In (Luke 8:3) we find the story of Jesus going through the cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news. Mary Magdalene was with him, as well as other women, and it is said he had cast out from her seven demons.
What do you think of when you hear the word demons?
Film and media give us a lot of scary images of devils, evil and all sorts of creepy horned creatures. Its the perennial fight of good versus evil, angels versus demons. I especially enjoyed reading and watching Dan Brown’s series the Da Vinci Code and his sequel novel, Angels and Demons.
But what if we could understand these ideas of angels and demons, thoughts of good and evil are not something that reside outside of us, waiting to lure us into evil. Charles Fillmore writes in The Revealing World that demons or devils are error states of mind that only the Christ within us can lift up.
Again Jesus says to his disciples in (Luke 10:17), “See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.”
What this is saying to us is that these demons, ogres, negative thoughts, and states of mind are not to be struggled with because they cannot be touched with reason and analysis of them keeps them longer; but when you notice, observe and allow them to move through without acting on them, you realize they are just passing phenomena, and as we talked of last Sunday, “they are not personal.”
The best way I’ve found of allowing these crazy thoughts through is to shift my attention onto something that interests me and brings me back to center.
I was in the grocery story one morning as two women were shopping together. It looked like a mother and her daughter. I do not know their exact conversation but right in front of the produce section, the mother grabbed the daughter’s hand and in a loud voice said: “Holy Jesus, lift me up from this demon of complaining.”
The purpose of all spiritual practice is not to “get something” but to take away our materialistic blinders, free us from our addictions and experience the joy of letting go and living from a clear mind and open heart.
We meet for guided meditation on Wednesdays at 11 in our sanctuary, or you can join us on zoom ( (ID 840-3552-6522) and give yourself permission to pause a moment and learn to break the spell of the enchantment of illusions which are demons dressed in angelic clothing.
Namaste’
Rev Janice
