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Cases of spirit and distant healing (2) Francis Schlatter, Peace Pilgrim, Tom Pilgrim and Brother Mandus.
Francis Schlatter was a cobbler, an immigrant from Alsace, working at first in New York City. He had an enquiring mind and was an avid reader, and
devout Catholic and in 1893 at the age of 37 he was asking himself: “Others heal, why may not I?” He was led to move to Denver, where he set up shop, and there “he had a remarkable vision of the Trinity, which he interpreted as the beginning of his mission in life. He saw the Father and Spirit personified, the Father seated, holding a Book in the left hand – the Book of Life. Jesus was on His right, and on the left, the Spirit, the likeness of Jesus. Jesus arose, walked to him and handed him the Lily. From that hour he heard audibly the Father’s voice.” He mulled over this experience for a while, and locked his workshop door for the last time, and wandered off into the wilds,
bareheaded and barefoot. He crossed and re-crossed the deserts and mountains of eight western states and territories for two years, enduring many hardships, after which he started his healing mission. This lasted a bare two years. Thousands heard of his miraculous cures, and wherever he was staying they lined up daily to be healed. Lasting cures were said to be effected for every type of ailment. A witness of the healings wrote “I
occasionally went to watch the procedure. Schlatter appeared in the gateway of the front yard at exactly 6.00 a.m. daily, worked until 12.00, retired until
1.00, finished at 6.00 p.m. The waiting crowd, several blocks long always passed in single file and in perfect order in front of him. Everyone was given
a firm handshake (he used both hands) with an inaudible prayer, followed sometimes by: “Thank the father, not me.” I doubt if anyone received more than a half minute of time. The number treated daily reached thousands, the fame of the healer having reached to both coasts. Schlatter took no pay, no credit, made no pretensions, as did the dozens of counterfeit Schlatters who followed and tried to imitate him. He was just a plain honest peasant doing something as he believed for suffering humanity. Hundreds testified to the permanence of their cures. He kept with him always, in a leather holster, a copper rod of the size and shape of a baseball bat.” He used to exercise in private, swinging this rod in one hand for hours on end, which he said helped to energize him. This suggests some form of ‘mesmeric’ or electro-magnetic charge which helped effect the healing. In December of 1896, Schlatter wandered off again and was last seen riding over the Mogollan Mountains
into a heavy snowstorm. His frozen body was later found covered by a blanket at the foot of a pine tree.
The full account of this extraordinary healer is given in “The Healer: The Story of Francis Schlatter,” edited by Norman Cleaveland from accounts of witnesses to the events in his life, and a short autobiography provided by Schlatter himself. Sunstone Press, Santa Fe. New Mexico. 1989.
Another itinerant worker for spirit was Peace Pilgrim (190?-1981). Her mission lasted a little longer, in fact, almost thirty years. Since 1953 she walked more
than 25,000 miles back and forth across America, carrying in her blue tunic her only possessions. Her message was simple: “This is the way of peace:
overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.”
Three years ago my wife and I met 4 musicians traveling the world with a similar mission, playing their music for peace, and relying on those they met
to help them on with their travels. They were performing at a weekly service held on Tuesdays in the little church in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey
which we ‘chanced’ to walk in on. There was a guitarist, a singer, a violinist and a flutist. They are still traveling the world on their mission for peace.
I have included Peace Pilgrim in this series since, although she was not a healer, she had some interesting comments on healing work.
“One must be very careful when praying for others to pray for the removal of the CAUSE and not the removal of the symptom. A simple healing prayer is
this:
‘Bring this life into harmony with Divine Purpose…may this life come into harmony with God’s Will. May you so live that all who meet you will be
uplifted, that all who bless you will be blessed, that all who serve you will receive the greatest satisfaction. If any should attempt to harm you, may
they contact your thought of God and be healed.’
Eager beaver psychic healers are those who work on the removal of symptoms and not the removal of cause. When you desire phenomena, you possess phenomena; you do not get God. Let’s say I am a psychic healer living next door to you, and you have chosen to come into this life to face some kind of physical symptom until you have removed the cause.
Well, when the symptom manifests, I remove it. And so the symptom manifests again, and I then remove it again, and I manage to keep that symptom removed. When you step over to the disembodied side of
life, for another reason altogether, instead of blessing me for having removed the symptom you’ll say,
‘That meddler! I came to solve this problem but she kept removing the symptom and therefore I never solved it!’
That’s what I mean when I speak about some who are content to deal with the removal of symptoms. When one meddles in the life of another it will just
cause the symptoms not only to re-manifest, but carry over into another lifetime. Most healers do not know this and they go on merrily removing symptoms. I admit that a long time ago, before I really knew what I was doing, when working with people who had problems I comforted them by putting my hands on the back of their neck and the forehead. I certainly
wouldn’t do that now. I did not realize I was doing anything but to comfort. Now I place any problem into my prayer consciousness. I place it into the
best possible hands – God’s hands, and turn my attention to other things.”
Francis Schlatter had a divine vision, which prompted him to go out and heal. Peace Pilgrim had a more gradual realization, like most of us. In 1938
she began to live in order to give, rather than to get, and gradually let go of her material life until she started her anonymous pilgrimage fifteen years
later.
You may read more about her in “Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words” An Ocean Tree Book. Santa Fe. 1982.
Two other healers had instant visions like Schlatter which turned them to serious healing work. One was Tom Pilgrim, whom we have already written
about. After serving in WW II and returning to a daytime job and some healing work in the evening, he had an experience which cleared away all doubts as to what he was to do with his life. He writes:
“I had decided one fine summer’s morning to rise very early to go and collect a longstanding debt from a client. It was close on 7 a.m. when I was walking
up Egremont Place – a very ordinary Brighton street. Usually full of traffic, even at that early hour, it was strangely quiet that morning. No cars, no people, not a soul to be seen anywhere. All of a sudden I heard a voice calling my name. Surprised, I stopped and looked around. Nobody there.
The street was as empty as before. I carried on, feeling a little uneasy, and again it called. Louder this time: ‘Tom Pilgrim!’ I stopped dead and looked
up to see if someone was calling from a window. There was no one; but high above the houses, outlined against a clear blue sky, I saw a huge cross,
the colour of burnished gold, gleaming in the early morning sunlight. It was exquisite. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, the cross remained. It stood in the
motionless air as if sculpted so solid you thought you could climb up it.
I stood on the pavement, quite still and looked up at the cross until it started to vanish – from the base upwards. It was impossible to feel or act
normally after such an experience. I made a futile attempt at calling on the person I had set out to see. Luckily he wasn’t in. I’m sure I would have talked
gibberish if I had met him. By the time I arrived at work I had somewhat gathered my wits, but I was no good that day. Why has this happened to me, I kept thinking. What does it mean: I’m not a religious man, never have been!
Trying to find an answer, I went to St. Anne’s Church every evening at 7 o’clock for a week; sitting quietly, always in the sixth pew from the front, I
waited for a sign. None came. In desperation I went to see the vicar,
half-expecting him to doubt my word. He said he believed me but couldn’t answer my question. He looked earnestly at me: ‘I wish it had happened to me, Mr. Pilgrim! That is all I can say.’
About three months later, lying in bed one night reading a book, I looked up and saw a man standing at the foot of my bed, watching me. I knew instantly
that this man was connected with the golden cross I had seen, and in a flash I understood that the cross was a symbol of the work I was to undertake.
I wanted to ask a thousand questions of this man at the foot of my bed, but couldn’t bring out a single word. He looked at me without breaking his silence
and then slowly vanished. After two months he appeared again, and this time
he spoke to me. He had been a doctor in his earth life.”
This turned out to be Dr. Robert Koch, who was already working through the medium, J.J. Thomas. After the latter’s passing, Dr. Koch came to work with
Tom, and his healing career started in earnest, around 1960. Among the many people he healed was a Canadian doctor with a serious knee injury which made his standing long hours in the operating room a painful
ordeal. After the healing by Tom he was convinced of the spiritual nature of the cure, but was unwilling to divulge his name as a witness, since to do so would have jeopardized his standing within the medical profession. Spiritual healers are now accepted and are able to work in British hospitals along with the medical staff, but I am not sure is this is the case yet in Canada and the USA. The climate of understanding may vary from state to state and
province to province.
Another healer who was inspired to take up healing after a spiritual experience was Brother Mandus. He was a business man who after a visionary
experience found he was able to effect healings, which he did in his spare time at first. Like Francis Schlatter, he was an avid reader, and studied most
aspects of Christian Religion, Spiritualism and Eastern Philosophy and became a psychologist. His healing work was successful - “A child dying of
pneumonia became perfectly well in a few hours. Then a lady with a broken ankle was perfectly healed overnight. Several others became better in days or
weeks.”
Then eighteen years after his first vision he went to meditate early one sunny day in the hills nearby, and sat under a tree like the Buddha from ten
o’ clock until seven in the evening. “God spoke to me. Quite simply, He said, ‘Charge no fees for your work.’” Brother Mandus continued with his everyday work and evening healing for some time and then everything
was changed in an instant. “I had been helping my wife to wash up dishes
after lunch and was placing knives and forks into the sideboard drawer when God came to me. LIGHT! Intense LIGHT. Unbearable LIGHT. My personal consciousness was fused in the Spirit of God. For one ‘eternal second’ I knew Heaven and Earth, Eternity and Perfection as God, for I was ONE in HIM.
In that blinding, searing moment, I was only aware of an ecstasy of realization that God was ALL. The Light was more intense than being immersed in and filled by the earthly light of an oxy-acetylene flame used in welding. Unendurable, yet the greatest joy I have ever known . All abstract thought of the Father, life and creation , became concrete realization that this
Light, His Spirit, was the only reality. One second, yet eternity was shown to be timeless. One second in the Light of God taught me more than a lifetime of seeking and research. I knew LOVE, PEACE, PERFECTION, and yet, somehow, I was no longer Self, but the ALL of everything. ALL things
were possible, certain of fulfillment, in that perfect Kingdom which is the Father in all His Glory. And, just as surely as He revealed His all-pervading power as the Whole of Heaven and Earth, I knew He was intensely personal to me within.
Since that moment of illumination I have belonged to God and known no fear. There have been many difficulties and problems to surmount, but none of these have I dealt within my own strength. Whenever I have faltered or slipped in my weakness, I have turned inwardly to my Father and remembered the LIGHT of His Presence. Then all was soon well again.
I understood, too, the constant reference to the Light of God in all religions as expressed in the words of masters and mystics. Our Lord Jesus knew
this truth and declared that this Light was in all men. I know it is so, and while it is impossible adequately to describe such a spiritual awareness in words, the Truth is more wonderful than human mind can conceive. That same Light is within you now You perhaps may not perceive it as Light, but all of God
is there awakening your consciousness and leading you along the road of your High Destiny.
I have longed for such Light Unity with my Father many times since that glorious moment, but while wonderful joys and experiences have been given to me in meditation and service, the Light only shines in my memory.
Since that time I have seemed to live in a constant awareness of His Presence. Just as we are aware of daylight as the background in which our daily tasks are done, so God has been with me, touching every event with His Love and unfailing guidance. I tell my story, not as myself or for myself, but
to share this Love with you – for I have felt very humble in self since that day. You see, God had called me, to be a servant and to serve. Thank You
Father!”
Soon afterwards a lady in Blackpool offered him a large dining room in her private hotel as a sanctuary, with an adjoining lounge as office and
waiting room, and the rest is history! The World Healing Crusade came into being.
“The first patient was a young lady who was in a state of nervous exhaustion. She was physically ill, wracked with fear, worry and inferiority complexes.
The Divine Love released to her through intercession in the Sanctuary completely transformed her into a radiant God-reliant happy being. I had the joy of seeing her again at a big meeting I was addressing in Manchester. She was still obviously in perfect health and really enjoying her freedom.
More and more people began to come for treatment. I soon found that any pain was always dispersed. In fact, of all the hundreds of people who have had
individual prayer treatment I only remember two who went away still in pain.
My treatment and teaching were, and remain, always very simple. I believe that immediately all the Power, the Love of God is there. I simply ask that
His Perfection shall fill the entire being of the patient. I often place my hands where the trouble appears to be and declare the Truth that only Divine
Perfection is at that place. I am always so careful to help the patient to realize that it is the Father who is doing the Work – that we, of ourselves, can do
nothing except ask and know we are receiving NOW. A lady came in with arthritis in the knee. She was in acute pain and could only walk with difficulty.
I prayed and placed my hands on her knee and it was healed. Some received immediate healing. Many others would come in each week and it was always so good to note that those who persisted usually made a complete recovery. More important than the physical healing – I knew that God was healing the mind within, and as faith and understanding grew inwardly, the Divine Perfection naturally manifested outwardly. I began to understand that, as I realized the Presence of God, the patient also seemed to find Him on the same plane as myself. We would sit quietly, giving ourselves to the Divine Perfection, and could actually feel the power flowing through us. Most
patients report the Divine Presence as an active Healing Uplifting Power manifesting in these various ways:
1 A sensation like mild electricity flooding the body from head to foot
2 A warm tingling sensation all over or particularly where the illness appeared to be
3 A buoyant, exhilarating feeling
4 Deep Peace almost to the point of sleep
5 A wonderful White Light like sunshine appearing to fill the consciousness of the patient
6 Lights of varying colours – more often white, mauve and royal blue. These Lights sometimes coming in ‘cloud’ effects
7 Many patients have reported the presence of wonderful beings in spirit who brought intense comfort, a healing touch and always leaving the patient greatly joyful.
I never bother about diagnosis. God knows exactly what to do. Nevertheless, I do very often become aware of the cause of patient’s disabilities, when discussing his or her needs. It is as though the right words are always put into mind, and I constantly find that I have said exactly the right thing to
touch the cause of someone’s trouble. The Father always knows how best to help. I feel ever more strongly that the greatest need is to stir the patient’s faith by speaking, with all the Power of Spirit within, about God and His
wonderful Love. Faith and Love are most infectious. I have had people come in with only the haziest of ideas about what to expect – yet, after a happy
constructive talk have been able to go to the Father and receive a wonderful healing. Increasingly I realize that simplicity is the secret. As soon as we begin analyzing, assessing and seeking to find a balance amongst all the different
‘ways’ of healing – we get lost. Our intellect quickly gets in the way and we find ourselves trying to put the ocean of Divine Mind into a teacup, instead
of taking the little cup and submerging it in the ocean. We ARE in His Presence the moment WE REALIZE IT.
I am a very practical man. Results count. When I see one person’s pains melt away and a life transformed, I see potentially ALL the ill of the world swept away. Once we agree that ONE person in the world has completely healed by Divine Power, we have established a principle. It is then up to us to find out how to make the principle work universally. The Lord Jesus revealed the principle in his days, and thousand of practitioners in every religion are
revealing the eternal Truth again today. Watch it. Claim it. Go forth and adventure with God yourself – you will soon get results.”
Brother Mandus passed a few years ago, but the work of his Sanctuary continues world-wide. Further information about his books and the Sanctuary can be found on-line at www.world-healing-crusade.org.uk
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