Week 3 - Matthew Mandel

In this weeks article we look at the difference in viewpoints of western medicine and the shamanic viewpoints. At the beginning of the article Marohn immediately starts off with an interview explaining how people are treated here with the medical illness and how in his culture they would be future healers, not in a mental hospital. According to Dr. Some and interviewee from Marohn he explains how when someone is sick that means a future shaman will be born. He explains how two different energies try to be in the same body, that is someone who is to be a healer and they need guidance to take control. He helps explain that western medicine has hurt many people who would have become future shamans. Western medicine has hurt many medical patients, such as people who have to be in straightjackets and they are the ones who should be treated with the most respect, as they are the future shamans. He explains how western medicine doctors are not trained to deal with these situations and don't know how to react with such patients, perceiving it as a threat to the patient and others. 

I found it extremely interesting how doctors from asian countries believe that patients with major psychological mental problems are those who are caring and can help bring into life a new shaman. Learning these new ideas is definitely eye opening and such a new experience in how I look at people as they may be contributing to this earth in ways that are unexplainable. 

Question: Do other medical condition help bring life into different types of spirit travelers?

Resources: Marohn, Stephanie, and Malidoma Patrice Somé. "What A Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital." The Natural Medicine Guide to Schizoph 178 (2014

Picture Resource:

https://allevents.in/medicine%20hat/connecting-with-the-spiritual-realm-workshop/394845187543532