There are examples of shamanic healing being performed in conventional medical settings.
The Hmong are an indigenous people of Laos in South East Asia. They were trained by the CIA to fight the North Vietnamese in the Vietnam war. Many Hmong relocated to America, to escape retribution from the communist regime after the war ended, where they were granted refugee status. They number 260,000 in the USA. According to the 2009 New York Times article ‘A doctor for disease, a shaman for the soul’ the Mercy Medical Centre in Merced, California treated an average of four Hmong patients per day and developed the first shaman policy in the USA in 2009. This formally recognised the cultural role of traditional healers and nine approved ceremonies that were permitted to be performed in the hospital. Certified shamans were given the same access to patients as clergy. The shaman program was designed to address years of mistrust and misunderstanding between the Hmong community and conventional doctors. That cultural divide was documented in an award-winning book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman, which told the story of a young Hmong girl, Lia Lee, diagnosed with severe epilepsy. The misunderstandings between her American doctors and her refugee family led to a tragic outcome. Conversely, a healing miracle occurred in the hospital ten years prior to the implementation of the shaman policy, when in deference to hundreds of Hmong people, a clan leader with a gangrenous bowel was allowed to have shamanic healing in the hospital. He fully recovered which became a turning point in the skepticism of the medical staff. Eighty - nine shamans undertook a seven week course in conventional medicine and Western doctors were taught Hmong cultural beliefs in order to build trust between the groups. Two sisters, Lesley and Lasley Xiong were born to Hmong parents and both of their grandfathers were shamen. They trained as conventional doctors and have a medical practice in their home town. Lesley says that if she were ill she would want a shaman present but would also go to the hospital. The sisters see their role as a bridge between traditional and Western-style healing. Another example of cross cultural healthcare, is the Indian medical service on a Navajo reservation in Arizona which employs three medicine men. I hope that, one day, Western people have access to shamanism in hospital, if they want it, as well as those from shamanic cultures. Shamanism was largely wiped out in the UK, Europe and Ireland during the reformations and inquisitions of the past so we don’t have continued practice of our cultural heritage as the Hmong do. Shamanism may well have been part of our ancestry and tradition but even if it wasn’t, the spirits are happy to help and offer healing. One of my shamanic teachers worked in a hospice for a time, helping terminally ill patients. Another worked in an NHS setting with patients suffering from addiction. There are huge potential benefits from shamanism for patients in these settings and in practical terms the shamanic interventions are cost effective and need little in the way of resources. There were patients in my own practice who I believe could have benefitted from shamanic healing. In fact, it was quite frustrating not to be able to offer it. Being trained in both disciplines, I see that shamanic and modern health care can coexist in harmony for the benefit of the patient/client. All that is required is tolerance, respect and understanding of each others beliefs. In my experience, patients these days are very open minded towards ‘alternative’ or complementary therapies and often ask about them, especially if conventional doctors say there is ‘nothing they can do’. There seems to be a shift in human consciousness and acceptance of spiritual matters which I believe is a good thing. At time of writing, I am told six conventional doctors have qualified as shamanic practitioners at my shamanic school, The Sacred Trust. There are others in the USA. I look forward to seeing the healing we achieve as we continue our shamanic practice with our background in modern medicine. www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/us/20shaman.html
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