Causal Multiplicity: The Science Behind Schizophrenia

In these studies, the schizophrenic patients described these instances of encounters with “beings” only during their DMT trips. Similarly, in many shamanic practices by native cultures, DMT or other psychedelics might be introduced using things like the ayahuasca tea to induce their visions, though some visions may still occur using methods other than those involving psychedelic substances. As a result of the many parallels between mystical states similar to the DMT experience and documented schizophrenic hallucinations, it has been suggested of shamanic visions that cultural relativism, where foreign definitions of abnormality would differ from our own due to varying cultural and social norms, might cause these shamans to be labeled the same as schizophrenics in western society. Again, let us return to the 1976 report by psychologist Jane Murphy, regarding Eskimos and West African Yoruba tribes making distinctions between altered states of consciousness and “being crazy,” as might be the case with schizophrenia. The Eskimo word, “nuthkavihak”, describes one who may carry on conversations with oneself or one who refuses to speak altogether, as well as noting delusions and other erratic behavior. Similarly, the Yoruba people refer to this as “were”, a condition almost identical to its Eskimo counterpart. Both cultures treat these as what we, in the West, might call schizophrenia, while separating shamanic visions altogether as something controlled and wholly spiritual.

Another instance where the parallels between DMT trips, alleged contact with entities and the descriptions of schizophrenic patients have been noteworthy involves the research of psychologist Wilson Van Dusen, Ph.D. Van Dusen conducted a fascinating study with hundreds of schizophrenic patients and individuals suffering from hallucinations where entities would appear before them. In an attempt to better understand the nature of schizophrenia, he decided he would try and interact with the hallucinations described by his patients, and by finding individuals who were able to distinguish between their own thoughts and those presented by the hallucinations, Van Dusen hoped to establish a relationship with both the patient and the “entities” they described, with the patient acting as a sort of “interpreter.”

During the “interview” sessions Van Dusen treated the hallucinations he wished to speak with as though they were “real,” much as his patients believed them to be. Often speaking directly to the entities, he asked the participants to dictate their replies to him word for word. By doing so, Van Dusen was exposed to bizarre instances of dialogue, sometimes held for long periods, which often seemed to be symbolically and literally beyond comprehension levels of the patients themselves. Many of the patients even expressed that their encounters with the beings were actually some sort of contact with entities from other worlds, rather than being mere hallucinations.

Supposing that his patient’s interpretations may be of some merit, Van Dusen believed that there might be a connection with these entities and spiritual phenomenon like possession and other instances of paranormal contact with beings like ghosts, spirits, or demons. Though most in the clinical world would never consider a source for this kind of interaction beyond fragments of the patient’s own unstable mind, Van Dusen questioned whether the entities he had managed to connect with might “really be spirits or pieces of one’s own consciousness?”