Last updated on January 11, 2024
Update: In 2018 (after this post was originally written), John of God turned himself in to the police after over 600 accusations of sexual abuse. In December 2019, he was sentenced to 19 years and four months for the rapes of four different women. This kind of story is all too familiar in the world of gurus/cults and one of the reasons I have such distrust in these kinds of therapies and the people who create them. They play on people’s vulnerabilities.
I wrote this post directly after I had tried the crystal light bed, but my later post ā Time to say F*ck it ā is a better representation of my conclusions on the whole ‘Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it’ experiment ā in short, I probably came out more sceptical than when I started. And I 100% do not recommend any therapies to do with John of God.
Original post:
“Is this the one where a ghost might touch your bum?” said Steve.
“Not quite, but yes it is the one you’re thinking of.” I’d been warned that I might feel spirits working on my insides during the session. This was a good thing as far I was concerned ā I wanted proof.
The session in question was an energy healing using a crystal bed from John of God ā a medium and psychic surgeon from Brazil. It was the first I’d heard of him but it turns out he’s quite the spiritual superstar and widely acclaimed as the worldās greatest living healer.
Millions of people travel to visit him, and heās particularly famous for his rudimentary operations, which are said to have cured people of all sorts of ailments, from cancer to blindness. He has no medical training and says he has no memory of any of the procedures ā they are the work of more than thirty spirit entities that are channeled through him.
In search of glitz
Tamara, a warmhearted American with a sunny smile, had spent time with John of God in Brazil and bought back the crystal bed, which is said to be a portal for the spirits that surround him. I met Tamara at the Energy 101 workshop and knew this was perfect fodder for the āDonāt knock it til youāve tried itā experiment, so booked myself a session. Plus I was intrigued to know what a crystal bed looked like.
Disappointing is the answer. I’d imagined some sort of elaborate jewel-encrusted bed worthy of a palace, but instead what I found looked more like a set of chakra-coloured disco lights (I bet that’s an idea that’d sell well in Ubud. I can see the flyer now ‘Balance your energy while being bathed in the light of seven chakras at our Kundalini Rising Rave…) I digress. Back to the session.
I lay down on an ordinary bed in Tamaraās house while she arranged the crystal lights above me ā each coloured crystal pointing to its corresponding chakra on my body. Now all I had to do was lie there, eyes closed for an hour-long Savasana while the travelling spirits did their work. Tamara was also in the room, sitting in meditation. She often receives information during the session, a sort of reading of your current energetic state.
Hands in my belly?
The challenge in this ā as with any meditation ā was staying present and not letting my mind run wild, anticipating or providing a running commentary of all sensations. My digressions were aplenty but I did finish the session in a deep state of relaxation. I hadn’t, however, felt any hands picking at my organs. In fact, I hadn’t felt anything particularly noteworthy ā at least nothing obvious.
Tamara felt differently. “You’ve got a lot going on there,” she said. “Are you aware you have fairy spirits with you?ā Fairies!! Tell me more, I thought.
Trauma in childhood, a journey to Bali to work through it, a need to let go ā she intuited things that have become so familiar to me that itās hard to know whether or not theyāre painted on my face. But I was encouraged by her accuracy, and found myself lapping up her reading eagerly.
The dangers of diagnosis
This is one of the dangers of a therapeutic setting. There’s something delicious about being “diagnosed”. The mind spends much of its life in a battle of “who am Iās?” and “I am this” so a voice to settle that duel is latched upon.
Finally, someone who recognises you and can tell you how to improve! It’s hard to resist. And it can be a good thing ā if the therapist is right ā but they won’t always be, and they may not be on point about every single thing. Discretion is necessary, or you could easily find yourself misguided at best, or paranoid at worst.
As I scribbled down Tamaraās reading, I wondered how much of it might be true. She cautioned that I may have an intolerance to dairy and soy, and could be suffering from a minor bacterial infection, suggesting colodial silver as a remedy, and zinc to support my adrenals.
Could John of Godās spirit guides really have told her these intimate details about my insides? I’ve suspected a dairy problem for a while, and my stomach has been sick, but was that a lucky guess? It’s not as if Bali Belly or lactose intolerance are uncommon phenomenons.
Play!
āPlay more. It seems as though a part of your childhood was taken from you. Reclaim it. Have fun.ā This is a similar conclusion that my therapist in London came to after 12 months of weekly visits. Itās familiar advice and Tamara was spot on in her judgment, but, as with Jana, the question is the same: Where does this advice come from? Intuition, spirits, God?
I left Tamaraās house with no greater or lesser faith than when I arrived. Nothing overt had happened to make me believe in John of Godās crystal bed, but nothing had caused me to discount it either.
All I have is my own intuition and for now it says that this particular therapy is not for me and I struggle to believe that the light bed itself is anything more than a prop. I do, however, like Tamara and will return to her for an energy healing without the bed.
I want to know more about those fairies.
You are so right about the wanting to be “diagnosed”… how marvellous to just have somebody else tell you everything that is “wrong” with you and then be able to heal it all! In the end, I believe it’s our own (deep, true) willingness to heal that allows these different methods to work their “magic”. I can also definitely see the faerie connection with you!
Yep, this question of diagnosis is something I’m thinking about a lot as the series progresses. It’s a minefield of confusion and temptation!
My experience with the bed was quite different. I was not āguided or diagnosedā just asked to lie down, relax and if I had an intention to express it to the guides. I walked out in a completely altered state of being. Refreshed, clear and grounded. I have experienced the bed on a regular basis and the experience has been different each time, since I am a bit different and my challenges are different as I continue on my path. I have had very positive outcomes in my life, felt more relaxed and less obsession over issues. It is also offered on a ālove offeringā basis and is not used to make a lot of money from. I recommend it highly.
I just experienced it few days ago. Very agreed Donna said. I very highly recommend. Going to offer it to my bf as his birthday gift.
Hi
Iāve experienced the JOG light therapy bed too, I was in the room alone with headphones on listening to relaxing OMās & so on. I got a lot out of my sessions. So relaxing. One hour passed quickly. The best meditation journeys for me.
I so want to try this!
Do! And be sure to tell me what you think!
I really liked the bit about playing more. You’re right, there is so much temptation to diagnose or categorize in an effort to understand ourselves and our insecurities or anxieties. But I believe the most healing is found in doing all the things we did as kids: having fun just for the sake of fun, creating something, imagining without limits, being carefree… It’s free therapy, and it works!
Playing is definitely a wonderful medicine. I’m doing the Artist’s Way at the moment and it’s a key component. I love it!
so interesting…i’d like to give it a go too
I managed to convince Steve to try it too!
Your photoshopped images are one of my favorite parts of these stories!
And one of my favourite things about putting them together š
Play does seem to be the antidote for so many of the ills that life brings us doesn’t it!
Yes, and want a wonderful medicine it is!
I’ll definitely give this a shot and let you know how it was! Thanks for introducing me to this!
Great! I’d love to hear how it goes!
Outstanding piece of writing, I’m signing up for your site bridgesandballoons.com.
Looks like it’s been some time since chat took place on your site, but as a Naturopathic physician, Doctor of Oriental medicine, Physconeuroimmunologist, and founder of the JMT (Jaffe-Mellor Technique), looking for some information concerning the “crystal bed”, I was intrigued by your assessment.
Thank you for your honorable feedback. Like you and others, I too look for an appropriate diagnosis, and as an impeccable diagnostician, I tend to lean away from “fairy-talk”, but do indeed embrace “cell talk” which provides me with enough clarity to have an excess of 500,000 hits on the internet and the experience of training more than 80,000 licensed health care professionals in the JMT technique with a success rate that boasts between 85-100% for resolving some “real” health conditions without drugs, surgery (physically or metaphysically).
Thanks again,
Dr. Carolyn Jaffe
This sites “share” icons get in the way of the article. Very annoying.
I just had my first experience with the Crystal light healing bed and my experience was something that is hard to put into words but I will try! I went in with low expectations that I was not going to “feel” anything. Well it is 7 hours later and I am still in a dream like state. My whole body tingled but I could feel more intense tingling/pressure in my sinuses and forehead. The music that was supposed to play for 30 minutes cut off after 2 songs and then I could hear my grandmother singing an old bible hymn she sang to me when I was a child. I have always been able to feel energy and spirits around but I feel like I will soon be able to hear or see them now. To say the experience was beautiful and intense is an understatement. My mother in law went in right after me and she had just as intense experience.
I also would recommend trying the God portal using magnetic crystal light healing bed. Check out this website. I have done John of God. It was a powerful experience and doing the God portal using the magnetic bed, wowowow!
I am thinking of trying it too. Just saw a car with the sign that says, John of God Healing Bed.ā
I so want to try this. How can I go about this if you can please tell me what I need to do I would Greatly appreciate it. Thank You, Elena Albanese
Please have the courage to talk about the latest accounts of the guilty verdict of John of God and his crimes. I have tried the crystal bed and I have to say I did not experience anything out of the ordinary, and I wanted to. John of God turned out to be a very unbalanced man and even if he did have the powers he claimed he did, you still need to talk about how discernment is highly needed when it comes to miracles and the powers of objects. Some people feel they need props such as a crystal bed or crystals to feel connected, and I get that, but people in your business should make it very clear that people do not need anything outside of themselves to connect to spirit, be healed, heard, understood or enlightened.
Olivia
Hi Olivia,
I wrote this post in 2013, so didn’t know about John of God’s crimes at that point. I’ve now updated this post to reflect that. What he did was horrifying. Thank you for alerting me of it.
I’ve also tried throughout this series to be clear that I’m only presenting my personal reaction to the different therapies. It’s very much a personal blog. And I’m in no way an advocate for any of the different therapies I tried. I’m actually more skeptical than when I started.
All my best, Victoria
I just came across this post. I was not told that this light was being put in me. Iām super sensitive empath with a lot of intuition. My chakras literally beat the crap out of me. You would think I was on an acid trip. I came out scared out of my mind. The person that did this to me was shocked and said most people just come out relaxed. I would like to try it again some day with the person having knowledge of what was going on.
Hmm, I hadn’t heard anything about the light treatment until an Osteopath mentioned she had a light treatment to balance chakras and she’d like to give me a free session. I was under the lights (alone) for 15 minutes and shifted from extremely irritable to light and happy. There was no talk of spirits or psychic interpretations so I had a very different experience from yours.
Hi Marnie
I have a JOG bed, However after 2010 when the scandal began i noticed the beings on the bed had changed and were no longer benevolent healers. I tried clearing the bed and crystals, and consistently I had a feeling of nausea and throwing up within 30 seconds on the bed. The JOG bed is no longer safe to use. I have packed mine up since 2011. I questions both the ethics and sensitivity of those who the bed. There are other beds like Stellarwaves, that I have used without issue on myself or my clients.
My humble observation.