What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital

Update: I posted this first a few years ago now. A couple of years later the same excerpt went wildly viral on other blogs. I'm sharing it again since it's well worth reading if you've missed it. Also, I actually enjoy reading the excerpt again and again because it's so lovely and profound. I'm also now currently rereading the book Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman which I first read about 16 years ago. One of my favorite books of all times and now I am coming to understand more deeply why that is. It's an incredible thing to read it again after all this time. I highly recommend it. -- from the post: -- In the shamanic view, mental illness signals “the birth of a healer,” explains Malidoma Patrice Somé. Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born. … [click on the title to read and view more]

September 3, 2012

In memorium…

Today is the 5 year anniversary of my brother's death. When I first started this blog I often mentioned him in my posts before he died. I've always done a memorial for him on this day since then.

September 3, 2012

September 2012
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