There is a book by John Neihardt called Black Elk Speaks in which he provides a description of a Native American shaman guiding Black Elk in his apparent schizophrenic episode into controlling his gift. So rather than exorcising the demon, as in the Christian tradition, or tranquilizing the "patient," as in our modern insipid psychobabble, the shaman teaches Black Elk to adapt to his deities' call.

In our secular world of "dry, yeast-less factuality," journey into the mystical would be a terrifying experience for our modern sensibility, especially, as our "enlightened" rulers have systematically dismantled spiritual rituals within our society. Without a guide to lead those gifted, as in the book, the only recourse left is to tranquilize and marginalize those who dare to remind us of an invisible plane of existence.