The John of God Phenomenon

ROGER TEEL

There must be beings beyond us as we are beyond tadpoles…Always there is something locked behind the border, something yet to learn.

-----ERNEST HOLMES, SEMINAR LECTURES

Life continuously invites us to stretch into expanded realizations and transforming experiences. This can often be accomplished by an immersion in perspectives and approaches that are radically different. This power of exploration must have been what prompted Einstein to declare, “Never lose a holy curiosity.” Ernest Holmes, himself an avid explorer, charged those who would perpetuate the Science of Mind teachings always to “stay open at the top” for new revelations of age-old truth.

It is this impulse to broaden spiritual experience that prompted me to journey to a little Brazilian village called Abadiania in April 2011 to experience firsthand the healing ministry of the one called “John of God.” This humble man, now in his mid-sixties, has been facilitating healings for over fifty years. He had is first paranormal experience at nine years old, and at sixteen became an effective “full-trance medium,” able to vacate his body and conscious awareness so that healing spirits, or “Entities of Light,” could work through him. His given name is JoaoTeixeira de Faria. He “falls asleep” or steps aside so that advanced spiritual beings can presence themselves for the alleviation of suffering and the upliftment of those willing to receive.

At this point, I invite you to suspend judgment, to stay open—especially if all this sounds odd or threatening. It helps to recognize that most Westerners are deeply immersed in a mechanistic, materialistic worldview, which holds that reality is materially based, linear and three-dimensional, quantifiable and rationally explainable. Expanded dimensions of life, if believed in at all, are assumed to be operating under these same “rules.” The John of God phenomenon ushers willing explorers into dimensions of reality functioning in ways that are radically different from the common Western paradigm.

People from all over the world crowd into John of God’s center, the Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola—the home of Ignatius of Loyola—the enlightened one said to be the director in the spiritual realms of this healing ministry. The number of those making pilgrimages to this center has increased greatly due to recent feature episodes on Oprah and the healing testimony of Wayne Dyer. Many of these pilgrims seek physical healings; however, transformational shifts, often deemed miraculous, are regularly reported in all areas of life.

The throngs are grouped into well-organized lines. John of God, most often referred to as Medium Joao, “incorporates”—moves into trance and brings forth one of several key Entities, ones who in past lives were doctors, priests, or helpers proficient in the understanding of human dynamics and disease. As seeker pass before the Entity, they are “scanned,” assessed at multiple levels of being. A unique healing protocol is then “prescribed” for each person.

The most common healing process in this ministry is the “spiritual surgery.” These surgeries take one of two forms: invisible and physical. Of the many hundreds of people who pass before Medium Joao, only a handful experience a physical surgery. For all the rest, their invisible surgeries occur when they report at a specified time to a chapel-like room in the Casa. During about a thirty-minute session, those assembled are “worked on” by Entities of Light, spiritual beings in higher dimensions. It is said that thousands of these advanced beings participate in this healing ministry—a veritable phalange of spirit guides and helpers. The healing action can occur at many levels of one’s being: past life, karmic, auric, mental/emotional, and physical. As adjustments are made at one or several levels, the body often heals automatically as disruptive forces are resolved at other levels. However they are produced, bodily healings that are inexplicable by modern science are commonplace through the work done at the Casa.

The other form of spiritual surgery, the physical type, has been sensationalized by the media despite being the rarest rom. If requested by the seeker—and only if requested—the entity expressing through Medium Joao works with the energies of the person in a direct physical way; making a small incision, often in the breast or abdomen, scraping across an eyeball, or inserting a cotton-tipped Kelly Clamp deep into a nostril. Each of these procedures, though seemingly a physical intervention, is actually an energetic procedure. Both the invisible and physical surgeries are fundamentally energy work that has a physical or personal impact.

Personal Experience

During my first visit to John of God—I have gone there five times to dated—my wife Erica and I were accompanied by a longtime friend, who is a medical doctor, and his wife, a psychotherapist. My doctor friend witnessed several physical versions of theses spiritual surgeries. He examined the individuals involved both at the time of the procedure and several days afterward. This doctor found himself in the same situation as many other doctors and scientists who have investigated this healing phenomenon; He had no scientific explanation for the rapid healings, for the lack of pain during the procedures, or for the absence of infection. It is apparent that remedies and blessings as are being administered in ways that transcend scientific laws as we currently understand them.

While there are several other components that are part of the Casa’s healing regimens, what I most want to stress is the power of the vibrational or spiritual field that is prevalent at the Casa. Quite often, as has been the case for me, individuals receiver there greatest blessings by “sitting in current,” entering into deep and prolonged meditation and prayer as the multitudes of pilgrims pass before Medium Joao. Through my times of immersion in this field of spiritual energy, I have experienced a steady deepening of consciousness. My prayer and meditative life has evolve significantly. My speaking and teaching have also shifted into more effective and power levels. I have never gone to John of god with a bodily complaint, though I am certain that enhancements have nonetheless been made for my physical welfare. What keeps me taking groups back there is the remarkable and expansive energy of consciousness. It is difficult to find words to adequately describe this profound aspect of the John of God phenomenon.

Alignment with Science of Mind

Given this brief overview, an obvious question arises: does the John of God phenomenon oppose or contradict the teaching of the Science of mind and spirit? In my experience and opinion, absolutely not! In June of this year, I completed thirty-seven years in this ministry. I have dedicated my life to teaching and embodying the principles of Science of Mind. I also continue to seek expanded realizations and deeper experience of our foundational truths. Spirituality is a journey, not a destination. Just as Dr. Holmes avidly studied and shared with the leading spiritual leaders and teachers of his day, so are those of us dedicated to the movement he launched called to continue to study, share, and generate even more advanced expressions of universal spiritual principles. The unique capacity of our tradition is not to criticize or reject phenomena such as John of God, but instead to explore them objectively and deeply so that we can integrate them into an ever more comprehensive system of spiritual understanding. To reject our ot hand that which is unfamiliar, what we don’t fully comprehend, is not the way fo Science of Mind. Unique healing modalities provide us with an opportunity to comprehend more fully this remarkable spiritual universe and its overarching laws.

John of God always makes something very clear: He does not heal: only God heals. The Entities that express through him, as well as the phalange of invisible Entities that support his ministry, are all expression of the Divine, just as the innumerable rays of sunlight are all aspects of the sun. This clarity about the source of healings is entirely consistent with Science of Mind teachings. Furthermore, there is no fee charged for visits to the Casa.

The John of God phenomenon is grounded in the teachings of Spiritism, a movement founded in the early 1800s. The teachings of Spiritism are quite similar to basic Science of Mind principles, though Spiritism focuses more upon our connection with beings in other dimensions, those who have passed over from this earth plane. The science of Mind asserts that everyone is fundamentally Pure Spirit, and that our True Self transcends our bodies and this lifetime; we are all expression of God-Life and, thus, are immortal now. With this understanding, it isn’t difficult to entertain the possibility that other expressions of God on different planes—especially ones who have experienced significant awakening—can assist human beings on the path of unfoldment as long as this is clearly chosen, for higher beings would never seek to interfere with personal volition. Perhaps we have access to a greater arena of blessing and upliftment than we have ever imagined.

A Call to Higher Consciousness

At one point, Dr. Homes declared that ours is a teaching and healing order. Everyone has access to healing potential through affirmative prayer, meditation, and other spiritual practices. What the John of God phenomenon has shown me, however, is that the Science of Mind movement has not remained as committed to the potency of the vibrational field that promotes healing. We teach the power of consciousness but, in my opinion, could activate and maintain healing fields much more powerfully. It is common for seekers who visit the Casa to experience healings simply by being in the field or by “sitting in current.” In Ideas of Power, compiled by George Bendall, Dr. Holmes proclaims, “I want to see the time—and expect to see it—when everyone who comes into one of our meetings who needs healing will go out well.” Jesus predicted that we would do the things that he did—and this would have to include the healing ministry he facilitated—and greater things would we do. It is time to embrace this high commission more fully.

It is typical to become complacent in our exploring and casually to assume that we pretty much understand all that we need to know about the universe and this life of ours. Phenomena such as John of God can jolt us out of such mind-numbing assumptions, for Life Itself is so much more than we know. The enormous legacy of Dr. Holmes is not only his magnificent articulation of spiritual principles, but also his lifelong willingness to allow Spirit to evolve him. This was profoundly underscored near the end of his earthly incarnation when Dr. Holmes declared during his dedication of the Whittier Church, “the veil is thin between. We do mingle with the hosts of heaven.”

In my travels to Abadiania and the Cass, I have made a wonderful friend, Heather Cumming. This remarkable and dedicated lady is John of God’s right-handperson, Casa supervisor, and translator. She has coauthored with Karen Leffler the definitive book on this phenomenon, John of God: The Brazilian Healer Who’s Touched the Lives of Millions. Near this book’s conclusion is a compelling passage: “The Entities tell us that we belong to a single spiritual family. The Entities love us all, equally and unconditionally. At the Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola, pilgrims come together with the intention of being seen, heard, and healed. They bear witness to this process not only in themselves but in others as well. It is this convergence of energy—this palpable willingness to participate in the healing of the collective—that reaches the spiritual realms of the loving and compassionate Entities. They, too, heed the call and make their presence known as they oversee our individual healing and the healing of our planet.”

An ever-ascending spiral of consciousness beckons to us all. The life-changing teachings and tools of Science of Mind and Spirit equip us well for the journey. May phenomena such as John of God inspire us to explore enthusiastically the Mystery and majesty of the Oneness that is our Source and our very life.