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EXPANDING THE GIFT OF
HEALING
During four trips to the
Philippines in the mid-1990s, I was initiated as a magnetic healer at the Faith in God Spiritual Church in Pangasinan
Province. I have written about this and other related experiences in my book on
psychic surgery and faith healing. However, it wasn’t until 2005 that I began
in earnest to focus on magnetic healing.
* * *
Arriving in the Philippines
Early the next morning, I
ventured out into the city. Two doors down from the hotel, an entire
family—mother, father, grandmother, and three small children—were lying
on pieces of cardboard on the sidewalk. All of their worldly belongings were
nearby in a shopping cart. They were just waking up and yawning as I walked past.
One of the children, a three-year-old
girl, her hair still rumpled from sleep and wearing only thin shorts, ran to me
with her hand outstretched, begging for money. She stood in stark contrast to
my hotel, which was fairly upscale, and Robinson’s shopping mall just two
blocks away.
Giving the child all the change
in my pocket, I continued walking south toward Pension Natividad, where I had
stayed on all of my previous visits. Ermita now had several Internet cafés, an
enormous gambling casino resembling those in Las Vegas, high-rise office
buildings, and first-class hotels with rooms starting at $100 a night. It was
quite disorienting, because I remembered the streets so vividly, yet everything
was changed. I was changed. In particular, Rosie’s 1950s-style diner had been
remodeled so much that I was unable to identify the building where it had been.
Gone were the sailors and prostitutes who had affected me so deeply that I had
written about them in my first book.
I was scheduled to meet my
traveling companions at the hotel the next day: Russell, a middle-aged man with
prostrate cancer; Mary, a forty-something woman with possible breast cancer;
Sally, a young girl with hormonal problems; and Alice, a woman in her late 70s
with concerns about an eye injury. The group also included a brother and sister
from Poland named Jarka and Johan. He was intensely political, like many
Europeans, and very much of an intellectual. Jarka had stage-four breast cancer
and seemed quite frightened and skeptical about psychic surgery.
We had breakfast together and
then left in a rented van for Baguio—a six-hour drive north through the
lowlands of Pangasinan and then up into the high mountains of Northern Luzon. The
driver wove in and out of traffic on the MacArthur Highway, passing buses,
jeepneys, private cars, tricycles, and wagons pulled by carabao. It was the
beginning of the summer season and the large riverbeds of the lowlands were
dry. Farmers could be seen in the fields tending their irrigated crops.
After several hours, we reached
the Cordillera Mountains, which rose straight up from the edge of the road on
the left and dropped off on the right so sharply we could hardly see the valley
below.
We arrived in Baguio and checked into The Golden Pines Hotel, which had clean, comfortable rooms, air-conditioning, a restaurant, and free Internet. * * *
The Class Schedule:
10:00 a.m. Psychic
surgery, followed by prayers and conversation with Jun
12:00 noon Lunch
and rest or sightseeing
3:00 p.m. Class
with Francis Floresca, M.D., who will be teaching anatomy and
physiology
6:00–9:00 p.m. Meditation and lecture or other special session
Day One
In 1995, Jun Labo’s healing
clinic was located in the Nagoya Inn, but now the Inn had a new name: “Nagoya
Comedy Club and Bar.” Jun’s first car, a Volkswagen Beetle, was still enshrined
in the front garden. It was painted red to prevent rust, and a bouquet of
plastic flowers adorned the hood. Although half of the building and grounds
were being used for the nightclub, Jun had designated the other half of the
property as a refuge for poor children. A bright blue-painted sign on the
outside of the building read: “The Jun Labo Orphanage Foundation.”
Jun’s chapel and clinic were
located across the street in part of his house, which was built high above the
road. It was reminiscent of Japan, probably because his former wife, Yuko, had
a hand in designing the buildings and landscaping. Ancient symbols and warriors
with swords protruded from cement retaining walls, and there were statutes,
painted murals, pine trees, and flower gardens. Locked gates, a guardhouse, and
several barking dogs protected the property.
Jun met us in the driveway and
showed us to an outdoor patio. He projects an aura that commands respect, not
just because he has been a successful healer for many years, but also because
he was the District Governor twice and Mayor of Baguio from 1987–1992.
Jun is agile for a man in his
seventies and seems much younger. His skin is a golden shade of brown, and like
many spiritual teachers he has a luminescent glow. His deep brown eyes seem to radiate
compassion, even from behind his dark sunglasses.
After a few minutes of casual
conversation, Jun invited us into his chapel. It was quiet and cool in the
stone building with marble floors. The chapel itself held rows of benches and statutes
of Mary and Jesus. The classroom—located in another section of the large
room—was filled with straight-back chairs and a white board for writing.
This area also contained a wooden-frame pyramid with a red satin-covered foam
pad on the floor inside of it. Across from the pyramid there were four sofas
arranged in a square with a coffee table in the center. Jun’s private office
was off to one side in a separate room.
Jun led us down narrow steps to
the basement, where he has his healing room, another chapel, and a room for
changing clothes. The healing room contained a small altar, a massage table
covered with a plastic sheet, and a cabinet of towels. Almost one entire wall
was actually a window with no glass, so observers could easily stand outside and
watch the surgeries and take photographs and videos. There was just enough room
inside for Jun, his assistant, and several mediums, who stood in a line across from
the healing table and channeled energy
to support the healing.
For readers who might not be
familiar with psychic surgery, in
this type of healing the hands of the healer actually enter the patient’s physical
body. This is sometimes referred to as barehanded surgery or faith healing. Simply put,
the body is opened in much the same way as medical doctors do when using a
scalpel, except that in psychic surgery there is no cutting, no anesthesia is
used, and there are no scars, infection, or pain. The healer can even make an
incision by merely pointing a finger at the skin of the patient from a distance
of up to one foot away.
* * * As if it was perfectly natural,
we began to take off our clothing—except our panties or shorts—and
stand in line at the door to the healing room. One by one, we entered and lay
down on the table. Jun’s assistant put towels at the sides of each person’s
body to catch the blood that began to flow from beneath Jun’s hands.
I observed from about six feet
away as tumors, blood clots, and stringy tissue emerged from each person. The
moment Jun touched Johan’s throat, we collectively gasped when blood spurted
out about eight inches into the air.
Jarka became more and more
nervous the closer it got to her turn. She mirrored our own anxiety as we
watched her pace back and forth with her arms wrapped tightly around her upper
body. When she was on the table, a tumor as big as an orange emerged from just
below her right rib cage, and many more small tumors and clots came from her
entire body. She was shaking afterward, and many of us were crying because we
were so moved by our own experience and from watching Jarka.
At the end of each person’s
healing, Jun made a circular motion and the sign of the cross with his thumb on
each person’s forehead.
Back upstairs, Jarka asked Jun
if he could help her. He began to talk about her tumors and how they were
spreading. He said it was necessary to “cut the roots,” and that he had already
begun the process. He indicated that her healing would continue over the ten
days of her visit. Then he drew a picture of a tumor and illustrated how he
would sever the roots before removing it.
“First I cut here, and here, and
here, like this,” he said.
By the end of the morning
session, we were each immersed in our individual process and dealing with our
fears and expectations—or, in my case, trying hard not to have any expectations, but just accept whatever might happen.
I was hoping my participation in the class would help me “move to the next step”
in my abilities as a magnetic healer and medium, but I did not know how or when
this would occur.
* * *
We met at Jun’s house again in
the evening, and first we meditated while listening to a recording of a woman
speaking in a soft, soothing voice—she kept repeating, “Just let go.” During the meditation, I felt a wave of
intense energy come into me.
Jun introduced Dr. Floresca, who
gave a short description of the class he will be teaching. He is a
mild-mannered man, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and a lifelong friend of
Jun. Jarka was so spaced out from her healing this morning that she put the
cleaning solution for her contact lenses in one of her eyes, causing intense
discomfort and panic. Fortunately, Dr. Floresca was able to reassure her that
she had not damaged her cornea, and he showed up later at the hotel with eye
drops.
After we stood in a circle and
said the Lord’s Prayer together, I approached Jun and told him about my magnetic
healing practice.
“The course will be very good
for you,” he said.
“Did you get my book?” I asked.
He looked surprised, so I explained it was the book with the blue eye on the
cover.
“Oh yes, was that you?” he said,
and he gave me a warm hug.
“Did you read what I wrote about
you?”
“Yes, it’s a good book, but all
of the healers you wrote about are dead except me!”
I tried to explain the purpose
of writing a memoir, but the meaning was lost in translation. However, he
seemed genuinely pleased the author of a book that included him had come to
meet him.
Day Two
Our second day began with
private meetings in Jun’s office to discuss payment for the class and our
healing sessions. When it was my turn, I told him I was going to write more
about him in my next book. “What do you want me to tell people about you?” I said.
“You can say that here we are
doing only spiritual work to help the people. This is my work, and even though
I am already over seventy years old, I am not retired. Tell them the doctors at
Wisconsin University tested me with wires and monitors, and they said I was the only healer in the Philippines who is
authentic.”
* * *
After our individual meetings
with Jun in his office, we went downstairs.
Alice had the most amazing
healing of the morning. Yellowish material shaped somewhat like a hot dog emerged
from the left side of her throat. It appeared solid at first, but after it was
completely out it dissolved into a puddle of something resembling thick oil. Jun
later said it was mucus, but to me it
looked like some sort of fatty blockage from her carotid artery. Hopefully, this
will improve her vision and also her short-term memory, because of the
potential for increased blood flow to her head.
Jarka had a tumor about the size
of an orange removed from what she calls her “good breast.” Later, after dinner,
this resulted in a lengthy discussion, which began with her question, “Why did
he work on my good breast? I have no cancer there according to the MRI.”
Jun’s assistant covered Russell’s
genital area with a towel for modesty, and then removed his prostrate tumor and
its “roots.” As Jun held up the
cancerous tissue for all to see, he said, “I took this away because otherwise
the roots will grow and he will become very sick.”
Jun often uses a piece of white
cloth as a diagnostic tool during healing. He calls it his “X-ray.” He holds
the cloth above the body and the areas that need attention appear as dark
spots. If the spots are light in color, he knows the problem is not yet serious.
At the clinic of Jun Labo, the
profound is also quite ordinary, as we watch all manner of disease being
released and removed. These remarkable events seem—in this time and
place—to be perfectly natural, yet we are also stunned. Time itself seems
frozen as we try to comprehend the miracles happening daily in Jun’s healing room.
* * *
The 6:00 p.m. session began with
Dr. Floresca giving an in-depth lecture about the lymph and circulatory
systems, and the relationship of these systems to cancer. The discussion was
quite fascinating because there were several people in the group with extensive
scientific training, but Dr. Floresca didn’t know about their backgrounds. “The
medical man,” as Jun calls him, was patient, kind, and soft-spoken as he
attempted to render complicated anatomy and physiology in simplistic terms to
sophisticated European scientists. It was rather funny, and I had to try hard
not to laugh—I didn’t want Dr. Floresca to think I was laughing at him.
As part of his lecture, he
answered questions about our individual health concerns. He said that Jun
started the school in order to pass on his healing gifts to others. He also
indicated that according to Jun’s way of seeing things, the removal of blood
clots is considered preventative medicine.
Jun seemed fascinated with Dr.
Floresca’s presentation, and he described what happens when he does healing:
“My hand is magnetic and it draws the disease. So I know where I need to touch
the body.”
During the 9:00 p.m. “Holy Hour”
meditation, Jun gave each of us a direct experience of the Holy Spirit by
touching the tops of our heads, the backs of our necks, our foreheads, and the
center of our palms—which he then closed together to contain the energy
that had been transmitted.
“The Holy Spirit is in you now,” he said. “Let it flow
through you and give you more power. You prayed today on the Holy Mountain. The
Holy Spirit is all around you. Have faith in yourself. God is love. I am giving
you power every day. You are not as you were before. My work is not for show,
not to impress. Once you have the power, never give it up.”
Day Three
While Jun was doing healing in
the morning, several of us stood in a line a few feet away. Facing the table,
we held our hands palms outward and channeled energy to support him. This is
similar to the way large groups of mediums assist John of God in Brazil when he does spiritual healing.
As I participated in this energy channeling, I had a vision of a
large “cloud” of sparkling golden energy centered above and funneling down into
Jun. Secondary cords of light coming from this primary light also went into the
seventh chakra at the top of the head
of everyone present. (See Appendix C for Charka Chart.)
Angels and other spirit beings
filled the room. They appeared to be students, just as we were. They were
taking notes and talking to each other, saying things like, “Oh see what he did
there, and there, and there.” They were a “heavenly” mirror image of our class
in the physical world.
Later, back upstairs, I asked
for permission to speak about my vision. Jun agreed, and he listened
attentively. “Very good, very good, that’s the way it looks,” he said. He
made the same movement with his hand as I had in describing the cords of light,
and then he stood up and walked around the room, pressing his hands into the
center of each person’s palms to open their hand chakras. This will allow
spiritual energy to flow into us and through us into the people we want to
help.
Jun began to talk about how he
would call in the Holy Spirit on Saturday:
“We will see if one of you will
be called to give the blessing. Even I want to receive the blessings from you.”
I have since given much thought to this comment. Did he want one of the
students to give him healing?
At the end of the morning
session, Jun said that soon we would try automatic
writing, and later he would translate what we had written. My understanding
was that we would channel a personal message to ourselves from the Holy Spirit.
While working on Jarka during the
morning healing session, Jun said, “You think too much. Your problem is here (taps her
forehead). When she asked about the possibility of tumors in her armpit, he
pointed to the breast she calls her “good breast” (meaning the one without
cancer) and said, “I am working here and also your armpit, because it is
growing.”
While Jarka was still lying on
the table, he told us his work is not always directly related to what the
medical doctor or testing might have indicated. He pointed again to Jarka’s
breast and said, “Even if the problem is here, I might be working here [points
to the area of her belly button]. When I open here [at the belly button], the
problem in the breast moves fast to my hands because they are magnetic.”
This is important in
understanding psychic surgery—the hands of the healer are magnetized in
such a way that diseased tissue is pulled toward them, no matter where in the
body the healer is working.
Note that in magnetic healing—which is also
called energy healing—the body
is not physically opened, but rather negative energy in the physical body and
also in the etheric body is drawn
toward the hands and released.
* * *
During the 6:00 p.m. meditation,
Jun again infused us with the energy of the Holy Spirit. The meditation was
very deep, and my head became so full of light energy that it made a buzzing
sound.
Jun asked us to come up to him
one by one while he was in trance and “scoop” spiritual energy from his hands.
He seems to be trying every method possible to awaken us to the experience of
spirit. Although the Metaphysical Temple of the Universe and School of
Mediumship is promoted as a school, it is really about simply being in Jun’s
presence. In India, this is referred to as satsang,
which literally means: “true company” or “keeping the company of the truth.”
Jun began his evening lecture by
drawing a simple staircase. “Keep going up, up, up to the light,” he said. “I
am giving you the steps, but it depends on you how to reach the light. All of
your chakras are open now. The light is coming down into you. It gets bigger
and bigger. Your aura is working now. You have communication with the Holy
Spirit. Even with your eyes closed you will see things. Be patient in becoming
a medium. Have faith, because everyone is walking toward the light.
“The Holy Spirit, angels, and
Jesus are waiting to welcome you. The medium gets the message, so have
patience. God is watching and waiting. Work hard to reach the peak of your
success. Be alone with God. That is your trial. If you lose faith, you must
quit. This school was started to send the students out into the world to their
own countries to help others.”
He drew a picture of a cave with
a path leading up to it and trees all around. When his drawing was complete, he
gave these instructions: “Enter the cave. There are lights inside. Meditate.
This is your way to mediumship. Try to find the light inside the cave.
“Later you will do your
automatic writing and I will read what you write. Then we will go on astral
tomorrow for ten minutes.”
After Dr. Floresca had given his lecture about the human body,
using hand-drawn diagrams to describe the function of the various bodily
systems, we tried automatic writing.
I felt the presence of my spirit guide, Rev. Filomena “Mely”
Naces, the moment I picked up the paper. As I held the pencil lightly in my
hand, it seemed to move of its own accord, making non-decipherable scribbling marks
on the page punctuated by periods that felt more like exclamation points.
“Very good, very good,” I could
hear Jun saying softly beside me. “I will tell you tomorrow what you wrote.”
Day Five: Good Friday
Jun Labo seemed more focused and
powerful in the healing room on the fifth day, perhaps because it was Good Friday.
When he put his hands deep into my upper chest to the left of my sternum, I
experienced a tidal wave of energy. At first, I thought he was working on my
heart, but later I realized the healing had been for my lungs.
Psychic surgery is not usually
painful, but this particular healing hurt when Jun moved his fingers between my
ribs and removed numerous blood clots. My chest continued to hurt for about
twenty-four hours, but since then it has been easier for me to breathe—even
in the 5,000–foot altitude of Baguio. This physical healing also opened
my heart chakra, causing me to feel emotionally vulnerable for several days.
* * *
After the morning session, I
decided to stay alone in my room for the rest of the day. At this point in the
tour, there was some conflict within the group. I attributed this to the fact
that Jun Labo was activating and cleansing our third chakras every day. This
energy center is located in the area of the solar plexus. It’s the place where
unexpressed emotions are stored, and when these feelings are released there is
often some temporary emotional upheaval. Unfortunately, no one in the group
seemed to be aware of this, and there was some serious “acting out” going on.
Some of the students were upset
because the experiences that were promised in the tour advertising had not
materialized, including translation
of our automatic writing, astral
traveling, and the possibility of meeting our spirit guides.
Staying at the hotel turned out
to be quite beneficial. I had a remarkable meditation in my room, during which
a beam of bright golden light came toward me and illuminated my throat.
Sleeping fitfully in the early evening,
I was awakened by boisterous music coming in through the open window. Jumping
up from the bed and throwing on my clothes, I was drawn out into the street and
around the corner to the New Life Christian Church. Climbing the stairs to the
second floor, I entered a room full of people who were singing an Easter song:
“At
the cross I bow my knee, where your blood was shed for me. There’s no greater
love than this. You have overcome the grave; your glory fills the highest
place. What can separate us now?”
The room was exploding with
emotional intensity, and many of the people were standing up and moving toward
the minister at the front of the room. As he touched each one, he shouted,
“Release him [or her], Lord.” At his touch, each person fell to the ground
thrashing, crying, and shouting, as others offered comfort.
Gradually, the singing began to
soften, although half of the congregation was still rolling around on the floor
covered in blankets. I had heard about this kind of “holy roller” church in the
States, but I had never been in one.
The crescendo complete, the
congregation began to sing a lighter song, the chorus of which said, “Our
purpose is to be salt and light in the world” (Matthew 5:13-14). The program
ended, and as I pondered the meaning of what it means to be both salt and light, a woman asked me if I would
like to meet the minister.
“Yes,” I said.
He was forceful and direct: “May
I pray for you?”
“Yes, of course.”
“What do you want me to pray?”
“My desire is to be of service to
God and help people.”
Hearing this, he gripped my head
firmly between his hands and began to pray out loud, “Lord Jesus, help this woman
fulfill her destiny. Holy Spirit, lead her in the path of service.”
The pressure of his hands gave
me a slight headache, but I felt complete as I walked back to the hotel. Like
the rest of the congregation, I had been released from my worldly cares.
Day Six
Jun rested today and there was
no healing session, but we met with him again in the evening. He spoke to us
about the Holy Spirit and astral traveling:
“I am opening your Third Eye. Your aura will get bigger and
it will have sparks. The aura vibrates and opens your psychic ability. Now your
Third Eye will always be open. You will be able to predict things and even see
into the minds of other people. This open chakra develops psychic knowledge. I
have been giving power at 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00—because these are the Holy
Hours. The Spirit is fire and it is very hot. Touch others with your open palm
to heal them.
“Do not touch anything while you
are traveling on astral—ten minutes only. Do not be discouraged if you
cannot go. God is love. Do missionary work. When I am in trance you can address
me as Holy Spirit, Jesus, or Rama, but do not call me by my name Jun Labo. Ask your guide for help when
you need protection. Always try to understand more about what it means to be a
medium. When you want to do mental
telepathy, close your eyes and imagine the person and send healing. Tell
them the time you will send healing so they can prepare themselves.
“Have patience, go toward life,
and have faith. I am giving you the steps. It is good to give for charity.
Begging money when you are healing is cheating. God does not like this.”
Jun spoke about when he went to
Libya and worked on Kaddafi, and also President Marcos in the Philippines. He
joked about the chief doctor at a Japanese cancer clinic, who came to him for
healing “incognito” because he didn’t want anyone to know he was consulting a
faith healer.
Dr. Floresca began to draw a
diagram on the board and talk about the digestive system. When he was finished,
Jun added, “Eat regularly or you will get ulcers. The stomach is used to
certain eating times and it will grind if there is no food.”
After the lecture, I went to
Jun’s office and showed him my certificate from the Faith in God Spiritual
Church saying I was certified to do healing by the laying on of hands. He read
it carefully, and a few minutes later he pulled me aside and said, “Tonight you
will go to astral at 6:00 p.m., so don’t be late.”
I assumed he meant all of the
students would participate, but as it turned out I was the only one singled out
for this experience—except for Russell, who “traveled” two nights later.
We arrived at 5:00 p.m. and sat
with Jun as he listened to a tape recording of an Easter church service.
Promptly at 6:00, he leapt from his chair and we began to meditate, sitting in
the customary half circle, the room lit only by candles. The fire in the
fireplace made an occasional crackling sound as Jun blessed each person’s Third
Eye.
I was the last in line, and he
blessed me also. But then suddenly he pulled me to my feet, saying, “Now you will go to astral. Lie down there.”
He pointed to the pyramid in the center of the room.
My body began to vibrate the
moment I lay down inside of it, and the force of the energy that began to flow
through me was a bit frightening. I heard Jun say softly, as if from somewhere
far away, “What do you see?”
At first, I was aware only of a
soft mist and the sensation of movement. But then my vision cleared, and I was walking
on a road through a city made entirely of golden light resembling crystal
glass. I wish there was some way to describe the color and quality of this
light, but there are no words for it in human language.
Somehow I knew the light had
formed itself into buildings and a road made of golden, hand-cut stones so I
could relate to it and describe it to Jun and the others. Everything in the
city only appeared to be solid. The architecture of this “Heavenly City” reminded me of ancient places I
had seen in history books.
* * *
After I returned home, I
described this experience to Harvey Martin, a scholar of religion and
mysticism. He said I had visited the New
Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God, Jesus, and other Holy Beings, which
is described in the Bible:
And I John saw the holy city,
the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them and be their God….And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high
mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone
most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal….And the city had no
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Revelations 21: 2-23
Holy
Bible: King James Version
* * *
I could hear myself responding
to Jun’s questions, but it was like listening to my voice under water. At the
same time, I sensed spirit beings watching me from behind golden curtains in
the golden windows of the golden buildings. They seemed neutral and without
judgment.
Mely appeared in front of me as
a brilliant blue light, and I realized that instead of her coming to me in the
third-dimensional, physical world, I had traveled to meet her in the spiritual
dimension. I began to laugh with great joy at our reunion, but before I could
speak I heard Jun say quite firmly, “COME BACK NOW. TEN MINUTES ONLY.”
Then, to the rest of the class,
he said, “I go with the student to astral because I don’t want them to get
lost!”
I had difficulty getting back
into my body, but then Jun began to massage my forehead rather forcefully.
Suddenly I was back and rubbing my legs in order to focus myself in physical
reality. The residual feeling was quite indescribable—like the quality
and color of the light in the Golden City. My head was very heavy and buzzing
with energy, as if the same light was also inside of me.
After a few minutes, I looked up
and saw that Jun was again blessing each person, and I returned to my seat at
the end of the line. When he got to me, he did the blessing, backed away, and
then ran toward me again. He grabbed my head and began to pray: “Holy Father,
help this woman in her mission. Make her strong, Lord, to help the people
more.”
Then, even more dramatically, he
said: “YOUR GUIDE IS NOT SO STRONG—I GIVE YOU…PAUL AS YOUR NEW GUIDE.” As
he spoke, a wave of rose-colored light rushed toward me. Then I fell into a
deep trance and stayed there until the end of the meditation.
On the way back to the hotel,
Sally and Alice expressed their disappointment that they had not been given the
opportunity to astral travel or meet their spirit guides. What could I have
said in response? According to Jun, God directs these kinds of experiences. Not
even a healer and medium as capable as Jun Labo can direct the Will of
God—he can only deliver the message.
Day Seven: Easter Sunday
In honor of Easter, I decided to
visit the Faith in God Spiritual Church, where I had spent time in the
mid-1990s and begun my path as a magnetic healer.
Three other people were visiting
Jun at the same time as our group, and one of them—a young man from
Canada named Matthew—wanted to go with me and experience Spiritism in a rural
Filipino setting. So after taking the bus down to the lowlands, we found a taxi
driver willing to take us to the district, or barangay, where the church was located.
The driver got lost and the
roads had changed since I had last been in the Philippines, and we had trouble
finding the way. When we finally arrived at the church, I experienced a strange
distortion of time and reality. I
had been thinking about the place, the people, and everything that had happened
there in such detail in order to write about it that I had managed to somehow freeze my memories. The past had so
firmly become part of my personal present that it made the actual present seem unreal. It was as if I had encapsulated
everything about the place in a corked bottle and sent it adrift—but now
here it was floating back to me.
Rev. Avelina “Belen” Ganaganan,
Mely’s older sister, met us at the front door. Belen had taken over Mely’s role
as the church healer and minister after Mely died. We entered the church with
her, and the building looked much the same, except for the new marble-tiled
floor. I went immediately to the front and gave a short greeting:
“Before Mely died she made me
promise I would return to you, and so here I am, even though it is thirteen
years later! My message for Easter is to love yourself, even as the Lord loves
you.”
There was a vague feeling of sadness
in the church, just as I had visualized several weeks previously at home in
meditation. The new choir sounded somewhat dreary and lacked enthusiasm—the
previous singers having gone to work in Spain. Joseph, my former “love
interest,” was also in Spain. Everything seemed out-of-tune and out-of-focus. I
remembered what Mely had said to me in meditation and realized it was true:
“You won’t find me there,” meaning there was nothing left of her at the church
in the Philippines—other than her well-tended grave.
There were mostly old women in
the pews and just a few young faces, including three small girls who waved and
smiled, their mouths showing empty gapping holes where they had lost their baby
teeth.
At the end of the service, Belen
told me go to the front and “give a message,” so I got up and went to stand
behind the lectern. It was to be the final fulfillment of Mely’s prophecy,
which she had spoken to me from her deathbed in 1995, in the presence of thirty
others:
“If I should die…and you should
be the medium…I will speak through you… and that will be the proof.” (By this
she meant proof of life after death.)
I began to speak from the trance-medium state of
consciousness—but it was not me who spoke, but rather Mely who spoke through me:
“Oh my Beloved Sister,” she said
to Belen. “You are taking good care of my church. I love you so much.”
To Matthew: “Very good boy!”
(She said this three times, causing my hand to smack him on the head for
emphasis.) Then: “This boy will be much help for those who suffer.”
To the congregation: “Where are
all the people? My church should be filled with happiness and love.” She
repeated this several times in different ways, seeming to chastise those who
were missing.
As I returned to my seat, I
remembered one of my favorite songs and asked the choir to sing it. “Do you
want to do healing?” said Belen. Without realizing it, I had asked for the song
they usually sing during this part of the service.
Matthew and I began to do magnetic
healing. An old woman, blind from birth, sat in the chair front of me, and I
felt frustrated because I didn’t know how to help her. But then the Holy Spirit
opened her Third Eye. As my hand made a twisting movement in the middle of her
forehead, spirit spoke through me, saying, “God is very happy because you
always come to church. Even if the medium cannot heal your physical eyes, the
Holy Spirit is opening your Third Eye, your inner vision.”
The woman had flowing black
hair, severely arthritic hands from doing too much laundry, and beautiful dark
brown freckles on her golden skin. As she walked away, she turned and gave me a
loving smile.
We spent the rest of the day
eating, laughing, and reminiscing. It was difficult to leave, and everyone
tried not to cry when Matthew and I left to return to Baguio. As we drove away,
I realized that by returning to the church and delivering Mely’s messages I had
helped fulfill her promise to speak from beyond the grave.
Day Eight
Russell “went on astral” during
the evening meditation. When he returned, he told us he had seen a beautiful,
green parrot.
“Your parrot is an angel,” said
Jun. “They fly with you.”
Then Jun translated each
person’s automatic writing.
“Go farther, dig more, you are
so, so close,” he told me. This was done privately, so I don’t know what he
told the others. I also wasn’t sure what I was closer to.
Back in the group, Jun pointed
to Russell and me and said, “You two ONLY. Be here tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m.
You will meditate. You will be directed to the light and the Holy Spirit will
test you. The Holy Spirit will be here tomorrow. You will receive the light,
and it will be a hot sensation in your hands. The Holy Spirit is coming. Do not
ask for power. Just be there with the Holy Spirit. We are doing our
best—we are not wasting our time. Many will become jealous, but just
ignore that. God will take care of you. Release, release—think only of
Him, because He takes care of us. I am sharing. I am not a doctor or
evangelist, but I go step by step.”
He began to draw another picture
of the steps. Pointing to it, he said, “What I am drawing is real. As you go up
the steps, concentrate on the light. I love you. I don’t want you to have
problems.”
As if to illustrate his point,
Jun pointed to the abdomen of one of the women in the class and said, “I have
to remove that because it bothers you to have such an infection.”
“I am a healer and teacher. You
are all learning about the spirit, but I am divided into two.” He drew a
picture of the left and right sides of the brain and described their different
functions. “This side is in half trance, and the other side is in full trance,”
he said.
“I have made a promise to
develop the people. Do not take chemotherapy. The body does not like it. The
cancer expert from Japan is my patient, and he is a very rich man. He owns stores,
trains, and many properties, but money will not save him. Ask God and healing
will be given.
“I am getting young again. I
originated in China and I had many past lives, but no soul mate yet. When I am
gone, the family will fight over my house, but I want to give charity to help
the people. I don’t put hatred in my heart. Sometimes I am tired, but I am not
angry.”
Then, abruptly changing the
subject, he looked at Alice and said, “Don’t loan money, only give it. Many
times I loaned money. People borrowed money from me, but always it ended up in
court. So if you want to give, just give” (he makes an open gesture with his
hands).
“Religion is only a name. Many
people are praying for me and I’m healthy. I was once an actor in my own movie.
I will show it to you tomorrow, but the movie is in my language. My guide is
mostly Jesus, but Rama comes when the Arabic people are here for healing.
Spirit is fire. When I am in half trance, I can remember things, but what
happens in full trance I don’t remember. I am not a perfect man, but I am
giving you the steps.”
Day Nine
In the morning after healing, Jun again
announced that Russell and I were going to have a special meditation that night
in the chapel while the others waited outside. He said we would “Receive the
Holy Spirit.”
Before meditation that evening, Jun showed a movie
made in the 1970s in which he played himself. This movie has been shown all
over the world. Some scenes in the film were hysterically funny; others were
quite emotional. As we watched it, Jun gave a running commentary of what was happening
because we could not understand the language. Apparently, there was a family argument as to Jun’s
future—his father wanted him to go to law school, but his mother was a
member of the Espirita church and she encouraged him to be a medium and healer.
There were several times when he burst into
tears—once when the movie showed his father dying. About this, he said,
“Even I can help so many people, but the one I love I cannot help.”
Another emotional moment in the film showed him
attending a sick child. He went to pray and ask God for the strength to heal
her, but when he returned she was already dead. “It hurts me too much to remember her,” he said.
* * *
After the movie, Jun sent everyone
outside except Russell and me. He indicated that we should sit for meditation,
and then he also left. Almost immediately, I became aware of a luminescent rose-colored
ray of light coming toward me. Then I saw an enormous angel-like being standing
directly in front of me, and I realized it must be my new spirit guide, Paul.
A beam of light came out from his forehead
and entered into my forehead. Then the light also entered my palms and the top
of my head. Mely was standing
nearby. She seemed to be bowing to the angel, and I understood that we were both students of the same magnificent
spirit being.
The rose-colored light was inside of
me now, and I began to move it between my open hands. When I held my hands out
in front of my body, I could see electrical energy charges emanating from my
fingertips as I played with the light, moving it back and forth like an orb or
ball.
I also experienced many spontaneous
movements, rigidity of my body, and pranayama,
or bellows breath. When the
meditation was over, my eyes felt like they were vibrating. I could hardly
focus them.
The others returned and Jun began
his lecture. “Rays of light will go into your body,” he said. “Angels are
coming and they will be your bodyguards. They are standing ready at your back
to protect you. I call on the Holy Spirit and it is ready. Spirit angels and
rays will get into you, and this starts your aura working. Don’t get jealous. I
do not select the person to receive the gift. It’s not me doing it—only
God decides.”
As he spoke, he made a stick figure
drawing of a person meditating. He explained how the brain waves change as a
person goes toward the light with angels around them.
We began to meditate, and almost
immediately Jun’s body went rigid and
he slid spontaneously from his chair and onto the floor. “My guide Rama is
here,” he said, and then he began to speak in a foreign language, perhaps
Arabic or Hindi. His face also began to change, and even in the dim light he
looked like a different person.
The rose-colored spirit being appeared before me,
but then stepped aside, enabling me to see Mely standing nearby. She was
illuminated in bright blue light. Then a golden beam of light came into me and
I fell into a deep trance.
After the meditation, Jun
repeated what he had said earlier, “I will channel my guide who is Jesus
tomorrow at the Holy Hour. Your brain will help heal you. Concentrate on this.”
He drew a picture of a brain with the two sides connected by veins and pointed
to the right side, saying, “This side is ready to be on trance.”
“The brain waves spark as they
move. Don’t ask why when you meditate. Forget wanting the gift! Think straight on the Lord and be thankful. Pray to God, saying, ‘Give me a mission in my
life to help the people.’
“Spirit comes at the Holy Hour
of 9:00 p.m. I was changed. I prayed to God, saying ‘Lord I will serve you, but
give me the strength to continue to be an instrument.’ Our body is the church.
Make it clean every day. God says, ‘This is my house, so keep the Sabbath and
share your knowledge’.”
Day Ten
Our group was smaller by the
tenth day. The Polish brother and sister had gone home, taking much of the group’s
stress with them. Mary was also gone. She seemed disappointed that she hadn’t
gotten what she’d hoped to receive, but perhaps it was because she was drinking
wine every day at lunch and dinner!
After the 10:00 a.m. healing
session, Jun said he was going to test the power in our hands and our ability
to do magnetic healing. He paired me with Alice for the test. When I placed my
hands on her head, I felt intense electrical charges in my fingertips. Afterward,
Jun gave everyone “grades” ranging from 86 to 90.
* * *
In the evening, Jun began the session
by saying, “Please Lord, come to the students and give the gift to their
hands.”
As I sank into meditation, my
inner vision cleared and I began to see an enormous pillar of blinding golden light. The entire room seemed to fill with this light
as the pillar swirled in a clockwise direction so fast that it actually
appeared to be stationary. It had incredible power, much like a tornado. Sparks
of light flew out from the pillar as it swirled, entering everyone in the room.
The entire room was filled with light and flying sparks, and I realized we were
in the presence of God, the Creator of the Universe.
The room was also filled with
angels, who were dancing and singing in ecstasy. It was so all so overwhelming. At that moment, Jun Labo spoke,
saying, “You are thinking too much. Just be blank. Let go and the angels will
come in. Relax and let it in.”
It seemed like he was speaking directly to me. But
there was so much energy and power in the Pillar of Light that I felt like
everything I knew to be my “self “and the world would shatter into a million
pieces if I “let go and let the angels in.” I was in half trance, rather than
full trance, and my entire body was vibrating with the energy emanating from
the Pillar of Light. I was suspended between physical reality and the spirit
world, swirling and swirling in the light.
But then the meditation was over and I heard Jun
say, “Look into a
mirror with a candle at midnight and you will see the Holy Spirit.”
“I give straight lecture. Now all
the skeptics are gone, even Johan (waves his hand and smiles). I’m so happy now
because Johan has been changed. Before he left he even talked about God.”
The Last Day
On the morning of our last day with
Jun, he told us, “Today I am going to test you to see if one of you can open
the body and do the healing.”
First we had a brief meditation,
during which he touched the top of my head and my body exploded in spontaneous
movements. My hands were “on fire,” and I was nervous about the possibility of
actually doing physical psychic
surgery. Downstairs with the other students, he pointed at me and told me to
stand at the end of the line across from the healing table.
A group of patients from
Switzerland had just arrived, and one by one they lay down on the table in
front of Jun.
Jun held each student’s right
hand above the person on the table and moved the student’s hand with his. In
this way, he tested us to see if any of us could open the person’s body and do
psychic surgery.
All of the students produced a thin
bloody line, but only one student removed a solid tumor. Later she told me, “My
eyes were closed and my hand was resting lightly on the patient’s skin. I began
to feel the tumor rise up out of her body and press against my palm. It became
larger and larger until it was about the size of a plum, and then it came
through the surface and into my hand.” She seemed quite serene, or perhaps she
was in shock.
* * *
We went to the chapel afterward,
and Jun came in and began to pray. He raised his hands to his mouth, gently
blew on them, and giving a most glorious smile he waved the essence of the Holy
Spirit from inside of himself out over everyone seated before him in a gesture
of great generosity and love.
Before we left, he read from his Good News Bible, paraphrasing a
familiar quote from Matthew 6:25-34: “Why worry. Release your worries. Do not think about what you will eat
or drink. See the birds. They do not sow or reap, and yet the heavenly Father
feeds them. We will all die, but today we are strong.
“Why worry about your clothing?
See the flowers—not even Solomon was dressed so beautifully. God is
waiting for us, and he knows our aim is to serve the people who need our help.
Have faith. Desire only the Kingdom of God. God is love. You are starting to
develop. Jesus was here blessing you, and also the angels last night.
“Try to do healing in your own
place. Your body, mind, and spirit are clean now. Don’t get dirty again. Your body
is a church, the house of God.”
Several people asked Jun to
bless personal items for them to take home as keepsakes. He blessed my new
Bible and kissed it lovingly. Dr. Floresca arrived and gave each student their
“Certificate of Attendance / Metaphysical Temple of the Universe and School of
Mediumship.”
After everyone else had left for
lunch, I spoke briefly with Jun and Dr. Floresca about my vision the night
before of the Pillar of Light. I told them it frightened me.
“Don’t be scared,” said Jun.
“You are very, very psychic.”
Dr. Floresca told us about his
dream of the previous night. “You went to astral in your dream and now you are
also psychic!” I said, which elicited much laughter.
I said goodbye to Jun Labo and
Dr. Floresca reluctantly and with some sadness, because I didn’t know when I
would see them again, or even if I would see them again.
Alice and I took the bus back to
Manila that afternoon, and just as we reached the outskirts of Manila in the
early evening the highway merged with another road and the bus became stuck in
traffic under an overpass. Out of the shadows came running a dozen dirty, nearly
naked, barefoot boys. They swarmed over the trucks sitting at a standstill,
grabbing anything they could steal and hauling it back into the shadows.
I had the impulse to lock the
windows, but it was not necessary because we were safe on the bus. I slunk down
into my seat and closed my eyes to block out the scene. Sometimes the brutality
of poverty in this land of sharply divided contrasts is difficult to
accept—but the juxtaposition of the divine and the profane remains ever
fascinating.
* * *
When I first returned to the
States, the things I have written about here began to seem like some wild,
crazy dream. Would I travel again on the astral plane to the New Jerusalem?
Would I meet God in the form of a Pillar of Light, or Jesus and the other
saints? How would my relationship with the rose-colored angel who is Paul
manifest? Even as I waited for answers, I knew nothing would be the same as before.
…These are the
ones who have survived the great period of trial; they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb….Never again shall they know
hunger or thirst, nor shall the sun or its heat beat down on them, for the Lamb
on the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to springs of life-giving
water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Revelations
7:14-17
New American Bible
|
