At 5 years old, my nephew Isaac was already beginning to explore life from a point where he could walk and talk. He was starting to discover his likes and dislikes and understanding the dynamics of our society, including negotiation and even manipulation. He seemed to grasp what was being told to him and discerning between right and wrong, demonstrating great intelligence. Yet, he was still at the mercy of his instincts. These instincts had guided him through the world, teaching him to walk and acquire what he needed. Thus, he instinctively reacted to his emotions.
During the pandemic, Isaac had a teacher who came to my parents' house to give him lessons where they played and learned for a while. The young teacher, sweet and patient with the child, usually managed their activities without any problem. But one never knows when one of these instincts might awaken and take control.
Isaac, very accustomed to having a certain arandano juice that his mother usually gave him, innocently asked the teacher for a glass of juice. She only understood "I want juice", as "arandano" was still a word the child couldn't pronounce properly. She replied, telling him that there was fresh lemon juice. To which he repeated with his little voice: "I want nanandano juice, na-nan-da-no juice."
I, witnessing this nearby, went to the refrigerator in search of the famous juice; after rummaging a bit, I said, "Isaac, there's no arandano juice. There's water or lemon." Isaac began to lose control and scream: "I WANT NANANDANO JUICE, I WANT NANANDANO JUICE!" Over and over again. "Well, there isn't any," I replied. That served to escalate the tantrum to a new level, with screams and tears, kicking and so on.
A few moments later, my mother appeared on the scene, repeating the process of explaining that there was no juice, with the same tenderness and affection that the teacher had tried to use before, and achieving exactly the same effect. When my father arrived, it happened again. So, Isaac went from being possessed by desire to being possessed by anger. With his face red, tears and snot spread all over his face from rubbing it with his hands, and still screaming out of control, while we all watched surprised by the intensity of the scene, worthy of a soap opera.
It was then, after witnessing this spectacle from the beginning and already somewhat annoyed by its ridiculous cause, that I took Isaac to the bench in the garage, sat him down, and said, "Stay here, when you calm down, come back inside." This prompted a couple of failed attempts to get up amidst more screams and tears until, having completely lost control, he simply stayed there sobbing. Five minutes later, after a glass of water and washing his face, everything had returned to normal.
This event would remain etched in my memory, as it has always seemed amusing to me to see someone experience their emotions so strongly and push themselves to the limit for the most ridiculous cause. One of the ideas that comes to mind when I remember that event is: What would the world be like if we were always like that? Undoubtedly, it would be chaotic or times would be very different. However, perhaps we are always like that, but we learn to control ourselves. After all, we are always susceptible to getting angry, to desiring, and to feeling all kinds of emotions. So, how much control do we really have?
Some time ago, I was reading Homer's "Iliad". This story fascinated me, not only because it was extremely entertaining, but also because several components of it seemed quite noticeable and told us a lot about ourselves.
The first particularity is the remarkable intensity with which many characters experience their emotions. In some cases, so intensely that it's almost ridiculous. The best example of this is Achilles, one of the main characters. He is the most feared warrior of the Achaean army, leader of the Myrmidons, and also a man with wealth, power, and influence. At the beginning of the story, he is in dispute with Agamemnon, who leads the Achaean army and, after bringing bad luck to his men by kidnapping the daughter of a priest in one of his invasions, is forced to return her and thus free the army from their misfortunes. Agamemnon, to console himself and unfairly, decides to take a beautiful slave from Achilles, who was also obtained as a war booty, causing immense sadness in Achilles, who bursts into tears and runs to call his mother to complain, like a child whose friend takes away a toy. Achilles convinces his mother to ask Zeus for a favor to intervene in the outcomes of the war, in which he now refuses to fight alongside Agamemnon. Later in the story, it becomes clear how little importance this woman really has for Achilles when Agamemnon offers to return her with many gifts as an apology, but Achilles refuses to accept. Likewise, several characters in this story are kings with wealth, power, physical strength, and brave warriors willing to die in battle. But they also experience their emotions like young children.
We are all children at some point in our lives, and we experience every emotion to the fullest, allowing ourselves to be carried away by them, to the point where we lose control entirely. We cry and throw tantrums uncontrollably, having been possessed by that emotion, at that moment we do not reason, nothing makes sense, and no one is right. The only solution is to cry until we can't anymore and carry our tantrum to the end.
The second particularity of this story is the presence of the Olympian gods and their interaction with these characters. They, the gods, give them advice, accompany them, grant them favors, and in some cases possess them, as is the case with Ares, the god of war and anger. During the battles in the "Iliad", multiple heroes are seen to be possessed in this way by this spirit or that of other gods. Ares or anger is a force or a spirit with which all, both humans and animals, have encountered at some point. When we are possessed by this spirit, our heart beats harder, preparing us for battle, and we are invaded by a will to do something about what makes us angry. Anger has the ability to influence us all. We have all felt it. It has been in this world since the beginning of time and will continue to be until the end. It is as eternal as divinity and exerts its influence over all. It is for this reason that the Greeks considered it one of their gods.
Just as Ares, many other spirits are capable of influencing us. Children, in particular, are often very easily preyed upon by these spirits because they lack developed character and are not aware of the consequences of their actions. And just as in the "Iliad" we find characters who are easily possessed by these spirits, which make them lose control, we also find others with more mature personalities who attract the attention of deities like Athena, who represents strategy, wisdom, and victory. Odysseus is reputed to be Athena's favorite, and it is he who has a more mature and strategic character among his compatriots. This maturity of character and conscience seems to be aligned with the kinder spirits. However, in those times when being a brave warrior was a great virtue, anger was a powerful spirit to be accompanied by.
In summary, the two important points are that the more immature we are, the more susceptible we are to being possessed by these spirits and losing control. The second point is that the more mature we are, we can connect with more complex and benevolent spirits. And the third important point is that the possibility of being possessed by a spirit is real, no matter how magical or supernatural it sounds. The reality is that today many of these spirits rule over the masses; for example, Dionysus has thousands possessed, and they worship the party and give it more importance than many other things in their lives. Another interesting and important modern spirit to understand is the spirit of seeing, from which you can learn more at this link.
Knowing this, it is impossible for me not to contemplate the idea that nowadays our culture probably exposes us to many more gods or spirits than in those simple times of Achilles and Odysseus. Today, like back then, we have worshippers of multiple new spirits, who prioritize everything this spirit represents over conscious control of their lives. Many of these worshippers dedicate much more than an hour on Sundays to their deities, create temples and places of worship for them in their homes, give their tithe, preach the power of their spirits, and study them day and night.
So, many are possessed by vanity and looking good. Looking perfect is top priority in their lives, more than being on time, more than their finances, more than their health. Their temples are called beauty salons, and plastic surgeons are their priests. Others are possessed by work, and it becomes the most important thing in their lives, more than family, more than health, and more than their own lives. Others are possessed by money, or fame, or by sports. These spirits are everywhere. And the less conscious and less mature our character is, the more easily we fall victim to them.
I was one of them, and for many years I was possessed by the spirit of climbing, which took hold of me when I was a fourteen-year-old, when I was more susceptible to falling. Nothing was more important to me; climbing became my job and my life. I put it ahead of my family and my own well-being. So, for many years, I was sure and without a doubt that climbing was salvation, and that if everyone climbed the world would be a better place. I sacrificed what I had to climbing, I built a temple for it, to which all its followers could come to worship; and climbing favored me. It made me king, put many people at my disposal, and gave me influence to continue advancing with my projects. Climbing gave me trips, women, and business; I couldn't complain. All this was perfect until blow after blow life made me see that none of that was as important as the things I was sacrificing. My family, real friends,and my own self-worth. Giving top priority to something as irrelevant as climbing was as ridiculous as Isaac and his arandano juice. I lost control, and things began to fall apart. Thankfully, the failures forged my character, and made me see where the most valuable things are.
Many of these spirits are not the spirits of good or bad things, but they are the spirits of things that are not essential. Any of these spirits will ask us for sacrifices in exchange for their favors, which are often as nonessential as they are. But if finally these spirits are as real and evident in our lives, how can we find one that doesn't change our gold for trinkets, that guides us to a full life, one that is perfect? This spirit exists and is what I call the Holy Spirit, a spirit that is within us like all the others, but that is above all. The spirit of the one God greater than all.
Something that is holy is, by definition, good, just, pure, innocent, virtuous, and immaculate. This spirit exists, it is as real as all the others, and it exerts as much influence over us. This spirit is the voice we hear before doing something we know is wrong, the voice of our conscience. This spirit asks us for sacrifices like all the others. It asks us to build temples for it and to work with virtue, it asks us to be good, righteous, and firm of character, it asks us to appreciate beauty and not vulgarity. Its favors are also as great as those of any other, and more. They are favors that fill our souls with gratitude and fill us without taking away from us.
To be possessed by the Holy Spirit is something to aspire to and to try every day. Pleasing it and obtaining its favor obliges us to work diligently on our weaknesses until they become virtues. It asks us to be virtuous and not to seek the easy way out in whatever we do, whether it be in climbing, at work, or in taking care of our bodies. And it asks us to be righteous always. Thus, the result of being possessed by the Holy Spirit can only manifest itself in our transformation into the best version of ourselves.
Whether we believe in a single God, in many, or in none, these forces exist and exert power over us whether we want them to or not. They were here before us, and they will be here when we are gone. Not recognizing them leaves us as fragile children at their mercy and without control over our lives. Respecting their influence and recognizing their power is the least they ask of us. Arming ourselves with courage and assuming our responsibilities allows us to mature and shape our character, to pursue the highest ideal achievable without losing ourselves along the way, without losing control always in the hands of what is Holy.
Note: In this text, I refer to the Holy Spirit as what I understand through my own analysis as a holy spirit. And I do not intend to refer to any particular religion that may find this viewpoint correct or incorrect according to its own theology.

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