Ghosts of Relationships Past

People have written to ask me how we’ve been feeling since our visit to João de Deus (John of God).

Rested. 

Peaceful.

Happy.

Also…

Surprised.

Before going to visit John of God, I truthfully had no expectations. The healing I requested was mostly spiritual: clarity about my path, peace with my journey, the ability to fall in love with each moment of my life.

Unlike John of God’s visible surgeries—tumors removed with a kitchen knife, eye surgery without anesthesia—I expected that the healing I asked for seemed like something that would be a gradual shift in mood or perspective. I didn’t think much about how it would be happen, and I accepted that I would need to continue to do my own work, as I always do: through meditation, by taking care of myself, and by continuing to talk to God.

• That’s why when the first dream came, I didn’t immediately put the pieces together. I woke up and thought, “Huh…that’s funny. I wonder why I dreamed about him?” And I went on with my day.

• On the second night I had an identical dream, only this time the first leading man was replaced by another Ex Who Shall Not Be Named. It was the exact same scenario: I walked into a white room with a table and two chairs, and suddenly I was sitting across from an ex. We talked (for a long time or a short time…I can’t recall), and though I can’t remember the details, I know that we both made apologies for things we’d said and done. It was a happy and even loving conversation. When it was over, we stood up, shook hands, hugged, and left through separate doors.

• On the third night, the dream appeared again. It was a different ex, and this time I remember that I did less apologizing and more forgiving. When it was over, we smiled, shook hands, and left the room.

• After the fourth dream, I finally admitted to myself that there was work being done on my heart. Something important was happening. These were conversations of the soul.

• On the fifth night, I received a surprise:  it was an old college boyfriend, long forgotten, one whose heart I’d broken because I wouldn’t/couldn’t commit. (Huh…wonder why?!). Why did he show up? Even more surprising was that he brought along his wife and daughter. He showed me that he was happy and had forgiven me for never fully loving him back. His life was happy and full and complete. I waved goodbye to the cheerful group, and this dream closed the door on the Ghosts of Relationships Past.

Just like the unexpected visit from my brother while sitting in Current, I couldn’t have ever guessed that I needed to heal this part of myself. I know intuitively that I experienced a meeting of the soul—a healing of past hurts, things left unsaid, apologies that needed to be made. Although no actual words were spoken, not in person, a burden has been lifted.

I find myself wondering about the conversations still left to be had when it’s my time to “cross over.”

Last week, I gave a reading for a woman who wanted to connect with her husband who had recently died. It was remarkable how much he still had to say. During the reading, he offered his wife many gifts: beautiful images from his life, bars from their favorite songs, a request for her to visit one of their favorite places, and loving words of encouragement about her life ahead.

His greatest surprise?

The love lives on.

The Haunting of Harriton House, Part VI: “…and we’ve been happy ever since.”

To read this story from the beginning, read Part I.

About a week after I performed the clearing, I received a long update from Paula. With her permission, I’ve included excerpts from her email:

“I can’t thank you enough for your help on Thursday. And Echo, thank you very, very much for your assistance, too. It was beautiful and such a privilege to witness your work with the spirits and then with the children. For the rest of the day after you left, there was a golden glow in the house…that night, Stephen asked to go for a walk, saying very enthusiastically, “it’s a beautiful night!” We saw shimmery white clouds and many stars. Stephen said it seemed like there were “so many fadinhas that they’ve filled up all the space and our bodies and they will help the plants grow.”

“I’ll show you all the scary things…”

In her email, Paula attached a document of observations she’d been making about the events in her home since October 2010. I was shocked to read just how terrorized this family had been…and honestly, a bit relieved that I hadn’t known what I was getting into before agreeing to help. There were weeks at a time when Paula recorded several events a day: shared, recurring nightmares; unexplained voices, whispers, and shadows in the hallways; a breath or a touch on the back of the neck. At night the children were awake all night, crying and pointing to figures in their rooms and on the ceiling, and throughout the day, they were crying, “clingy” and scared, and throwing tantrums. To cope, they were spending less and less time at home, but the children were terrified to return after being out all day.  The children reported seeing figures throughout the house—according to Amanda, “like 17 of them.”

What was especially disturbing was five–year–old Stephen’s description of his experience. One day in January 2011, after months of nightmares almost every night, he took his mother by the hand and said:

“Mommy, let’s walk around the house, I’ll show you all the scary things.”  [They] walked to the downstairs playroom. “The invisible man walks all around the house; the invisible man is my monster.”

[LATER, after showing his mother all of the places in the house where he’d seen things]: “Oh, there’s one more important thing: if you’re having fun the monster may say “No, you’re not going to have fun.”

Paula asked, “So he talks to you?”

Stephen responded, “You can hear his voice but you can’t see him.”

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Paula also attached a report that was written six months before my visit by a team of of paranormal researchers from a professional group located in New Jersey. During their investigation in December 2010, they set up equipment designed to detect sudden changes, in temperature, voices, or movement. Here’s an excerpt from their report:

While in the downstairs playroom many of the investigators had their equipments’ batteries drained at different times during the night. This would occur immediately after the collection of a positive EVP (electronic voice phenomenon), detecting a spike of the nearby electromagnetic field (EMF), and collecting positive photos of orbs.…

During the night, their equipment detected a rapid 7 degree drop in ambient air temperature in front of the bathroom in one of the children’s bedrooms, a place where I spent a lot of time clearing. Additional photos containing orbs were collected next to the girls’ cribs.

In addition, the investigators:

“…felt the presence of an angry older white man with a thin mustache and pointed goatee who used to be an overseer on a plantation. In the library, it was determined that the overseer’s name was Robert Haft, and he worked on a tobacco plantation around this area during the 1860’s. His energy was so strong that a few of the investigators started feeling anxious and very angry themselves.”

It sure sounds like the overseer I mentioned, doesn’t it? Let’s hope that he’s taking the time needed to learn from that life so that he doesn’t repeat the same atrocities in his next life.

“Things have been great.”

Last week, I received the following email from Paula:

I just wanted to check in with you and let you know that things have been great here since your visit. The spirits really are gone!  You really saved my family…you were truly an angel in our lives. The kids are all sleeping well now, and the nightmares and “spooky feelings” have stopped. Stephen had developed some obsessive-compulsive behaviors to cope with his fears, and I know they would have just gotten worse and worse without your help. Now I see these behaviors diminishing, and he is definitely a happier little boy. Amanda had not been sleeping through the night for many months because of nightmares and sensing the spirits around her. Now she is sleeping through the night and is also a happier child. (Our nanny) Juliana is also fine.

I feel so fortunate that I was able to witness your work, it was something so special. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You will always be our superhero!

When I tell the kids this story when they are older, the ending will be “and then God sent an angel named Leigh to help the spirits go to their real home. She and her angel friend Echo brought light and love into our home, and we’ve been happy ever since.”

A Final Note

Clearing a home of unwanted spirits or psychic activity is not something to be taken lightly, and unless you’ve had practice with protection and communication with spirits (Mediumship), it can be draining and even dangerous to attempt this on your own. It’s a rather specific skill, but I believe that it’s a gift that can be developed if you have the ability to communicate with the Other Side. Echo and I have talked about including ghostbusting in one of our advanced classes, so stay tuned! In the meantime, feel free to send your questions to me at leighopkins@gmail.com, and I’d be happy to provide support. To read more stories like this one or schedule a reading, visit our website.

Thanks for following along.

The Haunting of Harriton House, Part V: The Importance of Closure

To read this story from the beginning, read Part I.

The work of crossing spirits over is only the first step.

After ensuring that the property was clear of all spirits, I went back inside to clear every single nook and cranny of that house of any remaining unwanted energy. It took close to an hour because there were certain rooms in the house that were “hotspots” for activity. The children’s rooms, the playroom, the hallway between the children’s rooms, and the living room/downstairs playroom were the strongest areas of psychic “gook.” No wonder they couldn’t sleep! Taking the time to complete this ritual really helped me to understand that these spirits had just been looking for a way to make contact. They were lost and afraid and they wanted someone to help. Juliana and the children were very open and were very “light” energetically speaking, so these lost souls went to the most obvious and attractive place where they could make a connection.

 

Working with Children

In many ways, I felt that the most important work that I did that day was with the children. These little guys had been immensely traumatized by the psychic activity in their home and it was going to take some time to shift the fear and create a place that felt safe.

Leaning on my background as a former elementary school teacher, I gathered the children at the dining room table and explained in very simple terms that I had talked to the spirits who had been scaring them. At first, little Stephen couldn’t even make eye contact, he was so afraid to talk about it. Within a few seconds, he left the room, crying for his mother as he went.

Per Echo’s suggestion, I asked Juliana to begin an art project with the twins. I left them for awhile so that I could visit with Stephen. We played a card game for about 10 minutes until I could feel that he was comfortable with me. (I knew I’d earned his trust when he let me win a round of the game!). As Stephen was shuffling the cards for the next round, I asked him if he knew why I was there. He looked up at me with one eye, shook his head “no,” and continued dealing. Casually, I told him that I had spoken to the “purple man” and asked him to leave.

“What did he say?” he asked after a moment, not looking up, but clearly curious.

“He said he would go.” I responded firmly.

Stephen looked up at me with a surprised grin on his face. “He DID?! He said that?”

“Yup,” I explained. “He was a good man who had just gotten lost. He was trying to get your help, which is why he came to visit you. I showed him the way Home, so he won’t be visiting you anymore.” Stephen was quiet, so I asked him, “Do you understand?”

He nodded quietly, so I continued: “I asked a big group of my friends—some fadinhas—to live here instead.” (Fadinha means “fairy” in Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, the nanny Juliana’s native country.)

“Can I see?!” Stephen asked, jumping up with excitement.

I walked the entire family through all of the rooms in the house that had the strongest activity. I encouraged them to look in every corner, and as I we went I showed them how to invite the fadinhas to visit. I told them that fadinhas look like light and twinkly, like Cinderella’s friend Tinkerbell. I asked each child to tape a sparkly purple butterfly on the door of their bedrooms “so that the fairies know where to go.” All of us were laughing as we went, bringing light to a place that had been very frightening just hours before. This was a very important event for everyone, and it was an essential step for shifting the energy of the house.

From there, we went downstairs to the dining room table and created sparkly paintings of butterflies and dragonflies. I explained to the children that a dragonfly is like the part of us that lives outside of our bodies. (A metaphor for the soul.) The people who had been frightening them had turned into dragonflies, and they flew away to a beautiful place where they would be happy and could live with the other dragonflies who loved them. It was a truly awesome experience (as in, filled with awe!) to see how easily the children understood and embraced this concept.

Four hours after the clearing began, I left knowing that the property was clear.

The Haunting of Harriton House, Part IV: The Clearing

To read this story from the beginning, read Post I.

When I was ready, I asked Carol and Paula to open at least one window in every room to get the energy moving, but more importantly, so that no unwanted energies would remain. After saying a prayer and surrounding myself with the white light of God’s protection, I began by clearing the entire perimeter of the property. (If you’re interested in knowing more about the tools I used to do this, sign up for Psychic Development for Beginners, Level Two!)

As I went, I was trailed by the overseer—a mean and angry guy who persisted in placing blame for his actions on everyone but himself. The entire time I walked, I had to listen to him moaning and complaining about how tough things had been, how I didn’t understand what he had to deal with, blah, blah, blah. It became clear to me that this is why he was “stuck.”

I have to admit, there was a moment there when I just felt furious. This pathetic guy had managed to convince all of the people he’d enslaved in life that they had something to fear on the Other Side and that he still had power over them! Much of it was related to his anger that many of the slaves were still practicing the belief systems of their country of origin. He made them believe that damnation was waiting for them once they crossed over.

This is the biggest Illusion of all. Never once in my conversations with souls on the Other Side have they ever talked about Hell. They do mention the things they regret, the lessons that they need to learn in their next lives, the things that they’ll work harder on next time around. Most of these lessons have to do with learning compassion, forgiveness, faithfulness to those they love, respecting their physical bodies, and learning to trust. God is most certainly involved in helping souls to learn these lessons, but the ultimate responsibility is on each individual’s willingness to make these changes.

As we walked, I explained to the man, very firmly, that things were about to change, so there was no point in him sticking around any longer. The property was very large, and he yammered away behind me every step of the way. I kept my attention focused on clearing and bringing light to the property, and from time to time, I reminded him of what he needed to do.

By the time I reached the house, he’d agreed that he’d think about it.

When I went back inside, I could feel that the energy had already shifted. I spoke to the spirits and saw that almost all of them were former slaves. We talked only long enough for me to confirm that they were afraid to move on because they’d gotten the message that they were headed for a place of judgment and fear. I assured them that this wasn’t the case—and there were other souls on the Other Side that had been waiting for them for a very long time.

Per Echo’s suggestion, we lit a big fire in a wheelbarrow in the center of the backyard which would serve, metaphysically speaking, as a portal between worlds. It needed to be something that the spirits would recognize. By then, the overseer had sort of resigned himself to what I was trying to do. I could tell that he was just irritable and tired and ready for a change. He certainly wasn’t optimistic about what was next, but he was willing to give it a try. I informed him that he would need to go first so that he could show everyone the way. Before he went, I asked him to throw everything in the fire that had been holding him back from going into the Light—anger, guilt, shame, fear—whatever it was, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave anything behind. He leaped into the fire, taking all of his darkness with him.

At that very moment, a big gust of wind blew into the yard, and the fire increased.

I called to the spirits around the fire that told them that there was a beautiful place waiting for them, free of judgment, free of fear. Very swiftly, all of them began throwing everything that had been holding them back into the fire. I could see their spirits rising very fast, all of them dressed in white. Once they’d gotten started, it was though they couldn’t go fast enough.

It was a beautiful thing to witness. All of these lost souls were finally moving on. They’d found peace.

When I felt that everyone had gone, I walked around the yard to make sure that no one had been left behind. That’s when I found her: a small girl, about four years old, hiding behind a tree. She was afraid to go. I gently explained that people were waiting for her on the Other Side and showed her how beautiful it would be. In an instant, she ran straight across the yard, and up and away she went.

The property was clear.

To read more about my work, visit Viva Institute’s website.

The Haunting of Harriton House, Part III: “Get going, girl!”

To read this story from the beginning, read Post I.

On the morning of the clearing, I met Paula and Carol at a nearby Starbucks to talk. I sensed that Paula was concerned about upsetting the spirits if we talked at the house, so we met first on neutral ground. I wanted to hear a bit more background and to explain what I’d be doing. Carol was curious to see how a house clearing worked, so she joined us for the experience. I was dressed all in white, as were Carol and Paula. We must have made an interesting trio, dressed in white, talking about ghosts. Just another day at Starbucks…

Within 10 minutes of hearing Paula’s story, I realized I didn’t need or even want to hear more. I knew what needed to be done. We needed to get moving.

The house was very large—a newly constructed home in a development that had been built on the former grounds of the Harriton tobacco plantation. Do you remember the movie Poltergeist, where new houses were built on the grounds of an old cemetery? As over the top as the movie was, it illustrated of the importance of understanding the “energy” of a property before building something new.

From the moment we entered the house, I immediately sensed and then saw a group of about 20 to 30 very solemn souls gathered around the dining room table. Carol felt it too…it was a very sad, almost repentant energy. They waited silently and expectantly. It was as though they’d been waiting for us—the room was literally buzzing with the feeling of anticipation.

Before getting started I went into the bathroom to wash my hands, and it was then that I felt “him” come into the room behind me. It was the overseer, the angry white man I’d seen when I scanned the property. From the moment he entered that enclosed space, every single hair on my body stood on end. The air was absolutely electric. It was awful.

I reinforced my protective guards and ordered the angry spirit to get out until I finished preparing. He got.

That’s when I heard Echo say, “Get going, girl!”

It was time to get to work.

NOTE:  One of the reasons that people are so afraid of ghosts is that books and legends portray them as evil, angry spirits whose only mission is to frighten us. Popular culture has given the impression that spirits want to haunt us. This is rarely the case.

The reality is that we DO have control over what we receive. To quote the movie, The Sixth Sense, “You know the prickly things on the back of your neck?” Chances are, it’s either your intuition trying to get your attention, or it’s “them.” If you think you’ve got ghosts, in a loud voice, DEMAND them to go. Nine times out of 10, they’ll skedaddle if you tell them to. Unless they’re very strong, spirits don’t usually have the strength or the interest to stay where they’re not wanted.

The Haunting of Harriton House, Part II: Taking the Case

When Carol Bowman asked me if I thought that I could help the family, I immediately and spontaneously said yes. While she was describing a bit about the case, I’d been doing a quick psychic scan, and I saw that the house and property was full of spirits. One masculine energy, in particular, really concerned me. I’ve had various experiences clearing spaces of lost spirits, but I’d never done so in a place with such strong activity. Before agreeing to speak with the family, I asked Carol to give me some time to work on a plan and to check in with my mentor and friend, Echo Bodine, before taking the assignment.

Echo assessed the situation and immediately expressed her concern about my involvement. Just as I’d read, Echo could see that the house was packed full of spirits, and both of us sensed the very angry presence of a man who seemed to be holding the rest of the spirits hostage. Not a good situation at all.

While Echo and I were IMing about the case, I received an incredulous email from Carol. She’d just received an email that when the family learned my name and my work, they realized that their Brazilian nanny, Juliana, was a recent graduate of the online course I teach with Echo, Psychic Development for Beginners! You know how I feel about “coincidences.” Echo and I decided it was a sign that we needed to help.

The Vortex

While we were preparing, Echo and I simultaneously used the word “vortex” to describe the property where the house was built. We could feel that the family’s home had become a place, energetically speaking, that was drawing large numbers of lost souls. This was due, in part, to the fact that both the children and the nanny, Juliana, were very open, psychically, and the spirits were merely looking for a way to connect.

With the exception of the one very angry man, who I had I identified as a white slave master/overseer in his late fifties, the other spirits just seemed lost and afraid. Most of them were slaves, but Echo also heard four men speaking Spanish. They referred to this man as “hombre.” Echo suggested that I speak Spanish to the men during the clearing because they would respond to my directions better if I was speaking in their native language. (Fortunately, Spanish was my minor in college…if I’d known then what I know now, the 17–year–old Leigh might have taken French!)

Better NOT to Know

Last week, I received an email from Paula with some additional details that I’m honestly glad that I didn’t know before choosing to take on this case. In it, she wrote:

I received Carol’s e-mail about your offer to help on Wednesday 4/27. I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to tell Juliana, but I didn’t want to talk about it in the house. So I put a TV show on for the kids, and Juliana and I went outside to talk. We couldn’t believe that this nightmare was going to be over, but also that you had taught the psychic course that Juliana had taken! We were so happy!

We came inside and Juliana started to make dinner. The night before, Juliana had watched the movie of the book “Nosso Lar” and she was telling me about the author, Chico Xavier. All of a sudden, the faucet came off of the sink and water began gushing up to the ceiling and all over the kitchen!! We finally turned the water off, cleaned up the kitchen, and sat down with the kids for dinner. My daughter Kate pointed out a bee on the ceiling. All of a sudden, Amanda began choking and spit out her food. Seconds later, Stephen vomited, and seconds after that, Kate began screaming that the bee had flown under her shirt and stung her arm. The kids were all screaming as Juliana and I looked at each other incredulously. I guess the “angry man” wasn’t too happy to hear that you were coming!

Around that same time on the evening of April 27, Echo and I were coming up with a plan for clearing the property that included asking the children and the Juliana to leave during the event for their protection. Given that I was going to be working with such a large group and that this was such an extreme case of haunting, Echo decided that she would remotely attend the clearing.

I was going to need backup.

The Haunting of Harriton House: Part I

The following events occurred on April 27–28, 2011. I’m sharing this account with the full permission of the family involved. All of the names, with the exception of Carol Bowman and Harriton House have been changed.

In previous posts I’ve shared that from time to time I do some ghostbusting. It’s one of my abilities that comes very naturally, and I’m grateful for this because it provides so much relief to the people involved. It’s an odd gift, I suppose…and so it is.

Background

This case came up during my first visit to the US since moving to Brazil in February 2010. Officially, I was “off duty.” During our visit to Philadelphia, we had scheduled a meeting with Carol Bowman, who is unquestionably one of the leading researchers on children’s past life memories. As we talked with Carol, she told us that she’d just received a call from a woman whose children were possibly experiencing past life memories related to the property where they were living…but she was concerned that there was something more.

From the time the family moved into their newly constructed home in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in June 2008, two of the family’s three children (a boy and twin girls) began experiencing terrible nightmares, hearing unexplained noises, whispering voices, knocking sounds, and even seeing apparitions. The children described seeing a man with “purple skin” who appeared in their dreams and sometimes at the foot of their beds. From as early as the age of two, the children talked about the man with the “shooting gun.” Their mother, Paula, was alarmed by this for many reasons, including the fact that she’d never talked about guns in her home, and as far as she knew, her children had never seen or heard of guns.

Voices on the Stairs

Without knowing that the children had been experiencing nightmares, one morning the children’s Brazilian nanny (one of those interesting “coincidences” that I always love) confessed that she’d had similar dreams with a man had very dark black skin, holding a gun. At other times, the nanny “Juliana” and the children sensed a very malevolent presence in various rooms in the house. The whispering voices were talking to the children and saying things that apparently terrified them. Juliana’s nightmares were increasing and had now included frightening visions of the property where the home was built. One morning, she asked the children’s mother Paula whether it was possible that there had been slaves living anywhere nearby at any point in history. Paula told her that it seemed unlikely, given that the house was located so far north.

Then they did some research. Paula and Juliana were stunned to discover that the family’s home was located 1/3 of a mile away from the historic Harriton House, an enormous estate that served as operating tobacco plantation from 1719-1745. It had the dubious distinction of being the northernmost plantation in the United States. Moreover, Harriton House is listed on one of the registered lists of the United States’ most haunted houses…and their new home was built on the former grounds of the plantation. Suddenly things were beginning to make sense.

The family contacted Carol Bowman after the six–year–old boy, Stephen, began exhibiting symptoms of extreme stress. They wondered if it might be related to past life memories, because Juliana had a recurring nightmare in which Stephen was a young slave boy. Over a six month period his personality dramatically changed from that of a light, happy child to a child who was frequently anxious and afraid. In recent months, he had begun exhibiting obsessive-compulsive behaviors to cope with his fears.

“Can’t We Live Somewhere Else?”

The infamous "Brown Lady"

Only one the 4–year–old twin girls, Amanda, was aware of the spirits. She hadn’t slept through the night in months. Amanda was so terrified that she refused to sleep alone in her room, so she was moved into her twins’ room. Amanda and Stephen were both haunted, independently, by nightmares of the man with the “shooting gun.” At least a few times a week, they woke up screaming in the middle of the night with nightmares, sometimes crying that someone was standing next to the bed.

The children and their nanny, Juliana, reported hearing voices in the hallways and footsteps on the stairs. While playing, they often “felt” someone standing nearby. It had gotten to the point that when the family left the house to run errands, the children begged not to return, asking: “Can’t we live somewhere else?”

This situation was clearly beginning to tear at the family from the inside out.

Try this: If you’re in the process of developing your psychic/intuitive abilities, visit the website for Harriton House and see if you can get a read on the property before moving on to the next post.

Up Next…

I love that you’ve loved these posts on Joao de Deus and greatly appreciate all of your loving and supportive comments. Thank you, thank you for your generosity.

I’ve got another exciting “series” coming up this week: The Haunting of Harriton House. Did I ever mention that I do some ghostbusting from time to time? (Well, I guess now I have!) I’ll begin  posting this story tomorrow night with permission of the family that I worked with…a truly beautiful group of souls.

In the meantime, feel free to post some stories of your own!

Boa noite, sleep tight!

João de Deus, Day 6: Reflection

Sunday morning

This morning I’m awake at 5:30. I don’t want to miss a thing.

The taxi will come for us at 4:00 pm, and there’s a Sunday service in English at the Casa at 9 a.m. that we plan to attend. I put on my new white dress and we take our time walking down the small, dusty street, stopping to say hello to our favorite dogs and waving to the neighbors. In just six days, we feel like we’re a part of this community. There’s no question that everyone who comes here must feel the same. You can’t visit Abadiania and not feel it.

Even though it’s Sunday and Joao de Deus is “off,” the service is packed. We grab a prayer book and a song book and join in the opening prayer. From there, the service is directed by the audience:  find a prayer or song you like, call out its page number, and follow along.

A woman sitting in front of me from Connecticut and I discover that we both know the harmony to We Shall Overcome, and the woman behind me from Ireland belts out Let It Be with such enthusiasm that I turn and give her two thumbs up. A woman from Israel reads the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, stopping after each line to allow us to recite it with her. A sweet gay couple from Colombia take their seats near us, singing to the songs they know, clapping to those they don’t. Some Brazilian hippies get on stage and play a beautiful song on the guitar and receive a minute long standing ovation.

Before we can help ourselves, Helena and I are laughing and singing Kumbaya with our neighbors. The laughter is joyful and genuine.

When the service finishes promptly at 10:00, we find a seat on one of the large wooden benches in the garden, overlooking rolling hills and farms. All of the benches face the view and people stretch out, some of them reading quietly, other snuggling with a loved one, some sitting in prayer. I lean my back against Helena and stretch my legs in the sun, and we rest like this.

I came to Abadiana with no expectations, but it’s clear that I have experienced a form of healing. I feel clear and calm and peaceful in a way that I don’t think I have…ever. It’s a different kind of peace. I’m a bit surprised that despite the fact that the principles behind Joao de Deus’ work are based in Spiritism, a “religion” that is based on channeling information from spirits, I don’t feel any more a Spiritist than I do a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or otherwise. My God still requires much more understanding before I can fit Him/Her into any sort of a box. I pray that never changes.

It’s astonishing, really, that a place like is the equivalent of a spiritual awakening or rebirth for so many without providing any direct religious instruction. The revelations and healing are put in the trust of “the Entity” that incorporates Joao de Deus, and John the man tells us that all of the healing comes from God.

Before lunch, Heather invites us to join the tour for a visit to the cachoeira, a waterfall that has been blessed by Joao de Deus. We walk in silence down the winding path, some of us in bathing suits, others dressed in white. We enter one at a time, standing under the force of the frigid water. I worry for some of my friends, so weakened they are by their illnesses, and yet as each person leaves the water, they walk a little straighter, a little lighter.

Someone gasps, and we follow her gaze to see an enormous iridescent blue butterfly rising above the waterfall. I reach to touch the shoulder of the woman next to me, and when she turns, the eyes of a six–year–old girl are looking back at me through her cancer–ravaged body.

I gather my clothes knowing that I have just witnessed a miracle.

Muito obrigada (thanks very much) to all of my friends and family for being so enthusiastically supportive during the past week. I’ve thought of so many of you so often. Know that you’ve been right here with me, in my thoughts and prayers. Eu te amo muito!

To read the full story, begin here.

If you’re considering a visit to see John of God, send us a note at info@vivainstitute.com and we’ll put you directly in contact with Heather Cummings.

João de Deus, Day 5: Stories of Healing

Saturday

I open my eyes at exactly 6:05 a.m., as I have for the last 3 mornings. The breakfast bell rings in five minutes and I can’t get out of bed fast enough.

Meditation terrace at the Casa

I told Helena last night that one of the surprises of this trip, among so many, is that I am loving being told what to do. It feels like camp. When I’m not focused on eating, sleeping, or resting, my mind has been wholly engaged in prayer and meditation. Getting the mental break from worrying over bills, work, or even trying to figure out what’s for dinner has allowed me to focus all of my attention on healing and the healing of those around me.

The irony of this is that since being here, not a single person has told me what to think. The only message we’ve received is that God is Love and that through God anything can happen. Although the basis of many of the prayers are Christian or Catholic, it’s been made clear that everyone is welcome here, regardless of religion, social class, or sexual orientation. All services here are provided free of charge with the exception of the Casa passiflora herbs, which cost $60 Reals (about $38 US at the current exchange).

Over breakfast, some of the guests fill me in on what we missed during our 24 hours of solitude. During Thursday’s afternoon session, Medium João appeared on stage and performed several “visible” surgeries. (If you want to watch some, go to YouTube and do a search for John of God, visible surgery, and you can see them for yourself.) When they tell me this, I realize that I’m glad that I didn’t see them…I didn’t need proof and I don’t do well with blood, so I leave it at that.

João de Deus/John of God

During every visible surgery, John of God invites any medical doctors in the room to join him on stage to watch the procedures. “Anesthesia” is administered by waving a hand over the afflicted area. He uses his bare hands and what looks like a paring knife to perform eye surgery, to remove tumors, etc. Medical doctors from all over the world who have watched the procedures confirm that the tumors have, indeed, been removed and the flesh stitched back up without any evidence of pain from the patients.

In response to the controversy surrounding Medium John and his work, a team of Brazilian doctors and researchers analyzed 30 surgical procedures performed at the Casa. They examined cell samples from patients and the methods and tools employed in each procedure.

They published their findings in 2000 in Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira — the journal of the Brazilian Medical Association.

“We wanted to make sure the surgeries weren’t a fraud,” says Alexander Mureira de Almeida, lead author of the study. “We found that John of God was really performing these surgeries without anesthetics or antiseptics, and largely without the presence of pain.”

Other studies have included the analysis of hundreds of tissue samples, which show that following a procedure at the Casa, blood samples of patients with invasive cancer have shown no evidence of cancer; cancerous tumors have literally disappeared, and people on the verge of death from AIDS are now living and working, 20 years later, with no signs or symptoms of the disease. (To read some of the true stories, visit here.) The only “prescription” given is a bowl of blessed soup following the procedure, along with some of the Casa’s passiflora herbs.

At the breakfast table we learn that one of our new friends from Athens has rapidly advancing pancreatic and liver cancer. She received multiple operations and chemo to try to remove the cancer, and finally decided that she couldn’t do any more of the traditional procedures. She’s spending 3 weeks at the Casa to receive healing. I worry about her. She’s tired and in pain, but she’s hopeful that this will work. I’m hoping and praying right along with her.

Another new friend from the US is at the Casa for multiple reasons, but one of the unexpected surprises is that the other morning she woke up and noticed that her toes, which had been twisted and painful from arthritis, were now straight. I saw her toes with my own eyes, and they are indeed very straight and happy looking little toes.

“Aren’t they cute?” she agrees, looking at her toes. “I’m just enchanted with them.”

In the garden at Fruttis

We spend Saturday reading and relaxing and enjoying the tiny town of Abadiania. The restaurant Fruttis is full of vegan and vegetarian options, so we sit in the warm air and enjoy being in a town full of joyful people. A woman wheels her father into the restaurant, his legs atrophied and twisted, and the two of them laugh throughout the meal. A woman in the corner talks about her cancer as though it is merely a temporary inconvenience, and moves on to show photos of her grandchildren on her IPhone.

I look around me, and all I see are smiles and laughter. No brainwashing or slights of hand, just the powerful recipe of hope and God’s love.