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Exorcism |
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Exorcism Defined
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Who
can forget the image of child actress Linda Blair, vomiting up green goo and
screaming deep-voiced obscenities as her head slowly rotated 180 degrees on
her shoulders? That scene from the movie “The Exorcist,” and similar
special effects scenes from the more recent remake of the same title, come
swiftly to mind when we think of possession and exorcism. Real-life cases
can be - but usually aren’t - nearly as dramatic.
Instances of full-blown demonic possession are, although becoming somewhat
more common, relatively rare. That’s the good news. The bad news is that
obsession (a less extreme form of possession) is clearly on the upswing in
our society, and spirit attachment (a still less intense form) is so common
as to be near-universal.
The
Encyclopedia Britannica describes exorcism as “an adjuration addressed to
evil spirits to force them to abandon an object, place or person;
technically a ceremony used in both Jewish and Christian traditions to expel
demons from persons who have come under their power.” Clearly, that
definition is incomplete. No mention is made of the exorcistic practices of
other religions and cultures, although we know that the concept of casting
out evil spirits is virtually universal in primitive cultures. And even in
our over civilized modern society, replete with psychiatrists, psychologists
and social workers, we often use the metaphor “his demons” to refer to
someone’s obsessions, addictions or dysfunctions.
According to the Britannica’s definition, exorcism relates only to
classic demonic possession, but for our purposes we will adopt a broader
view:
Exorcism is the process
of separating unwelcome spirit personalities or energies from objects or
places, or from the human (or animal) hosts whom they have inhabited.
Our
umbrella definition includes therapeutic techniques for addressing demonic
possession, along with a vast collection of various other unseen negative
influences including “obsessions,” “spirit attachments,” “impositions,”
“infections” and “infestations.”
Although they typically involve relatively more modest levels of energy
intensity, we will also consider purification techniques such as
“deliverance,” “spirit release,” “cleansing rituals,” numerous cultural
release ceremonies such as the Hawaiian “Ho’oponono,” certain of the Navajo
“blessing way” rituals, etc., to fall under the general heading of
exorcisms.
Boiled down to basics, it looks like this:
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An entity is present and intruding - or attempting to intrude - on
someone, something, or someplace.
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Exorcism is how we get rid of the intruder.
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A
Powerful Healing Technique
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| Exorcisms solve problems.
Entity intrusion in all
its forms - from full-blown demonic possession to obsession, entity
attachment, impositions, infections and infestations, etc. - tends to
produce and/or support numerous diseases and dysfunctions.
When we look at an individual’s healing needs, we usually separate our
perceptions of those needs into three categories: body, mind and spirit. Of
course, many diseases and dysfunctions relate to more than one category.
Exorcistic healing techniques are applied to all three categories.
Although most ministers and healers will never be called upon to serve as
exorcists in cases of full-blown demonic possession, which are relatively
rare, all ministers and healers are likely to be confronted by more
subtle, and usually unrecognized, cases of obsession and entity attachment,
which are far more common.
The client’s free will choice to undergo exorcism is essential to the
success of the release.
It is
important to realize that the client may have dysfunctions of his or her own
- including angers, fears, tendencies toward unacceptable behavior, etc., -
that are not primarily due to the influence of attaching entities. These
may be addressed with healing techniques other than exorcism. |
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Symptoms
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A book by Dr. Edith Fiore, "The Unquiet Dead," is an
excellent introduction to the concept of restless, disembodied spirits as
personalities of the formerly-living; people who had died without having
completed their journeys all the way to the Light. They get stuck in
the middle - "earthbound" - by their own misperceptions and dysfunctions,
and a great many of them latch onto incarnate people to live vicariously
through them. According to Dr. Fiore's book, the symptoms of spirit
attachment are:
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Low energy level
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Character shifts or
mood swings
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Inner voice(s)
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Abuse of drugs (including alcohol)
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Impulsive behavior
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Memory problems
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Poor concentration
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Sudden onset of anxiety or depression
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Sudden onset of physical problems with no
obvious cause
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Emotional and/or physical reaction to
reading "The Unquiet Dead"
To these, we add:
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New phobias or aversions
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New allergies
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New food cravings or taste preferences
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New attitudes or prejudices
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Alzheimer's disease
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Schizophrenia or multiple personality
Clearly, the presence of
one or more of these symptoms is not in and of itself conclusive evidence of
spirit attachment (see
note). Low energy level might
be due
to anemia. Poor
concentration, loss of memory,
depression, anxiety and physical
problems can be caused by malnutrition. Pregnancy or other changes in body chemistry
may stimulate new food cravings. The sudden onset of physical problems
could be due to an unrecognized exposure to toxic substances. Yet any of
these conditions can indicate the presence of unseen - and unwanted!
- spiritual hangers-on.
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Note
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There are exceptions to this
statement. In our opinion, alcohol or drug abuse may always be
considered an indication of spirit attachment. Substance abuse opens
the aura, and attaching entities swarm in. And Alzheimer's disease, by
its very nature, makes it impossible for the client to hold onto his or her
unsullied identity.
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Trance channels and
other psychic sensitives often hear inner voices - and even share their
auras and bodies with various benevolent persona, called "Guides" - without
being classified as victims of possession or spirit attachment. People
who do not believe in channeling or other clairsentient processes would
probably argue that all inner voices are inherently unhealthy, and deserve
to be exorcised as "possessions." By our definition, however, exorcism
is used to release unwitting or involuntary attachments. In any case,
legitimate Spirit Guides will not be driven off or otherwise affected by
exorcistic procedures. |
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Exorcistic Services Through The LightSource Group
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| There is no "one size fits all" easy
solution. However,
the release of spirit attachments is often a part of the natural
self-healing process. Laurel Steinhice and The LightSource Group offer
self-healing information, instruction and support which includes the
facilitation of exorcistic releases. |
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For more information about Exorcistic services through The
LightSource Group, contact Laurel Steinhice at 615.356.4280 or at:
steinhice@earthlink.net |
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