How to Overcome Depression — Part 1: The Spiritual Cause Behind Depression

October 18, 2019
In: Learning the Truth

Depression is no longer other people’s issue

In recent years, the number of people who have suffered from depression has been rapidly increasing, and it has now become one of the major social problems in many countries around the world. In modern societies, with the constant exposure to severe competition and challenging relationships, people cannot avoid being affected by stress — an increasing number of people are falling into depression as a consequence. Readers of this article may have suffered from depression themselves or know of someone who has, such as a family member or friend. We are approaching an era where depression is no longer an issue related to ‘other people,’ but something closer to home in which your loved ones, or you, yourself, may fall into in the future. There has been an increase in specialists researching, exploring and trying to find a way to ease stress and a solution to depression itself.

In modern medicine, doctors diagnose depression as a symptom in the brain caused by a dysfunction of the nervous system — usually stemming from prolonged stress, emotional trauma or a sudden change in our environment. They would treat such symptoms by giving the patients antidepressants or other forms of medicine. The use of medication, and the support of counseling, can be useful to some extent, but viewed from a spiritual perspective, it is merely a temporal solution. In many cases, medication and psychological treatment are not effective for patients, and they may even fall into a cycle of addiction to drugs to numb themselves of their symptoms. This path can lead patients to suicide. To solve this difficult issue, we need to seek solutions beyond the physical means and to understand the hidden cause. Is there a spiritual reason that causes people to fall into a state of depression?

What is the spiritual cause of depression?

What then is the real cause of depression? Ryuho Okawa, the founder of Happy Science, reveals the answer:

“If you are experiencing prolonged periods of depression, let us say, longer than three months, then it is likely that evil spirits are influencing you. Your mind has a compass needle, which is capable of pointing in any direction. It can point up toward Heaven or down toward Hell. Just like the hand of a watch, it can spin and stop in any direction. When you are depressed, your compass needle is constantly pointing at one spot in Hell. When your mind persists in the direction of Hell, evil spirits from Hell will resonate with your mind’s vibrations and try to possess you.”
The Moment Of Truth/ Chapter 6: Q&A WITH MASTER OKAWA / Question 3: Overcoming Depression

He explains, “If you are experiencing prolonged periods of depression, let us say, longer than three months, then it is likely that evil spirits are influencing you.” An “evil spirit” is a spiritual being that has an aggressive intention to interfere in the life of human beings and they will attack your mind and body when your guard is weak. Even though we all will experience difficulties during living, such as a failure in business, in relationships, illness and so on, if we continue to despair for a prolonged period the negative emotions will cloud your mind and begin to emitted a negative vibration. Then, this state becomes a gateway to invite “evil spirits” to enter.

“The Law of Same-Wavelengths Attraction” works even in spiritual possession

Ryuho Okawa teaches us about “The Law of Same-Wavelengths Attraction.” The meaning of this law is that when you have some thought or feeling in your mind, your mind will emit a specific kind of spiritual energy or vibration. This energy or vibration is different according to the different types of thoughts and feelings you choose to have. Such energy or vibration will attract others of a similar kind. This principle is similar to how a radio works. When a radio station emits a radio wave, listeners cannot receive a clear sound unless they can adjust the channel to the right frequency. But, once they tune the channel to the correct frequency, they can listen to the music or DJ’s voice.

Likewise, when you emit a specific energy or vibration, a spiritual being who has a similar energy as yours can get connected to you. So, if you have positive feelings, for example, love, kindness or gratitude, angels or high spirits existing in the heavenly world can send you guidance or inspiration. In contrast, if you fill your mindset with negative energy such as having hatred, anger, jealousy or constant complaints, it may attract evil spirits or devils from hell. Even though human beings have a physical body in this earthly world, our true nature is that of a soul where the mind is located at its core and is connected to the spiritual world — this is the reason why our mind can attract spiritual beings of the other world according to its state.

“The key to understanding possession lies with the mind: what is your mind attracting as an electromagnet? For instance, if you wish to know what kind of spirit is possessing you at the moment or what kind of spirit is likely to come to you, all you have to do is examine your mind. In most cases, you will be in contact with spirits that share the same type of thoughts that fill your mind.”
The Mystical Laws/ Chapter 2: The Principle of Spiritual Possession / 3. Possession Occurs When There Is a Connection / The Law of Same Wavelengths’ Attraction

How do you feel when under spiritual possession?

According to the principle of the same wave-lengths attraction, emitting negative thoughts or feelings can attract evil spirits and result in the phenomenon of spiritual possession. Once you are under spiritual possession, the sense of grief, despair or anger will be amplified. Such experience can drive people to insanity. Physically, there could be neck pain, or a backache, or a feeling of dullness all over the body, or the feeling of slight chills. Some may even experience hearing voices. Typically, evil spirits existing in the hell dimensions are places of darkness filled will violence and turmoil, so they strive to escape by interfering with the lives of people living in this world, especially if they can find people who have sufferings similar to their own. There is also the possibility of not only a single spirit attached to a person, but of multiple spirits attached. In such cases, the person will gradually lose their will to live, and they may even resort to committing suicide.

How to solve spiritual possession which leads to depression?

What are the methods to prevent or remove the negative influences caused by evil spirits? Here, we will share some practical key points:

1. Live a healthy and balanced life

As a starting point, it is important to review your current lifestyle and, if it is unhealthy and imbalanced, to make the necessary improvements for your wellbeing. When people experience problems in life, usually, they will fall into a routine of not getting enough sleep each day. Then, it can gradually flip where their days and nights become reversed. Based on spiritual research by Ryuho Okawa, evil spirits are more active at night, preferring to hide in the darkness as they try to expand the sufferings in people’s minds, and reminding them constantly of their problems.

So, first of all, aim to wake up early in the morning and go to bed earlier at night that is in sync with your body’s natural biorhythm. Even for healthy people, if they don’t have sufficient rest each night, their ability to protect themselves will weaken, and their mind will become more susceptible to influence by negative spirits. Sleep is necessary to replenish the mind and body with spiritual energy each day. It may sound like basic advice, but, for the sake of strengthening your ability to protect yourself spiritually, it is essential to live a balanced life, to have enough rest, to eat healthily, and engage in regular exercise.

2. Aim to think positively and have gratitude

The second point, as you understand more about “the Law of Same-Wavelengths Attraction,” is that it is essential to reduce the amount of time you spend thinking negatively and aim to focus on thinking positively. If you worry excessively or hold onto a negative mindset, such thoughts will eventually create dark, thick clouds around your mind, and will affect your ability to receive positive guidance and energy from the heavenly world. People who are depressed may find it difficult to accept such kind of advice to change their mindset into a positive state; however, they can begin by having gratitude for the simple things in their life.

When people have fallen into a state of depression, they tend to incessantly complain about the people around them, their environment or about a bleak future. Sometimes they may even fall into a self-tormenting mindset by criticizing or abusing themselves. As a consequence, evil spirits will feed off such negative emotions as it is a form of fuel for their malevolent activities. In contrast, when you direct your mindset toward positive thinking such as having gratitude, evil spirits will find it difficult to come close to influence you. With that realization, it is recommended to spend some time to offer your sincere gratitude to God — at least once a day. When you cultivate a mind of gratitude, the purity of your heart will work as a gateway for guidance and energy to flow in from the heavenly world.

“When fighting against negative spiritual influences, I would like you to remember the following truth. Stray spirits have disturbed hearts, they are full of complaints, grievances, and unfulfilled desires. Looking back, everyone without exception will find they have experienced these sorts of feelings in the course of their lives. However, as long as you remember to fill your heart with gratitude, something stray spirits never do, you will be able to find your way out to a different wavelength. If your mind is constantly agitated and overwhelmed by feelings of misfortune, it is highly likely that you have come under negative spiritual influences, so please remember this word, “gratitude.” When you have a grateful heart, you will no longer be the victim of negative spiritual influences.”
Guideposts to Happiness / PART 2/ Chapter 2: An Indomitable Spirit / 4. Do Not Give in to Negative Spiritual Influences

3. Commit yourself to productive work or study

Thirdly, it is important to commit yourself to productive work or study. Ryuho Okawa explains that when you are focused on being productive, it is more difficult for evil spirits to disturb you. (If your depression is work-related, try to do a different kind of work or activity: a hobby that involves making something, studying languages or engaging in some physical exercise.) During the period of being preoccupied with your problems, it is like your mind is being tied up with a spiritual rope that is lowered down into the negative realm in the spirit world.

However, the mind of a human being has been designed to be able to think of only one thought at a time, not two, therefore, once you concentrate your mind on something positive and productive, your consciousness will become occupied; there will be no opportunity for negative thoughts. As a consequence, evil spirits will find it more difficult to disturb you. If people have too much time and nothing to focus on, their mind will tend to drift toward thinking about their problems, and this creates attachments to their sufferings. So, an effective method is to live each day productively and be a little busy over having too much time to think — this will help to prevent yourself from being influenced by negative spirits.

4. Have true faith

Lastly, and ultimately, having faith in God is the most powerful weapon against evil spirits. No evil spirits or devils can win against God — if you have a faith that is true and honest, He will guide and protect you. So, first, review your daily lifestyle and habits, and if your spiritual life of faith has been neglected, please commit to starting over again by offering your prayers of gratitude to God each day and night. During prayer, rather than requesting for help with a mind of need such as, “Dear God, please help me to get rid of these problems in my life…”, it is better to prepare your mindset to be in a positive state to receive appropriate guidance from Him: begin with a quiet environment suitable for prayer, take a few deep breaths until your mind becomes calm, and then start your prayer with gratitude in your heart for the day.

In the heavenly world, there are many angels and high spirits who are waiting to offer their spiritual guidance and to help people under God’s will. Also, your guardian spirit in heaven, who has been watching over you since you were born, is waiting to support you too. It is essential to believe in their existences and their sacred power to help us. To have a mind of faith and to accept God’s mercy through His angels is one of the greatest ways to protect yourself.

“In this world there are a lot of people and conditions that support you, but God is the most powerful of all. If God is on your side backing you up, nothing will be fearful, nothing can ever hurt, sadden, or grieve you. Because God is right beside you, unhappiness is unable ever to visit you. You can only be happy.

Those who have a strong belief in God have Him standing by their side and have the backing of His support. For this reason no event can ever be unhappy. Everything can only get better. This is because these people have actually made the effort to gain the support of God.”
The Philosophy of Progress/ Part 3: A Life Filled with Light / 5. Walking with God

Here, we shared four essential points to overcome depression. The next steps are to study about spiritual Truth to accumulate wisdom and to also reflect and meditate upon your mind every day to maintain a pure heart that can receive spiritual guidance from heaven. At first, it is preferable not to demand too much of yourself to try to make significant progress in a short period. There is no need to rush. Just try to focus on making small improvements each day and building up good habits. When you practice these points, steadily on a daily basis, you will see improvements in your symptoms. It is important not to push yourself too much. Make simple steps each day. Try to perceive the small improvements in your life and give yourself positive compliments regularly.

To maintain your spiritual protection

Furthermore, to maintain and secure your spiritual protection, an effective method is to watch Ryuho Okawa’s video lectures or read the books written by him as it contains powerful spiritual light to repel evil spirits. Since evil spirits and devils detest the words of someone who is enlightened with the power to save others, to be exposed to such a light, through his lectures or books, on a regular basis is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your protection against spiritual possession. In Happy Science, the core prayer is called “The Dharma of the Right Mind” which contains words of great spiritual power. By reciting this prayer each day, a spiritual barrier will gradually form around you which prevents the intrusion and disturbance of evil spirits. Members and Devotees of Happy Science recite this prayer each day to receive guidance to improve their lives and to develop their spirituality. ( “The Dharma of the Right Mind” Prayer Book is received by all members. Registration is available online and at your local branch.)

> About Membership > Find Our Local Temples and Branches

As a conclusion to part 1

Even though it has been revealed in-depth about how negative spiritual influences are the hidden factor that can lead people into a state of depression, it is counterproductive to have an excessive fear of evil spirits or to focus your mind and attention on them. Also, upholding fear or strong attachments to your sufferings will only attract evil spirits toward you; therefore, it is better to focus on the positive and to be more productive or active in life. An important point is to not lay blame on evil spirits for the cause of your depression.

As previously explained, in this world and also the next, there is a fundamental principle at work called “The Law of Same-Wavelengths Attraction.” When you understand the basis of this principle, you will realize that the cause of negative influence lies in your way of thinking — it comes down to your responsibility. So, first, be aware of the kind of negative thoughts and feelings you have each day, and replace them with more positive, constructive thoughts. Please be careful not to try and strive for great progress within a short space of time. Just focus less on the negative and more on the positive to make steady steps each day.

“When your circumstances are favorable it is not difficult to live in accordance with faith; it is in deep adversity that faith is tested. In some cases, God sends human beings ordeals to temper their souls. The soul is strengthened in both good fortune and adversity, and it is through these two extremes that your true nature is revealed. God requires that human beings do not become conceited in good fortune and that they do not fall into deep despair when they experience misfortune. Rather, He expects us to keep making a steady effort in every situation.”
An Unshakable Mind / Chapter 3: Confronting Anxiety and Distress / 2. Anxiety in Life