"The Schizophrenic is drowning in the waters the Mystic swims in with delight."
That phrase is becoming almost trite these days, but it illustrates - to me anyway - the difference between the two.
They call Shamans "The Wounded Healer" or "[He] who walks in two worlds."
The biggest difference between a Schizophrenic and a highly sensitive Shaman is the ability of the Shaman to keep perspective on which world he's walking in at any given moment and to not allow the one to exclude or even overly influence the other. Schizophrenics lose the ability to distinguish which world they're walking in and as a result get lost and unable to operate effectively in either.
The problem with forums such as this is that there's no way to tell from someone's post whether they are able to control their perspective or not. To encourage someone to explore this sensitivity without some kind of mentor, teacher, aid or protection is not necessarily the most responsible response. There are too many people who are legitimately hampered by their confusion. I for one, would hate to contibute to someone else's inability to cope with the line between the two worlds by giving unwarranted or ill-timed advice or encouragement.
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