There is a very famous psychiatrist / Self-help book writer called Scott Peck (1936-2005). He is famous for his book called “The Road Less Travelled” (1978)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck
I was browsing through his book called “The People of The Lie: Toward a Psychology of Evil”. I would describe this book as a book that is very ahead of its time, brilliantly exploring the issue of antagonistic / narcissist / sociopathic personality disorders (as we call them today) that is paving the road for the psychologists of our time who now have fewer problem elaborating on these issues (simply because we now have greater reliable information on these personality disorders than back in 1983).
So in his book, Scott peck is studying the issue of “evil”. Evil here is mainly (in our more modern way of thinking) the sum of early childhood issues that can lead someone to self-defeating behaviors or self-involved personality types that are harmful to others or society as a whole. This is a constant dilemma. The author who is a psychiatrist of the 70’s is constantly debating how classical theories are in many cases simply insufficient in understanding a deeper phenomenon that he describes as pure and simple evil (which is rejected by later psychologists who now use terms like “antagonistic behavior” or “NPD” with a whole range of descriptive terms for different types of “evil” people).
I know this has been a lengthy introduction but the most striking part of his book is the part on “Satanic Possessions”. This is also happening in the 70’s. The author who is a psychiatrists gets involved into some exorcism ceremonies and claims he has met the devil and has been changed and moved by this experience. He even gives some details and even refers to interesting resources on real exorcism.
So I wanted to open the debate and start by sharing my view on the issue (which is based on some amount of spiritual literature). In Islam the devil is described as an angel who has been appointed by God, maybe to unbalance the world a little bit with the full permission and awareness of God. In fact the monster-like Devil of the Judeo-Christian tradition is mostly based on the Zoroastrian concept of Ahriman, some sort of Anti-God which is the Opposite of the God Ahura-Mazda. (I’ve also found that these types of concepts tend to migrate a lot between seemingly opposite faiths).
So from a spiritual perspective, the main issue is an issue of “Satan get thee behind me” issue. Most people I know will seek to improve their own awareness and try to establish a better relationship vis a vis their own small-self or Ego.
Yet M. Scott Peck is also pointing to the fact that true psychotherapy can be a form of exorcism that brings up the lies within us to the light and thus frees us from erroneous ideas that are binding us and keeping us from living a happier / healthier life. Some modern writers are also saying that true spirituality and true psychotherapy are the same thing. So this is the part of his work that echoed into the 21st century.
But I’m still shocked, even somehow scared to see how even a 20th century can describe some Christian Exorcism Rituals as a real process dealing with real demonic forces with the author claiming that “He looked Satan in the Eyes” during those rituals.
The only thing similar to that in spiritual literature is our “pain bodies” as described by Eckhart Tolle. These are lifeless / unconscious energies that emanate from humans that can be present in places like ancient prisons or mental institutions that can cause sensitive people to feel depressed, angry, fearful etc. And there are really techniques to dissolve these energy bodies or protect ourselves from their influence.
Yet, anthropologically, people seem to like the idea of demons getting inside them. In some cultures it’s the Djinn. In other cultures they might ask us which insect it was that bit us. Personally (and as a spiritual person) I simply know that such people will simply get better within a week or so, after they start using the right type of medicine that has been prescribed by some mental health practitioner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck
I was browsing through his book called “The People of The Lie: Toward a Psychology of Evil”. I would describe this book as a book that is very ahead of its time, brilliantly exploring the issue of antagonistic / narcissist / sociopathic personality disorders (as we call them today) that is paving the road for the psychologists of our time who now have fewer problem elaborating on these issues (simply because we now have greater reliable information on these personality disorders than back in 1983).
So in his book, Scott peck is studying the issue of “evil”. Evil here is mainly (in our more modern way of thinking) the sum of early childhood issues that can lead someone to self-defeating behaviors or self-involved personality types that are harmful to others or society as a whole. This is a constant dilemma. The author who is a psychiatrist of the 70’s is constantly debating how classical theories are in many cases simply insufficient in understanding a deeper phenomenon that he describes as pure and simple evil (which is rejected by later psychologists who now use terms like “antagonistic behavior” or “NPD” with a whole range of descriptive terms for different types of “evil” people).
I know this has been a lengthy introduction but the most striking part of his book is the part on “Satanic Possessions”. This is also happening in the 70’s. The author who is a psychiatrists gets involved into some exorcism ceremonies and claims he has met the devil and has been changed and moved by this experience. He even gives some details and even refers to interesting resources on real exorcism.
So I wanted to open the debate and start by sharing my view on the issue (which is based on some amount of spiritual literature). In Islam the devil is described as an angel who has been appointed by God, maybe to unbalance the world a little bit with the full permission and awareness of God. In fact the monster-like Devil of the Judeo-Christian tradition is mostly based on the Zoroastrian concept of Ahriman, some sort of Anti-God which is the Opposite of the God Ahura-Mazda. (I’ve also found that these types of concepts tend to migrate a lot between seemingly opposite faiths).
So from a spiritual perspective, the main issue is an issue of “Satan get thee behind me” issue. Most people I know will seek to improve their own awareness and try to establish a better relationship vis a vis their own small-self or Ego.
Yet M. Scott Peck is also pointing to the fact that true psychotherapy can be a form of exorcism that brings up the lies within us to the light and thus frees us from erroneous ideas that are binding us and keeping us from living a happier / healthier life. Some modern writers are also saying that true spirituality and true psychotherapy are the same thing. So this is the part of his work that echoed into the 21st century.
But I’m still shocked, even somehow scared to see how even a 20th century can describe some Christian Exorcism Rituals as a real process dealing with real demonic forces with the author claiming that “He looked Satan in the Eyes” during those rituals.
The only thing similar to that in spiritual literature is our “pain bodies” as described by Eckhart Tolle. These are lifeless / unconscious energies that emanate from humans that can be present in places like ancient prisons or mental institutions that can cause sensitive people to feel depressed, angry, fearful etc. And there are really techniques to dissolve these energy bodies or protect ourselves from their influence.
Yet, anthropologically, people seem to like the idea of demons getting inside them. In some cultures it’s the Djinn. In other cultures they might ask us which insect it was that bit us. Personally (and as a spiritual person) I simply know that such people will simply get better within a week or so, after they start using the right type of medicine that has been prescribed by some mental health practitioner.
![[Image: 7151bc275de2d3d422106a4008215efe.jpg]](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/71/51/bc/7151bc275de2d3d422106a4008215efe.jpg)
