Shamanism

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Hello,

I read in a book that autism may be a healer or shaman in a different culture.

What do you think?

Btw, shamanism is a real thing and antropology studied shamanism in many different cultures around the world!
Shaman is someone who is "the chosen one" of a culture.

Do you think it is a possiblility?

It is not uncommon for ignorant people in primitive cultures to identify abnormal mental conditions with supernatural abilities.

The Oracle at Delphi, for instance, was nothing more than a woman who would hallucinate and babble after being exposed to volcanic vapors. It would take a collection of priests to "translate" what she was saying into the common language (for a fee, of course) and present it as a "prophesy".

Epilepsy was once considered a sign of godly or demonic possession, and the victim was thought of either as having the "favor of the gods (e.g., Alexander the Great) or "in league with the devil" (e.g., victims of witch hunts and the Inquisition).

Even today, schizophrenics who hear voices are sometimes hailed as having contact with disembodied spirits.

Again, it's ignorance and superstition that cause some primitive-minded folk to consider Autistic Spectrum Disorders as some kind of "sacred" conditions.

... if only ...

I met a shaman and he told me that a lot of native american shamans are on the autism spectrum.

This may depend on the cultures of people because most tribal peoples those pre industrial society that may be pre agricultural and or just learning about agriculture may have practiced various forms of shamanism ultimately leading to the druidry and Wicca as practiced by European Indian tripes such as the Beaker people (who built Stonehenge and spoke a form of Euskara) and the Cymric and Gaelic people of of Iron age Britain and Ireland would have developed out of a form of shamanism that developed between 1500BC and 700BC. They also may have seen psilocybe semilanceata as a religious or spiritual sacrament. But autistic people may have been like a Merlin kind of figure in the past. I don't think this is anything associated with demons, spirits,gods etc but because what they may use to sensory regulate may change neurological state and even overstimming may in some people cause a psychedelic experience without drugs and this is now a form of shamanism that is practiced in some American style Baptist churches but they themselves do not see it as anything sacred in not being allistic it is just the ignorant, primitive and old fashioned who demonise or deify non allistic people. This ultimately lead to neurobigotry including aspiphobia throughout most of the 20th century although for most of that time no one would have heard of the term aspiphobia because Asperger syndrome was not known for most of that time. People who seem to be able to change their neurological state and have understanding snd to be able to see a person's inner beauty can be considered sacred by some tribal societies.

Carlos Castaneda is one of my heroes. Is this one of the anthropologists you are referring to?

Everyone has their place. In this respect, I am going to go with yes.

I have little doubt, that thru-out history, Shamans or their equivalent has long been a career of choice for people on the Spectrum. In the Middle East 'Magi' was a common name for them. Probably related to the word magic/magician.

I have read that in at least some Native American Cultures that 'different' types of people, as in those with unusual mental character, were often chosen to be the tribal spiritual leader. One term used was 'touched by god'.

I would expect to have found them well represented among Druids, Priests, Oracles, etc, both male and female.

I imagine something about the ASD alternate mindset, and it being distinct from the average person's allowed them to fill the role fairly well, as it would not be a case of having to act different, and they were naturally so. Why ASD also is better adapted to spiritual matters (if it is) I don't really know.

Frequently, shamans don't have the best "social skills." LOL

Well I may have been wrong about Wicca being a European Indian religion rather than some 20th century invention so I stand corrected there but I also am aware of the practices of Native American spiritual practices and those of the steppe Altaic peoples such as Mongols and Turkic people also practicing shamanism where it was a Tunguskan word which is the origin of the word Shaman. I was referring to the ethosociology of the people who are termed as Celtic who used to practice a form of shamanism called druidry which involved parallel worlds, universes or planes of existance was found in bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. This form of shamanism was practiced throughout the Western European continent as well as the British Isles and Ireland. They all spoke similar type of languages the Celtic lanugages of which the Cymric languages Welsh, Cornish and Breton and the Gaelic lanugages Irish Manx and Scots Gaelic are the surviving languages. The Gaulish and Celtiberian dialects became extinct during the Roman occupation and in Europe druidry died out with the Romans and subsequent conversion to Christianity. I only mentioned the Celts because I have one quarter Irish or Scottish Highlander ancestry which are Gaelic peoples and what I learned about shamans from this culture and most had a few methods of getting a psychedelic experience and having one according to the shaman is being in the presence of gods, the ancestors, angels? which would be beings from alternative universes or planes of existence that some cultures call the spirit world, Heaven, Hell or some other name even Valhalla from Norse mythology.

Mainly in the UK the pre Roman Cymric and Gaelic people had people who could keep their oral traditions alive and to provide healing spiritual advice advice on law and order issues as well all without an alphabet and such societies would use the people who would have the better memories for inherited wisdom and those with better memories may have been autistic. These may have fitted into the class of druids or bards of pre Christian Gaelic and Cymric societies.

While I would not encourage people to dabble recklessly, the movie, "Pan's Labyrinth," is very much like my understanding of shamanism. People are given chores to do, or logical missions, with the expectation of a nameable, physical outcome.

Or, a familiar spirit is considered to be subordinate to a human being, and it is given chores.

Some people reportedly follow-up on detailed information, only to find it is fraudulent, claiming that spirits are not alway experts or good.

I am not really sure that everyone with autism would be a 'shaman' if the culture allowed for it....however I do not doubt some people on the spectrum could be gifted in that sort of sense, just not sure if that would apply to everyone with autism. I feel I am somewhat sensitive to spiritual entities/energies and vibes of surrounding environment, and certainly find the idea of shamanism very interesting. I also find it interesting how psychedelic substances tie into it as a lot of shamans use them to sort of become more aware/sensitive of the spirit realm or whatever and sometimes supposedly help people with some of their troubles via what would be a guided trip. However I am well aware psychedelics are used more recreationally, as well and do not believe they just magically open someones mind to everything, but I think they can potentially open the mind to more than one would normally be aware of.


So yeah I do find the whole topic interesting, and I think in some cases people that come off as having certain conditions could potentially also be experiencing extra sensory sort of abilities and what not, so it might not all be symptoms....maybe some are disordered because all that awareness makes it hard to function in day to day life but maybe its not a thing to be rid of. However I do not suggest just quit treating people with serious mental conditions and just say they're all gifted....some people do need mental health treatment, I certainly would not want my psychiatrist to tell me 'oh I am going to stop prescribing your Valium because you're anxiety is a special gift of spiritual sensitivity'.