Shamanism

I'm not sure if I've written about this before, but it continually ?shocks? humbles? astounds? me how physicians almost seem to be the modern medicine men, the shaman, the grand priest, straddling the divide between life and death... It perpetually surprises me to no end when patients just want the assurance that they are normal, even though they felt fine, and they think that they are probably OK, but still needing the reassurance that yes, they are right. It's odd in that it seems that individual autonomy in actually understanding and feeling one's own rhythms aren't sufficient; one needs an outside source to confirm or deny one's own instinct. Very odd... like being able to get into that confession booth, and being 'free' to walk out the other side... like having chicken bones and tea shaken around in a bowl, and having an incantation being said, in order to be liberated... like having a liturgy or prayer said over you, and the blessing of life is now yours for the taking...