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I had a wierd experience last wednesday. I was performing in a restaurant and this lady asked me if I could heal her headache. I said I had some paracetamol in my briefcase - she was welcome to some. She then said she doesn't want any pills but she's seen me perform and believes that I can heal her. I told her that I leave the medical stuff to the doctors and continued on.

I passed her table again about half an hour ago and asked her how her head was. She looked shocked and said her headache was gone - what had I done. I said I'd done nothing - but she wouldn't believe me - so I said I think she healed herself and left it at that.

The following week (this wednesday) she brought her whole family with fer. She said that she'd had migraine headaches for for months and the past week she hadn't had a single headache since I healed her. I once again tried to say that she healed herself - but she just nodded and smiled with the look on her face that said she knew better.

Now I don't want to get into the whole psychic debate here. Personally I don't have a problem with people thinking I'm psychic - I leave it to them to decide and based on my definition of the term I'm quite comfortable with that. But I must admit I'm a bit uncomfortable with the whole healing thing - I guess as a reaction to the whole 'faith healing' idea.

I know what happened was probably psychosomatic and I suspect that the headaches were a symptom of her state of mind. But - the point is, she was a totally different person the next time I saw her - positive, smiling etc. Something had changed and I wasn't prepared to mess that up just because I wasn't too comfortable with her giving me credit. Even the medical profession uses the placebo effect on occasion.

Or - maybe this is what real magic is about???
The wierd thing is - this isn't the first time something like this has happened - and I don't go seeking this out..

Any thoughts?

take it as a compliment...scary though it may be...

she obviously has faith in you and believes in you, but ultimately thats down to her...

i feel the reality of that situation is that she has probably 'cured' herself through her own beliefs...for now...

and probably the more you deny you did anything, the worse you'll make it...

infact, theres something similar in Trance This by Kenton Knepper where you do exactly what you didnt if you see what i mean...

EDIT: by the way, i have asthma, any chance you could...no??...you sure now..Hallelujah brothers and sisters...

I think its quite a funnny story, just take the credit if she honestly believes that you healed her then its not headaches, its madness, At least she didnt have a pain in her feet at least she didnt ask you to rub them for her

Oh - just to clarify. I don't have a problem taking credit for things that happen when I perform - be it coincidence ect. In fact I've built a lot of this into how I perform - it's just with this kind of thing it's a bit wierd.

Thanks for the reply abraxus. I haven't read Trance this - but based on Kenton's other stuff I think I know what you mean. Or maybe I'm reading your mind

As for the asthma...

mattmagic wrote:if she honestly believes that you healed her then its not headaches, its madness

I wouldn't say that. I think we give a lot of things credit that's not necesarily deserved. That doesn't make us mad..

...hey im cured!

its well worth a read taneous, its a superb booklet...

a little story for you:
when i was at college, i worked in a bingo hall a few hours a week (stop laughing at the back), and one woman used to win fairly regularly, but according to her - i was her lucky person...even when she won and i wasn't working there...it made no difference...

random numbers, random people working there, yet nothing that i said would convince her otherwise...

still, it didnt stop me taking the odd free beer from her either, so we were both winners...

basically taneous, just accept it, you're certainly not responsible for other people's belief systems are you...i'd guess that she believes in those tv evangalist faith healers that are supposedly devoutly religious yet want your money too...

...why not try and get yourself in on the will though eh just in case...

abraxus wrote:...why not try and get yourself in on the will though eh just in case...

hmm - I think I need to be a bit more of a businessman...

It's a very human thing to seek a cause to attach to an effect, so it's definitely not madness.

The only problem is what if she turns up again with a whole list of people wanting to be cured, possibly of things more serious than a headache? .

Cardza wrote:The only problem is what if she turns up again with a whole list of people wanting to be cured, possibly of things more serious than a headache? .

Then I'm definitely going to start charging..

Well, it might relieve you to know that there are those so obsessed in their belief in magic that they will swear up and down that Copperfield can really fly and it's because he's a good Jewish kid the studies the Kabalah (I'm not kidding, I've heard this more than a few times).

People will believe in things and it is nearly impossible to change that belief, it's the curse of the placebo effect and living in a culture in which hyprochondrea (sp) runs rampant. The opposite side of things is how dependent people can be on their illnesses until something happens that allows them to shift their perspectives and seemingly "heal" the malady in exchange for a "spiritual" testimony of some sort... which seems to be really close to where you are my young Alchemist friend

Thanks

Some people, despite anything you say or do, prefer to believe whatever it is they want to believe. Some will dig their heels in and look for reasons why you're wrong, despite you being the one who knows how it's done. As long as people have come to their own free conclusions rather than being deliberately and cyically manipulated, I think people should be free to believe whatever they like - as long as they're not hurting anyone with it.

Perhaps its cos you look a little like Jesus?

mango wrote:Perhaps its cos you look a little like Jesus?

So did Charlie Manson and look where he ended up...

it's a very good story Taneuos. so long as she doesn't ask you to "cure her cancer" (figuratively speaking) then there is nothing wrong with what happened. fact is, you most likely DID cure her headache, albeit for reasons other than "hocus pocus"... nice story though!