Underlying forces

One thing that is certain is that you cannot live in Thailand very long without being made aware of the unseen world that has a strong grip on the people in this country. Like much of Asia, Thailand is very aware of spiritual forces that surround their daily lives. Beautifully gilded temples are scattered throughout the land. Personal altars and god houses are in yards and in front of businesses with food and incense offerings. Feng shui is not just a cool alternate way of decorating; it has a strong spiritual focus with the intent of letting in good spirits and blocking out bad spirits. Taxi drivers have mini altars on their dashboards and blessings painted on the roof over their heads. Monks receive their alms daily in exchange for a blessing. Small idols are worn on necklaces to keep bad spirits away. Fortune tellers have incredible power behind their words. There is a war going on every day, and when I open my eyes, I can see myself on the front line.

Recently, a new lady has been coming to the small group I meet with every Wednesday. I'm really glad that she started attending, because her story astounds me. First of all, let me begin by saying that there's nothing remarkable about her. She's very nice, seems sweet, and I like her, but she is an ordinary person. She is American and has been living in Thailand for about 8 years now with her husband and children, and teaches English in her home. In other words, she could easily be me in a few years. Several weeks ago, she began telling us about her story. She lives in a nice neighborhood in the outskirts of Bangkok, near where I live. She says she'd always gotten along well with her neighbors until recently when one of them, a woman, began acting strangely. She would constantly have incense burning all day. Not little sticks that give a pleasant aroma. Huge sticks that permeate the air and create a cloying heaviness. My friend asked her neighbor why she was doing this, and her answer was that she needed to do this because of a different religion that had moved in. My friend's family are the only Christians in a Buddhist neighborhood. I won't go into details, but the neighbor's actions increased to where there was no doubt that it was focused on my friend's house. It seems her favorite activity now is to stand and stare at my friends house, giving it the evil eye. To my western friends who do not understand, it sounds trivial, but it is no joking matter. My friend is concerned about her children. She had the Thai church come to pray over her house last week, and the attacks increased. I am not going into details, but much more than smoke and staring are going on.

When telling her story, one of our Thai friends suggested that her neighbor had probably gone to see a fortune teller. She said that if the fortune teller had told her to expel the foreign God, that it would explain a lot of her actions. My friend tried talking to her neighbor, but it was useless. Her neighbor again and again said that she had to do it, that she didn't want to but she had to. Our suspicion is that she has a spirit inside her that is controlling her.

When I think of a fortune teller, I usually think of some mixture of Whoppy Goldberg in Ghost and the Zoltar machine from Big. It's almost a joke, and just something you do for fun. I have a hard time taking them seriously. Here, however, it is a whole different playing field. It makes sense, if you think about it, though. As a Christian, I believe it when the Bible says that Jesus and His disciples cast out demons. If they cast them out, they must have existed in the first place. It makes logical sense that demons would no suddenly disappear after the Church was founded. It makes sense, yet it seems so fantastical that I sometimes have trouble accepting it. I have a feeling being here will only open my eyes further.