Modern science casts doubt on many of the knowledge accumulated by mankind over the millennia.
"Every traditional culture and religion throughout human history has had some form of belief in the possession of spirits and the associated rituals to exorcise them," writes Dr. Terence Palmer, a psychologist and the first person in the UK to earn a degree in therapies for the expulsion of spirits.
Some psychologists are returning to the methods invented by our ancestors to help patients with signs of possession.
Dr. William Baldwin (1939-2004) was the founder of ghost-exorcism therapy, and he also used the technique of returning to past lives. Baldwin was careful in his wording and did not speak openly about whether he believed in reincarnation or not, according to him, the main thing is that this technique helped patients.
Exorcism specialist Dr. Alan Sanderson wrote in his talk “Spirit Exorcism Therapy: What It Is and What Its Results Are”: “I want to emphasize that my concept of ghost possession and method of exorcism is not related to religious or spiritual faith. … It is based on clinical observation and standard therapy. We use a scientific approach, but we also take into account subjective experience that goes beyond the limits of modern scientific theory."
Dr. Palmer wrote in the introduction to his lecture, The Science of Ghost Exorcism: “Ghost exorcism therapy was caught between the distrust of a materialistic secular society and the subjective experience of spirit possession.”
Parapsychology is often called a "pseudoscience" because the approach it uses cannot be fully explained within the framework of generally accepted science. However, her techniques, some of which have ancient origins, are effective in many cases.
Let us consider in more detail the ideas of scientists and thinkers, including those mentioned above, who tried to consider this issue from a scientific point of view.
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Frederick W. H. Myers
Frederick V. H. Myers (1843-1901) wrote in his book The Human Person and Her Life After the Death of the Body, which was published in 1906, after his death: “The spirit that captures a person brings facts from his memory, and not memory of a person.
He noted that the work of the brain is not really studied; without even touching on supernatural phenomena, scientists do not understand how many of its usual functions are carried out. This statement is still true today. Myers hypothesized about the energy or radiation behind telepathic abilities. He tried to determine the connection between memory centers and memory gaps in people believed to be possessed.
Myers had no special education in psychology. Much of his work was based on the words of the mediums with whom he collaborated. Myers also believed that the origin of the theory was not as important as its truth and effectiveness in practice.
"Instead of asking in which century a particular doctrine originated, implying that the more modern it is, the better, it is worth asking how much it agrees or disagrees with many recent facts."
“From this point of view, the theory of ghost possession looks especially remarkable. It cannot be said that it contradicts some proven facts. We do not know of anything that could refute it. Quite the opposite. The theory of possession provides powerful techniques for studying and explaining many similar phenomena. If only we would agree to accept explanations that at first glance seem somewhat radical."
Dr. Terence Palmer
Dr. Palmer, in his dissertation, touched on Myers' ideas. He said that Myers and others have tried to bring the mental, emotional and spiritual elements of the human experience into the natural sciences.
“Squeezing human experience into a scientific framework is a daunting idea for many reasons. But fear is the cause of all human suffering. Only when medical science casts aside its own fear of being misinterpreted can it be effective in demonstrating how to remove fear,”writes Dr. Palmer.
In a lecture on his work, he discusses the ways in which we learn things, information from other people, the use of logic, deduction, and personal experience. He notes that these methods allow for the possibility of real possession by spirits. From his point of view, the biggest problem for studying this topic is funding.
Dr. Alan Sanderson
In his talk, Dr. Sanderson asks the question, "Why is there no research to prove these claims (of ghost possession)?"
From his point of view, there are three reasons why this area is not being studied. First, exorcism is a new field that has only been studied and practiced scientifically for about ten years. Secondly, this topic is treated with skepticism and distrust. Third, funding for research is difficult.
Dr. Sanderson hopes this area will grow. He used a method developed by Dr. Baldwin for the treatment of obsession. This method helped a patient who was supposedly possessed by the spirit of her deceased father.
Dr. William Baldwin
Dr. Baldwin developed a technique for driving out demons. He believed that a serious mental trauma can lead to the fact that a person's consciousness is unable to control the body, and other forms of consciousness take the vacant place.
During exorcism therapy, the patient is put into a state of hypnosis so that it is easier to access another consciousness in his mind. The therapist tells this entity to look inward. According to Dr. Baldwin, about half of his hypnosis patients see silver threads, similar to the references in the Bible, which describe the connection of the human soul to the body.
The role of the therapist is to eliminate negative entities so that they do not affect the patient's life; in some cases, he may even ask for help from higher powers.
Dr. Sanderson's study of a patient with multiple personality syndrome
Pru, 46, suffered from psychological problems that were linked to childhood sexual abuse by her father. During her hypnosis session with Dr. Sanderson, she identified herself with her father Jason. Jason behaved aggressively and threatened Dr. Sanders.
“In a deep trance state, Jason agreed to look inward where he saw blackness,” writes Dr. Sanderson. - I called the angels for help. After using Baldwin's technique to fight demonic spirits, the blackness went away. After that Jason became compliant. He agreed to leave. Other destructive entities behaved in a similar way."
But not all spirits found within patients' personalities are evil.
Pru described her feelings:
“The spiritual approach has allowed me to free myself from everyday stress better than any previously used remedy. During hypnosis, I talked about things that never happened in my life, and places I have never been. Was it spirits, scattered parts of my personality, the memory of ancestors, or a figment of my imagination? I very much doubt it was just fantasy.
I felt an inner resistance and at the same time a relief that I could talk about it and meet understanding. To believe this, you need to experience this feeling of liberation from darkness. It was amazing, I am still in a state of excitement that these entities disappeared and set me free."