Psychosis or Spiritual Awakening? A Ted Talk On Shamanism vs Mental Illness
In this talk, Phil Borges gives examples of shamans he has met, some of who were identified by their visions and dreams in their youth, and taken to be examined by a credible healer or holy person. In our culture, most people would be diagnosed as schizophrenic or having suffered a manic psychosis and given copious amounts of powerful antipsychotic drugs. But in many indigenous cultures, these typically young people are guided and given apprenticeship to a master shaman, which allows them to make sense of their visions and reframe them as journeys into the spirit world.
