Obsession and its
main types

We present in this issue the topic #123 from the Systematized Study of the Spiritist Doctrine, that is being presented weekly, according to the programme elaborated by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB), structured in 6 modules and 147 topics.

If the reader uses this program for a study group, we suggest that questions proposed be discussed freely before the reading of the text that follows. If you would like to study alone, we ask you to try to answer the questions at first and only then read the text that follows. The answer key can be found at the end of the lesson. 

Questions 

1. What are the main types of obsession according to Kardec?

2. What distinguishes subjugation from fascination?

3. What is simple obsession?

4. Is there another type of obsession without being the one where disincarnated spirits influence on incarnated spirits?

5. How can an incarnated spirit influence negatively a disincarnated spirit?

Text

There are different levels of obsession resulting in variable effects

1. We know that obsession can be understood as a dominance that some bad spirits exercise upon some people. This dominance has different levels that vary, as much as the results vary in level and complexity.

2. According to Kardec, the main types of obsession are simple obsession, fascination and subjugation.

Simple obsession: It happens when a morally inferior spirit imposes himself/herself on the medium, interferes on the spiritual communications against the medium’s will, stops the medium communicating with other spirits and substitutes the spirits who the medium wants to communicate with. Any medium, especially when he/she is inexperienced, can be tricked by bad spirits. What defines the simple obsession is the persistence of one bad spirit in getting in the way and making any spiritual communication difficult to the medium, who has trouble to get rid of this influence. 

Fascination: It’s a illusion that is created by the bad spirit in the medium’s thoughts, suppressing the medium’s better judgement and his/hers capability of judge spiritual communications as good or bad ones. The medium who is under this influence doesn’t think he/she is mistaken. The spirit influencing negatively the medium doesn’t allow him/her to see his/hers own mistake even when it’s obvious and pathetic. The consequences of fascination are more serious because the bad spirit is directing the medium, making him/her accept gladly the most ridiculous and absurd theories and ideas.  Bad spirits in this case are usually very intelligent and astute.

Subjugation: It’s a process that cancels out the medium’s will, making the medium do whatever the bad spirit wants him/her to. The victim is submitted to a very hard time. Subjugation can be normal or physical. In the first case, the victim is obliged to make absurd decisions. In the second case, the bad spirit acts upon the victim’s body provoking since involuntary movements to serious lesions to the victim’s body.

There are different types of obsession, not only from disincarnated spirits upon incarnated spirits

3. Understanding obsession as a dominance from one mind upon another mind, a process of mental connection, we can see that obsession presents other characteristics. Obsession can present other characteristics beyond the ones described here as a negative influence from a disincarnated spirit upon an incarnated one.

4. There are many people influencing negatively each other in the world. These people are the ones who can dominate mentally others who they elect as their victims. This dominance is showed through jealousy, envy, will to have power. This dominance can be so subtle that the person under this negative influence doesn’t notice it and thinks that they are only being loved and protected. This is obsession between one incarnated upon another. The husband who subjugates his wife and the wife who subjugates her husband are examples of this type of obsession.

5. The same drama of dominance of a mind upon another mind happens in the spiritual world. It’s the obsession from a disincarnated spirit upon another disincarnated spirit. Situations that happen in the spiritual world are many times the continuation of the ones who happened on Earth and vice-versa.

Mutual obsession is one of the many types of obsession

6. It looks unlikely, but obsession can happen from an incarnated spirit over a disincarnated one. It is more frequent than many people think it could be, because many incarnated spirits are obsessively connecting themselves to their loved ones who passed away before them.

7. Expressions of love that are shown selfishly and possessively end up being a mental fixation towards the ones who are in the spiritual world. This invokes memories of life on Earth on the disincarnated spirit which makes their adaptation to their new life in the spiritual world harder. The same process happens if the feeling is hate or sorrow towards a disincarnated spirit.

8. Finally, obsession can be mutual. Like souls that get along and synchronise one with another maintain close and fraternal contact, there are souls that feel bad things towards each other and exchange these feelings. This situation is a mutual obsession that can happen between disincarnated spirits towards incarnated ones or incarnated spirits towards disincarnated ones.  

Answer Key