Psychic Surgery and Faith Healing: An Exploration of Multi-Dimensional Realities, Indigenous Healing, and Medical Miracles in the Philippine Lowlands

A diagnosis of uterine fibroids sent Bryan, an energy healer and clairvoyant, from Northern California to poor villages in the Philippines to pursue a nonsurgical cure for her condition. There, she finds several “psychic surgeons” who claim to remove tumors and disease with only their minds. At times, Bryan's writing is lovely, filled with vivid descriptions of the Philippine countryside and its people. But her writing falls short in her own experiences with the psychic healers, who fail to “cure” her, but instead initiate her into their field. In her descriptions of her medical treatments, it is sometimes unclear if the blood and tissue she says she sees is actually seen literally, with her eyes, or imaginatively, through her inner vision. The book will appeal to readers who already believe beings from other planets can inhabit our world as psychic healers, but will likely fail to convince others to fly to the Philippines to find them. The simple energy healing techniques presented at the end may be a better—and less expensive—alternative medicine choice. (Dec.)