Hey Cephyr: Wow, thanks for the post. Very interesting stuff. Can you explain for us newbies to all of this what is really happening inside a MPD. Are the alters spirits or just fragments of the mind or something else? I took from the book that it isn't just a mental "thing" or the imagination. But that it's the actual spiritual realm. Could you kind of explain that and what's really happening on the inside and in the mind.
I really want to read that book Demons in the church but I live overseas and can't get shipping here. Is it online anywhere?
That's one book that hasn't been scanned in and placed online to be read yet, so it must be purchased. I'm hoping someone can get it scanned in soon for everyone. Great book. The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson is a good one to help understand some of the issues in this arena as well and how to deal with them properly.
In regard to the inside world, we can prove it's the spiritual realm from the angels, demons and Jesus which they see inside. Some describe that place as a person's plot of land in the spiritual realm, private and personal only to them. Each of us have that place inside, and it is where our spirit body exists. For instance, as Ellis said in the book, when working with multiples, many times they can see me inside. What they're seeing is my spirit body. Remember, at the end of the book, how Ellis spoke of alters jumping systems? Well, when they see me in their system, it's like Jesus is allowing my spirit body to system jump to help them for a bit. I'm not multiple, of course, but I do have a spirit body, just like anyone else.
From what I gather, thus far, it would seem that when the soul (the mind, will and emotions... the personality) splits, the person's spirit body splits to accomidate this split soul. I believe that's why there are many people inside the system. Because, in the end, when they integrate, you see all of thos bodies go into one single body. At that point, they're just like you and me, and that spirit body in the spiritual world they're using is their one and only spirit body, since all have merged.
To further explain the alters, think of the mind like a large lump of dough. Now, take a chunk of that dough and separate it from the rest of the dough. Now, you have a small lump of dough and then a larger one. That dough that split off of the larger lump is the core. The person gets abused and the core now runs and hides in the spiritual realm, because they were living in a nice, peaceful world which they were used to, and suddenly their safety is taken away and they experience extreme pain and fear. Thus, they must run. They cannot escape in the physical realm, so Jesus allows them to escape into the spiritual realm instead. It's the only other option. The body will die without a soul (mind) in it to regulate involuntary functions like breathing and heartbeat. So, the mind absolutely must split-off. But the remaining mind left over is a new person completely, having absolutely no memories which the core (the birth child) had. The core takes those memories and experiences of life with them inside to the spiritual realm.
Hope this has been helpful. Let me know if I missed answering one of your questions.
So, this new alter, which is the remainder of the mind, now is experiencing life for the first time, and it is awful. They're born into abuse, having known no peace or safety. Which means they are more used to it than the core, whom just left to go inside. So, they can take the abuse just a little bit easier than the core, because they know no different. If, by chance, the abuse is too much for them to handle at some point, they, too, will split and go inside (separate another piece of dough off the larger lump) and you'll have yet another new alter. They must have bodies with which to move around in the spiritual realm, so I assume the spirit body separates to accomidate them. I once had an alter ask Jesus what happens when a multiple dies and only some alters are saved. Assuming we were not fooled and were really talking to Jesus, He said that if the core and/or main are saved, but some of the alters are not, then all alters whom are not saved will cease to exist, and all of the saved alters will integrate together (and then I assume go to be with the Lord). If the core and/or main are not saved, but some of the alters are, He said the saved alters cease to exist upon death, the unsaved alters integrate back into one person again, but unsaved. Who knows what happens at that point... possibly hell, possibly a choice before God about whether they will repent... I don't know for certain.
When an alter comes out, they have a lot of the already learned intelligence the core and other alters have, but with no memories prior to their sudden existence. So, while they're developed intellectually, they are without identity, experience and memory. I think this helps them handle the abuse better. While, yes, they are really separate people, one day, they will integrate again (either through therapy or death) and be a single mind just as they were born. But while dealing with the abuse, each person having to only deal with a part of the abuse works out better. It's my theory that if a kid had to deal with all of their abuse at too early an age, it would drive them literally insane and they would be no way to bring them back. I think it's possible that some people in mental institutions are the result of such things. Having all of that baggage on one's shoulders is not easy if you're too young and only really understand emotions. Your emotional response is extreme irrational fear, self-pity, self-hate and all kinds of other horrible emotions that destroy a child. Splitting it amongst different persons inside is a much more efficient way to manage it, be protected from it, and deal with it later if a therapist understands how to do so.
So, to answer the question about this place not being in the mind, you would look at it differently. It would be many minds living in this spiritual realm. But not just minds... souls with spirit bodies, living in their spiritual plot of land. I hope that makes more sense. I'll go in depth on this, but this is more in the realm of theory, mind you. I'll do my best to explain it.
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is inside of us. This realm is what I believe He was speaking of. I believe the realm of "heaven" is the spiritual realm, and the kingdom of heaven is God's part of this place. I believe the dark realms are places in this spiritual realm which Satan has taken. Notice that they must be held in place by a satanic shrine, and only after that shrine has been destroyed does that portion of the spiritual realm become light again and merge back with the main realm which is brighter and more pleasant. What happens in that realm I believe is contingent upon our choices, since that spiritual plot of land has been given to us. Therefore, if you were to see the system of a person whom is a Satanist, you would see one giant dark realm, and maybe a small, hidden place inside where Jesus is at His Fountain of Life (just as Revelation says Jesus' thrown has a stream of living water pouring out from underneath it and flowing down the River of Life) exist. I believe Jesus stays in every person so that they always have the choice to come to Him if they so choose.
And so, even in the darkest of systems, one can always find Jesus if they are multiple. The only difference in a multiple and non-multiple is that we cannot see into the huge dark realm that makes up the non-multiple's inside world, and we cannot see their spirit body in that real either, where as a multiple can see those things. Now, you'll notice in the book that as demons are in the land, they corrupt this inside world and do many bad things with it, and those bad things affect the person's mood and outlook and emotions and all kinds of things. But when one says that prayer of repentance at the back of the Shining Man, the inside world released a lot of those demons from the land and the person feels much better. Why? Because that spiritual plot of land we're given can be affected by demons. I have a feeling that the "house" spoken of by Jesus in regard to demons is speaking of this inside world as being our home. I say that because when Adam and Eve were on earth, they had no building called a home. They had a garden they called home. And since the inside world is symbolic, I think it is our "home" in the spiritual realm, and the demons that come into that land are the demons He warns us about whom will manipulate and torment us.
Notice that once the demons are repented of out loud, they lift from the land and leave and the system inside changes for the better. I think that's the demons being kicked out of the house, like in Jesus' explanation. He's basically saying that we should not go around casting out demons from people, because if we do so, and the person doesn't really commit to God by replacing those empty spaces inside with things of God, then the demons will come back in and fill those voids in which they lived before, but they'll bring their friends this time. So, it would be like the inside world being vacated by demons for a short period of time, but the person not commiting to God and filling their inside world with God's love, grace and protection. Well, that creates a vaccuum, a void... And something will be sucked back into that void to fill it. We're supposed to fill voids with God, but if we don't, they will be filled with demons instead. Thus, we don't go around commanding demons out of people without knowing that they are truly committed to God and wanting to fill the resulting void with Him. Problems can arise if they're not a committed Christian.
I think in the end, God's gonna' take all of the demons out of all of the spiritual realm in which they've gained ground, and cast them all into the lake of fire (wherever that is) and people that reject God will likely be cast in there, as well, for eternity. But if God went back to the people before the flood and saved them, He may be able to do so with the people in the future whom will be condemned. I don't know, to be honest. I just know that God says it is His will that all repent and be saved, so I assume that means He will do everything in His power to convince everyone to do this. I've heard some really cool stories where people die, have an amazing experience with God, and then come back to life and get saved shortly afterward. Check out the following video. It's just part 1 of 9, but I'm sure you can find part 2-9 on YouTube. VERY interesting show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJo9Bizuufw&feature=PlayList&p=9018A7B45CBA28C1&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1