I have felt possessed by an anger that erupted toward a family member in a way I later deeply regretted. And I have known fears, too, that have kept me from experiencing fullness of life. Think of the different ways we may experience being possessed. For example, being possessed by jealousy in such a way that the relationship so important to us is damaged. We can be possessed by an unhealthy lifestyle; by excessive worries or an unforgiving or bitter spirit; or by the need to be “right.” We can be possessed by rigid thinking or by prejudice, or by painful memories. The song I quoted mentioned “twisted thoughts that grip and bind.” Sometimes we hold onto grievance stories—stories that play over and over in our mind, maybe about how we’ve been wronged, or the unfairness of a situation, or what someone else thinks—which we could hardly know. We get stuck in our grievance story—it possesses us until we can’t move forward with joy and confidence in new possibilities.
We can also be possessed by addictions—to alcohol or drugs, to sex, pornography, or more socially acceptable and approved addictions, such as workaholism, the approval and esteem of others, the drive to accumulate and achieve. One can make an argument that the addiction to greed has played a big part in the ravaging of our economy.
