Firstly I am a mother of three beautiful adult children and grandmother to eight.
I have worked in the field of Traditional Healing since 1976. Initially I lived and worked in the Philippines as a Spiritual Healer with my Filipino husband. I gave birth to my second child in the Philippines and have had close social and cultural ties with that country ever since. I returned to Australia and set up an alternate healing practice in 1980. I became a Reiki Master and practiced both forms of healing in my clinic for 19 years. Clients had the opportunity to choose which modality they preferred.
I produced two Meditation CDs and have conducted workshops on Spiritual and Psychic Healing across Australia and in the United States.
The course of my life altered in 1988 when I was reunited with my daughter. I had given birth at Crown St in 1969. I was heavily drugged and incarcerated in that hospital. After 5 days, drugged and traumatised I was forced to sign an adoption consent. I now consider my daughter was stolen and I was victim of past child removalist policies of the Australian government.
The reunion had a profound impact on my life and set me on a course to find out why my daughter had been taken against my express wishes to keep her and against my will.
The reunion with my daughter brought up intense feelings of rage and grief through which I have been working. It is a life-long journey. Because of these feelings and the need for support I joined a mothers' activist group in 1994: Mothers for Contact (MCA). After only a few months I was voted Chairperson. In 1995 MCA broke up and Origins emerged with many of the former MCA committee members taking up similar positions in the new group. I was Founding Chair of Origins and remained in that position until 1998. During all this time I continued my healing work. It was no secret that I was an alternate healer nor that I had a healing centre, as I had at times held Origins committee meetings there. In early 1998 I attended a conference in Felixstowe, England where I presented 3 papers. When I returned I found that the attitude of certain committee members towards me had unfortunately changed for the negative.
After acrimonious internal politicking I parted ways with Origins in October, 1998, but not before working with the group to successfully achieve the NSW Inquiry into past adoption practices (1998-2000). Additionally, I gave evidence as Chair of Origins, in August, 1998, on the importance of receiving an apology as part of the healing process. I stated that it was the most powerful way of receiving acknowledgement, and exposing the abuses endured by mothers and their children because of past child removal practices. This resulted in hearty applause and was the expected and hoped outcome. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the apology.
Only a few months after leaving the group I was targeted by the media programme, A Current Affair (ACA) in 1999, ironically on whose programme I had previously appeared in 1994 and twice in 1997. These appearances were the result of an Origins committee member’s initiative, Robyn Neilen, who is the NSW Production Manager of ACA. Robyn Neilen, produced the first show I appeared in, in 1994. On those occasions I had spoken out on behalf of mothers.
The airing of the 1999 ACA program attacking myself and my healing was used by some committee members to smear and isolate me, so with a heavy heart I withdrew from activism and went to University at the ripe old age of 48 years. I must add that many of my clients rang to offer their support and faxed and phoned ACA very angry at the way I had been so negatively represented. I continued to receive calls from people that wanted to see me but when they attended my city clinic they would often be taunted by other tenants in the building as a result of the dreadful way in which I had been portrayed on ACA. I decided to close my clinic after 19 years and work from home. I continued to do so for the next 8 years because of my client’s demand. I never had a complaint.
During the last nine years (2000-2009) I have completed a double degree in law and social sciences with majors in Psychology and Sociology. I then went on to do Honours in Sociology and completed my law degree. I worked hard, got grades good enough to win a scholarship to do a PhD, which I am presently completing. My chosen topic is an inquiry into the history of the white stolen generations.
In the last 18 months I have edited a book funded by the NSW Department of Community Services: Releasing the Past: Mothers' Stories of their Stolen Babies. The book is available at the NSW Post Adoption Resource Centre. As well I have completed a chapter included in a book titled: Other People's Children Adoptions in Australia – which will be published by Scholarly Publications, November, 2009.
My research has brought me full circle - back working again with mothers. I had hoped that what I did in my personal life, outside of activism, would not be used as a means to stigmatise and silence me.
In 2008 I set up an Alliance of support groups: the Apology Alliance with the intention of gaining an apology for mothers their stolen children and all family members who have suffered because of the trauma and grief caused by past removal policies. Along with receiving an apology from all state and Federal governments we are working towards gaining a National Inquiry. In 2008 we published a Declaration of Profound Loss with all the members of the Apology Alliance listed. The Declaration is presently posted on the ALAS website:
http://www.alasqld.blogspot.com/
Traditional Healing is an ancient art form practised by all traditional societies and is becoming more and more accepted and included along with other medical and non-medical modalities as a part of a more wholistic way of living.
Unfortunately, in 2007, I was again the target of the programme, ACA - one can only speculate on the reasons why … No patient had made any complaint against me. After seeing me portrayed in such a terrible light many of my former clients rang ACA to complain. They were told they were, stupid, soft in the head or that they, ACA, were tired of taking their calls. ACA was never interested in the views of my real clients. I received dozens of phone calls and many cards of support.
I would like to put it on the record that I only ever worked by referral. I charged a set fee and my many clients were very happy with their treatment. I never guaranteed to heal anyone of anything and every client that visited me signed a Disclaimer that stated they understood I was a Spiritual/Faith Healer and that I was not a medical practitioner and did not guarantee to cure anyone of anything. Additionally I played a video recording of my work in which I again reiterated I did not guarantee to 'cure' anyone of anything. I explained that if you cut your finger it is your own innate healing power that heals the cut, all a Spiritual Healer can do is stimulate your own healing potential. I also stated that I did not work with anyone who was not already receiving medical treatment.
The Traditional form of healing I practiced is supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is identified as part of the cultural and social practices of the Filipino Indigenous Healers. Though not an Indigenous person myself I trained with the Indigenous/Traditional Healers in the Philippines. The WHO tabled an International Report on Traditional Healing in 2001. It stated that Traditional Healing forms should not be stigmatised as they have been in the past, initially by colonists who perceived ancient forms of healing as practiced by those they conquered as barbaric and uncivilised. And contemporaneously by those who believe only in scientific allopathic medicine. Rather the WHO suggested that Traditional Healing should be supported by States and that legislation should be passed to protect and allow it to be used by those that perceive it as being part of their social and cultural heritage. Briefly, to summarise it was suggested that it be used as one of many options that individuals from various ethnic backgrounds could choose as an adjunct to Western medicine.
Many ethnic groups in multi-cultural Australia seek out their own Traditional Healers. The WHO stated that the media should educate the broader community on the value of Traditional forms of healing. In Australia it is my belief that as a Traditional Healer I have been subjected by the media to a smear campaign that borders on Sedition. I stopped healing in 2007 because I could not allow myself to be subjected to further abuse, I had many people still wanting to see me but I have chosen to finish my PhD before I decide whether or not to return to my healing work.
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