Heaven and Hell #257
257. There are also spirits called natural and physical spirits who do not unite with our thoughts when they come to us the way other spirits do but rather enter our bodies and take over all its senses, talking through our mouths and acting through our limbs. It seems to them entirely as though everything of ours were theirs. These are the spirits that possess people; but they have been cast into hell by the Lord and moved decisively away; so possession like this no longer occurs nowadays. 1
Fusnotat:
1. [Swedenborg's footnote] External or physical possession no longer occurs today the way it used to: 1983. Now, however, there is more internal, mental possession than there used to be: 1983, 4793. We are possessed more inwardly when we entertain filthy thoughts and libels against God and our neighbor and when we are kept from airing them only by the outward restraints imposed by our fear of losing reputation, respect, profit, legal standing, or life: 5990. On the diabolic spirits who primarily possess our deeper levels: 4793. On the diabolic spirits who want to possess our more outward levels, who are pent up in the hells: 2752, 5990.
