Earth-Bound Souls

EARTH-BOUND SOULS

We now touch on the subject of souls that are “earth-bound” - a subject which the public is still ill-equipped to understand but which, because of its importance, we cannot entirely ignore. By “earth-bound” I mean souls which, after leaving the body, remain for one reason or another so concerned with earthly events that they neglect to follow their required path through the world beyond. As in their lifetime, all their interest is focused on worldly happenings. They therefore try to share in the activity of a living human body in order to regain their own capacity for action.

The reason for this kind of earth-bound state is usually – however strange this may sound – that the person concerned has not consciously perceived his or her own death. “Overlooking” death in this way is frequently a consequence of believing firmly that after death everything is finished. When someone of this conviction suddenly dies, he finds that subjectively so little has changed for him that it simply does not occur to him that he is dead. The only perceptible difference lies in his own inability to act, and this he quickly remedies by attaching himself to another body and thus regaining the feeling of having the normal influence on earthly events.

There are other possible reasons for a soul being earth-bound. A person might, for example, have committed serious mistakes and wish to correct them himself after death. Or there might be grieving relatives who seek to keep the soul of the deceased chained to them. Sometimes a living person can be possessed by several earth-bound souls, a condition that one should not confuse with demonic or devilish possession.

The earth-bound souls are not intent on anything evil but are themselves in a regrettable plight and are waiting for help. Beings in the beyond, however, cannot give such help until these souls turn away from earthly happenings and ask for help. Thus it is the task of the living to provide the necessary help. All the old-established religions, therefore, include rituals and pleas for the dead. An impressive example of this is the Tibetan Book of the Dead, whose rituals have the purpose of guiding the souls of the deceased.

Possession of a living person by deceased souls can take many forms, ranging from minor symptoms to mental illness. It is significant that the majority of cases classified as schizophrenic are characterized by the presence of earth-bound souls. In such cases it is the intruding soul, and not the patient, that should be treated in order to bring about the release of the soul and the freeing of the patient.

In the early part of the century the American psychiatrist, Dr Wickland, worked successfully for over thirty years with this method of treating shizophrenics. Success in this difficult work was made possible by the talents of his wife who was an outstanding medium. During the sessions she placed her body at the disposal of the earth-bound souls, so that through her they could speak and communicate.

The treatment of a soul consists in explaining the circumstances in which the person now finds himself and retrospectively making him conscious of his death. He must learn to grasp that he no longer possesses a body of his own and that earthly matters now have no importance for him. He must literally turn himself around to face his new path and recognize the help that lies in the world beyond.

In the past few years we have begun to collect our own experiences in this area. These confirm Wickland's findings but also show how many problems and dangers attend such procedures. Laymen should therefore be warned against any wild experimentation in this field. Recently we have found possible ways, within our therapy, of contacting and treating the earth-bound souls even without a medium. This form of therapy I call “release-therapy”, because the soul is freed from its bondage and guided on to its own true path.

A central role in release-therapy is played by the prayer which the soul desperately desires to utter. Thus the greatest opportunity for the layman to help such souls lies in praying and having masses read for the deceased – one could hardly recommend a better service. It also follows that surviving relatives and friends should avoid any attempt to tie or call back the deceased. Spiritualists and those who go in for recording voices on tape are involved mainly with earth-bound souls. They should be clear in their minds that these souls need help but are in now way the transmitters of heavenly wisdom.

We are still at the beginning of this research but what we have discovered so far shows that by taking into account this type of problem we can open up completely new possibilities for therapy and assistance.