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A number of years ago, I “met” the author of this book, along with James Webster, during an online discussion among afterlife researchers and advocates.
With graciousness, she sent an advance copy of her new book for my review. “Field Guide” is a very important offering to our understanding concerning how things really work on the other side; this side, too.
like barnacles covering the hull of a ship
Dr. Carl and Anna Wickland, with their 30+ years of research, came to see that the “unliving” gather in their legions. Spirit-entities who prowl the Earth not having gone to the Light, Dr. Wickland asserted, are as numerous as barnacles covering the hull of a ship.
But it seems to be even worse than this.
Confused, mischievous, and down-right evil spirit-persons nearly rival the population of mortals on the Earth with, at minimum, many hundreds of millions of these once-mortal entities residing in our very midst; as the British would say, "cheek by jowl." They're everywhere.
And if you had eyes to perceive them, as some gifted psychics, such as James Van Praagh, are able to do, you would see them on the streets, in hospitals and airports, in bars and restaurants, at cemeteries, in churches and places of work, in houses and in department stores.
What are they doing here?
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everybody's looking for something, some of them want to abuse you, some of them want to be abused...
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
everybody's looking for something
some of them want to use you
some of them want to get used by you
some of them want to abuse you
some of them want to be abused...
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Many of them don’t believe they’re dead; they're fighting it. Some are angry, feeling “hard done by,” unjustly treated. Some are confused and can’t figure out why others won't talk to them. Some are vicious and seek for ways to do you harm or worse. Some are wanting to reincarnate, but are unsure of how to do this. Some have “unfinished business” in this world and can’t let go. Some want to continue to direct their mates, children, or work. Some are seeking revenge against cheating lovers, rivals, business partners, or others who did them wrong. Some are low-information, and sometimes fanatical, religious persons who are looking for Jesus to save them, or the Blessed Virgin to comfort them, both of whom, they were told, would meet them at the gate, but are nowhere to be found. Some are still attempting to grasp at power-and-control, money, fame, or stardom. Some are afraid of judgment, an angry God, and are terrified of crossing over into the Light, lest they be sent to a (mythical) burning hell.
In other words, these discarnates are just like the people you know, all around you every day, and not much will have changed for these spirits just because they've now lost their fleshy bodies (although they have a new one that seems pretty much the same). For them, it's just another day in the life.
stuck between worlds
Dr. Wickland came to understand that this vast motley horde of unbalanced spirit-persons represents a class of beings who have no clue about what to do with themselves, the purpose of life, how to live it, and what the next stage of human evolution is meant to be. And so, for right now -- which might last a few days or thousands of years -- these hundreds of millions are stuck, between worlds, trying to figure out which end is up.
it's not important learning about the afterlife, I'll do that later when I get there
There are those who, while in our world, bluster, "I don't need to worry about the afterlife, I'll concentrate on this life right now, and I'll worry about figuring out the next world when I get there." Does this sound familiar to anyone?
But all of this between-worlds mayhem becomes more than just unpleasant fact or nuisance. Many, a great many, of these discarnates are not bumblers and confused, but are calculating and very wicked, and very dangerous, and will seek to harm you, and more, if allowed opportunity. Think of Hannibal Lecter; dangerous, even behind bars, just to look at him.
but, do not be frightened by this information, calmly deal with the reality, nothing can harm you, if you live authentically
It's like the electricity in your house. It could easily kill you, but there's no need for alarm, if you take proper precautions. It's just part of life as it is, and so it's something to accept.
Malevolent and malicious as these spirit entities are, they cannot touch you or harm you in the least – if you protect yourself in the right way.
This is a very big subject, and “Field Guide” offers hundreds of examples of what we're to know in order to properly deal with this issue. The solution, our protection, devolves to some simple principles. Allow me to share them with you.
Summerland cannot be invaded, and neither can you, if --
We’ve learned that our happy lives in Summerland will not be subjected to threats of invasion by any evil force (see the "1-Minute Essay"). Why is this so? It’s the “Crystalline Entity Principle.” Like attracts like. The “vibrations” wouldn’t match. This is basic "afterlife physics."
Therefore, those of a wicked nature, if they were to attempt to take one step into Summerland, would experience a sense of shattering, of being ripped apart. The pleasant atmosphere of brotherly and sisterly good will, harmony, and charitable disposition of those residing in Summerland is “poisonous” to those whose attitudes reflect a lower level of consciousness.
And so, that which protects the entire vast domain of Summerland, millions of miles wide and long, will also protect you on an individual basis, while you’re still on the Earth.
If you maintain a frame of mind that, in the main, is calm, service-directed, appreciating things of beauty, respectful of life, on the look-out for ways to help people and animals, then, you have nothing to worry about concerning being attacked by evil spirit-entities. They won’t be able to get near you. You’re poison to them, quite indigestible.
But I must clarify this issue. The protection of which we speak is more about “being” than “doing” -- it's the level of consciousness that matters most, far more than the deed.
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Editor's note:
See Dr. Viktor Frankl's comments on "being" versus "doing," from his book, Man's Search for Meaning.
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Allow me to explain. If we say that protection will automatically come by way of offering charitable service, a manipulator might conclude, “Well then, in order to save myself, I guess I'll be good now and start to help others.” Are we impressed?
wearing the mask of the 'good person'
Do we see how this apparent “morality” might be just a thin disguise of plain old Machiavellianism? just political maneuvering? Our good works cannot be fear-based or a ploy to get something else. We cannot use other people as "means to an end," even by so-called serving them, and expect a good result.
A needy and terrorized mind wearing the mask of a "good person" will not find protection from evil spirits -- who feel comfortable with hypocrisy -- simply by doing a good deed. Something more, as basis, is required. This weighty principle is discussed at length in the four articles on “Spirituality” and in the writing on “Morality.”
Whatever we “do” in life – not just concerning an attempt to protect oneself against evil spirits – must be founded upon a proper sense of “being,” the “true self.” This is of utmost importance.
If our actions are not built upon one’s “true self,” one’s deeper link to God, then we might as well stop whatever we’re doing or thinking until we’ve “centered” ourselves; for, without this basis, any effort of “doing” will become counter-productive and amount to nothing.
Jesus casts out an attached spirit
There’s a parable of Jesus which might be unclear to us, but, in the light of a large body of afterlife-evidence amassed, Jesus’ message reveals itself. In Luke 11:14 we find that
“Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.”
These were not “demons” in the sense of “fallen angels” – that’s mythology – the “cast out” was a former mortal, now a confused or malicious spirit-person who had attached himself to a mortal host, causing bodily illness or deformity.
Dr. Wickland, over 40 years, “healed” hundreds and hundreds of patients in exactly the same way Jesus did, that is, by “driving out” the attached spirit.
Now notice what happened next with Jesus. Some radical skeptics in the crowd begin to accuse, “Satan did it! He’s healing by the power of Satan!” And this is what the fearful religious today will attempt to say about a display of psychic abilities. Jesus warned his hard-of-heart critics, then and now, by introducing the "unpardonable sin." I addressed this incident in a separate article.
a strong man, fully armed, is well able to guard his own house
After dealing with the Satan-accusation, Jesus speaks generally concerning the issue of attached spirits and their beleaguered hosts. In verse 21:
"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder… When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first."
there is no such thing as 'someone stronger' if you draw life from the 'true self'
If one's life is based upon the inner link with God, no spirit-entity will be able to harm you. Harm could occur only if "the strong man" lays down his arms, and then dark forces could become "someone stronger" by default.
Concerning Jesus' story, as we look at many hundreds of these cases referred to in the Wickland files and in "Field Guide," we begin to understand what Jesus is talking about. The “strong man, fully armed,” has nothing to worry about concerning invaders – “his possessions are safe.” The interlopers, within the context of Jesus' story, are marauding wicked-spirits.
he digs deep
The “strong man” is someone whose life is built upon a higher level of consciousness, that of the “true self,” one’s inner link to God. In other words, the "strong man" is healthy, psychologically and spiritually.
To “mix my parables,” this principle is also found in another of Jesus’ stories, that of the man who built his house on solid rock; he “digs deep,” and when the floods come, his house is safe, and stands, unlike the dwellings of those who build upon shifting sand and are washed away.
Let's say more about this "strong man" and "solid rock."
the 'death of the soul,' the pathology of 'non-personhood'
How do we know that Jesus' metaphor of the "strong man" and the "solid rock" refers to self-respect, a healthy self-image?
“Field Guide” offers a large number of "attachment" case histories which reveal a root cause: a “death of the soul,” a sense of “non-personhood,” the empty-suit. Those who lack a healthy sense of self can easily become troubled individuals, ready targets for invading wicked spirits who will move into one's "empty house." If you don't know who or what you are, some outside force will define this for you; but not to your advantage.
In addition to the "Field Guide" reports, there are hundreds of pages of discussion on the Word Gems site concerning the importance of a sturdy "true self." Without this authenticity at the center of being, one's thoughts and actions, one's efforts and goals, will produce no satisfaction; but, instead, an existential crisis, a sense of "great emptiness." And this "empty house," not without meaning, is prominently featured in Jesus' story.
how could anyone ever defeat you if your spirit is linked to God
In other words, to become a "strong man," to be able to fend off invaders, one must live from one's center, one's hidden link to God. This is the "solid rock" which the floods of adversity and spirit-warfare cannot move. How could anyone conquer you if your spirit is linked to God?
Hoffer writes of cultish self-loathing, the hidden desire to be rid of oneself. Big Religion plays on this and calls it a virtue, but it's faux-humility. "Deny yourself," as Jesus taught, does not mean denying one's own judgment, denying one's own personhood and responsibility to live one's own life. But this is how cultish Big Religion would have you interpret the words of Jesus, by which he meant to say, "Deny the 'false self," stop living from your base passions. Live according to the inner dictates of the soul, your deeper, true self." There should be no debate about this.
Low-information true believers think they're making themselves safe and secure by surrendering autonomy to The Nice Young Man At Church, but the reality is quite the opposite. The party-faithful cultivate a servility and fear-based dependence which makes one vulnerable to wicked spirits. Low self-esteem, a product of cultism, becomes a virtual move-in invitation to "someone stronger."
in Jesus' story, why does the attached spirit come back
Why wouldn't he? He liked living in your "house."
Those who become hosts to wicked spirits can be helped, or “healed,” as the “impure spirit” might be driven out. However, if the host has not learned how to “fully arm,” to “guard” one's house and possessions, then the cast-out spirit, who has not found “rest,” that is, is still agitated, needy, and seeking to mooch from a host, will try to return, and invade the host once again.
We learn from Dr. Wickland and “Field Guide” that this is very common. Notice what happens now in Jesus' story. The wicked spirit returns and finds the house empty, swept clean, with nothing inside.
We might be tempted to ask, what's wrong with a clean house? But this is not the sense of Jesus' message. He means to say, "There's an eerie echo and silence in this house. No one's home and it looks like no one lives here!" That's not good as squatters might take over, and that's what happens, spiritually speaking.
This “empty house” is a metaphor depicting a temporarily “healed” host who has not learned how to become a “strong man.” This house should not be empty, allowing an invader to walk right in. The “house,” one’s person, should be filled with a fortitudinous sense of the “true self,” a purposeful self-respect, a self-autonomy, as a forward-thinking son or daughter of God.
Why is this important here, the self-respect and the self-direction? It's important because, guess what? -- if you don't take charge of your own life, if you're willing to be led by any appealing external authority, then someone is going to move into your "house," fill the existential vacuum, and tell you what to do. And you might not like your new room-mate. I guarantee that you won't. The room-share from hell.
When the wicked spirit returns, he brings friends with him. Dr. Wickland and “Field Guide” inform us that oftentimes there is not just one invading spirit but dozens, or scores, of wicked entities who have taken over a host's “house.” We're reminded of another wicked-spirit encounter of Jesus, to whom the invading entity admitted, "We are legion!" - meaning, "of great number," as barnacles covering the hull of a ship!
attached spirits are not the exception but the norm in this world
Editor's note: Dr. Wickland, in his 40 years of research, working with patients, arrived at the studied opinion that every person in this world has spirits close at hand. The question is, are they good ones or bad? Those who are living from a "solid rock" basis will enjoy the influence of good Spirit Guides, along with loving, closest relatives leading and encouraging them every day. But those who derive personal energy primarily from a "false self" already suffer wicked-spirit attachments: the "house" was empty, so they just walked in and took over.
the unlocked door
This is not a good world. Only the foolish and naive would want to come back here. We live in a battle-zone with the entire Earth as field of conflict. There are millions, hundreds of millions, of hungry and rapacious “unquiet dead” roaming, pillaging, the planet in desperate search of those whom they may manipulate, influence, make fools of, devour, or destroy. They will do any or all of these, if given a chance, if the front door of your "house" is left unlocked. This is not poetry but fact.
Dr. Carl Wickland: “Humanity is surrounded by the thought forces of millions of discarnate beings who have not yet arrived at a full realization of life’s higher purposes. A recognition of this fact accounts for a great portion of unbidden thoughts, emotions . . . unreasonable impulses, irrational outbursts of temper, uncontrolled infatuations and countless other mental vagaries.”
Let me express again, there’s no need to be afraid, at all - if you’ve accessed the true self, one's link to God. With this affinity, and a conscious awareness of it, we become the unassailable "strong man” in Jesus' story -- like Bob Feland, no one can touch us -- living with an air of confidence in the midst of warfare, a sense of invulnerability, which will pervade the godly mind - and we will not be afraid, nothing major.
But, if we are substantially afraid, it's a sure sign that we're not living from one's sacred "center." Let us take heart, however - we can change this deficit fairly quickly and begin to derive a sense of essential being from the "true self." These books provide good advice and show us how:
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