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“One of the reasons people are unable to succeed but instead walk a path of failure is spiritual disturbances is the effect of stray spirits.” - From the book: The Laws of Happiness

Spiritual possession is a phenomenon in which a stray being from the Spirit World constantly or temporarily possesses and exerts negative influence on a person living on earth. Most commonly they are known as ‘evil spirits’ and, although many people may scoff at the idea, it is a real and undeniable fact that they exist and influence our lives. Spiritual possession can be the cause of illnesses, mental disorders or even crimes, but this phenomenon is not being treated appropriately since modern medicine and science do not recognize the existence of spiritual possession. Fact is though the phenomenon of spiritual possession is a common occurrence and to prevent or counter it people must have accurate spiritual knowledge – they must know the Truth.

Evil spirits (souls who have gone to hell after death) are spirits that have a strong attachment towards the earth and human way of life. Spirits in hell do not understand they are spiritual beings. All they know is life with a physical body, so they are consumed with the desire to satisfy their materialistic needs. Because reincarnation from hell is impossible, they aim to possess a person living on earth. By possessing a human being, evil spirits can feel just as if they have their own physical body, feeling the physical sensations and satisfying desires for food, sex, money, power and the like. The only prerequisite for evil spirits to come and stay with a person living on earth, is to find someone whose mind is on the same wavelength as theirs. Evil spirits cannot stay with a person living on earth if he or she is always calm, benevolent and altruistic. But if his or her mind is dark with hatred and anger stays that way for extended periods of time, then it will attract evil spirits who, being on the same wavelength, can sneak into the person’s mind and stay on earth for five, ten or even many more years. This is what is known as spiritual possession.

Spiritual possession can cause various unfortunate phenomena

When humans are possessed by evil spirits, their character changes and they seem to no longer be themselves. If the possession is expressed very strongly, a person may become very aggressive, greedy or jealous, he may start to eat and drink to excess, or lust after the opposite sex like an animal. The human body feels heavy when it is possessed by an evil spirit: the neck and shoulders feel stiff; the spine and lower back feel heavy. A vicious circle starts when a person is always in a bad mood and no longer gets on well with other people. When a personality turns really bad it can sometimes indicate a possession by two, three or more spirits. A severe mental illness occurs when multiple spirits possessing a person push the person’s own soul out of his physical body. People can be possessed by detrimental animal spirits as well as by evil spirits. If a person always emits the same kind of negative thoughts, not just stray human spirits, but also animal spirits might wrap themselves around the person’s body. This phenomenon usually would have an effect of making the person prone to various illnesses. What is more, amongst these stray spirits there are some malicious spirits that actively want to destroy the happiness of the people in this world. They manipulate a person’s mind to deliberately make him act in a way that will lead to unhappiness and bring chaos to people’s lives. People who are psychic can see the phenomenon of spiritual possession in a form of a hazy small cloud clinging to the tops of possessed peoples’ heads, shoulders, or other parts of the body.

The cause of possession lies in a mistaken way of thinking

The roots of spiritual possession lie in the thoughts of a mistaken mind. A person will be possessed by animal spirits if he has a mind that has forgotten human dignity and is like that of an animal. This is because a mind that cannot restrain its greediness, a mind that tries to deceive others, a mind that is crazed for the opposite sex, can be in alignment with animalistic spirits. Moreover, if a person cannot control his anger, rants, raves, and blames others, he will draw in the violent spirits of Ashura hell. The cold-bloodlessness of someone who is indifferent to other people’s feelings, who is very self-assertive and thick-skinned, leads him to coming under the control of egotistic evil spirits.

Defense against spiritual possession

• Take good care of physical health. In order to avoid possession by any stray spirit, it is first of all important to maintain a harmonious mind and take care of our health. It is important to have a well-regulated lifestyle: take good nutrition and give our bodies enough rest and exercise.
• Practice Self-reflection and keep the mind free from attachments and excessive desires. We can protect ourselves from being invaded by what is known as “stray or evil spirits” by leading a life of moderation where we know how to be content. The chinks in the mind’s armor all stem from desire. They are spawned from bickering and strong lusts. So we should fill our minds with the light of harmony so that stray or evil spirits cannot find a way in. It is important to control desires and to have the intention of walking the path of the Middle Way, a way that avoids extremes.
• Have wisdom to respect common sense. A constant respect for things like common knowledge of the world, or the way that society works, is an important safety valve to protect us from evil spirits taking total possession of us and driving us to mental breakdown. It is important, first of all, to establish oneself as a person of common sense before we attempt to explore the world beyond the boundaries of common sense.
• Have faith and band together with Dharma friends. Fellows in Truth and believers should join together to protect themselves over the long term in order to maintain a state where they cannot be possessed. In particular, they should create a religious space in Shojas (Monasteries), Faith Centers and their homes, and create a barrier of light so that any stray spirits cannot enter.

Ryuho Okawa - https://happyscience-na.org/about/teachings/spiritual-truth/the-truth-about-spiritual-possession/