Interdimensional Fear Demons Come as No Surprise
Psychedelic Insight from the Golden Road
The only thing that kills a demon is love - Mickey Knox
This post contains spoilers of “The Illuminatus Trilogy,” Which I think is fair, because it was published in 1975. Nevertheless, be forewarned.
When I was an 18-year-old college freshman, I read Robert Anton Wilson’s “Illuminatus Trilogy.“ I remember sitting on my dorm bed next to my headshop tapestry, getting my introduction to conspiracies and secret societies. In it, many factions fought for humanity’s future in ways both subtle and strange. There were double agents and triple agents. People were not what they seemed. Sprinkled throughout it were magical teachings and new-age ideas. An elder character would instruct a newcomer, and I, the reader, was able to receive the lesson as well. It was enlightening, mind-expanding, and I couldn’t put it down.
The book got weirder as it went on. I suppose Wilson had a gift for drawing you in at the right pace. About two-thirds through, he dropped a bomb, a revelatory plot twist. He pulled back the curtain. Turns out this battle is bigger than we thought. It’s not just being fought on Earth. Behind so much of the ‘badness’ in the world are these interdimensional beings that feed off the fear and anger of humans. It’s in their best interest to keep people confused and upset. It’s their food source.
I took a hit off my pipe. Seemed plausible. Explains a lot, actually. And it scared me a little, actually. What if this isn’t just fiction? What if that’s the world we live in? How do we handle being fear food for demons?
I reported my findings to someone older and wiser, and asked for advice. “I guess we should try to starve them. I guess we should transcend fear. Fear is the mind killer, after all.” Yup, they threw in a Dune reference. “I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.” Literary problems require literary solutions.
Contemplating this problem, we discover that all the world’s spiritual traditions have wrestled with fear, even if they don’t explicitly acknowledge they’re battling invisible monsters.
A mystic Christian offered me a bible quote, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” It’s a good one to have in your back pocket during a psychedelic journey.
In The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna offers the wisdom that we can become fearless and pure of heart through selfless service, devotion, and contemplation of ultimate reality.
In Buddhist iconography, we often see Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with their hands in Abhaya (fear-relieving) Mudra. Shantideva tells us in his guidebook, “All harm and fear in the world comes from clinging to the self”. No clinging, no fear.
Even in complicated times, fear and anger are not the answer. Maharajji tells us, “Do what you must do, but never leave your heart.”
So just like Maharajii, I can’t tell you what to do if, by some strange turn of events, you find yourself surrounded by demons that want to feast upon you. You do whatever you feel like you must do; you’re a smart person with a good conscience.
But have no fear.
For example, I don’t know if general strikes work. There has been some debate about that. But as I looked at the posters with their admonishments, “no work, no school, no shopping,” I couldn’t help but think of the founder of Reiki, Usui, and his five principles.
Just for today...
I will not anger,
I will not worry,
I will be grateful,
I will work with diligence,
I will be kind to myself and all beings.
What if the entire country did this one day?
What if you did it, just for today?
Do what you need to do, but don’t throw people out of your heart.
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“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” - Frank Herbert
Well said