David, a young man who moved to Peru after his divorce and then found lumps in his body. He “just sort of knew” they were cancerous. He visited a specialist in one of Peru’s hospitals and a lump was removed for analysis. It turned out that it was, indeed, cancerous, and he was recommended for chemotherapy with the proviso that he should expect only limited success.
“I had no money for treatment and, given the prognosis, there didn’t seem much point anyway. I resisted San Pedro as an alternative, though, because I didn’t believe in plants or spirits.
“A friend of mine knew some shamans, however, and without telling me, arranged a healing for me at his house. I wasn’t there but they drank San Pedro and sent me prayers for good health. I found out later that the energy was so strong at that ceremony that every electrical socket blew in the house when they sent their good wishes to me. The shaman said it was a sign that the energy causing my cancer had also unblocked and my tumours were gone.
“The next day I visited the hospital to see how much chemo I was going to need. The consultant made more tests and said the results were strange: there was a ‘signature’ of cancer in my platelets but no lumps in my body anymore and so no need for treatment.
“A few weeks later my friend confessed to the healing and I agreed to take part in another ceremony. Not long into it I experienced tremendous pain, like my heart was breaking in two. I stood up and started to vomit.
“What I threw up I can only describe as unearthly. It looked like wafers of glass which were rock hard and had bubbles of air inside them. They were completely solid and transparent. I could pick them up and