November 11, 2010----WRAP UP

November 11, 2010

My time at this magical place is rapidly coming to a close. I have not kept up the blog very well over the last few days because I realized that my time on the computer was keeping me from putting my full attention on the extraordinary experiences I am having here. Not only that, but I also realized that there is no way to adequately describe this place in a way that truly conveys a sense of what goes on here and what it feels like to be here. I reread what I wrote in the blog and sensed that if the reader had not been to see John of God or hadn't heard much about this place, then it might sound a bit like nonsense...quite unbelievable.

Just to give you a quick summary, I'm really grateful I was able to make this big trip, thanks to Gordi, and have managed better than I dared hope in regards to my health issues. There were a few rough spots now and then, but nothing major. My travel mates, Gordi and Cherie, are very happy they came and have noticed healings, less on the physical plane, and more on other levels. It was so good to be with them during this adventure into the paranormal.

Regarding my healing, it might be too early to tell what exactly was healed because, I'm told, the healing continues after one leaves La Casa and John of God. But, although I definitely feel something significant happened here, it's difficult to quantify, except to say that I have been able to eat all kinds of things that I'm allergic to without repercussions. And I experienced moments that were completely free of the anxiety that had been my constant shadow for over two years. And there were times when I experienced a deep sense of peace that I haven't known for a very long time.

This is my very first blog. Thank you Keith (my lovely neighbor) for orienting me to this way of staying in touch with family and friends.

Signing off.

With love,
Erica

November 7, 2010--WATERFALL

Today I went to the sacred waterfall, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. It was magical, inspiring, uplifting, and soothing to the soul. But unlike ten years ago when I hung out there for several hours soaking in the magic, this time we have been asked to limit our time under the waterfall to only a few minutes. And bathing suits required. Things have changed over the years due to heavy use of the area.

I spent the rest of the day in meditation, prayer, and in deep conversation with some of the many fascinating people who come to this place from all over the world. It is such a treat for me to have the time to sit in leisure, without time constraints and without thinking of all the things I need to do ---the “to do” list which interferes with living life fully in the present moment. The timeless space I enter here allows me to tune into myself and the world on such a deeper level without all the distractions of daily life.  In the same vein, I’m also aware of how isolating the computer can be. While it connects us to the world, at the same time it can keep us separate, away from connecting in person.  

November 6, 2010---SETTLING IN

Today was so relaxing, I can hardly remember what I did, mostly reading, walking around the town, and talking with some very interesting people and listening to their healing stories which were inspirational. I’m getting to know my traveling mates, Gordi and Cherie, much better and am grateful they are with me during this big adventure. It’s fascinating watching the changes in their faces as the days progress. They each look ten years younger. Being relaxed and happy is the best cosmetic. 

Local hang out with fabulous tropical fruit smoothies

I never tire from hearing people talk about their experiences of their healing from "untreatable" and "incurable" conditions. There is the young man from Vermont who had a glioblastoma--the most deadly, aggressive type of brain tumor. His tumor was considered inoperable. He was given a shunt for palliative care to take off some of the pressure in his head. After coming to see John of God a couple of times, his tumor disappeared, as documented by his follow up MRI scan. He ended up staying in Brazil and married a Brazilian woman who works with John of God at La Casa.


I spoke to one of the trip guides, a man named Bob from California, who takes groups of people down to Brazil several times a year. He first came to see John of God 12 years ago because he was near total blindness from a rare, progressive eye disease. After 5 visits, he had total restoration of his eyesight. As you can imagine, I was heartened by those words, although I know that each person's healing path is unique to them and cannot be compared.


An elderly woman from South Africa staying at our pousada came to breakfast one morning uncharacteristically happy, beaming with a smile that lit up her whole face. She said that she had been in excruciating pain for the past six years from an orthopedic procedure that had gone badly. After her "invisible surgery" she had become free of pain and felt as if her spine had straightened. Her traveling companion claimed she had become taller by an inch or two. 


A few years ago a reporter from ABC, John Quinones, followed five people who came from different places in the world for healing. One had an inoperable brain tumor, one with ALS, a woman with breast cancer, a young woman who was in a wheelchair--paraplegic from a car accident when she was 16 years old, and an older woman with severe allergies. The follow up, a few months after their return home revealed the following: That the man with the inoperable brain tumor showed by follow up MRI that the tumor had shrunk considerably. (It ultimately disappeared completely) The man with ALS showed no improvement on the physical plane, but he had made peace with his condition and felt that the experience with John of God had prepared him to face his inevitable death. The woman in the wheelchair was able to stand up with the help of railing and take baby steps for the first time since her accident. The woman with breast cancer had a follow up procedure which showed that the tumor had not improved, but, nevertheless, she was in a state of complete peace and optimism. And lastly, the woman with allergies said they were still there but much improved. This sampling is a realistic representation of what happens here.

November 5, 2010--CURRENT ROOM

Awoke feeling good, but still a little weak. Put on my white clothes, ate a delicious breakfast and walked over to La Casa with my traveling companions. I spent the morning in “the current room,” which is where people meditate and pray for hours. During my meditation, as my mind was wandering off track, I noted that I was completely free of anxiety, a state I had not experienced for over two years. And it also dawned on me that I had not had one episode of diarrhea since arriving in Abadiania. And I noted that I had been eating some of the foods I had become allergic to in the past couple of years---without any consequences!!! These items were not even on the list for healing. I almost don't dare make the assumption that these particular ailments are gone for good, thinking maybe they are gone while I'm here because I'm so relaxed. But, I'm hoping for the best. 

Entering into La Casa, the healing compound

Alas, the vision shows no change---yet. The sleep was slightly improved in that I only needed half of the sleeping pill last night and was able to get almost six hours of uninterrupted sleep. The usual has been around four hours followed by lots of rest until morning. 

I’m feeling more relaxed than I have in a very long time. The prescribed herbs might be playing a role since they are essentially passion flower that has been blessed by “the Entitities.” But certainly playing a role is the loving and heart-opening atmosphere in this place which seems to be affecting everyone in a positive and healing way. 

Inside La Casa in the soup line

I went in the afternoon again in front of John of God.  I asked the entity he was embodying for continued healing on all levels. He prescribed 10 visits to the sacred waterfall nearby in a densely wooded area. 

November 4, 2010--POST INVISIBLE SURGERY (SPIRITUAL INTERVENTION)

Slept most of the day. Still thoroughly exhausted. Got up to walk briefly around the balcony and to use the bathroom, otherwise incommunicado. It's quite puzzling how this "invisible" surgery can have a similar impact as though the surgery was "real." Almost everyone has the same response. 

November 3, 2010---JOHN OF GOD

John of God

John of God does his healing work on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The other days he is at his ranch, minding his cattle. For the next 3 days we dress in white as we go before “the Entities.”  Before you scratch your head in bewilderment, let me explain---at least how I understand it. John of God is a medium who has devoted the last 54 years of his life to helping those who suffer. He asks for no payment for his healing services. 

As a charismatic, Catholic teenager from a poor farming family, he would go into a spontaneous and unbidden trance-like state during which time he was able to heal those who came to him for help. During these states, he channels disembodied spirits. The spirits, referred to as “entities” were famous doctors and healers who had died, the most prominent one being Don Ignacio de Loyola from 15^th Century Spain, a nobleman who gave over his life to healing the poor and the sick.

Eventually, word spread about John of God’s healing abilities. Over the last few decades he has seen thousands of people each week from all around the globe and has been described as the most powerful medium alive today. I would estimate from what I have heard and read that about 10-15% of the supplicants receive complete healing on the physical plane while they are here. But the majority of all the seekers receive some level of healing on the spiritual/emotional plane which, at a minimum, can make their physical burdens more tolerable, and at most can create conditions favorable to healing.


It's truly amazing that this man, John of God, has given up ordinary life and devoted himself entirely to the alleviation of suffering of humankind----a bodhisatva in the truest sense of the word.  

Hundreds await their turn to appear in front of John of God

Today hundreds of white clad visitors gathered at La Casa, awaiting their turn to stand in front of the  “Entities.” Since there are about 30 different entities that are channeled  through John of God, one never knows who will be doing the healing at any particular moment. Some of the entities are playful, some stern, some very loving and compassionate. The people who have been with John of God for many years can often guess who the entity is that is being channeled based on John of God’s behavior. During an interview with ABC in 2005, I remember John of God saying that he has no idea what happens and what he said while he channels. He said it’s as though he’s asleep. There is absolutely no recollection of what transpired.  

We have been told that we can write down up to three requests for healing. We each are holding the piece of paper with our three requests which have been translated into Portuguese. It was challenging for me to decide which of my ailments to list. I finally decided to ask for help with the residual structural brain damage, double and blurred vision, and the insomnia. I reasoned that the chronic anxiety and diarrhea and food allergies would improve when the other impairments healed. Next week I’ll ask for healing for my friends, family, and patients. I was told to focus on myself this week.

When it was my turn, I kneeled in front of John of God, took his hand and looked into his eyes. For an instant it was like looking into deep pools of love, but then his eyes rolled back in his head. He looked like he was completely “gone” and not in his body. He seemed not to listen as the translator started to read my list. Within a few seconds he scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to the translator. I was told I needed “surgery” and special herbs as I was escorted out of the room. 

My translator was Heather Cumming, author of a book about John of God  (http://www.healingquests.com/pages/book.htm) and a guide for people making the trip to John of God for the first time.  I met her ten years ago when we stayed in the same pousada with the group that she was leading from the States. She’s a Scottish woman who was raised in Brazil and has devoted her adult life to service related to John of God. She actually remembered me. “Oh, you’re the doctor.”  I also ran into Emma Bragdon, another guide I had met on that same trip ten years ago. She had interviewed me for her book about John of God, called “Spiritual Alliances.”              (http://emmabragdon.com/eb/books-2/spiritual-alliances-the-book) We had a lovely reunion. Emma made a short movie about John of God which is excellent in conveying what happens here in Abadiania. (http://www.johnofgodfilm.com/reviews.htm)

Visible surgery 

John of God, while incorporating entities who were  former surgeons, spends sessions on stage doing "visible" surgery in a trance-like state. Ten years ago when I was first here, I was asked to "assist" with this so-called surgery because John of God wanted doctors and scientists to witness what he was doing so that they could observe and see for themselves that there was no sleight of hand involved. The surgery was symbolic, in the sense that it was done simply to strengthen the patient's faith in the power to heal and was not anything that could be considered "real" surgery. Yes, patients were cut open and then stitched up, but nothing like what takes place in the operating room. Some of you remember my surprise and horror at witnessing from a few inches away while a man had his eyes forcefully scraped with a simple kitchen paring knife that was not sterile. The man experienced no pain. And then there was the woman who had 8 inch long Kelly clamps rammed up her nose all the way. She experienced no pain. I had no explanation why that "procedure" did not penetrate her brain and kill her. No one I talked to who had these "procedures" experienced any pain. They all said the experience was profoundly healing to them, although the "surgery" had no relationship to the particular problem they were asking help for.  For example, someone with multiple sclerosis might end up getting a surgical cut on her belly (without anesthesia and without pain). This demonstration seemed to strengthened their belief in a higher power that could heal them.


I have to confess, as open-minded as I profess to be, I find the whole concept of entities quite foreign to my constructs of reality. Yet, something is definitely going on here in terms of various energies having their own unique properties and abilities for healing.  Although for many people around here, being surrounded by entities is quite "normal" for them, for me, we're heading deep into the paranormal.

That afternoon I went back for the “invisible surgery,”  also known as a spiritual intervention. I opted for the "invisible surgery" since the visible surgery had no appeal for me...in spite of my insatiable curiosity. Besides, I was told that either kind of surgery was equally effective. 


All the surgical candidates were escorted into a special room where we heard prayers. We were asked to pray for what we wanted and to put our hand on the place that needed healing. If there were many places that needed healing, we were told to put our hand on our hearts. I put one hand on my heart and one hand on my eyes and head. After about a half an hour we were told the surgery was over and that we needed to stay in our rooms for 24 hours and not go anywhere and to respond as though we had real surgery. I was amazed at how thoroughly exhausted I was, as was everyone I spoke to who had surgery. I slept off and on as though in a stupor which is totally out of character for me. Food was brought to my door at mealtimes. 

November 2, 2010--GETTING ORIENTED

In our Pousada, as elsewhere, we can hear a babel of different languages spoken besides Portugues, including French, Spanish, Italian, German. There are people here from most of parts of Europe, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and even Khazakstan. For some people this is their first time to see John of God and others have returned dozens of times. There are even some who have moved here permanently in order to be close to this healing environment.  We spend the day recuperating, exploring the little town, and getting acquainted with the guests in the pousada who all have an interesting story to tell of how they ended up in search of healing with John of God. Some are in search of emotional and spiritual healing, but many come in search of physical healing.

There are people here with every kind of physical ailment including various cancers in all stages of proliferation, multiple sclerosis, seizure disorders, ALS, blindness, intractable migraine headaches, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis.....it’s a very long list. People also come for emotional and psychological healing. There are people here who have schizophrenia, OCD, depression, and crippling anxiety. There are people of every creed, including atheists, agnostics, and Buddhists. You don’t have to have any prerequisites to come here, just an open heart and open mind and a genuine desire to heal.  I have run into quite a few people you wouldn’t guess would come here---like lawyers, conventional doctors, and people in the corporate world. My neighbor in the pousada is a banker. Even the super rational, left-brain dominant types have been known to open up to the supernatural when they are desperate enough to look outside the box for answers to their suffering. 


Some of you might be wondering how a rational, western-trained doctor like myself could end up "falling" for something that defies reason or explanation. I had my first introduction to the world of the paranormal with the Navajo during their healing ceremonies when I was a young school teacher living on the edge of Canyon de Chelly. I experienced my own spontaneous healing during a ceremony that was given to me as a gift, and I witnessed the spontaneous healing of others as well. Ever since then, I have been intrigued by phenomenon that I observe as real but cannot explain. This fascination is in spite of my training that tends to dismiss and even ridicule that which cannot be explained. (My idealist notion of a real scientist is someone who observes with an open and enquiring mind.) 

November 1, 2010---ARRIVAL

Gordi, Cherie, and I finally arrived after a long delay in the Atlanta airport. The plane we boarded had an oil leak in the engine. Fortunately it was discovered while the plane was still on the ground. After waiting 6 hours in the Atlanta airport, we finally boarded a large and roomy plane to Brasilia. We discovered that there were a couple dozen people who were also heading south to see John of God, including someone called Vishnu, the man who has been Ram Dass’s attendant for many years, before and after he had his stroke. Vishnu told us that he had pushed Ram Dass’s wheelchair when he came to see John of God. Ram Dass was deeply moved by his experience with John of God and afterwards was able to get out of his wheelchair and walk with a walker for the first time since his stroke. 

Happy--but exhausted

Our Pousada (guesthouse) had sent a taxi driver to meet us at the airport and drive us to Abadiania, a remote and modest little town almost two hours to the southeast, located on a bed of quartz crystals beneath the earth. The drive was beautiful with miles and miles of undeveloped green, rolling hills and red earth. The sky was full of billowy clouds ready to discharge their load. We were entering the rainy season. 

Our pousada Luz Divina

When we arrived at our Pousada, Luz Divina, the owner had overbooked and the rooms we had reserved were taken. We were tired and haggard---at least I was, not having slept a wink in the plane, not surprisingly.  In the end, we were given the best rooms in the house at the same price, each with a balcony overlooking pastures for cows and horses and green rolling hills in the distance. The price includes three meals a day. The food here is fabulous, nutritious, and very fresh....mostly local meat, fresh fruits, beans, salads and vegetables. Everywhere there are trees laden with fruit---tons of mangos, papayas, bananas, jack fruit, and avocados.  

Inside our pousada

There are chickens and roosters in the back yard making lots of friendly racket, along with giant toads making deep throated calls that almost sound like dogs barking. I bet they are celebrating the arrival of the rainy season. There are brightly colored birds flying about, including parrokeets. I’m told there are monkeys and toucans, although I haven’t seen any yet. 

View from the terrace

After settling in, we roamed around to get our bearings. Much has changed in some ways since my last visit 10 years ago....and much is the same. To accommodate the masses of people who come to see John of God for healing, many more pousadas have been built, along with the inevitable little gift shops.

October 11, 2010---GETTING READY

A few months ago, a friend invited me to accompany her to Brazil to see the healer, John of God. I had been there 10 years ago when I went down with a bag full of pictures---53 in all---of some of my patients who had severe, chronic illnesses and who had asked me to bring their photos down for a healing. People had come to the little town of Abadiania from all over the world to receive healing. I waited in the long line with my bag of pictures of my patients. When it was my turn to stand in front of John of God, the interpreter asked me why I had come. I said that I was a physician from the States and that I had come to ask for healing for the people represented by the photographs in my bulging bag. After the interpreter exchanged words with John of God, I was told that it is not time yet for those patients, but it was time for ME. I was really shocked. What does he see? I didn't feel any ailments at the time. But still I benefitted a lot from my experience of being there. I felt a deep peace that I had not experienced before. This time, I am aware that I need healing on the physical plane as well.  I am looking forward to returning there at the end of this month.

It was challenging getting everything ready on time for the big trip to South America, especially making sure that loose ends were tied up in my medical practice and that patients would not be left hanging.  Actually, I had been working on the "to-do" list for weeks so as to avoid the last minute pressures which I try to avoid.

I met up with my patients/friends/travel mates on Sunday with excitement and trepidation. The trepidation came from wondering how I would do after not traveling in almost 3 years---except to the hospital. With multiple residual ailments from the major health challenges which began almost 4 years ago after the snowboarding accident and all the subsequent spin offs from that life-changing event, I felt I was jumping into psychological terra incognita.