Week 2 - Amanda Wong

Spiritual healing as a practice maybe in trouble as more and more people refer to its practices as superstitious. In comparing these practices to Western medicine, it is common to try to debunk the effects of what cannot be explained. Spirit mediums are those who are able to connect with spirits -- something that is not easily explainable to those who have not experienced it firsthand.

In the reading, “The Pa Lor Story-The Journey Between Two Worlds,” Pa Lor shares her experience to becoming a spiritual healer. Lor shares her story about how she came to be a shaman and what it is like for her. When she was sick her mother called for a shaman to heal her illness - something that was unexplainable by medical doctors. She explains that this was her calling to become a shaman so she could also heal others.

In the anecdotes from “Gifts from the Spirits: Spirit Possession and Personal Transformation among Silicon Valley Spirit Mediums,” by Karen Fjelstad and Lisa Maiffret it showcases how mediums in Silicon Valley are drawn to mediumship. Those who live in California experience different forces that draw them into mediumship. Some of the reasons that they will be drawn into the practice include: it runs in the family, experiencing an illness that is unexplainable, or even a family member experiencing illness until they accept their path to mediumship. The article brings about this idea of yin and yang illness. Yin illness is caused by the spirit and yang illness is caused by natural or biological explanations.

These stories of young spiritual healers show that the practice is continuing to be used as a way to connect with spirits. I believe this brings into question, where do spiritual healers fit into the modern medicine? Because these stories show that their are people continuing to practice in a space that is dominated by Western medicine and a world that commonly attempts to debunk their practices. Is it possible for spiritual healers to practice in a Westernized world?

References:

California Asian Directory. "The Pa Lor Story: The Journey between two Worlds."

Karen Fjelstad and Lisa Maiffret. "Gifts from the Spirits: Spiritual Possession and Personal Transformation Among Silicon Valley Spirit Mediums." Gifts from the Spirits.

Image: http://mysoulhealingmiracles.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-power-of-ming-men-jin-dan-all-life.html