Healing hands

In his 1966 book Healing Hands, (revised in 1978), J. Bernard Hutton tells the story of British medium George Chapman, who channeled a deceased doctor named William Lang for the purpose of treating patients with intractable medical problems. Hutton himself, a professional writer, was treated by Chapman/Lang and saved from possible blindness. The experience made him a believer, and he proceeded to write Chapman's biography and to document some of his more outstanding cases.

Chapman took no money for his work*, even when it required him to travel. People who knew Dr. Lang in life reported that Chapman, in trance, perfectly captured Lang's personality and mannerisms; moreover, "Lang" recognized his former patients without an introduction, and knew things about them that only he and they could know. Lang's own life is extensively documented - he was a fairly prominent specialist in the pre-WWII era - and the authenticity of the spirit control has been as well confirmed as any such case can be.

(*Update, September 21. Having read further in the book, I have to correct this statement. In the early years of his mediumship, Chapman accepted no payment; he held on to his job as a firefighter and provided healing services for free. Later, however, he retired from firefighting and became a full-time healer. At this point he did charge most of his clients, though he offered free services to those who could not afford to pay.)

The healing technique used by "Dr. Lang" was to gently separate the patient's spirit body from the physical body, then operate on the spirit body, leaving the physical body untouched. When the two bodies were rejoined, the improvements in the spirit form apparently translated into improvements in the physical form in relatively short order. This, at least, is how "Dr. Lang" explained things. Incidentally, this relationship between the physical and spiritual bodies - with the spiritual form serving as a template for the physical - dovetails with mystical traditions and channeled material, as documented in Robert Crookall's books.

Much of Healing Hands concerns the sometimes remarkable cures that Chapman/Lang effected for patients who were thought to be beyond help. One impressive case involved Dorothy James, described as an "Amersham housewife," who on November 12, 1954, was hit by a speeding car and gravely injured. As soon as Mrs. James arrived in the hospital in critical condition, an orderly on the hospital staff called Chapman and asked if he could perform "distant healing" on the patient. Chapman went into trance, and Lang purportedly used his powers at long distance to keep her alive. In an interview with Hutton ten years later, Mrs. James said:

'The hospital doctors were of course not aware of my being given distant healing and they couldn't understand how it was that I was alive. First they said I would never live. When I didn't die they said I would never see, or talk or walk again, and if I did indeed survive, I would have to face a future in a Mental Home. You see, the specialists had diagnosed that my brain was damaged, my whole nervous system affected, and that this damage would result in mental deficiency and permanent blindness; apart from this, my right leg and ankle were crushed.'

More than two months after the accident, Dorothy James was finally allowed to leave the hospital. By then the staff knew her as The Miracle Girl, because she had not only survived but had partially recovered. Still, she was in bad shape and faced the prospect of many more operations and a difficult road ahead, with no prospect of full recovery in sight.

Here's where our story gets really interesting. Let J. Bernard Hutton tell it:

George Chapman called to see Mrs. James immediately after Boxing Day during his off-duty time at the Aylesbury Fire Brigade. He talked with her for a little while about her accident and about the hospital but, while he was still talking, she fell into a deep sleep. Only when she woke up after a long and refreshing slumber did she find out from her mother, who had been in the bedroom, that George Chapman had gone into trance, and that Mr. Lang had performed a number of spirit operations and had then ordered that the patient was not to be wakened, but allowed to sleep on.

'When I awoke I asked my mother: "Where's the gentleman gone?" ' Mrs. James continued. 'Instead of telling me, my mother said: "Don't try to pull yourself up in bed, you'll hurt yourself!" I told her: "No, don't touch me, I can do it myself." I remember putting my right arm down -- the arm that I couldn't use or feel before -- and I cried out, "I can lean on my arm!" And oh! there can be only one explanation -- the gentleman must have done it....

'The next morning Mr. Chapman came again -- straight from the fire service and still in his uniform. He hadn't been home to have his breakfast. He wanted to see what progress, if any, I had made since the previous day....

"On this occasion I saw Mr. Chapman go into trance. He took off his wrist-watch and put it on the side-table, and then went over to the corner and muttered a prayer. I watched him and noticed that his body went down a little bit. I thought that my eyes must be playing tricks on me again, and I felt upset because since his first visit the previous day I had had no eye trouble at all.

'When he spoke to me a few moments later, Mr. Chapman's voice had changed completely. It was not Mr. Chapman's quiet voice, it was a deep husky voice and it seemed to me as though the words were sort of blurred. He came over to me, moving his hands and flicking his fingers and I had the impression he was talking to doctors and nurses, asking for instruments and things. He never touched me, but was obviously working on my head and I felt a strange sensation. Then he started working on my shoulders. My arms had been pulled out from my shoulders during the accident, and the right one hadn't been set back properly. Again he didn't really touch me, but I could feel the bone moving inside the socket. It didn't hurt, it went sort of numb....

'During that afternoon and the following day I improved rapidly. I felt so much better -- my speech was better, I could move my arm much more easily and my vision was so much clearer. For the first time since my accident I really started feeling on top of the world.

'When Mr. Chapman came again -- that was on the day before I was due to go back to hospital -- I saw him go into trance the second time, exactly in the way he had done so on the previous occasion...

'We talked for a little while and out of the blue ["Dr. Lang"] said: "You do believe that I am going to make you better?" I assured him that I did, but I told him that I had to go back to the hospital next day. "I've no intention of staying there," I said. "No, you won't have to, young lady," he said. "I shall see you again next week -- here in this house."...'

Mrs. James was taken back to the hospital the following day but she was convinced that she would not be requested to stay. When the doctors examined her it was to find an improvement in her condition that was beyond their capacity to explain. They agreed to her request that she should be allowed to return home, because, they said, they believed the home atmosphere might be beneficial....

'When they took the plaster off at the hospital, my right leg was three-quarters of an inch shorter than the left, and they said that I would have to have a special surgical shoe built,' Mrs. James told me. 'Well, I didn't want to have this, and I fervently hoped that Dr. Lang could do something. So I told him about it when he came again through Mr. Chapman, and of my dread. I could see he understood my feelings. While he was operating on me that day, I suddenly had this funny feeling, as if someone was lifting my leg and putting weights on the end of it....

When I returned three days later to the hospital, the doctors were flabbergasted when they measured my legs and found that they were both the same length!

'There was another remarkable thing. When they set the ankle and put pins in my bones they set the ankle-bone too far forward. When they took the plaster off and discovered it, they made arrangements for me to be operated on in April 1955 so that they could try and correct it. I told Mr. Chapman about it when he came the next time...

'While we were talking, he changed in his chair and Dr. Lang came through. Almost immediately he started operating on my ankle, moving his hands and fingers and talking, and truly I could feel things being done. As soon as he finished, I could see that the ankle-bone had been moved into its proper place. Before he left, he told Jeff to 'phone the hospital in four days' time and tell them that the proposed operation was no longer necessary. Well, Jeff did as Dr. Lang had asked, but the hospital didn't take much notice of what he had said. They insisted that I come in for the operation, but when they examined my ankle, they were speechless. They said they just couldn't understand how my ankle-bone could have gone back into its right position without an operation or treatment. And they said that they wouldn't need to have me in to do anything on my ankle at all.'

When the Aston Martin tore into Mrs. James and did its grisly job on her body, it did not neglect her face. Her features were ripped and crosshatched by scars. When she was strong enough she was sent to the famous Stoke Mandeville Hospital for plastic surgery. This is what she told me about that episode in her life:

'Having had all those operations at the Buckinghamshire Hospital, I was frightened of what lay in store for me again, and the next time Mr. Chapman came I told him about it. To cut a very long story short, Dr. Lang performed a plastic surgery operation on my face. When he finished he wanted to know exactly when I had to go to hospital, and I told him that it was to be in a fortnight's time. He then said: "Oh, by then it'll be cleared up. Don't forget to bring that to the doctor's notice, and ask whether you can have your name taken off the list." Well, I did, because my face became as it is now -- with powder on you can't see a thing -- and when the lady doctor from the Stoke Mandeville Hospital examined me she was stunned. She couldn't understand it. She said there was no need for plastic surgery now. Once again Dr. Lang had performed a miracle.'  

[Healing Hands, 1978 revised edition, pp. 64-68]

Comments

[TomC]

wow. that's sound way too good to be good! michael, do u know if there's any medical records or if this case was ever reported in any journal? i read many cases of miraculous healing, but this one is unique because it happened over a period of time and where different parts were healed at different times... it's one thing to read about a patient be cured of lupus through supernatural mean (and have medical tests to prove it), and it's another to have different symptoms/conditions be treated/cured over a period of time. if this case gets reported in a medical journal then it would be quite a strong case.

also, have you read 'the scalpel and the soul' The Scalpel and the Soul i think it's a good read too, but one thing i didnt like was the fact that it borrowed pam reynold's case and put it in the book as someone else..

[Michael Prescott]

do u know if there's any medical records or if this case was ever reported in any journal?

I don't know. Hutton's book struck me as very convincing, but it's not a peer-reviewed paper or anything. Then again, I'm sufficiently persuaded by the general evidence for the paranormal that I no longer feel the need for double-blind, peer-reviewed, meta-analyzed scientific studies (not that there's anything wrong with them).

I haven't read The Scalpel and the Soul. I did hear about the Pam Reynolds thing, and it bothered me too.

[Marcel Cairo]

I have little confidence in stories that emerge from the British spiritualist movement. The British spiritualists have been known to fictionalize "miracle" stories when it comes to mediums.

[Zerdini]

How little you know, Marcel!

The story of George Chapman is one of the most extraordinary in the history of mediumship.

I knew George Chapman very well and I can assure readers that he was one of the most extraordinary healers I've ever met and I've met a few!

William Lang the doctor who worked through George Chapman had been an eye surgeon at the famous Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

When the news spread that he was said to be operating through George Chapman many of Lang's former colleagues came to Chapman to expose this phoney medium but went away when Lang recognised them and greeted them by name.

Members of Lang's family who were still on earth also came and were recognised and greeted by Lang and confirmed that it was indeed him.

A group of doctors set up a trust so that Chapman could work for them without any financial worries which he did for many years treating the patients they sent him and achieving remarkable results.

He is the only medium I know who was accorded an obituary in The Daily Telegraph - see extract : "George Chapman, who died on August 9 aged 85, was said to be one of Britain's most remarkable healers; for 60 years he treated patients from all walks of life, including celebrities and members of the medical profession, by going into a state of trance and allowing the spirit of William Lang to "operate" through him."
Full details are on the Daily Telegraph’s website 12/8/2006.

If you believe this, do you believe the Gospels?

[Zerdini]

I wasn't around at the time of the Gospels but I did know George Chapman and also received healing from Dr Lang so I write from experience not hearsay.

[Michael Prescott]

If you believe this, do you believe the Gospels?

I do think Jesus was a healer, yes. Of course this does not necessarily make him the unique incarnation of God, any more than George Chapman was the unique incarnation of God. I'm not sure Jesus ever made this claim for himself.

But I do think Jesus was an extraordinarily advanced spiritual master. I have a very high opinion of his teachings and have read more than a hundred books on the subject of Christianity. My favorite author in this field is N.T. Wright, by the way.

[Michael Prescott]

also received healing from Dr Lang

I didn't know this, Z. Care to share, or is it too personal? (If it's private info, forget I asked.)

[Larry Boy]

According to Wikipedia "celebrities such as Laurence Harvey, Stanley Holloway,Patricia Neal, Barbara Cartland and Roald Dahl were among those seeking his help."

If this is the case, then quite a lot ought to have been written about him. Does anybody know of any sources other than Michael's? Furthermore, was he ever put to the test by anyone with a scientific background?

[Zerdini]

Hi Michael

I have never published this before but I arranged an appointment with George Chapman as I had problems with my wrist in that I was unable to lift even a kettle.

I had been referred by my doctor to a specialist at the local hospital who wanted to operate so I decided to see George Chapman before I made a decision.

George was in trance when I walked into his healing room but even though his eyes were closed he moved about the room with complete ease.

He shook my hand and asked me to lay down on the couch. Without touching me he said the synovial fluid was very dry and that was what was causing the pain.

He made some clicking noises over my wrist and said that I would be fine. In response to my questions about the clicking noises he said that he was surrounded and helped by other doctors and nurses, who he named, and that he was working in a fully equipped operating theatre.

The whole healing took no more than a few minutes and I felt no improvement at all until the next day when my wrist was back to normal and has remained so for the last 15 years.
I was not charged a cent.

[Zerdini]

In answer to Larry Boy there is a tremendous amount of material about George Chapman.

As I said earlier he was tested by other doctors who set up a trust to enable him to treat their patients free of charge.

[Michael Prescott]

Very interesting, Zerdini. Thank you very much for sharing this experience with us.

[Zerdini]

You can read the Telegraph obituary here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1526133/George-Chapman.html

[Paul Welsh]

Michael

I am curious about your comment regarding the teachings of Jesus - I guess you're referring to the Gospels which I think it is fair to say many view (with some justification) as a politically constructed document engineered to enforce church policy and contain little, if any, actually teachings from Jesus. Or are you referring simply to some of the principles contained in the Gospels?

[Larry Boy]

I thought you guys might be interested to know that there's a new interview with psychic detective Noreen Reiner on Skeptiko released today:

http://www.skeptiko.com/audio/skeptiko-2008-09-16-41743.mp3

The host Alex Tsakiris begins by examining a skeptical investigation by Ben Radford. Very interesting.

[Larry Boy]

(Note that although the name of the show is Skeptiko, it argues that the paranormal is true.)

[Marcel Cairo]

Larry Boy, thanks for alerting everyone to the new episode of Skeptiko, but as a former guest on the show, and an acquaintance of Alex Tsakiris, I have to correct you on your comment that skeptiko, "argues that the paranormal is true."

Skeptiko's mission is to bring skeptics and psi proponents together and create dialog that is non-combative and in line with the role of scientific investigation. Alex created the show because there was this skeptical mantra that "there is no evidence for psychic phenomenon, when in fact there is much evidence for it, though not wholly conclusive.

More importantly, there is a big difference between the word "paranormal" and the word, "parapsychology."

The paranormal includes UFOlogy, Cryptozoology, stigmata, and countless other fortean phenomena. Alex tsakiris is only focused on psi studies that deal with consciousness outer limits, both human and animal.

Just thought I would clear that up a bit. :-)

[Michael Prescott]

I guess you're referring to the Gospels which I think it is fair to say many view (with some justification) as a politically constructed document engineered to enforce church policy and contain little, if any, actually teachings from Jesus. Or are you referring simply to some of the principles contained in the Gospels?

I'm referring primarily to the synoptic Gospels. I don't buy the argument that these were constructed merely to advance the church's agenda. I think they are a reasonably reliable record of Jesus' ministry, though people will argue forever about the details. No doubt each of the three synoptics views Jesus through a particular lens, but his basic teachings seem to have been preserved.

I am much less confident in the reliability of the Gospel of John, which appears to be more of an intellectual reflection on Jesus' ministry than a documentary record.

Of course, none of the Gospels is a biography in the modern sense. Allowances have to be made for the context in which they were written. I think the birth and infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke were intended as symbolism. Some of the miracle stories seem to have been inspired by the feats of Elijah and Elisha.

Regardless of these quibbles, I find the character of Jesus to be authentic and inspiring.

Your mileage may vary ...

[Zetetic_chick]

Michael, is there any book by N.T. Wright that you'd specially recommend?

I'm agnostic regarding the Christian God, but I have interest about Jesus' (and other spiritual men) teachings.

In Christian websites, I've read something about the good work of N.T. Wright (it seems that some atheist scholars have good opinions too about N.T. Wright's writtings and research).

Zerdini, in your experience with George Chapman, did you see cases of instantaneous healings?

Also, did he treat patients with cancer, diabetes or multiple sclerosis? (I mean, with chronic, progressive and "incurable" diseases)

Those diseases can't be "cured" by placebos or suggestion, so I think a healing of them is a strong prima facie evidence for the reality of the phenomenon, and can't be dismissed or debunked easily.

[Michael Prescott]

did he treat patients with cancer?

Healing Hands includes at least one account of a woman with cancer who was healed by Chapman/Lang.

Michael, is there any book by N.T. Wright that you'd specially recommend?

It depends on how much information you're looking for. Jesus and the Victory of God is an excellent book, but very long (741 pp.) and detailed. For a shorter version of the same arguments, see The Challenge of Jesus.

Another interesting, nontechnical book is The Meaning of Jesus, in which Marcus Borg (a liberal scholar) and Wright (more conservative) politely debate some of the major themes of New Testament scholarship.

[zerdini]

In reply to zetetic chick:

I am unaware of any instantaneous healings but he certainly treated so-called incurable cases.

Many of the cases brought to him by the group of doctors he worked for fell into the categories you mention.

Dr Lang never claimed to be a miracle worker - he was simply a doctor working through the mediumship of Chapman with access to far more facilities for healing than were available on earth.

[Ben]

Very interesting about Dr Lang & Chapman - and good to have it confirmed first-hand by Zerdini.

With regard to Jesus, I wonder if you, Michael, or anyone has thoughts on the books by Freke & Gandy. A couple of years ago I read "The Jesus Mysteries" and "Jesus and the Goddess". At the time they convinced me that Jesus was a Gnostic creation, not a real person. To your knowledge, has anyone succeeded in refuting their persuasive arguments?

[Michael Prescott]

A couple of years ago I read "The Jesus Mysteries" and "Jesus and the Goddess".

I read both of those books about ten years ago and found them convincing at first. But later I learned that neither author has any scholarly credentials, and the arguments they make have been widely discounted by academics. If you check their bibliographies, you'll find that they rely mainly on outdated 19th-century documents. One tipoff is that they refer to the Hebrew God as Jehovah, a term that has been passe for decades. (The correct term is Yahweh.)

I find this Web site useful in rebutting such arguments, although I admit that it's written from a strongly Christian perspective.

A critical review of The Jesus Mysteries is here.

[Paul Welsh]

Thank you for reply Michael. It is useful to understand your perspective. I wouldn't like to get into a debate about it as frankly I have got much time for Christianity or any other organised religion as such. I suspect that there is as much debate about the origins of the Bible as there is about most other religious issues. Having said that there is a great deal of common sense in some parts of it - as in many other religious books. I do think that given the nature of the organisations having custodianship of it over the centuries it is unlikely to a reliable portrayal of fact and it highly likely to have been interfered with by those in power.

[Larry Boy]

I have recently become interested in the question of whether Jesus's miracles (at least some of them) could have been authentic. Some scholars, including Antony Flew it seems (even though he at the same time appears somewhat undecided), regard the ressurection, for instance, as supported by quite strong historical evidence. These scholars' arguments are interesting, I think, even though I'm not entirely sure what to think about them. (If true, perhaps you could interpret his ressurection as an apparition case, although this wouldn't explain the empty tomb. Another possibility would be teleportation. I'm not sure what to think of this phenomenon, but it has been reported quite a lot of times as far as I can ascertain, especially in the East, I think.)

Anyway, I think it would be interesting if you could perhaps explore this issue in some future post, as you seem to be quite knowledgeable about it. (If you not already have written one or several such posts?)

[Larry Boy]

Marcel: You're right about Skeptiko. My bad ;)

[Zetetic_chick]

It's a very interesting topic, Larry Boy.

Jesus' paranormal powers didn't seem to be "normal" psi abilities; they seemed to be very developed, more than most people with psi powers.

Some scholars, including Antony Flew it seems (even though he at the same time appears somewhat undecided), regard the ressurection, for instance, as supported by quite strong historical evidence

About Flew and the resurrection topic, see that 2005 interview:

http://www.biola.edu/antonyflew/flew-interview.pdf

It's a long interview, but Flew gives his opinion about many topics (including psychical research and near of death experiences)

[Zetetic_chick]

Thanks Michael for your reading suggestions. Thanks Zerdini too for sharing your experiences.

ZC

[william]

I for one believe there was a historical Jesus and much but not all of his teachings are close to what he taught. But like most profound teachings the followers want to change those teachings to fit their paradigms. The bible you can be sure is being changed as we write these words.

We humans like to make our prophets, spiritual masters, and even our gods in our image.

The reason why I believe Jesus existed is that my research into mystics, prophets, advanced spirits, and enlightened Hindus teach very similar teachings. The level of Jesus teachings was and is very highly developed and shows the intelligence of an advanced consciousness. I mean 2000 years later most of his teachings are little understood.

Such as the meek shall inherit the earth at a time the Roman Empire controlled most of the known world. Forgive 70 times 7 and turn the other cheek, god is within you, and the one that I love be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect and you too shall do greater things than I. Never found a Christian preacher preach on that one.

His teachings are very very difficult to live by as most spiritual teachings are. I believe that if he came back and gave the same sermons he gave two thousand years ago the very people that claim to be his followers would reject him. As the intelligence that came through the medium George Wright (the open door) stated the Jesus that most Christians worship did not nor could not exist.

[Zerdini]

Other books about George Chapman:

"Surgeon From Another World" by George Chapman as told to Roy Stemman

"The Return of Dr. Lang" by S.G.Miron

Not many people are aware that Michael Chapman (George Chapman’s son) is continuing the healing work aided by Dr Lang’s son, Basil.

A book has been published about this work:

MORE THINGS IN HEAVEN AND EARTH: The healing work of Michael Chapman by David J. Nicholls, Dip.RS, B.A.(Hons), M.Phil., Ph.D

[Becky]

I just stumbled across a great website (healingtheriftbook.com) introducing a great book that is going to be available next month- October. Sounds like an interesting book to read.
The book is titled, “Healing the Rift.” In reading through the website I read that the author, Leo Kim, has written about his personal experience of working in a cancer ward. He talks about a healing
he performed and how his scientific evidence shows that both spirituality and science do coexist.

This information comes from an interview Joe Fisher did with the guide of George Chapman in researching his book “Hungry Ghosts” and the interview was with the Spirit of the famous surgeon Dr Lang. George Chapman was probably one of the finest Spiritual Healers and Psychic Surgeons ever. His work is well recorded, documented and there is little doubt it was genuine.

“Joe Fisher was unable to be satisfied as to whether a medium's guides were real people. While much of the geographical and historical information supplied by the entities was amazingly accurate, the claimed identities did not stand up to scrutiny, in his view.”

An extract of answers shows DR Lang saying “Well, I think entities can be traced if you can find first of all a medium who is making genuine contact. I know as much about my life as I did when I was on Earth. You don't forget. One has memory. They talk of their great guides, but when you ask them: "Did you trace your guide?" they say: "Oh, no, no, but he told me he was some famous surgeon. He's using a different name because you see, he doesn't want his family to become involved." Well, surely, when you've passed into this world, you want your family to know where you are. That's what I wanted right away - my daughter and my grandchildren all came to see me . (In fact this is true Lang’s daughter came to debunk Chapman and is now entirely convinced this guide is Lang).”
Now this great Medium George Chapman went on to say "Too many alleged spirit guides do not stand up to critical examination. I believe it is essential for those who develop trance mediumship to ensure that their spirit controls are examined thoroughly to prove their identities. The spirit communicator should speak as near as possible to the way he spoke on earth, using the same phrases and mannerisms and manifesting other personal characteristics. He should be able to give dates, names and details of his earthly experiences that can be verified, and be able to discuss intimate matters with relatives and colleagues still on earth.

All too often, a 'spirit control's' claimed earthly existence is outside the memory of those living, while others deliberately cloak their identities in a shroud of mystery.”

This is so outside acceptable behaviour from any responsible Spirit Guide it brings the “reality” of WCC more into the spotlight.

[Ben]

Very interesting links, Michael –thank you. It does seem that Freke & Gandi were very selective in their sources, some of which look very dubious. If their thesis that St Paul was a Gnostic is false, then the whole non-historical idea loses impetus.

Having said that, some of the objections to the myth idea seem a tad shrill. To suggest that anyone is saying Jesus is a simple “copycat” creation is a bit of a straw man. I can certainly imagine that scholarly Jews, deprived of their own political independence and self-determination by the Romans, might construct a new godman saviour myth from elements of old stories, perhaps starting with a real teacher/healer, perhaps not. I like the idea – it shows human spirit and creativity – and great mythopoeic skill in creating a story that not only outlasted the Roman occupation, but spread across the world in a way that the Romans never could. Whatever the truth, as William suggests, our understanding of Jesus is now mythologized.

[Roger Knights]

LB wrote: "Note that although the name of the show is Skeptiko, it argues that the paranormal is true."

Maybe "skeptiko" is an anagram for skeptic + KO. I.e., KO'ing (knocking out) skeptics.

[Teri]

"Now this great Medium George Chapman went on to say "Too many alleged spirit guides do not stand up to critical examination."

As if it's not bad enough dealing with skeptics and trickster mediums, we also have devious discarnates to deal with. How's a poor girl supposed to find the facts?

Has anyone heard from Michael H? I'm a bit worried about him - he never takes a break this long.

[Leo]

Don't know if anyone has seen this yet

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080910090829.htm

Sounds very interesting.

[Zetetic_chick]

Has anyone heard from Michael H? I'm a bit worried about him - he never takes a break this long

I thought the same thing. Where is he?

I miss Michael H's commentaries.

[william]

“How's a poor girl supposed to find the facts?”

One person’s facts are another person’s ignorance. For about 17 years I have been using a cross validation approach. If several different teachings say similar things then maybe there is something to those teachings. It is not a perfect method but it works the best for me at this time.

Example many of the teachings teach that there is something akin to soul evolution taking place. Also the one “fact” that seems to check out is the word love. Love appears in almost all of the different teachings. A selfless love of course.

Another example past life and between life hypnosis does not check out well with spiritualism and its teachings of astral worlds. And of course we have reincarnation that past life hypnosis appears to support with much evidence but many spirits that come through don’t seem to support reincarnation.

Here is a quote from a spirit from the book the open door speaking of evolution and involution as it relates to time. Evolution and involution are also very much in line with many enlightened Hindu teachings.

“When we view the process of Being in the light of future enfoldment and relate the ultimate to the process in the light of cause under the domain of Time we call it evolution. When the ultimate is looked upon as the effect of the process of Being and Becoming or better the manifestational activity we call this involution.”

From my point of view spiritualism has done the best and worst job of supporting life after death, meaning of life, and purpose of our lives. The best as there is much evidence to support spirits coming though mediums and the worst as fraud and lack of control entered the picture and caused the spiritualist movement to lose much credibility.

[Paul Welsh]

I enjoyed the overall post William but I have to say I found the quote a tad impenetrable.. maybe I am just too thick :)

“When we view the process of Being in the light of future enfoldment and relate the ultimate to the process in the light of cause under the domain of Time we call it evolution. When the ultimate is looked upon as the effect of the process of Being and Becoming or better the manifestational activity we call this involution.”

[Paul Welsh]

"I dont know if anyone has seen this yet

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080910090829.htm

Sounds very interesting."

It would have been interesting to know what they meant by "successful pilot stage" wouldn't it?

[william]

"I enjoyed the overall post William but I have to say I found the quote a tad impenetrable.. Maybe I am just too thick :) "

Its deep very deep but within that one paragraph is so much information.

Cause and effect relationship of evolution and involution.

The relationship of time (sequence) and evolution.

And the necessity of involution to have evolution.

It supports my discovery that unawareness is a necessity to have manifestational activity that most call creation.

[Ben]

William: "It supports my discovery that unawareness is a necessity to have manifestational activity that most call creation."

This evokes in me the image of an infinite jigsaw puzzle, for which pieces keep being (re)discovered. However, it also suggests the futility of the process, since there are no edges or corner pieces.

[Michael H]

Has anyone heard from Michael H? I'm a bit worried about him - he never takes a break this long.

I thought the same thing. Where is he?

I'm still here, but just lurking. I've been busy with some projects and haven't had the time or inclination to add much. Thanks for the concern and the comments, though!

:-)

[Teri]

"I'm still here, but just lurking."

Good to hear from you, Michael H - someone said you were living in a trailer, and I had visions of you lying there undiscovered...
luckily, my psychic powers are zero.

[pmprescott]

My sister is dying of cancer. There comes a point when you are willing to hope and try for a cure or healing. Is there anything about Dr. Chapman passing on his mediumship to someone else?

[Ben]

luckily, my psychic powers are zero.

It depends on the ‘powers’, Teri. Premonitions, as in the Danger Ahead thread might be disconcerting. But Remote viewing would be useful, especially if Michael H can be seen wandering around his kitchen cooking something nice for himself.
Glad you’re OK, Michael H!

[Zerdini]

"My sister is dying of cancer. There comes a point when you are willing to hope and try for a cure or healing. Is there anything about Dr. Chapman passing on his mediumship to someone else?"

Posted by: pmprescott

Not many people are aware that Michael Chapman (George Chapman’s son) is continuing the healing work aided by Dr Lang’s son, Basil.

A book has been published about this work:
MORE THINGS IN HEAVEN AND EARTH: The healing work of Michael Chapman by David J. Nicholls, Dip.RS, B.A.(Hons), M.Phil., Ph.D

You can contact him here:
http://ukpetsearch.freeuk.com/mgchapman/

[william]

"This evokes in me the image of an infinite jigsaw puzzle, for which pieces keep being (re)discovered."

Ben if you know of a book or article that claims to have discovered the origin of ignorance I would be interested in it. Keeping in mind ignorance and unawareness are synonyms.

The Buddha at least to the Buddhists today claim that the origin of ignorance was and is a futile question. Many give the Buddha credit for discovering the origin of suffering but it appears that the Hindus were already teaching that ignorance was the cause of our suffering and Buddha was a Hindu.

It may be important to note that Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha) had a realization (awaking) as to the origin of suffering not just knowledge about the origin of suffering.

It appeared logical to me (only me it appears :-) that if ignorance was the cause of our suffering it may be beneficial to ask the question what is the origin of that ignorance. Involution and understanding variation may help a seeker gain knowledge as to the necessity of ignorance for the Ultimate (gods or God?) to manifest individual perceived unique identities.

For many reasons the world will try to inhibit questions but consciousness evolves and will always triumph. As the enlighten Hindus might say how else would God rediscover itself (i.e. dance with itself) without the jigsaw puzzle.

[Ben]

if you know of a book or article that claims to have discovered the origin of ignorance I would be interested in it.

Sri Aurobindo's book "The Life Divine" has a chapter called "The Origin of Ignorance" (Book II, Part I Chapter 12).

http://www.kheper.net/topics/Aurobindo/Life_Divine.html

[Ben]

William, if you want a gnostic perspective, "The Gnostic Religion" by Hans Jonas goes into their understanding of the Demiurge as Imperfect Creator of an Imperfect Universe.