Spiritual Alliances: Discovering the Roots of Health at the Casa de Dom Inácio -- Media Review

By Alice T. MacMahon, RN, MPH, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Emma Bragdon, Ph.D.’s remarkable new book, “Spiritual Alliances,” tells the story of the Brazilian healer João de Deus (John of God) and his work at the Casa de Dom Inácio de Loyola in Abadiniania, Brazil. According to the author, for over 30 years this simple man with only a second grade education has successfully helped millions of people heal from a host of serious diseases -- cancer, AIDS, heart disease, blindness, crippling arthritis and paralysis among them.

This healing work is based on a belief system prevalent in Brazil known as spiritism. The entities (discarnate beings of the invisible world) reportedly work through João, performing surgery without the use of anesthesia or antibiotics and without causing pain or infection. More than 30 entities operate through João, but only one at a time. João is quick to say it is the entity working through him that performs the healing, not himself. While the “visible surgery” performed is the most dramatic, it is not appropriate for all of the visitors. “Invisible surgery,” herbs, water that has been blessed by the entities and meditation are commonly prescribed. No fee is ever asked for the healing services and the Casa is run on donations. There are 32 paid staff and 200 volunteers.

Scientists from several countries, including the United States, have investigated João. He welcomes visiting physicians and invites them to stand by his side while he operates, sometimes asking them to assist him. He is eager to have his work documented, as it has been by several filmmakers.

Bragdon explains that while instant “cures” do happen there, most improvement seems to come over time. A minimum stay of two weeks is recommended for those seeking healing and many patients return several times. Time, it is said, is necessary to meditate and reflect and to be in community with others. Learning to take responsibility for one’s own health and healing is as important as the actual treatments that take place at the Casa.

In addition to describing the healing treatments offered at the Casa de Dom Inácio, the book includes interviews with physicians and other health care practitioners who have come to the Casa to observe and/or be treated themselves as well as first-person accounts by patients. All were positively impacted by their experience, some in a very dramatic way.

I found the personal stories and the description of the healings that take place to be fascinating reading.

• Christopher who arrived at the Casa with advanced rectal cancer is cancer-free.
• Mauro whose body was covered with sores and was dying from AIDS -- his physician recently told him there is no trace of AIDS in his body.
• The credentialed and respected U.S. physicians who came, witnessed and changed their lives and their practice of medicine.
• Dramatic stories of healings and life changing experiences that seem unbelievable in our culture.

The book is well written and contains a wealth of information including resources and a reading list of related books recommended by the author. I would have liked to see more about Emma Bragdon’s own personal experience with João and a discussion of what may happen when he is no longer living.

In his foreword to the book, Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., states, “In the U.S., visits to complementary care practitioners exceed visits to primary care physicians by over 200 million visits per year. Americans spend an estimated $30 billion a year on these services, the majority of which is not reimbursed. The trend is clear.” Indeed.

Is it likely that the Brazilian form of spiritism (or any other) would or could be available in this country as an accepted form of health care? I don’t think so, at least not in this form. But, having spent over thirty years in the healthcare field myself, I see a growing trend toward mind/body health (often referred to as mind/body/spirit health) and an acknowledgement that healing is dependent on more than pills and surgery. The patient’s own belief system is recognized as an important component in his health status.

Spiritual Alliances makes a case for expanding our form of health care. Numerous studies have demonstrated the value of alternative or complementary therapies and the National Institutes of Health has formed a division to study them. Today 50 medical schools in the United States offer courses in spirituality and religion as related to health.

In my opinion, the emerging field of integrative medicine where alternative or complementary treatments are integrated into the allopathic system may someday be the norm. Patients will not have to choose “either -- or” but will be able to access care appropriate to their condition and in accordance with their wishes.

I came to this book somewhat familiar with John of God, having two friends who recently visited the Casa and experienced his work first-hand. But, while knowing about it, I was admittedly skeptical. The author says “It is not an easy task to try to put the value of the Casa into words.” I would say she has done just that and done so in a straightforward way that will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers who approach it with an open mind. I, for one, would look forward to an opportunity to visit the Casa myself some day and to meet this remarkable man, John of God.

Alice T. MacMahon, RN, MPH, is author of “Women and Hormones” and “All About Childbirth.”