Clothes Minded

The Pain That Disappears Before the Treatment Starts

You've been up all night with excruciating tooth pain. By the time your dentist appointment rolls around at 3 PM, the pain is unbearable - radiating through your jaw, pulsing with every heartbeat. You walk into the dentist’s, clutching your face, every step a reminder of how much you need this to stop.

Then you sit in the chair. The dentist leans over, and pulls down their mask just enough to ask, 'How's the pain now?'

And, embarrassingly, you realise… it's not that bad. Maybe even gone.

They haven't touched you. Haven't done anything. But something's shifted.

From the Dentist’s Chair to the Shaman‘s Cloak

Now, imagine the same scenario - but you're not in a sterile clinic. You're deep in the Siberian wilderness, feverish and desperate, and instead of a dentist, a shaman steps into the room. Feathers cascade from their headdress, beads clink with every step, symbols stitched into every fold of their cloak.

And the same thing happens. Before they utter a single chant, the pain stops. The healing has already begun.

In ‘Shamanic Regalia in the Far North’, Patricia Rieff Anawalt writes, 'It was of crucial importance that shamanic power be reflected in dress and regalia… Piers Vitebsky reports that the first question one hears when there is rumour of a new Siberian shaman is, “Yes, but has he got the costume?” For a shaman, looks count.’

Because in the world of shamanic healing, appearance isn't just tradition - it's part of the power.

The Power of Appearance

But this isn't just about shamans.

A famous study - the Milgram experiment - shows just how powerful appearance can be. If you don't know it, Google it. But here's the short version: an actor in a lab coat, posing as a scientist, was able to influence participants to deliver what they believed were harmful electric shocks to others.

But it wasn't just about obedience. The belief in that lab coat's authority had a visceral effect on the participants themselves - inducing stress so intense it caused physical reactions like nausea, trembling, and even fainting.

It seemed to shape their reality.

And if a lab coat can make us ill, it can also make us better - just like our dentist. The same story that creates stress can also create relief.

Where Does the Power Come From?

But what power does the shaman's costume really have? Where is the mysterious magic that's contained within the white lab coat?

Is it the coat itself? The fabric? Maybe it's in the stitching? Or in the inside pocket?

For the shaman… in the feathers? Or in the bones?

Or is it something else entirely - something happening in the minds of those who believe in them?

When You Realise It’s All Just Stories.

What happens when you realise it's all just stories?

The white coat, the shaman's feathers, the tailored suit - they only have power because we've agreed on the story they tell. And once you see that, you start noticing these stories everywhere.

This recognition has potential. It can make magic feel real… or reveal that it was never there to begin with.

And it has nothing to do with the world around you. It's about the stories being told.

What Story Are You Living In?

This recognition is what I help people understand. If you're ready to explore this for yourself, book a consultation - and let’s find the freedom that comes when you’re no longer bound by the stories you didn’t even know you were telling.