Anthony North: A major area of paranormal activity is possession. The phenomenon is said to involve the taking over of the mind by an ‘entity’ from outside the mind. During possession the whole persona of the individual disappears, leaving only the entity.The history of the paranormal is full of such incidences. But what is the reality of the phenomenon? Does a real ‘entity’ invade the mind, or can answers be found in the psychology of the experiencer? Or is the answer somewhere in between? Types of invasion: There are four main areas of possession. First of all we have demonic, where the person is said to be possessed by a supernatural demon. Another popular form of possession is reincarnation, where a ‘past life’ is said to take over the host.Spiritualism offers many cases of possession, with mediums contacting, and being taken over by, a spirit of a dead person. The practice has now advanced to Channelling, where a discarnate being takes over the person to impart spiritual philosophy.We can see that entities can seem to come from many areas of the supernatural, but does the subject suffer from too many ‘tags’? Can we better understand what is going on by ignoring the places entities are said to come from and see if they are ‘internal’ rather than external?

Known Mechanisms: There are three areas of mind/brain phenomena that could offer rudimentary answers to possession. In the phenomenon of Multiple Personality, it is believed that the mind can fragment to the point that different aspects of mind appear to be separate personalities.Another area is the Split Brain concept, where it is known that the left and right cerebral hemispheres of the brain can operate independently. The left brain is a logician, whilst the right is emotional, or artistic. We normally live through the left brain, but the right can take over, adding fantasy, as if another ‘personality’ is in residence.Finally, knowledge imparted through ‘entities’ can often be accurate and substantial. Here, cryptomnesia – the ability of the mind to remember obscure facts – can offer an answer to this knowledge.

View: Full Article | Source: Beyond the Blog

Everytime I read about split personalities, I always think of "Sybil" - there was a drama made about her, I remember watching it in the 80s. Severe childhood trauma caused her mind to split into about 22 different personalities and she was extremely ill. I did try to get Sybil on DVD, unfortunately, I was unable to.

I guess the difference between possession by outside entities and the mental disorders, are that during possession, paranormal activity is supposed to accompany the event, whereas the mental disorders would most likely not have poltergeist activity, speaking in other languages and aversion to holy objects (crosses, holy water etc).

It is such an interesting subject - both possession and the mental disorders.

In fact, I find it SO interesting, I sometimes think it is a bit unhealthy LOL.

22 different personalities? Wow. Talk about a party in your mind. I know I've read a few articles a while back about having one personality commit a crime and the other wouldn't have a slightest clue. How crazy is that? Having a good and a bad counterpart sharing the same host body.

Party in your mind lol.

I have always found it very peculiar the way multiple personality cases often consist of personality no.1 knowing about personality no.2 but not the other way around.

Curious to say the least!

most of the time thought I have found out.. that possessions occur when the entity finds a "hole" in the person in which to go inside them. Usually it takes a person years to get rid of the demon's completely. Most of the time it happens when a person is at their weakest moment.. loosing faith in what ever they beleive in.

multiple personality disorder is somewhat like that. where the person at their weakest state it makes the mind split as a defensive mechanism. Unless its a child. who has had a very traumatic experience. To where their minds split as a defensive mechanism. The mind is fragile. No matter how strong a person thinks they are. The mind could be shattered at any point in time ... if the experience is horrible enough.