Dreams and Schizophrenia
Every real shaman has to feel an illumination in his body, in the inside of his head or in his brain, something that gleams like fire, that gives him the power to see with closed eyes into the darkness, into the hidden things or into the secrets of another man.
an Inuit shaman
If there is one thing that is common to schizophrenic experience, it is the seeing and hearing and general experiencing of things beyond the boundaries of ordinary experience. The threads of this pervade the world of the schizophrenic whether he is awake or asleep, to the point that it becomes difficult, if not indeed unnecessary and even misleading, to distinguish between these states. There follows an attempt to define various aspects of these phenomena.
Visual and auditory "hallucinations"
Whilst going about their ordinary day-to-day business, things will appear to the schizophrenic that are not apparent to others. These are normally visual and auditory occurences, but can be perceived equally well by any of the senses. These perceptions are as real to the schizophrenic as the reality of ordinary life, and are treated by him as such.
Astral Projection
It is hardly possible to do justice to this vast topic in a paragraph. I hope, at a later date, to prepare more in-depth pages, detailing various aspects of history, method and findings. For now, though, it will have to suffice to say that the schizophrenic may suddenly find himself coming out of his body, sometimes into the ordinary world, more often into worlds that seem fantastical yet real. Ordinarily, it will be the departed consciousness that the individual equates himself with, though it is possible to be conscious both in the departing astral form (silvery and ethereal, joined to the body by a thin elastic silver thread) and in the body at the same time. Panic normally ensues when this happens for the first time, as it can be a noisy and painful affair. The individual is perhaps incapable of movement, or feels he doesn't know how to return to the body, but he'll find that some part of him knows what to do, and, with practice, astral travelling can become an incredibly valuable experience, a doorway to unimaginable wealth of knowledge and experience.
Lucid Dreams
Dreams in which you are aware that you're dreaming, and can influence and enjoy the turn of events within them. As far as I can figure from reading and experience, the realms frequented are (potentially) the same as those of astral projection, only accessed a different way. These experiences are real. A lot of alien encounters seem to occur in this consciousness.
Spinning Dreams
The royal flush of the dreaming world. The spirits (aliens, fairies(sidh), inorganic beings) spin you rapidly through various dreams/dreamstates, whilst you're in a lucid state. Mastery is a must! Whether these entities are external/internal to your mind is fairly irrelevant. They cannot be considered as simply external phenomena because there is a vital and subtle interplay between the mind of the dreamer and the movement of the "dream". Neither can they be explained as merely internal experiences, as the worlds are as real as the external realities of the ordinary world - if, indeed, not more so. This last is true of much in the schizophrenic's world. It is not the voices that disturb, it is the intent behind them. Realise this, and you can hunt down the entity behind the voice. And maybe ask it to be more co-operative.
alternative treatment
