Spiritualism  and  Healing  

Andrew  Jackson  Davis  •  Andrew  Jackson  Davis  became  known  as  a  "medical  medium"  (via  

mesmerism)  as  early  as  1845,  three  years  prior  to  the  Fox  sisters'  demonstraGons  of  mediumship.  

•  Under  the  influence  of  A.J.  Davis,  spiritual  healing  became  an  integral  and  universally  accepted  element  of  Spiritualism.      

 •  According  to  Davis,  “The  best  natural  judgment,  though  crowned  

with  the  diplomaGc  glory  of  a  scienGfic  educaGon,  is  oPen  incapable  of  reaching  with  certainty  below  physical  disturbances  to  their  primal  causes.    In  the  detecGon  of  the  hidden  sources  of  human  misery,  and  of  the  condiGons  that  generate  corporeal  discords,  no  sight  less  penetraGve  than  that  of  the  genuine  clairvoyant  can  ever  avail  much....  “  (1861)  

•  Davis  never  intended  clairvoyant  diagnosis  to  replace  medical  analysis,  however:    He  wrote:  "The  careful  instrucGons  of  the  scienGfically-­‐trained  judgment  are  to  be  preferred  as  superior,  and  as  being  more  in  harmony  with  raGonal  sense,,  than  the  blunderings  of  undeveloped  or  non-­‐medical  clairvoyants."    (1861)  

 •  Contemporary  North  American  Spiritualists  argue  essenGally  the  

same  thing  today  –  that  modern  biomedicine  and  spiritual  healing  work  together  to  produce  the  best  healing,  and  that  some  illnesses  have  spiritual  “primal  causes”  that  biomedicine  cannot  detect.      

•  For  example,  one  anthropologist  who  studies  Spiritualists  in  Brazil  includes  the  following  quote:  "Dr.  Lacerda  turned  to  the  visitors  to  inform  them  that  perhaps  75  to  80  percent  of  all  illnesses  begin  on  the  astral  body.    Medicine...  cannot  treat  them  unGl  they  appear  on  the  somaGc  body...  with  apometry,  however,  the  illnesses  of  the  astral  body  can  be  treated  quickly  and  easily  by  spirit  doctors  long  before  they  ever  appear  on  the  flesh.”  (Greenfield  1992:36)  

 

Laying  on  of  Hands  •  1.    Healer  prays/meditates  •  2.  Ritually  washes  hands  •  3.  Stands  behind  sifer,  hands  on  shoulders,  

for  a  few  minutes  to  sense  a  diagnosis.  •  4.  Once  achieved  (never  spoken),  healer  

gradually  moves  around  sifer  to  focus  energy  where  needed.  –  If  the  spirits  have  diagnosed  a  physical  ailment,  

the  healer  will  be  drawn  to  move  slowly  around  the  sifer  with  hands  held  two  to  three  inches  away  from  the  body,  with  occasional  touches  at  head,  shoulders,  back,  hands,  feet  or  other  areas  that  need  healing.      

–  If  the  diagnosis  is  of  a  spiritual  or  emoGonal  nature,  the  healer  will  make  sweeping  gestures  around  the  sifer,  starGng  at  the  head  and  working  down,  with  occasional  touches  on  the  floor  to  "ground"  the  sifer's  "vibraGon."    

•  Sifer  sits  in  “open  posture”  so  as  not  to  “block  the  vibraGons”  

•  Healing  ends  with  phrase  “God  bless  you,”  or  “Take  this  healing  energy  with  you  throughout  the  week.”  

Laying  on  of  Hands  •  Spiritualist  laying  on  of  hands  is  linked  to  Eastern  idea  of  Chakras.    

Spiritualists  integrate  the  alternaGve  healing  pracGce  of  Reiki  into  their  laying  on  of  hands.    A  healer  will  someGmes  sense  an  imbalance  in  one  or  more  of  these  areas,  and  send  healing  energies  to  the  person  via  their  healer/spirit  guide:  

•  Root  Chakra  •  The  root  chakra  is  posiGoned  at  the  bofom  of  the  pelvis.  The  organs  that  

are  under  it  are  the  kidneys,  adrenal  glands,  leg  bones,  large  intesGnes,  rectum,  and  spinal  column.  It  is  the  chakra  that  keeps  a  person  grounded  to  his  physical  existence.    

•  Sacral  Chakra    •  The  Sacral  Chakra  is  posiGoned  on  the  navel.  The  whole  reproducGve  

system  belongs  to  it,  including  the  bladder  and  spleen.  This  chakra  can  fuel  one's  creaGvity,  emoGons,  and  sexuality.    

•  Solar  Plexus  Chakra  •  This  chakra  directly  affects  the  liver,  stomach,  gall  bladder,  small  intesGnes,  

and  pancreas.  It  is  associated  with  a  person's  intellectual  processes.  The  Solar  Plexus  Chakra  is  also  the  seat  of  power.  Once  open  and  balanced,  it  can  transform  all  of  your  aspiraGons  and  hopes  into  reality.    

•  Heart  Chakra  •  As  its  name  implies,  this  chakra  is  posiGoned  right  on  the  heart.  It  controls  

many  of  the  funcGons  associated  with  the  heart,  including  the  arms,  lower  lungs,  skin,  and  the  thymus  gland.  This  is  the  chakra  of  the  enGre  circulatory  system.  The  Heart  Chakra  is  the  one  that  creates  the  link  from  the  physical  world  towards  spiritual  existence.  It  is  also  the  center  of  one's  emoGons,  especially  the  emoGon  of  love.    

•  Throat  Chakra  •  The  throat  chakra  controls  the  thyroid  gland,  throat,  jaw,  upper  lungs,  and  

vocal  chords.  It  may  also  affect  the  digesGve  system.  This  chakra  governs  a  person's  ability  to  communicate.  It  also  inspires  mental  creaGvity.    

•  Third-­‐eye  Chakra  •  The  third-­‐eye  chakra  corresponds  to  the  brain,  nose,  face,  eyes,  and  almost  

all  of  the  organs  situated  in  the  head.  It  also  has  power  over  the  lower  brain,  pituitary  gland,  and  the  central  nervous  system.  This  is  the  chakra  that  opens  one's  intuiGon.  It  allows  a  person  to  visualize,  manifest,  and  even  create  visions  beyond  ordinary  sight.    

•  Crown  Chakra  •  The  crown  chakra  corresponds  to  the  person's  whole  being.  It  is  one's  direct  

connecGon  to  the  spirit.  It  can  lead  the  way  on  the  path  towards  universal  existence.  It  is  also  through  this  chakra  that  one  can  experience  inner  peace.  It  opens  the  path  towards  spiritual  wisdom  and  can  enhance  one's  psychic  abiliGes.      

Spirit  Doctors  

•  Kim:  "The  paGent  you  first  get  will  determine  which  guides  will  work  with  you.    If  I  start  off  with  a  chest  complaint,  that's  what  I  get  all  night.    People  are  drawn  to  me  who  all  have  the  same  complaint,  because  that  is  the  kind  of  doctor  I  have  working  with  me  that  night."    

•  Vera:    "There  is  all  kinds  of  spirits,  doctors  that  have  passed  on,  in  spirit,  and  every  one  of  them  has  a  specialty,  or  is  best  at  something....  one  says  `I  just  can't  come  up  with  the  right  cure,  I  didn't  work  enough  with  rheumaGsm,'  there's  going  to  be  another  one  who  says  `Ah,  but  I  did  and  I  have  found  this  to  be  very  effecGve  let  ME  work  through  Vera  for  a  while.'"  

•  Stan:  "I  and  a  few  friends  were  doing  the  table  one  Gme  and  we  didn't  have  a  quesGon  to  ask,  so  I  asked  `How  many  doctors  do  I  have  working  with  me?'    Well,  it  went  knock  knock,  knock  knock  a  number  of  Gmes  and  then  stopped.    So  I  asked,  `Is  that  it?'    And  it  said  no,  so  I  asked  `How  many  more?'  and  it  said  thirty-­‐five  hundred.    I  got  thirty-­‐five  hundred  doctors  working  with  me.    I  got  father  and  son  heart  doctors.    I  got  an  osteopath  who  comes  through  lots  of  the  Gme.    An  osteopath  is  just  like  a  chiropractor,  only  they  can  do  surgery.”  

•  Ann:  "When  I  heal,  the  doctors  who  work  through  me  can  SEE  what's  wrong  with  a  person.    They  don't  need  x-­‐rays  or  cat  scans  to  see  what's  wrong....    For  me,  that's  hard,  because  of  being  clairvoyant,  'cause  I  would  see  body  parts,  and  I  thought,  what's  THIS,  it's  like,  yech!    So  aPerward  I  would  get  medical  books,  and  figure  it  out,  cause  they  would  give  me  big  words,  I'd  hear  these  great  big  words  about  diseases  and  how  you're  supposed  to  do  this  or  that  and  it  will  get  befer,  or  see  this  doctor  or  that,  and  I  thought,  this  is  nuts!  So  I  had  to  get  MEDICAL  books  with  PICTURES,  because  it  drove  me  so  crazy,  'cause  I  couldn't  believe  what  parts  I  was  seeing  unGl  aPer  I'd  seen  them  in  print!"        

•                   

Healing  of  Colors  •  Healing  of  Colours  most  oPen  occurs  in  the  clairvoyant  

porGon  of  S  Spiritualist  church    service.      •  In  Healing  of  Colours,  the  medium  usually  idenGfies  

the  source  of  the  message  as  a  loved  one  or  family  member,  or  occasionally  as  a  spirit  guide.    This  spirit  tells  the  medium  that  someone  in  the  congregaGon  is  suffering  from  a  parGcular  problem,  which  the  spirit  wishes  to  help  alleviate.    

•   In  my  own  case,  a  "spirit  vibraGon  on  my  mother's  links"  informed  the  medium  that  I  had  been  expending  too  much  energy  on  my  studies  and  that  this  had  weakened  me  physically,  leaving  me  Gred.    I  agreed  that  I  had  been  very  busy  and  was  feeling  Gred  lately,  at  which  point  the  medium  told  me  that  this  spirit  was  sending  me  the  colour  red,  to  replenish  my  energy.      

•  The  medium  idenGfies  both  the  problem  and  the  specific  colour  soluGon:  yellow  is  sent  for  courage,  white  for  protecGon,  blue  or  green  for  healing,  red  for  strength,  pink  for  love  or  emoGonal  support,  gold  for  spiritual  development.      

•  This  type  of  healing  does  not  require  any  physical  contact  between  the  medium  and  the  person  who  receives  it.  

•                 

Absent  Healing  

•  EssenGally  healing  by  prayer.  •  Names  of  those  who  need  healing  are  placed  on  a  list,  and  the  congregaGon  

focuses  healing  energies  via  concentraGon,  and  sends  them  to  the  person  in  need.  

•  Healers  can  contact  their  healing  spirit  guides  to  help  channel  the  energy.  

Trance  Healing  •  Healer  enters  full  possession  trance.  •  Spirit  Guide  is  trained  in  some  kind  of  medicine  –  western  

biomedicine,  Chinese  medicine,  Ayurvedic  medicine,  etc.  •  Treatment  specific  to  spirit  guide  –  varies  widely.  •  Not  so  common  anymore  –  increasing  re-­‐evaluaGon  by  

Spiritualists  on  advisability  of  full  possession  trance.  –  `Only  a  low  spirit  would  barge  in  and  take  over  control  of  

another  person's  body.    `We  have  personal  responsibility,  and  that  means  responsibility  for  our  bodies.    To  give  up  control  of  your  body  to  another  person  is  morally  wrong.    What  kind  of  spirit  would  take  that  kind  of  control  from  you?'      

–  "too  many  people  are  allowing  any  old  thing  to  take  control  of  them...  You  wouldn't  lend  your  car  to  just  anyone  so  why  do  that  with  your  body?    A  wise  being  will  not  ask  you  to  surrender  complete  control....  Only  an  evil  or  under-­‐developed  enGty  will  ask  or  demand  that  we  surrender  completely  to  their  will,  lerng  them  assume  complete  control.”  

•  Rev.  Baines:  “I'm  a  first  class  healer.    Had  the  giP  for  about  ten  years  now...  the  doctors  in  the  spirit  world  use  me  as  a  medium  to  pass  their  knowledge  through  me  to  the  afflicted.    Like  they  all  get  together  for  a  consultaGon  and  they  say,  `Well,  let's  try  such-­‐and-­‐such,'  and  they  try  it  through  my  hands.    That's  a  lot  of  expensive  talent,  you  know!    Dr.  BanGng,  Louis  Pasteur,  Hippocrates.    They  are  all  way  ahead  of  us  in  research.”  

Psychic  Surgery  •  Non-­‐North  American  

Spiritualist  (SpiriGst)  •  In  South  America,  the  

modern  introducGon  of  psychic  surgery  can  be  traced  to  Zé  (José)  Arigo,  the  Brazilian  trance  medium  and  healer  who  became  somewhat  famous  in  the  1960's  as  the  "surgeon  of  the  rusty  knife"  (Fuller  1974).    

•  North  American  Spiritualists  someGmes  make  pilgrimage  to  Brazil  to  experience  it.  

•  IntervenGonist  –  surgical  incisions  under  trance.  

Psychic  Surgery  •  Max:  "The  guy  with  the  needles  [Dr.  Geddes],  that  I  

was  talking  about  before,  [pointed  to]  this  poor  girl  that  was  with  us.    She's  the  first  one,  she's  one  of  those  kind  of  people  that  steps  forward,  and  this  guy  goes  into  trance,  and  he  says  "Okay,  let's  go,"  and  he  puts  her  on  the  table,  and  he  does  an  enGre  operaGon  on  the  small  of  her  back.    I  mean,  he  CUT  her  open,  using  all  kinds  of  instruments,  yeah,  he'd  clip  them  on  and  then  he  goes  for  another  one,  did  the  whole  number  on  her,  with  the  clamps  and  everything.  She  says  to  Marco  [the  Spiritualist  coordinator  of  the  pilgrimage  to  Brazil],  she  says  "Hold  my  hand,  Marco."    This  guy  hasn't  got  any  training,  he's  in  trance.    He's  a  beer  salesman!...  And  this  is  the  guy  in  the  book,  you  know,  the  surgeon  with  the  rusty  knife.*    And  no  anaesthesia,  you  know,  and  no,  no  anaesthesia  and  no,  ah,  what  do  you  call  it?    AnGsepGc.    No  anGsepGc…  And  you  know  what  else?    All  the  Gme  he's  curng,  his  eyes  are  closed.    I'm  serious!    He's  in  trance,  he's  in  trance..."  

•       •  (*  Max  is  incorrect  in  this  asserGon,  for  Max  

witnessed  this  scene  in  Brazil  in  the  summer  of  1991  -­‐  twenty  years  aPer  the  death  of  José  Arigo.    It  is  possible,  however,  that  Max  meant  to  imply  that  Dr.  Geddes  works  under  the  influence  of  Dr.  Fritz,  the  spirit  surgeon  who  also  worked  with  Arigo  –  to  date  (and  to  my  knowledge!)  there  have  been  6  different  psychic  surgeons  who  have  claimed,  sequenGally,  to  channel  Dr.  Adolf  Fritz.)  

Psychic  Surgery  •  Elizabeth:  "When  we  got  to  this  Mr.  Geddes,  he  said,  

"You're  supposed  to  come  tomorrow,"  but  we  said  "No,  we're  here  now."    We  were  leaving  [Brazil]  the  next  day,  so  it  was  either  see  him  that  night  or  not  at  all.    And  he,  the  last  Gme  when  we  were  there,  last  year,  he  had  twelve  mediums  sit  in  meditaGon  for  half  an  hour  before  he  went  into  trance,  and  then  he  had  all  kinds  of  helpers  around  him,  nurses  and  people  calling  people  up,  and  I  mean,  a  full  house  so  to  speak,  and  [this  Gme]  it's  just  us  and  he's  saying  he's  not  going  to  do  it.    And  we  all  held  hands  and  did  a  lifle  circle  and  prayed,  you  know...  

•     •  And  ALL  of  a  sudden  out  of  NOWHERE  he  just  went  into  

trance,  and  he  banged  the  table  and  said,  "Let's  go."    And  his  WIFE  said  "NO,  NO,  you  can't!"    She  was  afraid,  'cause  all  the  mediums  weren't  there,  you  know,  for  the  energy...  

•     •  But  we  were  all  healers,  too,  you  know,  maybe  not  to  the  

extent  that  he  is,  but  we  knew,  you  know,  to  keep  sending  love  and  support.    So  he  worked  on  all  the  people  who  were  there.    And  the  first  one  that  he  worked  on  was  someone  who  was  having  a  lot  of  trouble  with  the  small  of  her  back,  and  he  just  took  a  knife  and  opened  her  back  up  and  took  lifle  chips  of  bone  out  of  her  spine,  there  must  have  been  something  wrong,  I  don't  know  quite  what  it  was,  and  then  he  just  closed  his  hand  over  her  and  it  looked  like,  the  holes  that  you  would  see  from  sewing,  but  there  was  no  sGtches,  but  it  looked  like  sGtches,  and  I  watched  that  girl  throughout  the  week  and  by  the  end  of  the  week  there  was  nothing  but  a  thin  red  line.    And  lifle  pin  holes...  it  just  healed,  so  quickly.”