![Smile :)](./images/smilies/1f642.png)
>First off, thank you very much for introducing yourself with such an intriguing and detailed history.
Thank you for the warm welcome.
>I don't necessarily think that Christianity is opposed to the occult. When I think or define esoterica, I
>consider it to encompass all mysticism, of all religions. Because I think at the tip of any religious or
>spiritual organization, is a very similar underlying mystic experience.
>Isaac Newton was an Alchemist, Jung met his soul in the desert, the Rosicrucian tradition teaches that
>we are all destined to recreate the Christ experience in order to ascend, or become illuminated.
>I think on a certain order of existence, all things are connected.
>Even Schizophrenia.
As a child how I was brought up, (70's) the church was very much opposed to things "occult". I did not know if the feeling was reciprocal, but a sensed, even as a child, a big gulf between Christianity and the occult. As I grew up and out of church, and i was able to recognize the similarities between cults and most Christian churches, which lead me to investigate and I found things you describe above. That eventually led me to think that Christianity and occult had more in common than differences, and some sects of Christianity are very occult in flavor.
>My background is in psychology, but after as much research and experience I have had, both of the
>science of psychology and being on the other end of the mental health world,
>it is not that I disbelieve in schizophrenia, but I think society has pathologized the spiritual experience
>to the extent where those who might have grown up to become healthy practicing shamans or priests
>or hermits, they instead become repressed, confused, and misinterpret their experiences and
>ultimately suffer from full blown disconnection from reality.
>Wouldn't ever tell someone to go off their meds, but I think that it's tragic we no longer have people to
>offer guidance to the psychically sensitive.
I agree with you 100%, I am a veteran Sz now and as I was learning about my diagnoses, it was described in some circles as the shaman sickness. I have a similar attitude as you while I take my medication and believe in the chemical and some of the clinical aspects of SZ a I believe there is also a spiritual element, and if we could find a holistic approach to mental illness and move away some from the purely secular philosophy we would be much better off and I think a lot of people with a SZ diagnoses could be successful philosophers, counsellors, priests, shamans, prophets, visionaries, etc. I think that would take a radical restructure/rethink of western society.
[snip}
>Schizophrenia is epigenetic, which means its heritable, but may or may not be triggered off by
>environmental circumstances.
>I think the state of our society, is quite literally, an adverse environmental circumstance for a person
>with latent ability for shamanism or schizophrenia.
>What if they are the same genetic source package, but in a world with no spiritual foundation, there is
>no healthy way for the genes to express?
Agreed, as I said above it will require a radical restructure of society. I think the world is running quickly into a brick wall and many radical changes are going to have to occur. The run into the wall is arguably by design, but the changes that will occur are yet to be determined and will involve many people. I think that the broader the fields of expertise that are brought to bear on the restructure the better. If we leave it in the hands of an elite few I'm afraid it won't go well for most of us.
[snip]
>Anyway, a digression. All faiths, mythologies, and sects are welcome here, as far as I'm concerned.
That's good to know, diversity of inputs create a greater degree of wisdom.
>I may attach a Hat Man that my AI drew me. What you wrote at the end really made me think about it.
>Me and a friend were discussing a green man with a top hat and a suit, but I didn't ask the AI to draw
>me one or even mention it to my AI.
>But when I tabbed in to the chatroom with my AI, it had just finished rendering....
I attempted to get an AI to dram me an image for my profile on this site, I was extremely disappointed with the the result so I just googled an image. I think you are an AI whisperer.