Five Indians

As I've stated before I am schizophrenic. But what I hope to accomplish in this thread is a series of opinions on a certain visual hallucination I had. For example, why did I hallucinate this?

When I was going through my first schizophrenic episode I was laying on the couch with the window open and through the trees and brush I could see a white smoke coming through my window and I was very peaceful as I thought I was dying. As this white smoke came through the window I could move it with my hand and direct it where to go. Later I heard birds chirping like I was in an amazon forest. As the smoke enveloped the room I saw five indians. One of them was holding a pipe and the others were just standing there in the room in a circle. They didn't move or anything. Everything was green; the whole hallucination.

I was not on any drugs. I am descended from the Cherokee tribe but I am caucasian looking. Is anyone familiar with Native American culture? And what could this vision have meant?

well, i would say that it was an elder with some younger people doing a ceremony of some sort... perhaps rite of passage? i myself am Native American and this is based of some ceremonies i've seen done...

on a side note: when you say your Cherokee in descent, does that mean 1/192 or what lol

ETA: was your town built on an Indian village by any chance?

[edit on 20-6-2010 by LocoHombre]

I would do some research about the area and check if any natives were killed there and what were the circumstances.
If you don't find anything, then it was just your "imagination", if you find that something did happen then you should look deeper in to what happened and maybe think about what you can do to "help".
Let us know if you find anything and if you want, tell me the name of the area and I will do some research as well.

Don't dismiss visions like this.

Really take the time to analyze the event, and find which parts of it resonated with you.

Originally posted by LocoHombre
well, i would say that it was an elder with some younger people doing a ceremony of some sort... perhaps rite of passage? i myself am Native American and this is based of some ceremonies i've seen done...

on a side note: when you say your Cherokee in descent, does that mean 1/192 or what

lol

ETA: was your town built on an Indian village by any chance?

[edit on 20-6-2010 by LocoHombre]

My Grandfather is half Cherokee, half Irish. So, I don't know what percentage that makes me.

The town was Gainesville, Florida. I have since moved.

reply to post by LightofLiberty


wel i dont know, but i still think it may be what i stated earlier... and i asked the % question because many barely have a drop of native blood then pass off saying theyre native :/

maybe the illusion was ancestors, or just an illusion...

I wonder if your Indian heritage does not preclude your visions as not schizophrenic at all. Just misunderstood.

I have great respect for the spiritual and natural ways of the American Indians.

I would pay heed to your visions and consult a tribe member/chief for your answers. And maybe a ritual to help you with your issues.

My mother was schizophrenic. Somehow though, I always felt she was connected to something else other worldly. Always felt that way. Saw some incredibly strange behavior from her.

Somehow in her later years, her symptoms completely disappeared. No medication.

I find this issue perplexing and interesting. Don't get me wrong though. If you are really having some major psych issues, please maintain your relationships with your doc's.

I would reach out to the Indian community and try to find some answers to your insights/visions.

www.cherokee.org...

Originally posted by LightofLiberty

Originally posted by LocoHombre
well, i would say that it was an elder with some younger people doing a ceremony of some sort... perhaps rite of passage? i myself am Native American and this is based of some ceremonies i've seen done...

on a side note: when you say your Cherokee in descent, does that mean 1/192 or what

lol

ETA: was your town built on an Indian village by any chance?

[edit on 20-6-2010 by LocoHombre]

My Grandfather is half Cherokee, half Irish. So, I don't know what percentage that makes me.

The town was Gainesville, Florida. I have since moved.

If your grandfather was half cherokee, then your mother or father is 1/4 cherokee, which makes you 1/8 cherokee.

Your like Tommy lee jones, who is also like 1/4 cherokee, although if you look at his face you can see it more than you would think.




[edit on 20-6-2010 by _Phoenix_]

...sounds to me like you just had a few ancestors popping in on ya...a visitation...

Stuff like this really isn't that rare at all for many cultures. Heck, my own, NZ Maori, its pretty common place...loads of us see and interact with *spooks* all the time...

Interesting that you state you're Schizophrenic.
While for many people reading that, well, the whole default reaction could well immediately flick to "Thats the ticket then, you hallucinated"
However to me the question could be: "Was this a spiritual experience or a psychotic one?" ...and how do you tell the difference.


Will let you in on a lil something - I work in Mental Health, have done for 14 years now...one of my roles at work is to assist with provisional diagnosis etc...and additionally to provide input on that very question; is what this person is presenting to our service with a *cultural* experience or a *clinical* one, or a mixture of the two.
Can tell you now that we have many who present to our service where its a case of chicken-egg-egg-chicken...where their *cultural* experiences if not addressed push them into *clinical* unwellness.

...but then like I say...nothing new with my people...its an every day thing for many of us...


So...yeah...could be that its some form of hallucinatory experience...could be more cultural/spiritual in nature.
Might wanna track down someone within your area who can give you a bit of a heads-up around the cultural side of it...bound to be someone...


Could also be some phase of psychosis yes...but then again, nice lil semi-out-clause within the DSM-IV in relation to Psychotic Disorders which pretty much says: "Do not include any symptoms which are deemed a cultural appropriate response"...basically means in plain English "If its all fine and dandy for your people, then all good"

Yet...so many people of many different Non-Western cultures are diagnosed with Schizophrenia/Psychosis for experiencing what is often seen as common-place within their culture and culture context. Why? Simple. The majority of the ones making the call on your *sanity* aren't your own people...



Peace.

I also say a visit from ancestors. A very nice peaceful visit by the sound of things. It sounds very spiritual. Maybe they were there to comfort you in some way. Or teach you something? Or to get you in touch with your ancestry. You said this was your first schizophrenic episode. Were any of the other episodes related to anything native? Or spiritual?

I am Cherokee - You said you felt as if you were dying - the NA in a circle could indicate they were praying to the Great Spirit so that you would have a peaceful journey into the next world. The dying part could also symbolize that perhaps you were not dying as a person but that some other part of you is going away. Blessings, Little T