MEDIUMSHIP - OBSESSION:  CAUSES OF OBSESSION

Moral Deficiencies | Present Effects of Past Causes |
Undeveloped Mediumship | Poorly Developed Mediumship

Present Effects of Past Causes

Part 1 of 2:  An Act of Vengeance

Spiritism teaches us that our suffering arises as a direct result of our own mistakes and the poor use of our free will, and that if the cause of our suffering does not stem from events in the present life, it inevitably has roots in a previous existence. These two teachings are well demonstrated by this second cause of obsession, which represents a moral debt of our own, the consequences of which we have come to bear. Please note that a suffering state is never equitable to or unconditionally indicative of an obsession; it does, however represent a form of suffering that can result from our past actions.

One example of this cause, and a very predominant form of spiritual obsession, is found in the vengeful actions of our discarnate adversaries. Allan Kardec writes, "Obsession is almost always the expression of vengeance sought by a spirit, the origin of which is frequently found in relationships that the obsessed victim had with the obsessor, in a preceding existence."  The spirits who incarnate on the planet Earth are still very far from their evolutionary goal of moral and intellectual imperfection; when someone hurts us in any way, we are often driven, by our inferior tendencies, to seek out revenge. Displaying ignorance of, or simply ignoring, the moral teachings of our religions, which could show us a better way, we instead want the one who caused us suffering to suffer just the same.  When we depart for the spiritual plane, at the death of our physical body, we do not abandon such negative inclinations simply by leaving the material body behind.  We carry with us all the sentiments that we cultivated on Earth, both good and bad, since we maintain our individuality. Therefore, when we do not make peace with our enemies before our "death", we carry our feelings of resentment and desires for revenge with us, and we continue to act upon them, even from the spiritual plane.  When the individual who is the object of our vengeful desires remains in, or returns to, the material world, so begins the process of a vengeance-driven obsession.

This kind of obsessor becomes so overwhelmed by the pain of his suffering and the desire to take justice into his own hands, that he develops a total mental fixation, whereby, for him, all time stops, and he is blinded to all else but this tormenting situation. He thus begins to persecute his enemy. Once a victim in the past, he now becomes today's criminal and seeks to bring down the one who he holds responsible for his suffering, i.e., today's victim.

It is for this reason that we say that the obsessed individual is living out the consequences of his own actions¹. The incarnate individual's memory is temporarily clouded by the influence of his material existence, and he is not consciously aware of any such motivation, on the part of another, to hurt him².   Many people are still ignorant about spirit life and even of the very possibility of such action upon them by someone who they cannot see.  However, their spirit does retain this memory and, as such, carries either the continued feelings of contempt that originally drove him to the actions that brought upon this situation, or the guilt of having committed them. The creditor and his debtor often meet in the spiritual realm, when the incarnate individual's spirit is partially liberated, while the body sleeps, and this confrontation helps to keep such feelings fresh.  During waking hours, the ill-willed feelings, even at the subconscious level, set the stage for a mental connection between the spirit and the incarnate individual. Then, should the incarnate person fail to be vigilant of his thoughts and actions, thus giving in to inferior tendencies, he will consequently lower his vibrational frequency and diminish his own spiritual defenses, opening the door for his persecutor to take action.

¹ It should also be pointed out here that a spirit seeking vengeance against an individual may very well take action against that person's family member or someone else that is close to him or her and who is more sensitive to the spirit's influence. By making this latter person suffer, the spirit finds a way to cause his primary target to suffer just the same.

² Note: this is a reason why we should pray for our enemies, even though we may not think anyone has something against us.