The term "demon" is specific to certain schools of thought, but in reality, it's often not a literal demon, but rather a repressed trauma resurfacing and disrupting meditation. Some schools refer to this as the "inner child." There are many ways to overcome this, but in spiritual practices, the approach often involves acknowledging and healing the "inner child." In theosophy, these entities might be called "guardians of transcendence." Other schools use healing techniques or rituals to extract or decompose these "core-like" entities and eliminate or destroy them.

While there are various methods for overcoming these challenges, a fundamental principle in meditation is to "ignore distractions and let them go; they will gradually lose their power and disappear."

Sometimes, the trauma is so strong that it triggers intense reactions, such as rejection, cries, or physical responses. These reactions are often a natural response as the trauma emerges and the body and mind react to it. While these reactions are often misunderstood and may be the subject of psychological analysis, from a meditative perspective, as meditation deepens, previously suppressed aspects of life begin to surface, and various things may manifest as reactions in the body and mind.

In spiritual training environments, instructors need to understand these phenomena. Even if a student appears to have psychological issues, it's important to determine whether these issues are hindering their daily life or whether they are simply the result of deeply buried traumas resurfacing during meditation.

During spiritual practice, individuals may sometimes enter a trance-like state, where their awareness is partially absent, and they may see, hear, or speak things that are not entirely real. In such situations, instructors need to be able to distinguish whether the student is in a trance, and if they are in a trance and in a negative state, they need to help them return to a normal state by speaking to them or providing stimulation.

While a trance is not always negative, it can be beneficial if it is a purposeful and controlled state. However, if trauma resurfaces and overwhelms consciousness, appropriate measures need to be taken.

■ Spiritual Approaches to "Demons": Avoidance vs. Confrontation

Some schools of thought teach methods to avoid or destroy "demons" (or traumas), while others advocate for confronting and overcoming them.

Both approaches have their merits and drawbacks, and the choice is ultimately a personal one. Schools that focus on avoidance and destruction often require constant vigilance and may not foster a fundamental resistance to "demons." Furthermore, avoiding "demons" can lead to greater damage when they eventually manifest, and the constant avoidance can be exhausting. Ultimately, these approaches are often based on a lower vibrational state, while a higher vibrational state allows one to be less concerned with "demons."

Encountering "demons" is an inevitable part of spiritual growth. Those who have not encountered "demons" are often beginners in their spiritual journey. The absence of "demons" may indicate that meditation has not progressed far, and the individual is simply experiencing a sense of well-being due to increased vitality in their physical and energetic bodies (prana in yoga).

Schools that advocate for avoiding "demons" tend to view them as negative entities and may consider negative trance states during meditation as undesirable.

On the other hand, some schools consider encountering "demons" as an inevitable part of the process.

In various spiritual traditions such as yoga, theosophy, and Vedanta, human beings are categorized into different levels, including the physical, astral (energetic, prana, mental), causal (causal, karma), and purusha (or Atman) realms. To progress through the astral realm, one inevitably encounters "demons."

In Buddhism, this realm is referred to as the "demon realm," and it is often avoided. However, there is no way to progress beyond the astral realm without passing through it.

Even if one uses techniques to avoid or destroy "demons," new ones will inevitably arise in daily life. Relying solely on such techniques will not lead to true peace.

While techniques can be helpful in the short term, and may be necessary to help those who are suffering greatly, they are not a long-term solution.

Furthermore, there is also a mission to understand specific traumas, so it is not necessarily the case that "demons" are bad, and everything is inevitable. Everything is forgiven and everything is correct, so the basic principle is that you can choose to avoid or overcome "demons" as you like. However, for long-term solutions, it is better to raise your own vibration and become less susceptible to their influence rather than simply avoiding them.