Wondrous Wonders: On “Shamanic Disease,” Suggestion, and Rational Initiation

Shamanic illness, holy foolishness, heightened suggestibility, and autosuggestion — these are phenomena known to humankind since ancient times. They were called differently in various cultures, yet their essence remained the same: certain people exhibit nonstandard modes of consciousness that extend beyond normative perception and behavioral reactions.

Today, in the age of rational knowledge, these phenomena are studied and understood. Modern sciences — psychology, neuropsychology, psychiatry, cognitive science, ethnopsychology — possess a complete conceptual and empirical foundation for explaining such states. Much of this knowledge originally arose from the study of shamanism, sacred madness, meditation, and altered states of consciousness within spiritual traditions.

Yet society at large remains almost unaware of them. The reason, alas, is banal: not conspiracy, not progress as the killer of mystery, but simple fixation on politics, material success, and perpetual external conflict. People look outward more often than inward.

The Nature of “Shamanic Predisposition”

This refers to an innate trait — a structure of the psyche determined genetically. It may be inherited or emerge through gene recombination. Usually, it manifests under intense stress, strong mobilization, or through conscious mental training (meditation, visualization, self-observation, etc.).

The maximal effect appears when two factors combine: spontaneous initiation (a crisis event) and systematic preparation (psychopractices).

Roughly speaking, this predisposition can be described through three characteristics:

• High sensitivity to external suggestion — an acute perception of manipulation, false narratives, or psychological control. Such individuals are nearly immune to propaganda and mass hypnosis.
• Strong capacity for self-suggestion — and here lies the danger: once a misconception is internalized, it is hard to dismantle. The person may become captive to their own inner constructs.
• Ability to influence others suggestively — some can evoke stable emotional-cognitive states in others. This is a powerful psychological tool, requiring ethical maturity.

Wandering or the Path?

If a person is unaware of what is happening to them, they are vulnerable to disorientation. They may swing from ecstasy to despair, from love to aggression, from inspiration to panic. Yes, moments of brilliance and creativity may arise — but at the cost of immense energy and often self-destruction. Such a state is not magic; it is an unstable, overclocked mode of consciousness.

Metaphorically, it’s as if you possess the formula for a powerful engine but pour random fuel into it, unable to steer or even know your destination.

The Path of Awareness: How to Tame the Gift

The solution begins with understanding three things:

• You possess an innate talent — what traditions call “the shamanic gift” or “sacred madness.”
• The initiation has already occurred — either through life crises or unconscious training.
• The next stage is to integrate these capacities into a rational, scientifically grounded framework built on ethics and logic.

Many traditions have already done this. Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Western psychology (from William James to Jung and Frankl), neuropsychiatry, and modern cognitive science all contain theoretical and practical foundations for working with altered states of consciousness.

Ethical Choice: Light or Shadow?

Once you learn to manage the gift, a new question arises: what is it for?

• Humanistic trajectory: understanding, studying, and applying the gift for good — education, support, healing, creativity, science, pedagogy.
• Cynical trajectory: using the gift as a tool for manipulation or exploitation. Such individuals may deliberately seek “test subjects” — emotionally unstable or vulnerable people — to practice control schemes. This is the path of violence and inner decay.

Thus, ethics becomes central. Spontaneous initiation without morality is a socially dangerous phenomenon.

Many people undergo initiation chaotically, without mentors or structured guidance. As a result — the gift develops in distorted, uncontrolled forms.

Particularly dangerous is initiation in the bohemian environment — among the so-called “creative elite,” often lacking discipline but rich in vanity, eccentricity, alcohol, and substance abuse. Such initiations may indeed occur, but the likelihood of distortion is extremely high.

No less perilous are shamanic-style initiations in destructive cults, pseudo-training groups led by self-proclaimed teachers obsessed with mystical or occult fantasies. These practices can genuinely activate psychic sensitivity or even shamanic faculties — but the risk of being trapped in manipulation is enormous.

Such “gurus” often employ suggestion, divination, and esoteric doctrines devoid of empirical testing. When their pedagogical errors cause moral, psychological, or physical harm, they rarely acknowledge responsibility. The standard reply: “You are to blame yourself.”

All this underscores the necessity of critical thinking, scientific awareness, and ethical maturity when dealing with borderline states of consciousness and initiatory experiences.

From Distorted Initiation to Conscious Development

The right path requires:

• Understanding your own giftedness.
• Conscious correction of “distorted initiation” through structured psychopractice.
• Building a clear, logically coherent internal model.
• Ethical verification of one’s motivations.

Conclusion

The true miracle lies not in spontaneous inspiration, but in the human ability to consciously direct their gift, transforming it into a force for good.

And if this gift is real, mastering it requires not ecstatic shouting or mystic frenzy, but quiet, thoughtful, scientific effort and moral maturity. That is what distinguishes great talent from dangerous anomaly.