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was not entirely impactful, what she learned about the way that an indigenous society deals with

schizophrenia is very eye opening. She says that, “In third world countries the acutely sensitive souls are

rarely ignored or shunned from society. They are seen as specially blessed because these people live in the

world of the spirit more than in the world of the mundane. They are learning to find balance and are allowed

to find it naturally. It is not something to be fixed, it is something to be mastered and used.”

This view is revolutionary considering that a person experiencing schizophrenia is able to live in spite of their

“illness” rather than being shunned from society because of it. Nightsky also says that, “the villagers would

take care of their needs, as they were not able to perform their normal tasks. Food, clothing, and shelter would

be provided by the community and slowly, slowly, the sensitive would be given guidance by the shaman to

walk in the world of spirit without coming to any harm. They recognized that there is more than one

dimension where both light and dark beings reside. The lesson is to not stop the voices so much as work with

them in a way that you are in the control seat rather than being controlled by the energies tormenting you.”

Being able to connect with the tormenting energies is a key component to becoming healed. As I mentioned,

the idea of healing is supposed to be a holistic experience in which your entire life, mind, body, and spirit is

able to interact with the world in way that makes sense and is complete. In western medicine and

psychotherapy, the most common thing that is done in a case of schizophrenia is medication and therapy.

These are temporary and non-holistic ways to combat this illness. The intrusive voices are demonized and

there is not chance of ever being able to find a balance or connection with what happens in someone’s mind

because the main goal is simply to get rid of symptoms.

Examples of some of the many medicines prescribed for schizophrenia.

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