by Maggie Deagon
Imagine that you are driving a bus.
On this bus, you will welcome—not invite—all the people in your life. Invitations are selective, but this welcome is to everyone. First, your family members will board. Next, everyone else who has touched your life will walk on. Finally, those who have offended you or whom you have offended will join. You will embrace each of them. You will place them as you see fit in the bus. You are in control.
Ron Perris in front of his posada
Ron Peris has been a participant at the Casa of John of God for years. The image of a bus I have described is his life’s philosophy, one of creating community through love, forgiveness, and self-understanding. His illustration of a bus serves to focus one’s intentions in healing, especially during meditation. The Casa emphasizes personal healing through community building, and while the cooperation of these two goals may seem initially contradictory, the process flows smoothly inside John of God’s Casa.
What most clearly illustrates the relationship between individual and personal healing is the current. The current rooms are the locations of energy flow in the Casa—two indoor rooms, one of which seats John of God and the entity that has incorporated within him. In these rooms, those seated are prohibited from crossing their arms or legs in order to maximize energy flow without obstruction. This energy works to cleanse those who walk through the rooms in a form of healing. However, those meditating experience healing themselves. By focusing their intentions on their specific goals for healing, they create an energy that they then share with those joining them in the current rooms. John of God and the entities additionally create and sustain this current. Sitting in current is a common prescription from John of God, and often those who meditate there credit it with their healing—spiritual or otherwise.
Sitting in meditation in the “current room”
Current is referred to as “doing the work,” and while this suggests a serious tone for the community built at the Casa, it does not characterize all activities therein.
Maggie peeling vegetables with Cristina
On Tuesday mornings, anyone can volunteer outside of the soup kitchen on the Casa grounds to prepare that week’s “sacred soup” for all those who come to be healed. It is an opportunity to make friends with other Casa-goers and offer one’s time and effort for the sake of the greater community. Perhaps more fun than peeling squash are the weekly song sessions in the main hall of the Casa. Anyone who is interested may join with the freedom to choose non-white clothing and break the silence typically maintained inside the Casa. The song and prayer books provided at these sing-a-longs—referred to by some as hootenannies—come in English and Portuguese in order to accommodate foreigners. Those seated call out song requests to perform altogether. Others recite poetry they have written or take to the stage to sing a solo. In this way, the sessions’ space allows participants to exert their individuality while also engaging in the community of the Casa.
During orientation, one of the Casa workers told newcomers to “blend in” at the Casa. Due to the large number of visitors, the rules regarding uniformity of behavior and dress serve to make the process easier for both John of God and those looking to be healed. Still, visitors are repeatedly reminded to explore what healing specifically means for them and to strengthen their intentions through personal prayer. Although the intentions vary, the journey to healing is shared in the space of the Casa, and it is undergone through lighthearted activities in addition to serious introspection. This balance of collectivism and individualism is summarized in the bus analogy. Each of us is in the driver’s seat of our life, but we do not travel alone.