Introduction
Mediumship has positive effects on the overall mental and emotional health of people. In the past, scientists researched mediumship from a negative pathological perspective. However, recent studies and some of them included in this paper investigated the positive impacts of mediumship. As mediums communicate with the dead, they experience dissociation that strengthens their spirituality and increases their resilience. Amongst the many cultures practicing mediumship is an outstanding process named Dang-Ki healing from China. Dang-Ki healing has spiritual roots, which make the healing process substantial for the mediums. Thus, based on the available study, mediumship is benched on spiritualism and can have therapeutic effects that promote wellness, as evidenced by many traditional practices, including Dang-Ki healing.
Mediumship and Dissociation
Mediumship involves dissociation where the mediums disconnect with their conscious self, connect with the unconscious state, and purportedly communicate with the dead. Researchers view the dissociative state from a pathological, psychological, and anthropological perspective to understand the mental and emotional state of the mediums during the practice. From a psychological aspect, the dissociative state causes a therapeutic effect on the mental and emotional state of mediums. According to de Oliveira et al., the dissociative process in mediumship causes significant relaxation of the brain (175). From a study that experimented with several mediums of lower and higher levels of performance, highly experienced mediums experienced lower brain activities during the mediation process (de Oliveira et al. 182). The state of reduced brain functioning was interpreted as relaxation of the mind. Conclusively, a relaxed mind promotes a more stable mental and emotional health status.
Mediumship, through the process of dissociation, plays a therapeutic role for people with psychological distress. In the process where an individual disconnects from a conscious state of mind, they activate a part of the brain responsible for cognitive processing. It is through cognitive processing that the mediums can interpret and write what they learn in the mediumship procedure. The cognitive processing process activated during the state of unconsciousness helps to calm down the distressed mind. The process of mental relaxation within this period then helps the mediums to think clearly. According to Ng, most experienced mediums have a better understanding of self-identity (29). Self-identity is associated with a clear understanding of an individual’s environment, including spiritual surroundings. Thus, mediums, by connecting to their spiritual beings, develop a better understanding of themselves and their environments.
Various cultures practice mediumship to find information, get closure, and heal from a disease or condition. The practice of mediumship is linked to traditional beliefs and practices that help stabilize emotions and mental health. Cultures such as that of the UK, Brazil, and China practice mediumship as a way of recovering or healing from a spiritual or clinical condition. These cultural practices are based on their traditions that also connect with spiritualism. According to de Oliveira et al., different cultural understandings of mediumship bases the process on spirituality (184). The aspect of spiritualism helps individuals to attain and maintain a positive mental and emotional state of health.
The Spiritualism of Dang-Ki Healing
Dang-Ki healing, practiced in the Chinese culture, is embedded in the spiritual process of recovery. The procedure is rooted in ancient magic religions and shamanism applied in Chinese culture. The process of healing requires absorption and exercise of local beliefs. According to Lee and Laurence, the practice and beliefs of Dang-Ki healing are based on Chinese religious faiths, including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism (12). The religious faith is reflected in the Dang-Ki beliefs through aspects such as fate, karma, kinship, social harmony, divination, and geomancy (Lee and Laurence 14). However, unlike religious doctrines, Dang–Ki has no institutional structures, formal doctrine, or official training for the mediumship. Therefore, people become mediums as a way to show gratitude to their gods for their healing or when they are chosen by the gods.
Recent studies indicate that Dang–Ki healing has a therapeutic effect experienced during spiritual transformation. The study by Lee and Laurence shows that Dang–Ki healing transformation involves a sense of self (23). Psychologically, the self is a cognitive schema about individuals which guides and organizes the processing of self-related ideas involving social lives. Some of the self-related information includes self-identity, memories, self-concept, future expectations, and self-awareness. Based on psychological experiences and biological factors, each person has a different cognitive schema which makes them unique. People are however united by common cognitive resources including social norms, values, and languages. These aspects, therefore, make the self-idea be perceived both publicly and privately. Similarly, the Dang–Ki healing transformation can be explored from both cultural and personal levels.
Dang–Ki mediums use their mediumship abilities to cope with inner conflicts. Like any other person, mediums experience suffering related to trauma, sexual orientation, grief, troubled childhood, and violence but through dissociation, they can cope with the problems (Lee and Laurence 786). The study classifies culture as a public cognitive schema where many people share beliefs and practices. The public cognitive schema then offers people a system of symbols and meanings for communication and socialization through which people relate and identify. From this perspective, Dang–Ki healing can be perceived as a means of cultural idiom through which mediums express, communicate and interpret their personal experiences.
Dang-Ki mediums experience spirit possession that takes them through the process of transformation. For people to be changed by the Dang-Ki healing, they must accept cultural beliefs which contain the possessing spirits (Lee and Laurence 787). The radical change occurs when the deities assume their spiritual self to turn the mediums into another self. Furthermore, self-transformation entails more than cultural and psychological processes but also embodiment. Embodiment here is the state of the actual body and simulation of brain experiences. It is in the state of an embodiment when mediums dissociate with their conscious mind that they are transformed or receive healing.
In the Dang–Ki healing context, the aspect of self is more than reflexive and cognitive-discursive components. It also involves the brain’s modality systems, including auditory and visual that connect the interactions of the body with its physical and social environment. This concept means that when mediums are in the process of engaging with the inner self, what they hear or see is interpreted based on their daily experiences. According to Lee and Laurence, people who have connected with the Dang-Ki healing spirit often experience relatable situations (23). During the transformation process when mediums are possessed by the Dang–Ki healing spirits, they hear and see things with which they can relate to their daily experiences.
The embodied self is often shaped and reshaped by interactions with practices, discourse, and sociocultural meanings. Before the initiation of mediums, the mediums suffer from psychosocial stressors that disrupt self-coherence, resulting in internal conflict (Lee and Laurence 11). When people in these conditions go to seek religious help, they are advised to become mediums. It is through becoming a medium that one is shaped and reshaped. During the initiation of mediumship, the mediums are temporarily separated from their relationships, roles, and social context to allow them to reshape their inner self (Lee and Laurence 12). Their previous identities are replaced with new identities and social roles. The spiritual transformation is characterized by bodily changes including shaved heads and other practices such as dancing, eating ritual foods, and singing. During their transformation or spirit possession process, the mediums behave like their deities based on their personalities and characters.
Benefits of the Dang-Ki Healing Process
One of the most obvious benefits of this process is recovery from both physical and inner conflict. People who seek mediumship are often self-conflicted and wish to feel better by the experience. Study shows that Dang–Ki assumes symbolic healing whereby deities use specific incantations to manipulate the sick organs (Lee and Laurence 28). For the incantation to heal, it must hold the clinical reality of both the deity and the sick person. The incantation, often through a song is a symbol of a clinical treatment process. The symbolic aspects however do not eliminate the physical therapeutic ingredients. Some Shamans or deities prescribe herbs that the mediums take as medical prescriptions. The Chinese also heal due to their socio-cultural beliefs that herbs provided by the deities are powerful because they are recommended by their gods.
Another benefit of the healing process is the recognition of self-identity. Some of the mediums that seek healing are usually in search of self-identity. According to Lee and Laurence, by connecting with their inner selves, the mediums grow a new understanding of themselves (788). The acquired knowledge is not restricted to self-identity but also the understanding of daily experiences. During the transformation process, the mediums paused their daily experiences and diverge into learning new experiences. In other words, mediumship in Dang–Ki is like a normal rehab system where people are drawn away from their daily functioning and are taught how to operate in new conditions (White et al. 127). Through spiritual connection with inner selves, the mediums relearn about themselves thus recognizing their identities.
Lastly, through the Dang–Ki healing practice, mediums learn how to balance their emotions. Study shows that connecting with the inner self through dissociation triggers a cognitive process that relaxes the brain (White et al. 129). In this Chinese healing process, the mediums through the help of deities are connected with their inner self as a regular practice (White et al. 130). The continued dissociation and relaxation of the brain offer mediums with the long-lasting capability to control their emotions. Consequently, the mediums often manage to stay out of trouble or can avoid conflicting situations. Most mediums that practice the Chinese healing process tend to be closer to religious beliefs. The deities and Shamans also teach the Mediums how to control their emotions and maintain a healthy mental status.
Conclusion
Mediumship has therapeutic effects that positively contribute to the general well-being of mediums. Through dissociation, the mediums can connect with their inner self thus relaxing their minds. Like in rehabilitation, mediumship offers a self-transformative environment. The Chinese Dang–Ki healing process is spiritual but also encompasses socio-cultural experiences. The Dang–Ki mediums must hold strong religious and cultural beliefs for the deities’ incantations to heal them. Spiritual transformation has numerous benefits, amongst them being recovery, recognition of self-identity, and balancing of emotions. Little research has been done on the topic of Dang–Ki healing thus limiting the scope of opinions. Future research should therefore investigate the topic in lengthy detail.
Works Cited
de Oliveira Maraldi et al. “Cultural and Group Differences in Mediumship and Dissociation: Exploring the Varieties of Mediumistic Experiences.” International Journal of Latin American Religions, vol. 3, no.1, 2019, pp. 170-192. Web.
Lee, Boon-Ooi, and Laurence J. Kirmayer. “Dang-Ki Healing: An Embodied Relational Healing Practice in Singapore.” Transcultural Psychiatry, vol. 57, no.6, 2020, pp. 786-800. Web.
Lee, Boon-Ooi, and Laurence J. Kirmayer. “Spirit Mediumship and Mental Health: Therapeutic Self-transformation among Dang-kis in Singapore.” Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 2022, pp. 1-30. Web.
Ng, Emily. A Time of Lost Gods: Mediumship, Madness, and the Ghost after Mao. University of California Press, 2020.
White, Ross G., et al. ““Other Psychotherapies”: Healing Interactions across Time, Geography, and Culture.” Transcultural Psychiatry, vol. 57, no. 6, 2020, pp. 727-740. Web.