A spirit called Seven

Originally Posted by Nameless

Personally, I don't believe in demon possession.

Neither do I. I also appreciate it when those of us who do not believe it are open about it.

Originally Posted by Nameless

I think there are people who have schizophrenia, and it usually manifests somewhere in the teenage years. What it is really, I don't know, and this is not a forum for mental illness diagnosis. I would recommend he see a mental health professional.

There are a few diagnoses that might fit, but more importantly, you're right that he needs to see a professional. It's never a good idea to try to deal with mental or emotional problems on the 'net! (And I see way too much of it in this forum.)

Originally Posted by Nameless

Channelling is not mental illness. It is an allowing - allowing that the spirit world speak through you, with your full cooperation and consent. The spirits that communicate from the Other Side are loving, compassionate beings here to help us by first of all showing unconditional love.

Well-put. But I still maintain there is a difference between channeling and communicating. All channeling is communication, but not all communication is channeling. Channeling is an allowing of one's physical body to be used by nonphysical entities in order to impart new knowledge. Communicating with nonphysical entities is information received that is usually personal. Most of us can communicate fairly well with Spirit/spirits, but few can channel.

I say "most of us" because it's just not true that everyone can do it easily or well. It's like playing the piano...most of us can bang out "Chopsticks", but few can play Beethoven or Brahms. This also applies to channeling. Just as most of us have some psychic ability, only a few are able to allow their physical bodies to be taken over by discarnate entities.

My test for genuine channels is simple: Is the information new?

All that said... It's probably a better choice to leave the man's mental and emotional health in the hands of professionals. Don't try to fit him into a perceived metaphysical state, just support him in continuing to deal with his medical condition.

Yeah, that is the same conclusion I was coming to as well. I just had to look down every avenue before making conclusions. Thanks for that clarification though.