The Brazilian Healer with the Kitchen Knife: Our Personal Journey to John of God

Today marks the beginning of a week-long series of posts about an adventure that we’ve been wanting to take since moving to Brazil. When I began traveling to Brazil eight years ago, inevitably when I talked about my trip, someone would ask me: “Have you been to see John of God?”

As of tomorrow morning, the answer will be yes.

John of God, or João de Deus, as I’ll refer to him in future posts, may be the most celebrated spiritual healer and “psychic surgeon” in the world. For me as a practicing psychic and medical intuitive, and Helena as a Reiki Master, it feels important to understand more about his work.

Helena grew up hearing stories about João de Deus’ miraculous healings, including the story of her father’s colleague, whose brain tumor was cured after visiting him. The part of the story that left the largest impression on Helena is that the woman’s husband was a medical doctor, and despite his background and obvious fear for his wife’s health and safety, he supported her desire to visit. Following the visit, the woman’s tumor had disappeared. It never returned.

In recent years, João de Deus’ “miracles” have been covered by ABC, CNN, and on the Oprah Winfrey show. The 2010 CNN report given by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, led to criticism for the mostly positive report. You can watch a clip of it here:

We looked at our schedules for the upcoming months and realized that this week was our best window of opportunity to go. This morning we’ll board a plane to Brasilia, then take a taxi 90 minutes to the tiny rural town of Abadiania, where we’ll stay in a simple pousada (inn). At 7:30 tonight, we’re attending a meeting at the Casa de Dom Inacio, where we’ll receive an orientation about what to expect for the upcoming week. Per the instructions on their website, we’re going with a suitcase packed full of white clothing.

I’m nervous and excited, and despite the fact that it’s not a leap for me to believe in spiritual healing, I’m going with my eyes wide open. I’ll be blogging about our experiences in the upcoming days, so I’m bringing you with me in Spirit.

If you’re interested in learning more about John of God, a simple Google search will bring up 127 million articles. A search on YouTube has more videos like the one I’ve included here. I also recommend reading the book, The Brazilian Healer with the Kitchen Knife, by Sandy Johnson, the story of a woman’s journey to understand mystic healing after surviving breast cancer.