SPIRIT RELEASEMENT THERAPY

Spirit Possession Syndrome | Multiple Personality Disorder
Similarities Between MPD and SPS | Comparison of Treatment | Book Review

This article by Dr. William Baldwin is a reprint fromVol.4.1: Jan.-March 1995 of the Lifestream Letter . Although it does not cover the application of crystals, it is a very in depth overview of Spirit Releasement. We have available an mp3 of Marcel briefly speaking about the use of crystals with entity attachments.

Throughout years of doing consciousness exploration and energywork, with and without crystals, the phenomena of entity attachment would often appear. As described in these articles an attached being might appear as a behavior, a mental or emotional state, or even a physical condition that would be non-responsive to any other form of intervention.

On numerous occasions I would discuss such cases with my friend and mentor, Marcel Vogel. Marcel had a protocol for working with such situations which was basically to release or extract and breakup these attachments using the crystal as a kind of surgical instrument. This method, which consisted of using the crystal therapy process he had developed, seemed to be reasonably effective when I would encounter such conditions, but there were always those cases that did not respond to this kind of intervention.

I was also concerned about what happened to the released energy or entity. It seemed releasing and then dissolving or destroying an attached entity was not particularly compassionate. Beyond that, it was not always effective. The entity would often reappear for a return engagement.

At the time I knew enough to be aware that such energy beings could alter their form and appearance quite easily, therefore the idea that such an entity was dissolved could be completely erroneous. I knew that more was needed in terms of both information and skills.

It was at this time that I met Dr. William Baldwin at the Treatment and Research of Experienced Anomalous Trauma conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Entity attachment and spirit possession definitely fall under the heading of anomalous! I purchased Bill’s manuscript along with audio cassettes of sessions and seminars and proceeded to immerse myself in the work. Subsequently I participated in several trainings with the Baldwin’s and incorporated the protocols of Spirit Releasement Therapy into my work. I have found it to be an invaluable and important adjunct to work with crystals.

The phenomena of entity attachment is prolific. One of the greatest strengths available to any non-physical being attached to a human host is our denial that such things are "real." One could argue the philosophical aspects of this forever, but the clinical experience is not just about words and philosophies, it is about actual experience. If clients respond to and are helped by the process of Spirit Releasement, the philosophical and theoretical considerations are secondary.

Spirit attachment is something that is dimension specific and as long as we are living and focused in only the third and fourth dimensions, it is quite real. As our focus shifts and we integrate higher dimensional aspects of our being the phenomena of entity attachment cannot occur. In the consciousness of One, there is no other being that can attach or influence. As we come to experience, accept, and integrate the totality of who we are as multidimensional beings, the illusory nature of attachments becomes apparent. As long as we live in a focus of being fragments of who we really are, the existence of spirit attachment is quite "real," and the therapeutic value of spirit releasement is enormous.

In the future I will discuss the nature of our multi-dimensional Being and how we can access and integrate our totality into the matrix of consciousness.

For more information about Spirit Releasement Therapy you can contact Rumi Da.
 

Spirit Possession Syndrome | Multiple Personality Disorder
Similarities Between MPD and SPS | Comparison of Treatment | Book Review

SPIRIT POSSESSION SYNDROME

by

Dr. William Baldwin

Since the writing of this article and the publication of his book SPIRIT RELEASEMENT THERAPY,

Dr. Baldwin has passed away and is now longer teaching on this side

The condition of spirit possession, (that is, full or partial takeover of a living human by a discarnate being) has been recognized or at least theorized in every era and every culture. In 90% of societies worldwide there are records of possession-like phenomena (Foulks, 1985).

Extensive contemporary clinical evidence suggests that discarnate beings, the spirits of deceased humans, can influence living people by forming a physical or mental connection or attachment, and subsequently imposing detrimental physical and/or emotional conditions and symptoms. This condition has been called the "possession state," "possession disorder," "spirit possession," or "spirit attachment".

Earthbound spirits, the surviving consciousness of deceased humans, are the most prevalent possessing, obsessing or attaching entities to be found. The disembodied consciousness seems to attach itself and merge fully or partially with the subconscious mind of a living person, exerting some degree of influence on thought processes, emotions, behavior and the physical body. The entity becomes a parasite in the mind of the host. A victim of this condition can be totally amnesic about episodes of complete takeover.

A spirit can be bound to the earth by the emotions and feelings connected with a sudden traumatic death. Anger, fear, jealousy, resentment, guilt, remorse, even strong ties of love can interfere with the normal transition. Erroneous religious beliefs about the afterlife can prevent a spirit from moving into the Light because the after death experience does not coincide with false expectations or preconceived notions of the way it is supposed to be.

Following death by drug overdose, a newly deceased spirit maintains a strong appetite for the drug, and this hunger cannot be satisfied in the non-physical realm. The being must experience the drug through the sensorium of a living person who uses the substance. This can only be accomplished through a parasitic attachment to the person. Many drug users are controlled by the attached spirit of a deceased drug addict.

Many spirits remain in the earth plane due to a lack of awareness of their passing. At the time of death several choices are available for the newly deceased spirit. It can follow the direct path to the Light described in the near death experience. If there is an attached spirit the process may be more difficult. The newly deceased being can carry the attached earthbound to the Light thereby rescuing this lost soul.

Often, the deceased is able to break away from the attached earthbound spirit and go to the Light alone.

After this separation occurs the earthbound can be lost again, wandering in the lower astral plane, often described as the gray place or the intermediate place. It can await the next incarnation of the being to whom it was attached. The entity can locate the being in the new incarnation and reconnect. This repeated attachment can occur for many lifetimes of the host. However, the earthbound can just as quickly attach to another unsuspecting person alter separating from the former host at the time of death.

If the newly deceased spirit cannot break away from the attached spirit or hasn't strength enough to carry it into the Light, it can become earthbound also, with the original earthbound still attached to it. This pair can then attach to another living person. After death, the spirit of this person also may be prevented from reaching the Light due to the nested, or layered, attached spirits. This spirit becomes part of the chain of earthbound spirits that can compound until it numbers in the dozens, even hundreds.

An attachment can be benevolent in nature, totally self serving, malevolent in intention, or completely neutral. Attachment to any person may be completely random, even accidental. It can occur simply because of physical proximity to the dying person at the time of the death. In about half the cases encountered in clinical practice it is a random choice with no prior connection in this or any other incarnation. In the remainder some connection can be found, some unfinished business from this or another lifetime.

Even if there is some prior interaction between the host and the attaching entity, the attachment only perpetuates the conflict and carries little possibility for resolution, though every experience has the potential for learning of some kind.

Most people are vulnerable to spirit attachment on many occasions in the normal course of life. Some investigators in this field estimate that between 70% and 100% of the population are

affected or influenced by one or more discarnate spirit entities at some time in their life.

Any mental or physical symptom or condition, strong emotion, repressed negative feeling, conscious or unconscious need can act like a magnet to attract a discarnate entity with the same or similar emotion, condition, need, or feeling. Anger and rage, fear and terror, sadness and grief, guilt, remorse or feelings of the need for punishment can invite entities with similar feelings.
 

Severe stress may cause susceptibility to the influence of an intrusive spirit. Altering the consciousness with alcohol or drugs. especially the hallucinogens, loosens one’s external ego boundaries and opens the subconscious mind to infestation by discarnate beings. The same holds true for the use of strong analgesics and the anesthetic drugs necessary in Surgery. A codeine tablet taken for the relief of pain of a dental extraction can sufficiently alter the consciousness to allow entry to a Spirit.

Physical intrusions such as surgery or blood transfusion can lead to an entity attachment. In the case of an organ transplant the Spirit of the organ donor can literally follow the transplanted organ into the new body. Physical trauma from auto collision, accidental falls, beating or any blow to the head can render a person vulnerable to an intrusive Spirit.

The openness and surrender during sexual intercourse can allow the exchange of attached entities between two people. Sexual abuse such as rape, incest or molestation of any sort creates a vulnerability to Spirit invasion. Violence during the sexual abuse increases the likelihood of intrusion by an opportunistic spirit.
 

A living person can have dozens, even hundreds of attached spirits as they occupy no physical space. They can attach to the aura or float within the aura, outside the body. If any part of the body of the host has a physical weakness the earthbound can attach to that area because of a corresponding weakness or injury to the physical body of the Spirit prior to death. A spirit can lodge in any of the chakras of the host, drawn by the particular energy of the chakra or by the physical structures of that level of the body. Connection with an earthbound spirit may be established by the purposeful choice of either the spirit or the living human due to a strong emotional bond between them in this life or in a previous lifetime together. A grieving person can welcome the spirit of a dear departed one only to find the consequences unbearable.

A living human can be affected by an attached spirit in many different ways. The discarnate entity retains the psychic energy pattern of its own ailments following death and can produce in the host any mental aberration or emotional disturbance and any symptom of physical illness.

Erratic or inconsistent behavior can result from a shifting of control between separate entities. This behavior is similar in appearance to the phenomenon of switching between alters in multiple personality disorder (MPD). This condition can be extremely confusing and frightening for a person and for their family.

An attached entity can be associated with any emotional track of a living person such as anger, fear, sadness, or guilt. The emotional energy of the entity intensifies the expression of a specific emotion, often leading to inappropriate overreactions to ordinary life situations.

A sub-personality, that is a splinter or subordinate personality, can maintain a connection with an entity who came in at the chronological age when the sub-personality splintered away from the main personality due to a traumatic experience. The discarnate spirit may have joined at the time of the emotional trauma to help the child in the time of need. The continued connection with the entity prevents healing and integration of this sub-personality into the main personality system.
 

The mental, emotional and physical influence of an attached entity can alter the original path of karmic options and opportunities of the host. It can disrupt the planned life line by hastening death or prolonging life, thus interfering with any specific checkout point. An entity of the opposite gender can influence the sexual preference and gender orientation. An attached entity can influence the choice of marriage partners and the choice of a partner for an extramarital affair.

Many areas of a person's life can be influenced by one or more attached entities. In short, spirit attachment can interfere with any aspect of the life of the unsuspecting host.

The host is usually unaware of the presence of attached spirits. The thoughts, desires and

behaviors of an attached entity are experienced as the person's own thoughts, desires and behaviors. The thoughts, feelings, habits and desires do not seem foreign if they have been present for a long time, even from childhood. This is a major factor in the widespread denial of the concept and lack of acceptance of the phenomena of discarnate interference and spirit attachment, obsession or possession. This is equally true for people in general and for professional therapists.
 

In most cases, a person can only experience and acknowledge the reality of the condition after an attached entity has been released. The realization may come some months after a releasement session as the person suddenly notices the absence of a familiar attitude, desire, addiction or behavior.

The symptoms of spirit attachment can be very subtle. An attached spirit may be present without producing any noticeable symptoms. Yet attached entities always exert some influence ranging from a minor energy drain to a major degree of control or interference. Complete possession and takeover can result in Suppression of the original personality. The earthbound spirit does not replace the rightful spirit in the body in such a case, it just usurps control. An attached earthbound spirit cannot maintain life in a human body after the original spirit being has separated from the body in the transition of death.

A newly formed spirit attachment is usually more obvious to the unfortunate host. An attached entity can cause any of the following Signs and Symptoms:

• sudden onset of drug or alcohol usage,
• unusual and inappropriate speech, accent or foreign or unknown language,
• any behavior patterns inconsistent with normal conduct,
• unfamiliar reactions to familiar situations,
• repetitive and unusual movements of the body which are experienced as beyond one's control,
• unusual physical sensations or symptoms in the absence of a medically sound organic cause,
• loss of the normal sense of one's personal identity,
• a feeling that a spirit of some kind or another person has taken over control of one's mind and/or body,
• noticeable personality changes, however slight, following surgery, organ transplant, accident, emotional upset or moving into a new home.

As a result of a newly formed spirit attachment or possession, physical appetites for food, sex, alcohol or drugs can increase drastically. Personal attitudes and beliefs can suddenly change as can taste in clothing. The voice and even facial features and appearance can alter dramatically.

These sudden changes in behavior can be a factor in convincing the most skeptical person that there is an attached entity Many people have the mistaken notion that there must be some bizarre outward signs caused by an interfering spirit such as depicted in the movie The Exorcist, based on the book of the same name. The movie depicted a true case, but some symptoms and behaviors of the girl actually came from two other cases, added for dramatic impact. The incidence of such violent possession is rare.

Spirit attachment does not require the permission of the host. This seems to be a violation of free will. It also appears to refute the popular notion that each person is totally responsible for creating his or her reality and that there are no victims. The apparent conflict here stems from the definitions of permission and free will choice. Ignorance and denial of the possibility of spirit interference is no defense against spirit attachment. Belief or lack of belief regarding the existence of intrusive entities has no bearing on the reality of these beings and their behavior.
 

In denial and ignorance, most people do not refuse permission to these non-physical intruders. Individual sovereign beings have the right to deny any violation or intrusion by another being. With limited, if any, knowledge and distorted perceptions of the nature of the spirit world, the non-physical reality, many people leave themselves open and create their own vulnerability as part of creating their own reality.

It is fashionable today among many "New Age" enthusiasts to attempt to channel some higher power, a spirit teacher or master who will use the voice mechanism of any willing person to speak "words of wisdom". Some use the terminology "for my highest good" when calling for a spirit to channel through. This activity constitutes permission and welcome for a discarnate spirit.

The identifiers such as "master" and "teacher" and qualifiers such as "for my highest good," will be claimed by the entities as personally valid identifications, qualities or attributes. Unfortunately, some opportunistic spirits who respond to this invitation refuse to leave at the end of the channeling session.

An afflicted person may report hearing voices, internally or externally, or having spontaneous visual images of bizarre or frightening faces or figures. Recurring dreams of being chased, being urged to commit suicide by someone, often a loved one who was a victim of suicide, may suggest the presence of an entity. A dream image of a person injecting something into the veins may be an attached entity's recall of the last memories before death.

During a session, a client described awakening suddenly from a vivid dream in which she was a man who was shot by another man. Unlike most dreams of death in which the person emerges from the body before the moment of death by falling, crushing, or auto accident, in this dream, she, as the man, saw the gun fire, felt the pain of the bullet impacting the chest, fell to the floor, then stood up Out of the dead body. He was very angry. This was the entity's experience.

The clinical procedures and interventions of Spirit Releasement Therapy seem to facilitate the release of the attached spirit entity. After successful completion of the process, the imposed symptoms are alleviated partially or fully, often immediately and permanently.

The following case is an example of a phobia imposed by an entity. The woman was a child of ten at the time of the attachment. This session was done as a demonstration before a hypnosis training class.

At 40, Amy suffered terribly from the fear of flying. She had come by ground transportation to the class, which was held in a location over a thousand miles from her home. At one time she would vomit if she even had to drive to an airport, but with hypnotherapy she released that problem. Still, she could not get near an aircraft. Hers was a severe case.

• Client: Well, I have this terrible fear of flying.

The panic showed in her eyes as she described the feeling.

• Therapist: What happened?
• Client: I was maybe ten years old and I was at an air show. And a helicopter crashed just a hundred feet in front of me. I watched the pilot burn. It was the first time I realized I was psychic. As he came over the top Of the curve to come down in this maneuver I saw that he wasn't going to make it and I yelled at him in my mind. ‘Pull out! Pull out! You're going to crash!’ And he did, the helicopter lust crashed right there in front of me!
• Therapist: Is the pilot still here? Is the pilot still here now?
• Client: No, he died. I was ten years old.
• Therapist: I know. Is the pilot still here now?
• Client: (pause) Well, maybe he is.
• Therapist: How do you feel, as you think about flying?
• Client: I get a queasiness in my stomach.
• Therapist: If that queasiness could speak, what would it say?
• Client: (shouting) I can't get out! I can't get out! I can't get out! I can't get out! I can't get out! I can't get out! (pause)
• Therapist: What's happening?
• Client: I can't get out! They can't get me out! (pause)
• Therapist: What's happening now?
• Client: (more calmly) Well, I'm outside watching my body burn. They couldn't get me out. The controls were shoved in my gut. I couldn't get out."
• Therapist What's your name?
• Client: Robert.

Robert had followed Amy home because she was very upset. He had a daughter her age and he understood the anguish she felt. So he followed her home to comfort her. As he reached his hand out to her to soothe her, he just slipped inside. He was attached and couldn't leave. Soon, Robert was trying to run the household.

• Client: She was lazy. I wanted her to work more. I tried to get her to do her school work more. Her dad was a real...he was a real jerk. Boy, I would have hit him, if I could. (pause) But now, she works too hard.

In this statement, Robert revealed his vulnerability. He was tired of his situation. The therapist recognized this vulnerability and used it as the entry point for the release procedure.

• Therapist: Robert, you sound like you're very tired.
• Client: Yeah I really am.

When directed to focus his awareness upward, Robert quickly perceived the Light and he went into it, taking with him the physical sensation of queasiness from Amy's guts. This had been the residue of the crash when the controls rammed into his belly.

One of the class participants asked Amy, "How is your fear of flying now?"

Amy: I think it's gone... I think I’ll fly home.

The phobia disappeared with the entity who had brought it as he went home to the Light.

Many people experience automatic writing,

during which the hand and arm seem to be under separate control by an outside force. Mediumship or channeling presents the phenomenon of control by a separate consciousness often speaking with a voice that is distinctly different from the person's normal speaking voice. Several other behaviors considered as psychotic or drug-induced symptoms by the American Psychiatric Association are specific signs and symptoms of spirit attachment and can often be eliminated by releasing the attached spirit.

A diagnosis of schizophrenia is based on certain symptoms defined as psychotic. This includes delusional thinking such as: thought broadcasting, the belief that one's thoughts can be heard by others; thought insertion, the belief that someone else has inserted thoughts in one's mind; hallucinations, some visual, some more commonly auditory such as hearing voices; being under the control of a dead person or other outside force.

Multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia are distinctly different conditions. Delusional thinking is absent from the diagnostic criteria for MPD. The essential features of MPD include a disturbance of identity and memory and the presence of two or more distinct personalities within the person. These personalities may claim different gender, race, present different IQ, age, even specific mental disorders, and claim a different family of origin. The belief that one is possessed by another person, spirit or entity may occur as a symptom of MPD. The separate personalities may be able to function individually and be totally unaware of the others.

Psychiatrist Scott Peck seems to confirm the condition of demonic possession in some of his patients. He calls for another diagnostic category for these people he feels are evil to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.

In a 389 page dissertation, Craig T. lsaacs (1985) states that present DSM-lll categories of psychopathology are inadequate to describe the cases of demonic possession that he studied and described.

The differential diagnosis of these three conditions requires an intelligent assessment of the signs of MPD, a critical evaluation of the ostensible psychotic symptoms that partially define schizophrenia, and also must include the consideration of discarnate influence or spirit obsession,

possession or attachment as a factor. Certain manifestations of the three conditions are similar enough to appear identical. The etiology and history of the afflictions are vastly different. the outcome of prognosis depend on the correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Some interesting similarities become obvious when comparing spirit possession syndrome, or SPS, and multiple personality disorder, or MPD. An earthbound spirit attachment can develop at any point after a being leaves the planning stage in the Light, even prior to conception, at any time during a lifetime, and before arriving at the review stage in the Light after death. Dissociation and formation of alter personalities in MPD is nearly always the result of childhood trauma.

Though some steps in the therapeutic process are similar, the final goals of treatment of the two conditions are distinctly different.

Spirit Possession Syndrome | Multiple Personality Disorder
Similarities Between MPD and SPS | Comparison of Treatment | Book Review

SPIRIT POSSESSION SYNDROME and MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER

Multiple Personality Disorder

The concept of divided or multilevel consciousness has been studied extensively In recent years. Ego states, subordinate personalities, or "sub personalities" are active in the daily functioning of a healthy individual. However, an emotional trauma can cause parts or "fragments" to split from a normal personality. These partial personalities, or sub-personalities, retain the person's age and characteristics at the time of the split. They strive to fulfill the unfulfilled need that led to the split, and continue to maintain the emotional mood of the traumatic event. These sub-personalities are literally stuck or frozen in the incident.

Sub-personalities do not become the personality in charge nor do they take control of the behavior. Rather, they manifest as subconscious urges, and can cause variations in mood, physical energy, or sociability, likes and dislikes in food and drink, unusual eating habits, and many other aspects of physical and emotional conditions and behavior. In cases of extreme physical, emotional, or sexual abuse during childhood years, the dissociation can become complete, resulting in two or more separate and distinct personalities. The alter personalities "switch" as each recurrently comes and takes full control of the person's behavior.

This condition is termed multiple personality disorder, or MPD. between 95% and 100% of diagnosed multiple personality cases have a history of childhood incest, torture or other abuse. Only in recent years has the brutal reality of child molestation, incest and Satanic cult ritual abuse come into public and professional awareness.

Pavelsky and others estimate that one out of three females are sexually molested by age eighteen. Coincident with the increasing recognition of widespread child abuse is the growing acceptance of MPD as a tragic consequence in many cases of this trauma. Currently, the condition is more often recognized, correctly diagnosed, and successfully treated as a specific mental disorder. In the dissociation of MPD, reality contact maintained through either the central or primary personality or an alter personality. The split is said to be massive or molecular; that is, each alter personality is complete, or nearly so, with memory of its own history and relatively distinct and integrated behavioral and interpersonal patterns.
 
 

Each alter personality has its own psycho-physiological profile, which may include pain response; handedness; ability to heal and rate of healing; response to any given medication; allergic reactions; eyeglass prescription; diseases such as diabetes, epilepsy, and arthritis, including swollen joints; appetites; and tastes in food and drugs.

In rare cases, one or more of the alter personalities speak and converse in a foreign language, modern or archaic, totally unknown to the primary personality. These cases are labeled responsive xenoglossy and suggest an intrusion by a discarnate personality.

Dissociation is considered a coping mechanism for a traumatic or overwhelming, stressful situation. Not all people who suffer this kind of abuse develop MPD. It seems to depend on the capacity to dissociate in response to the post-traumatic stress of the abuse.

Dr. Richard Kluft has developed a "four-factor theory" of the etiology of MPD. The four factors he deems necessary for the development of multiple personality are:

1. A biological capacity of dissociation
2. A history of trauma or abuse
3. Specific psychological structures or contents that can be used in the creation of alternate personalities
4. A lack of adequate nurturing or opportunities to recover from abuse.

Dr. Bennet Braun has proposed the 3-P model of the development of the disorder:

Two predisposing factors are hypothesized as necessary:

1. an inborn biological/psychological capacity to dissociate, and repeated exposure to an inconsistently stressful environment.
2. A precipitating event must occur -a specific overwhelming traumatic episode to which the potential MPD patient responds by dissociating

The perpetuating phenomena are interactive behaviors, usually with the abuser, that continue for an unspecified time and are beyond the control of the abused.

Hypnosis is presently the most reliable and efficient way of discovering, diagnosing and treating MPD. This treatment modality was fully accepted as a valid therapeutic modality by the American Dental Association and the American Medical Association in 1958, and by the American Psychiatric Association in 1962. However, its revival and general acceptance have been slow in coming. the stigma of Franz Anton Mesmer ("mesmerism") and the acrimony surrounding the birth of modern hypnosis still cloud the image of hypnotherapy, as does the indiscriminate display by stage hypnotists. The modern use of hypnosis is little understood by most psychotherapists, physicians and psychiatrists. Only about 100/0 of practicing mental health professionals utilize this technique.

Many professionals still deny the existence of MPD, or explain it away with some other diagnosis. Two separate studies have shown that correct diagnosis of MPD is established an average of 6.8 years after the patient first enters therapy.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MPD AND SPS

The study of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) cannot be complete without a serious examination of the condition known as Spirit Possession Syndrome (SPS). Comparison of MPD and SPS reveals some indisputable similarities. Some signs and symptoms of the two conditions are quite similar, some are distinctly different. Most mental health professionals have considerable skepticism regarding both conditions.

The classic symptoms of MPD may be muted and attenuated in childhood. The condition is often ignored, misunderstood, misinterpreted or misdiagnosed. A child's complaints and behavior are frequently disbelieved or passed off as childhood fantasy, and may lead to punishment.

Recognizable symptoms may begin to manifest in the late teens, but the condition is often not discovered and accurately diagnosed until the mid to late thirties. Approximately 650/c of cases are found between the ages of 20 and 40. The condition has a natural history from the original traumatic episode(s) to full manifestation of symptoms of MPD. The person with MPD usually holds a poor self-image of mental and physical health. cases of MPD in the United States may number in the thousands.
 

The earthbound spirit of a deceased human can from an attachment to a living person at any
point between conception and death. The mental, emotional and physical health of the host has no bearing on the potential for an attachment. Many cases of SPS are discovered in therapy while searching for the cause of a chronic problem or unexpected new conflict in the life of the client.

Some phases of the treatment of MPD and Spirit Releasement therapy have a parallel intention, yet the final goal is totally different. For the alter personalities in MPD, the final step is either integration and fusion or at least cooperation and co-consciousness. For the condition of spirit attachment, only the release of the spirit can bring relief of the symptoms.

William James spoke on "Demoniacal Possession" in his 1896 Lowell Lectures. Recapitulating his previous lecture, "Multiple Personality", he mentioned three types of mutations in the sense of self; insane, hysteric, and somnambulistic. the fourth type, he said, is spirit control, or mediumship, which in the past had been equated with devil worship and pathology.

He continued:

History shows that mediumship is identical with demon possession.

But the obsolescence of public belief in the possession by demons is a very strange thing in Christian lands, when one considers that it is the one most articulately expressed doctrine of both testaments, and...reigned for seven teen hundred years, hardly challenged, in all the churches. every land and every age has exhibited the facts on which this belief was founded. India, China, Egypt, Africa, Polynesia, Greece, Rome, and all medieval Europe believed that certain nervous disorders were of supernatural origin, inspired by gods and sacred; or by demons - and therefore diabolical. When the pagan gods became demons, all possession became diabolic, and we have the medieval condition.

In James' day, there was "...much alarmist writing in psychopathy about degeneration," and he suggested that "...if there are devils, if there are supernormal powers, if is through the cracked and fragmented self that they enter." Referring to the spiritualistic activities of Boston and New York in 1896, James states that the diabolic nature of demon possession now "...has with us assumed a benign and optimistic form, [in which] changed personality is considered the spirit of a departed being coming to bring messages of comfort from the ‘sunny land’."

James further stated that:

The refusal of modern "enlightenment" to treat "possession" as a hypothesis to be spoken of as even possible, in spite of the massive human tradition based on concrete experience in its favor, has always seemed to me a curious example of the power of fashion in things scientific. That the demon-theory will have its innings again is to my mind absolutely certain. One has to be "scientific" indeed to be blind and ignorant enough to suspect no such possibility.

James’ prescient forecast concerning the "demon-theory" is proving true. Dr. Ralph Allison, considered a pioneer in the modern treatment of MPD, says bluntly that many of his multiple personality patients have exhibited symptoms of possession. He has described his encounters with aspects of their personalities which were not true alters. He found it difficult to dismiss these bizarre occurrences as delusion. With no "logical" explanation, he has come to believe in the possibility of spirit possession.

Allison describes numerous cases of apparent spirit possession in MPD. He has developed a conceptual scheme which distinguishes five levels or types of possession:

1. Simple obsessive compulsive neurosis.
2. Thought forms and created beings.
3. An aspect or fragment of the mind of a living person.
4. The earthbound spirit who once lived as a human being.
5. Full demonic possession.

Dr. Allison states that he has corresponded with many professionals who have come to similar

conclusions about the origin and purpose of alter personalities.

Arthur Guirdham, an English psychiatrist who is also psychic, has been in practice more than 50 years and refuses to consider the possibility of MPD as a viable diagnosis. He considers the condition to be possession by one or more spirit entities. He considers psychic influence or spirit possession to be the cause of many kinds of illness, mental and physical and other conditions such as sleepwalking and addiction.

It is interesting to note that the three subjects - hypnosis, spirit possession, and multiple personality disorder - were quite prominent at the turn of the century, then faded almost simultaneously into obscurity. With the publishing of the book, The 3 Faces of Eve (Thigpen & Cleckley, 1957), MPD once again came into public awareness. Hypnosis was accepted by the health professions in mid-century. treatment of spirit possession never ceased but continued quietly through the years without much publicity.

The connection between spirit possession and MPD was brought back into public and professional awareness by psychiatrist Ralph Allison (1980). Included in his book is a chapter entitled, "Possession and the Spirit World." He describes the effects of spirit interference and the process of releasing the discarnates.

Though considered an expert in the field of MPD, he has been criticized by many of his colleagues for considering the spiritual approach to the clinical treatment of MPD.

Dr. Richard Kluft has coined the term co-presence, meaning an alter's ability to influence the experience or behavior of another personality. This describes precisely the effect of an attached earthbound spirit on the host.

Walter Young described a case of ostensible adult onset of MPD. Duane, a veteran of World War II, began having dissociative episodes after being discharged from the navy. Duane did not drink or use drugs. He described an inner voice that had been present since the war which sometimes advised suicide.

Duane had an unhappy childhood but there were not the usual precipitating factors leading to MPD. Duane and a friend named Max joined the navy together. In a tragic episode, Duane ordered Max to stand Duane’s gunnery watch. A Japanese plane strafed the area and Max was fatally wounded. Duane was with Max in the last moments and heard Max promise, "I'll never leave you." Duane felt responsible for the death of his friend.

With Duane under hypnosis, "Max" claimed to have entered Duane because Max held Duane responsible for his death. He claimed that he had a score to settle with Duane because "it wasn't may time to die." He denied the presence of any other alters. He acknowledged that he was the "voice" that Duane heard. He took control occasionally and Duane was amnesic during these periods.

Max lived a hedonistic lifestyle when he was in control of Duane’s body, riding motorcycles, having affairs with women, and urging Duane to leave home on repeated trips. This fits the definition of co-presence described above.

Previous psychiatric records revealed that a dissociative condition was suspected. Max revealed that the former psychiatrist knew of his presence and had attempted to "banish" him. He just went away briefly and returned after the psychiatrist was gone. This is the result of inadequate knowledge of the releasement process.

Duane left therapy with Dr. Young after three months. His anxiety increased as hypnotic sessions were pursued with the intention of exploring the war and early life experiences.

In the discussion, Dr. Young suggests several unusual aspects of the case. Adult onset of MPD is little studied, little understood and considered rare. A single alter in a case of MPD is highly unusual. His discussion attempted to explain the case in psycho-analytic terms but without concrete conclusions. The description of the case of Duane and Max is typical of spirit attachment. There are many specific indication, including the following:

There was no history which would indicate the antecedents of MPD.

1. The two were friends.
2. Duane was present at the time of Max’s death.
3. Duane felt guilt, Max felt blame. This is an exact fit of emotions.
4. Max promised "I’ll never leave you."
5. Max stated that he had entered Duane. This is a clear description which the therapist must accept as valid.

The voice urged suicide as a way of assuaging the blame and guilt and achieving peace for both. This is typical of the influence of the dark beings exacerbating the feelings of revenge. The idea of achieving peace is a manipulative deception. With Max in control, Duane was amnesic of the lifestyle adopted by Max. This is a case of occasional complete takeover. Max knew he was a separate being and resisted the former psychiatrist's efforts to banish him. Max was not at all confused by the situation.

The situation worsened with further inadequate and inappropriate treatment. Psychiatric intervention was obviously the wrong treatment approach for the condition.

Spirit attachment, or possession, is not affected by standard medical treatment, and traditional psychotherapy simply does not apply. Psychiatric intervention, especially the use of mind altering drugs, can exacerbate the condition. A process of releasing the attached entity is the treatment of choice and indeed the only successful method of alleviating the problem. the process is gentle, logical, methodical, systematic and grounded in sound psycho-therapeutic principles.

Depossession, disobession, minor exorcism, or spirit releasement procedures are not dangerous or frightening, once a client is aware of the reality of the situation, and the therapist harbors no fear of the subject. The condition of spirit attachment, if properly treated, can be cleared immediately.

However, hypnotic suggestion can mask organically caused symptoms, behavior can be altered by post-hypnotic suggestion, and the placebo effect of any kind of treatment ritual is well know. For these reasons a psychological evaluation is recommended prior to the intervention and a thorough medical examination is necessary if there are physical symptoms. This treatment cannot be considered as a substitute for appropriate medical psychological treatment.

 
  Spirit Possession Syndrome | Multiple Personality Disorder
Similarities Between MPD and SPS | Comparison of Treatment | Book Review

COMPARISON OF TREATMENT

Therapy with the multiple personality can be long and arduous for the therapist as well as the patient. The therapeutic alliance must be nurtured and strong trust established. This is the foremost principle for the treatment of MPD and must be maintained as the framework of the therapy.

Through the appropriate use of hypnosis, the various alter personalities can be brought forward to the conscious level. The focus is on the whole human being, and a contact must be negotiated between the identified patient and the alters, agreeing to commit to therapy, and to shun

suicide, homicide, or violence except in self defense. Work must continue at a pace which is comfortable for the patient, especially in sessions involving abreaction and catharsis of traumatic experiences. A variety of therapeutic techniques can be used, selected according to the uniqueness of the individual.

The relationships among alters must be identified, and the overall intrapsychic system determined.

All personalities must be accorded complete respect as individuals, and each is afforded equal time in therapy. Awareness, empathy, cooperation and communication are encouraged between alters. All the parts are informed about their roles in the dissociated system. This fosters a sense of the deeper unity which underlies the apparent individuality of alternate personalities.

The end of successful therapy is fusion or integration, and the individual must be protected following this. There is a need for a quiet time for the body and mind to heal, like a wound after surgery Experts disagree on the advisability of complete fusion or integration of personalities as the treatment of choice, even though complete and lasting integration has been accomplished in many cases. In some instances, the alter personalities can maintain - and insist upon maintaining - separate and peaceful coexistence. Sever stress can once again lead to dissociation, even in a successfully fused multiple personality.
 

The steps in the treatment of the multiple personality can be listed as follows:

1. Trust, establishing the therapeutic alliance
2. Making and sharing the diagnosis.
3. Communicating with the personalities and honoring or validating them as individuals
4. Contracting with the personalities to continue therapy, not to harm self or others, including the therapist.
5. Individual and system history gathering. This means learning details such as the name; the age of the client when the personality was created and its present age; the reasons for creation and present function; where it was created - physically in the real world, inside the head, and the present position in the power structure; what functions it now serves; what problems and issues arise; and how it was created.
6. Therapeutically working the issues of each personality.
7. Special procedures, such as sand play, art therapy, occupational therapy.
8. Interpersonality communications, an early step to co-consciousness and integration.
9. Resolution and integration. After the conflict areas are resolved, integration Is the goal. Some alters refuse integrate, to be absorbed. Some fear they will die. An acceptable but less stable form of resolution is a co-consciousness or mutual cooperation among alter personalities. This is less than complete integration.
10. New coping skills.
11. Social networking.
12. Solidifying gains and skills.
13. Follow up.
     

Steps 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, & 13 are also part of the treatment process for spirit possession syndrome. Step 4 is less important, as the release is most often accomplished during the same session as the discovery of an attached spirit, less often, over a period of two to five session. If the release is not completed during the session, it is wise to request an agreement with the entity or entities to return for another session. Regarding step 7, it is unnecessary to utilize adjunct procedures for the attached spirits. Therapy with the entity is not aimed at resolving its issues so it can lead a productive life; it has left its physical body. It has no life. The goal is to bring about sufficient resolution to release the emotional or physical bond which holds the entity to the earth plane and sever its attachment to the identified client. This will allow the next step to be accomplished - that is, moving into the Light.

The point of widest divergence between the therapies for the two conditions is step 9. After the resolution in Spirit Releasement Therapy, the entity is sent on to its own evolution, to its rightful place in the Light. One spirit cannot be fused with another. it cannot be forced to blend or integrate with another by separate, sovereign entity.

By letting go of something, releasing some inappropriate connection, by getting rid of the burden of an attached spirit, the client is left whole and complete in him or her self, without the parasitic attachments. In therapy with multiples, the alter personalities are fused, integrated, blended with the original personality in the attempt to reestablish the wholeness which was destroyed by early trauma.

The difference between MPD and SPS may be due to the disparate theoretical frameworks, or therapeutic paradigms It may be simply an artifact of the two distinct metaphors It may also indicate that the two models are both valid and accurate in the description of their respective conditions.

The two disorders have some characteristics in common that appear similar in outward manifestations, yet are distinct from one another in cause or precipitating factors, onset, history, diagnosis, prognosis, and successful treatment, and must be considered and treated differently. The treatment for MPD is useless and confusing for a person burdened with attached spirits.

Releasing discarnates from the person afflicted with MPD may allow for earlier success during treatment with the methods appropriate to that condition. In fact, releasing attached spirits from anyone beset by the lost earthbound souls will bring relief from imposed ailments and behavior. It is the best recourse for the condition.

They agree to withdraw their operatives attached to humans, recall their fleet of craft, and cease their intrusions on our planet. With this release of the dark forces, an entire alien civilization can also be liberated and turned toward their path of evolution in the Light.

There is one power in the universe. It is the Power of the Light; it is Flow, not Force. It is the power of love, healing, and spiritual evolution. The power of the Light can be distorted and misused by any being with such miscreant intention to damage, control, or destroy others. This abuse is a violation of the free will of the victim, the person who is the object of the distorted force. It also violates the basic nature of the perpetrator; misuse of the Power of the Light is a step backward in spiritual evolution.

At the core of every God-created being is a spark of the God consciousness. Denial and defiance of this spiritual heritage is a denial and defiance of God. At the innermost core, each being knows the truth of its identity. This cannot be denied. It is the way Home.

 
  Spirit Possession Syndrome | Multiple Personality Disorder
Similarities Between MPD and SPS | Comparison of Treatment | Book Review

BOOK REVIEW:

SPIRIT RELEASEMENT THERAPY

(A Technique Manual)

WILLIAM J. BALDWIN. D.D.S. Ph.D.

This 450+ page book is required reading for all students of the Lifestream Crystal Energywork Training and a must for anyone engaged in working with others in a therapeutic setting. Dr. Baldwin has taken this highly controversial topic and made it accessible to everyone with his clarity, research and experience. This manual is extremely valuable to both the lay person and professional therapist alike.

In this masterful presentation Bill has presented extensive historical, theoretical and practical detail on a complete constellation of spiritual work: present life recall, inner child work, regression therapy, birth regression, past lives therapy, recovery of soul-mind fragmentation, spirit releasement, remote spirit releasement, & treatment of the demonic.

Dr. Roger Woolger, the author of Other Lives, Other Selves, has rightly said that this manual "..illuminates the foggier borderlines between sub-personalities, ancestral spirits, multiples, possessing entities and past life selves."

Unlike many of the superficial popular treatments of this extremely important topic, this book gives us an extensive historical, theoretical, theological, and very practical foundation with which to approach these phenomena.

Apart from the technical information, the fundamental of all healing work is articulated quite succinctly:

"The final focus of our spiritual learning is love. The bottom line of healing is love."

Bill has created for us not only a monumental synthesis of psychological and spiritual understanding and insight, but a practical presentation of how to implement the procedures and techniques that he describes. Not only are the details of various methodologies presented, but also the extensive requirements of anyone considering involvement with this aspect of service.

Dr. Edith Fore, a pioneer in past life and entity attachment work, author of "You Have Been Here Before", "The Unquiet Dead", and "Encounters" says, in the forward of Dr. Baldwin’s book:

"Dr. Baldwin casts much light on the issue of differential diagnosis, the starting point of any therapy in these fields. Without this, an unsuspecting therapist might go off in the wrong direction.

"One of the aspects of Dr. Baldwin's work that sets him apart from many of us who work along similar lines is his expertise in the area of non-human entities. His fearlessness and years of experience now offers the reader excellent descriptions of these beings and the various categories involved as well as a step-by-step how-to approach to freeing the client from their grip."

We wholeheartedly agree!

This is a "must read!"