Shrink or Shaman?

What’s the difference between psychology and an  medicine man? It’s quite hip these days, to go on a sharmanic journey, adventure into the depths of the amazon into the jungle to seek out a guide, taste  exotic hallucinagenic concoctions, but its all herbal they say, all natural mind you and totally organic! Being such will surely help in acquiring the cognitive behaviour therapy. 

What do they have in common? they appear to exist on the extreme thresholds of thought. Psychologist neutral bay have shown us that wounds to the psyche and soul (the original meaning of psychology was the study of the soul) can manifest in physical ailments, dis-ease of the body as well as in the mind.

Psychologists “treat” by clearing up old issues by bringing them to the surface, thereby forming new conscious belief patterns to substitute the old, unconscious and unhealthy ones. So one may have been dragging along many heavy issues from old relationships and perhaps for  many past lifetimes. It can take a long time to see the labyrinth of inner entanglements, entrentched in our psyches, as they may only surface a little bit at a time depending on how ready we are to deal with them.

What does the doctor of the soul do ? the Sharman of indigenous cultures also has the respect of his community, he is the wise one of his tribe and few feathery tricks in his bag, I imagine. Their intervention is an interesting one, to the western man, quite scary too.     Sharmans help their people journey into the other world, the soul realm where they can see in full psychelic color, and even experience their destructive patterns that have spread from that realm to the existing one.  Their reason for seeking this help is the deterioration of their physical body as medical patients do too. Through seeking couselling northern beaches you will be able to get more of yourself. 

Soul and body are intimately joined in the sharmans eyes, healing the soul will eventuate in healing the body. In working to overcome the soul sickness, the sharman may call for assistance from the spirits of animals and have herbal remedies as well.  He is comfortable working in different realms. Who is to say what is real? very interesting I must say. … quite a mental stretch for many.

But here’s another stretch for you, deeper than both approaches , here’s the latest… spiritual healing  of old patterns by invoking our potential of our own wholeness. I’ll go into that more later.

Positive psychologists are looking to one’s essential patterns of well being .  No longer is the focus on “problem areas” per se . Perhaps the exploration into man’s helath has gone full circle . Interventions are accessing the wisdom and knowledge of the ancients. Qi Guong , vibrations, frequencies, energy are the catch phrases of the alternative therapists in search of the age old “wholeness” in mankind.