week 3- Vivianne Lee
Week 3
Vivianne Lee
This weeks reading "What Shaman Sees In A Mental Hospital" describes the shamanic views of the mental hospital and how they consider mental illnesses as "the birth of the healer." According to the article, the Dagara people regard as “good news from the other world.” The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm. Dr. Some states that “Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field.” These disturbances result when the person does not get assistance in dealing with the presence of the energy from the spirit realm (Marohn, 2). Dr. Some also states that in the Dagara tradition, the community helps the person reconcile the energies of both worlds–”the world of the spirit that he or she is merged with, and the village and community.” That person is able then to serve as a bridge between the worlds and help the living with information and healing they need. Thus, the spiritual crisis ends with the birth of another healer (Marohn, 3). I personally think the Western culture needs to have a more broad and open perspective on the idea of healers like the Shamans. I think it is important for the Western culture to understand that medicine is not the solution to everything. Sometimes, patients need someone that can guide and heal them internally, like Alex who was able to recover from mental illnesses.
Works Cited:
"What a Shaman sees in a mental hospital"
Vivianne Lee
This weeks reading "What Shaman Sees In A Mental Hospital" describes the shamanic views of the mental hospital and how they consider mental illnesses as "the birth of the healer." According to the article, the Dagara people regard as “good news from the other world.” The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm. Dr. Some states that “Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field.” These disturbances result when the person does not get assistance in dealing with the presence of the energy from the spirit realm (Marohn, 2). Dr. Some also states that in the Dagara tradition, the community helps the person reconcile the energies of both worlds–”the world of the spirit that he or she is merged with, and the village and community.” That person is able then to serve as a bridge between the worlds and help the living with information and healing they need. Thus, the spiritual crisis ends with the birth of another healer (Marohn, 3). I personally think the Western culture needs to have a more broad and open perspective on the idea of healers like the Shamans. I think it is important for the Western culture to understand that medicine is not the solution to everything. Sometimes, patients need someone that can guide and heal them internally, like Alex who was able to recover from mental illnesses.
Works Cited:
"What a Shaman sees in a mental hospital"
Comments
Post a Comment