Reflections

The Devil Made Me Do It
by Leah Solara
Copyright © December 2003 Heart Links / All Rights Reserved

In the seventies, there was a wonderful comedian named Flip Wilson. He had numerous acts that were absolutely hilarious. In the medium he chose to do his version of the black female, Ernestine. It was totally appropriate for his character to say "The Devil made me do it," after she went on a particularly costly shopping spree. Everyone, including myself, thought that character was very funny. However, she was fictitious and not to be taken seriously.

In this day and age, however, there are too many people who are claiming, basically, the same thing that Ernestine claimed. They don't come out and say "the Devil made me do it," but they might as well.

They have been given permission by a society that appears to condone the bad behavior of many men, many teenagers and many women—behavior that allows them to take their rage, frustrations and their brute will out on other people who end up paying for those ill expressed emotions over and over. Many of those people are other men, but all too often they are women and small children, sometimes children who aren't even able to walk yet.

This is an ugly aspect of our society that many people would like to pretend doesn't exist. However, no matter how many times we ignore it, turn our backs on it and pretend it doesn't exist, it rises up to haunt us again.

Some people blame it on the movies and television shows being shown to our youth. Others blame it on the fact that after World War II large multiple family ties became broken and instead of two or three generations living together like they used to, children chose to branch out on their own. Others blame those Psychiatrists and Clinical Psychologists, who believe the parents are usually to blame for the problems of the adult child. This has been blown way out of proportion by many people, both professional and patients alike. And all too often the adult child is totally willing to allow their parents to shoulder the blame for their problems.

Obviously in situations of violent and preventable abuse, the parents could be held responsible for allowing it to happen. However, at some point the individual has to take responsibility for their feelings, emotions, behavior, and choices they have made in their life.

Our Spiritual Health

It is my opinion that our society, in this country as well as many others, is very lacking in deep spiritual ties with their God, whatever one perceives Him to be. When I say this I am not talking about religion. I am talking about one's own personal connection with God.

You can go to church every day, pray numerous times a day, give 10% of your earnings to your church, give to numerous charitable organizations and call on the less fortunate to help them in many ways, and still be lacking in your own spiritual health and growth.

Part of having a relationship with God, is really giving Him the heaviness of your problems and asking for His help to solve them. All too often people, in general, tend to want to have control over their own lives. They don't understand that giving their problems to God to carry for them doesn't mean letting go of control. It is merely being willing to allow Him to help them carry their burdens so they're not so heavy.

ANOTHER PART OF GOD THAT ISN'T TALKED ABOUT VERY OFTEN is going to Him when things are going great in our lives. I'm talking about speaking to God and telling Him how wonderful your life is going and thanking Him for bringing so many blessings to you.

We must, at some point, create a personal relationship with God that has nothing to do with our church, our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends or anyone else but us. All too often we give lip service to our relationship with Him, as if He is floating by on some cloud but isn't really a part of our lives. Even people who seem to be very devout and devoted to their church do not always make Him real in their lives.

Made in His Image

If we have made God real in our lives, He is the first thing we think of when something happens to us that we need help with. He is as close to us as our very breath, our blood and our hearts. If this weren't true we wouldn't have been made from His image. Being made from His image is the same as being made from His own form, whatever you perceive that to be.

How can we be separated from God when we are made from the very material He is made from? How can we be separated from God when He created every living breathing thing in our lives, including our children? How can we be separated from God with all the beauty to be found on this planet that He created?

We can always find ugly things, scary things and things we don't really understand. That doesn't make them bad and that doesn't mean we're separated from God just because they're there.

Negativity, Unseen Demons of Our Minds

When we have something happen that we can't handle by ourselves, the demons in our minds play mean tricks on us to gain control—(demons) an intelligent entity with the capacity to gain control over us by trying to control our thoughts and casting doubt over our relationship with Creator God. Those demons lie in wait until something happens to us and then they begin to do their dirty work to undermine every positive belief system we've ever developed.

These demons do not look like gargoyles, disembodied souls or some other evil looking thing conjured up in some horror story. They are not waiting to sneak up on unsuspecting people. They are already in our minds and our bodies, waiting for us to do something so they can rise up against us again and again. They are invisible to most of us, but they are very real. They are far more dangerous than any fictional characters ever written about, and they are there because we believed their lies about being separated from God.

When I say demons I am speaking about an unseen spirit that is moving across the land. It is moving through the hearts and minds of men and women everywhere, trying to steal their soul. Many Christians call this spirit the enemy, while others call it the devil. Some people believe it is nonsense while others know it is real.

I choose to call this spirit that moves against us, Negativity. It doesn't have a heart of its own, it doesn't have a body of its own and it doesn't have any faith in goodness or love or joy or God, and it doesn't want us to have any either. It wants us to hold onto emotions and then express them in the most depraved and violent ways we can possibly think of. It wants us to be filled with rage, depression, guilt and shame, so it can get its invisible claws into us. It loves that because then, it can reduce us to its own level.

Lord of the Rings – Good vs. Evil

I went to see the first movie of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. In it were so many great messages for all of us. It is the age-old story of good versus evil. Whether you agree with the messages or not, they are there for all to see.

There were armies of evil beings conjured up from the bowels of the earth by evil sorcerers who gained their power from the darkness and shadows of the evil that went before them. There was also a wizard who created beautiful and light-filled magic that resided in the light.

There was only a handful of brave souls who dared come against the evil. They expressed their fears, their concerns and their heartfelt feelings. Time after time, they had to take action, despite their fears, and beat the armies of darkness. Then they were on their way once again to the destination that would save the earth and all the beings dwelling therein.

For those who have not read or seen the Lord of the Rings, we don't yet know the fate of the few who dared come against all the armies that evil could conjure up to come against them. But it doesn't really matter if we ever find that out. What matters is for us to remember the main point: to have faith in what we believe in, to have faith in our family and those loyal to us and to have faith in our Creator God.

If we have faith in whatever we perceive God to be, faith in ourselves, and faith in those who are walking through this life with us, then we have everything. All it takes is enough sincere heartfelt faith to fill the space of a tiny mustard seed, and that's enough for Creator God to move on what He sees in our hearts.

Just like in Lord Of The Rings, it is time for us to be prepared. The significance of that ring is that it represents the energy of negativity. The reason certain ones were almost overtaken by it is because it tuned into their weaknesses and magnified them. If they were able to look beyond the ring, they had to expose themselves to healing their weaknesses. If they were afraid to do that, they were overcome by the hypnotic effect of the ring created by evil.

The modern day ring we have to deal with are "things." Things that take us away from our God, our families and our quiet time, such as television, video games, computer games, computer chat rooms, fast expensive cars, expensive houses and the list could go on. This does not mean those things are evil and undesirable. It means that we must learn to own these things and use them wisely instead of them owning us and almost taking control of us to the point that we become enslaved to them.

Facing Our Weaknesses

Facing our fears is the same as facing our weaknesses. It doesn't have to be difficult, so long as the individual is able to admit what they are feeling inside. Even if they can't put a name to that feeling, if they can describe it and admit it's there, they have taken the biggest step in getting rid of it.

Exposing their inner most fear is very difficult for many people to do, especially in public. They're afraid they'll look foolish, ignorant or worse yet, stupid. Most intelligent people hate to look stupid in front of others, because they're afraid others will think less of them. What this boils down to is that many people would rather hold onto their fears and weaknesses than to take the chance of looking foolish in the eyes of someone else. Often they're unable to let go of their fears until they get so desperate they'll do anything to be free. This is taking that first step beyond false pride and sometimes their ego, into liberation.

Many individuals become so crippled by their fears that they often experience panic attacks. Sometimes the anxiety they feel when they have a panic attack turns into depression that creates more anxiety, developing into a vicious cycle. Sometimes they become so paralyzed by that panic, they succumb to it because it feels too overwhelming for them to tackle. Yet they're afraid to tell anyone for fear of appearing stupid. Thus, they become a slave to that panic until something happens in their life to force them to break out of the prison they've lived in for so long.

Sometimes those individuals have taken the emotional fears of their family to carry, such as being the scapegoat. They want to believe they had not only a normal childhood, but a happy one as well. Sometimes the last thing they want to see is that they have been carrying the emotional weight of their family on their shoulders since they were a small child.

Sometimes children see horrible things happen between their parents and they're sworn to secrecy. The parents are ashamed for anyone to know what goes on in their home and thus their children are forced, by their misguided loyalty to their parents, to keep the secret for them as well. This can often lead to terrible anxieties in adulthood, sometimes causing those memories to be so suppressed, they cannot be recalled without tremendous difficulty. Sometimes those memories can cause children to grow up crippled by the fears of their childhood.

This is what humanity is faced with right now. We all have to face the things we fear in order to get beyond the negativity.

Overcoming Fears

There are many ways to overcome crippling fears. The first step is to admit that they're there, instead of denying them and making excuses for them, as if that will somehow justify their presence. When our fears have become crippling, it is essential to take action.

Sometimes it is enough to simply make up your mind to do something about it. Sometimes it is going to a minister and being brave enough to ask for help. Sometimes it is going to an anonymous group that understands what you're going through, and listening to others share their fears—and you realize that they suffer from some of the same fears you suffer from, and this gives you the courage to speak up. Sometimes it is seeing a medical doctor and getting medication to help you relax so you can move beyond those fears. Sometimes it is seeing a therapist who is adept at dealing with fear and anxiety. Sometimes it is going to the library for books or tapes on stress and anxiety or purchasing tapes you can listen to at home, so you can absorb them at your leisure.

If we desire to be free, it is vital for all of us to heal the fears, the shame, the guilt, and all the things we don't want others to know about us. If we hold onto anything we're ashamed of, when we least expect it, negativity will throw it in our faces right in front of those who mean the most to us. We are its prey, and in order for it to survive, it has to get hold of us with any weakness it can find. Then it will take that weakness and use it against us trying to make us feel worse so we'll continue to hide that weakness even more, and perhaps even run away from those we love the most. If we don't want to be slaves to what we're hiding, we'd better heal it and let it go. Then we won't have anything to hide anymore.

Goddess Effect

There is now a movement within society that is new to some, suspect to some, and welcomed by some. It is a movement into a gentler and more refined way. Some are calling it the awakening to the Goddess energy or vibration. Some don't call it anything and bask in its vibration. Whatever you call it, when you experience this energy, vibration or spirit of Creator God, you'll feel yourself becoming more tolerant of others, more gentle with others, and more loving in everything you do.

You will take judgment and turn it into acceptance so that everyone can know they did their best, and that it was perfect. It is looking at a child, whose body or legs are crippled by a disease it has no control over, and seeing something beautiful about them. It's looking at someone who thinks they've failed and showing them all the ways they've really succeeded.

You will take shame and turn it into honor and pride. You will show women who have been trampled by insensitive men that they have somehow made the world a better place to live, by exposing the depravity that some men have sunk to. You will show them how to forgive themselves in order to get their power and their innocence back so they can hold their heads high with honor and confidence once again.

You will turn guilt into the understanding that taking false responsibility is taking Creator God's job away from Him. You will turn that guilt into forgiveness, love and acceptance, knowing that you did your very best instead of punishing yourself unjustly and needlessly. Creator God knows what you have in your heart and never wanted you to suffer for something that happened so long ago.

You will also find yourself turning rage (which is really out of control fear propelled by a little bit of anger) into righteous anger that expresses itself through love. Righteous anger is daring to stand up and say "I don't like what is happening here and I need you to stop," when you see a bully harassing someone who is unable to defend him or herself.

It is being willing to lay down your life or a friend if that is necessary. It is daring to face evil and knowing it's the right thing to do. It is sometimes quiet and sometimes a little loud, but it is never out of control. It is the passion of righteous anger that gives us the will to move and take action in a situation when others are immobile, frozen by their fear and inability to make a decision because they're afraid they'll make a mistake.

Righteous anger is what the people felt who were aboard the jet liner that went down in Pennsylvania on 9/11/01. They knew they had to do something because what was being done by the hijackers was wrong. They were willing to lay down their lives, if necessary, in order to do the right thing. They were willing to take action instead of just sitting in their seats allowing their fear to immobilize them.

Tears for Fears

Anyone who allows themselves to be opened to the Goddess energy is saying I'm ready for the emotion that will set me free. Sometimes that emotion will take you to the brink of what may seem like madness, because you may feel a euphoric high that causes you to feel unconditional love for everything and everyone you encounter.

Others will feel like a dam has broken inside them as the tears flow like they'll never stop. Then they will suddenly halt for just a little while and then start all over again until the supply has been completely exhausted. This may seem like madness to some, a nuisance to some and a totally understandable experience by some.

When we express our emotions freely, we are expressing what God gave us. However, our society frowns on people displaying their emotions in public, despite the fact that stifling them can rob others of having a loving relationship with us. After all, men aren't supposed to cry and women may shed a tear but only one, and then they're expected to get over it. Yet this raw painful emotion, when fully expressed, is extremely healthy.

Because it is frowned on for men to cry, except under extreme circumstances, they may have a problem with this. They don't want to do anything that will bring attention to themselves in what they consider to be derogatory in any way. Besides, it's an accepted belief that only women really need to cry, despite the fact that tears well up in men's eyes, they get a lump in their throat, and they have to hold back the sobs that want to come. How can something so natural be considered to be so unnatural? I've never understood that.

Usually men have to distract themselves to make the tears go away, so they make fun of those feelings in others, crack a joke to change the mood, or get angry so they can turn those feelings off. Many men feel they need to turn those feelings off because they consider them to be weak, and they never want to be accused of being weak in any way. This is one of the fears many men will be letting go of.

One of the things we all have to learn is that tears, when shed from a pure heart, are honest and very cleansing. When negativity encounters honest tears, it's as if you hit it right between the eyes. It doesn't know how to deal with that and it becomes powerless. The same is true of unconditional love. Negativity has no defense against this kind of acceptance. It only knows how to deal with judgment, guilt, shame and peer pressure in order to control us.

When negativity is confronted with honest emotions and heartfelt feelings, it is beaten if it can't find a way to fight back. It is powerless to come against righteous anger, love, and acceptance because these are all honest, whereas negativity survives on chaos, rage, shame, guilt, and unworthiness. The honesty of love, acceptance, joy, and happiness drive negativity further into the darkness it has created for itself to live in. Without that darkness to cover itself, negativity is left exposed—naked to the truth and the love of Creator God it was originally created in, but now chooses to turn away from.

When we find a way to be honest with ourselves and our loved ones, we can be honest with everyone. Then we are free to be all Creator God created us to be. We are no longer held like a prisoner by our fears or negativity. Then we really become free to stop and smell the roses along the way without being afraid a bee is going to sting us on the nose. What a gift we give to ourselves when we stop with confidence, to explore all the wonderful gifts Creator God has given us to enjoy.

Leah has been writing spiritual articles and teaching spiritual classes for more than 20 years. She has appeared on television and radio many times, answering questions to help people in their daily lives. Leah is an ordained minister and clinical hypnotherapist. She has been working in her community with people for many years, helping them learn to independently deal with their emotional blockages and become free. If you would like to ask Leah a question about her philosophy or what kinds of things you can do to find your own answers, you may contact her at: sourcelight@hotmail.com.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Additional resource: Attacking Anxiety And Depression offered by Lucinda Bassett, Executive Director of the Midwest Center For Stress And Anxiety and Dr. Phillip Fisher, M.D.,  1-800-950-3403 / www.stresscenter.com. There is no obligation to buy and there is a free cassette tape they will send to you when you ask for it. If you are interested in the free tape or would like to inquire about the other tapes offered, call the number to find out the cost of the course and make arrangements to have it mailed to you or visit their comprehensive web site.