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Healing through faith, magic, potions, spells, spirits, hexes, divination, "irrational" belief systems and non—scientific thought is prevalent throughout the non—industrial world. Some of these healing systems may appear as strange to us as our own spiritual practices appear to them. Yet cultural perceptions of mental derangement and miraculous occurrences can help us sort our attitudes to spiritual experience in our own culture.

One theme pervades the indigenous world: Everything, whether animate or inanimate, contains spirit. All of life is interconnected and we can communicate with it. So, even rocks and trees are believed to have some type of consciousness . . . and people can listen to the rocks.

Another commonly held belief among indigenous peoples is the power to heal or harm through thought. The Balinese people have a curious courting ritual. If a man wishes to pursue a girl in marriage, he sends her a bouquet of flowers. If he is determined that she will answer in the affirmative, he places a pea—sized package in the bouquet. That package is made by wrapping a boar’s tooth with a banana peel, and then wrapping that with boar’s hair. If the girl discovers this addition to her flower bouquet, she believes she must marry him or else she will fall ill immediately and die. Up until the mid 1960’s this practice was prevalent in Bali. Many women married because of this practice, and many women died because they refused to marry.

In India, spiritual experience, paranormal phenomena, and the power of thought have been accepted as commonplace for thousands of years, so commonplace that many Indians are distrustful of ochre—robed gurus with siddhi powers.

Not only is the power of the mind given considerable weight in India, but the power of the Gods is accepted by hundreds of millions of people. It is believed that deities cause rain, fire, and every other natural event. Droughts and natural disasters are believed to be caused by nature’s response to man’s "evil deeds." In the American state of Hawaii, nature is worshipped and feared in the same way. Great care is given to propitiate Pélé, the Goddess of volcanoes, for her wrath can bring death. Every year, post offices in Hawaii receive vast quantities of lava, packages mailed back from tourists all over the world, tourists who had brought a little bit of Pélé home with them but became frightened by stories of Pélé’s powers and returned the lava to its natural home.

In every culture, including our own, belief systems form the foundation of diagnosis and treatment of illness. People all over the world have visions and talk to spirits, and spiritual belief and practice are central to their ideas of health, illness, and treatment.

Shamanism and Sorcery

Every culture has its shamans and sorcerers. India is well known for its yogis and gurus. Yogis have the same powers as do shamans, but they do not use them in the same way. The shaman acquires power with a specific intention of healing, while the yogi acquires power as a kind of side—effect of spiritual practice. The yogi is interested in spiritual liberation as well as the uplift of his fellow humankind. But the yogi, unlike the shaman, rarely displays his powers, for such a display is considered a sign of ego and an obstacle to spiritual progress.

Shamans and sorcerers practice their craft in every inhabited continent. They work not only in the villages of Africa and Asia, but also in cities across America. In my own home town, there are several shamans whom I am aware of and very likely others whom I am not aware of. In San Diego, there are Chinese healers, Thai healers, curanderas, kahunas, and, among the 18 Native American reservations in San Diego County, shamans.

Anthony is a psychiatric nurse with whom I work. You would not know by listening to his beautiful English diction that he comes from the Ibo tribe in Nigeria. Nigeria consists of three main tribes — the Ibo, the Yorba, and the Housa. Anthony’s Ibo name "Chukwura" means "God is great." The Ibo’s beliefs and practices, according to Anthony, include, "five to ten percent of our people who talk to the spirits and the spirits talk back. These are the traditional healers, and that’s all they do . . . they talk to the spirits and heal people. Many of them throw stones, bones, or feathers in order to make their diagnosis. My village has between five and ten thousand people . . . and there’s one major shaman in each village. There are no psychiatric hospitals in the villages. The crazy people are treated by the shaman who usually considers insanity to be caused by possession."

With "rational" psychiatry we spend billions of dollars on brain research, and treat psychotic people with powerful mind—altering drugs . . . and, of course, we keep looking for those genetic markers. The drugs are great. They work. But the collapse of traditional society has everything to do with why the schizophrenic no longer fits in and no longer functions. The schizophrenic is not an outcast in Anthony’s tribe. He is considered sick, but is not discarded. Schizophrenia is not just a disorder of dopamine metabolism in the brain. It’s a disorder of society itself.

Hermana Sarita is an urban healer in San Diego, California, a shaman or curandera, who is world—renowned for her healing abilities.8 Sarita was very ill with asthma for more than 20 years and had little relief from her years of visiting traditional doctors. Because her own father was a medical doctor, it was certainly logical that she be treated allopathically. But at age 45, as a last resort, she visited a curandera, a Mexican folk healer, a shaman.9 During the psychic surgery that permanently cured her, Sarita intently observed two "medical assistants" who worked beside the shaman. When the healing was over, Sarita asked who the other two helpers were and the shaman responded, "Oh, you can see them? They are my spirit guides."

Because Sarita was restored to full health, she decided to learn the art of healing and devote her life to others. Sarita practices a blend of Mexican folk healing and Native American practices. Through the years I have very discretely referred three or four patients to her, one of whom she cured of a fatal, inoperable brain tumor. To a Western-trained psychiatrist Sarita sounds as though she’s insane. In an altered state when she heals, she feels the presence of "Bate de Aguile" (Eagle’s Leg), a spirit guide who assists her . . . and she feels and sees "angels of light" pouring out of her fingers into the patient when she is doing her healing work. She claims to be able to see into people as if she has "x—ray" eyes. She talks to the spirits . . . the spirits talk to her. Bright lights swirl around her while she is in trance.

Sarita is the daughter of a physician and has two sons who are medical doctors, surgeons. In her family, the ancient and the modern come together and are embraced fully and completely. There is no "either—or," no debates about which form of healing is better. The only questions they ask are, "Which type of healing is needed in a given situation?"

Sarita is unusual only in the extent of her healing gifts and in her generosity. She charges $50 for the entirety of treatment, whether it takes one session or one year. Herbs cost extra. Sarita has an extensive outreach program, routine follow—up care, and a devoted group of patients who visit from all over the world. But Sarita’s beliefs are not unusual. They are part of healing in Mexico and throughout the Americas. Almost all Latinos in America are familiar with curanderismo, but few I know will admit it to me until I have asked specific questions that prove I already have some knowledge about curanderismo. Then Latinos will open up to me about their beliefs, because they see that I respect the tradition.

The Ibo shaman of Nigeria and the curandera of Mexico both believe that spirit is present everywhere, that we can communicate, not only with the spirits, but with all of creation. Both believe in the interconnected web of life.

In order to acquire special healing powers or the ability to predict the future, shamans like Sarita undergo a variety of spiritual practices, which may include: meditation, prayer, fasting, dancing, assuming yogic postures, chanting, drumming, and the use of natural hallucinogens, such as peyote. By contrast, sorcerers use these same techniques to acquire power, but then use those powers for malevolent purposes, or in difficult cases of tribal justice. In Panama and in many Central and South American countries sorcery is commonplace. Usually, the person who is about to have a spell cast on him is notified ahead of time, not so that he can repent, but rather so he might live in fear.

In one of the most highly developed types of sorcery practiced by the Kahunas of Hawaii, the spell is cast without the targeted villager being aware of this "attack." A group of Kabunas will meet in order to decide how to cope with a problem villager, and, on some occasions, will decide to kill him through spells and "black prayer." Illness and death proceed the same way in each case with the villager developing a progressive paralysis which eventually leads to death. The symptoms and course of the illness are identical to a poorly understood Western illness called "Guillain—Barré syndrome."

It is believed that the sorcerer has intense will power and supernatural powers and can use these powers to inflict harm on those who are spiritually unprotected. It is widely accepted that people who come under this psychic attack fall prey to accidents, fires, theft, illness, or death. Whether the afflicted individual is living out a self—fulfilling prophecy or is actually being attacked by negative thoughts cannot be scientifically determined. These beliefs are widespread throughout the world.

Eastern Healing Systems

Over a billion people live in China and almost a billion in India. That’s 40 percent of the entire world population. Central to the healing system of those two billion people is the idea of chi, prana, or life force. Throughout the millennia they have shared the same philosophy of all pre—industrial people.

Acupuncture is based on an understanding of chi. Although Western medicine has begun to accept the efficacy of acupuncture for a variety of conditions, most Western doctors are not aware of the philosophy that underlies acupuncture. The Chinese understanding of mental illness is particularly interesting. According to some practitioners, mental illness is caused by problems of the liver, because "the liver is the house of the mind." Rather than labeling mental illness with names like "schizophrenia" and "manic—depressive illness," the Doctor of Oriental Medicine looks for "an excess of fire in the liver," "ascending fire," "liver chi stagnation," "liver yin deficiency," or "liver yang deficiency."10

The liver is believed to be closely linked to the expression of anger. The kidney and spleen are also believed to be essential to mental health. The kidney is associated with fear, memory, and forgetfulness. According to Chinese medicine, "If someone with a mental problem complains of an episode of absent—-mindedness, they probably have a liver—kidney problem." Worry is caused by problems with the spleen, so an emotional problem characterized by an "excess of worry" would be diagnosed as a liver—spleen problem. Many mental—emotional problems are treated by "reducing liver heat," and then balancing spleen or kidney "yin" and "yang" energies.

Because Chinese medicine involves an understanding of body, mind, and spirit, a Chinese doctor is not surprised by reports of visions of spirits or other paranormal phenomena. He will know that an angelic vision requires no treatment at all. If the patient desires deeper spiritual understanding or further spiritual experiences, the Chinese doctor may choose to use specific acupuncture points which encourage the flow of chi through the chakras, up toward the head, and out the "third eye," thereby encouraging spiritual experiences. If, on the other hand, a patient is troubled by "spirit possession," the Chinese doctor will treat by focusing on the patient’s chi, helping him build up his own defenses, his own mind, body, and energy, so that the spirit can be overcome.

Even more ancient than Chinese medicine is Ayurveda, the ancient holistic medical system of India, which was first written about in one of the Hindu sacred texts, the Atharva Veda, and which has gained acceptance in America through the writings of Deepak Chopra, M.D. 11

Like Chinese medicine, Ayurveda is based on an understanding of "chi" or "prana" as the life—force is called in India, as well as an understanding of three body types or doshas: Kapha (water), Vata (air), and Pitta (fire).12 The Ayurvedic physician decides whether his patient has too much fire, air, or water and then prescribes herbs and a diet that will balance the three doshas. For more than 5,000 years Ayurvedic physicians have been practicing and perfecting their medical science. While Western doctors naturally want to know if Ayurveda really works, in time they will have to examine the source of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is believed to have originated in "Cosmic Consciousness," handed down from God to the ancient Indian rishis, who in turn, transmitted their knowledge and wisdom, by word of mouth, to their students.

Belief in something beyond the mind and body pervades Asia, and goes beyond the diagnosis of medical and psychological problems. In Burma, people who spend years meditating have visions of creatures that live in another dimension of consciousness. These pale creatures with large dark eyes fit the common description of aliens. According to the spiritual adepts who see these creatures, they are not aliens, but live right here next to us, although they generally cannot be seen without "spiritual sight."

By looking at the beliefs and customs of other cultures, we may initially be struck by the differences between "us" and "them." However, when we look beyond the obvious differences, we discover commonalities. Body, mind, and spirit matter to people in every culture, from every religion and from every age in history. In addition, core healing principles are universal, common to Western medicine, Oriental medicine, Ayurvedic medicine . . . and even faith healing.

Universal Healing Principles

While these cultural medicines of spiritual beliefs may seem different from Western approaches, they actually share the key ingredients of every health care system in the world, which are: 1) hope, inspired by the healer, 2) trust in the healer, his diagnostic methods and his treatment modalities, and 3) a shared belief in the causes and cures of illness.

Even if penicillin is the right treatment for pneumococcal pneumonia, the treatment will work much more effectively if both doctor and patient share the same belief about bacteria and antibiotics. Shared belief inspires hope, deepens trust, and allows our built—in healing systems to kick in. Part of how penicillin works is through our deep belief in its awesome power.

Dr. Frank Lawlis spent years working with Native Americans in the Southwest, and learned some powerful lessons about the power of belief systems. After working with chronic pain patients for a number of years, he began to wonder why the Indians came into the clinic only three or four times a year to refill their Demerol, instead of every few weeks as the typical American would. Dr. Lawlis was amazed to learn that the Indians were not ingesting the Demerol tablets! They were placing them around the house to ward off the "pain spirits." This treatment was very effective but would wear off after a few months. 13

Belief systems have everything to do with the onset of illness, the treatment course, the recovery rate, and every other aspect of health. When I was a resident in psychiatry, I met Chang, an 18—year—old Chinese young man with clear—cut paranoid schizophrenia who knew he was sick. When I asked him why he thought he had developed the mental illness, he replied, "When my grandmother was buried, my back was to the sun and my shadow was cast across her grave. That is very very bad luck." This deep belief, which is widespread among the villagers in the southern provinces of China, may have been the straw that broke the biochemical back of Chang’s brain, bringing on the full—blown schizophrenic psychosis. This information did not entice me to ignore anti—psychotic medications, but it gave me a broader view of Chang’s illness and how it fit into his life and world view.

One’s cultural belief system can trigger illness or at least greatly contribute to the onset. Culture can also determine the course of the illness. Remember that the schizophrenics in the Ibo village in Nigeria do not appear crazy. They fit in. Culture can trigger illness or prevent it!

Health and illness are intimately woven into the fabric of life in every culture on earth. We, in the West, believe that we can separate illness from the individual, from society, from culture. We try to separate the mind from the body and relegate the spirit to the clerics. However, a complete diagnosis must take into account body, mind, spirit (and energy), as well as the cultural beliefs, rites, and rituals. In a sense, all healing is "faith healing," even our own.

American medicine men won’t cop to being superstitious but they really are. In Great Britain and throughout most of Europe, 50 percent of medical doctors either prescribe homeopathic medicines or refer patients to homeopaths. A homeopathic remedy is created by taking a substance, say the mineral phosphorus, and diluting it to the point where you can’t find a single molecule of phosphorus in the remedy. Well—controlled scientific studies performed around the world over the past ten years have demonstrated that homeopathy works, at least sometimes.14 Yet American doctors argue that "homeopathy can’t work because there’s nothing in the medicine." Homeopathy is like chemical acupuncture. The molecule of phosphorus, or whatever the remedy is made from, "charges" the solution. Homeopathy works on the "energetic body," or chi.

The belief that spirit doesn’t matter, or that it has no place in healing, is common in American medicine, but it is important that we realize that this is just a belief and not a fact. The fact is that the absence of spirit in medicine is a major cause of our disenchantment with medicine, with our sense of discomfort with some doctors, and with our shaken faith in the current healthcare system.

Folk Medicine of the American Tribe

Perhaps the strangest tribe I have had the privilege to study personally are the Americans. Anthropologist Horace Miner was one of the first to study, and write about, the Americans as if they were an indigenous tribe from a foreign land. In order to make his point about the "strange" habits of the Americans, he referred to this tribe as the "Nacirema" (American" spelled backward).15

To quote Dr. Miner: "The Nacirema are a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumara of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, although tradition states that they came from the East . . .

". . . Each family has a shrine. The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live. These preparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the required charm."

In the American healthcare system medicine men are not actually the highest authority on healing. After the medicine man has poked, prodded, and stuck needles into the tribesman, he asks the client to wait before going to the herbalist.

The medicine man is now required by the tribal leaders to confer with a ceremonial leader who knows absolutely nothing about healing, but from whom the medicine man must get approval in a paper ritual dance in order not to violate tribal taboo. The natives give gifts several times a year to these ceremonial leaders, who then transfer these gifts in part to the medicine men.

The poorest of the American tribe are not required to give to the same ceremonial leaders, but a special leader allots gifts to the medicine men working with them. Both types of ceremonial leaders exert incredible control over the medicine men, telling them what herbs and potions they can dispense and how long it should take them to cure a particular patient. If the medicine man does not comply completely with the ceremonial leader, especially the leader involved with the poor, the medicine man will receive no gift at all.

Much like the healers of Bali who pierce their arms with arrows, the American medicine man undergoes brutal rites and rituals in a long, grueling apprenticeship under other medicine men. During this initiation the apprentice is shamed and humiliated repeatedly for many years. Part of the training is not unlike the Vision Quest of the Cherokee, who go into the desert or forest alone for days and days, until they have a vision. Usually they do not eat or sleep until they have their vision. That vision gives guidance about what they are to do in life and what their totem animal is. The Vision Quest of the American medicine man, however, goes on for years with extended periods of sleeplessness only briefly interrupted with sleep. The medicine man in training lives in a state of almost complete mental and physical exhaustion. The medicine men have told me directly that this method of training is ancestral. "It’s the way it’s always been done."

Dr. Miner writes about the healing temple or "latipso" ("hospital"). "The latipso ceremonies are so harsh that it is phenomenal that a fair proportion of the really sick natives who enter the temple ever recover . . . No matter how ill the supplicant or how grave the emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he cannot give a rich gift to the custodian . . . .

"From time to time the medicine men come to their clients and jab magically—treated needles into their flesh. The fact that these ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people’s faith in the medicine men."

So powerful is the belief in the healing temple that tribal members will even go there in order to die, even though they know they have an incurable illness for which care by an untrained family member would provide a more soothing ending to their life.

The American medicine man practices a powerful form of voodoo that can either cure or kill. It is among the most powerful in the world. I met a woman whose husband had been the victim of voodoo death by the medicine men. This poor lady’s husband, who was in his seventies, went to visit the medicine man and was told he had a fatal disease that would kill him in 30 days. This man had been active up until the day he visited the medicine man. He returned from the visit, lay down on his bed for the next 30 days, and died.

The power to heal by the medicine man is also immense. The mere sight of a medicine man can inspire healing on the spot. So great is this awe and power that a client often recovers before he has taken the herbs and potions.

The healing and spiritual practices of our own and other cultures are only strange and bizarre when seen out of context of the spiritual belief system in which they work.

Excerpt from Are You Getting Enliightened or Losing Your Mind? © 1997 Harmony Books, NY, NY.

Dennis Gersten, M.D. is a psychiatrist who practices in Solana Beach, California.

 

Footnotes

1. Bobette Perrone, Henrietta Stockel, and Victoria Krueger. Medicine Women, Curanderas, and Women Doctors. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman and London. 1989.

2. Deepak Chopra, M.D. Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine. Bantam Books. New York. 1989.

3. Dr. Vasant Lad. Ayurveda: The Science of Self—Healing. Lotus Press. Santa Fe. 1984.

4. Frank Lawlis, PhD. "Unity in Diversity: —CrossCultural Perspectives." Atlantis the Imagery Newsletter. June, 1989.

5. Horace Miner. "Body Ritual of the Nacirema." American Anthropologist, 58 (3), 1956; American Anthropological Association.

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