Learning Wise Spiritual Discernment

Part 3 of 4

This is a continuation of a four part article that helps us to acquire greater spiritual discernment so we don't fall prey to all sorts of assorted nonsense.

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Possession

Another extremely hazardous practice is that of letting a “disembodied soul” - which is just another name for a discarnate entity – to come into our body. This is a form of possession and is absolutely treacherous! So-called “walk-ins” sometimes fit into this category. A “walk-in” is supposedly created when someone foolishly chooses to step out of their body in order to let a “benevolent” discarnate human being take it over. This is a very dangerous thing to do and they are not "benevolent" in the least! Fortunately, most people who think they are “walk-ins” are in reality just normal people who were genuinely born into the physical body they are inhabiting. Yet, they have been temporarily tricked by the psychic realm into believing that they are “walk-ins,” when fortunately they are not. One time when Pearl was warning us about the dangers of letting disembodied beings into our own bodies, as well as pointing out the error of suicide, she said:

Suicide is not the way under any circumstance, nor to step out of your little shell [body] and let another take over. That is black magic . . . and sinister to the nth degree. That is not the way! The teaching has been moving forward now that you can go out and someone else can take over your form. That was black magic of long ago and somehow it is being caught up again, and here and there, some few are starting to use it. If that is what you want, that is up to you! Your temple is your temple . . . how you misuse or abuse [it] results in how much you suffer.3

Deliberately trying to have an “out of body experience” is one way that a discarnate can sometimes take possession of a person’s body. Another way is by seeking manifestation by “trying” to hear audible messages from our so-called “spirit guide” or “angel.”

Magical Powers

Another area of confusion in New Age circles is that of “magical” or “sacred powers.” Sai Baba warns us that just because someone seemingly has “miraculous abilities” does not mean that they are serving the Light. In various ways, people can sometimes tap into extraordinary capabilities regardless of the level of their spiritual consciousness. For this reason Sai Baba generally discourages the search for these kinds of abilities which in India are known as “siddhis” (sounds like “cities.”) He says that they will only puff up our egos. When people question Sai Baba as to why he performs miracles, he explains that his Avatar powers are far different than the “siddhis” that yogis are able to attain, and that it is the nature of an Avatar to do the miraculous. Also, he sweetly replies, “I have no ego.” In other words, those of us who still do have egos, need to be more careful. This is not to say that the true saints and yogis who develop miraculous powers misuse them – if they are genuine saints and yogis they do not. But, the temptation to misuse them is so great that it is best not to seek these kinds of things. Yogananda, in his spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi, also warns us about the unwise seeking of spiritual powers. He explains how some of the so-called yogi’s in India who tapped into the use of certain “siddhic powers,” ended up hindering their own spiritual development, because they used them for egotistical purposes such as promoting their own self-importance, or for self-aggrandizement. Similarly, Anandamayi Ma says:

Take care not to be contented at any stage [short of GOD Realization]. . . . On the path to Self-awareness, before true Realization supervenes, one may get caught up in supernormal powers. To become entangled in this kind of thing constitutes a grave obstacle.4

Sai Baba, who is the Avatar of this Age, on the other hand performs miracles so that we will realize who he is and thus listen to his divine teachings. Likewise, Jesus, who had attained true mastery, did the same thing.

Former Lives

Pearl’s friend Sunny used to affectionately refer to Pearl as “P.W.” which I later discovered stood for “Princess of Wisdom.” Some of the greatest wisdom which Pearl shared with us were her cautions concerning the many goofy, pseudo-new age activities that sincere people were becoming involved in. I remember Pearl once telling us how there were three different women who came to see her, who each claimed to have been Cleopatra in a previous lifetime. Pearl told us how each of them had come to her on separate occasions and confidentially whispered into her ear, “Don’t tell anybody, but I was Cleopatra.” Pearl’s only comment to us was, “If they checked into Cleopatra’s life more carefully they would not be so quick to claim they were her.” And so, while the Great Ones assure us that we all have lived many, many different embodiments throughout the ages, still it the course of wisdom to not jump to conclusions as to who we think we might have been – even if we feel “shivery energy” coming down through us when we think of certain people, or particular times in history! Remember, who we think we were in a previous life, isn't going to change who we really were. And we are not going to know for sure who we really were in previous lifetimes until we are Ascended - so lets work on Self-Mastery so we can Ascend as soon as possible. It may seem strange that so many people in “new age” circles fall for these kinds of deceptions, but once we begin to become aware of the cunning subtlety of the astral realm, it becomes more understandable.

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For more enlightening insights on this topic, go to: Part 4.