You hear it all the time: \u201cPerception is reality.\u201d Sometimes, that\u2019s a hard thing to accept, but it says a lot about how we act and react to the world around us.\u00a0 And for any who do magic, it\u2019s a very important, even crucial maxim.\u00a0 However, it also relates to how we determine who is \u2018sane\u2019 and who isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Of course, I\u2019m sane…\u00a0 I really am.<\/p>\n
I mean, really\u2026\u00a0 I am\u2026<\/p>\n
Sane, that is.<\/p>\n
Really<\/p>\n
(Here\u2019s some advice:\u00a0 Do not try to prove you are \u2018sane,\u2019 because the harder you try, the worse it gets.)<\/p>\n
Our spirituality, probably because it\u2019s based on personal experience rather than a specific book or codified statement of faith, has a wide variety of expressions.\u00a0 That is a polite way of saying some of us think and act in ways that make others uncomfortable because those others do not share our form of reality, our \u2018world view\u2019 or our perceptions.\u00a0 Even amongst ourselves the differences are great enough to cause discomfort, though we pride ourselves on being \u2018tolerant\u2019 about such things.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s difficult to know whether we should view another person\u2019s reality as being acceptable or a sign that they are mentally ill.<\/p>\n
Do not feel alone about this.\u00a0 Professionals in the mental health business have the same problem.\u00a0 What is classified as mental illness sometimes is about as fuzzy as a 30-day-old hunk of bread.\u00a0 Oh, another thing\u2026 without even trying hard, I\u2019ve found (so far) over a dozen different definitions for what defines a person as mentally healthy!\u00a0 It is definitely a difficult subject because some of these definitions contradict others.\u00a0 Truth be told, everybody seems to exhibit signs of mental illness at times\u2026 just as we exhibit signs of mental health at other times.\u00a0 The biggest problem is that hardly anybody can agree which is which.<\/p>\n
I bring this up because it directly relates to the work of a minister.\u00a0 In Wicca, as well as several other varieties of Paganism, each person is proclaimed to be a priest or priestess of their religion.\u00a0 Put as simply as possible, this means that each of us is charged with discovering our relationship with the gods and what that means.\u00a0 Since everyone will discover something different, we each will have a different take on that charge.\u00a0 But one of the things that seems to be consistent is we inevitably end up doing ministerial work.\u00a0 Ministry does not necessarily mean we go out and preach or have a congregation come to us each week.\u00a0 It means that we help others discover their own relationship to their gods.\u00a0 But that means we have to evaluate what is helpful and what may be harmful.\u00a0 Eventually, the problem comes up as to whether a person is operating from a mental illness or not.\u00a0 Most of us are not in the mental health business and it\u2019s difficult to make such judgments.<\/p>\n
For any who find themselves in the middle of this problem, I would offer some advice.\u00a0 Even though you may not have any training in psychology, there is a simple \u2018test\u2019 you can apply any time you question another person\u2019s \u2018sanity\u2019 (or, maybe, your own!).\u00a0 Actually, it is two-fold:\u00a0 Is the person able to operate in the world (that you perceive) without seriously harming themselves or others?\u00a0 And (and this is a really important one), can a treatment be implemented that provides for a more suitable reality base?\u00a0 If a course of treatment reduces or wipes out a person\u2019s reality base, it must build another one in its place or the \u2018treatment\u2019 is nothing more than a way of removing an inconvenience from society.\u00a0 Now, we might not know what a person\u2019s treatment might be because we aren\u2019t mental health professionals.\u00a0 But many of the people who are out on the streets and in need of treatment are not getting it for one of two reasons.<\/p>\n
The first reason is simply this: we cannot afford it.\u00a0 That\u2019s a cruel reality, but it\u2019s true.\u00a0 It might be better to say we will not afford it, but it amounts to the same thing.\u00a0 The cost of care is enormous for some of the worst cases and it is easier to ignore them unless and until they become a big enough problem that society decides the person has to be institutionalized for their (and our) own good.\u00a0 Of course, society has to pay for such institutionalization.\u00a0 And very few of those who get put in any kind of institution will ever be made \u2018better.\u2019<\/p>\n
The second reason is based on the first.\u00a0 The laws and attitudes of our society basically say that people who need treatment are weak, non-productive, and somehow less important than Joe Average.\u00a0 If they require treatment, they should seek it on their own.\u00a0 Even though there exist programs that some of these people could make use of, most of them could no more afford treatment than fly to the moon.\u00a0 And, to complicate it more, most of them do not want to be \u2018treated.\u2019 The medications used to treat many of the symptoms of ADD, bi-polar, schizophrenia, depression, and other common and serious mental illnesses are bitter pills for most of these people.\u00a0 The \u2018treatment\u2019 is often more disturbing to the patient than the \u2018disease.\u2019 A lot of treatments are for the benefit of society, not the patient.<\/p>\n
All these problems aside, when it comes to dealing with people, anyone in our faith group should understand that there are going to be some pretty strange folks show up and we need a way of relating to them that does not harm them or the rest of us.\u00a0 Simply \u2018diagnosing\u2019 them as crazy is not going to help anyone and quite possibly do irreparable harm.\u00a0 Even medical professions take an oath that says, \u2018Do no harm\u2019.<\/p>\n
What can we do?<\/p>\n
I think the first thing we can do is what other faith groups require their ministers to do:\u00a0 Take some classes in psychology so you can better understand the problems and symptoms of people who have mental illnesses.\u00a0 Educate yourself on what is known about human psychology and the clinical treatments for some of the more severe conditions.\u00a0 Do not ignore the problem.\u00a0 Everyone is affected by mental illness.<\/p>\n
The next thing we can do is to make ourselves more compassionate.\u00a0 The Buddhists base much of their religion on this one word and rightly so.\u00a0 Compassion does not mean feeling sorry for somebody; it means (quite literally) to feel with the other person, to understand what it is like to be in that person\u2019s reality.\u00a0 Of course, that does not mean we should somehow make ourselves crazy.\u00a0 It means we should gain an understanding, through education and reflection upon our own lives, of what the other person is experiencing.\u00a0 Being \u2018different\u2019 is often painful, no matter the degree of difference.\u00a0 Being afraid is always painful.\u00a0 Imagine what it would be like to hear voices that are coming from nowhere and plotting against you.\u00a0 Imagine feeling useless and without any joy day in and day out.\u00a0 Understand when a person refuses their medication because it makes the world seem lifeless.<\/p>\n
None of this requires us to tolerate any activity that harms us or the people around us.\u00a0 If somebody is acting in a way that places us in danger, treat the problem at hand.\u00a0 Without a doubt, our religion can attract some pretty strange people no matter by what yardstick you may judge them.\u00a0 But remember that these people have seen the world through the lens of a different life.\u00a0 Their perception is their reality.\u00a0 If they have a physical problem (and most mental illnesses do have a known physical aspect to them) that causes them to experience a wildly different reality, they deserve our compassion just as much as a person who has an injury to a visible part of their body.\u00a0 They are just as much children of the gods as anyone.<\/p>\n
In the role of priestess or priest, we often are required to conduct our lives in a manner that demands more effort.\u00a0 That\u2019s part of the \u2018office\u2019 of the priesthood.\u00a0 Educating ourselves on the various aspects of the human mind shouldn\u2019t be ignored.\u00a0 Acting with that knowledge may complicate things, but it should never be viewed as a burden.\u00a0 It is but one of the ways we can make ourselves and our world (as we perceive it) better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You hear it all the time: \u201cPerception is reality.\u201d Sometimes, that\u2019s a hard thing to accept, but it says a lot about how we act and react to the world around us.\u00a0 And for any who do magic, it\u2019s a very important, even crucial maxim.\u00a0 However, it also relates to how we determine who is \u2018sane\u2019 and who isn\u2019t. Of course, I\u2019m sane…\u00a0 I really am. I mean, really\u2026\u00a0 I am\u2026 Sane, that is. Really (Here\u2019s some advice:\u00a0 Do not try to prove you are \u2018sane,\u2019 because the harder you try, the worse it gets.) Our spirituality, probably because it\u2019s based on personal experience rather than a specific book or codified statement of faith, has a wide variety of expressions.\u00a0 That is a polite way of saying some of us think and act in ways that make others uncomfortable because those others do not share our form of reality, our \u2018world view\u2019 or our perceptions.\u00a0 Even amongst ourselves the differences are great enough to cause discomfort, though we pride ourselves on being \u2018tolerant\u2019 about such things.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s difficult to know whether we should view another person\u2019s reality as being acceptable or a sign that they are mentally ill. Do not feel alone about this.\u00a0 Professionals in the mental health business have the same problem.\u00a0 What is classified as mental illness sometimes is about as fuzzy as a 30-day-old hunk of bread.\u00a0 Oh, another thing\u2026 without even trying hard, I\u2019ve found (so far) over a dozen different definitions for what defines a person as mentally healthy!\u00a0 It is definitely a difficult subject because some of these definitions contradict others.\u00a0 Truth be told, everybody seems to exhibit signs of mental illness at times\u2026 just as we exhibit signs of mental health at other times.\u00a0 The biggest problem is that hardly anybody can agree which is which. I bring this up because it directly relates to the work of a minister.\u00a0 In Wicca, as well as several other varieties of Paganism, each person is proclaimed to be a priest or priestess of their religion.\u00a0 Put as simply as possible, this means that each of us is charged with discovering our relationship with the gods and what that means.\u00a0 Since everyone will discover something different, we each will have a different take on that charge.\u00a0 But one of the things that seems to be consistent is we inevitably end up doing ministerial work.\u00a0 Ministry does not necessarily mean we go out and preach or have a congregation come to us each week.\u00a0 It means that we help others discover their own relationship to their gods.\u00a0 But that means we have to evaluate what is helpful and what may be harmful.\u00a0 Eventually, the problem comes up as to whether a person is operating from a mental illness or not.\u00a0 Most of us are not in the mental health business and it\u2019s difficult to make such judgments. For any who find themselves in the middle of this problem, I would offer some advice.\u00a0 Even though you may not have any training in psychology, there is a simple \u2018test\u2019 you can apply any time you question another person\u2019s \u2018sanity\u2019 (or, maybe, your own!).\u00a0 Actually, it is two-fold:\u00a0 Is the person able to operate in the world (that you perceive) without seriously harming themselves or others?\u00a0 And (and this is a really important one), can a treatment be implemented that provides for a more suitable reality base?\u00a0 If a course of treatment reduces or wipes out a person\u2019s reality base, it must build another one in its place or the \u2018treatment\u2019 is nothing more than a way of removing an inconvenience from society.\u00a0 Now, we might not know what a person\u2019s treatment might be because we aren\u2019t mental health professionals.\u00a0 But many of the people who are out on the streets and in need of treatment are not getting it for one of two reasons. The first reason is simply this: we cannot afford it.\u00a0 That\u2019s a cruel reality, but it\u2019s true.\u00a0 It might be better to say we will not afford it, but it amounts to the same thing.\u00a0 The cost of care is enormous for some of the worst cases and it is easier to ignore them unless and until they become a big enough problem that society decides the person has to be institutionalized for their (and our) own good.\u00a0 Of course, society has to pay for such institutionalization.\u00a0 And very few of those who get put in any kind of institution will ever be made \u2018better.\u2019 The second reason is based on the first.\u00a0 The laws and attitudes of our society basically say that people who need treatment are weak, non-productive, and somehow less important than Joe Average.\u00a0 If they require treatment, they should seek it on their own.\u00a0 Even though there exist programs that some of these people could make use of, most of them could no more afford treatment than fly to the moon.\u00a0 And, to complicate it more, most of them do not want to be \u2018treated.\u2019 The medications used to treat many of the symptoms of ADD, bi-polar, schizophrenia, depression, and other common and serious mental illnesses are bitter pills for most of these people.\u00a0 The \u2018treatment\u2019 is often more disturbing to the patient than the \u2018disease.\u2019 A lot of treatments are for the benefit of society, not the patient. All these problems aside, when it comes to dealing with people, anyone in our faith group should understand that there are going to be some pretty strange folks show up and we need a way of relating to them that does not harm them or the rest of us.\u00a0 Simply \u2018diagnosing\u2019 them as crazy is not going to help anyone and quite possibly do irreparable harm.\u00a0 Even medical professions take an oath that says, \u2018Do no harm\u2019. What can we do? I think the first thing we can do is what other faith groups require their ministers to do:\u00a0 Take some classes in psychology so you can better understand the problems and symptoms of people who have mental illnesses.\u00a0 Educate yourself on what is known about human psychology and the clinical treatments for some of the more severe conditions.\u00a0 Do not ignore the problem.\u00a0 Everyone is affected by mental illness. The next thing we can do is to make ourselves more compassionate.\u00a0 The Buddhists base much of their religion on this one word and rightly so.\u00a0 Compassion does not mean feeling sorry for somebody; it means (quite literally) to feel with the other person, to understand what it is like to be in that person\u2019s reality.\u00a0 Of course, that does not mean we should somehow make ourselves crazy.\u00a0 It means we should gain an understanding, through education and reflection upon our own lives, of what the other person is experiencing.\u00a0 Being \u2018different\u2019 is often painful, no matter the degree of difference.\u00a0 Being afraid is always painful.\u00a0 Imagine what it would be like to hear voices that are coming from nowhere and plotting against you.\u00a0 Imagine feeling useless and without any joy day in and day out.\u00a0 Understand when a person refuses their medication because it makes the world seem lifeless. None of this requires us to tolerate any activity that harms us or the people around us.\u00a0 If somebody is acting in a way that places us in danger, treat the problem at hand.\u00a0 Without a doubt, our religion can attract some pretty strange people no matter by what yardstick you may judge them.\u00a0 But remember that these people have seen the world through the lens of a different life.\u00a0 Their perception is their reality.\u00a0 If they have a physical problem (and most mental illnesses do have a known physical aspect to them) that causes them to experience a wildly different reality, they deserve our compassion just as much as a person who has an injury to a visible part of their body.\u00a0 They are just as much children of the gods as anyone. In the role of priestess or priest, we often are required to conduct our lives in a manner that demands more effort.\u00a0 That\u2019s part of the \u2018office\u2019 of the priesthood.\u00a0 Educating ourselves on the various aspects of the human mind shouldn\u2019t be ignored.\u00a0 Acting with that knowledge may complicate things, but it should never be viewed as a burden.\u00a0 It is but one of the ways we can make ourselves and our world (as we perceive it) better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}