Unexplainable Cures (revised)

I found an article in Nexus Magazine titled, “The Miracle Man.” The author of this article, Robert Pellegrino, records his own observations of João Teixeira da Faria of Brazil. In Brazil, Faria is a renowned healer. Pellegrino entered the situation as a skeptical journalist, looking for something inspirational beyond the routine of his comfortable life. His change seems completely genuine. He records his first-hand accounts of Faria’s work, and his awe grows with each miracle.
Faria’s work truly falls under that category of miracles. He cures the incurable. People come to him completely desperate, filling his small clinic to the brim. According to Pellegrino, he does not dissapoint.
His procedures are not traditional to say the least. The idea is that Faria has a connection with the spiritual world and after meditation sessions each morning his body is occupied by one of the ten spirits he has contact with. The spirit can then perform the proper operation using Faria’s body and unknown medical techniques.
This seems far fetched, but according to Pellegrino’s observations and Faria’s thousands of followers, it works. An amazing example of this was a lame man that came to Faria. Faria in his spirit-state discussed with the man what he would do if he could walk. He spoke with compassion, treating the man’s mind before his body. This is common in Faria’s practice. He talks with patients before treating them and often sends them away and recommends a changed mindset. This lame man, however, was not sent away. Faria took the man’s foot in his hands and then told him to stand, and then to walk. The man told him he couldn’t, but after encouragement, he walked out of the clinic that day.
These results are not rare in Faria’s clinic. Another women came in with an untreatable growth on her eye. The occupied Faria spoke with her and performed the operation while still in the waiting room. Apparently the spirits use ancient medicine because using a basic knife Faria scraped away at her eyeball, removed the growth, and the women left with clear vision. The interesting thing about this treatment was the women’s reaction, or lack of reaction. She endured the operation as if in no pain and showed no worry when Faria’s eyes glazed over and he looked around the waiting room while continuing to scrape her cornea.
This is truly a bizarre way of treating illness, but if it works who am I to judge. Perhaps this borrowing of spirits from the past is the medicine of the future. The Brazilian authorities surely don’t think so. Faria is always on the run, and has been imprisoned more than once on account of his unethical practices. I can see how Faria has so many followers. He is an answer to their prayers. He has a cure for every problem. He treats his patients with compassion and treats both their body and their mind. Perhaps, modern medicine can learn something from him.