Spirit Release as Therapy: An

Alternative Western Tradition

Dr Fiona Bowie, Kings College London
Workshop 8: Discernment: Recognising the Presence of Spirits
Mind and Other Interdisciplinary Research Project
Wild or Domesticated
Helsinki, Finland, September 20-22nd 2016
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Alternative to what?
Western traditions

Non-Western traditions

Cartesian dualism separation of reason and

body/matter

Non-dualistic philosophies that stress the

material base of self or consciousness

Medical and psychiatric models of healing that

focus on physical, often chemical processes,
whether externally or internally generated
Theological traditions that stress the
uniqueness of the individual soul and resist
contact with other demonic invisible beings

Multiple or dividual selves, as opposed to the

(supposed) Western individual Strathern
Plants, non-human animals and spirits that
share intention, rationality and relationships
with humans Viveiros de Castro & Amazonian
perspectivism
Animism as an alternative ontology,
contrasted to Western naturalism Descola
Ancestors as actors in life, responsible for wellbeing and sickness
Shamanic forms of healing specialists in
dealing with spirits/souls

Neurophenomenology and neuroepistemology

Winkleman (2016:50) the cross-cultural and
universal features of mystical experiences falsify
traditional constructivist hypotheses and support a
neurophenomenological view of mystical
experiences as biologically structured.
Neuroepistemological approaches stress biology but
also recognise the role of cultural learning in
shamanic or mystical experiences culture can
facilitate or block experience through cultural
ideologies and practices, which contribute to the
interpretation and utilisation of these experiences.

Reflexivity, Self and Other

Self simultaneously internal and external, thought and
action, individual and society. Two selves one to think with
and one to think about.
Reflexivity fundamental and defining attribute of humanness
humans cannot help but think it is part of our experience of
self-hood. It is a dual process, an inherent doubling of every
cognition directed either within or without.
Ethics Selfhood describes a reflexive relationship between
self and other. To the extent to which humans conduct
themselves, determining their own ends, they are answerable
for their actions.
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Social cognition and theory of mind

theory-theory: mental states
attributed to others based on folk
psychological theory of mind

simulation theory: own

mind as model for other
minds

implicit

conscious
imagination

explicit

implicit and
sub-personal

Basic presuppositions in Western

spirit release

All matter, like everything else in the universe is

composed of (intelligent) energy. Nothing dies, it is
merely transformed.
The physical body is one of several bodies that we all
possess, which vibrate at different frequencies.
Our health, physical, emotional and spiritual,
depends on balancing our energy.
Loving and selfless thoughts and actions raise our
vibration and attract good energy, and vice-versa.
Ill-health, depression, trauma, addictions and
playing with a Ouija board are among the ways
people can weaken their energy field or aura
sufficiently for alien energies to attach themselves.
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What are these attachments?

Attachments come in many forms they may be
earthbound spirits who are lost or afraid to move on
(into the light).

They may be negative spirits, once human or never

incarnated, who wish evil and want to cause harm
(demons, dark force entities).

They may be playful devic (fairies, elves etc.) or other

non-human energies.

They may be thought-forms or curses, originating

with the possessed person or someone else usually
envisaged as cords or hooks.

How do you know if you have an attachment?

A sudden or gradual change of personality or
tastes and habits without obvious
explanation, such as developing an
unexplained taste for vodka or interest in
horse racing.

Being drained of energy or depressed

without obvious cause.

Psychokinetic activity that seems to centre on

a particular person, and feels aggressive.

Hearing alien voices and perhaps developing

unexpected suicidal urges or displaying
uncharacteristic violent behaviour.

Spirit release protocols

Ask higher powers for protection for self and client.

Clear as much surrounding negative energy as possible.
Ask permission of the clients higher self to work with him or
her.
Identify the source of the problem.
Engage any possessing or attached entities in dialogue
(mentally) and ask for help from higher powers to move
them to the Light so that they can continue their spiritual
development.
Check the clients aura for further problems or results.
Perform some form of cleansing to ensure that there are no
attached entities or energies transferred to the practitioner.
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Does spirit release work?

Some practitioners report sudden and
almost miraculous healings from
intractable problems. In other cases it
might take many sessions or there is little
or no obvious change in the client.
Changes might be subtle, and require the
consent of the client. A harmful lifestyle
might incline the client to further
problems as in the biblical parable of
the room swept clean, that simply allows
new spirits to enter.
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When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid

places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, I will return to the
house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean
and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more
wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition
of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this
wicked generation.
Matthew 12:43-45 (NIV)

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13

Air Chief Marshall Hugh Dowding, 1882-1970

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Academic discernment
Presenting the body multiple
as the reality we live with is
not a solution to a problem but
a way of changing a host of
intellectual reflexes. This study
does not try to chase away
doubt but seeks instead to
raise it (184).
Annemarie Mol, The Body Multiple: Ontology in
Medical Practice. Duke University Press (2002)

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Thank You!
Bibliography
Bowie, F. (2013a) Self, Personhood and Possession. Talk delivered at the IUAES, Manchester. Available on Academia.edu
Bowie, F. (2013b) Building Bridges, Dissolving Boundaries: Towards a Method for the Ethnographic Study of the Afterlife,
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Bowie, F. (2015) The Psychic Self. Talk delivered at the Exploring the Extraordinary conference, York. Available on
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