12.5: relig/SMI(Seriously Mentally ill)/my friend, the Hidden Imam:
. I know a guy with an interesting mental illness,
a sort of schizophrenic personality disorder,
involving a style of magical thinking
that affects his ability to socialize .
. he thinks his thoughts are being broadcast
by god to other minds all over the world;
and god uses his mind as a public bulletin board;
which means he serves the same function as
Islam's Hidden Imam, providing guidance
like an Imam or priest, but telepathically,
and passively, not by addressing individuals,
but by being a sort of TV character
who everyone knows the details of,
so that god can tell us stories
that speak to all of us . signed by god .
. Mental Health calls him SMI(Seriously Mentally ill),
which makes him eligible for disability benefits;
but I was amazed at the uncanny coincidences
that make his "delusions" seems so believable .
. I asked my friend how he sustains such a delusion,
when he's routinely going to Mental Health
and getting asked questions like
"(are the medications giving you sideaffects?)
and "(have you heard any voices?).
"(how about any new smells?) I asked,
"(this condition doesn't smell to you?).
. he responded like an Imam, without blinking:
"(in America, when you live in a glass house,
you are too smashed to pick up a stone).