Those with whom we assemble we will soon resemble, so the simple old saying goes. Yet it tells of a deep Truth. It says that who we are the stuff of our soul at present is being transformed continuously by the nature of the company we keep; so that, in (our) essence we are always moving and evolving towards a kind of psychic oneness with whatever relationships we have revolving around us that we are within.

This company we keep refers both to the kinds of people outside of us and the presence of accompanying thoughts and feelings circulating within us. To see the Truth of this spiritual Law and how it works in scale upon us, shaping our soul’s possibilities just imagine how a cold piece of iron or damp wood soon assumes the nature of the fire it is brought next to. Radiant energy is transferred from one to the other, and soon what has no luminous properties of its own is transformed and begins to glow. With all this in mind, now consider there are four distinct types of people that can be identified by the four dark spirits inhabiting them. By recognizing these dark forces at work in others, we can learn to catch their dark works in ourselves. Once we have the Light to see what is so (in us), we are on our way to being set free from the enslavement inherent in living in the dark of ourselves.

Those who aspire to the Light need to recognize these sick spirits and reject their poisonous expressions. Following is a list of four ways to stop sick spirits from infecting you. Your detection and rejection of them depends upon your awareness of their presence and your refusal to take part in the spiritual sickness they live to spread. These spiritual darklings must use human beings as their physical instruments, without which they have neither sound nor voice on earth.

1. The muckrakers: These negative spirits live to drag up old painful events and then revel in the anger, resentment, or bitterness that such unhappy memories must hold in the fabric of their cloth. Stay away from any spirit, in others or in yourself, that wants you to dive into some suffering over what happened in any yesterday. Never consent to stoop to resentment.

2. The dirt throwers: Certain low and malicious spirits pull themselves up by pulling others down. They love to gossip, criticize, judge, or denigrate anyone who ever had the misfortune of spending time with them. The only loyalty these denizens of the unconscious worlds have is to their own pain that they feed by involving everyone they can in their dirt throwing. Beware!

3. The mud dwellers: There is a group of mired spirits that thrive on low vibrations but that require a human instrument to play out their endless dark hungering. Easily recognizable, these misfortunate forces serve up dreadful mental pictures, or tell unsuitable sex jokes, for the sake of the unnatural reactions they produce. Ignore these messed-up spirits and they must take their mud-making elsewhere.

4. The life-haters: This group of sick spirits perpetuates their hold on the human soul by resisting almost every gift that life offers. They want us to listen to their complaints, agree with their envy, and accept as right their rejection of life when it doesn’t please them. These chronically conflicted spirits need us to join in their party or they can’t spread their poison!

This circle of sick spirits needs our lives to live. Without us they have no home. Our real inner work is to sweep clean the places in ourselves where such creatures reside. Remember: These evil entities have no entrance into our lives apart from where we have left the door open. And whatever has been left open in our unconsciousness can be closed consciously, if we so choose.

Begin today, this very moment, to withdraw any permission inadvertently granted these dark spirits to be in your life. Do not judge yourself, or those around you in whom any of these misdirected forces are active, but nevertheless come awake and refuse, actively, to spend one more moment of your life lending your precious force to their dark purposes.

?2001 Life of Learning Foundation PO Box 10, Merlin, OR 97532 541 476-1200 www.guyfinley.com

Author's Bio: 

Guy Finley is the best-selling author of a half dozen books on self-transformation. His works, which have sold over a million copies and have been translated into seven languages, are recommended by doctors, ministers, and industry leaders. For information about Guy Finley's books, booklets, tapes, and helpful on-going study groups call (541) 476-1200 or visit www.guyfinley.com