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He went insane; he was not possessed, for, to be possessed, he would need to have faith.
This text is a profound conversation between psychoanalysis and states of spirit possession. The author, Dr. Shalini Masih, conducted research with several people who are possessed by ghosts. An Indian citizen now living in the United Kingdom, she conducted her research in India.
Masih's grandfather was a priest and her grandmother was a medium; she grew up with ongoing experiences of communing with, and healing, people possessed by ghosts. She brought this traditional Indian heritage of indigenous healing with her onto the path of psychoanalysis, enlarging the field in the process. This book is the fruit of her efforts at original translation and lucid communication of that field, expanding in multiple directions at once. In this offering, Masih invites the reader to inhabit Winnicott's transitional space between madness and sanity, between Southeast Asian and Western frames of reference, between traditional healing and contemporary psychoanalysis.
Masih's demonstration of a radical empathic exchange between self and other breathes fresh air not only into those suffering from spirit possession, but also into all of us who read this text and connect with the profound expressions of wisdom and compassion that flow from links beyond our ordinary minds.