I have this belief that I can sometimes speak with spirits, which can be benevolent, malevolent, or neutral. Sometimes I feel as if these malevolent spirits are attempting to take control of my mind and body. In another culture I might be considered a shaman, and I sometimes believe that that’s what I am.
My therapist says that she can’t really say for sure that I’m not speaking with spirits, but the cause of my symptoms doesn’t really matter so long as I continue to take my medication.
I’ve been told that I have pretty good insight for the level of psychosis I’ve experienced. Although, I think sometimes it only seems like I have insight, because I know that something sounds crazy so I pretend not to believe it so that people don’t think I’ve lost it. That’s not happening here because I know you guys have similar experiences so we’re in the same boat.
That said, I have difficulty writing this off as a delusion because I feel like it’s completely rational and coherent. I don’t know. I feel like something like shamanism that presents itself in so many cultures that have no contact with one another must have some truth to it.
Shamans aren’t just people that talk to spirits. They have knowledge of plants and treatments for ailments. They are usually the spiritual leaders of the tribe. Not all of them have psychosis, not all of them talk to spirits.
I, for one, I’m glad we evolved as a culture and I take medicine in order to not talk to spirits, demons, gods, and all of those that I spoke with. There’s more evolving to do, in order to end stigma and discrimination towards us.
There’s some part of you that knows this is all BS, and that part of you also knows you have an illness and that makes you special and you would like for that to be taken into account and make you even more special, like a shaman. Instead you’re labeled as crazy, and with the knowledge that you have a problem, that you’re different from normality.
Well, that isn’t so bad. We can say we experience the fantasy of reality and the fantastic of our minds.
I think with time, once the meds take effect you’ll understand that its better to assume the illness instead of believing in spirits.
I also thought I should be a shaman, and went to take a degree in Tradicional Chinese Medicine, and one teacher was saying that people with schizophrenia see spirits and hear spirits and that we shouldn’t invalidate those experiences by calling them crazy. She didn’t know I have sz. I realized she was the crazy one, validating our delusions and hallucinations as real when we should be getting help in coping with the fact that they’re not real.
For me, the spiritual world isnt a delusion or a hallucination, I believe it all exists, this physical world that holds these physical bodies is just a curtain between the other worlds, there are spirits, demons, angels in the outfield,
and while I will be grateful to be back on meds, those meds will never cancel out the sensitivity to the spiritual world, we are spirits in the material world…is that the police? We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion…I think that’s Tool
I voted psychotic, and I wanted to clarify: I do believe that spirits exist, but I don’t believe it is possible to communicate with them with a healthy mind.
(Sorry, I’m still getting used to this forum and didn’t realise how long ago your post was put up)
I was just watching videos on YouTube of psychic mediums John Edwards and Char Margolis. I’m on the fence about whether they are getting messages from the dead. I believe in Collective Consciousness so maybe they are? Who knows. Not hanging my hat on it but not dismissing it either.
I have a lot of insight considering my psychosis and I also am spiritual on some level, although don’t feel like I’m communicating with anyone, not that I don’t try.
Two videos on this topic and what has been discussed in this thread. One video leans more on a spiritual inrpretation, the other discusses the same issue with a more materialist leaning. both come to the same conclusion, from different perspectives and have different ideas of how it should be handled … because of the restrictions in place on this board I can not link directly to both of the …)
Crazywise’ you-tube channel [a social and spiritual perspective]
(“shaman’s among us” based on a book by a research psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Polemi [an atheist\materialist perspective)
It depends on what criteria of proof is. If you want material proof for something spiritual, you probably wont ever get it.
There are different types of evidence. The difference between faith and a conviction, is the preponderance of evidence, the various forms of it, and context. Faith requires almost no evidence, a conviction (even in a court of law) requires a certain level of evidence, of various kinds.
The English language kind of funny, we have words such as ‘material’ and ‘immaterial’ but not a lot of understanding of the history of such words (etymology) and how the definitions tend to bend toward those ideologies that are in control with in a certain context.
It’s really good you do understand that something might be wrong with you. It means you don’t have schizophrenia. Because people with schizophrenia have no doubt that something is not alright. Hope you got the main idea, what I was talking about.
Of course, I’m not a psychiatrist, so I might be wrong!
It’s been a non stop supernatural ■■■■ fest ever since.
Yes psychic things beyond my control do happen at times, my kind are even recorded as being kidnapped and used for abilities.
Did you know there are some entities who are made of things that would incinerate instantly if they walked by or showed up. I asked them to do it and they laughed their asses off, the most epic suicide that has ever been, suicide by lightning spirit appearing willingly.
The only thing i haven’t seen at this point is bigfoot and a leprechaun. I did however find that bigfoot has been around the entire time repeatedly, it’s them, they put on a very convincing show with that one. It’s a joke right? Has to be a joke.
There is also a form of consciousness that is everywhere, it runs through all things, say hello anytime.
Maybe someday we will have absolute proof of a spirit world or afterlife. That would be kind of cool. We would learn a ton talking to the dead not the least of which would be; what’s it like over there?