General > Frauds
Joao de Teixeira AKA John of God, Josie Tamarin AKA Josie Raven Wing
Pono Aloha:
This man has received the blessing of Oprah, but I wonder about him. In the bio on his website, it says, João Teixeira de Faria, internationally known as John of God or João de Deus, is arguably the most powerful unconscious medium alive today and possibly the best-known healer of the past 2000 years. However, João is a humble man ... http://www.johnofgod.com/index.php/about-john-of-god.html
If you search "john of god fraud" you find stories of sexual abuse and that his "free" services are funded by sales of crystals that are necessary for healing.
[Changed thread title-Al]
Laurel:
And if you search "John of God cult" the first hit is this:
http://homepage.smc.edu/martin_ben/Resources/john_of_god_scam.htm
Rick Ross page:
http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?12,77450,94295
Very informative and scary.
This is the outfit that sells his crystals, etc:
http://www.exquisitecrystals.com/
I can't see where he's claiming to be or do anything Native American. However, he is selling CDs by a "Josie RavenWing" that are supposed to feature "Native American/Native American style" chants and songs:
http://www.johnofgod-brazil.net/prodcuts/music-cds-and-meditation-by-josie-ravenwing/
"RavenWing”: primarily in Native American style, these songs and chants came to Josie during extended vision quest ceremonies during which she asked Spirit to give her new songs to uplift and inspire others.
and
“I Send a Voice”: primarily Native American chants as well as a few composed by Josie in a similar style.
And there's this undoubtedly made-up "quote" from the page for a laudatory "documentary" about him called, amusingly enough, I Do Not Heal: “For thousands of years the priesthood held and carried the Way. It is now time to share the ancient mystical knowledge, so that everyone may benefit.” – Native American Elders
He's a new age fraud, and a dangerous one. And he claims to be doing psychic surgery, which is a "shamanic" kind of scam, I think? But there's not much of a Native American angle with him that I can find.
educatedindian:
What John does is the old psychic surgery scam, palming bits of blood and animal flesh to appear to be taking evil or infected flesh from inside some sick. He also uses an old carnival scam, where you insert a nail up the nose. Only he uses forceps.
Just like with any faith healing any cures are likely placebo effect. There are lots of reports of failures to cure people, dozens of lawsuit, and of women being molested and abused.
-------
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2MCQVMJWX4894/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2MCQVMJWX4894
As far as John of God the man, there are hundreds of stories of inappropriate (any beyond) sexual contact with young attractive women in both Brazil and other countries. One that was extremely profound was of an American women who was asked by the `entity' to see John of God after he was finished seeing people for that session. While in his room she was sexually assaulted (according to her) and then an instrument was shoved up her nose. When she returned to the states, she immediately fell ill and was in the hospital for several days. I have no firsthand knowledge of her account but stories such as this are numerous and their are messgae boards on the internet with first-hands accounts of sexual misconduct.
A friend of mine went to the Casa while I was there for her asthma. A few minutes after entering `current' she started to have breathing problems. The next day she was brought to the local hospital. She passed away several days later. You could chalk this up to coincidence but I doubt it. I can clearly remember one of our last conversations when she was scolding herself for not having `faith' which the Casa subtly but effectively pressures people to have and limits ones ability to evaluate situations clearly.
There have been numerous other incidents of people ending up in insane asylums after visiting, becoming worse physically and so on. I would say these incidents are in the minority but would you ever go to a doctor whose negligence had resulted in the deaths of some of his patients - of course not hopefully. Plus, no one knows what really goes on there when people feel and experience weird things in their bodies that they have never had before. They just take for granted that it is loving and benign. `John of God' never broaches any of these topics.
I have no doubt there are many more stories/incidents like the ones I have mentioned but `John of God' never touches on any of these. Furthermore, there have been dozens of lawsuits filed against the Casa in Brazil with claims of negligence such as I have mentioned but interestingly and unsurprisingly none have ever resulted in a judgment from what I know.
As for myself, all kinds of horrible things happened to me since first going to see John of God that never had happened before and I wasn't some `new-agey' guy who was interested in such phenomenon. I was threatened and attacked physically and mentally after returning from the Casa in ways that would defy most people's understanding as well having been in near constant fear over my safety and life.
Could you go see John of God in Brazil and be healed and have a wonderful experience? Yes, it is very possible and many people who go there have one or the other. Healings do take place there and many people have gotten better from whatever was ailing them.
However, at the end of the day there are tremendous risks as none of us know what truly goes on there. Again, `John of God' only provides the alluring mythology of the man and the Casa pr talking points. Whatever goes on with John of God is not from this earth and this books fails to address in any way the negative stories and aspects of the man and the Casa where he works. `John of God' has no warning label.
educatedindian:
The claim that John doesn't make any money off of this and does it all for free is a lie. He's never had to work at a regular job and has always been supported by his carnival tricks. And there is an entire industry built up around him that he lives off of indirectly.
DVDs for sale.
http://www.johnofgod.com/index.php/buy-jog-dvds.html
When you go there, you pay his center for transport and hotel.
http://www.johnofgod-brazil.net/john-of-god/trip-itinerary/
You also pay for crystal baths, meditation, and are encourated to volunteer and do free work for their center in their kitchen.
You also are given herbal prescriptions, which are not free.
http://www.johnofgod-brazil.net/john-of-god/casa-processes-and-protocols/
There are also elaborate unnamed protocols.
Josie Raven Wing is central to the moneymaking that allows literally hundreds of people to make a living off of John's claims, including her.
She's paid as a guide for many tourists. You pay for meals and "blessed water."
http://www.johnofgod-brazil.net/the-journey-to-abadiania/your-guide/
She sells ceremony herself, including sweats and vision quests.
http://www.johnofgod-brazil.net/josie-raven-wing/josie-raven-wings-workshops/
Sells healings herself.
http://www.johnofgod-brazil.net/josie-raven-wing/private-sessions-with-josie-ravenwing/
Sells books, and is endorsed by fraud Brooke Edwards AKA Med Ego.
http://www.johnofgod-brazil.net/prodcuts/books-by-josie-ravenwing/
This is probably one of the bigger scams we've seen. To support hundreds of people for decades, you're talking taking in tens of millions at least. Moved to Frauds.
snorks:
John of God also sells crystals through "Heaven and Earth" Company which is run by Robert Simmons, a New Age person who "speaks" to rocks.
http://heavenandearthjewelry.com/
Simmons attests to the "magical healing" properties of these crystals in his print catalog..
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