Posted by Roberta Grimes • June 12, 2021 • 69 Comments
Book News, The Source, Understanding Reality
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise!
– Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), from “Onward, Christian Soldiers” (1865)
There is no powerful evil entity in opposition to God. It doesn’t matter whether you call him Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, or perhaps you just call him the plain ol’ devil. Unlike the Godhead, he does not and cannot exist in any way that matters. And this is true, even despite the fact that we can trace the notion of powerful devils back as far as there are ancient gods, and Wikipedia offers us more than seventy names for the Ultimate Bad Guy.
You can have no idea of just how much I didn’t want to talk about this! I have seen too much. Ghastly possessions and hauntings. I know the power that evil entities can have over our minds if we allow them in, so emphatically I will never use a Ouija board. I won’t watch a movie about evil, nor will I casually utter Satan’s name. So when Thomas first proposed this topic, my immediate reaction was, “Hard pass on that!” Who wants to offend the devil by announcing the fact that he cannot exist? But Thomas sensibly reminded me that for us to fear evil entities only further empowers them. He insists it is time that we trust God enough to give to evil no quarter. So, here goes!
Those that we used to think were dead confirm that the Godhead has no powerful opposition. They also tell us that there is no hell beyond the gloomy outer darkness that Jesus talks about, and no judgment by anyone but ourselves. This testimony from those who really know the truth is abundant, and it is comforting; but it is only as we come to better understand what we might call the physics of the greater reality that we begin to see why this must be so. We will need a quickie physics course here if you want to understand why a powerful devil is as absurd an idea as is the notion of dry liquids or burning ice.
What we refer to as “the greater reality” is simply understood to be all that exists. It is probably not really all that exists, but it is all that we have any way to access. The simplest way to envision the greater reality is as theoretical physicists do (although they have no idea that is what they are doing!). They calculate by the motion of planets and the universe’s speed of expansion that about 27% of what exists is what they call “dark matter,” and 68% is what they call “dark energy.” It’s dark because it won’t react with photons of light, so therefore we know that it cannot be particle-based matter or its correlate energy.
Less than five percent of what exists is the traditional matter that makes up this material universe, while the rest is the non-material aspect of the greater reality. So you see, the greater reality is twenty times the size of this material universe! Yet its footprint seems to be no greater than whatever footprint the material universe occupies. It is composed of many different dimensions, just as all the hundreds of TV channels are located together in your living room and separated only by their vibratory rates. Your TV can tune to the energy of any one channel and pick up a picture; and in just the same way, the greater reality is an energy spectrum all located right where we are. Aspects of it are solid, but they are not made of particulate matter. In fact, the entire greater reality beyond this universe is both sizeless and timeless. At this moment, your mind is tuned to that body on this material level of reality. When you sleep, your mind frequently tunes to a higher vibratory rate and you travel in one of the dimensions of the non-material astral plane. When you die, your mind will tune to the Summerland levels of the afterlife portion of the astral plane, and you will be in actual heaven! Do you see how the greater reality works?
It can be so simple because all that exists is Mind. All of our minds together, the living as well as those not now in bodies, are all together one vast, eternal Mind that is governed by the Godhead that continuously manifests what we think that we are seeing around us. Our better understanding of how good and evil work comes from our better understanding of the primary creative force that we refer to as Mind. Or we might as easily call it Consciousness. Briefly:
So perfect love is infinitely powerful, while abject fear and evil has no power. Wow, how corny that sounds! But it is beautifully true, nonetheless. In the battle between good and evil, love wins! And understanding this quick course in spiritual physics will help you to much better see how evil actually works in the world.
While there is no powerful devil to be blamed for it, there is for certain a lot of evil. There is so much evil, and it is often so insidious and so diabolical, that it is easy to see where the notion of a Big Bad Guy comes from. It is easy to see, too, how primitive people might have conceived of barbaric gods that required infant sacrifices and other ghastly gifts that would mollify them and make them like us better. Evil is indeed loose in the world! So, where does all of it come from?
The Dead Who Have Not Yet Transitioned
We are told by those that we used to think were dead that close to 25% of those who die on earth don’t transition right away. Some die in an unplanned accident, some are afraid of hell, some are attracted to a fake version of what they expect heaven to be, and some simply get distracted at the wrong time and lose sight of the loved ones who have come to take them home. Reportedly most of these folks will be rescued in short order, but there is one class of uncompleted deaths that amounts to the worst possible form of environmental pollution. People who are executed or murdered and people who die in battle generally die at the height of some combination of fear and rage; and in that emotional state they are likely to remain. Unavoidably, they pollute the one Mind of which each of us is a part, and some become demons and actively mess with living people’s minds.
Demons
A demon is a low-vibration being that lacks a material body. Some are not human, but most of them are apparently dead people who never transitioned; and their problem is that they must create in us and then consume human fear in order to survive at all. (I still have no idea why this is true.) During the decades when I was reading the Bible nightly, one thing that came to bother me was the claim that Jesus was casting out demons. I thought that had to be fiction! I was sure there were no demons, yet they are mentioned 18 times in the Gospel of Matthew, 17 times in Mark, and an amazing 24 times in Luke. For example, “He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, ‘What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.’ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. … Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away 
and reported it in the city and out in the country. The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened” (LK 8:27-35).
I now realize that indeed there are troublesome demons! Some are evil, but most are simply earthbound. And they can indeed be “cast out.” Dr. Allan L. Botkin uses induced after death communication protocols to free Vietnam War veterans and others from the spirits of possessing victims of wars, and he teaches his protocols to other therapists. Our dear friend Dr. R. Craig Hogan teaches a similar technique. And there is a lot of evidence that addicts of all kinds are addicted in part because deceased addicts have possessed their bodies and minds. I am coming to suspect that in a more enlightened age, the techniques once used by Jesus and now used by practitioners like Dr. Allan Botkin will be broadly seen as a shortcut way to heal any number of human ills.
Living People
Despite the theories of scientists who hold the mistaken notion that the mind is somehow generated by the brain, people who are now in bodies do have free will. Having the power to choose to do something negative and evil is an essential part of our eventually having the unrestricted power to do what is loving and good. And since our minds are all part of one universal Mind, those who individually choose fear, hatred, and rage can do a disproportionate amount of harm.
So there doesn’t need to be any organized Satan for evil to be loose in the world. Demons often act together, and if you think that you are interacting with Satan, you can bring a flood of awful gremlins into your life that can be almost impossible to evict. They have very limited power, but they can mess up your life. So, how can you protect yourself from evil as you seek to grow spiritually? We’ll talk about that next week….
Onward, then, ye people, join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor, unto Christ the King;
This thro’ countless ages men and angels sing.
– Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), from “Onward, Christian Soldiers” (1865)
Dear Roberta enjoyed your comments look forward to next weeks best wishes terry
My dear Terry, this beautiful blog family so often confounds me! I was away for the day on Sunday, and I came back certain that maybe one or two people would have had thoughts to express. Instead, there were fifteen comments this morning! And many people approved of Thomas’s idea that we talk about this now. Amazing! I think my greatest joy in doing this work that so often fills me with joy is the spiritual growth I am seeing in so many people. How beautiful it feels to be alive in this serenely pregnant time of spiritual transformation!
Hi Roberta, hi everybody! This is the most important part of our ongoing seeking of reality in the 21st century.
My mother had an expression she liked to use: “”You are your own worst enemy.” The account of what the devil is described here is of that existential enemy created, in fact, not by God but by the huge power of the small version of the One Mind within us—when we give in to our own fear, doubt, lack of patience, we do not give up that power; we turn it on ourselves. Our own worst enemy can do very powerful damage to us indeed.
Oh my dear Mike, this is a wonderful point! We have indeed created all this negative energy from the small part of each of us which accepts and revels in negativity, and we have turned it on ourselves, all unaware. Your mother is wise indeed! And she has just graduated. I wonder what she might be thinking now?
I like to think she is meeting your mother for celestial tea and talking about us!😊
Heh – maybe true! They have viewing screens now in their homes – electronics comes to the Summerland – and who knows what they think of what they are seeing!
Roberta and Thomas, thank you for presenting this subject in the blog today. The part about demons becoming attached to ourselves hits home hard with me. I had this happen to me 15 years ago and it came out of nowhere. Without having any knowledge of what is happening, most people including myself think they have a mental illness. This is not true and if you search Roberta’s podcasts on the subject, you will find guests that she has had on talking about the subject ( demons are also identified as ” negitive entities”,” attachments” , “negitive souls that haven’t moved on”, etc.). The good news is that these entities are weaklings and have no power. They left me when I repeated over and over part of the Lord’s prayer ” and lead us not into temptation but delivere us from evil.”
Wow my dear David, thank you for sharing this personal story! I have come to think that a lot of what we imagine to be mental illness is actually various forms of spirit possession, and your way of getting rid of the guys is genius. We’ll be talking more next week about how to better protect ourselves, and what can work to help us evict them when we suspect we are affected. It really is a far more dangerous world than most people even can imagine!
Dear Roberta. Hi everyone. Wow! What a fantastic explanation of the greater reality! Thanks so much to you and Thomas.
Dear Ray, thank you for saying that – I did worry a bit. There wasn’t much space this week to give an explanation, so I’m glad that what I said here worked for you!
Dear Roberta, Thanks for this perfectly accurate description of the world and how it works. How do I know that all you wrote here is true? Well, I do not know that as demonstrated fact, but from what I have learned as a scientist, reasoned about, and aided by my intuition (and I suspect from a spiritual source) I “know” you wrote the truth.
Wow, dear Jack, this is high praise! I try to make it all very simple, and I know you are operating on a much more sophisticated level scientifically so I am very glad that nevertheless this worked for you. Thank you for saying so!
Cleanse your aura and those around you. Use the power of divine light. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Cleanse your chakras, invite in the light, urge the intensity until the darkness is illuminated. Stubborn entities can latch along the spine, in a sense hiding and trying to influence negatively. Use an intense scrubbing light up and down your back and then out upward. Allow this light to be flow out all around you and urge it to grow. Others will benefit. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. For me this must be done fairly often. It seems that this light can strangely attract some negative beings that can slowly bring my awareness down and then suddenly I know it is time for the light of life to clean it all up for me and to the benefit for those around me. I have practiced this at some level for 50 years but never written this down or really have spoken this to others. Roberta, maybe you and your readers will find some benefit. This practice (sporadic) has kept me from losing sight of the Light.
Hello.
This sounds like a particular technique you are describing. Is this related to Kriya Yoga, as practiced by Yogananda and some others, or to Israel Regardie’s Middle Pillar Ritual?
Dear Jason, actually I have encountered using light from”the third eye” (between and just above the eyes) repeatedly in doing general research, to the point where I occasionally use it and it seems to help. Since it feels like imagination, I don’t place heavy stock in it, but I have seen it have creepily good results! I think it likely comes from Yoga or other Eastern religious practice, but it seems to be an aspect of spiritual physics nonetheless.
Dear Mike, all very well said! Thank you for your tips, all of which are recommended and known to work. I even once used divine light from the third eye to heal someone’s marriage! (And I don’t think in terms of chakras at all.) It is actually pretty easy to protect ourselves from negative influences, but so few people realize the extent of the danger, And doing some of the most dangerous things can feel kind of risky and seems like fun. We’ll talk more about this next week.
Hello Roberta,
What I don’t understand is why some people embrace these evil entities. What do these people think they will gain? In my opinion they will lose far more than they will could ever gain.
Hello, AC Grayson.
The best way to answer would be to let these people speak for themselves. There is a person named Mitch Horowitz who made two videos that can be found on YouTube. The first one is “Satanism: The Dark Alternative” (1:32:23). The sound goes out near the end, during the Q&A portion, but it is still good. The second one is “God of the Outsiders: Satan in Ancient Myth and Modern Culture” (2:21:50). About the recommend reading, he uses a Gnostic interpretation of Genesis 3. Milton’s Paradise Lost, William Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and Lord Byron’s Cain show a view of Satan that fit into what was called Romantic Satanism.
I think a lot of people have heard of Anton LaVey’s The Satanic Bible. There is also a documentary which you can find in full by searching for “Holy Terror Presents: Satanis: The Devils Mass” (1:25:44). To get what Mitch Horowitz is saying about Michael Aquino I think one would need to read not only The Diabolicon but also his work Book of Coming Forth By Night.
There is also a person, Jeremy Crow, who also has a YouTube channel, who has to be the MOST MELLOW Luciferian I have ever seen, and one of his early videos is “Why I Am a Luciferian” (6:04). He can trace his belief system back through the Greek Titan Prometheus and the Sumerian god Enki.
And, of course, if you want to have some fun, the Church of Satan did do a ritual, a bit of theatre, by Satanists for Satanists, called “6-6-06: The Satanic High Mass” (42:07). (Also found on YouTube).
Funny thing is, these folks are not sacrificing animals or children, and they are not specifically “devil worshippers”. Funny, I clicked on Roberta Grimes’ list of names for the Ultimate Bad Guy, and of course, they were The Infernal Names from LaVey’s The Satanic Bible.
(And, yes, someday I will have my Renfield book written.)
Dear Jason and everyone, I will say flat-out here that to watch any satanic video or to read anything based in satanic thinking is just flat-out stupid. I am leaving your comment here, my dear Jason, and it may be that you have been unharmed by dabbling in negativity, but to come as close to it as even watching a video is the spiritual equivalent of drinking poison because you enjoy the taste. It is stupid and risky, and the worst part of it is that you won’t necessarily know that you have been affected by it, or at least not for awhile. But it is something like getting drunk in a bar, about which more next week.
Hello everyone.
Who knew the trouble I would get into from actually answering a question? In case anyone forgot, the question was: “What I don’t understand is why some people embrace these evil entities. What do these people think they will gain?” First spoiler alert, these people think they are the good guys. Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity when they were little more than animals, and was thrust to Earth and chained there for that crime. Does that sound somewhat similar to another lightbringer? That is the Gnostic interpretation of Genesis 3. And the joke is, it is a tradition of rebellion, and if you look closely at the nature of the God they are rebelling against, it is the same Calvin T.U.L.I.P. God, the same God who demanded blood sacrifice, substitution atonement, that Roberta Grimes is telling us to reject. These are not clueless people.
Second spoiler alert. These people do not worship Satan, in the sense of bending the knee and submitting to demonic forces. The atheistic ones, like LaVey’s Satanism, see Satan as an archetype, a model, while not believing in his literal existence, the ritual being psychodrama. Those who believe in an actual deity (ie. Michael Aquino) have Set telling them to approach him as an equal, speak to him as a friend. They would say they don’t want you to sell your soul, they want you to use it, be the best you can be.
But where I will agree with Roberta Grimes is there is a LOT of weirdness in this area. I stayed as close to mainstream as I could get, and it is still provocative. What I wrote in my response was some of my background material for my Renfield book, to help me get a sense for both the philosophy and aesthetics of this Left Hand Path tradition. (Or rather, traditions. There is a bit of disagreement across traditions.) My compass was working overtime to keep me out of too much trouble. But, side effect, it meant I could give an answer to a question that would give an overview of this tradition, its philosophy and some of its aesthetics. And if AC Grayson wants to refute it, he or she will at least know what they are refuting, because there is a tradition here that not many people know about, or only think they do. This tradition is not movie Satanism, this is not the Satanic panic of the 1980s.
And, I will give my own warning about the works cited, so people can make their own choice about whether what is presented is flat-out stupid, drinking poison, or risky.
“Satanism, the Dark Alternative” is a scholarly talk, using the books as an example of an alternate tradition. Where he got provocative was he asked the question: “What if you are worshipping the wrong God?” But it is mostly a talk you would find at a convention.
“God of the Outsiders” is also scholarly, but in a multimedia format, using pictures, parts of movies to make his point. There is some nudity in some of what he shows, but he does also point out how some early feminism used elements of this tradition. He does mention pacts, and here I think he doesn’t explain himself fully, which could lead to some confusion.
Genesis, chapter 3, is part of the Bible.
Milton’s Paradise Lost is an epic poem about the Battle in Heaven, the Garden of Eden, and the Fall. Here you will find statements like “Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven”, “Hard Liberty rather than the Easy Yoke.”
Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell is a work advocating the union of knowledge (Heaven) and passion (Hell). He was a Romantic, and advocated questioning tradition.
Cain, by Lord Byron, is a play telling the story of Cain and Abel from Cain’s perspective, which by itself is provocative. Byron was also a Romantic.
LaVey’s Satanic Bible is more what one would call a Satanic book. It is four books, The Book of Satan, Lucifer, Belial, and Leviathan. The later two deal with ritual, the book of Satan is mostly a passionate plagerism of another work, while Lucifer is where the philosophy is.
“The Diabolicon” is a short work using the events of Milton’s Paradise Lost, but told from the perspective of Lucifer, Beelzebub and others. Questions of free will, liberty and order are here. The concept of the Black Flame shows up here.
“Book of Coming Forth by Night” is Aquino’s break with the Church of Satan. It is a work where the entity states he is not Satan, but Set. Here it states ritual is not needed, to speak to him as a friend at night, when the sky is open to the cosmos. There is also a reference to a work by Aliester Crowley.
“Why I am a Luciferian” by Jeremy Crow is short, and basically is his story of how he got to where he is. Growing up Catholic, joining a mixed gender Freemasonry lodge, and so on. What is unique is he doesn’t look like he was ever a Satanist first.
The two Church of Satan videos can be described together, because the aesthetics of the rituals seen are similar. There will be people in black, people dressed as Catholic priests, and nudity (women on altars). Lots of bombast, clanging gongs. “Satanis: The devils mass” is also a documentary, including talks with LaVey and the other members, and also reactions to them from the surrounding community.
Now, based on knowledge, you can decide on your own what you will or will not look at, and know which things are flat-out stupid, drinking poison or stupid and risky.
Dear Jason, I gather that you think I believe that these materials have any real power over their watchers or readers. Clearly, they don’t. The more negative anything is, the less power it actually has! But of course that is not the problem, is it?
The reason why it is foolish to watch satanic videos or read satanic materials is not because the devil or some demon will then get his hooks into you! The problem with these materials is the effect they can have upon susceptible minds. The real problem is FEAR. That is ALWAYS the problem.
Our minds are infinitely powerful. They are inextricably part of the same power that continuously manifests this universe! If they fear nothing, then there is no limit to what they can do; but if we read literature or watch videos that have anything to do with even the notion of negative entities, and the possibility exists that they they might gain a toehold in our imaginations. And then our minds can become fearful. That is how every bit of whatever mischief these entities can do becomes possible.
So I urge people not to play with such literature, just as I urge people not to play in traffic. You might be fine! But if you are not fine – if you become fearful and lower your own consciousness vibration – then indeed a negative being might be able to influence you. And that could be potentially a huge detour in your spiritual growth, and for no good reason whatsoever.
Dear AC, clueless people think that evil is powerful. And if they feel powerless, it can feel racy and daring to go for the devil’s power, rather than God’s. Satan-worshipers and others think they are dealing with a powerful evil entity, when in reality they are just turning themselves into entertainment for powerless little nasties. It really is sad!
I’m glad you highlighted this subject. It’s one I dealt with personally for several years. In my 20 years in church, I was involved in a Deliverance Ministry because this fascinated me in the Gospels.
Now that I have grown spiritually and understand energies. This is exactly what happens. Now I have no problems with low level beings, I raised my vibration! 5D! Thank you Jesus
Roxanne, can you explain what you mean by deliverance ministry. Thanks
Dear Roxanne, welcome and good for you! What is a Deliverance Ministry?
Victims of child abuse, wars, alcohol and drug addiction, and violent crimes are a feeding frenzy for these entities. The worst thing one could do is to remain ignorant of their existence. They rely on our ignorance in order to survive. They may not have much power once we are aware of them, but remaining unaware of their existence allows them free reign. People with weak auras easily attract them. as do people who live in constant fear. Unfortunately, people who die in fear also attract them.
My very dear Lola, all perfectly said! Thank you!
Hi Roberta!
The best window into what you are describing is George Ritchie’s near-death experience (Return from Tomorrow, 1978). Jesus took him on a tour of earthly realms. He saw collections of spirits that were earth bound and perseverating over addictions (substance abuse, work, sexuality.) They were invisible to people. Each had a spirit waiting for their return to the light.
When viewing a bar serving alcohol, Ritchie witnessed a soldier who drank to the point of passing out. Upon becoming unconscious, the man’s aura broke open and several spirits took the opportunity to enter the poor bloke’s body. These were spirits craving alcohol. One can only imagine that they fueled the soldier’s further craving for drink.
-Chuck
Dr. Ritchey’s book was amazing. Not surprisingly, it’s important to deal with addictions before you die, as it is much harder to do so afterwards. It is also no surprise that bars and places where drugs are found are loaded with earthbound spirits who still crave what they were addicted to.
I agree – a terrific book. And from what I have learned from other sources, I have come to conclude that it is all pretty accurate!
I agree, especially since Dr. Ritchey’s experience happened when he was only 20 back in 1943 during a time when that sort of thing wasn’t even thought of. No one at the time was talking about spirits attaching to live people so they could get drunk vicariously.
Roxanne, can you explain what you mean by deliverance ministry. Thanks
Many thanks Roberta, for the insights. Is it true that failure to transition shortly after death is not necessarily a bad thing? It seems that some earthbound spirits hang around awhile for the specific purpose of assisting those left behind.
Also it appears that removing negative energies in the case of a faith healer for example is similar to the function of casting out demons.
Dear Tom, it is apparently true that some who refuse to transition can be of help to others, but still I have come to conclude that it is not a good idea to stay behind. You have far less power before you transition, and far greater risks! While if you complete the process of going home, there generally is a lot you can do that is potentially useful to other people, and especially to your own loved ones.
Dear Roberta,
Thank you for yet another fascinating article! I too have had first hand experience with ghosts, and although they meant no harm, they certainly freaked me out! Looking forward to next weeks thoughts. xx
Yes, dear Brigette, and it is that freak-out factor that is the real problem with all this spooky stuff. Most of these non-material entities are benign – I think it may be fair to say that close to all of them are – but our being made aware of them can be a tremendous source of fear. Good point!
It occurs to me that Christianity and Judaism are not monotheistic at all. Satan is a god, too. Jehovah and Satan even make a little bet about Job.
Yep, my dear Ray, this is quite true. And Christianity also has angelic beings and saints, a very pantheon of beings with outsize power for people to pray to. An excellent point!
Hi Roberta. If advanced spirits work in collectives, as you posit, then it would certainly make sense that highly negative ones, or even “demons” might do the same. Do you think this might be the case? Is this why they often seem to be multiple or “legion” when communicating in exorcisms? Thankfully, if what you say about high vibe beings being much more powerful than low vibe ones is true, then love can always prevail. Just one candle can do much to dispel the darkness from a room. They must get us, by hook or by crook, to give them our power, since they don’t have much themselves. It always seems to be troubled or foolish people who run afoul of these beings. If your motives are true and your love vibrations high, you will be fine. Just the same, it seems that a certain amount of spiritual hygiene would be a good idea, since they can be very clever tricksters I imagine, just as we need to keep our physical bodies clean and maintained. I get the impression you will go into that next week, and I look forward to that.
Dear Scott, negative non-material beings of most kinds do indeed tend to congregate, but not as collectives. Collectives of high-vibration beings are drawn together by love, and they act together more and more completely as one extraordinarily powerful being, the higher their vibration becomes. Fear-based entities, by contrast, will be drawn to associate for mutual support by their very powerlessness. They very often seem to bicker and battle, which is not the behavior of collectives at all.
Dearest Roberta,
This week’s blog presents quite a unique and telling viewpoint on devilry. I get the feeling our Thomas (including your good self) is giving us what we need to know about evil. This understanding helps us in our growth towards the Light.
Yet I also get the impression that Thomas is telling us something else as well.
During the Nuremberg trials in 1945, the US Army appointed Lt. Colonel Douglas M. Kelley as Military Intelligence Corps chief psychiatrist to the top Nazis in Nuremberg Prison. He and other psychiatrists were assigned to talk to and analyze these Nazis to see if they were sane and fit for trial, and to find out how they thought. The US military wanted to know how these men could end up committing such heinous, evil acts on such a vast scale and function as human beings simultaneously.
After much conversation and psychiatric testing Douglas Kelley concluded that, save for a few cases, these men were not only sane but they were ‘healthy’ in terms of test analysis and life function.
However, Kelley had spent much time with former Reichmarschall Hermann Göring. This unrepentant, former lord of the Luftwaffe was a showman of the highest order; being full of self importance, affability and jocularity. (Göring was found to have an IQ of 138 by Kelley’s own tests.)
Göring was convicted of crimes against humanity at a Nuremberg and was subsequently sentenced to death. However he cheated the hangman’s noose a day before his execution, by ingesting a potassium cyanide capsule, in a grand statement of ‘f*** you’ to his captors. He was dead in his cell within 30 seconds of biting down on the capsule.
Kelley was discharged from the US Army in 1946. After which he had a successful academic and teaching career. However (and he’s the rub) Douglas Kelley became morose, fell into frequent bouts of anger and became an alcoholic. In 1958 he committed suicide before his own family. He first openly declared his intent to do so, withdrew to the bathroom and proceeded to ingest potassium cyanide and was dead in 30 seconds.
According to those who knew him, Douglas Kelley had no illusions about how ruthless and unfeeling Göring was. Yet Kelley had been known to express admiration for how Göring had taken charge of his own death.
Roberta, I am left wondering if Douglas Kelley – a good man who believed in freedom and opposed tyranny – was himself possessed by the darkness in those Nazis he spent time with at Nuremberg in 1945. Did the act of conversing so long and so closely with Hermann Göring lead to Kelley’s own untimely demise?
So maybe Thomas is also saying don’t get too close to evil, don’t spend time dwelling on it. Maybe our best defense is to just expunge it from our lives in all ways. This may run to the horrors depicted on the nightly news, to a predilection for violent action films or gaming, to associations with negative leaning individuals and self deprecating thoughts. In a world stalked by devilish things, non engagement and raising our vibration may well be the wisest course to tread. 🌅🙏🏼❣️
Hi Efrem: That;s an interesting point. However, it is also true that the more time you spend interviewing people (no matter who they are), the more you see them as a fellow human being and a certain bond begins to form. On the other hand, most of these people are psychopaths – many are highly intelligent and are often quite charming and engaging. Maybe Daniel Kelly got caught up in Goring’s phony facade and started to identify with him. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid exposure to evil altogether as we live in a world with lower vibrations. I think the trick is to be aware and keep our guard up, which maybe Daniel Kelly failed to do.
Hey Lola 👋
You seem to be onto something here. Perhaps Kelley, the chief psychiatrist here, was excellent at psychoanalysis but had no defenses against crude, low vibrational negativity. Especially if Göring was overbearing and somewhat mesmeric.
Your suggestion that we need to be aware and keep our guard up against negative influence is absolutely right, I reckon. 😉❣️
Dear Efrem, indeed it is important for us to try not to get too close to evil! Again, our problem is fear and the other sharply negative emotions, and not the evil itself. I think it’s important to make that distinction. No evil can touch us unless we play with it and invite it in! But your final paragraph really is the ultimate wisdom 🙂
Roberta,
On reflection I’ve realized one thing: I’ve got lots of conditioning of evil as a powerful thing. Since childhood, the forces of evil have loomed large in my imagination and thinking. Now it’s time to drop that ballast so my air balloon can rise higher.
I have had a recent example in my own life that showed me that even a threat to my person and safety by an unsavory character, was not a threat when I eschewed fear and trusted in God. As I did this the perceived malicious intent turned out to be nothing.
This experience coupled with your current blog has underlined that our minds, once directed to raising our vibrations and to approaching Oneness, are extremely powerful. In loving gratitude to God, fear doesn’t take hold and evil blows away as fog in sunlight.
So yes evil is petty and weak.
Only if groups of people like the Nazis cultivate evil can it have an effect. But maybe that effect is just the misguided power of our own minds after all.
I can’t help thinking that if the Germans of the 1930s had turned their backs on that angry man ranting on his soap box, Hitler would have never been remembered. He would have been that an unpleasant little grey man soon forgotten. 😏
Dear Efrem, it does confound me sometimes to see how easily fear- and hatred-based entities, and even living people, can attract to themselves others like them. It’s a kind of in-club thing, I think, but that’s a phenomenon that I can’t understand, either. It clearly has fear at its base, as do things like the perfectly weird cancel-culture phenomenon taking place in the US right now. People ganging up on others for the joy of beating them up, and out of a fear that if you don’t bully then you will be bullied. I have come to conclude that at this point the broader culture is so fear-based that you can’t even participate in it. The whole situation is awful, but it, too, will pass.
Oh Roberta, this cancel-culture phenomenon reminds me of the Medieval practice of witch burning. Any oddball, herbalist or free thinker was accused of being a witch then they were seized, mobbed, convicted on hearsay and burned at the stake.
How is this different from cancel-culture; you accuse somebody of saying the wrong thing and then apply mob pressure to get them fired? They lose their reputation, income and health cover all at once.
Heck, it shuts down free speech and the much needed, honest and open discussion of important issues. We need to stand up against it, I reckon.
Efram, regarding your story about Douglas Kelly and Hermann Gorman and the conclusions that you came to , those conclusions could most absolutely be correct. Thanks for sharing them.
Yes, dear David! And Efrem’s story makes a useful cautionary tale for us all.
I still don’t understand how we could possibly avoid exposure to evil. In many cases (such as with Douglas Kelley, psychologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, police detectives, pastoral counselors etc.), it is their job to engage with these people in order to find more out about the human psyche. This is all still in its infancy because it is much easier to call them “evil” than to find out what is actually causing them to behave like they do.
Dear Lola, it is impossible for any medical doctor or scientific researcher to figure any of this out, since their entire belief-system is built around physical matter. Every mental problem is a defect in the brain, or a biochemical defect, and the mind dies when the body dies. How do you get from that nonsensical and arbitrary set of beliefs to any kind of understanding of what actually is going on? There was a time, too, when balancing the body’s humors was obviously the way to cure illnesses, and to do that they bled their patients. One false belief makes as much sense as the other!
This is a good point, Roberta. Although there are cases where a biochemical defect was found in the brains of some of these people, it is quite possible that the defect is not entirely responsible for their actions as that defect may have made it easier for an entity to overtake the individual and control his thoughts.. In that case, a solution to the problem wouldn’t be possible unless the medical professional took that into consideration.
Thank you Davidmonroewright,
So you also think that my conclusions are quite possibly right.. I guess it is because Douglas Kelley changed so much after his Nuremberg Prison work, that I had the feeling that he was damaged by making sustained connections to such ghastly villains. (As Lola said they were mostly psychopaths).
I felt for Dr Kelley who was such a dedicated, intelligent and good human being. His demise was such a tragedy for his whole family too.
Dear Efrem, it can be hard for some of us to resist in such situations, even if we don’t directly buy in to the evils these people have done. I don’t fully grasp all the ways that fear affects us, but even talking with perpetrators of evil about the evil they have done may be breaching some spiritual protection for many people. I certainly wouldn’t do it! I think you would have to have a will of iron to resist feeling negative emotions yourself on some level.
Hello everyone.
Conversation moved down here for space.
I am wondering if it is some of the maps I play with that make me not so worried about things that look scary. Pure Land Buddhism has the striking imagery of walking a thin white path between a raging river of water and a river of fire. Shambhala veers towards the Tantric the further you go into it, but there is one Tantric ceremony they do in full once a year that anyone can join. Part of it is a ritual meal, and the goal is to have many tastes, but there had to be three things: a special type of bread, meat, and alcohol. Meat and alcohol are big no-nos in more Theravada traditions, so it is the ritual breaking of a taboo.
I was already looking at the website Buddhism for Vampires to help write my Renfield book, with it’s Tantric ideas, and when I heard Mitch Horowitz on the radio it seemed like a Western Tantra, with ideas that challenged the orthodoxy, ritual breaking of taboos, and striking imagery. Perfect for the character of Dracula. But Renfield cannot stay in this dualistic state, he will strive to find wholeness, integration, and find a level of maturity that Dracula may not be able to achieve.
I was surprised by the severity of the reaction to what I wrote. At the very least, reading a piece of High Literature like Milton’s Paradise Lost is not likely to lead your readers astray because someone else later on put a particular interpretation on the work. I did not like that everything was tarred with the same brush.
And, I realize this is one map that will have to stay within the bounds of my Renfield book. I have been too disruptive for one week.
Hello again.
Actually, what I meant to say was I am sorry what I wrote was so disruptive. I am taking a break from writing on here, I don’t want to be THAT GUY who writes just to be disruptive. I will keep reading your blog from time to time, but be quiet about it.
Hello again, everyone. I am taking a small break from being here, but mostly because I notice these A Course In Miracles lessons are getting a bit more involved, and I want to give them more attention. See you once I finish Lesson 50.
Hello dear Jason! A Course in Miracles is certainly involved! And you will see that we discuss ACIM in next week’s blog post as well. Happy learning!!
Dear Jason, it is natural for each of us to reason outward from ourselves. What other reference point do we have? And like you, I am not frightened now by evil or satanic images or ideas. But it is very important for you to understand that these images, stories, and ideas do have the power to create fear in some people, and out of love and respect for seekers who are earlier on the path, perhaps, we are careful not to invite them to examine such things without warning them. You will notice that I didn’t remove your comment. I simply posted a warning. Please just always think of the possible effects of your words and actions on others who may be more susceptible to fear than you are. You surely have no wish to harm anyone, and I think that eventually you will become sufficiently sensitive to the risk to others that you will realize that even though perhaps you are no longer susceptible to fears, other people are, and the last thing you ever would want to do would be to inspire fears in them for no good purpose at all.
Efrem: Chances are that Douglas Kelley never even heard of crude and low vibrational energy, making him an easy target. People like Goring have an uncanny ability to manipulate and fool others (especially psychiatrists). I found your story about him compelling so I briefly looked him up. After his capture, one reporter described him as “charming and engaging.” He was a classic psychopath, and I think Douglas Kelley had very mixed feelings about Hermann Goring at the end of their many interviews.
Dear Lola, I realize that your knowledge and life’s work has left you with a clear understanding about the nature of psychopathy. (My own grasp of it is more fuzzy.) I think you are right about Göring.
Now what would have happened if cognitive dissonance set into Dr Kelley’s mind? What angst would Kelley have felt if he both despised Göring for his monstrous deeds and kind of liked his charming, entertaining personality? These two opposing thought/emotions would disturb even the most quiet mind. Kelley may well have felt guilty, torn and deeply distressed thereafter.
I begin to see how insidious evil is – to turn someone’s own powerful mind against itself. The power of Kelley’s own mind may have destroyed him. I guess this is possible ….
Heck Lola, it is really best to leave evil and the study of it alone.
Amen to your last line, my dear Efrem!!
You nailed it, Efrem. Kelley was likely very confused and felt tremendous guilt because he started to have feelings for Goring who was one of Hitler’s best friends. We have to consider the times this happened in. Since then, there is more awareness about how cunning and manipulative these people can be. Douglas Kelley interviewed several other Nazi leaders who were convicted of war crimes including Rudolf Hess who was no choir boy either, and his life didn’t seem to be radically changed by it. However, there was something about his relationship with Goring that was different. Kelley even used the same method as Goring did to commit suicide (the cyanide pill), Very strange indeed.
Dear Lola, you make a good point. With modern medicine and mainstream science still so abjectly clueless about what actually is going on, of course innocents like Douglas Kelley had no idea how to protect themselves from negative influences he couldn’t even know existed. He was a victim of scientific obfuscation, perhaps above all else!
Yes, and this led to feelings of confusion, depression and guilt, I feel. I think he just couldn’t handle these conflicting emotions any longer. Let’s face it – wars are a Thanksgiving feast for evil and solve absolutely nothing
Amen to that!!
This is a follow up on my previous question regarding transitions. From Christian sources we hear numerous accounts of miracles or answered prayers from the recently deceased who are often referred to as saints.. It probably makes little sense to seek their assistance now given they have experienced several lifetimes subsequent to the one we are familiar with.
I have taken this approach with some recently deceased persons and have proved to myself that it is is real. Of course I only choose good people who would gladly have assisted me when they were on earth. It seems that some spirits intentionally hang around until their close friends or relatives pass on as well. You seem to imply this could be a bad thing but I am not so sure.
Dear Tom, this is a gray area. From what I have come to understand, people who have not completed their transitions tend to get stuck as earthbounds, confused and usually stuck in behavioral loops, with little power and usually unable to relate directly to the living. On the other hand, those who have completed their transitions, reunited with their greater minds and completed their life-reviews, who then want to interact with the living have the power and the level of awareness needed to lower their vibrations enough to interact with us easily. For example, if you read Mikey Morgan’s book you see him completing his transition and then going right back to earth to comfort his grieving family.
Thank you Roberta and to all the thoughtful, intelligent commenters.
I am working on my own spiritual development and have noticed my ‘fear’ diminishing as I become more aware of what is real and the immense power of love.
Recently, I attended a night-time tour of my city’s former institution for the criminally insane, now a museum. As you can imagine, a great many angry, tragic souls once inhabited the building and some of their stories were harrowing. However, I felt no fear – only love and compassion – for the poor souls and I tried to impart this during my time there.
So, my question is this: when faced with lower entities – either accidentally or by choice – can we use our knowledge of the power of love and compassion and perhaps help these poor souls to transition to the eternal peace they deserve?
I am most interested in Roberta’s and any other ideas from commenters. Thank you.