Andrew

I have heard of spiritual possession, but I am not sure if it is a real thing or if it's just a superstition used to explain diseases like schizophrenia. Do people really get possessed? And, if they do, is it demons that possess them?

Yes, spiritual possession does really happen. There are, however a lot of superstition and religious beliefs associated with it that are not true at all. In this post, I'll try to separate the fact from fiction as clearly as I can.

First off, there is no such thing as demonic possession. The reason for this is very simple - there is no such thing as demons. Every entity that exists, however evil it may seem, has a soul and has the capacity to do good. Really, there evil doesn't exist. Those that seem evil are simply misguided. All sentient beings are part of God and God is good, therefore all beings are good by nature. Even the disembodied spirits that possess people are not evil, just misguided.

So what are these spirits then? They are people, just like you and I are. Typically, these spirits were addicted to some earthly substance (drugs, alcohol, etc.) during life and, once they died, they stayed behind to satisfy their cravings. The problem is that, without a body, they cannot affect the earthly realm, and most of them forget about the afterlife completely. So they are stuck in what looks like the earth realm, only without the ability to touch anything. Obviously, they cannot satisfy their cravings, so they decide to find someone that can.

This is where the possessed person comes in. Typically, this person is addicted to the same thing that the possessing spirit is. When that spirit finds this person, they decided to follow that person around, urge them to satisfy their craving, and thus live vicariously through them.

The possessing spirit normally finds its victims in places where lots of people gather who are addicted to whatever it is addicted to. For example, an alcoholic spirit might find its victims in a bar or tavern. That is why it is important to not only control how much you drink, but also not to get drunk in places such as bars. You see, becoming drunk/high lowers your spiritual protection level, which makes you more vulnerable to spiritual attacks. If that happens, while you are in a place where these entities are roaming about (e.g. a bar), then you could get possessed. It doesn't happen to everyone in these situations, but it is a lot more common when you would expect.

Once the spirit chooses it victim, it will telepathically send the person messages such as "Why don't you have a drink? You need some alcohol." The person will just feel a sudden craving. It is bad enough dealing with your own bad habits, but now this person will have to deal with the other entity's as well. The way to get rid of this type of being is simply to quit whatever you are addicted to. That's easier said than done, but it is the only 100% affective way to do it.

So, in conclusion, spiritual possession is a real danger but, if you aren't addicted to anything, then you are most likely fine. If you are, you should take steps to quit now because, like diseases, spiritual possession is much easier to prevent, than to fix after the fact.