Note: The Structure of Heaven is a 325-page book that can be downloaded from Amazon.com in kindle format by clicking here. It is also available in paperback format by clicking here.
When discussing spirit obsession or possession in the mentally ill, one has to consider the question of culpability for criminal acts. We’re not talking about criminal culpability here. The law takes most criminal acts for what they are, regardless of motivation. We are talking about spiritual culpability. Who is responsible for evil acts committed as a result of spirit obsession in a person who is mentally ill? Is it the invading spirit(s) or is it the host’s own soul? I have never seen a real answer to this question, but if I had to guess, the answer would have to be…it depends! It would have to depend on the essential nature of the soul, and on the nature of the mental illness.
Some mental illnesses are adventitious, which is to say, acquired as a result of a brain injury or traumatic life experiences. If an essentially good soul begins to act erratically after a brain injury, stroke, or severe PTSD, the behavior could, of course, just be the direct result of the injury itself. However, evidence of serious criminal thoughts that appear suddenly and have never before been a characteristic of that person could possibly be due to an invading influence that has taken advantage of the patient’s injury and is NOT the fault of the patient.
The same may be the case even for some patients with chronic mental illness. After the death of the body, the soul no longer needs a brain because it no longer needs to interact with the material world, and now, free of the “container” which limited its activity, it regains all of its lost facilities. It seems unlikely that it would suffer the loss of its preexisting spiritual status if its criminal acts were the result of spirit obsession due to mental illness. Both the soul and its spiritual friends would view the evil acts more like a carjacking in which the body was simply stolen and used for illicit purposes.
On the other hand, many people, mentally ill or not, will develop poorly evolved souls over the course of their lives. They have chosen, for any number of reasons, to follow a narcissistic lifestyle taking advantage of other people and causing them harm. For them, the mental illness may actually be the result of a spiritual infection to which they have become susceptible due to their own bad habits.
As we will see in the next chapter, these souls have made room for an invading spirit and invited it in. Upon the death of their bodies, these souls would likely occupy the lower spiritual planes they deserve because of their evil mindsets, even if they were mentally ill and had assistance from an invading spirit.