Let's take a look now at four causes of obsession, whereby we will also see how the vibrational affinity and moral deficiency that we mentioned above factor into these different causes.

1) Moral deficiencies: Again, this cause is a direct result of the law of moral affinity, by which we attract the company of others (both incarnate and discarnate) whose ideas and inclinations are similar to our own. For example, a person who thinks and acts out of weaknesses such as pride, envy, greed, hate, etc., just as one who engages in unhealthy behaviors like the abuse of alcohol/drugs/even food, promiscuous and/or abusive sexual activity, intentional mistreatment of others, etc. etc., will, by natural law, attract spiritual companions of a similar nature who take pleasure in witnessing the actions of such an individual, and who even "feed" off the energy that such a person emanates. Moreover, when the cultivation of such inferior sentiments and behaviors is habitual, the person then holds steady at the same vibrational frequency as his disturbed and inferior spiritual companion, who is thus able to lock into a strong mental and energetic connection with him or her. From there the toxic influence begins, through which the Spirit takes advantage of that person's negative tendency and encourages in him/her even more of the same, which only lead's to the victims greater emotional and spiritual imbalance, in addition to making it hard for that person (once a strong union is developed) to put an end to their unhealthy ways should they so desire. In another example, we can see how a vibrational frequency of an individual may even lead to such a "parasitic" relationship with an unhappy spirit who may even unintentionally and/or unconsciously influence the incarnate person. We've all heard the expression, "Misery loves company." A person who is mentally fixed on pessimistic ideas or other self-disruptive thoughts and sentiments of all different kinds, may also draw to him an unhappy Spirit who shares in his sentiments and who, like a magnet becomes "attached" to him, which, as in the first example, will only exacerbate the person's emotional turmoil.

2) Present Effects of Past Causes: The Spiritist Doctrine teaches us that our suffering arises as a direct result of our own mistakes and the poor use of our free will, and that if the cause of our suffering does not stem from events in the present life, it inevitably then has roots in a previous existence. These two teachings are well demonstrated by this second cause of obsession, which represents a moral debt of our own, the consequences of which we have come to bear. (*Note: a suffering state is never equitable or unconditionally indicative of an obsession; it does, however represent a form of suffering that can result from our past actions, which is this case).

a) One order of this cause, and a very predominant form of spiritual obsession, are the vengeful actions of our discarnate adversaries. Allan Kardec writes, "Obsession is almost always the expression of vengeance sought out by a Spirit, the origin of which is frequently found in relationships that the obsessed victim had with the obsessor, in a preceding existence." The Spirits who incarnate on the planet Earth are still very from their evolutionary goal of moral and intellectual imperfection; when someone hurts us in any way, we are often driven by our inferior tendencies to seek out revenge. Ignorant of- or simply ignoring- the moral teachings of our religions that show us a better way, we instead want he who made us suffer to suffer just the same. When we part for the Spiritual plane, at the death of our physical body, we do not abandon such negative inclinations like the material body we leave behind. We carry all the sentiments that we cultivated on Earth- both good and bad- with us as we maintain our individuality. Therefore, when we do not make peace with our enemies before our "death", as Jesus taught us to do, we carry our feelings of resentment and desires for revenge with us and continue to act upon them even from the Spiritual plane. When the individual who is the object of our vengeful desires remains in - or returns to - the material world, so begins the process of vengeance driven obsession.

This kind of obsessor becomes so enveloped by the pain of his suffering and the desire to take justice into his own hands, that it becomes the object of a total mental fixation, whereby to him, all time stops and he is blinded to all else but this tormenting situation. He thus begins to persecute his enemy. A victim in the past, he now becomes today's criminal and seeks to bring down the own who he holds responsible for his suffering, ie today's victim.

It is for this reason that we say that the obsessed individual is living out the consequences of his own actions. The incarnate individual's memory is temporarily clouded by the influence of his material existence and he is not consciously aware of any such motivation for another's desire to hurt him (note: reason why we should pray for our enemies even though we may not think anyone has something against us). Many people are still ignorant about Spirit life and the very possibility even of such action upon them by someone that they cannot even see. However, their Spirit does retain this memory and as such, carries with it either the continued feelings of contempt - that originally drove him to the actions which brought upon this situation- or the guilt of having committed them. The creditor and his debtor often meet in the Spiritual realm-- when the person's spirit is partially liberated as the body sleeps-- and this confrontation helps to keep such feelings fresh.  During waking hours, the ill-willed feelings, even at the subconscious level, set the stage for a mental connection between the Spirit and the incarnate individual. Then, should the incarnate person fail to be vigilant of his thoughts and actions, thus giving in to inferior tendencies, he will consequently lower his vibrational frequency and diminish his own spiritual defenses, opening the door and creating the conditions for his persecutor to take action.

* It should also be pointed out here that a Spirit seeking vengeance against an individual may very well take action against that person's family member or someone else that is close to him/her and who is more sensitive to the Spirit's influence. By making this latter person suffer, the Spirit finds a way to cause his primary target to suffer just the same.

b) A second way in which a past cause becomes a present motive for obsession is when the present victim of obsession represents to the obsessing Spirit an accomplice in offenses committed together during a previous Earthly existence that they shared. Such an obsessor now seeks out this individual, a "partner in crime" that he does not want to lose, and tries to do everything he can to retain this person in his trajectory, to keep alive the immoral behaviors that they shared in their unscrupulous past. Once again, the subconscious guilt of the incarnate person, coupled with an unfortunate period of lacking vigilance on the person's behalf, open this individual's receptivity to the persistent thought waves transmitted by his persecutor and allow for the process of obsession to begin.

3) Undeveloped Mediumship: Here we are referring to a more ostensive mediumship that a certain individual may have, but in which case this individual has not developed and employed the faculty-maybe out of ignorance to the fact, possibly out of a fear, or perhaps because the person simply does not appreciate the gift that such a faculty represents for him to make reparations for past mistakes and to help others in need. The Spiritist Doctrine helps such persons by 1) helping them to recognize the signs that could indicate the presence of a medianimic faculty, 2) giving them the education to understand mediumship and not fear it, 3) teaching them about the divine purpose for their abilities to communicate with the Spiritual realm and 4) by warning them of the consequences that pride and other inferior attitudes can have, especially given the presence of their heightened sensitivity to exterior influences.

In truth, this cause of obsession is not actually a motive, per se, for an inferior Spirit to target an individual with toxic thoughts and energies. It is rather a much greater vulnerability as such persons are much more sensitive to the actions of ignorant and/or ill-willed Spirits. Should they also have a Spirit who holds a serious grudge against them, they are only more susceptible to the process of obsession. This individual, like all others, is not defenseless however. If he keeps his thoughts elevated, takes time out regularly for moments of study, reflection, and prayer, and acts out of kindness and compassion toward others, he will maintain a higher vibrational frequency that will serve as his greatest line of defense against, and which will also attract the company of good Spirits that will help to protect him and lead him in the right direction.

We also must make the point here that once the obsession takes hold and the individual seeks help, for example at a Spiritist Center, where his mediumship may be recognized, it is not appropriate for such an individual to develop the faculty at this time. Unfortunately, in some Centers, the directors or other members try to help the individual by pushing him directly into such a practice. However, it is first necessary for the individual to undergo treatment for the obsession and to simultaneously work on improving the moral and vibrational quality of his thoughts and behaviors so as to regain his moral and spiritual equilibrium, to study the moral and philosophical teachings of the Doctrine and participate in the Center, and to learn about the phenomena and practice of mediumship…… before he should begin to exercise his faculty in benefit of others.  Patience, persistence, and faith are all necessary to follow this path toward rehabilitation and eventually toward rewarding work.

4) Poorly employed mediumship: As the author Rigonatti writes, "A poorly employed mediumship can lead to a cruel obsession. The medium who does not know how to complete his task, or who does so motivated by self-interest, is abandoned by good Sprits and becomes a prisoner of criminal Spirits who will never leave him in peace."

This cause is a combination of the law of moral affinity with the heightened sensitivity to spiritual influences inherent to medianimic faculty. Allan Kardec also writes : 

"Mediums who follow an incorrect path do more harm than good to the Spiritist cause, and more than one person will experience a delay in their progress as a result of the unfortunate impressions some medium has produced. That is why those endowed with this gift will have to account for the use to which they have put it, since they only received it in order to do good to their fellow human beings. 

The mediums who want to be assisted by good Spirits must work toward self-improvement. The ones who want their gift to unfold further and become richer must enrich themselves morally and refuse to do anything that will turn mediumship away from its providential purpose. 

If good Spirits sometimes use morally imperfect mediums, it is in order to give them good advice and so lead them toward the road to goodness. If, however, the Spirits meet with hardened hearts and their advice is ignored, they'll leave and the field will be open for the entrance of any ill-meaning Spirits……. 

All truth-serving mediums should have one goal in common: to honor the trust of good Spirits and close the doors to mischievous and deceptive ones. Without this commitment, mediumship becomes a hollow gift and can even become harmful to the person who has it, since it may degenerate into a Spiritual disturbance."

Another point to be made about this type of obsession is that quite often mediums who use their faculty for the intended noble purposes of spreading love, compassion, and truth, are targeted by ill-meaning Spirits, who may have nothing personal- so to speak- against the medium, but rather despise the medium's good intentions and efforts to bring peace and happiness to others, as well as the spiritual progress that the medium himself will thus achieve. Mediums must be on the highest guard against such Spirits and must be ever-vigilant of their thoughts and behaviors, careful not to become prideful or over-confident, for the latter represents a sign of his lack of vigilance, exactly what this kind of deceptive Spirit is looking for, the weakness which will allow the Spirit to mislead and betray the medium, with the ultimate intention of leading him astray and putting an end to his good deeds as well as those with whom the medium works.

Kardec, Allan. "Obsession." The Mediums' Book. 2nd ed (1st edition FEB). Trans. Anna Blackwell (translated 1876). Ed. Livraria Espírita Allan Kardec. Brasilia-DF, Brazil:  Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation}. 1986. 277-295.

Kardec, Allan.  The Gospel  Explained By The Spiritist Doctrine.  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from 3rd edition in French). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 2000. 302-303.

Schubert, Suely Caldas.  Obsessão e Desobsessão [Obsession and Disobsession]. 14 ed. Rio de Janeiro- RJ, Brazil. 2000. 30-31, 42-52, 61-63, 37-77.

De Miranda, Manoel Philomeno [Spirit Author], Franco, Divaldo P. [Medium]. Obsession. (translation of "Grilhoes Partidos). Trans. Donato Ely J. and Miranda, Herminio C. Salvador, Ba, Brazil. Centro Espirita "Caminho da Redenção". 1980. 13-21.

Peralva, Martins. "Obsessoes" (Obsessions). Estudando A Mediunidade [Studying Mediumship]. Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil: Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation]. 1998 (20th ed). 65-71.

Systematized Study published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Program V, Unit 8, Subunit 1 Concept, Causes and Degrees of Obsession. Published 1996, Brasilia (DF).

Systematized Study published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Program V, Unit 8, Subunit 2 The obsessive process: the obsessor and the obsessed. Published 1996, Brasilia (DF).