Friday, September 14, 2012

Ethics of Exorcism


Too often I've seen other spiritual practitioners make assumptions about what is best for others, especially spirits. If we are able to make the leap in understanding that spirits are people... or at least entities embodied with the same free will that we enjoy should we also not afford those same spirits the same understanding and rights that we insist for ourselves?

Many spiritual practitioners I know immediately seem to rush to binding a spirit or otherwise imposing their will on another spirit. I try to step back and ask myself how I would feel if I were that spirit. How would I feel if someone were pushing me around, exorcising me or coercing me? I try to put myself in their shoes and ask myself what is morally and ethically correct in these situations before counseling a client or taking action on their behalf.

Does the spirit intend harm? What is their intent? What is their motivation? Is there a real threat or is there some miss-communication happening? Is the client actually threatened or just interpreting the actions of the spirit as threatening because of a lack of understanding or clear communication?

Absolutely there are those cases where a spirit intends harm. The client has a right to peacefully enjoy their home and their life, but the spirit has a right to be peaceful as well. If, for some reason that peaceful balance cannot be achieved through counseling or understanding or because the spirits motivation is simply to do harm then perhaps it's reasonable to take action against the spirit in order to at least restore the client's peace, but this should be a last resort, not the first tool you reach for.

We typically do not cross spirits over unless they obviously seem to be lost or can't do it themselves or stuck in a less-than-desirable state. We take that stance because we do not want to interfere with free will. If a spirit wants to stay here, we feel they have a right to. We may in some circumstances suggest that they move on and help them if they are willing, but our first priority is service to the client / the living. Spirits can typically fend for themselves quite well. In extreme circumstances with an abusive spirit we will force them out or even over depending on the circumstances, but we should be careful this is the moral and ethical action to take. .



Merddyn - And I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference

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