The truth about curses

Curses, evil spirits, and possession – When people contact me believing that they are victims of these things (or the like), I am often wary about taking them on as clients.

My reticence is not that a prospective client is ‘cursed’, ‘possessed’ or ‘haunted’, but rather that they are operating from a cultural and psychological belief system (and an energy system that is following suit) that makes them ‘curse-ABLE’, ‘possess-ABLE’, and ‘haunt-ABLE’.

When I was working with a shaman is Brazil, he said something that I will always remember regarding the importance of maintaining strong energetic boundaries and protection:

‘You get to have your body and the three feet around you. That’s yours – Your energy, your aura, your body. The universe can have absolutely everything else.

But that is YOURS to do with as you choose’. 

What the shaman was speaking about is directly related to what tends to happen when one MAKES ONESELF energetically vulnerable to these low-frequency or ‘bad’ energies. There are many reasons why this occurs.

Negative energy and harmful intentions toward others, are of course, very real things.

To see this in action one need only watch two boxers before a fight – in each other’s faces, staring each other down, scowling and sneering. You can observe them trying to hurt the other just with their thoughts.

But it’s also important to note that both fighters seem to have built up psychological and energetic defenses that make them impervious to the other’s ill intentions. They have found a way to seemingly not allow the negativity to permeate their field.

Curses, as I’m discussing in this context, are actually quite similar to the psychic warfare created between the boxers.

It is my hope that the following helps to clarify (and debunk) the nature of ‘curses’ in a way that can empower people to relate to these kinds of energetic disturbances in a workable way.

It should also be noted that I am speaking about energetic and notphysical violations (which could also be considered a kind of ‘curse’).

The use of the word ‘body’ in the above quote from the shaman may imply that he is suggesting that we always have a ‘choice’ in what happens to our physical bodies. This is of course, not the case, nor is it my intention to suggest otherwise.

PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE

Implied in the language of ‘curses and evil spirits’ is a kind of victimization and powerlessness – ‘I am weak and vulnerable. This evil thing has been done to me by another. I have no control over it. The world is a very dangerous place. I am haunted’.

This way of thinking often comes from a specific personal belief system in which people choose (or subconsciously want) to see themselves as subject to these energies.

But its origins can also be the result of a cultural context (a nationality, geographic location, or a nuclear family) in which there has been culturally-sanctioned victimization, discrimination, or disenfranchisement.

From the psychological perspective, there is often a great ‘benefit’ for people to see themselves as victims. This allows them to blame others, not take responsibility for their lives, and to continue to live life from their wounds (I’m broken, such and such has been done to me, so I’m allowed to be a mess’).

I have seen a real pattern of attachment to this victim identity; this powerlessness. And it can feel like a real threat to even talk about dismantling it. But this is what most often needs to be the focus of the healing work, not the ‘spookiness’ of the ‘curse’.

Additionally, I have never had anyone come to me asking for curse removal where there wasn’t a history of trauma. I’m not saying that trauma and ‘curse’ always go together, but I personally have never seen it otherwise (more on this to follow). And there are a host of other possible psychological explanations such as mental illness or chronic anxiety and fear.

From the cultural point of view, the quality and nature of curses seem to differ by nationality, location, and religion. For instance, Haitian Voodoo doesn’t seem to exist in Buddhist countries, the only place to supposedly find a legitimate exorcist is at the Vatican, and I’ve never heard of a Hindu needing a de-possession. There is simply no standard, cross-cultural context for any of this.

In many cultures around the world, women are often subordinate to men. And by adopting (or accepting) a paradigm that readily allows for curses to exist, women secretly indoctrinate themselves into the possibilty of more ‘power’ (its the only way they think they can get it) and at the same time mirror their culture’s sense of female weakness and low status. This dynamic can, of course, apply to men too.

ENERGETIC CONSIDERATIONS

From a shamanic perspective, low entities and dark forces absolutely do exist. But they can only attach themselves to a willing host. This means that when energetic boundaries are in some way compromised – when there is a ‘hole’, so to speak, in the aura, something ‘bad’ can then ‘come in’.

The universe abhors a vacuum, and energy finds a way to balance itself (even if its by taking on bad energy). In other words, when we aren’t energetically ‘all there’, we are then open to other energies that ARE NOT OURS. This is what can make one susceptible to a curse or dark force.

There are many ways in which we lose ourselves. For instance, during trauma like physical or sexual abuse, pieces of our vital essence (or soul) can splinter off from us. Or we can consciously or unconsciously send them away (disassociation). These are adaptive reactions that are trying to help protect us from further pain (‘If less of me is here, it hurts less’).

Another possibility that might remove parts of us from our own energy field is if we have sublimated a core need in order to hold someone else’s (a parent’s for example), or in an effort to fit in.

For instance, a child who’s core need is not met, will often adjust by forming a sense of self that pretends that need doesn’t exist, or he will in some way banish it entirely from his field. This then leaves a space for a foreign entity to attach.

Healing requires us to be energetically FULL OF OURSELVES. This means having very clear boundaries and bottom lines, being vigilant about what (and who!) we allow in to our energetic field, and having a personal belief system that is self-loving and nurturing. The idea is, as the shaman said, that ‘you get to have your body and the three feet around you. And you can do with it what you choose’. 

Evil spirits and curses are powerless and cannot hold or attach to a vessel that is filled with love, self, and personal power. It’s impossible. It’s like a mosquito trying to bite an iron bull.

So, its not about changing the ‘curses and evil spirits’, it’s about changing the vessel!