It’s 600 BC in a Native American village. A child is born. He grows into a young boy and is a bit different than the other children. He sees things that aren’t there. Spirits and animals are his friends more so than his own family. He stays away from the village as much as possible and really never gets along with any of the other children. His parents are worried, and they talk to the local medicine man. The medicine man realizes that the boy is simply a natural medicine man. The spirits have chosen him, and it is his destiny to become the next medicine man. So he begins his training.
It’s 2010 in small town America. A child is born. He grows into a young boy and is a bit different than the other children. He sees things that aren’t there. His invisible friends are more his friends than his own family. He plays in the woods as much as he can and rarely play with other children, regardless of how much his parents try to get him to. His parents are worried. There’s not much for them to do. He grows into a teen and never really changes. His parents finally take him to a psychiatrist and he is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He is heavily medicated and lives the rest of his life in a haze.
It’s strange how similar these stories are, and how different they turn out. The boy would have been considered a highly regarded and highly functional member of society 3000 years ago, but now he is forced to either live his life in a haze or to be completely non-functioning in society. Yes, I could rant and rave about how wrong this is. I could complain about the backward nature of a society that seeks to limit and expansion of the consciousness, but I will refrain and simply seek an answer as to how we can instead learn to help these children and adults. So let’s take this scientifically so we don’t just sounds like a bunch of crazies who also need to be medicated. I’m writing this as I would in a scientific journal, so I apologize for complicating things that are simple.
Purpose
The purpose of the post is to explore the methods for dealing with any “delusions” that would be handled by a shaman or other historical spiritual advisor in both children and adults. It is not the purpose of this essay to provide solutions, simply possibilities.
Assumptions
Let’s make a simple assumption. Schizophrenia is caused by some sort of expansion of consciousness to include beings of other planes of existence. This could be the expansion into either the realm of spirits as well as the astral (dream) world. There may be other expansions possible, but these are the primary that come to mind. Thus, the two expansions must be treated differently. One (astral) should be dealt with as though everything is symbolic, much like a dream, while the other (spiritual) should be dealt with literally. In this essay I will be dealing with the spiritual side rather than the astral.
It is also necessary to assume that all hallucinatory experiences fall into these categories as well due to their regular use in historical shamanic and magickal workings in order to induce communication with the other planes of existence. These hallucinatory experiences include drug use, dehydration, exhaustion, starvation, torture, chemical deficiencies within the body, and other easily dealt with delusions.
It is also necessary to assume that if these experiences are caused by an expansion of consciousness, that they are as real as the realm of consciousness that we all live in. Though it may seem difficult to do, we must not consider these to be delusions in the commonly used sense. Drugs, sweat lodges, and ritual torturing have been used for millenia to interact with these other realms for real world changes and knowledge. If they had not been worthwhile experiences or had given false information, they would have been abandoned far before Christianity came into existence.
Effects of the Shamanic Calling
It is important to put into perspective the effects that an untreated person who’s consciousness has naturally expanded will endure. The experiences can range from simply hearing voices to seeing faeries to talking with spirits and demons. Sometimes they are friendly, sometimes they are terrifying. Whispers in the dark, your deepest fears appearing before you while you’re showering. These are the making of the most fear-inducing horror movie, and there are children world-wide being plagued by them. Yet, these are the same effects that people have striven to achieve with years and years of effort. They are not able to be ignored, but medication may not be the best way of coping.
Necessities of Treatment
In order to find ways of coping and controlling this expansion, it is necessary to ascertain the needs which must be fulfilled with any kind of treatment or counseling.
Acceptance
The most important part of any kind of treatment is the explanation that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the person, that there are others out there like them. It is important to also establish that there are hundreds and thousands of people who work their entire lives to earn the gifts that they were born with. It is absolutely necessary for the child or adult to understand that there is help out there, and they do not have to simply ignore or try to hide from this gift because that is exactly what it is, a gift from the universe. It isolates them, scares them, and makes their life more difficult, but that is because they do not have any control of it and have no understanding of it.
Family and Loved Ones
For the person who has these difficult experiences, isolation is most likely their most difficult obstacle to overcome. Therefore, it is imperative that those who are still in their life need to be counseled as well. They must learn to accept the experiences as a real experience and not the delusions of a madman. They must be counseled as much as the patient does because it is not a simple thing to remove the society-imposed idea that only their reality exists and all others are delusions.
Coping Skills
In the immediate, it is necessary to find the coping mechanisms which the patient has created for themselves. These can range in many directions, and most of them will be effective for as long as the patient has faith in them. They are very likely similar to OCD behaviors due to the complete fear that befalls them when they do not keep the behaviors, and at some later date they may need to be dealt with separately.
It is also necessary to create coping skills if there are not any. This may entail lying to the patient in order to create faith in the skills because trust is absolutely necessary for most simplistic skills to work. This must be considered on a case by case basis due to the need for trust in such a difficult counseling/treatment situation.
Building Skills
Coping mechanisms are not enough to deal with this lifelong issue. It is necessary to teach the patient how to control their experiences with these other realms of existence. The best way of doing this is by looking through the more occult teaching from history. Much will be useless due to the majority being about how to open these same realms of consciousness. Techniques such as meditation, calming exercises, and basic understanding of the spirit world are important.
It is also necessary to teach the patient to learn from their experiences in these other worlds. Historically, guides are available to all travelers in other realms and it is only the patient who can interact with and gain help from these guides. They will be the primary teachers of the patient, and it is simply the counselor’s job to help the patient understand the teachings. Especially for children, the teachings are not always simple, and it is the extremely difficult job of the counselor of holding all of the knowledge needed for these journeys and feeding it to the patient as needed. The counselor must become the shaman of old who is training his apprentice, even though the counselor may not have any experience of these other worlds.
Necessities for Success
It’s important to understand that on a basic level, many of the issues associated with this theory are difficult to implement due to societal issues. It is very possible for a parent to implement if they are understanding and are qualified enough (not with pieces of paper or resumes, simply in how much they understand these other worlds). They control their environment and how much other people know about their therapy sessions. On the other hand, society has a very strong distrust of anything outside of normal psychiatric treatment, which we’ve seen through many of the struggles of Scientology. It would be even more difficult to promote this type of treatment due to the differences in mentality of the patients as well as age issues.
The other primary issue would be that for the immediate, the patients would need be held in the same place they are being treated so that they do not have to feel alone anymore. The other issue is that all people working their would have to treat the patients as apprentice medicine men rather than as patients. There couldn’t be any drugs used to tranquilize patients as they do in mental wards when there are schizophrenic episodes because the episodes are necessary for their understanding of this other realm of consciousness.
It would also be important for the area to be conducive to exploring the spiritual realms. Areas of natural beauty where the patients could be alone would be helpful. Because many of the journeys necessary to understanding and controlling their gifts require solidarity, there would have to be ways for the children to spend large amounts of time away from the protective eyes of the adults and caretakers. This would mean that it would have to be protected from intruders and dangerous animals.
All of these issues would require large amounts of understanding and informed employees as well as a large amount of land and funding. At the same time, there would be little to no government assistance because of the lack of sanctions from government agencies. This is not even considering the issues with current laws and licensing. All of these point to a very limited possibility for this type of institution to exist. I have no idea how something of this type could come together, but regardless, I believe that there is a need for it.
Magick for the Real World 
July 13, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I’ve dealt with a Schizophrenic like disorder since 1995, and it was the study of Pagan Shamanism that has allowed me to function on a level that I would have never possible. Those who knew me many years ago would’ve never though such a recovery possible. I do take Psychiatric medications and they have made my life a lot easier. I have often pondered the situations you have portrayed facing a young Shaman/Schizophrenic and I am glad that you have addressed the issue. I’ve have come a long ways from the anxiety ridden, “Crazy Person” I once was. What I find annoying is the Modern Psychiatry’s ready acceptance of Christian based “delusions” over those of other belief systems. Though this is not always the case there is a strong tendency to look upon Paganism as a delusional sort of belief system and view Christian beliefs as somehow less “crazy”. This is not to knock anyone’s religion but it’s just something that “Pisses me Off”.
July 14, 2010 at 3:04 am
This was a tough post for me to read. I have seen firsthand the devastation schizophrenia wreaks on the family of someone whose life is chaos as a result of this difference, and I hope your scenario is put into place soon. Because what Western medicine and Big Pharma do to those who experience schizophrenia isn’t pretty, isn’t effective, and needs to stop.
July 14, 2010 at 9:34 am
The shamanic archetype calls for removal from society for time enough to go through the transformation (ie: some form of death and rebirth). I’d like to see that incorporated into your perspective just to see how it would fit, to see what kind of process could be created to accommodate that.
Another aspect that I think would interesting to explore is whether those ‘hallucinations’ or ‘delusions’ could be put into a category of underworld, middle world, or upperworld. I think this might be a useful tool for the person challenged with the experience so that source and intent could be observed.
This was a really interesting post. I’d like to hear more from those that have struggled with like experiences and their perspective on these ideas.
July 15, 2010 at 6:25 am
Although I like a lot the ideas presented here, I’m not so sure that an another type of institution is the answer. I feel it would be important to teach people with mental health issues to better interact with people in mainstream society. A big problem with illnesses like schizophrenia is the detachment and the isolation one feels in relation to the rest of society. An institutional setting though possibly a good idea would further isolate those it intends to help. Medications I believe have there place in psychiatric treatment and can be very helpful in treating these illnesses. The old medications were probably worse than the illness but newer medications have come out since then and they can be very effective. Pills are not the answer by any means, and I would like to see psychiatrists experiment with alternative treatments that could be learned from tribal shamans. I believe they would prove very effective.
July 15, 2010 at 7:27 am
Jessica,
That’s a really good idea, and if I were looking to implement these types of ideas, it would be very important to look into how best to deal with each type much like psychology puts mental disorder types into categories. Which leads me to a good idea for another blog: what types of mental disorders would be treatable through a shamanic perspective and which would be far more difficult to deal with. Hmm…I’ll have to get back to you on that.
Brandon,
I’ve never said that modern medicine doesn’t fix the symptoms, but on the other hand, instead of embracing the issues as a gift, it covers it up and makes the patient feel shameful of it when they should be proud of it. The patients are different, but it’s a difference that can help them become more than most of the population could ever imagine.
In my experience, many of the “episodes” occur when you can’t just call your doctor for guidance. In the immediate, it’s important to stop the fear immediately and physically show you people who have been in the same place as you have. Thus an “institution” is the only real solution. Of course, this couldn’t be a crazy house kind of institution, simply a place for people with this expansion of consciousness to stay for some peace of mind, and to build skills so that when they left the institution, the patient wouldn’t be scared constantly, and could lead a normal and healthy life within society rather than outside of society.
July 31, 2010 at 12:42 pm
All I have to say is that most people can pretty much tell when a person just has mystical abilities and if a person is an outright ding dong.
Firstly, an intuitive knows not to talk to spirits in front of people, and if they do, they know how to do it in a way that won’t creep others out.
To conclude this: With one GENUINE skill is attatched more body of skill, naturally, to support the heart of the craft.
August 22, 2010 at 3:13 pm
An intruiging thread to follow, but how deep can you go with this? At the moment you are just rubbing up against the quim. You havnt even got a proper boner yet, but read on, see if i can stimulate your marrow enough to test your seed.
I used to hang out with people who were nuts because i actually felt at home with them. After i started to get my shit back together i got frustrated that i could not do anything to help them. They stayed nuts and fucked up. There are a lots of corpses i have left behind, some of them still walking. I dont speak to them any more, not even the dead ones, ha ha.
I am just about getting over my bitterness at life. I did not find any group to help me with what happened.
You are not a shaman, just a kid with a blog and a few seeds that fell out of your cock and took root. You have no fucking idea really. Here speaks an idiot not even capable of scaring you as much as i think you need.
People will read this and feel attacked or try to heal this with compassionate thoughts, wankers. Sometimes love is a hateful slap, but when all you see is your own refelections how will you ever know anything else, unless you are hit hard enough that is.
Tomorrow i have to go to work lifting rocks again, maybe i should bring out a 10 part dvd course and a blog, change my reality from within. Tosspots the lot of you.
Am i angry? no, but something in me is hot as hell and i struggle to express it in a way any of you will ever understand. Bitterness is only one flavour from the tree.
My teacher, whoever he was, didnt even have a reflection for fucks sake.
The email address is fake i wont even read your comments. I dont care what they are. They are unimportant.
I love you, you are assholes. Get the idea yet?
How the hell will you ever help people like me? You are self obsessed lunatics just beating off writing love letters to yourselves. The terrifying thing is i am no different, except maybe i have a better grip on things.
True name does not exist, i gave it away years ago. If only you knew.
July 11, 2011 at 7:50 am
Sorry, just came across this – a little late, but I feel compelled to reply.
The fact is, although I appreciate the comparison drawn between “expanded consciousness” and schizophrenia I’m afraid the reality of the latter condition can be a little trickier and far more distressing than simply “a natural gift” implies. First of all, it is primarily through a spontaneous opening of the Third Eye that a person is suddenly consciously receptive to energies, thought forms and entities from the astral dimension – or, as the whitecoats say, they have a psychotic episode.
Now schizophrenia is more than having an open Third Eye, or one psychotic episode. There is nothing unhealthy about having an open Third Eye provided it is used in balance with the other energy centres, as a shaman or yogi would do. Schizophrenia involves that intial crack in the astral body occuring without the protective auric shield that can only come from a full body of healthy chakras, meaning that it will widen and let in all kinds of malign and predatory energies which are so ubiquitous on the astral plane. Schizophrenia refers to the ensuing state of being so deeply infiltrated by these external negative energies (only negative energies are possessive) that one eventually assimilates them into his conscious self-identity. Eventually the physical mirror of the overactive Third Eye, which are the brain ventricles, enlarge and begin to damage surrounding brain tissue.
The person undergoing this may suffer immensely, depending on the nature of the beings living in him. I have seen only terrible effects – the loss of peace, the loss of true self, the loss of love.
Nice general intention, but I think you have to wise up to the fact that the astral realm is full of predators – often disguised as helpers, or angels. The best way to deal with early signs of psychosis or schizophrenia is through developing heart chakra meditation which will help one intuit between good and bad spirits, yogic practice or tantra to balance and fortify the auric shield, and seeing an energy specialist. Encouraging someone to simply let it all in and say “its all good!” is to consign him to a life of external psychic hijacking and immense damage to the astral and emotional bodies, as well as, in the end, the physical brain.
July 18, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Anand
I have a couple of questions for you, not directly related to this topic but you might give me your insights.
I have been dreaming through the years a lot with spirits and ghosts (sometimes unknown people who look completely “normal” or other times dead relatives), but in the dreams my intuition tells me that they are not what they appear to be. Then I start praying in my dreams, invoking the name of Jesus Christ and they slowly start showing as they really are, most of the times ugly, like demons or something of the sort.
I have no idea why this happens to me over and over and I don’t even have an idea of why I even pray in my dreams. Because of these dreams I have started praying awake and when I do it I feel at peace.
Well, if I pray and read the bible before falling asleep then, most of the time, and I will not have these bad dreams. Well, I have done spiritual “things” (spiritism, Cuban Santeria, etc) several times in my life that have left a feeling of profound guilt in me. Sometimes these beings have mocked me because of my sinner nature when I start invoking the name of the Lord.
A few months ago I had a very lucid dream (felt very real). In that dream I had very strange experiences: when it started I was walking really depressed and sad and that’s the moment that I saw an animal (looked like a turtle) that became an old bearded man with white hair and dressed in white. He told me to go to a table to get my reading. A woman then proceeded to cast the cards but the old man got angry with the woman and told her that she was wrong, He got a card from the table and told me “This is your card”; it was the seven of gold; He then told me that my real name was Vivekko Rey and that my color was red, that the old vivekko had orange as color but that mine was red. In another part of the dream I flew in the air with 2 dark-skinned assistants, then I preached to several people crowded around a big old tree about Jesus Christ and how he was our true and only savior, and then I proceeded to touch the tree in the name of Jesus to make it appear youthful and beautiful again. I was also told that I had been taken care of (by some invisible beings) since I was 12 yo (As a matter of fact, I had 3 or 4 really dark experiences when I was 12-17 yo when I was very close to death [almost falling from a precipicio, drowning, almost falling from a building and a apparently simple surgery that caused a drop in blood pressure that almost left me dead]). In that same dream I spoke in a tongue strange to me to a guy that looked like an Indian. All very strange!!!
Ps: You know what led me to this thread? Well, about 7 years ago I was in a place (will not mention details but it was a BAD place) and somebody that I had never crossed a word with attacked me without any cause. He hit me several times in my face but somehow I had the chance to stand up and knocked the heck out of him (I have always been very fit and athletic). To this day I have no idea of what caused that guy to attack me and this has always intrigued me. He was a Chinese guy (from Hong Kong) who did not talk to anybody, used to talk to himself and according to others was suffering from schizophrenia. Like I said, I had not even crossed a word with the guy and I tried to keep a very low profile in that place. Was it something that he saw in me?
August 27, 2011 at 4:18 am
i agree totally, in a western culture where the gross majority of our head doctors dont believe in the supernatural/spiritual world, of course theyll say its a mental illness, i have what they call schizophrenia, and ive never once believed sumthing was wrong with me, i have 100% proof that the things that sum say are just in my head, arent just in my head, no possible way could it be not real, then of course i tell that to a doctor what would he say? “well thats part of the illness to think sumthing is real when its not”, i want to go off my meds, but i currently live in a group home and if i go off my meds theyll kick me out becuz they believe i have a mental illness. im a christian, and ive talked with spirits of those who have passed, i believe Christ is our advocate when we are being judged by God. and i know i dont want to face Gods judgement on me without christ there to argue my case for me. i dont know if id call myself a shaman, but i definately believe that i can hear and see and experience things that are from other demensions/realms/levels of conciousness/astral planes. my only question would be can i be a “shaman” and remain a christian, both are very important to me, but i get the feeling this gift could be an evil one, like the abilities are there but the powers arent approved of by God, kinda like a whitch can have powers that are real but the power is given them by demonic entities , i will not quit my faith in Christ and the bible, but id like the two to co exsist.
ricky
October 18, 2014 at 8:44 am
Ricky, I can relate. I would like to stay a good Catholic girl, rooted in reality, while somehow exploring these gifts (if that’s what they are). In Christian tradition, there were prophets and healers also. Jesus was both, it seems, and aren’t we all God’s children? There have been mystics in Christian tradition also.
When I was experiencing these things, I was in church once, and noticed the big chandelier, with so many candle-like lightbulbs and decorations, and one bigger ‘light’, it was like describing different religions, some of which may have many deities (like in India), and I thought ‘Who is the light? Who is the electricity?’
I think shamans in Amazon/Andes areas and elsewhere who can heal many things with traditional medicine/herbs etc are God’s children too.
We may come from a different tradition, but we can all learn from them.
There may be some bad ‘medicine men’ doing bad things in Africa or elsewhere too (at least I’ve heard of reports of horrific ‘aids-curing’ ways), so it depends where they get their knowledge from, are they in contact with ‘Light & Love’ or not… ‘From their works you shall know them…’
I would like to see ‘safe houses’ for people in ‘extreme states’, like Soteria or to have Open Dialogue Finland approach… with people being tested for both health issues (myelin sheath health, gut health, etc) and for spiritual capabilities… It would be difficult to say everyone under the ‘umbrella-diagnosis’ of schizophrenia is a shaman/spiritually gifted, but some might as well be.