Spirits: Good Signs and Bad Signs

Indicators of Problems...

As a note, I have personally heard a good number of the quotes below (or something very similar), directed at me. Sometimes I wish a little warning bell would've gone off in my head when I'd heard the line.

Oh ... and these criteria apply to both people in a body and those who are not - anyone who is supposedly speaking for God or the Light, or who claims or seems to be from Heaven or a higher plane. (You will notice a lot of friends and family may routinely fail these criteria, but most of them probably don't claim to be Inspired at the time.)

A real "good guy" will evidence:

  • Patience.
  • No threats. Period. "Do this or you're choosing Darkness!" is a threat. So is, "This is your last chance to meet God!"
  • No bribes. No offers of fame, excitement, love, guidance. None of these offers of power, psychic power, influence, superhuman ability!
  • No flattery. None of the "You're special" treatment. "You're different from the others..." "Your destiny is different" "You are from Arcturus and hence special"... none of that. Nothing that raises you higher than others, either.
  • No patronizing; no condescension. "You're doing pretty well ... for a human," for example, is condescending. No condescension toward other people, either. Mockery is Right Out. Anyone who laughs at you or your failures mockingly is probably not helping.
  • No objections to being cut off or ignored. A caring spirit will not mind it when, in trying to tune out bad spirits, you wind up tuning out some good ones as well. Warnings that you're tuning out too many good ones are actually lies -- this I know from experience!
  • No attempt to prolong communication. Good spirits are typically very businesslike: they give a simple message, remind people to turn to God or a specific solution/reminder, and then they leave. The get to the point and it's done. Entities that like to linger and talk on and on, as if they like "hearing the sound of their own voice"(!) are rarely of God. (Note: many channeled books seem to be the latter.)
  • No micromanagement of your life. No attempts to live your life for you, either.
  • No attempts to separate you from the rest of society. Jesus, after all, continued to speak with his family and serve in his community.
  • No attempts to separate you from the rest of the world via new and cool-sounding terminology, or even old Capitalized Special Terminology. Oh, sure, the spiritual world must necessarily involve some new or unusual vocabulary/lingo. But when the techno babble gets really thick, watch out! That stuff is an appeal to elitist pride.
  • No usage of cryptic and "wise" or "profound" comments designed to impress you with his/her "higher knowledge" -- you should be able to freely ask for and receive clarification, and to see whether s/he really tries to live those words. If the words sound like they came straight out of a book ... and all your questions are answered that way ... are you talking to a "parrot" or a person? (No offence to real parrots, whom I respect a great deal.)
  • No attempts at coercion. "Sometimes we must force them to understand" is a coercive statement, even if it's well-intentioned ("Sometimes we must force them to understand that racism is evil").
  • No lying. Also, anyone who says that something will definitely happen is likely lying, since free will means that the future can be changed, to some extent. But predictions that are true are not necessarily proof of anything, either.
  • No badmouthing of others. Statements like, "So-and-so is blinded by his religion" can be dangerous --- it may be that so-and-so is actually right, and that the spirit you're talking to is lying.
  • No attempt to blame other people for your current problems. "You were psychologically abused by so-and-so" with the implication you should now accuse them of their crime and blame them for your problems.
  • No over-dredging of minor childhood traumas, molehills blown up into mountains. "That incident when you were 3 is when this part of your soul split off, in shock and disappointment."
  • No attempt to impress you with names or relationships. "I was Jesus' aunt" or "I am Archangel Gabriel!" are included in this.
  • No attempt to impress you with who/what they are. "Archangel So-and-So" "Special commander of the seventh battalion of the Altaire fleet" is included. In spirit, it is NOT the origin, race, age, status, planet of origin, gender, etc., that is important; all that matters is: Does the entity serve God and love others, and promote the love of God and others?
  • No attempt to extoll anyone except God (or maybe Jesus). Talk of "ascended masters" or "spirit guides" or other spirit teachers might sound great on the surface ... but what happened to God? Is the advice given that of "rely on God, speak to God, pray to God," or is it "rely on X, speak to X, pray to X" where X is not God? Beware the latter; it sounds like someone is trying to create a dependency that shouldn't exist.
  • No attempt to take credit/glory. A true angel of God would never accept worship or adoration or praise or any kind of attention of that sort. A true angel of God would always pass the "glory" (so to speak) to God or to Jesus. Some angels may accept a simple "thank you," but not in excess of thanks to God. (Think of it this way: your dad sends a check to bail you out of crushing debt. To give all your thanks and attention to the mailman who brought you the check is misplacing the gratitude. The mailman just says, "Glad to help, but I'm just doing my job! Thank your dad, not me!") True angels know that God is the Source of all good, and want to make sure people give God the credit, and do not start worshipping angels (bad for the people and bad for the angels!).
  • No expectation of trust. "I'm insulted that you don't trust me," "Why can't you trust me? Relax" and such things are dangerous. Good guys want to earn your trust, not demand it.
  • No demand for performance. "You must do such-and-such," "Practice the piano more often," "Learn that foreign language you've been putting off," "Eat more fiber, exercise, floss your teeth, stay away from pollution, meditate 30 minutes daily, have more sex," and other such recommendations for intense, self-centered schedules are a bad indicator. It's especially so if the messages involve worldly concerns, even if justified (such as "earn more money so you can help more people").
  • No self-inflation. Images of the spirit sitting on a throne, or words about how advanced or wise the spirit is (especially when compared to "lesser spirits" or to you), are signs that the spirit has an inflated ego. "I am a spirit of the sixth plane/sphere" should not impress you. Neither should, "I am from Arcturus."
  • No badmouthing of those closest to God, or of God. "The Light is static, unchanging (i.e., boring and stupid)" or "The highest angels are bound by countless (bureaucratic) laws and regulations" are all subtle messages designed to turn you away from the Light. Don't believe them. Don't follow those unstated implications; look instead to the motivation behind what's being said.
  • No implication that reincarnation is a good thing or the right solution to peoples' problems. The most advanced teachers in human history taught that we should escape the reincarnation cycle, not that we should use it to cure ourselves of our karmic debts. Jesus, for instance, forgave people their sins --- which implies that God can help us overcome our karmic debts not through reincarnation, but through forgiveness and caring.
  • No advice or encouragement for you to rely on your "Higher Self." In many people's experience, the "Higher Self" is the most arrogant and obnoxious sub-personality of the person, or sometimes it's a complete fake --- a liar pretending to be someone's "Higher Self." Higher Selves, as such, may be less wise than you (if they exist), and are certainly less wise than God.
  • No implication or encouragement for you to totally rely on other spirits (aside from God) for guidance or growth. We must learn to stand on our own. This does not mean we don't need some guidance; however, it's up to us to show initiative.
  • No emphasis on bureaucracy, on "the process," or on hierarchies of spirits or planes. Rigid step-by-step ladders of ascension speak more of dogma than caring or truth.
  • If you have to pay money to progress, be doubly wary!!
  • No anger, irritation, vindictiveness or other such things that are a subtle form of attack against others, even your enemies.
  • No implications that feelings of intense power, love, joy, peace, light, and so on are proof of truth or of God's presence.
  • The number of years you have known the spirit is not a good indicator of trustworthiness! Liar entities can hang around for a lot longer than a single human lifespan or even three or more.
  • Respect for your free will and of others'. Stepping into your body and mucking around without your permission is often a bad sign.
  • Warnings of the possibility of deception. Any spirit that advocates channeling, without warning about liars, is likely either unwise (foolish!) or is hiding something.
    ....A good teacher really does keep pointing the way upward, and really does let the student grow without confining him in a cage. A bad teacher wants a power trip from his followers ... a good teacher wants the student to be free, able to stand on his own feet, strong enough to be able to reach out and help others, and wise enough to continue the course upward to God... even without help from the teacher.