A Protestant Exorcism
What a week it has been ! From the outside observer, my week might seem boring, but to me, it has been challenging and exciting. In general, my daily activities have involved sittings, investings, practicings and helpings. My sitting this morning resulted in a fortunate neck position which created a warm, energetic, fuzzy feeling in my chest. I now feel ready for the challenges of the day. My investment life over the past week has involved excitements, disappointments and high drama that I will talk about when the financial results of these investments are realized. My guitar practice has included the music that my students want me to teach them, which although challenging for them, should accelerate their progress on the guitar. My audio help to the Methodist church involved setting up the sound levels for the Maundy Thursday service and then turning the sound system off after the service. I could not be there during the service due to teaching a guitar class. My friend E., who I took to the mysterious, healing church, loaned me one of the recordings that he checked out of the church library. This sound recording warrants a little more description.
The recording is of a service, conducted by one of the female ministers of the church. She talks about the different glands of the body and how these glands are affected by the emotions of hatred, fear, greed, envy, lust and pride. She talks about how these emotions overwork these glands and that chronic illness is the ultimate result of the hateful, fearful, greedy, envious, lustful, prideful lifestyle. The chief pastor’s book on this subject even goes so far as to say that these emotions are evil spirits inside of a person that need to be replaced by the good spirits of love, kindness and charity. I should add that I am oversimplifying here for the sake of brevity and because of my superficial knowledge of this church. Anyway, the chief pastor even goes so far as to say that the negative emotions are actually evil spirits which are sent out from what many people refer to as the devil. He would like these spirits driven out of people by the good spirits that are sent out by what many people refer to as God.
At the end of the service, the female minister commands the evil spirits out of the bodies, minds and hearts of the congregation by the power of Jesus Christ. She even mentions the individual glands of the body and orders the evil spirits out of them by the power of Jesus Christ. It occured to me that I was listening to a recording of an exorcism; an exorcism that was taking place in an independant Christian church rather than by a Catholic priest; an exorcism that was being performed on a mass of people rather than onto an individual in private. Although I was not at this event in person, I have to admit that I have felt somehow better after having listened to this recording.
The skeptical side of me is quite aware of the possibilities of the placebo effect as well as psychosomatic illness and healing. Dr. Deepak Chopra is involved in a type of healing that is described in terms of the similarities between quantum physics and the Hindu religion. The tolerant side of myself takes the attitude that if something works, by all means go for it. Especially if it saves your life in a situation where medical science is unable to help you.
Happy Holidays !
I.C.