JOHN OF GOD
 On November 4, Liz, my eldest daughter, Elaine Mohini, and I are off to visit a healer in Brazil. Some of you might have heard of him. He is called John of God. I have heard of him throughout the past 10 years. I would regularly get my Omega catalog and used to go through it to find out who I wanted see that summer and John of God was in the catalog every year. I never visited him because I guess I wasn't ready yet. I read that his stay at Omega had to do with healing, but all I could think about was healing on the physical level. It reminded me of something called "laying on of hands" and it brought back memories of my Catholic upbringing and experiences with others telling me how they were healed because someone laid their hands on them and said some prayers. I personally experienced a laying on of hands when I was about 19 years of age. I was a Hindu monk and had left the ashram with an elder monk who was on a business trip. I was to keep him company, as well do some preaching myself. It was my first time leaving the secluded ashram in over a year, and the experience of being out in the world was shocking in itself. It was 1975 and we were in the hills of West Virginia. When I walked up to people with a shaved head and books (I was selling and passing out books that my Guru wrote) in my hand, they would run away from me...literally. One man came up to me and before I was able to say anything, he began to sermonize about Jesus Christ and that He was the only way. This guy had his "preaching" down to a science. Once he stopped quoting scriptures, he asked me if we could pray together and if he could lay his hands on my head. I nodded and he did and began to pray, asking that Jesus save my soul or something along those lines. I did have a profound experience as he laid on his hands and prayed. As soon as he put his hands on my head I began to feel dizzy, and I became more disoriented as he went on. Finally he stopped and I must have had that look of a deer in the headlights, because he asked if I was all right. I nodded that I was and he left. I do believe something happened, but I also know, even today, that when anyone puts their hands and cover my crown chakra (the place on top of your head), I begin to feel blocked and pressure builds up in that area. I also believe more happened then I could know about. Chanting or praying and using the names of God are very powerful; that I knew. But an opening happened at that moment, allowing me to feel and know in the core of my being that God comes in many forms and that He/She is not exclusive to any one religion. I told my experience to my older God Brother and he laughed and said something like "You have to be careful of those religious fanatics." So we got in the car and drove to the next town so he could do his business (he was selling Hare Krishna incense to stores) and I could try to preach the teachings of my Guru and Krishna Consciousness to others with our shaved heads. Now I look back and laugh about "the pot calling the kettle black." Today, I am aware of the many levels of healing: physically, emotionally, mentally and, yes, even spiritually. I have been through several layers of healing in every one of those categories. Last month I wrote about experiencing pain through some of those categories. This month, I will touch on healing around those different ways. So how does all of this relate to my visit with John of God? Well, as many of you know, my eldest daughter was a responder to the 9/11 World Trade attack. Since then, she has had several physical difficulties, including cancer and her body is still experiencing trauma from both the residual effects of 9/11 and the radiation and chemotherapy that has left her in lots of pain and physical discomfort. Both Liz and I are looking for help on more of the spiritual plane to help release past, present and future karma as we are joining our families together through our deeper commitment to each other. We are all grateful to be able to afford the money and time to make our pilgrimage. John of God and his healing center are very powerful. For more information, please visit the link below. I am also willing to take prayer requests and pictures of those of you would like to have prayers said for. All requests need to made the old-fashioned way, by mail to my post office box (see below) or, if you have my home address, you can send your request there. I will not be able to take requests by email...only snail mail. I will need the following information about the person you want prayers said for: - Their full name; married and maiden
- Their complete home address
- Their complete date of birth
Another way you can make a prayer request is by sending the most recent picture of someone for whom you want prayers said. I will place the photos in the appropriate place at the casa. Photos, also, must be sent via snail mail. In the coming weeks in the Ah-Man Blog, I will write about healing on the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical levels. Here is the link to John of God: www.johnofgod.com. My P.O. Box is: Michael Hoare 1858 Pleasantville Road, Box 140 Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 Namaste.
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