How do we Face our Demons?

I'm not sure if you're a believer of heavens, and God, and spirits.  But I am.  Having been raised by a legalistic hard core missionary mother, of course I know well about that.  I grew up studying in a Jesuit school and every month or so we hold mass, every year we do recollections.  So I pretty much seem to have an upbringing of a good old spiritual kid.  Yes I was pretty spiritual kid, if being spiritual for you is having a regular prayer life.  

My Golden Week 

However I must tell you that my golden years of my spirituality did not happen in the Jesuit school I attended to, nor in the church my family kept going to ever since I was 8 years old.  It had emerged in the most unlikely place. It's in a national state college, known for inculcating critical mindedness, encouraging you to question if whatever that's taught to you is indeed factual or just another bluff, if a standard belief is indeed true or not, and that involves religion.  It teaches rebellious education and in that sense, upholds freedom.  It was liberating and daunting at the same time.  I was scared at first.  I knew I had to protect my belief from all of these and so I joined a Christian group which did not only protect me from ideas presented out there but also enhanced, and even flourished what I know.  And it worked.

For a good whole week I've had this prayer time that had gotten better and better everyday. Everyday for that momentous week, I wake up at exactly 5am and spend 5 mins to pray.  I would wake up even way before that time and every day my prayer time gets longer and longer and I would feel more and more into the whole session, more and more diving into the moment, more and more finding myself swaying from front to back, because that's the most natural thing to do.  As natural as when you bob your head when hearing your fave reggae songs.  This movement fits the energy well enough to a tee.   So I swayed, and prayed and it felt damn good after.  You know what they say that when you start your morning right, your day would also magically be right too?  Well imagine having that rush of endorphins, the same one that you might have if you'll win a million dollar.  I was feeling like I was floating on air.  And this came in the most perfect time--- during my exams week.  Mahn I would get 90 plus scores over a hundred.  But like in any hobbies, it stopped by submitting to sleep and I kept doing it one after another until I never have gotten to do it again.

Acknowledging our Dark Side

Almost 15 years had passed and I've never again had that level of intimacy again.  I remembered me praying years ago that before I get back to this clean, spiritual living, let me take a detour.  Let me try licking the earth and see what's on sale at the Vanity Fair.  And for years I did.  I've done some things here and there and I'd pretty much brought in some demons along with me.  Not to sound possessed or something, let's say I'd pretty much had a dark side like almost all of us.  I've probably entertained it more than I should.  Sometimes it surfaces and other times it's in my closet, hiding, and waiting for it to be summoned or unleashed.  And I think it manifests itself as that voice in me that wishes bad for the other person, that one which longed for vengeance, tempting me to retaliate, pushing me to flush out all my anger.  It's that lazy feeling that I get seconds after looking at my to-dos for the day.  It's that self defeating story that leaves me cowering in my room; that judgmental cuss that makes me feel ugly when I stare at my reflection on the mirror.  We all have that.  

Exploring the How

For some,  they don't call it demons but just a part of our subconscious.  Whatever it is, it's a bad thing and I'd like to just group all that which is bad as the dark, or demons.  So how do you face it when things like these arises?  Do we need to go all out and schedule some exorcism or is it as easy as looking at the bright side and thinking positive?  Is this what they call spiritual battle?  Do we have to see it that way?  See something that occurs often in us that we don't usually give a fuss about it, and just deal with it the way we deal with anything banal in life.

Do we face it with a crucifix and a bible in hand?  Or just a prayer verse because as I heard that the word of God is our armour, and we could slash the hell out of them in one whip of our tongue.  

Do we give them the middle finger and just remember what Oprah or any self help gurus you've followed through the years, says about the law of attraction.  That whatever you focus grows so we learn how to shut down the voices and create a more positive story, and doing that alone made you feel good already.

Do we just ignore them, stay silent and decide what you would do on the moment that you'll do it.

Do we acknowledge them and fight?  or do we ignore it and accept it as part of us?  Do we work with it?

What do you think?