516 The Spiritual Man
neither will God, because to do so would be contrary to the principle
of God’s operation. Evil spirits will do so however; they never
hesitate to seize the opportunity to use man’s mind. It is therefore
most foolish for one to allow his mind to sink into a state of passivity
because the enemy spirits are on the prowl seeking whomever they
may devour.
Let us pursue one step further this matter of passivity as a
condition for the operation of evil spirits. We are aware of one class
of people who especially relish communicating with these spirits.
People usually do not hanker to be demon possessed, but this special
class craves to be so possessed. These are the soothsayers, the
augurs, the mediums, the necromancers. By accurately observing the
cause of their possession we may come to understand the principle of
demon possession. These people tell us that in order to be possessed
by what they call gods (who actually are demons) their will must
present no resistance whatsoever but be favorably disposed to accept
whatever comes upon their bodies. To render their will completely
passive their mind must first be reduced to blankness. A blank brain
produces a passive will. These two elements are the basic requisites
for demon possession. Hence a necromancer who is waiting for his
“god” to come upon him lets down his hair and shakes his head for a
continued period until it is dizzy and his mind completely out of
action. As the latter is turning blank his will naturally becomes
immobile. At this point his mouth begins to move unconsciously, his
body gradually trembles, and before long his “god” descends upon
him. This is one way of becoming possessed. Although there may be
others, the principle for every spiritist is the same: to achieve
passivity of will through a perfectly blank mind; for all spiritists
agree that when spirits or demons alight upon them their heads can
no longer think and their wills can no longer act. They are
unpossessed until this state of an empty mind and an inert will is
reached.