I was driving to Manchester to teach a meditation class the other night and had the radio on for the evening news. (I find the daily articles about how wonderful humanity is treating itself very uplifting…).
There was a tragic news that caught my attention. Two adults had been convicted at the Old Baily of murdering a young child. Now this is obviously tragic for everyone involved. But the announcer then said that these two adults had killed the boy because they thought he was possessed by evil spirits.
The newscaster went on to say something else that made me shake my head in dismay. Apparently every diocese in the UK employs the services of an exorcist. That’s right, an exorcist.
So for me it’s wonderful to talk to God, or Jesus, or any other ‘approved’ saint, but if I start talking to the Devil or any other entity that doesn’t appear on the approved list of fantasies, I need an exorcist. ….you couldn’t make these things up!
A friend of mine works in one of Britain’s maximum security mental hospitals. There are obviously a lot of sick and dangerous people incarcerated there. His job is to take care of the day-to-day running of the room. One of his duties is to give medication, as and when the Doctors tell him to do so.
If a patient sits and talks to God all day, this is considered healthy behavior.
If the patient sits and talks to the devil or demons or any other ‘unapproved’ entity, he is immediately prescribed strong medication to knock him out as he shows mental illness… I couldn’t make that up!
Now I have no doubt that we all display unusual behavior from time to time. In fact, I’m sure there have been times in my life when I’ve been so sick or stressed that I’ve given people around me cause for concern about my ‘mental’ health. But explaining abnormal behavior with the ‘possession by evil spirits’ explanation is, in my opinion, lazy, ignorant and primitive.
Take a look around you at the people you know. I’m sure you can think of someone who is ‘out of the ordinary’ (perhaps even yourself). The person may be suffering from stress, anxiety, depression, or one of the hundreds of mental illnesses, or ‘syndromes’, that are diagnosed or invented each year. But possessed…?
It has been shown that many food colors can greatly influence a child’s behavior. How do you know the child hadn’t had a tube of Smarties on the day in question? It has also been proven that eating certain minerals can greatly improve the mental health of many people. The food you put in your mouth can literally affect the thoughts you experience.
Human consciousness can resemble an old radio set. They used to use crystals in old radios to pick up the radio signals. If you adjusted the crystal, you picked up a different station. In the same way, in the same way, if you put minerals or substances in your body, you will also begin to experience different thoughts.
You do not believe me? Go to your kitchen now, get the wine out of the fridge and drink it. I guarantee you it will change your thoughts until it is out of your system. On a more subtle level, if you eat fresh fruits and vegetables for a week, your thoughts will change. You don’t need to believe me, try it for yourself.
Sometimes the use of Bach flower remedies, or tissue salts, or even simple mineral supplements can really calm the mind. These are available at most health stores.
As meditators, we sometimes need to explore simple solutions like these to improve the quality of our meditation.
And when it comes to exorcisms, two things can occupy the same space. Just as no one else’s physical body can occupy the space that your body occupies, no ‘mental entity’ can occupy the space that your own mind occupies. You cannot be possessed, at least by an external living entity.
I’m not a doctor or anything like that, so I’m not aware of all the causes of the hundreds or even thousands of medical conditions that could cause the onset of serious mental disorders. From my limited knowledge, treating mental disorders with a chemical does not get to the root of the problem.
But when the guy in the black dress shows up with his cross and bible, I reassure him, make him a cup of tea, and call a doctor.