Want to hear something scary? There is a growing consensus in the psychiatric community that some cases of mental illness are caused by malignant spirits taking over a mind. Richard Gallagher trained in psychiatry at Yale University and is a practicing psychoanalyst and . . . exorcist. Although the vast majority of those practicing mental health care refuse to believe in the reality of demons affecting one’s mind, Dr. Gallagher is ” . . . pleasantly surprised by the number of psychiatrists and other mental health practitioners nowadays who are open to entertaining such hypotheses. Many believe exactly what I do, though they may be reluctant to speak out.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/07/01/as-a-psychiatrist-i-diagnose-mental-illness-and-sometimes-demonic-possession/?utm_term=.b5895e67d890)
I’ve written before about possession and exorcism, and the insights I gleaned from my meeting with a Catholic priest who is also an exorcist. In that meeting, I received his blessing to assist in such work. I have yet to truly throw myself into this vital, spiritual work, a fact which may explain my current state of mind (I’m wasting my talents, truth be told, as are so many of us who study the ‘paranormal’). However, the topic of this post is slightly different. Many of us–scholars or not, mental health experts or not–agree based on the evidence that demonic possession is a reality for an unfortunate few. What I don’t see discussed as much in academic circles is the reality of possession by non-demonic entities.
Once you admit the possibility that an evil entity, a dark spirit, can and does take over a body, mind and soul, then you must admit that the same phenomena can occur with beings that are not demonic in nature. If it is possible for a demon to possess a living person, then it is possible for any person in spirit to do the exact, same thing via a similar mechanism. Exactly how this happens is unknown to me, but I hypothesize that you must be in a vulnerable state: altered by drugs or alcohol, severely depressed and/or anxious, inviting such contact via ouija boards, channeling, automatic writing or (it must be said) so-called ‘ghost hunting’. If you are a spiritually grounded person with a strong religious practice and belief, you are more protected from the invading spirit; however, those of us who dabble in spirit contact are most definitely at risk. The reality of this possibility is what is at the heart of our gradual decline in time spent investigating the paranormal, which seems to happen to all of us. It isn’t that we don’t believe it after years of spirit contact, it’s that we discover how powerful these connections are, and we realize how much that contact affects us emotionally and spiritually.
Spirits, souls, conscious beings, are in contact with us on a daily basis. Most mediums talk about the ‘veil’ that separates the living and the ‘dead’; this language is reflected in theories of the multiverse and other ‘theories of everything’ that postulate multiple dimensions. Dr. Robert Lanza’s ideas concerning death and multiple dimensions go a step further: not only does consciousness continue in other dimensions, ‘death’ as a concept is meaningless. It essentially doesn’t exist except as a description of a mundane, physical process which has no bearing on the conscious, individual human being. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/is-there-an-afterlife-the-science-of-biocentrism-can-prove-there-is-claims-professor-robert-lanza-8942558.html) Whatever it is that separates multiple dimensions, whether it be vibrating strings or dark matter, the systems of separation are not perfect and break down. Or, more tantalizingly, WE can break them down through mental effort and meditative practice. Once the boundaries of a multiverse are breached, we can’t keep whoever is living there ‘out’ of our reality. Their energy flows through, finds us, penetrates our consciousness and plays out its need for communication or emotion.
In simple terms, our interaction with what we call ‘ghosts’ often results in spirits finding a receptive home to express themselves through us. This explains many mysteries and questions of mine that up to now, seem to have no answer. Boundaries are broken down between dimensions, and our easy classification of ourselves as one being, one spirit, in isolation from all others, disintegrates. We are all interconnected and affect one another in ways both subtle and obvious. Therefore, to provide an example, a haunted house story is not a story of a person who discovers ghosts, but of ghosts who discover a person and the beginning of a relationship where all entities rely on each other’s energy and emotion. When you enter into an emotional relationship with the spirits around you, the ‘haunting’ isn’t about the ‘other,’ it’s about all parties involved. You may not realize that your persistent, depressed mood or your strange reactions to familiar situations have to do with someone else living in you, with someone else sharing your psychic space.
Is that possession? It’s probably more ‘influence’ or even relationship. If you have ever felt an inexplicably strong connection to a house or other place, it is likely that you are experiencing the effects of your intimate interaction with the spirits you’ve come to know quite well there, even if not consciously. Much of this phenomena is experienced in the subconscious mind, where our ego and super ego (to borrow from Freud for a moment) expend much energy repressing, denying and fleeing from the truth of our spiritual attachments and engagements. How much of what we feel, what we do, how we react to other people, how we live our lives, has to do with spiritual relationships of which we are hardly aware? That is a sobering question.
There are things I need to know, but the process of understanding frightens me. I would like to know the identity of the spirits who live with me or interact with me. I would like to separate myself just a little more from their influence. That requires an investigation into other dimensions of reality and that, in turn, requires a professional medium of great talent and respectability. That is more than likely the next step for me. It is not easy for me to trust other people, especially people who interpret in my stead what my reality might be. I have always despised that trait in others: the individual who pretends to know more than you about your own life. However, I do believe that trustworthy mediums exist and can shed light on the spiritual mystery that surrounds us all. Of course, those of us who regularly attend church in the Christian tradition understand that this spirit world is all around us at all times, effecting changes and transitions of which we are barely aware. The church, however, tries hard to manage, limit and interpret our spiritual experiences so that they do not fall outside the accepted boundaries of Scripture. I need more than that.
Think about the ways that your spirit interacts with others, both in the flesh and transcendent. If there are no boundaries to spirit, and we are all spirit, then to speak of ‘containers’ of flesh, vibrating strings, dark matter, conscious and subconscious, is all a waste of time. The categories ‘dead’ and ‘living’ are nonsensical when you’re are speaking of souls and not of matter. Just as the spirit of your nasty boss can harm you, so can the spirit of the guy who drowned himself in your bathtub years before you moved into your house. The charge, then, is to be more aware, more conscious, of who is affecting your heart, mind and soul, and where you need to draw the line on a psychic invasion. It would be wise to start with meditation and prayer. But I don’t plan to end there.
Kirsten A. Thorne, PhD/PHW
The Soul Bank: Stories, Research, Essays, (B)Logs 
Hi Dr. Thorne, It’s Rebecca, I left the long comment on “Why Paranormal Investigators Quit”, having had the sad and exciting opportunity of being one of those who experienced an attachment by, I will say something or someone or the multiple thereof, I must say I was not ready to face what came up on me. My Investigator friend Karen is always saying she is always protected when she goes into a cemetery, home or a historic site like Gettysburg.
I on the other hand, was in a bad place a few years ago and abandoned my Christian feelings for the most part, although I do thank the God the Father still. In one cemetery that has a history of dark sources, I was overwhelmed and asked if “Legi*n” was with me, you know the one Jesus was told there were “many”. Karen was so mad at me. I have not listened to any of my voice recordings since, I have over 80, some lasting an hour, because since then I have had severe issues happen. Some that I mentioned in the other comment I left. I sometimes do think, God did say through His Prophets not to be conjurers or be witches.
I used a thermal imager in one place I went that has a reputation of bad issues, in Western Massachusetts, I did an EVP and was getting orbs on my IR and the internal IR flash, when another of my team came over, who is Native American and said she felt there was some bad feeling near me and to not be alone. I said I wasn’t afraid of any ghost or demon and the next thing we hear is a loud “Heh” about 30 or so feet away. We said the same thing, I put my thermal to the woods, she put the flashlight and we did a slow and full scan.
It was a constant 40 degrees and saw no heat at all that made a human temperature, there were no rocks or trees big enough to hide behind. Karen and her went into the woods with their 300 lumen flashlights and told me to stay where I was, they saw nothing. I felt a warm sensation around me for a short time, maybe 3 or 4 seconds. I was not sure if it was paranormal or just me getting flush. But after that, when we left, I pulled over and had them do a tobacco and a sage ritual around me.
But they said they could see in my eyes I was arrogant and I would not let go of what I picked up in the previous place. Which by chance is the very same place that I released the entity a few years before. We have done 3 sage blessing at the place so far but that place is so evil. I think I opened up myself more since I said that name. I feel so far away from God right now, that I don’t care about the tenets of religion, good vs. evil. They mean nothing to me at this point. I feel like I have to work at feeling some glimmer of empathy. This is not easy to admit in an open forum but people need to know this stuff. I was loving before, this is going on 3.5 years. I do laugh, I do cry, Karen says I have great empathy, I don’t feel it, not like I used to. I don’t want to pray, but I still hold on to The Lord’s Prayer. I feel if I lose that, all hope will be gone from me.
But like you say, people “play” with those objects, with their religions or open themselves to whomever might be in their homes, I have stuff go on here every once in a while, then decide to try these things for themselves and if they don’t have themselves prepared properly, they are in for a big, sad ride.
I was just thinking, at one cemetery I did get a Class A EVP in which Karen and I were chatting and when we stopped, the decedent then stated “Quiet”. If that is a ‘Multiverse’ then what was the woman who responded doing at that spot at that time? I can understand the decedent wanting us to stop the useless banter at 1 AM. But when the next closest person besides Karen and I is nearly a 1/4 mile away, you have to wonder, lol. I recently watched a program that showed a woman proved there are “remnants” of an interaction of another universe that touched ours in the multiverse theory.
When we die, do we go to another one of these universes? Should we ask these people or entities what it looks like on their side of the ‘wall’? Many times I just see these people ask questions if they are demons or if they know they are dead. I mean how would you answer that if you heard someone ask you that out of thin air, maybe you her it in your sleep. How do we know when we hear these questions? Maybe I’m not thinking at all.
Again Dr. Thorne, I am sorry it has gone on so long. I apologize.
Respectfully,
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, there is so much to say here that I’ve decided to publicly post my response, respecting your anonymity. Working on it now!
Thank you very kindly, I have been busy with medical problems. My shoulder is a mess. I have to have surgery on it. I haven’t had a chance to be online to do anything. I Read what you wrote, it was wonderful and poignant. I wish sometimes leaving it alone were easy. It is an addiction to me but I know it’s maybe others, spirits, drawing me to it. My friend Karen, who is very brilliant, i swear she is smarter than me, she keeps saying she isn’t but I say she is working towards being a social worker, has had her college friends pick her up at my place and say that there is a older man who likes to be mean, prankish and known to me. This was said by 2 different women that did not know each other 3 months apart. You are right I did conjure the evil one because I felt empty and abandoned by God at one point and I made a big mistake by doing so. evil can do so many things, I know I didn’t capitalize the word evil. I was suicidal and I was on medications and alcohol and I was tired of lying about my entire life. 48 years of living a lie to everyone and hiding myself away. It wasn’t bad enough I was fat and ugly to myself, some women found me ‘cute’, being married 2 times and I guess over 35 girlfriends, I don’t count the boys and transgenders I dated. Everyone abused me in every sense of the word since I was small child. But enough was enough and I had to go from male to female, I am far from cute. I get called ugly and get made fun of quite a bit and being religious, not Catholic, but being very religious, I have read the Bible and many of the other documents omitted by the Council of Trent and Nicaea, being nearly 600 plus or minus. People have called me an abomination and I was so angry I felt a real rejection of Soul and everything I felt and believed and was left vulnerable. I then realized and thought about everything I did when I was younger and I felt like I was completely going to hell and there was no redemption and with ultimate redemption done I accepted there was no harm in accepting a feeling of power that made me feel like accepting the ‘Dark Side’ power. I have regretted accepting the evil into me, Karen and my friend Maria say accept God as well as you but I feel something inside rejecting and it scares the hell out of me. I do thank God for my food and the small things in life but I don’t pray anymore. I think I am self aware that there is something inside of me I don’t want to let go of and if I do let go I won’t be able to do paranormal things anymore and I told Karen this 2 years ago. I’d hate to be kneeling before Jesus and God being judged and not have a good reason for breaking one of His decrees about witchcraft and conjuring. I should have been stoned to death in the old days for this. I’m guessing this bit of information might make what I have written in both comments a bit more clear. I love your column.
Rebecca