What Are Demons?

What are Demons?


Have you ever deeply considered the existence of demonic beings, wondering, "What are they? Are demons real?" 

Due to fear, people for centuries have been calling things that they do not understand, "demons." Many today still erroneously believe demons hide behind rocks and are out to get them...that demons are fallen angels of Lucifer who they consider to be the "Prince of Demons" or "Satan."

Let's dig into the myth of demons, exploring the religious origins of the demonic as well as what we have found out in the field of paranormal investigation in order to get to the bottom of the demon question. So, if you are ready to open your mind, read on.

What Is a Demon?

Let's begin by stating that demons are not what you have been taught. Most have not heard the true teaching, and the proof of this is the amount of fear and superstition that surrounds the topic.

  • Demons are not non-human entities.

Demonic influence is the state of being possessed by an entity created by the human mind. It is to be possessed by thinking that creates suffering for ourselves and others. Most people suffer, albeit in varying degrees, from their mind. It may be a little or a lot; and some may cause others to suffer with them, too.

For thousands of years, the devil and demons have been synonymous with the part of us that makes us do the things that, deep down, we do not wish to do.

For the purpose of this article, we will break this out into two topics:

  • demonic mind control
  • ghosts and the demonic

Demonic Mind Control

Demonic Suffering of the MindTwo thousand years ago, demons did not exist as currently taught today by some religions, especially Christianity.

Many in Western societies have based their beliefs in demons upon their Christian faith. Unfortunately, these beliefs were mistakenly founded upon misinterpretations of biblical allegories concerning demons. Allegories and parables are stories that hold symbolic meaning and were not written for literal interpretation.

Ancient writings about a Devil, Satan or demons often reveal hidden truth about the thinking and thought patterns of a self-created 'false self' found within each person - a possessing entity that we unwittingly create and battle against within the mind. 'The Devil' or 'Satan' often represents the 'false self' (the ego, an entity, mental construct) in control of the person; the suffering thoughts produced by the 'false self' being its 'demons.'

When this happens, the deeper part of a person becomes shut out, and he or she remains unconscious of the condition, the mind being in total control. (For more on this, read: The Devil: Collective Unconsciousness.)

The unconscious person who is trapped within the mind's 'false self' can also carry this temporary state beyond death of the body. A person can remain on earth as a disembodied spirit, a ghost. The hallmark of the unconscious state is the strong mental focus on past or future - both of which do not exist except within the mind.

Demons? No, Ghosts.

Demons - renderingDemons can also reference human, disembodied spirits (earthbound spirits, ghosts) who have not progressed beyond death of the physical body unto love, joy and peace. These people can also be viewed as the unclean spirits of which Jesus spoke of within the Bible.

Ghosts are symbolically unclean because they have not yet entered the light and life-review, a transforming transition from mental suffering to 'eternal awareness of being' that normally occurs when one exits the earth plane of existence (physically dies). The light can dissolve the mind's hold on the spirit, freeing him or her of mental and emotional suffering.

Ghosts may be considered unclean, ultimately, because they have not been freed from their 'false selves' and remain in darkness, blind to their condition.

Unclean Spirits Versus Holy Spirit (Pure): Reinterpreting Demons in the Bible

Spirits that come from the light are 'holy,' as in Holy Spirit…or pure spirit. Pure spirit simply refers to those who come from the place of light, and not darkness unlike an unclean spirit. Some call pure spirits, "angels" or "spirit guides." Clean spirits have a higher, enlightened perspective and are not blinded by the mind.

In truth, everyone has this light or purity within them as it is their deepest being. The question is whether or not we are aware of it. We might say that those who are aware are conscious of their inner being. And, those who are not aware are unconscious, unaware of anything beyond the grasp of their thinking mind.

Demons and the BibleUnconsciousness, darkness, is the condition of unclean spirits or ghosts. Darkness symbolically represents a lack of understanding, the state of being lost, unawareness of who we are. Light is love, joy, peace and truth. It is a river of life that runs through us when we are tuned into it: aware.

We read in the Bible to be filled with the Holy (pure) Spirit. This is the deeper part of humanity that is often ignored. You might call it your heart or deepest being.

When we recognize this deeper part of ourselves, we connect with others on a deeper level. And we connect with those in spirit: the deeper energy that gives existence to all that is.

If we connect to others in this deeper energy, could others who are enlightened actually speak to us, maybe, even through us? Matthew 10:20 seems to relate this very idea:

“For it is not you that speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.” 

In comparison to the above verse, Jesus told the religious leaders of his day that they were following their father, 'the devil' (the 'false self').

Demons and Devil in the Bible

When we explore the New Testament Greek words translated as devil (or demon), we see they had a much different meaning than we might know. The word demon in the New Testament comes from the Greek word daimonion. 'Daimonion' was used in Greek literature to mean 'a spiritual force' or 'a wise spirit.' We can also see within Greek literature, written before or around the same time the New Testament books were penned, that a demon was considered to be similar to what many today call a 'spirit guide.'

A daimon or daemon (Latin) was never a negative or bad word until religious leaders told people daimones were evil. It was a method used to gain control over people through religious fear.

(Note: The word, daimonion, which has been translated as 'devil' in some Bible translations, is not the same Greek word translated as 'devil' in other verses of the Bible. For more on this topic, read, Demons & Ghosts).


What Are Demons? The Idea of Hell

Some believe hell to be a literal place, a fiery netherworld.

Books, plays and movies have depicted hell as being 'down' somewhere. Have you considered that the downward, lower place just might be here on the earthly plane as one possible interpretation? Hell could be here, right now, and not far away.

  • Hell exists within the person.

Let's consider that hell could be a state of mind and not a place. Not to sound religious but according to the Bible, "As a person thinks in his heart, so is he."

Hell: Internal or Eternal?A heart bound by mental and emotional suffering is heavy, whether the body is alive or dead, weighted down by this world through mental traps and constructs, such as past or future, guilt, condemnation, fear, hatred, anger, torment, etc. We do not need religion to tell us this. Our life stories have taught us that states of mind can be painful.

A 'downer' state of mind could easily keep a disembodied person (a ghost) on the earthly plane, descending into an emotional and mental hell. This is in direct opposition to what should happen, which is 'ascension.' The idea of a person’s spiritual condition dictating whether he or she floats upward or downward upon death of the physical form seems related to the idea of heaven being situated upward in the sky. And that would infer Hell exists somewhere opposite of above, say down below or underneath.

The idea of higher and lower places for the dead could actually have originated from the spiritual symbolism of the soul being higher and free (heaven) versus being bound by the mind, trapped in a lower condition of suffering (hell). This would be similar to buddhist teachings.

Consider that a person's soul could be elevated, that it could ascend. Most near death experiences (NDEs) teach us that after a fatality, the spirit leaves the body and upward above the body. We may be greeted by loved ones before, during, or after we experience a 'tunnel of light.' This light, that some may consider to be God or Heaven, has most often been described as exuding a deep feeling of pure love, understanding, compassion, peace, joy and life: bliss.

Many who have witnessed this light and freedom never want to leave it to come back to a physical existence upon the earth again. These wonderful NDE accounts certainly define the phrase, 'a free spirit.' One who has tasted this light is said to be instantly 'enlightened,' to some degree, being lighter, thinner, and free inside from self-induced suffering. This is in stark contrast from spirits trapped in heavy, thick darkness, unaware of who they truly are, essentially, lost for a time.

Near Death Process

After the tunnel of light experience, near death experiencers typically report that a life-review ensues. It would appear that this step helps one to understand their former earthly life and its lessons.

At this point after death, we can consider that the person has just undergone a partial cleansing process, perhaps, rinsing off some of life's dirt (getting rid of emotional baggage, past pains, etc.) caused by ourselves or others. One might even need to come to grip with their own death, perhaps.

Near Death VisionsAfter a good reconciliation with the past, it is thought that the person will then naturally gravitate upward or downward to a spiritual plane of existence comparable to the condition (awareness) of their own spirit (some call it the 'soul'). We wonder if it is still possible, at this juncture of the recently departed person, for him or her to cascade downward and experience a hell of darkness. Could this be necessary for some troubled people to continue to work through additional, internal issues created while in physical form?

We certainly feel that complete freedom will come for everyone, eventually; but there may be a price to pay while the prison of the mind is undone of self-created falsehoods about one’s self and others. The destruction of egoic, mental contructs that bind a person is key to a spirit's release. Any perceived life-review or 'judgment' is never condemnation from an angry God, as one might imagine.

Judgment is a self-imposed imprisonment.

If we look inside of ourselves, we can detect deep down that we are our own harshest critic and difficult to convince otherwise. And it is this critic, each individual's ego, through strong identification with the physical world and personal life story, that creates and empowers a false identity - a belief in labels and mental pictures of who we think we are based upon life experiences.

We know that enlightened spirits try to assist those of us who are lost or hurting, even ghosts. But, sometimes, we are close-minded and have to work through struggles on our own. Ghosts remain earthbound for a season of suffering.

And it is the most deplorable, wretched ghosts that are mistakenly identified as demons (by religious people). Yet, their behavior is demonic, for sure. They are mislabeled as demons based upon their evil behavior. Such lost spirits are the most difficult to free from the trappings of their mind in which they greatly suffer.

The Verdict on Demons: Misidentification

We are finding that what many call 'demons' are often shadow ghosts (dark shadows). They are believed to be demonic because of their appearance (pitch black) and occasional negative behavior.

Ghosts not DemonsMany people report seeing shadows move in their peripheral vision - out of the corner of their eye. Some are ghosts. Some are illusion. Shadow ghosts are earthbound, disembodied people who have not moved on unto the light, their loved ones and life-review, as mentioned above.

Darkness does not necessarily mean a shadow ghost is bad or a devil; darkness  is indicative of an inner, deplorable condition. Examples might be a lack of understanding, ignorance, being lost and, of course, negativity. If a person in spirit behaves badly, oftentimes, people will assume the worst, that the spirit is an other-world entity: a demon.

We have found through our field research that people behave badly, and death of the body does not necessarily change behavior. Yes, some 'dark spirits' can be very negative and troublesome but so can some of the people around us that have bodies. Many times, they simply need to be told who they are, that they have died, that there is no eternal hell and head into the light to meet loved ones. When they are able to hear and listen, they will move on in their lives and become free spirits, also. (For more on this, read How to Get Rid of Ghosts.)

Some ghosts (people) have learned that they can co-inhabit another person’s body. Possession of another by a human spirit has often been confused as some demon entity from hell doing the possessing because of religion's lack of knowledge on the subject. Hollywood hasn't helped, either. Therefore, many call this demon possession; a few call it spirit possession; but it would be best to call it 'ghost possession or attachment.'