MEDIUMSHIP - OBSESSION:  CAUSES OF OBSESSION

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

Poorly Developed Mediumship

As the author, Rigonatti, writes, "A poorly employed mediumship can lead to a cruel obsession. The medium who does not know how to complete his task, or who does so motivated by self-interest, is abandoned by good spirits and becomes a prisoner of criminal spirits who will never leave him in peace."

This cause is a combination of the law of moral affinity, with the heightened sensitivity to spiritual influences inherent to the medianimic faculty. Allan Kardec also writes, in "The Gospel Explained by the Spiritist Doctrine": : 

"Mediums who follow an incorrect path do more harm than good to the Spiritist cause, and more than one person will experience a delay in their progress as a result of the unfortunate impressions some medium has produced. That is why those endowed with this gift will have to account for the way they use it, since they only received it in order to do good to their fellow human beings. 

The mediums who want to be assisted by good spirits must work toward self-improvement. The ones who want their gift to unfold further, and become enriched, must enrich themselves morally and refuse to do anything that will turn mediumship away from its providential purpose. 

If good spirits sometimes use morally imperfect mediums, it is in order to give them good advice and so lead them toward the road to goodness. If, however, the spirits meet with hardened hearts, and their advice is ignored, they'll leave, and the field will be open for the entrance of any ill-meaning spirits… 

All truth-serving mediums should have one goal in common: to honor the trust of good spirits and to close the doors to mischievous and deceptive ones. Without this commitment, mediumship becomes a hollow gift and can even become harmful to the person who has it, since it may degenerate into a spiritual disturbance."

Another point to be made about this type of obsession is that quite often, mediums who use their faculty for the intended noble purposes of spreading love, compassion, and truth, are targeted by ill-meaning spirits, who may have nothing personal, so to speak, against the medium, but rather despise the medium's good intentions and efforts to bring peace and happiness to others, as well as the spiritual progress that the medium himself will thus achieve. Mediums must be on the highest guard against such spirits and must be ever-vigilant of their thoughts and behaviors, careful not to become prideful or over-confident, for the latter represents a sign of his lack of vigilance, exactly what this kind of deceptive spirit is looking for.  Such pride is a weakness that will allow the spirit to mislead and betray the medium, with the ultimate intention of leading him astray and putting an end to his good deeds.

Kardec, Allan. "Obsession." The Mediums' Book. 2nd ed (1st edition FEB). Trans. Anna Blackwell (translated 1876). Ed. Livraria Espírita Allan Kardec. Brasilia-DF, Brazil:  Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation}. 1986. 277-295.

Kardec, Allan.  The Gospel  Explained By The Spiritist Doctrine.  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from 3rd edition in French). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 2000. 302-303.

Schubert, Suely Caldas.  Obsessão e Desobsessão [Obsession and Disobsession]. 14 ed. Rio de Janeiro- RJ, Brazil. 2000. 30-31, 42-52, 61-63, 37-77.

De Miranda, Manoel Philomeno [spirit Author], Franco, Divaldo P. [Medium]. Obsession. (translation of "Grilhoes Partidos). Trans. Donato Ely J. and Miranda, Herminio C. Salvador, Ba, Brazil. Centro Espirita "Caminho da Redenção". 1980. 13-21.

Peralva, Martins. "Obsessoes" (Obsessions). Estudando A Mediunidade [Studying Mediumship]. Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil: Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation]. 1998 (20th ed). 65-71.

Systematized Study published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Program V, Unit 8, Subunit 1 Concept, Causes and Degrees of Obsession. Published 1996, Brasilia (DF).

Systematized Study published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Program V, Unit 8, Subunit 2 The obsessive process: the obsessor and the obsessed. Published 1996, Brasilia (DF).