The Shaman Sickness Schizophrenia, I propose, can be defined by the following : It seems that the whole world and every tiniest instance of anything within it is speaking to the schizophrenic of his/her singular destiny. Every utterance, whether by friends or the TV, every reported news item, every passing vehicle or fluttering leaf provides the schizophrenic with another piece in the jigsaw of the design that destiny has decreed for them. This perception is due to a dying or dead and lost ego. The normal perimeters between the individual and the rest of the world have cracked or broken, and the self finds itself identifying with anything and everything within its scope of consciousness. It is because of this primary state of ego loss that psychosis and mystical experience are so inextricably bound. When someone is able to return to an ordinary state of consciousness, society may view their experience and insights as mystical; when they are lost and unable to return, society will err toward a psychotic diagnosis. Every thought or word or deed of the individual or of those around them seems to become translated into causal reality, for which s/he feels an intense responsibility. This is the reason why the schizophrenic may feel him/herself to be lord of all the world, the ultimate magician, Jesus. The (unmedicated) schizophrenic may appear to family, friends and clinicians to be lacking in emotion, but in reality is in a state of intense and inescapable empathy. Extreme sensations of joy and fear are usual. This is bound within the first point, as indeed is probably the whole schizophrenic experience. If the self is identifying wholly and completely with an intensity that has probably not been experienced since childhood, if the subject of the identification is the incomparable experience of a fledgling bird first taking to the air, for example, or peace being declared in a war torn land, extreme joy will result, a joy that is beyond the confines of a separated sense of self typical to an ordinary person. The destiny of the world, inseparable from the perceived destiny of the schizophrenic, for there is no separateness, is on track. A Heaven on Earth is achievable. If, however, the subject of identification is, say, a mother unfairly chastising a small child, or a report of famine, the schizophrenic feels that it is s/he who is responsible for this, they are doing something wrong, are not up to the job of being God's prime magician, and the world will suffer for their inability. They fear that their lack of impeccability can only destroy the whole world and any chance it ever had of being beautiful. In short, the schizophrenic may believe that s/he is the only one in the world with free will, upon which everyone and everything else is dependent. It appears to the schizophrenic that everyone else in the world is living in an enlightened state, albeit without free will. The schizophrenic believes that s/he is the only one who cannot attain this sacred state, despite the whole world waiting for them to make that final leap of consciousness. Everyone else appears to be aware of a secret language beneath the apparent meaning of words, a magical subtext which creates and shapes the world, but use it without conscience, for they have invested their free will and hope of salvation in the schizophrenic. The schizophrenic meanwhile becomes so bogged down in the secret meaning of words that they can sometimes only be computable to them as individual syllables. Thus "warm" can equate with "war", for example, a state to be avoided. Even words with particular sounds can become diseased, for example the "p" in "happy" can make it an undesirable state. Very often the schizophrenic will pay heed to things revealed to them which other people's senses do not pick up. These experiences are considered symptomatic of an illness, yet there are historic and contemporary parallels which bring such an assumption into question. These are recorded instances of shamanism, throughout the world, in Western prehistory and even up to our own time. The one chosen for shamanism must suffer badly, for his/her soul is stolen by the black spirits, and their only hope is to rescue their soul and pay heed to a delicate balance which exists in the natural and the supernatural world. The Shaman Sickness - Shamans from around the world talk about their periods of sickness. Methods of gaining control used by apprentice shamans are of considerable help to people diagnosed as having schizophrenia. Drumming a repetitive beat on hand drums, long adventurous walks, rubbing stones together, painting or sculpting things seen in dreams, removal from society, immersion in the new consciousness, allow the schizophrenic to gain control of a chaotic consciousness, yet psychiatrists are far keener on prescribing debilitating medication which addresses symptoms and ignores the cause. For psychiatrists admit that they do not know the cause. They cannot say who will be touched by shamanism and who will not. Schizophrenia seems to run in families, so the link is believed to be genetic. Amongst tribal societies it is believed that the shaman ancestor spirits tend to favour their own bloodline. Only once an individual is in the grip of anti psychotic medication - which is very bad for you! - is s/he really schizophrenic, for they are being tugged helplessly at one end towards a state of empty normality by the medication, at the other towards the mystery which will not go away yet cannot be fully embraced. In comparison, an apprentice shaman is busy learning about the secret underside of life, gaining experience of natural magic and honing an ability to heal and concretise visions and be of use to his/her society. Shamanism and Schizophrenia