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	Savantism, schizophrenia Posted by: "N." Sat Feb 2, 2008 11:30 am (PST) I was thinking about that fact that while speaking to a friend, he mentioned that schizophrenia was caused by an collection of neurons in certain parts of the brain. While I was thinking about this, I realized that because I have 4 brain related things, which are very mild CP, Aspergers Syndrome, ADHD and schizophrenia, then maybe in the areas where I am talented, then this might be causing more growth of neurons in the areas not impaired and at the same time while more impaired areas might not demand neurochemicals, electricity and nutrients so much, the other unimpaired areas might get more of these chemicals and nutrients etc while I practice on mostly what I am talented in, which is generally physics and electrical subjects. I was wondering if there is a possibility that a door is open for more neurochemicals and nutrients which might possibly mean more neuron growth provided that these variables may act though I don't know this, as accellerants. If this is possible, then maybe such collection of neurons could produce schizophrenia and large amounts of Alpha wave production? I know just from the number of members here that some of you probably suffer from some mental or neurological disorder. Things in these catagories tend to produce savants and some people are savant in more than one area. Is this a valid question that I am asking, though somewhat of a speculation? -N. ------------------------------------------ hey N., yes the questions asked are valid enough, so it seems to me, by virtue of the underlying premises regarding the 'medical model' being part of your system of belief. and thus, as a truth to you, are as much truth as any other formulation of the workings of the mind.. however, not everyone believes in the 'biological reductionist' model of psychological states. so a widely held view complementing your own, about the arguableness of chemical-material-neurological supremacy in this case might be beneficial here. medical = brain, with 'mind' as epiphenomenon of the fundamental meaty head-stuff. occult = mind, psyche, consciousness, as basic, seeing (not just theoretically, but also experientially) brain, and all the realm of materiality, as an epiphenomenon of this 'subtle' essense. spiritual = Spirit/God/Tao/"Emptiness"(of the Buddhists)/Allah/etc., lived as the 'truest' reality, at the deepest level, where both the occult-subtle and medical-material are uprisings, epiphenomena, occuring as a subset of the Mystic (in the sense of transcendent/immanent 'unity', not in the sense as 'esoteric') whole. this causes some differences, depending on which 'truth' you subscribe to, as to the origins of illness, and whether the allopathic medical model is the best representative of the situation. for example, some (doctors) may say schizophrenia is "caused" by neurochemical imbalance, wheras another will justifiably claim the aetiology as "shamanic illness" in most cases, arising from the normally hidden levels of the 'world-mind/soul' coming into consciousness... and in this view, the treatment offered by psychiatry is the death of the life of this very natural process, arresting prematurely the development of a resolution from within the affected person. "using a chemical to fix a chemical imbalance"... but what if, the context of this supposed "illness" being the medical model itself is the cause of the illness...? that is, the power of suggestion upon the person experiencing "unusual psychological phenomena" that he is ill, sticks with him/her, and becomes the framework into which subsequent mind-states are fitted. i should point out here, that the labelling of quite run-of-the-mill a-typical psychological happenings as "illness", given the particular names as they are and cast as "illnesses" is itself disease promoting. we are all aware of the power of suggestion and even more of auto-suggestion - psychological dis-ease may just as much arise due to the power of a belief in an eccentric medical-pathologised interpretation of symptoms, which by other schools of mind-doctoring would be eliminated with correct application of ancient methods of transcendence... just like we transcend a mood of unhappiness by going for a walk, or by whatever method we use, but not on a daily basis by taking sleeping pills to quieten an ordinary malaise. as an aside, there may be described a clearly definable illness, although only apparent once one can see western-type medicine from outside itself, that i would recommend for inclusion in the DSM-IV Psychiatric Diagnostic Manual... we could call it "Psychiatropathic Order Disorder", being the persistent belief in psychiatric labels, and the resulting self-fulfilling prophecy of an "illness" following the trajectory of a psychiatric diagnosis. the prognosis is not good, since anyone with a severe case will likely contract secondary infections and spend life chemically lobotomised by psychotropic medications. a peculiarity about "POD" is that it may be contracted only from a psychiatrist (physical contact unnecessary, as the contagion is airborne, transmitted by pompous sounds, and upon small slips of paper). thus, steering clear of psychiatry altogether is the only preventative measure effective to guard against this insidious condition which is reaching plague proportions in the english-speaking world, with virulent outbreaks beginning to occur elsewhere around the globe. ...however, in the non-medical schools of Eastern wisdom traditions, there is no such pathologising of Altered States of Consciousness, being intimately known and easily recognisable indications of spiritual progress. since they arise from an action of the mind (as in mental plane) or higher psychic force initiated by the spiritual aspirant or guru, then this is just how they are subdued. not with pharmaceutical expedients, but with a suitable attitude of mind, one which does not hold onto the unusual experiences, but operates under the injunction to see all these aspects of mind as transient, and to allow them to pass without clinging to them or developing them. not demonising non-ordinary ways of experiencing life, and not supressing these novel perceptions with mind-numbing drugs... let's simplify it a bit. what your friend's conjecture represents, is a split in the "brain" which sees one part malfunctioning, and the other parts working just fine. the trouble is, his theory doesn't allow for the possibility of the healing of whatever is the troubling aspect of your psychological state - it is a dead-end speculation, providing no hope of a successful resolution. it's like saying, "you, Nate, have a hat, of rainbow colours, that we as a society find unfashionable. it is believed this clothing dysfunction is not amenable to rectification. thus, we advise that you will have to wear the hat for the rest of your life. but here, have this grey hat to wear over the top of your "sick, ranbow-coloured" hat, so that you can function adequately in society without the fear of seeming inappropriate, unfashionable." ok N., so the wisdom of reducing the wondrous (and yes, sometimes painful, as life is...) nature of your existence to a few psychiatric labels is being questioned. but what in place of these names...? well, aside from the eastern ways of "spiritual" framing of these perfectly normal (though rare) ways of livng through the mind, we can contextualise in the "most widespread and long-lasting tradition of medicine on this planet: shamanism." here is a model three layers deep, although there are models which depict the same system with 5, 7, 13 levels, etc. ( Spirit/Tao/God/Love/etc ( mind/psyche/'subtle' ( matter ) ) ) ...see the above diagram as illustrating a universal 'set', having an embedded subset containing, at the level of manifestation, a subset of the subset. so, we begin it all by living life at the most obvious level of "matter", taking it for granted as fundamental to the degree in which we believe mainstream materialist-secular 'education'. then, there arises a trouble with the intermediate level of "psyche". the way these things work, is that if there is conflict at a lower level, then a resolution needs to be brought about by a movement of a higher level. thus, when there is conflict in the material realm, then we use the next level up ( = mind) to formulate a solution, and put it into effect in the material world to overcome the difficulty. similarly, when there is a conflict within this intermediate realm if the mind/psyche, we will not resolve it by acting in the physical realm, because the physical solutions have not the capacity to unite the facets of mind which are out of synchronisation. psychiatric methods involve a supression of the whole area of mind by regression to the physical in such cases, because they do not acknowledge anything higher than the realm of psyche. yet, if you can find it within yourself to realise a "name" (at first, and later a tangible experience) which you feel comfortable with, representing the universal set, then via embodying the attributes of the universal set, you will be at once acknowledging in full the psychic realm of mind, and division will presently heal. it doesn't need to be "spiritual", either. only, having your "name" conform to the principle: "All is XXXXX. XXXXX is both transcendent and immanent relative to all actual and possible aspects of existence." will enable you to process and integrate even the wildest flights of fantastic experience. many people secularise the ultimate quality of existence at this level, using any one of these formulae: Love, Strings, Dream, Consciousness, or Uncertainty. they are all fine. just, a regression to the material plane will result in the inevitable continuation of dysfunction at the psychic level. realising all that is, as explicable and made intelligible through association with a superordinate concept, will result in a more functional and natural ordering (occuring spontaneously) than talking of what is a superset (mind) in terms of the subset (matter). eventually, the central concept/name of the universal set may become superfluous, but this only following the ordering of mindstuff by natural alignment relative to an ongoing experience of feeling what the universal set-name merely talks about, but that is another story. and vitamins..? well, they're good for the brain, but there are nutrients of realms more subtle than the physical which will transform the whole, and naturally the parts will be revitalised. it's a matter of directing attention purposively, that the aspect of existence requiring consciousnessing for the healing of matter and mind, is not matter or mind, but something greater than, and inclusive of, both. if talked of as a shamanic journey, then a regression to the purely material is a failed voyage, an aborted consummation of the shaman's calling. a successful resolution requires finding that perspective that is inclusive of the ordinary ways people see as they go about the world, and also incorporates the realms of mystery and fantasy, the areas of the mind that are mythologically and creatively inclined, and those ways of experiencing reality that are the province of the shamans and wise-men of old, not accessible to the commonplace waking consciousness, and sadly pathologised by psychiatry, where the extraordinary is the everyday. hoping this adds some truth to your truth. cheers. _/\_

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