The methods of the occultist are pragmatic: to use whatever is effective in securing the desired end. Here the temporary destruction of normal life and perceptions—of time, reason, and normal consciousness—is vital. The importance of this is emphasized in almost any serious text on the occult. For example, the Hindu guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh taught that the one who desires true occult enlightenment must become, at least for a time, "a perfect Zombie." He identified this as a temporary state of catalepsy or idiocy and stressed its necessity "because it will destroy the past…. Your memory, your ego, your identity—all has to go."¹ Thus, "That’s why a real disciple passes through a kind of insanity around a master."²

Another occult "master" teaches that the logical purpose of occult practice is to destroy "the separate self-sense and… the viewpoint of conventional cognition and perception."³ In other words, "When the mind has been driven insane, it stops… and suddenly a new consciousness emerges."⁴ Altered states of consciousness, leading to total detachment and "abandonment" of the personality are principal methods for enlightenment and can be induced by drugs, sex, transfer of occult power, ritual possession, meditation, intense concentration, insanity, human sacrifice, and many other means.

For example, in the agonies of shaman initiation, "The suffering has annihilated all former characteristics of the individual."⁵ In the case of alleged UFO abductions, "Many who have had such initiations feel that they have ceased to exist."⁶ Over and over we read that the old personality and consciousness are said to have died, "never to rise again." But if the old person has really "died" in occult practice, what now takes its place? Characteristically, it is a possessing spirit.

For example, the research of Tal Brooke in Riders of the Cosmic Circuit offers a detailed examination and critique of Eastern metaphysics, including the altered states of consciousness found in the meditative disciplines of endless numbers of gurus. It reveals that altered states of consciousness are typically the means to spirit contact and possession. Consider again the late Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the influential Indian guru. His early experiences on the road to "enlightenment" brought him temporary insanity, possession, and almost killed him. Through intense absorption into various altered states of consciousness, the personality of the old Rajneesh literally and completely disappeared. In fact, it was permanently replaced by a new consciousness that was entirely alien. The new personality recalls, "The one who died, died totally; nothing of him has remained… not even a shadow. It died totally, utterly…. Another being, absolutely new, not connected at all with the old, started to exist." Rajneesh had become possessed by a "new consciousness," a living personality that directed his mind and body from that day forward.⁷

Consider another illustration in the text Occult Psychology by Kabbalistic occultist Alta J. La Dage. This book correlates Jungian psychology to Kabbalistic practice and other forms of occultism. Given Jung’s occult involvement and the occult potential of many of his psychological theories, this is not surprising.⁸

At one point La Dage discusses the possibility of death or insanity along the path of enlightenment. He begins by discussing the dangers of premature entry of the consciousness to the depths of "nirvana" at the stage known as "Kether" according to the symbolic "tree of life" in Kabbalism:

La Dage proceeds to comment upon the massive nature of the ensuing personality change, something reminiscent of the characteristically advanced possession states among the major Hindu and Buddhist gurus:¹⁰

We are also told that an encounter with "even the slightest registry of this depth" of Kether (also called "the abyss") "causes one to lose interest in life below the abyss and it takes considerable will to make a return."¹²

Significantly, La Dage observes what other commentators have noted: Many people today experience such occult initiations "spontaneously" (as, for example, in what is termed yogic kundalini arousal).

In La Dage’s view, such ordinary psychologists have a problem here. These are the "unenlightened" therapists who are ignorant of the truth of what is occurring. As a result, they misdiagnose the phenomena of enlightenment as symptoms of mental illness. This is the reason behind his call for the integration of psychology and Western mystical-occult traditions, and his purpose in showing how Jung can be profitably utilized in this endeavor. Significantly, however, we discover that once these states are experienced, they tend to be permanent and reinforce the need to maintain them, much like drugs. Indeed, even to return to normal life is to ask for pain and sickness:

The real problem, however, is one of dabbling in a forbidden, demonic area, one which frequently induces demonization and carries its own set of consequences. As noted philosopher and theologian Dr. John W. Montgomery observes of many young people today: