John of God Interview

Medium John of God will be appearing at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto from Fri., March 15, 2013 to Sun., March 17, 2013. Born in Brazil, the self-proclaimed medium has been featured on Oprah and CNN. Gail Thackray, also a medium, is one of the organizers of the John of God event in Toronto and agreed to answer several questions on John of God’s behalf since he rarely conducts interviews. Tickets for John of God at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto are $188 for either Fri., March 15, 2013, Sat., March 16, 2013 or Sun., March 17, 2013 or $514 for all three days. Purchase tickets online or call 1-800-547-5910.

LB: As a youth, how did John of God discover his gift?

GT: At nine-years old, John (now known as John of God) was visiting his brother in a small town. As he was walking down the street, he told his mother they must do something, there is going to be a terrible storm. His mother told him that there was no sign of a storm and there was only one tiny cloud in the sky. However, John became distraught and finally his mother agreed to tell the townspeople. Within hours, a massive storm came out of nowhere and demolished forty homes. His warning helped to save many people. That was the first time John had received a psychic premonition.

LB: How old was John of God when he performed his first healing?

GT: His healing incorporation started happening when he was just sixteen. He was travelling looking for work, when his first touch with the heavenly realms happened. It was near a river where John stopped to rest, tired and hungry. An angel appeared in the river and spoke to him. At first, he just thought this was a beautiful lady talking to him. It turned out to be St. Rita de Cascia. She told John to go to the Spiritist Center of Christ the Redeemer. When he went there, they seemed to be expecting him. Shortly after arriving, he fainted. When he came to, there was a small crowd around him. These people were telling [him] how he’d done these amazing healings, but he didn’t know what they were talking about. King Solomon had apparently incorporated into his body and healed the people of the town. This was his first incorporation and the start of his healing journey.

LB: John of God’s story reminds me of Edgar Cayce’s. Is John of God familiar with Edgar Cayce and does he see himself performing in a similar manner?

GT: Yes, I have said this many times, John of God’s healing reminds me of the Edgar Cayce story. John of God is a rare trans-medium. This means that unlike many psychics and mediums who receive messages from beyond, he actually incorporates a spirit into his body. These benevolent spirits work through the body of John of God and they can talk to people and even perform spiritual surgeries. While this is happening, John the medium says he simply goes to sleep. Edgar Cayce was called “The Sleeping Profit” as he too simply went to sleep while spirits gave “readings.” These readings often provided insight, but also remedies for health issues that often resolved the issue. In the case of Edgar Cayce, the spirits talked through the sleeping Cayce. In the case of John of God, he does not so much read or diagnose people, but spirits heal people while the medium is asleep. I tell people I would have given anything to have had a reading with Edgar Cayce when he was alive. John of God is a man that is alive today and you can still go to see him in person. This is an amazing opportunity that should not be missed. John of God is a very humble man. He does not promote his work or hold himself to perform miracles. He simply says it is God who heals people and he is blessed to be an instrument.

LB: Does a patient’s frame of mind affect his/her ability to heal?

GT: John of God says the spirits do half of the healing, the other half is up to the person. Every ailment we have in our life, whether it is a physical ailment or an issue with relationships or finances, we have brought it into our life. We attract these things to us inadvertently. When we can search deeply and understand why we might have attracted this in the first place, it helps our healing tremendously. A person who is more willing to take active responsibility in their healing by forgiving and releasing negative feelings is much more likely to have long lasting results. Trust and being open, I believe makes a big difference.

LB: What happens to a patient during an invisible surgery?

GT: An invisible surgery or spiritual intervention is not unlike a meditation. You are directed to sit in a small chapel like room. John of God incorporated in spirit then comes in the room and the spirits make an energy connection with the person. The real work then takes place over the next 24 hrs where the person is instructed to rest. Spirit doctors are able to work on the person back in their room, performing up to nine invisible surgeries. As a medium, I was able to sense these spirits coming and going and changing the energy in certain areas of my body. Most people can at least sense a very warm loving feeling. The results are often very surprising. Many times the ailments are completely cured. Real internal stitches have actually been seen on x-ray film, even though there was no physical contact whatsoever!

LB: Why does John of God think not everyone is cured by his treatments?

GT: Sometimes people feel wonderful and healthy after a visit to John of God, but later their ailment returns. Our ailments came from the negative thoughts we put out and the way we act in our life. If the person returns to their negative lifestyle that caused the problem in the first place, this can be the reason their ailment returns. Others may have decided on a soul level that it is their time and they really do not want to be healed. I believe those that truly want to be healed and are willing to do their part, have an opportunity to be healed even from those ailments medical doctors have deemed “incurable.”

LB: How does John of God feel when people are sceptical about his ability to be an instrument of healing?

GT: He seems to have no care whether people believe in the healing or not, just to help those that seek a healing. He is not interested in giving interviews nor does any kind of promotion come directly from him. He is simply interested in doing the work and helping those who come. However, some people have a harder time believing in spiritual or invisible healing. When John of God is incorporated, he takes some of these people who volunteer and does physical surgeries on stage. He encourages cameras and people to watch as he literally cuts people open and performs surgery with no anesthetic. He says the spirits do this to help people who have a harder time accepting it. When you see these physical surgeries up close, it is hard not to believe that something supernatural is taking place and that anything is possible.

LB: What is the most rewarding healing experience, if one can be named, that John of God has been a part of?

GT: There have been literally millions of people from all over the world who have been to see John of God and received a healing. Of the more prominent, you may have heard about Dr. Wayne Dyer who was featured on Oprah stating that John of God cured him of Leukemia. Those that have visited will tell you that the most incredible healing is not so much the ailments or conditions, but a sort of uplifting of the spirit, a reconnection to life that almost everyone there receives. Even those who have received a cure from MS, Cancer or other “incurable” ailments will say the real healing was on a much deeper soul healing. In my book, Gail Thackray’s Spiritual Journeys: Visiting John of God, I tell the stories of many people who received a healing and many times it is not what they expected.

LB: Does John of God suffer from any ailments and is he able to heal himself?

GT: I have heard being a transmedium is very taxing on the body. Medium John works extremely long hours as well as running charities and doing many other jobs. He is now 71 and he seems to have ailments just like the rest of us. During the filming of the documentary movie, John of God: Just a Man, I interviewed John’s personal physician. I asked the same question, “Why does he need a doctor, can’t he heal himself?” His doctor laughed and explained that he too seeks another doctor when he is ill. I believe the answer is that spiritual intervention should be sought in conjunction with our regular medical treatments, in the same way as good eating and exercising habits. Spiritual healing is not a replacement. All this being said, you can see the photos at the casa from several years ago, when in the middle of session, John of God performed a physical surgery on himself. Suffering from heart issues, he cut open his chest and performed a surgery on himself.

Gail Thackray, a powerful healer and medium herself, has experienced this life-altering healing firsthand, as well as having her own psychic abilities increased many times just from being in his presence. In her book, Gail Thackray’s Spiritual Journeys: Visiting John of God, Gail shares stories of not only the physical healings, but emotional, relationship, and financial help as well. Readers report actually feeling the energy coming through the book and some even say they have received a healing just from having the book by their bedside.