Psalms 31:3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.
Question: Can another living person's spirit enter your body? For example a man finds himself thinking thoughts and doing actions which he is aware are not his inintrinsically. Not only this, but he can identify the people in his life with a similar affliction. He has prayed about this. Any suggestions?
Answered by Lana:
What you are describing sounds like dissociation. People dissociate when they feel they are outside of themselves watching the action like a spectator. They may feel that they are experiencing it from another person`s point of view. From a psychological perspective, dissociation has various forms and symptoms. It can range in severity from daydreaming to complete memory loss for periods of time. Dissociation is usually considered a form of coping or defense mechanism when a person is under stress, conflict, or trauma.
From a biblical perspective, there is no way that we can enter another person`s body or mind. God has not given us the ability to read minds or experience things from another spirit. People who claim to be clairvoyant are not channeling anything unless it is from a demonic spirit. There are no human spirits or angels who indwell in us. The Bible says that when a person is saved that the Holy Spirit of Jesus is indwelling inside that person. The Bible does reference several incidents of demons indwelling people and it is not a good thing (
https://www.gotquestions.org/demon-possession.html).
For Christians experiencing dissociative disorders or symptoms, it is best to seek treatment or counseling if this is a persistent condition over time. Sometimes it is caused by drug use (even if it is prior the drug can have lasting effects). Dissociation is something we do to avoid dealing with reality. Training our minds to perceive and think rightly is critical to understanding the truth. It is best that we all learn to perceive and process reality correctly so we can choose the best response.
Here is an example of how dissociation can happen and why it needs to be corrected. A mother is abused by her mother. This cycle has happened for several generations. One of the mothers begins to abuse her own daughter. While it is happening, she sees herself watching the event, like she is experiencing it when she was in the daughter role, outside of herself. She knows she doesn`t want to treat her daughter that way, but the dysfunction is ingrained in her and needs to be dealt with. Rather than simply experiencing it, the mother must learn to empathize with her own daughter so that she can understand how to respond properly to her in the future. She must give her daughter what she never had by learning new ways to think about her child, her role as a mother, and herself as a child abuse victim. She can then see how her actions can be changed. Dissociation is a symptom of her abuse as a child, but it is not a solution to change the dysfunction. It is not a spiritual gift from God. It is a dysfunctional perception caused by trauma.
The Lord wants us to train our minds to know the truth and respond correctly to life using that truth. Our minds are flawed just like the rest of our body. We study the Bible to change our thinking so we can know what the true reality really is. Then we can respond like Christ would.
