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The Practical Psychic Self-Defense Handbook

Combat Psychic Attacks, Evil Spirits & Possession

Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.

The Unseen Environment

Core Affirmation: "I am loved and I am worthy. I am safe and I am free. I am powerfully protected. I am master of my body and ruler of my mind."

A great range of positive and negative inorganic beings—unseen spiritual forces—affect humanity in many often-unsuspected ways. I have spent much of my life searching for explanations and practical ways to counter the negative influences. In my early days, this was a matter of personal survival. Later, it became a healer's quest to help the many helpless people with similar problems who were led to me.

I class all spiritual forces and beings that have unwholesome effects upon human life as Negatives—Negs for short—regardless of what type of spirit or energy is actually involved. This helps simplify and desensationalize an otherwise complex, fear-inducing subject. There are many types of Negs. They are known by many names. Negs can be thought of as misguided or mischievous spirits, deranged ghosts, demons or jinn, toxic thought forms, whatever you like. What matters most is dealing with them.

The effects of Negatives on human life form a part of the underlying workings of life. Negative forces are just as necessary for spiritual growth as the positives are. These are unseen aspects of natural selection and spiritual evolutionary processes. Beyond this, there are times when they need to be dealt with. Think of this book as a spiritual first-aid course. It is wise to learn basic medical first aid well before an accident happens, just in case.

It is also wise to learn what is in this book, just in case. Negs spread misery, disease, and spiritual corruption. They interfere with human life on every level, far more frequently than one might suspect. Psychic influences and paranormal issues are natural parts of human life and society. But the negative aspects do not have to be endured meekly. All Negs have natural weaknesses and much can be done to avoid or counteract Neg-related problems. By and large, this does not involve doing anything too outlandish.

Neg-related paranormal activity needs to be put into context. So following are brief explanations of some of the most important factors.

Unseen Environments: The physical universe is only part of a reality spectrum that includes unseen energies and dimensions that permeate our physical reality. Quantum physics shows the existence of other dimensions that most people cannot directly perceive. If you lack personal experience with such things, this science provides a good basis from which to approach nonphysical realities, forces, and beings.

Unseen environments can be said to exist at higher frequencies than that of the physical universe. They exist at angles of perception outside of 3D reality that we cannot normally perceive. This makes them invisible and undetectable to our five senses and to scientific instruments. Just as different types of energies—such as light, gravity, x-ray, heat, microwave— can occupy the same space at the same time, so unseen environments coexist with the physical universe.

The Astral Real-Time Zone: The closest unseen environment to the physical universe is what I call the astral real-time zone. This subtle environment shares some properties of the physical universe (it is a direct and objective real-time reflection of reality) and some properties of the astral dimension (it is a fluid, nonphysical environment). The astral real-time zone permeates the physical universe and contains a perfect reflection of reality, as reality happens.

An astral projector in the real-time zone is like a ghost in the real world. All Negs utilize the real-time zone to be close enough to the physical universe to affect its inhabitants.

Computer Analogy: A good analogy here is to imagine the physical universe to be a vast computer called Source, with an operating system called the Collective Unconscious. All conscious beings are discrete programs that exist and function within this operating system. In this sense, Negs can be likened to computer viruses and malware. They infect and alter, invade and damage how these living conscious programs (people) function.

Your Higher Self and You

Your higher self has many names and aspects. My conception of higher self includes the conscious and unconscious mind, and the physical body's innate intelligence on the cellular level. It controls your natural shields (your default antivirus/anti-Neg protection), which is obviously breached during any type of Neg invasion. These breaches are allowed to happen because of free will, choices, and permission factors, or because Negs find ways around your natural defenses. Either way, your higher self holds the keys to whether or not you are susceptible to Neg problems. The actions of your higher self are oft en attributed to the divine or to the actions of spiritual beings. To help to conceptualize this, consider your higher self to be connected with Source through a gradient of consciousness, which runs from you to Source.

Iceberg Analogy: Imagine that you are an iceberg floating on a great ocean. The conscious aspect of you, the part reading my words, floats above the ocean. Under the waves rests 90 percent of you, which is your unconscious mind and higher self. The iceberg that is you floats in a vast ocean, along with countless other icebergs—other living beings. The ocean represents the collective unconscious. The icebergs all perceive themselves to be separate individuals, although all are composed of and are floating in seawater. Frozen or liquid, it's still seawater. In this analogy, Source would be the subatomic particles and elements from which the seawater and icebergs are composed.

Source is universal consciousness and energy. You are an integral part of the universe. There is no actual separation between you and the rest of the universe—only perceived and believed separateness. You are an integral part of everything and everyone else. This is what Eckhart Tolle means when he says in his book The Power of Now, "You are the now." He is saying, "You are Source."

The following exercise demonstrates this relationship between you and Source.

Take your index finger and point to Source.

Next, point to where Source is not.

You actually cannot point to either. Source is everywhere and in everything, including you and your higher self. You are composed of Source. You and Source are, therefore, indivisible aspects of each other.

A further analogy may help: Consider the fingertip of your index finger. Imagine that this is you and that the rest of your body is the universe and everything else in it. You cannot separate your fingertip from your body. Your fingertip is not a separate and discrete being. It is connected to every part of you on the cellular level. But you, as a fingertip, do not realize that you are a part of the whole. In this sense, you are Source and your fingertip is you. This is the truth of nondual existence and of universal consciousness. You feel and believe yourself as separate from everything. For you to exist and function as a physical being, this sense of separateness is necessary. But on a deeper spiritual level, you are a part of everything, and everything is a part of you. The more you embrace your nondual nature, the more connected you become to everything. This connectedness causes your higher spiritual aspects to draw closer to you and to take a more active part in your life.

Permission and Agreement Issues

What Negs can do to a person is limited by the level of permission they have obtained. Permission and agreements relate to the free will of individuals. The higher self will sometimes adjust a person's natural shields and defenses to allow a Neg influence or invasion, if this has been requested by that person or is required by that person's higher self.

Permission can take many forms. Agreements are like legal contracts, where, for example, on a higher level of consciousness, a person may agree to allow a negative influence into his/her life in exchange for something. This something usually involves a test or an opportunity to grow by experiencing and/or overcoming difficulties. Affirmations and positive statements of intention can be used to revoke permission and agreements or to reduce their effects in real life.

Permission for negative interference is commonly given when spiritual advancement and abilities are greatly desired. This permission can manifest a series of real-life trials and negative interference whereby spiritual growth and advancement can be achieved.

Paranormal, Medical, or Psychological?

Paranormal phenomena cannot easily be explained by modern science. Consequently, all Neg problems are, from a scientific and medical standpoint, considered to be hallucinations or manifestations of mental illness. Neg-related problems have not been scientifically researched to any great extent and are largely misunderstood today. Consequentially, little practical help is available, and even less common knowledge. The truth is that many physical and psychological disorders are caused and spread by negative spiritual influences.

The Human Energy Body and Aura

The human energy body, along with the mind, is the vehicle through which Negs interact with people. Every cell of your body is alive with bioelectrical activity. Beneath this activity exist layers of subtle spiritual energy fields that comprise the human energy body. This subtle body is every bit as complex and essential to life as its physical counterpart. The human energy body permeates the physical body and extends beyond the human skin in an egg-shaped field called the aura.

The energy body has multiple layers; it also has multiple energy centers, called chakras. Chakras are like the vital organs of the energy body. There are seven primary energy centers (major chakras), hundreds of secondary energy centers, three main energy-storage centers, and dense areas of tertiary centers (tiny energy-exchange pores). There is also a central channel (called Sushumna, in Eastern terms) running up through the center of the body and two major energy conduits (called Ida and Pingala in Eastern terms), winding up either side of the central channel.

In order to significantly affect humans, Negs need to broach the natural defenses of the human energy body and gain access to its chakra system. When they do, they gain access to the mind, and through the mind, the brain and the physical body. We will be revisiting this subject in more depth further on in this book.

Sleep and Astral Issues

A number of factors involving the mind, energy body, and sleep can be related to Neg activities. But some natural sleep-related phenomena can also be mistaken for Neg attacks, due to a poor understanding of what can happen during presleep and sleep.

Lack of sleep: Lack of sleep will cause the energy body's natural defenses to weaken and its chakras to activate. This can be a primary factor in Neg problems. Negs will not only take advantage of this situation, but will also use various means to deny people sleep as a way of further weakening natural defenses. These means can include telepathically manipulating dreams and causing nightmares and nocturnal phenomena that will induce fear and deprive persons of sleep. For these reasons, it is important to get healthy amounts of regular sleep. Healthy sleep is crucial when Neg activity and interference are noticeable. Please do not hesitate to see a health professional if sleeping becomes a problem.

Sleep projection: During sleep, the body, mind, and energy body undergo some major natural changes. The physical body slows into a state of deep relaxation as the brain moves through a range of altered states of consciousness and cycles of dreaming. The energy body expands and generates a subtle astral copy of the physical body and its mind, called the astral body. The astral body is automatically projected just outside the physical body, where it rests, often mimicking the position of its sleeping physical counterpart. The astral body is connected to the physical body and energy body by unbreakable energy filaments, most oft en called the Silver Cord. This sleep projection of the astral body is a natural, automatic process. If it happens while the mind is held awake, it is called astral projection. If the dreaming mind awakens during this process, it is called lucid dreaming.

The Mind-Split Effect

Natural sleep projection generally goes unnoticed and is rarely remembered. However, occasionally glitches can occur during this process, causing problems ranging from mild confusion to extreme fear.

The mind-split effect is my term for what happens during sleep, sleep projection, and astral projection. The original copy of the mind and memory never leave the physical body while it lives. The projected astral double contains a full copy of the mind and memory of the sleeper/projector, up to the moment of separation and while it is held out of body. Three identical copies of the same mind can exist and function simultaneously: the physical body/mind, the astral body/mind, and the dream body/mind. These three aspects are integrated while people are fully awake.

The dream mind is the most noticeable other aspect of mind beyond the normal awake state of consciousness. The dream mind will sometimes become active when overtired persons are resting or trying to fall asleep. It can also become active during meditation sessions. When the dream mind becomes active, the eyelids flicker noticeably. This odd sensation, called rapid eye movement, or REM, indicates that the mind is dreaming. It is sometimes possible to catch glimpses of what is happening in the dream mind.

Because REM and dream activity can happen while persons are still awake, it is obvious that the dream mind is a separate aspect of the mind, capable of functioning independently. The astral body/mind is just another aspect of mind. Under the right circumstances, as said, two or even three of these aspects are capable of operating simultaneously.

The dream mind and astral mind gather experience memories independently from the moment they become active, the moment the mind-split effect occurs, to the moment awake consciousness is restored. Most of these memories disappear into uncharted areas of the unconscious mind upon waking. Occasionally, though, dream and astral memories will be recalled, oft en mixed.

Problems can occur when the physical body's copy of mind regains consciousness while its other aspects are also conscious. This can cause a variety of sleep-related phenomena, including sleep paralysis (the physical body is awake, but cannot move) and senses like astral sight and hearing, and more rarely, touch and smell and taste.

Astral Sight and Hearing

Astral sight is the phenomenon of seeing through closed eyelids during sleep or in the preludes to sleeping or awakening. The quality of astral sight can range from seeing vague, shadowy shapes, images, and colors to seeing as if your eyes were open and the overhead light were lit.

Sounds heard through astral hearing can range from bell tones (tuning-fork sounds) and buzzing or humming electrical noises to peculiar sounds and voices. Some astral noises (e.g., a train roaring past close to your head, a lawnmower starting up in your bedroom) can be frighteningly loud—as loud as they would be in real life.

Astral sight and hearing happen when the physical body is asleep, but the mind is still awake. This is also called a trance state or an altered state of consciousness. In this state, psychic abilities will oft en manifest that allow seeing and hearing into the astral dimension. Spirits and astral projectors can also sometimes be seen and heard in this way. These abilities can also become activated by overtiredness, when the physical body falls asleep while the mind is held awake.

Sleep Paralysis

Sleep paralysis is something that most people will experience at some time in their lives. When it happens, persons wake up physically paralyzed, unable to move a muscle or even blink. This can also happen while you are trying to fall asleep or while just relaxing. It most commonly occurs when persons are overtired. Although this condition usually only lasts a minute or two, it can be terrifying, especially if its cause is unknown. This condition is oft en misinterpreted as something sinister. Astral sight and hearing will oft en occur during episodes of sleep paralysis, which can make the situation even more fear inducing.

I suspect that unknown subtle mechanisms relating to the nature of sleep and how the mind animates the physical body are involved with sleep paralysis. This condition is well known to be associated with out-of-body experiences (OBE, or astral projection). Natural astral projectors usually suffer frequent bouts of sleep paralysis during their lives.

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Excerpted from The Practical Psychic Self-Defense Handbook by Robert Bruce. Copyright © 2011 Robert Bruce. Excerpted by permission of Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc..
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