Suffering
Spiritual Senses
Spiritual Sensitivity
Spiritual Influence
Our Responsibility toward Mental Health
The Law of Attraction
The Influence of the Spirit

Do you consider yourself healthy? Your definition and mine might be quite different, even opposite. Health -- whether physical or emotional -- has very much to do with one's "state of mind." When our body is diseased or we feel pain, we are affected. If our mind is unsettled, we feel out of sorts. But brooding over something which troubles us can sometimes also induce pain that could feel very real. When our body aches or our mind feels distressed, we generally react by doing something about it. We might take medicine. We might elect to get away from it all and go on a trip. As a way to free ourselves of worries, we could turn to chemicals, or lose ourselves in a hobby. When we focus on doing a particular thing to one part of ourselves, the rest of us is "forced" to comply. But why, in our effort to cope with a given situation, do we so often turn to physical stimuli? How can we be so sure that they will do a proper job?

We each deal with failing health in various ways. We may pamper or disregard ourselves. We may happily take rest, or scoff at the prospect. But our psyche-our mind, our personality, our soul-this being we refer to as our "self'-needs to be understood and cared for. Dealing with this might be considered a psychological approach or labeled as treatment, but in fact we need help to become truly and totally "healthy."

To live the fullest and happiest life, man attempts to be as physically healthy as possible. Mental health is just as important to living a fulfilled and satisfied life. But what is sorely neglected by far too many people is the need to nurture a healthy spirit. Religious communities may stress that individuals make a strong vertical connection to God by observing certain daily and weekly rituals, but a great many spiritual leaders do not urge enough that the members of their congregations develop and maintain an active faith-something which is crucial in promoting spiritual health.

In terms of emotional or spiritual health problems, people are not encouraged enough to fight back against the influences that cause the diseases which ravage the soul. We might be able to pop a few pills in an attempt to heal our physical ailments, but how do we constructively fight mental and spiritual sickness? It will take something more than simply covering up the wounds which exist within our mind and heart, and those which encase our spirit. We must be ready to do something in terms of taking a religious posture and defending our faith.

Part of the problem is that we generally do not consider spiritual sickness to be a direct result of sin. But ignorance has prevailed far too long. Man must come to discover a true perspective of the problem and find the solution. A person who gets drunk and then drives his car may hurt or kill someone. It happens day after day, and the statistics keep mounting. Those whose loved ones are involved in such tragedy could also be considered "victims." They may become angry enough to form or join support groups in hopes of overcoming their grief, or to jump on a passing bandwagon to help pass legislation in hopes of enforcing stricter methods to deal with this crime. Though they keep bemoaning why it happened, they do not find a reasonable answer. Even psychologists who study the nature of such behavior leave out one very plausible prospect: that driving drunk is partially due to the influence of evil spirits.

When we judge others or even form opinions about them, we should detect our motivation. By saying the things we do, are we ultimately trying to help others fulfill their aspirations, or do we secretly wish to undermine, even destroy them? We possess the potential and the power to be happy, but the potential to make our life miserable is also within our reach. The relationships we form are the major factor contributing to the final outcome. The more we nurture our interpersonal relationships, the more our spiritual senses will open and function. Yet one important prerequisite is that we open our heart. If we are unwilling to do this or to sacrifice for another, we will probably remain blocked and suffer as a result. But in doing so, we will close ourselves off from allowing anyone to enter our private sphere. Consequently, we will find it difficult to communicate with others, to be caring, or to administer the much needed quality of forgiveness.

Our spiritual senses are, unfortunately, so underdeveloped. While a great many people may not be clairvoyant or clairaudient, the sense of intuition (often referred to as the "sixth" sense) is quite attuned in some people. Many people who "receive" through intuition are dubious of the small inner voice they hear, and then tend to ignore what is said. That is why it is hard for man to perceive the heart of God. When God tries to communicate with us, we may doubt our ability to receive His transmission, and then we simply tune out.

We do not recognize how many of our spiritual senses are active at any given time. Because we are unaware of how they function, we might come to rationalize that our spiritual senses do not work. But even intuition and common sense could be considered "spiritual" senses, and sometimes they work overtime. We may not be able to understand how they work, but should just accept that with a bit of sharpening, they can function. To accurately discern a person's level of maturity, we must sharpen our spiritual senses; yet to make such an evaluation, we have to be healthy ourselves -- physically, mentally, and spiritually. Some days we may feel a bit down, but this could influence any evaluation we might make of people or situations, making true judgment next to impossible. Yet if we could be unchanging, constant, and stable in character, we would better be able to discern spiritually, and thus see things and others from God's viewpoint.

Falling asleep at inappropriate moments may be a mild case of spiritual influence -- or could be due to downright exhaustion. But there are certain other behavioral "traits" which psychology recognizes, yet is unable to explain fully. If the problem was investigated along a spiritual vein, an answer would certainly surface. Although problems with masturbation or sexual promiscuity -- even prostitution -- could be a result of the environment and heredity, they might also be due to the influence of spirits. Spirit persons, for example, might still want to satisfy some need and they "use" people to do so.

Some human behavior seems like such a mystery. Pulling out psychological threads as a means to overcome them is more of a Band-Aid approach -- tedious, and not long-lasting. Band-Aids will never sufficiently cover gaping wounds; before we will understand how to permanently root out the problem, we must search deeper to find the cause. If psychologists and medical professionals alike accepted and worked with the premise of spiritual influence, they could together with their patients investigate the "how-to" of confronting and combating it -- something which would produce a greater working knowledge with which to fight against this domination.

We all experience tensions in life. These can affect us to such an extent that our viewpoint becomes distorted. Each of us should discover from where our tensions stem, and how we can rid ourselves of them. We should first distinguish if there is a physical cause such as being overtired or hungry. Once we discover the problem, we might have at our fingertips the means with which to deal with it: by getting more sleep, eating, or relaxing. Yet if we discover that the tensions are more spiritual than physical, we will need to employ a whole different set of solutions. And we will have to dig into the spiritual realm to discover them.

As the Principle explains, the presence of God is the best stabilizer for one's spirit. The more energies we receive from God and good spirits, the more calm our spirit will become, and the better our body will function. We must allow only those spirits who desire to assist God, control of our id, ego, and super ego. This will afford us the greatest possible success to reach our highest ideals. What is more, we would probably find we are much healthier-spiritually, mentally, and physically.

To learn about this universe, we need to use our physical senses. It stands to reason, then, that we learn about the spiritual universe by using our spiritual senses. Unfortunately the barrier between God and man created through the Fall has kept us from knowing how to attune them. If we want to know about our invisible God, we have to journey into the invisible realm, too. We can meet God by using our spiritual senses. We have to deal with God not just intellectually through conversation, but also spiritually-through a heart to heart give-and-take. Yet if we can perceive how compassionately God deals with us, we could better understand what tender mercies we should use in relating to Him and others.

Being sensitive, discerning and perceiving spiritually will afford a person greater spiritual power. But if we are to win the war against spiritual influence and domination, we must clearly know our goal, our enemy, and ourselves.

As we build our relationship with God, our intuition will develop quite naturally. We generally view things in such a horizontal way. What do we see when we look at a person? The clothes he wears? His facial expression? While such things do reflect something about a person's spiritual demeanor, we often do not perceive the things he does not say. In other words, we do not listen "between the lines." Words are only symbols. Inside there is another dynamic at work, but the real emotions are often buried deeper. Rather than granting him our full attention and attempting to perceive something more, we are often much more focused on the way he reacts to us, and what he thinks of us. The more sensitively we "read" or perceive something about a person, the more we could discern what he is dealing with, and how we might assist him.

The ability to sense something about certain objects or even people will not produce sensitivity within us, although we can "sense" something about someone based on vibrations coming from him. Likewise, we can be stimulated when interacting with another person or the environment. In this way, we can detect something about the spiritual atmosphere from the "vibrations" we feel. When we look into a person's eyes, for example, we are able to detect something about him. Even his facial expression gives some clues. Although the physical appearance does tell something, we should not be content to stop our exploration there. We should find out what goes on within that individual, probing to discover his hopes and dreams, what he thinks, and even why. To do so, we have to use our inner senses -- our spiritual senses. And to learn about God, we have to do the very same thing.

Sensitivity can also be interpreted as being self-centeredly sensitive -- or hypersensitive to things people say and do to us. The reason we might react in an overly sensitive way is that we are often still too focused on fulfilling our own need for love and protection. The way we restore those feelings is to become sensitive to our fellow man-in the "sense" of looking out for him: being concerned with loving, not being loved. Jesus' own prescription for living is that he came to serve, not to be served.

If we would consider that every individual is a special personality -- a unique part of God -- we would also more easily overcome our difficulties to be sensitive to him. We have to consider that each person has a heart, an intellect, and feelings. That each of us can be moved or offended by things, and each of us feels loved or unloved. At the same time we experience things, everyone else experiences something, too. The point is, most of the time we do not consider that all those people around us are also plagued with many of the same inner conflicts we ourselves experience. The sensitivity that we might harbor for our individual needs and goals is not unlike what others feel about their own situation.

We are still far too influenced by satanic hypersensitivity thinking we are super and unique, and indeed the center of the cosmos. But we don't realize that everyone else thinks in much the same way. We view the world as revolving around us. It is partially true: the whole world does vibrate around us, in us. But we must also remember to look at all the other "worlds." There are many with which we both compete and collide every day. The first point is to admit that such worlds are like our own -- that each person has needs and problems. But just as important is to consider that everyone else has as great a value as we ourselves do. The next step is to discover the viewpoint of God, which is that each of those "worlds" cannot live without the others.

A certain word or idea might instantly bring back memories that could even evoke icy shivers to literally run up and down the spine. How do we explain such a phenomenon? Goosebumps is definitely a physical manifestation. Feeling stone cold in the heart because of anger, or starting to sweat out of fear, are reactions of the nervous system. Spiritual energies from within could begin the process, for there is definite cooperation between the physical and spiritual elements within us. We often do not consider that we may be persuaded to act as we do based on the "feelings" of spirit persons who express them through us, which manifest spiritually and physically.

To live a life of faith, one needs to develop and use his spiritual senses. Doing that will allow him to discern things about the spiritual climate, even in the midst of his physical environment. Human beings often collide with each other because of insensitivity. And insensitivity can cause a deprivation of love. If we are insensitive, we will not easily perceive that our neighbor needs love, and thus we might deprive him of love we should give him. We often refuse to love and instead continue playing psychological games with people as a way to manipulate them for our own personal gain. But becoming good at mind games and tactical warfare and then engaging in an emotional scrimmage, will not help us overcome this very basic of sins.

We may sense a spiritual spear when it is thrown in our direction, but because we are hypersensitive, often have just as easy a time to detect a spiritual needle. Developing our sensitivity is a noble thing, but there is one problem: often we do not "feel" just what effect it will have on another person if we are the one jabbing with that spear or needle. We do not take note that the same feelings of hate, love, betrayal or resentment which rise up within us time and again, surely surface in others depending upon how we relate to them. All of us have the power to spiritually and emotionally abuse one another, although we rarely see it as such. We do not perceive that unless we mend our relationships with threads of sensitivity, we will not advance spiritually as we should.

People become complacent about restoring broken relationships; it is far easier not to care. For restoration to occur, solutions to psychological problems must be carried out, and to do so, we need to uncover how to deal with ourselves and one another sensitively. It is a question of training, discipline, and self-control-of applying the knowledge we acquire and then practicing it. The spiritual sensitivity of those people who place more emphasis on personal spiritual exercise such as prayer or study of God's word is more developed. Through exercising our spiritual senses, then, we become more keenly perceptive, able to judge a situation with much more acuteness.

The Principle teaches that no one can reach perfection without a physical body. Since a spirit no longer has his own body, he must find one to use. That is why billions of spirits envy us. They have the chance to restore themselves and be "resurrected" to perfection only by cooperating and working with man. Given the tumultuous problems now existing on earth, coupled with man's resistance to what he might consider a totally outlandish possibility, we have to realize how encompassing this task is!

How often have we said of someone, "When will he get it through his thick head...?" Can't we envision that spirit persons might say the very same thing about us? In a sense, they are at a loss to move ahead because of our ignorance, and our lack of cooperation. When spirits want to warn us of danger and either grant us a premonition, encourage through a dream, or guide us in a certain direction by "speaking" to us, yet we turn away in defiance or refuse to heed their warnings, how might they respond? What would we do? They must feel so desperate. They can see and sense so much more than we can. Those who are particularly knowledgeable about the principles of resurrection (as described in the Principle) could do much to assist us. We must develop our spiritual sensitivity and be able to discern what type of spiritual beings influence and work through us. We must then invite only those spirits who are actively working toward their own perfection of heart and love to participate in our life in order that both can grow. If we allow just any spirit to gain control, we are courting trouble.

To relate with another person we need to perceive something of his character. In the same way, we should become knowledgeable about the nature of spirit persons. For example, we should realize there are many demonic spirits who torment and ultimately aim to destroy people. We must recognize that they work with Satan, helping him retain control of the world. They may know the law of resurrection, but like Satan, thrive on a feeling of power and fight to the death to keep hold of it. Influence from the spirit world can be strong, even overpowering, and if such interference bears heavily upon a person, he may find it hard to withstand, and then simply submit to it. If a person is ignorant about the whole matter, though, he most likely would be unaware of what is happening to him.

In some cases, evil spirits do understand the principles of resurrection and desire to grow spiritually in order to leave the lower realms of the spirit world. As a result, they might have to do something rather drastic-even taunting their descendants as a way for those people to overcome certain character weaknesses, and mature spiritually as a result. It could be considered that those spirits perform a type of service, for if the person overcomes his fallen nature, both will grow spiritually.

Many spirit persons understand the necessity of spiritual growth, thus they have no choice but to depend upon us. Their frustration is that we are often unaware of our need to grow spiritually, and thus we tend to live without regard for our eternal life. As well, we fail to consider that they cannot spiritually resurrect on their own, but must do it by working through us.

If we create a base for Satan through bad thoughts and feelings, negative thinking, swearing, cursing others or situations, we advance Satan's cause. Such behavior is learned, and often taught to us by spirit persons. It can feel so comfortable that it becomes habit, but when we allow ourselves to get into that rut, we essentially cut ourselves off from help which God and good spirits want to offer us. Then we are on our own. What is worse, the further we think ourselves into that direction, the more intensely evil spirits are drawn to us. They have the power to enforce great spiritual pressure upon us, something which can make us feel so uncomfortable, we unwittingly yield to them. When this happens, they succeed in dominating us, and getting us under their control. We then become subject to their directives.

Murder by whim -- whether in village square or fast food restaurant -- has become more common. What explanation is given? Psychologists and sociologists probe a killer's background to discover a possible motive, although even professionals might unearth some clues, what their interpretation lacks is the possibility that spiritual interference is at least part of the cause, specifically, that the killer acted on urging from a spirit who desires to satisfy a personal vendetta, or revenge a feeling of being "wronged" during his life on earth.

If a person could keep a constant connection to God at all times, he would have a certain defense against such power. Negative and demonic spirits would then have no cause to influence him. So many people are disappointed; not fully alive, they simply exist in depression. Their emotions might simmer for years, only to one day erupt into a full boil. Such a person may speak to no one about how they feel, rationalizing that many people feel similarly, and question what anyone can do about it anyway. A person in such a predicament may become terribly insecure, afraid of anyone who ventures to knock on the door to his house or the one guarding his heart. People who live in small villages in the middle of nowhere seem fresh -- full of life and love. Not afraid to feel. Not afraid to be themselves. But too many others have been jaded by big city life -- its temptations and its very environment. They might easily succumb to the stresses which they face. Such a person might keep his door chained, and if he opens it at all, could stick the barrel of a gun out the door as a warning to the individual who knocked. What kind of world is this? Is such an action simply "us?" Isn't it more sensible that at times something-someone else prompts us to act this way?

The fact that God also sends spiritual forces to bestow certain blessings and grace upon us cannot be dismissed. Such spirits definitely assist our growth, and can help us succeed even by providing ways that test us. Neither God nor Satan can be totally accurate in predicting our response. Then again, neither can we. Through such challenges, though, we might be propelled into ecstasy or agony, but if we could view a given situation for what it could teach us, we would better use it to our advantage, and at the same time, we would most certainly grow spiritually.

If we respect ourselves as a child of God and refuse to allow anyone to deter us from that belief, spirit persons will also come to respect our position. If we allow them to hold us back from achieving the goal of perfection, we prolong our own suffering, but even more significantly, we add to the anguish of God. If our ancestors or other spiritual beings working through us are unwilling to cooperate with helping us grow and mature, He grants us the power to command them to leave; it is up to us to have the self-confidence to do that. Too many people are led around by spirits year after year, unaware that to mature spiritually, they can and should fight against these forces. But even in this task we are not alone, for we can absolutely draw upon the power and spirit of God to help us fend off their influence and attack.

The Bible records many instances of phenomena between men and either angels or spirit persons. It is written that the disciples of Jesus had visions, and even saw Jesus himself after his death. Today a person having such experiences is often scoffed at, or worse, regarded as mentally ill. The existence of the spiritual world is something very real, but unfortunately is doubted by many people. Those who do, misunderstand that the spirit world is absolutely a part of this world.

We attempt to perceive what is true and false by using our intellect, basing our decisions primarily on reason and logic. When we do this, we fail to realize that so many of our hidden problems could be overcome were we to develop and use our spiritual senses. The vast majority of our personal battles are not of a physical nature, but rather involve those invisible elements connected to the psyche and spirit. They must be won, but to rely mostly upon our mental capacity and to reason them through is merely a substitute for overcoming in a spiritual sense. Yet sometimes our problems definitely require that we call upon God and the forces of the good spirit world. This is especially crucial to help us deal with the problems we experience due to unresolved sin. We can definitely ask the spirit world to assist us with such difficulties as surmounting that very "human" nature. One problem is that we usually fail to remember this option when faced with a monumental and larger-than-life spiritual impasse.

Many people are more self-centered than public-minded. They want to make the best of life, but might do so without offering much assistance to their neighbors. All of us use defense mechanisms to protect ourselves. Many even become quite good at it. What we may not realize is that too many of us unknowingly allow ourselves to be victimized by spiritual beings who are out to achieve a certain goal. But the problem is that often we erect those defenses against the innocent people around us, when we should instead protect ourselves from spiritual interference.

When we encounter a person who for no apparent reason is harsh and unfriendly, we should think about why. Seen in the light of spiritual influence, his behavior could partially be due to invisible tensions from pressures exerted by spirits. We are perhaps negatively affected by his behavior and wonder what we did wrong, when instead he should have done something about resisting their attention. His behavior definitely affects our own, and ours in turn affects our neighbor, in fact a chain reaction is set off. Spirit persons may relish in his display of emotions. But people on earth find it hard to "turn the other cheek," and could instead do something cruel and calculating to hurt another. We do not recognize that he is bothered by spiritual influence, and what goes on under the surface is something quite different. Even though he may speak in gruff tones, that person may secretly long to offer his love. His heart may feel constricted, knowing what he should do, yet unaware of how to shut off the spiritual interference which "instructs" him to do something different.

We must take responsibility to make sure that spirits do not adversely affect our spiritual health, or that through negative thinking and action we allow our own spirit become dwarfed or gnarled because it receives inadequate spiritual nourishment. Although we all are influenced by the spirit world, we must keep one principle in mind: we alone decide whether we will grow or regress and whether we will allow spiritual beings to assist us, or dominate us. Based on our reaction, we decide whether we will successfully work toward and finally reach perfection, or stagnate-spiritually come alive, or die.

If we consistently center our thoughts and actions upon the laws of God, in other words, focus on following God's purpose for our life, we will be more emotionally stable and less likely to bend under the pressure from any negative spiritual influence. If we are spiritually unstable and just react to a situation out of anger, we lose our defense against evil spirits.

If we are more influenced by evil spirits than by good spirits on a constant basis, we should analyze why, and then aim to change. We must use our ability to reason out the situation and then discipline ourselves, thereby activating the good spiritual world. Our best defense against manipulation by spirits is to become spiritually stable. The way to do that is to make a commitment or promise to God, something which calls for inner strength and a strong sense of responsibility.

Although it may be a new and unique concept, it stands to reason that spirits also need to be given praise. If we would express our gratitude for their assistance or compliment them for a job well done, they would no doubt feel uplifted and be that much more willing to assist us further. They are no different from you and me; they long to be recognized and appreciated. If we do more of it -- to both physical and spiritual beings alike -- we would surely notice a great change in their attitude and behavior, for we would also react and behave in a much different way. The more positive and forward looking we become, the better our spiritual and physical health.

When we withdraw from serving and loving God and live apathetically, we create ideal conditions through which Satan and evil spirits will work. Some people try to solve their emotional problems and negativity through self-indulgence. Yet the Unification Teaching¹ urges that the most effective way to solve our problems is to go away from ourselves and turn toward others, for that is the way we work toward accomplishing the will of God.

If people are taken out of a pressured environment and put into a less stressful situation, they will feel more relaxed and their productivity will naturally increase. They will no longer attract the spirits that cannot cope with stress and pressure, instead those with a more calm nature will be able to surround them. Authority figures such as parents, teachers, and employers should be sensitive to their children or subordinates and help them deal with their environment. When possible, they should remove some pressure from a person when they notice it is too great. It is a responsible action to encourage growth by noting when someone makes strides, and then compliment their advances and successes. Praise is essential to mental and spiritual health. It is a human need and a responsibility.

It is surprising how many people do experience spiritual phenomena -- seeing spiritual visions, hearing spiritual voices, and the like. Yet many in today's secularized world reject such a possibility, therefore, people feel compelled to hide their experiences with, and even deny their belief that the unseen world actually does exist. Those who are constantly bothered by evil spirits lose their ability to discern spiritual influence, and cannot tell how much of their behavior is their own, and how much results from the intervention of spirit persons surrounding them. We forget all too often that we have an eternal bond with God, our Parent, thus we can call upon His power. It is not necessary to passively succumb to feelings induced by spiritual beings. Again, that is a decision we ourselves make. We must be aware that our spiritual health may decline unless we move to separate ourselves from negative spiritual beings and as a consequence, remove ourselves from their sphere of influence.

If we create a small base for Satan to invade, God will no longer be able to claim us, and good spirits unable to draw close to us. We may think or feel they are still with us, but it is not the case. It is hard for Satan to penetrate a strong girdle of prayer. Yet if we do not erect this type of "spiritual" defense mechanism and we create even a tiny opening, he may intervene.

Spirits may not believe us if we do not act according to what we say. If we are not careful, they can lead us around as they desire. We may command the good spirit world to do something, yet if we do not believe they can do anything, their power decreases. Again, they are no different from us. They cannot help anyone who doesn't want to be helped, and neither can we. But if we push them away and they no longer assist us, we must realize that we are vulnerable to the influence of evil spirits. On the other hand, when we pray that God's will be done, those spirits who desire to help God will rush to assist us. If we demonstrate to God our conviction to accomplish His will, we draw His cooperation and that of the good spirit world.

Overwhelming influence from spirits might provoke a person to attempt suicide. A person who takes his own life does not realize how wrong it is; he does not comprehend that while he may succeed in killing his physical body, his consciousness -- or spirit -- will not be destroyed in the process. He does not know that he will end up in spirit world just as -- if not more -- depressed. If a person goes to the spirit world before reaching perfection, according to the principles of resurrection, he can grow spiritually by working through people living in like situations on the earth. The spirit who influences the person then might further depress him, or even drive him to attempt suicide.

Spiritual beings who also committed suicide might torment a person, urging him to do the same. Yet spirits who reside in a higher dimension and can clearly see the fate of those who commit suicide might encourage the person not to do it, or at least attempt to forestall such a fate by encouraging him to reach out for help.

One rather strange phenomenon is that most people -- especially young people -- who think about committing suicide usually try to save their life by making a last minute phone call or giving a sign to someone, perhaps out of their subconscious desire or built-in instinct for survival. They want to be saved. Although the person might proceed toward taking his own life, he subconsciously hopes that someone will come to his rescue.

One significant factor contributing to the rise in teenage suicide is that many young people neither have goals, nor find much purpose in life. They compare what they might gain and what they could lose, say life just does not pay and that they cannot handle it, so they choose the alternative of suicide. Such people usually do not believe in eternal life, and cannot understand that taking their own life is not the ultimate answer. They do not realize that by going to the spirit world in such a depressed mental state, they will continue to be plagued by the same concepts, and experience feelings of depression or loneliness. They do not understand that working to alleviate their burdens and pressures in the spirit world is not only much harder, but might take thousands of years. Furthermore, they do not comprehend that in the spirit world they cannot grow by themselves, but must work through a physical being. And thus they definitely do not understand that growth toward perfection is much easier here on earth.

Recently, Western society has witnessed something of the opposite behavior from older people. Often elderly people who are terminally ill want to die, and even ask their relatives and friends to "pull the plug" on their life support system. The person makes up his mind, and sometimes succeeds. Such is the case of an Alzheimer's sufferer who begged her husband to kill her. Her husband complied and was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to a prison term, despite his elderly age. Young people, though, generally don't want to die. Intellectually they know that years of life are before them, but sometimes life just seems too painful, so they consider suicide as a way out.

From the viewpoint of God, however, suicide is murder and a capital sin. Therefore, far greater emphasis should be placed on how to become healthy in mind, body and spirit. Were man educated about spiritual influence, he would certainly know much more about how to gain their assistance rather than permitting them to assume dominion over him.

It is difficult to segregate the "spirit" from the "psyche" as the two are so interrelated. In many instances it might be determined that people who have mental problems could also be considered as having spiritual problems. However, if people would train their psyche in accordance with certain spiritual laws, they could gain control and ultimately rid themselves of both types of problems.

While the medical community studies the effects of disease on the psyche, for the most part it disregards potential hazards to the spirit. The concept and practice of preventive medicine, for example, does not consider what one could do to avert sickness through attaining spiritual health and well being. Psychology makes a plea for individuals to adopt a positive attitude as a means to deflect such problems. Yet great advances in the field of preventive medicine could be achieved by researching spiritual influence.

Psychosomatic illnesses can manifest as real ones. A person can feel actual pain by "thinking" he is in pain. Although the person may suffer a stomachache, the real problem -- the root of the problem might be imagined. Of course, it could be that he feels fatigued simply due to overwork or stress. But if he is honest with himself, he would realize that more basic to his illness is a feeling of guilt, anger, frustration, or loneliness. Further, he would know that it results from some experience or is due to unresolved problems. These develop into tensions, and the pain feels extremely real. What lies deeper? The Principle explains that spirits may share that person's feeling of resentment, anger, or frustration, and then use him to vent their own emotions. Yet without knowledge of this or the willpower to deal responsibly with it, he may be unable to stop the avalanche of his thoughts and emotions, which could incapacitate him emotionally as well as physically. Although it is possible to talk one's self into toothaches and belly aches, it is just as possible to talk one's self out of them! It is a matter of knowing how and what -- and sometimes even "who" one is dealing with.

Medical science is a blessing from God and should be appreciated as such. Yet there will surely come a time when God will be able to effect much more healing. If we could see ourselves as a "physician" and recognize that God can work through us, then we would truly put into practice Jesus' words, "Physician, heal yourself' (Luke 4:23).

All of us erect protective mechanisms as a way to deal with this hurtful world. Some of our earliest memories may be of ourselves as children, suffering under cruel ridicule by peers or family members, even our parents. In this modern age we must consider that although taunting can be devastating, there is far greater spiritual and psychological damage caused by such practices as child abuse or incest, both of which are growing at alarming rates. Is it any wonder that many people go through life incapable of developing real trust, or of loving others? Those evils -- and those scars -- are invisible, and it usually takes a great deal of coaxing for a person to admit that such things happened to him as a child. People question if a loving God would "allow" such tragedy to exist in the world. Actually, our loving Parent does not "allow" such things, but is powerless to intervene directly, for Satan still controls the physical world.

Even though we may not be able to bring forth healing energies with ease, we can have compassion for someone. Compassion is a type of "magnetic" force which also has the potential to heal, and is a "pole" through which spiritual power passes. Compassion is the result of love; it is the phenomenon of feeling along with the person through empathy or sympathy. When we feel with compassion and pray with compassion, we silently express our willingness to take away the pain or burdens from that person, and put ourselves in his place, in much the same way Jesus did for humanity.

1 Unification teaching refers to the teaching of the Unification Movement, as presented in Unification Theology, published by HSA-UWC, first edition in 1980 and second edition, in 1987, and the Unification Thought, published by the Unification Thought Institute in 1973, and Explaining Unification Thought, published by the Unification Thought Institute, 1981.

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