Theta Healing--What In Fresh Hell Is This?

[GeoBQn]

One of my FB friends is a guy I had a somewhat complicated relationship with (and by complicated, I mean that he was the first guy I had a crush on in 5th grade and he tried to get me to stop by bullying me. By high school, we put up with each other because we shared a circle of friends.) I look at his page to see what is going on with him, but also because he is going through a bizarre and disturbing personality transition. I heard that at some point in college, his dad had cancer, and this caused the family to go off the rails--not towards fundie-ism like the families we follow here, but towards "new age" beliefs.

He started off as a sarcastic, Metallica-loving young man who fronted a heavy-metal band and wanted to be a filmmaker. He is now a walking Stuart Smiley clone. He got heavily into Sylvia Browne. When OWN had a contest for people to pitch talk show ideas, he submitted a pitch about how "the purpose of entertainment is to make us FEEL GOOD" and he would have a talk show featuring psychics giving tips about banishing negativity. He made a comment on FB about how "our friends in the animal kingdom have so much to teach us."

Now he is taking classes in something called "Theta Healing," taught by Vianna Stibal. Here is the description from the website:

ThetaHealing® is a technique that focuses on thought and prayer. ThetaHealing® teaches how to put to use our natural intuition, relying upon unconditional love of Creator Of All That Is to do the actual “workâ€. We believe by changing your brain wave cycle to include the “Theta†state, you can actually watch the Creator Of All That Is create instantaneous physical and emotional healing.

thetahealing.com

Here is a description from Rational Wiki:

Theta healing is applied quantum woo combined with the Law of Attraction and some science woo around theta brain waves. The practitioner uses some applied kinesiology then thinks the right thoughts toward the cosmic all (whatever that actually is) to fix the patient's limiting beliefs, including those in their DNA.

Stibal claims that she used this to instantly cure herself of cancer. My friend has taken the basic level of the class, which looks like it costs over $500 for a two-session class. One of his other friends took a third level of the class that costs $1250 for two sessions.

Has anybody ever heard of this, or had friends or family that got sucked into this?

[louisa05]

Never heard of it but am now fully expecting a certain insane relative to take it up any day now.

She is already teaching yoga without certification, claiming she can cure cancer and heart disease through "targeted yoga positions" and running a support group where she is the "counselor/facilitator".

She has an English lit degree, which as I'm sure you all know, is the chief qualification for a counselor or medical practitioner.

[RosyDaisy]

This is pinging my fundie radar.

[lemonhead]

I checked the Rick Ross site, which is my first go-to place for cult info and sure enough there was some info on Stibal there. Mainly they link to a BBC article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/n ... 519875.stm but if you're terribly curious you could probably post some questions in the Rick Ross forums. Sounds like this group started in the UK.

Note: I'm not a big fan of Ross, so I'm not pushing him or anything, but his site collects lots of stories and experiences about cults.

[GeoBQn]

From the article:

Earlier this month, Ms Stibal visited the UK to address a meeting at the London School of Economics (LSE).

At the meeting Ms Stibal responded to a question from an audience member who asked if it was possible for ThetaHealing to make an amputated leg grow back:

"I believe it's possible to grow it back… a lady grew back her ovary... you can grow back a leg. I've seen people grow back," she told attendees.

My FB friend and his wife just had a baby girl. I hope they can snap out of this before they sink too much money into it or, even worse, try to cure something in their daughter and horribly fail.

[RosyDaisy]

From the article:

My FB friend and his wife just had a baby girl. I hope they can snap out of this before they sink too much money into it or, even worse, try to cure something in their daughter and horribly fail.

Gee, I though only certain species of reptiles and insects could grow amputated limbs back. :roll:

[OgrePrincess]

It sounds maybe a little like Reiki, based on what little I know about that, which ain't much at all.

[Aurora rising]

It sounds maybe a little like Reiki, based on what little I know about that, which ain't much at all.

As far as I know it it like Reiki, but without the need to see and / or touch the patient. You can do Theta-Therapy via phone as well. I tried it twice and didn´t felt a thing (but the same for Reiki). However, a friend of mine swears that she got cured from back pain and lost 5 kg with theta.

But concerning the cancer/AIDS/whatever-cure: If somebody starts to tell me, that ......... (insert whatever you feel lilke) helps against different illnesses, I know only one cure: To run as fast as possible.

[VodouDoll]

My aunt has breast cancer and instead of having chemo and radiation, as her doctor recommended, she's treating it with this Theta thing, reiki, organic foods, vitamin C, grapeseed oil, and something else I'm forgetting. Turmeric, maybe? I'm extremely worried about her. My father has cancer as well and she tried to convince him to discontinue his chemo treatments and use her method instead, but he heard her out politely and then declined, thank goodness.

Ordinarily I think these woo peddlers are pretty harmless and people can do what they want as long as no one gets hurt. If theta treatments make you feel good, then whatever. Knock yourself out. But quacks who convince vulnerable people that this stuff is guarenteed to cure serious illnesses and they shouldn't listen to their doctors (who are in collusion with drug companies and just out to poison you and make a buck) ARE hurting people, and it's so upsetting.

[Aurora rising]

My aunt has breast cancer and instead of having chemo and radiation, as her doctor recommended, she's treating it with this Theta thing, reiki, organic foods, vitamin C, grapeseed oil, and something else I'm forgetting. Turmeric, maybe? I'm extremely worried about her. My father has cancer as well and she tried to convince him to discontinue his chemo treatments and use her method instead, but he heard her out politely and then declined, thank goodness.

I hear you. My mum died last year because she did the same, trying to cure cancer with esoteric BS is not working. Unfortunately.

The worst: When she was in the hospital because the metastases were all around her spin and she couldn´t walk any longer she gave in and was treated with chemo. The side effects were minimal and the tumors were getting smaller - which means that would she have listened to her.whole.bloody.family instead to the crazy bunch of "friends" she would probably still be alive and healthy.

[louisa05]

My aunt has breast cancer and instead of having chemo and radiation, as her doctor recommended, she's treating it with this Theta thing, reiki, organic foods, vitamin C, grapeseed oil, and something else I'm forgetting. Turmeric, maybe? I'm extremely worried about her. My father has cancer as well and she tried to convince him to discontinue his chemo treatments and use her method instead, but he heard her out politely and then declined, thank goodness.

Ordinarily I think these woo peddlers are pretty harmless and people can do what they want as long as no one gets hurt. If theta treatments make you feel good, then whatever. Knock yourself out. But quacks who convince vulnerable people that this stuff is guarenteed to cure serious illnesses and they shouldn't listen to their doctors (who are in collusion with drug companies and just out to poison you and make a buck) ARE hurting people, and it's so upsetting.

My relative who insists she can cure anything via yoga also rents space to a "reiki master" and is trying to convince her father to stop taking his medication and let her "manage" his heart disease. She is an in-law--husband's side--and yammers at me about bringing my mother to regular yoga to cure her low vision and to get my father to stop chemo and come to her new class which will cure his cancer. Apparently, the cancer cure will require help from her reiki master friend as well and a nutrition plan from the pair of them.

I don't think so.

[bionicmlle]

Pings my Scientology radar, actually.

[OgrePrincess]

Pings my Scientology radar, actually.

Ohhh, yeah. It made me think of Scientology too, but I couldn't figure out why. Thetans. (Derp!)