More Thoughts on Demonic Interference from One’s Own Mind

(Minghui.org) As I read about “Demonic Interference from One’s Own Mind” in Zhuan Falun one day, a story that pained me came to mind. I’d like to share that story and my understanding. 

Years ago a local practitioner asked me to visit another practitioner who’d been ill for a while to see if I could help her. 

While talking to her, I learned that she had a feeling that something was spinning on the top of her head, and she thought it was a Falun (law wheel). I wasn’t sure if I believed her. After talking to her more, I found out that she had been asking a being for permission for everything she did, from trifles to burning incense, even doing Dafa work.

When I asked who she was talking to, she said “Master.” 

“You believe that Master is answering your questions?” I probed. 

“It is Master,” she said. “He answers all of my questions.” 

I was sure Master would not answer such specific questions and thought that this could be why she was sick. What she did was blatantly against the Fa principles and might have brought her spirit or animal possession. 

Having a bad feeling about it, I asked, “Do you hear voices or do you sense some kind of message?” 

“I hear Master’s voice.” 

“I suggest that you stop asking questions. It couldn’t have been Master talking to you.” 

She had made up her mind and would not listen. I came up with a way to prove to her that it wasn’t Master. I said, “When you burn incense tomorrow, you can ask it ‘Are you Master Li? If not, leave, I don’t want you. I want to follow Master Li’s guidance.’” She agreed.

A few days later, she told me, “I did what you suggested, and the voice is gone, and nothing is spinning on the top of my head.” 

I was quite happy for her, “Great, we have proved that it wasn’t Master. You are fine now.” 

“But I am used to it, and I don’t want it to leave me. I still want it.” 

I couldn’t believe this veteran practitioner could be so confused and would say something so contradictory to the Fa. I was very concerned and said, “Now that we know for sure that it wasn’t Master, why do you still want it? Don’t you want to return home with Master? You don’t even know what that thing is.

“You are pursuing supernormal abilities and Master will not grant them to you. Your pursuit brought that being to you. It saw your pursuit and granted it to you. When you showed that you liked it, it controlled you. That is so dangerous.” 

She would not listen. No matter what I said, she wanted what she wanted. I was at my wit’s end, but I thought I might have an attachment to winning an argument and it was time for me to let go of it. 

The next time I saw this practitioner, she joyfully shared with me, “I can hear it answer my questions, and something is spinning on top of my head again.” It made me feel so sad and helpless. Her reasoning for what she was doing wasn’t based on the Fa, but that many other practitioners experienced the same thing she did. She even named a few names. 

Master said:

“They pursue supernormal abilities and are attached to petty skills or even to listening to certain things from other dimensions. They are after these things. It is easiest for these people to develop demonic interference from their own minds and to drop to low levels. No matter how high one’s cultivation level is, once this problem occurs one will fall all the way to the bottom and, in the end, be ruined completely—this is an extremely serious issue.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

Before this practitioner got ill, she did the three things every day and actively participated in Dafa activities. But cultivation is serious, and the bar is not lowered just because we do Dafa work well. Failing at key issues will ruin one’s cultivation. 

The next time I heard about this practitioner was when she passed away. I felt sad that I wasn’t able to help her. I also wondered if the other practitioners she mentioned who had the same experience as she did had rectified themselves. 

Master had me remember something that took place years ago, so I realized there must have been a reason why. I calmed down to look within to see if I also had demonic interference from my own mind. Suddenly, something a practitioner once said to me came to mind, “You should go home and carefully study the lecture about ‘Demonic Interference from One’s Own Mind.’” I respected the practitioner’s pure intention and honesty and appreciated him for being responsible for other practitioners’ cultivation. He must have seen something wrong with me. 

For a long time, I knew that I had an attachment to showing off, but I couldn’t get rid of it completely. I liked to talk non-stop in front of many practitioners about what I was enlightened to in Dafa. The old forces must have seen my mentality of showing off also and exploited and intensified it, and made me unknowingly say things that were inappropriate in front of a lot of people, including things that weren’t based on the Fa. 

It was time for me to dig deeper and see what was behind my showing-off. When I showed off, I believed that I was good at something and no one cultivated as well as I did. Isn’t this demonic interference from my own mind? There were other notions I found related to it, such as being arrogant, narcissistic, and looking down on others and thinking that they didn’t cultivate well. I was determined to uproot and eradicate these notions because if I didn’t, after a while, it would bring demonic interference. 

I am so grateful for Master’s teachings and hints that allowed me to see a serious problem of mine. After digging out these human notions, I meditated and felt amazingly calm and peaceful. The words “true self” came to mind, and I knew that the feeling came from me thinking and acting with my true self.

Writing an experience sharing is a process of improving in cultivation. Every modification and correction I made in this article led me to consider whether what I wrote was correct and based on the Fa, which is a process of looking within.