us can truly 100% claim that status, but it is the most useful objective to grow towards.  And we can only accomplish improvement when our intent stems from fearlessness... courage, determination, patience, kindness, caring and of course, love.  If we are all those things at the being level, fear has no power over us, nor does any kind of negative force.  The power of God flows freely from deep within.  It is not blocked or distorted by fear, ego, or attachments we cling to in an attempt to keep ourselves safe.  We know we are safe by the absence of fear, which allows the power from within to up well and radiate forth.  That power is protection in and of itself.

Kathy

Kathy:

It seems as if we wrote our last posts at about the same time. I agree with much of what you wrote. One shouldn't underestimate the value of letting go of fear and living  according to love instead. Some say faith can move mountains. If you have faith in love (PUL), you have faith in God.

I think a working model of consciousness is required to understand what may happen in possession.  Otherwise, this topic tends to only stoke fear, and often those who post will make assumptions such as the following:  that 1. demons are beings beyond are powerful non-human beings ken or defense and that 2.  only a priest and divine grace can save the person afflicted.

A working model of consciousness lets us view this in a more rational light.  That is to say, that if our true nature is not in the physical plane and we are all pure thought or consciousness that gets inserted into bodies in the physical world, then is it possible to leave your body or be displaced by another's consciousness? 

It certainly does not appear to be common.  Whatever bonds we have  with our physical body appear to be strong.  We also appear to have free will and are usually able to choose where we go.  So how could we be displaced in our earthly "clothes" (the body)? 

One way certainly could be if we are convinced of a lie.  Often, there has been an association of the possessed with the use of ouija boards - devices where the user is to invite a spirit to use his or her hands and enter their body to spell out a word.  This invitation may start a game for control of the physical body.  The person displaced may be extremely open to suggestion.  I would venture to say that the person's goodness or evil actions have little impact on their ability to be displaced. 

The background of the person to be displaced and their belief systems may also be crucial in knowing their ability to be displaced.  Thought or will coupled to belief or conviction appears to affect every aspect of our lives, manifesting things into the physical world, and guiding our spiritual development. 

The person to be displaced may enter into an agreement with the possessor, or may believe most deeply in the lie that they are subdued and powerless.  Of course this type of domination happens in the physical world by some domineering people over the gentler souls - we've all seen it before.  But in possession, if and when it does occur, there likely must be a dynamic relationship between the two personalities involved in control for the physical body. 

Rather than marvel at the paranormal feats of strength, I think it more appropriate to keep in mind the nature of consciousness; that our true nature is not the physical body;that our thought coupled with belief manifests our will, and that love is the true foundation of our being and the only morality that means anything.   Given this working understanding of consciousness, one can conceive of ways to interact both with the displaced consciousness and the destructive or "demonic" consciousness. 

I agree that aiming PUL at the demon seems both artificial and self deluded, though truly cultivating the feeling of love, and certitude in whatever ceremony takes place, would appear to be crucial.  However, making contact with the person who is subdued and feels powerless may be helpful as well in asserting their powerful connection to the physical plane and no longer seeing themselves as helpless. 

The fear that comes up in these discussions coupled with the rarity of true possession, makes it a tough area to tackle on a forum.