British Maniac Patrick Mackay

Patrick David Mackay (born 25 September 1952) is a British serial killer who confessed to murdering eleven people in Britain in the mid 1970s.

Wikipedia

Murderpedia

Crime Library

Former religious skeptic believes she talked to God during the 9 minutes she was dead

An Oklahoma woman says she's a firm believer in God after meeting him during the nine minutes she died in 2009. Crystal McVea is a 36-year-old married school teacher and mother of four who didn't quite believe in God for most of her life. At the age of three, McVea started to be sexually abused by her drug and alcohol-addicted step father and that abuse continued by him and others until the age of 12. Those experiences made her second guess from a young age whether or not God existed, and if he did, whether he loved her. 'I saw a lot of things that children shouldn't see,' she told WFAA. 'I always believed that God had abandoned me, that he didn't save me, that he didn't love me and I questioned if he was real.' Then, when she was a teenager, she had an abortion. A choice she believed cemented her position as a sinner. 'After that abortion I thought, "I've done it now - if he was real, he could never love me now,"' she told The Blaze.

In December 2009, McVea was taken to the hospital to be treated for pancreatitis when she was accidentally overdosed on pain medication. The last thing McVea remembers is being given the drugs and falling asleep. For the next nine minutes, doctors struggled to revive her as her heart stopped beating. McVea says she was in a more peaceful place. After closing her eyes in the hospital, the next thing she remembers is waking up in heaven. 'I was standing in the most gorgeous light and instantly I recognized where I was. I knew who I was, I knew where I was...' she recalls. In heaven, time seemed to stand still. She recalls being in the presence of two angels - though they didn't look like anyone she had ever met on earth.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2477728/Former-religious-skeptic-believes-talked-God-9-minutes-dead.html

Religion could disappear by 2041 because people will have replaced God with possessions, claims leading psychologist

Religious people in many developed countries will be a minority by 2041, according to one Irish biopsychologist. A study into the beliefs of people living in 137 countries, which forms the basis for a new book, found atheism increases in more developed places as people become increasingly materially rich. The book also debunks the popular belief that religious groups will dominate atheistic ones because they collectively have more children.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2385958/Religion-disappear-2041-people-replaced-God-possessions-claims-leading-psychologist.html

Texas warden who led 140 inmates to their deaths says it's just like watching someone go to sleep

Charles Thomas O'Reilly supported capital punishment when he oversaw his first Texas execution. And he still supported it after his 100th. In six years as warden of the Huntsville Unit, the prison that houses Texas' death chamber, O'Reilly supervised about 140 executions — more than any other warden in state history. Now retired, he reflected on his career this week as the nation's busiest death penalty state as the state executed its 500th inmate since resuming capital punishment in 1982. The 62-year-old said he has no regrets about a process he considered to be a relatively unemotional and small part of his job.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2349675/Texas-warden-led-140-inmates-deaths-says-just-like-watching-sleep.html

Bernard Eugene Giles

I saw a documentary about him but couldn't find anything on this guy. Turns out that this was the first time ever he spoke about what he did after 40 years of silence.

J.A.C

Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Mentally disturbed sex offender - Necrophilia
Number of victims: 5 Date of murder: September/November 1973
Date of birth: April 9, 1953
Victims profile: Nancy Gerry, 18; Paula Hamric, 22; Carolyn Bennett, 17; Sharon Wimer, 14, and Kristi Melton, 15
Method of murder: Shotgun in the back of the head
Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA
Status: Sentenced to life in prison on February 17, 1977

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Confessed murderer admits killing four more women

St. Petersburg Times

August 14, 1974

Bernard Eugene Giles, who already has confessed to one slaying, has pleaded guilty of killing four other young women and was sentenced to four consecutive life terms at hard labor. Giles, 21, was declared a mentally disturbed sex offender at his first murder trial in April, and Brevard Circuit Judge David U. Strawn reaffiermed that ruling Monday. Strawn ordered Giles sent to a state hospital for treatment as a mentally disturbed sex offender. Under state statute, Giles will not begin serving time in prison until he has been declared cured by a state psychiatrists. Giles has confessed to killing five Titusville-area women, whose partly clad and descomposed bodies were found over a two-month period late last year in orange groves near here. Giles confessed Monday to killing Paula Hamric, 22, a Titusville waitress; Carolyn Bennett, 17, of Mims; Sharon Wimer, 14, and Kristi Melton, 15, both of Titusville. At his first murder trial, Giles confessed to killing Nancy Gerry, 18, of Titusville, and faces a life sentence in the slaying. He also faces sentences for armed robbery of a Cocoa woman and for attempted rape.

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SEX: M RACE: W TYPE: T MOTIVE: Sex.
MO: Necrophile slayer of female victims
DISPOSITION: Life terms on four counts, 1974; life term on another count + 15 years on lesser felonies, 1977.

http://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/giles-bernard-eugene.htm

Psychiatrist convicted of manslaughter after one of her patients killed man with an axe

A French psychiatrist has been convicted of manslaughter six years after one of her patients hacked an elderly man to death. Danielle Canarelli, 58, was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence for her 'grave error' in failing to recognise that her paranoid schizophrenic patient Joël Gaillard posed a public risk. The doctor, who has over 30 years of experience and currently works at Marseille's Edouard-Toulouse hospital, was also ordered to pay 8,500 euros to the victim's children, in the groundbreaking case that could affect the way patients are treated. Gaillard hacked to death 80-year-old Germain Trabuc with an axe in March 2004 in Gap, in the Alps region of southeastern France, 20 days after fleeing a consultation with Canarelli at Marseilles's Edouard Toulouse hospital.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2251049/Psychiatrist-convicted-manslaughter-patients-killed-man-axe.html

Woman who helped in horrific torture feared for herself

TORONTO - The “mildly mentally retarded” woman who helped her boyfriend inflict unspeakable sexual and physical torture upon her ex-husband feared reprisals against herself, a psychologist testified Tuesday. John Arrowood said the now 31-year-old woman believed if she reported John Michael Siscoe to police, he would kill her husband’s parents in B.C. She also feared for herself and her own family. The woman has extremely low intelligence and has the coping and communication skills of a child 7-11 years old, Arrowood said.

(...)

Siscoe burned the now 40-year-old man’s genitals and inserted pins into his penis, scrotum and lips. The victim suffered five fractured ribs and two collapsed lungs. He lost so much blood that most of his stained clothing was tossed.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/18/woman-who-helped-in-horrific-torture-feared-for-herself-doc

This Must Be Heaven

By Sam Harris

Once upon a time, a neurosurgeon named Eben Alexander contracted a bad case of bacterial meningitis and fell into a coma. While immobile in his hospital bed, he experienced visions of such intense beauty that they changed everything—not just for him, but for all of us, and for science as a whole. According to Newsweek, Alexander’s experience proves that consciousness is independent of the brain, that death is an illusion, and that an eternity of perfect splendor awaits us beyond the grave—complete with the usual angels, clouds, and departed relatives, but also butterflies and beautiful girls in peasant dress. Our current understanding of the mind “now lies broken at our feet”—for, as the doctor writes, “What happened to me destroyed it, and I intend to spend the rest of my life investigating the true nature of consciousness and making the fact that we are more, much more, than our physical brains as clear as I can, both to my fellow scientists and to people at large.”

Well, I intend to spend the rest of the morning sparing him the effort. Whether you read it online or hold the physical object in your hands, this issue of Newsweek is best viewed as an archaeological artifact that is certain to embarrass us in the eyes of future generations. Its existence surely says more about our time than the editors at the magazine meant to say—for the cover alone reveals the abasement and desperation of our journalism, the intellectual bankruptcy and resultant tenacity of faith-based religion, and our ubiquitous confusion about the nature of scientific authority. The article is the modern equivalent of a 14th-century woodcut depicting the work of alchemists, inquisitors, Crusaders, and fortune-tellers. I hope our descendants understand that at least some of us were blushing.

Read on: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/this-must-be-heaven

Dementia-suffering wife, 77, 'shot dead husband of 54 years and continued cooking him meals for two days'

A 77-year-old woman charged with fatally shooting her husband of 54 years continued cooking him meals for two days after his death in a tragic case tied to her dementia. Fredericka Rosa, 77, from New Jersey, was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon after she shot her husband Valpa Rosa Sr, 79, in July. Authorities say she shot him in the head and neck with a .357 Magnum. Her husband was an Army and Air Force veteran and a retired postal worker. It was two days before police were notified, during which time Mrs Rosa continued to cook him regular meals and tried to check on him when he didn't show for dinner. She also called family members to ask them where he was. They revealed to police the 77-year-old suffers from dementia and that the shooting occurred after she endured decades of domestic abuse at the hands of her husband.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2212882/Dementia-suffering-wife-77-shot-dead-husband-54-years-continued-cooking-meals-days.html

Woman psychologist killed herself after paedophile attacked boy when he was allowed out unsupervised from secure unit where she worked

A psychologist killed herself out of guilt after a paedophile attacked a child almost immediately after he was allowed to walk out of a secure unit unsupervised, an inquest heard yesterday. Lisa Derriscott, 33, blamed herself even though it was a team decision to let Shaun Tudor out for two hours despite a history of attacking boys. Minutes into his leave, Tudor dragged a ten-year-old boy into some bushes and subjected him to a terrifying sexual assault. Two weeks later Dr Derriscott was found dead in a burning car after leaving suicide notes to her mother and partner saying it was her fault that the convicted sex offender, who has spent 23 years in psychiatric institutions, had been allowed to strike again.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2177882/Lisa-Derriscott-Psychologist-killed-paedophile-Shaun-Tudor-attacked-boy-release-secure-unit.html

Cannabis caused mother to develop psychosis that led her to smother seven-month-old baby

A psychotic mother smothered her baby after her marriage hit a crisis and she began using cannabis heavily.

Carly Jacques developed post-natal depression three months after giving birth, when her husband confessed he had made one of her best friends pregnant during an 18-month affair.

Jacques started taking cannabis – at one point using £60 worth of the drug every day or two – and developed mental problems.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156547/Cannabis-smoking-mother-smothered-seven-month-old-daughter-suffering-delusions.html

Mother's heartbreak after 'beautiful' son, 24, kills himself after years suffering from disorder that made him obsess about his appearance

When he was alive, Nathaniel Asselin possessed a brilliant mind and a great natural sweetness that people were drawn to.

But behind this kind, caring 24-year-old lay a secret and a day-to-day battle he fought since he was in fifth grade - Nathaniel had body dysmorphic disorder, a mental illness which causes sufferers to obsess and worry about a flaw in their appearance, one that may not even exist.

On 15 April, 2011, Nathaniel, from Pennsylvania, committed suicide because he could not go on living another day like the one before - the only thing he knew since he was 11-years-old.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2152345/Body-dysmorphic-disorder-Judy-Asselin-tells-heartbreak-son-Nathaniel-24-killed-himself.html

Swedish woman swallows scalpels – dies

A patient at a Swedish psychiatric ward in Helsingborg, in the south of Sweden, has recently died after swallowing two surgical implements while visiting the Växjö hospital Centrallasarettet.

“Of course this is a terrible tragedy. We have no idea what she was doing in Växjö,” said the head of the open psychiatric ward where the woman was normally treated to local paper Smålandsposten (SMP).

The woman, who has a history of swallowing sharp implements such as razorblades and knives, had been treated for several years at the open clinic in Helsingborg.

http://www.thelocal.se/40744/20120510/

Exorcism claim has church looking for help

CALGARY - Calgary’s Catholic diocese is working in mysterious ways with counterparts in Saskatoon who don’t have the means to investigate claims of demonic possession.

A Catholic priest in Saskatoon attended to one man who had carved the word “Hell” on his chest last month.

According to a CBC report, the man addressed the priest in a strange voice saying, “He belongs to me. Get out of here.” The priest blessed the man, called police and took the case back to his diocese.

Citing new regulations for the rite of casting out demons, issued by the late Pope John Paul in 1999, Bishop Don Bolen confirmed they have had to reach out to Calgary for help to discern between mental health-related cases and those that may be real-deal devil tampering.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/20/exorcism-claim-has-church-looking-for-help

Racism against black and Jewish people is all in their minds, claims veteran comedian Jackie Mason

Mason, 75, who is regarded as one of the world’s greatest stand-up comedy stars, said some minority groups wrongly believe they are still being persecuted because of an inability to escape the past.

In an edition of the Radio  4 show to be broadcast today, the New York-born star says: ‘I wouldn’t say the Jews or the blacks today are suffering from racism.

‘I don’t think it’s such a terrible disadvantage to be black or Jewish today.’

He added: ‘But because they once were .  .  . they are still not comfortable enough with the new situation they’re in.

‘They still can’t accept the fact that they are completely accepted everywhere .  .  . it’s all in their minds.’

(...)

He said some people who complained of racism were simply covering up for their inadequacies, and the election of President Barack Obama proved times had moved on.


He said: ‘I see this with all the minorities. You can’t get a job somewhere. He can’t admit to himself that he is inadequate – they’ll claim it’s anti-Semitism.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2113261/Racism-black-Jewish-people-minds-claims-veteran-comedian-Jackie-Mason-provocative-outburst.html

Wilhelm Reich - Mans Right to Know

On Critique & Hypocrisy

Crititque according to Wikipedia: "Critique is a method of disciplined, systematic analysis of a written or oral discourse. Critique is commonly understood as fault finding and negative judgement, but it can also involve merit recognition, and in the philosophical tradition it also means a methodical practice of doubt. The contemporary sense of critique has been largely influenced by the Enlightenment critique of prejudice and authority, which championed the emancipation and autonomy from religious and political authorities. Critique is an accepted format of written and oral debate."

Critique seems to me -in general life as I've witnessed- to be nothing more than one displaying negativity on that which said person never has undergone or experienced (with or without ability).

People think, people do, either one has a capacity to do that which gratifies and lives up to each person's expectation.

In comes someone who has criticism towards something that he/she dislikes.

If life consists of nothing more than getting up, going to work, have a drink or two, have kids, tend to your garden (if you're lucky to have one, if not to your common house plant), watch TV & going back to bed and feel disdain over all you may or may not have accomplished negativity is triggered towards someone/something not to one's liking.

If life consists of a daily struggle for survival your end justifies your means BUT criticism comes from another perspective towards the aformentioned person in that 'they have everything' and so have nothing to complain about.

If one is a public figure which upholds a standard and/or example (be it in music, movies, politics etc.), brutal, justified/unjustified critique is part of your everyday life from persons not in that position in that 'they have the 'freedom' to do anything' unknowing they camp with the same bullshit as the latter two.

Misconception (linking to jealousy and unhappiness) is a primary mover in any such cases. Meaning that, in every walk in life someone is displeased toward another about which way they do or say things.

The most important question (ever) is Why?

Life is made up of the most wonderful and horrible experiences. As such, to make the best out of either is to accomplish to a better end. Yet the need to contradict, revolt, and show contempt for anything that's not to one's liking is immeasurable. But to have gratitude, respect (if earned), and be graceful as an upstanding individual seems to be a hard and mostly forced quality.

Hypocrisy steps in.

Hypocrisy according to Wikipedia: "Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, ideals, thoughts, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie.

And Jung on the General Hypocrisy of Man

"C. G. Jung a few times referred to the hypocrisy of people who are not aware of the dark or shadow-side of their nature.

Every individual needs revolution, inner division, overthrow of the existing order, and renewal, but not by forcing them upon his neighbors under the hypocritical cloak of Christian love or the sense of social responsibility or any of the other beautiful euphemisms for unconscious urges to personal power (Jung, 1966:5).

It is under all circumstances an advantage to be in full possession of one's personality, otherwise the repressed elements will only crop up as a hindrance elsewhere, not just at some unimportant point, but at the very spot where we are most sensitive. If people can be educated to see the shadow-side of their nature clearly, it may be hoped that they will also learn to understand and love their fellow men better. A little less hypocrisy and a little more self-knowledge can only have good results in respect for our neighbor; for we are all too prone to transfer to our fellows the injustice and violence we inflict upon our own natures (Jung, 1966:par. 28).

In New Paths in Psychology (1916) Jung pointedly referred to the "hypocritical pretenses of man".

Dream-analysis above all else mercilessly uncovers the lying morality and hypocritical pretences of man, showing him, for once, the other side of his character in the most vivid light (Jung, 1966:par. 437)."

Hypocrisy to me seems nothing more than vicarious living through someone else's belief systems (a sheep?) and -though having ability- keeps to his/herself for fear of being criticised(?).

Thus having nothing to show for and achievement is lacking yet being of opinion that 'if I had what they would have, I'd accomplish the same if not more...' is what the misguided hypocrite would live by so as to keep his/her pride intact. It runs deep, very deep. Daily interactions with the human animal is proof of that!

By and large, if unchecked I'd say everybody I cross nowadays is the most critical hypocrite (compulsive liar) that ever lived. Always stories and anecdotes about how 'they' are the ones doing it wrong. If heard too many times you start to wonder: Who are 'they'?

They are them, you, me, everyone. In everyone's eyes everyone's wrong... except yourself (and the one you're talking to to point this out who maybe agrees with you by nodding yet can't wait for you to shut up!); a masochistic tendency towards righteousness. So who's right? Same with religion. There are so many out there. Who's right?

For example, if your in a room of people and one table is talking about how they or 'some people' are wrong and the next table is saying the same, who are they talking about? I'll tell you, they're talking about each other!

It comes to the point where you have to decide if you want to be a hermit or join one of the many clans with innumerable opinions about 'them'. Of course, that is, if you were ever aware or noticed that this is how humans interact...

Being part of anything is ussually a lament song of a weak and unimaginative mind; the need to belong to something; anything. Being left out is a no no, having a will is even a greater 'sin'. Why...?

Conclusion: If you have critique it's probably because you're an hypocrite. Said flat out, you're an asshole. Remember what Dirt Harry said in The Dead Pool?: "Opinions are like assholes... everbody's got one." And in this case everybody is one too.

J.A.C.

Suicide

Suicide (Latin suicidium, from sui caedere, "to kill oneself") is the act of a human being intentionally causing his or her own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair, or attributed to some underlying mental disorder which includes depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism and drug abuse. Financial difficulties, troubles with interpersonal relationships and other undesirable situations play a significant role.

Over one million people commit suicide every year. The World Health Organization estimates that it is the thirteenth-leading cause of death worldwide and the National Safety Council rates it sixth in the United States It is a leading cause of death among teenagers and adults under 35. Rates of suicide are higher in men than in women. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide.

Views on suicide have been influenced by broader cultural views on existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. The Abrahamic religions consider suicide an offense towards God due to religious belief in the sanctity of life. In the West it was often regarded as a serious crime. Conversely, during the samurai era in Japan, seppuku was respected as a means of atonement for failure or as a form of protest. In the 20th century, suicide in the form of self-immolation has been used as a form of protest, and in the form of kamikaze and suicide bombing as a military or terrorist tactic. Sati is a Hindu funeral practice in which the widow would immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, either willingly, or under pressure from the family and in-laws.

Medically assisted suicide (euthanasia, or the right to die) is currently a controversial ethical issue involving people who are terminally ill, in extreme pain, or have (perceived or construed) minimal quality of life through injury or illness. Self-sacrifice for others is not always considered suicide, as the goal is not to kill oneself but to save another; however, Émile Durkheim's theory termed such acts "altruistic suicide."

Wikipedia

Death Drive ("Todestrieb")

In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive ("Todestrieb") is the drive towards death, self-destruction and the return to the inorganic: 'the hypothesis of a death instinct, the task of which is to lead organic life back into the inanimate state'.

The death drive opposes Eros (libido, libidinal energy or love, the life instinct innate in all humans), the tendency toward survival, propagation, sex, and other creative, life-producing drives.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_instinct

The Psychology of the Occult

© 2005 Paul Cooijmans

Broad definition of the term "occult"

"Occult", in this article, refers to a number of schools of thought and forms of practice, healing and education that have existed in Europe and the Western world at large during the past three millennia. Common to these is their rejection by current beta science and the hidden, secret or supernatural nature of their topics.

Key words to further clarify this are gnosticism, mysticism, hermetism, alchemy, esoterism, magic, astrology, numerology, other forms of divination, spiritism, the paranormal, psychic powers, parapsychology, forms of psychotherapy, forms of personality testing, pseudo-science, homeopathy, other forms of alternative healing and so on.

The attraction of the occult

Occultism, often dormant, has had a number of revivals over the centuries, the latest being the present New Age wave. Even though hard science rejects most of it, and skeptics reject virtually all of it, people remain attracted. This suggests it satisfies certain human needs that are not met in mainstream society and religion. The following core ideas, here in general terms, appear to be responsible for this attraction:

1. The world as we know it is bad and unreal; Hidden behind it is a good and real world, that we may get to know after we die, or by doing certain exercises and studies, and that contains knowledge of all there is, was and will be;

2. Individual growth is possible through a succession of grades, in areas unknown in regular society, and this is one's true task or goal in life;

3. The individual must be seen as a whole and not reduced to its material parts.

Most forms of the occult have elaborated on at least one of these ideas. A closer look at each follows.

The world is bad

The vital question is: Why and how did people get this idea?

Occult theory tends to be generated by a class of individuals who could be characterized as: Thinkers, philosophers, theoretical scientists, mystics, hermits. In other words, highly intelligent, introverted, not at ease in the regular social world (Extraverted occultists exist too but are more inclined toward the practical side, like ritual magic; They design the rituals rather than thinking up the theory).

Such people - the occult theorists thus characterized - share the experience that almost all others are less intelligent, sincere, conscientious and moral than they are. Therefore, they indeed live in a bad world by their own standards. They have good reason to hope and wish a better world is possible. This is the origin of the central idea of the occult: The world we live in is bad, and a good and real one is hidden somewhere.

The precise contents of most occult theory is incorrect and not relevant here. The general method for generating and spreading occult theory is as follows:

You make up something that is inconsistent with the known laws of nature. You know it is not true because you are the one who made it up. You know that if you tell it to others and mention you made it up they too will know it is not true. So you give it credibility by claiming it was passed on to you by a higher authority, like God, the Devil, angels, the White Masters, the astral light, the spirit of a deceased whose dead is surrounded by mystery, etcetera. Perhaps at some point you start believing it yourself; Perhaps you were even hallucinating to begin with and have believed it from the start on. In no case is it true. But if you play your cards right, your followers will keep believing it for centuries.

So, while the original idea is attractive, the usual occult elaborations do not satisfy those of us who think clearly and rationally because we see they are made up, not real, false. They only work for the suggestible and uncritical. It is tempting to think of a new interpretation that would satisfy those who demand truth and realness instead of mere "feelgood" stuff, but that lies outside the scope of this article.

Individual growth

The type of person described above - the occult theorist - will often find that regular society does not offer appropriate ways to develop his talents and satisfy his need for growth and insight, and note that others of lesser ability receive more recognition than they deserve. This frustration is the origin of the systems for individual growth offered by occult organizations. If desire for growth is not met in mainstream society, it will find other ways, just like the water of a blocked river will seek an alternative path to the sea.

These systems generally aim to bring the student closer to the hidden real world, and reward advancement by awarding grades in a succession of levels, whereby the highest grades are, of course, only attained and held by those who do not reside in the world known to us any more. The contents of such systems can broadly be divided like this:

* Theoretical courses in the various branches of esoteric knowledge: gnosticism, hermetism, astrology, numerology, and very many more;

* Practical courses in ritual magic, astral travel, healing, meditation and so on;

* Forms of psychotherapy.

Again, the actual contents will disappoint the rational skeptical thinker nowadays, and only make the suggestible and uncritical feel good. Still the attraction remains, and actually increases in our days as science is more and more discovering that important human faculties have a biological basis and are largely fixed throughout adult life. This shutting off of ever more areas of potential self-improvement - intelligence, personality... it is dawning to ever more people we can't change those in ourselves, except for the worse - promotes the search for ways of individual growth that are possible and real.

The individual must be seen as a whole

This is the most recent of the occult ideas, because it is, as it were, the shadow cast by modern medical science. Originally there was no distinction between scientific and alternative medicine, as medicine on the whole was primitive. After micro-organisms were discovered as a cause of illness, the pharmaceutical industry and scientific medicine developed, dividing the world of healing into scientific and alternative branches.

The scientific branch is reductionist, rational and materialistic, analyzing the patient into its chemical, physical, observable, measurable parts. It focuses on the parts that are relevant with regard to the illness, and does not waste time by looking at the rest of the patient. From the occult viewpoint, these material parts belong to the unreal bad world and are therefore irrelevant. Alternative healing avoids scientific reductionism and calls itself "wholistic" in contrast.

The line between scientific and alternative healing is still being drawn as we speak. Much of the earlier twentieth century psychology and psychiatry bordered on the occult, and is now being pushed into the realm of the alternative by hard-line skeptics (For instance, the psycho-analytical schools). This unmasking of parts of the "soft" sciences as pseudo-science will likely go on over the next decades.

Still, people keep going to alternative healers because the wholistic approach makes them feel better, even knowing their methods are less effective than the scientific ones. The wholistic approach is attractive even in the absence of measurable effect on illness. Clearly, many go to a doctor, alternative or not, out of a need for attention rather than being physically ill. The unlucky ones who do have a serious illness and only go alternative end up dying unpleasantly. So in a sense alternative medicine does work; It is a fatal cure for stupidity!

Conclusion

The occult derives its attraction from a few central ideas that remain relevant to the present day and will likely gain power as science advances. The elaborations on these ideas proposed over the centuries are unsatisfactory as they are fictitious, not true, lacking critical inquiry. An interpretation that is real, correct, in accordance with the laws of nature and thus truly satisfying the corresponding human needs, is still due.

From: http://www.paulcooijmans.com/psychology/occult.html