A QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY OF EXPERIENTIAL REACTIONS TO BRAZILIAN HEALER
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This document is a questionnaire study conducted on individuals who visited a Brazilian healer named Macedo. The study aimed to elicit the attitudes and experiential reactions of the participants after their healing sessions. The results showed that there were significant correlations between positive changes in spiritual viewpoint and perceived positive change in health. Additionally, reported increases in energy and vitality were positively related to changes in mental attitudes. The study also mentions that Macedo's reputation has grown, and he claims to be able to heal people even at a distance.
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Body: Journal of the Society for Psvch cf'ItpPe! rr!-d For Release 2000/08/11: CIA-RDP96-00792R000700340004-0
[Vol. 56, No. 82Culy 19901 A Questionnaire Study ofExperiental Reactions
t u Ii Y OF EXPE RI EN'I'1AL REACTIONS TO Aier upper limbs when he felt tremors. He realized that a minor earthquake was in
BRAZILIAN HEALER oved toward him for support. Macedo
)rogress, and the young woman
>mbraced the stranger and claims that he felt a sudden `surge of energy' as well
is a strong conviction that he could heal her paralysis. When the earthquake
tremors subsided, the woman realized that she had used her arms for the first
time in many years. Because the stranger's paralysis did not return, she
by STANLEY KRIPPNER
ABSTRACT
Ten people who visited a mental healer durin
ave Brother Macedo the credit.
d' and
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d
lf `h
h
g
g a stu
e
ea
erse
y tour of Brazil completed proclaimed
questionnaires shortly after their healing session as well as 6 and 12 monthsPater.
From the time of the experience, Macedo has devoted himself to `spiritual
The questionnaires were designed to elicit some of the attitudes and experiential healing', using a curative power he purportedly generates through prayer.
reactions of these individuals. A statistical analysis of the responses determined two Macedo uses the word `telergy' to describe his work. In a typical healing session,
s significant correlations. The reported determination to change one's behavior for he will ask people to close their eyes and will hold his hands a short distance from
the sake of one's health was positively related to perceived positive change in and transfer the `telergy'.
ubjects' spiritual viewpoint. Reported changes in subjects' perceived increase in their body. He will then pray in an attempt to generate an Christ.
energy and vitality' following the healing sessions were positively related to His prayers are directed to Jesus
changes in subjects' mental attitudes. These correlations as well as several others Brother Macedo's reputation has grown to the extent that he has been visited
had been reported in an earlier study in which the same questionnaires had been by people from various parts of Brazil, as well as individuals from several foreign
used with a group of people visiting Filipino mental healers. countries. In addition, he claims that sometimes it is possible for him to heal
people at a distance. Macedo holds weekly healing seminars each Thursday and
measuAnomalous healing is a complex process and one whose results are difficult to encourages people to focus upon his meetings, at that time, believing that the
re (Frank, 1974, chap. 3; Solvin, 1984). The literature contains instances elrects of his curative powers will transcend distance.
of apparent anomalies in mental healing with ade uate ow-u Unlike the members of the previous group, the individuals on this study tour
Kirkpatrick, 1981), unusual healings explainable by ordinary m foecllhanisms (e.g., e,gwere not seriously ill but joined it for other personal or professional reasons.
Achter trio 1975; Hall, 1983), and instances in which seemingly (e.g., Responses from this group were elicited to the same questions as had been used
berg, healings have not survived rigorous scrutiny (e.g. Randi, 1987). In an dramatic in the previous study. In this case, however, the questionnaires were mailed to
to identify attempt the subjects upon their return; the previous subjects had completed the
some of the experiential components of people's reactions to mental questionnaires on their flight back to North America, several days after the
healers, Westerbeke and Krippner (1980) conducted a questionnaire study of 88 conclusion of their healing sessions. Most questions were phrased so that they
seriously ill persons who visited one of six Filipino practitioners. These subjects could be answered on a 3-, 4-, or 5-point scale. To avoid a 'halo effect', the value
were asked to complete questionnaires several days after their healing sessions as of a rating of']' varied; for half the questions it meant `a great amount', and for
well as 6 and 12 months later. Of the 88 approached, I 1 completed all three the other half it signified `a small amount'. (For this reason, a number of negative
questionnaires, making this a self-selected sample. Purported physical, mental,
correlations were obtained, but for clarity Table 1 presents all correlations as
and spiritual changes were related at statistically significant levels to the
subjects' confidence in the efficacy of mental healin positive, including those obtained from the earlier sample.)
'
and vitalit following practitioner, to Using T the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation, the 4
perceived increases in `energy
Y' g g and the in healing sessions, to quantitative items from the first questionnaire were correlated with the 3
change previous ex one experiences with alleged psychic phenomena and to the willingness to
g outcome items from the third questionnaire. The 3 quantitative items in the
's behavior in order to obtain relief from one's health
second questionnaire were correlated with the 3 outcome items in the third
]
(Westerbeke, Glover & Krippner, 1977). problems
Procedure questionnaire. A total of 21 correlations were made. Fifteen individuals did not
complete either or both of their follow-up questionnaires, reducing the number of
A similar opportunity afforded itself in 1983 w r subjects to 10 (6 women, 4 men). of Noetic Sciences (Sausalito C
lif
i
c
a
orn
a) organized a study tour of B azil
for 25 people Results
interested in indigenous healin
i
g pract
ces. The practitioner with whom this
group was to spend the most time was Jose Macedo de Arruda, better known as
Irmao (Brother) Macedo, a self-styled `spiritual healer' from Recife who was
scheduled to spend four days with the group as it celebrated Carnival, an annual
Brazilian folk festival, in the city of Salvador in the province of Bahia.
Brother Macedo told the group that he once had been a successful executive in
the armed forces and in business, However, his life changed dramatically at the
age of 49. Macedo was walking by,0 V'@daF6~qR4ft f&i200W8b11
obtained in the previous investigation. One question asked, `If regaining health
necessitates changing your personality or style of living, to what extent would
you be willing to make a change?' Five types of response were possible ranging
from `I would not be willing to change my life' to `I would make any changes at
all if it meant getting well'. These responses were significantly and positively
related to professed im rovement in one's spiritual viewpoint for both groups
(~IAZRfilPSO 75rove? ()0) 00'p?the Filipino study group.
208 209
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