The medical field

Post by **_TK** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:50 pm

chris wrote:

If this were to be true, we should fear sleeping

i have never had any experiences while sleeping that i would say were "demon" influenced; but my wife most assuredly has; and i have heard anecdotal accounts (some on steve's lectures) of this being the case.

i dont think we should fear sleep. but i do think we should fear hypnosis, the practice of guided imagery, astral projection, TM, drug-induced stupor etc etc.

TK

Post by **_Sean** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 3:51 am

chriscarani wrote:
Do you seriously think Yoga is demonic?

Like most things, it depends on how you "use" it. It's like meat sacrificed to idols. James ruled that Gentiles shouldn't do it because it would offend the Jews. Paul (and Mark) say all food is from God and clean, but if it bothers your conscience or someone else then you shouldn't do it. Since you probably do this in the privacy of your own home I don't see how you are going to offend anyone into thinking your cultic for doing yoga.

So using Yoga techniques for bodily fitness would be fine, IMO. I just wouldn't make a big deal about it in front of others who might think otherwise.

My wife was doing yoga for some time. I'm pretty critical of things like this and I can say that in her case there was nothing to it other than physical stretching and excercise.

Post by **_chriscarani** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:13 am

TK wrote:chris wrote:

If this were to be true, we should fear sleeping
i have never had any experiences while sleeping that i would say were "demon" influenced; but my wife most assuredly has; and i have heard anecdotal accounts (some on steve's lectures) of this being the case.

i dont think we should fear sleep. but i do think we should fear hypnosis, the practice of guided imagery, astral projection, TM, drug-induced stupor etc etc.

TK

Hi TK

Why do you think we should fear these things? I also would not place guided imagery into the same category as the others. Guided imagery is a mental tool used to control ordinarily subconscious functioning of the body. For instance I read a study some years ago that involved police officers. For 5 minutes a day they placed a heart monitor device on their finger and just imagined themselves in a relaxing place. They were able to lower blood pressure by a significant portion within those 5 minutes and after several weeks had reduced overall BP and stress indicators such as cortical levels.

Post by **_chriscarani** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:38 am

Sean wrote:
chriscarani wrote:
Do you seriously think Yoga is demonic?
Like most things, it depends on how you "use" it. It's like meat sacrificed to idols. James ruled that Gentiles shouldn't do it because it would offend the Jews. Paul (and Mark) say all food is from God and clean, but if it bothers your conscience or someone else then you shouldn't do it. Since you probably do this in the privacy of your own home I don't see how you are going to offend anyone into thinking your cultic for doing yoga.

So using Yoga techniques for bodily fitness would be fine, IMO. I just wouldn't make a big deal about it in front of others who might think otherwise.

My wife was doing yoga for some time. I'm pretty critical of things like this and I can say that in her case there was nothing to it other than physical stretching and excercise.

I agree with your first statement Sean. I do have a problem with this statement though.

"I just wouldn't make a big deal about it in front of others who might think otherwise."

I have come across a number of people who were told by their pastors, "yoga is of the devil etc.." and because of thier pastors ignorance they live in pain and seek occasional relief from high doses of pain medications, because this is acceptable. I just don't understand this logic.

Post by **_TK** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 9:53 am

Chris asked:

Why do you think we should fear these things?

(referring to my statement: "i dont think we should fear sleep. but i do think we should fear hypnosis, the practice of guided imagery, astral projection, TM, drug-induced stupor etc etc.")

i think the admonition to be "sober-minded" means that we shouldnt let our minds "go," for lack of a better word. am in against relaxing? nope, i listen to brian eno's ambient works to help me to relax all of the time. but i dont "let my mind go." my understanding is that TM, guided imagery, hypnosis, etc is a means of letting one's mind go.

of course i could be way off base, and it's only my opinion.

TK

Post by **_Benjamin Ho** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:59 am

Dear friends,

Just a personal sharing and a little word about hypnosis.

I have a phobia of driving. I was driving for several years and was rear-ended twice. That didn't stop me from driving. However, as I continued to drive, I continued to worry about the next accident that could happen. These ruminations in my mind finally established themselves in my thinking till I couldn't drive at all because of fear.

I haven't really tried any therapy per se, but I've read up quite a bit. I was thinking of undergoing hypnosis to get rid of my phobia. (In fact, at the hospital I work at, there is a Christian psychiatrist who uses hypnosis as a form of therapy. However, I never did approach him about this.) Anyway, I was too afraid to consider hypnosis because of initial fears about whether it involves demonic influence. At one point though, I did download a hypnosis script for driving phobia. Basically, on hearing the hypnosis script, it involves relaxing one's mind and take the mind off the fear of driving by thinking pleasant thoughts and re-associating driving with these pleasant thoughts.

Looking back, I had probably self-hypnotised myself into the fear of driving through repeated worryings about accidents.

Is this phobia of mine a demonic possession or demonic attack? I don't know and I hope not. Is it a symptom of lack of trust in God? Possibly. Right now basically I'm trying to hypnotise myself into trusting God, i.e., in Christian parlance, meditating on the Word of God to renew my mind.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3

Post by **_TK** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:07 pm

thanks for the story, Benjamin. I believe your approach is a good one, and i am glad you did not get hypnotized by a 3rd party. "renewing your mind" by meditating on the word is obviously(it seems) what God would prefer.

i don't believe that being hypnotized always involves demonic influence. but what i think hypnotism MAY do is open one's mind to demonic influence. plus, i dont want anybody putting hypnotic suggestions into my subconscious. even if the hypnotist is a christian, i still would not allow this. of course, this is easy for me to say, since i have never had to deal with a phobia or other serious psychological problem.

TK