Inner Awareness The mystical origins of psychic surgery Part 2 A MOST frequently asked question is: ?

Why are our faith healers and psychic surg eons concentrated in Pangasinan, the Ilocos region and Central Luzon?? Some people have advanced the theory that it is because Pangasinan and the Iloco s region were once centers of Lemurian civilization, referring to the ancient, l ost, advanced civilization believed to have sunk in the Pacific Ocean 150,000 ye ars ago. According to the legend, Lemuria occupied almost half of the known world at that time, which included huge tracts of land surrounding the Pacific Ocean. It supposedly encompassed the whole of Asia, the Far East, Australia, New Zealan d, and neighboring islands. Lemurians were believed to have had very highly deve loped spirituality and telepathic powers. They were of brown skin, had wide fore heads, and flat noses. The whole Philippines is believed to be one of the center s of Lemurian civilization, and not just Baguio, Pangasinan and the Ilocos regio n. There were also centers of Lemurian civilization in other countries. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no historical or physical evidence for the ex istence of such a lost civilization as Lemuria. It has remained merely a fascina ting legend up to now, just like Atlantis, which was supposed to have sunk in th e Atlantic Ocean 10,500 B.C. Some of the masters and prophets of Lemuria, accord ing to stories, fled to Atlantis before the former sank in the Pacific Ocean. Th e Atlanteans were known for their highly developed ESP powers and technical skil ls. The first to write about the possible existence of Atlantis was the Greek ph ilosopher Plato, who lived around 425 B.C., and was the teacher of Aristotle. There is a belief that the Filipinos? high spirituality and strong telepathic po wers are a remnant of our Lemurian ancestry. And such traits are what have given Filipinos the natural ability to develop a unique spiritual healing method know n as bare-handed psychic surgery. The people who practice such indigenous method of healing are called ?faith healers,? which indicates its religious or spiritu al origins. One possible explanation why faith healers and psychic surgeons emerged in numer ous numbers in the Ilocos, Pangasinan and Central Luzon areas including Manila, is because the spiritist movement started and thrived here and not in the Visaya s and Mindanao regions. The reason why spiritism developed more fully in these a reas is because the bible of spiritists worldwide, the two books of Allan Kardec (namely, the Book of Spirits and the Book of Mediums) had been translated into the Tagalog language, as well as into Pangasinense and Ilocano dialects. In the mid ?70s, our paranormal research society listed at least 300 psychic sur geons practicing in these areas. I have no statistics to determine how many stil l practice this art of healing at present. What I know is that their number has greatly diminished because the older ones have died with no younger healers repl acing them. Among the well-known healers I met in the ?80s and ?90s who are no longer alive are Eleuterio Terte, Tony Agpaoa, Juan Blance, Rudy Jimenez, Josephine Sison, Ro sita Agaid, Jose Mercado, Gary Magno, Benjie Balacano and Marcelino Asuigui. I a m sure there are many others I have not heard of but who have since passed on al so. Bare-handed psychic surgery is unique to the Philippines and is part of our spir

itual and mystical tradition. And therefore I do not see the practice dying comp letely for a long time to come despite the spread of western, scientific medical practice. For man?s spirit must be nurtured and taken care of, not only his bod y. A distinction must be made between the terms ?faith healing? and ?psychic surger y.? Not all faith healers can perform psychic surgery. It is considered to be a gift of the Holy Spirit granted only to a chosen few, according to the belief of the Spiritist Church. There are thousands of faith healers all over the Philipp ines, but only a few are psychic surgeons. Brazil also has psychic surgeons in the Christian Spiritist tradition, but their method calls for the use of instruments such as knives, scissors, and even a sa w in opening up the body of patients. Our psychic surgeons use only their bare h ands in doing so. And this is what baffles many western investigators and psychi c researchers. The mystery behind this practice can never be understood unless w e understand the ways of the spirits and the role they play in our daily lives. The native Filipinos have apparently discovered a way to tap such mysterious pow ers. Note: The next Inner Mind Development seminar, which teaches participants powerf ul mental techniques to solve problems and make decisions using the whole brain, will be held this Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6. The Soulmates, Karma & Reinca rnation seminar will be held Saturday, March 12. For details, please call 810724 5 or 8159890; e-mail jaimetlicauco.com; visit www.jimmylicauco.com. We are still accepting applicants for secretarial position.