A friend of mine was worried, that as he embarks for the first time into the world of inner exploration through meditation, that he might be opening himself up to psychic attack. He wrote to me the following words:

My primary concern is my mental/spiritual safety: Before I embark on this life-changing journey, I want to be absolutely certain that – every time – I always do everything that is necessary to protect my mind (or) consciousness (and also physical body) from infiltration (or even influence (and) trickery) by evil, opportunistic or parasitic entities (especially very powerful or potentially influential ones).

A Friend

With my blessing I encouraged him to be brave and go forward with his learning, promising that I’d write a lucid piece to help assuage his fears. I publish it here because I know he’s not alone in thinking along these lines and I hope that these words might serve others with similar concerns.

You must realize at the outset, and truly come to terms with the vastness that is the human psyche’s potential for imagination. As vast as every man-made creation the world over since the beginning of evolution, and so much is left to come. The entire scope of the psyche hasn’t been discovered yet. Only threads of the ultra-complex and a handful of dynamics are clearly understood. What we do know, however, is man’s infinite capacity to divide every idea into terms of good and bad.

I want to always be totally clean, clear and safe. That is top priority. If that information is in your course, I guess I’ll find it soon! Otherwise, please let me know how to always be safe when opening up these realms.

Same Friend

Bad v. Good. Dark v. Light. God & the Devil – it’s an ages old fight, isn’t it? Since we were babes, all the sensory input received by our minds has scrambled together to create a hodgepodge of impressions, literally scarring our psyches. Like full-body tattoos we wear these impressions on our soul. The problem is, we didn’t consciously choose the input we’d receive, nor the data we’d keep, much less organize it for analysis and later use. And there we have it. We are now a product of our environments as well as our ideation, and this product continues to develop and morph into ever more complex forms.

One of the more profound ontological discussions concerns the question of what exists. It really is a good question. In this case, the answers could either bolster or allay my friend’s fears.

The first question we would have to ask and answer definitively concerns whether or not consciousness exists, answering which would lend to a definition and the ability to discern whether or not said consciousness is able to be infiltrated, influenced or tricked. We must also make some determination about this thing called evil and establish whether, in fact, opportunistic, parasitic or influential entities are a thing apart from the mind and might really be capable of doing what Hollywood and some New Age books intimate.

We have to at least take a passing glance at this topic of collective consciousness, acknowledge that there are other human beings in the world who do not share our value structures and, in fact, become quite giddy at the opportunity to trick and influence others, infiltrating their minds and lives and living off their suffering like some kind of parasite. It’s true. People like this exist. Is it a stretch to consider that our very real knowledge of this reality has painted itself onto our imaginations, allowing us to draw phantoms in a metaphysical realm with the same characteristics?

Now I’m not arguing against the possibility of the existence of malicious, metaphysical entities. I believe every entity imaginable to exist in every dimension hereto understood. I also believe in calling a spade a spade. A dream a dream. A phantasm a phantasm. And so on and so forth. I am very familiar with the depths of Self and the breadth of Being. I know that literal battles can be fought on grounds in my own mind. And that whatever this ‘I’ is that stands on these grounds can indeed be wounded. Mentally. Emotionally. Psychically. And really, what does that say about ‘me’ and ‘my’ relationship with ‘mind’? Too many bloody constructs! That’s what it says.

Complex. Mentally complex. Emotionally complex. Wound up in Gordian knots is what ‘I’ is, with little choice but to submit to a life of painful stomach ulcers and abject depression. Or, have a gander at that other field of study that encourages us to get real clear on the states of this mind of ours, stand up and take responsibility for what we feed it and how we deal with the current condition. Learn how to feed it properly so to speak. In other words, use this mind for the magnificent tool that it is rather than be its unwitting slave.

Easy to say. All well and good. But now we have to reconcile this thing called subconscious, too. This storehouse of everything I’ve forgotten. And what about that thing they call cellular memory? And is there really a chance that my brain has been wired by my great grandmother? Is the monster who lives under my bed really just the remnant of a funny face I saw scribbled on a bubblegum wrapper when I was five?

And what of this thing called personal responsibility? Focus, steadfastness, concentration and intention? If I would believe in the dark, why would I not just as soon believe in the light? Experience? Maybe. And it’s easy to say again, that the past is a dead body and the future a blank slate and that all that is, is now. But it’s true. And with the right focus, the right mindfulness, we can create enough bright nows to convince even the most stubborn subconscious that this body’s blood is not for sacrifice, this mind of mine impregnable.

Stand up. Be brave. Know that you are at the center of your life, able to do and be far more than you have given yourself credit for. Meditation will certainly show you your Self. It will show you all the sheaths of mind before going deeper. You will see all that. You will see every impression. Do not fear. It is not you. Only something like some information you have picked up along the way. Look it in the eye. Straight. Don’t run. Surrender to it. Don’t fight. Don’t love it or hate it. But if you have to believe something, choose the Light. It feels better and also has the power to dispel shadows.