5. Michael Chapman - the Man and the Healer

George has repeatedly stated that he and Michael work together, saying: 'We are partners just like Dr. Lang and his son Basil'. Moreover, the excellence of this unique partnership is demonstrated by the desire to ensure patients receive the best treatment. George goes on to say that, 'If a patient comes to me and I feel that he would benefit by being treated by Michael, I ask him to make an appointment with Michael. Michael acts in the same way'. Important to realize is the fact, possibly sometimes overlooked, is that 'the team of Dr. Lang in the spirit world is really quite extensive and each patient, whether writing to Michael or me, receives his healing from the same source'. The most apt description of the four persons in the Lang- Chapman partnership is surely 'mutual co-operation', and this has clearly worked to the long-lasting benefit of many persons.

Marie Lyndon Lang, the daughter of Dr Lang, testified to the survival of her father being demonstrated through George Chapman; she also confirmed that through the Chapman partnership, 'I have spoken with my father, often with my brother Basil, my mother and other friends'. Surely no greater confirmation of survival could be made available than this, coming from William Lang's own daughter and Basil's sister. How does one make contact with Michael? There are two methods.
Firstly, by simply writing to him. In the letter being sent, briefly but accurately describe the ailment and the medical position in respect of: (i)history, (ii)the current situation, and (iii)prognosis. When Michael receives this, distant healing is commenced immediately. Michael asks that patients try and devote a short time about 10pm to having a clear and receptive mind. Patients should try and use this time to relax and allow the healing to take place.
Apart from being the courteous thing to do, it is extremely important that the patient keeps Michael informed of any developments: unless it is for something very serious, writing once a month is a good idea. When the patient writes, an s.a.e, or if writing from abroad, an international reply coupon, should be enclosed with the letter. Again, it is essential that patients supply a summary of their situation on a regular basis.
The second manner in which a person can receive healing is of course by seeing Michael and having contact healing. In these cases, the person should write to Michael, giving full details and if is felt that contact healing is required, an appointment will be made.

Michael became a member of the NFSH (National Federation of Spiritual Healers) in November 1988 (No. H5603), and a registered practising healer of the World Federation of Healing in September 1975. The Federation requires its members to 'uphold the highest professional standards and to abide by the Code of Ethics laid down by the Federation'.
The role of healer not only involves tremendous mental and physical energy, but if it also necessitates travelling abroad, with yet further demands being made because of what this entails, the question of legality arises. In a number of countries it has been, or is, illegal to practice spirit healing. When Michael travelled to America in the early years of the 1970s, he risked prosecution as healing by anyone other than an ordained minister was deemed unlawful. Of this time, Michael recalls with some humour how he had little choice other than to become a minister of 'The Universal Life Church'.
At this time Michael and his father rented a bungalow in the grounds of the famous Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara, where they would be visited by the rich and famous who required healing, together with those who were not at all 'rich and famous'.
Michael was presented with life membership of the Pacific Coast Parapsychology Centre in Moro Bay, California, for 'his patience and dedication' in 1978. The Centre would sometimes gather a group of some two hundred persons requiring healing for Michael and his father to treat.

One gains some idea of the energy and dedication required when Michael refers to how he would fly from Heathrow to New York for three or four days, then fly down to Los Angeles for work for a further few days and then on to Honolulu and then back to Heathrow. In this period, the flights could often take up to eighteen hours. Once back in Britain, Michael would begin healing, both contact and distant, for those patients visiting or writing to him at his home.
I asked Michael a number of questions relating to his healing ability and his life. My first question concerned the first indications he had of his ability. To this he said:

'I first did the laying-on-of-hands under instruction from Dr Lang. I suppose that I was about nine years of age when my father had a centre in Kings Heath, Birmingham (NB. The group from this centre still visit Dr Lang by coach twice-yearly travelling to Machynlleth). I have simply followed on from there, now attending Birmingham myself every six weeks.
My father used to take my mother, sister and myself to Birmingham with him. I recall that on one occasion when my mother took us shopping, we arrived back at the centre early and Dr Lang called me into the consulting room where he had a patient. He then explained to me what he was about to do and then showed me how to place my hands on a patient. So in fact I have had instruction from Dr Lang from childhood. I believe that I was about seventeen when I really become wholly aware of my healing mediumship'.

Did Michael find the situation strange?

'No, as a child, I just accepted what my father did; I did not think of him as anything special or strange. He had a perfectly normal job after the war in the Buckingham Fire and Rescue Service and also worked as as healer. When I was young, no one discussed with me what my father did. It was just accepted'.

In answer to my question regarding the mode of communication with Basil, Michael told me:

'I do not find not working in trance (as my father works) to be difficult. Basil directs my hands to where they should be on the patient. When I am with a patient, I do not experience any difficulty in speaking about their health problems. Due to Basil's presence, there is always a good state of harmony between myself and the patient.
With regard to working in deep trance, Dr Lang has advised me that working in trance is not essential and he believes the future lies in non-trance healing. Dr Lang has not only facilitated the healing of so many, but he has also provided excellent evidence of identity through trance. But as this has now been established, there is no requirement for demonstrating the other-world dimension to what I do. Basil works not to prove who he is, but rather, to heal, and he achieves this through non-trance'.

In view of the adverse publicity that fortunately only rarely occurs in respect of those who claim to be healers when they are not, I asked Michael for his opinions about this. He answered saying:

'What I would suggest is that people who genuinely believe they can heal undertake a study course with the NFSH or the SAGB, and obtain a certification to show that they can demonstrate that they possess healing abilities. If a person is not a member of a recognised healing association, I feel tempted to simply say that people should not seek their assistance. Nonetheless, while saying that there are people are are natural healers and do not belong to such an association.
I do not believe there are any means through which people without healing abilities can be prevented from advertising. I must add that I cannot recall ever coming across a person in all the years I have been healing who has suffered at the hands of someone who has claimed to be a healer but is not. I would imagine that those who claim to be a healer, without having this ability, will soon find they do not have anyone coming to them. Its worth bearing in mind that having a string of letters after your name does not make you a healer, or a better one!'.

In the case of how contact and distant healing differ, Michael said:

'Undoubtedly, contact healing is more effective than distant healing. Being able to talk with the patient is important, and certainly so, if it is possible to create a positive vibration between the healer and the patient: this is almost certainly going to result in better results. But distant healing is important. Firstly, as a form of follow-up treatment. Secondly, in the case of those unable, for example through disability, who cannot travel to see me. This is why I always advise a patient that if they have a healer to whom they can travel, they should see that healer for contact healing'.

I then raised the matter of payment with Michael, asking him about the amount of charge, and also what the situation is if someone cannot afford to pay? To this Michael said:

'I make a charge although this is not for the healing, but simply for the time. As must be realized, a healer has to live and has bills to pay as does everyone else. I work at various centres in this country, and I travel abroad a good deal: on these occasions I adjust the charge to cover the travel costs. However, I would not decline to see a person who genuinely could not afford the charge: he/she would be my guest'.

The aspect of distant healing obviously raises a number of questions and one that I put to Michael concerned the situation of a person who wrote to him with reports and then suddenly stopped doing this. What does he do? Michael replied:

'When I begin distant healing, I ask, depending upon the circumstances, that the patient sends me a report every fortnight or every month. If, after a while, I do not hear anything further, I do not stop distant healing, but write and ask for him/her to advise the present situation and whether he/she wishes me to continue with the healing. All I ask is for people to keep me informed with developments and to enclose an s.a.e'.

Having asked Michael about how he, as a child, reacted to his father's work as a healer, I asked how Susan, Michael's wife, reacted to him being a healer. Michael explained:

'When I met Susan, she was aware of my father's work and that I was following in his footsteps. Our two children have been brought up with my work and they view it as a normal activity. Other members of our family also have no difficulty accepting the situation as, after all, it is a profession: and now, one that is widely recognized. We now find healers working with medical practitioners, and within hospitals, so, even if some choose not to accept its validity, most people do'.

Michael now has a third child, Thomas William George, born on 7 July 1998. Michael has referred to his travelling and work abroad, and I asked him what he thought of this aspect of his work. Michael responded:

'Besides this country, I have clinics in Holland and Belgium: I sometimes travel to Canada also. With my father, I have travelled widely. One of the most exciting places that I have visited was undoubtedly the Hawaiian islands. I am happy to undertake travelling, and as long as I know there will be a sufficient number of patients to justify the journey, I am happy to do this'.

The concept of healing inevitably raises a host of questions. Why, for example, does healing work for some people, and not for others? To this, Michael gave a detailed answer that assists in understanding the phenomenon of healing.

'Some people are more receptive than others to healing. However, my father and myself still undertake healing for those whose diseases are so far advanced, a cure is not going to be possible. We do this to help the patient deal with the situation. What may appear to be a failure to the outside world can be a success for the individual concerned. Healing can achieve much in respect of helping a person whose illness is beyond reversal.
We also have patients who are elderly and suffer from arthritis or other such ailments. In such cases, a cure is not going to be possible. But, with the spirit doctors working on the patient's spirit body, I believe the patient can be helped considerably. Dr Lang has said 'It is not so much the cure, it is being able to touch the soul of the patient'. This is very often done through spiritual healing. There are also patients who are suffering mental disorders that Basil says is the worst of all diseases to afflict human beings. These arise from disharmony in the mind; therefore some can be treated. However some mental illness have their point of origin deep within the psyche. And of course, there are many types of mental disorders: some patients can be assisted, while others cannot. This even applies when the patient is someone close to you and about whom you care very much. As Sir Hennige Ogilvy, KBE, FRCS, MD (who consulted Dr Lang and knew my father well), once wrote in his book No Miracles Amongst Friends, people with mental disorders and other ailments go to a healer expecting a miracle to occur. But a miracle rarely happens as healing has to take place within the framework of God's law. Patients with mental disorders seem to benefit more by distant healing.
In sum, healing cannot make the elderly youthful again. With age, conditions set in and while healing can and does undoubtedly maintain the weakened state in the best possible condition, it cannot restore the prime of youth. This would be contrary to the laws that govern age and decay.
We have patients who live unwisely and do not co-operate with the healing. For example, people who suffer from alcoholism and yet still drink, people with breathing problems, but still smoke cigarettes. These are just a few examples of the patients who will not help themselves and this is why healing can and does fail on occasion. I think that if healing is to work, the patient should also seek after conventional medical help, and there is co-operation and understanding between the patient, doctor and healer'.

I was also able to address a number of questions to Basil regarding healing and the overall subject of survival. My first enquiry related to the problem of unsuccessful healing. Basil commented:

'Many patients who visit a medical practitioner are not helped by medical treatment. This profession is not always able to assist as the medical practitioner may not understand why the reason for the non-response from the patient.
Many conditions of the physical body that result from disease are caused by disharmony within the body's system and will then upset the body's chemical action. The world is so full of disease and many of the illnesses that exist are caused by humanity's mode of thinking and general living. This is why some patients cannot be healed.
If one is unwise in the way of living, he may be sure that problems will arise. My father William Lang always advises a patient and the same certainly applies to myself and to Michael, that spirit healing must work within a framework of laws. As one grows older, various conditions set in'.

This was followed by a question to Basil concerning how existence in the next world compared with existence in the present. Basil explained:

'In your world, because of the atmospheric pressure, the vibrations are very heavy. It is the conditions brought about by the very nature of the physical world that cause many illnesses. In contrast, the spirit world is simply a world with much lighter and rapid vibrations.
There are of course people who pass into spirit and wish to cling on to their earth memories: they do not wish to progress. It is these types of persons who can sometimes produce poltergeist-type activity. You must remember the two worlds are distinct and certain conditions, or persons have to be present for communication between the two to occur. For example, when a person is very ill, he or she might have a glimpse of the spirit world. This is because the spirit body of the patient moves slightly outside the physical body and attains a lighter and more rapid vibration.
However, many people who pass into the spiritual world have a deep longing to be back on earth. This results in their spirit becoming disturbed and the spirit world becomes an unhappy place for them'.

The mention of 'karma' is often referred to in respect of healing, and I therefore asked Basil for his comments on this. He replied saying:

'All ill health is not the result of karma, or the result of past deeds; healing is not challenging the law of karma. The karma is a disease that is brought into this life. But of course, many patients who seek healing wrongly believe that their ailments are the result of karma. In fact, the majority of illnesses that are treated, no matter what the type, have no association with karma. I also have to determine whether it is the physical, or the spiritual body that requires treatment'.

One common objection made against the concept of an afterlife and that the deceased communicate is based on the view that communicators rarely have much to report about their existence. I asked Basil about this point and he explained:

'I agree that some communicators are vague about their life in this world. All I can say is that my father, my sister and myself, are more than occupied with work here'.

In view of Michael's success in healing, it is interesting to consider in this, a technological age, how science views the subject. Clearly, there are members of the medical profession that believe it works, although they do not necessarily accept an other-worldly explanation for it.
When Dr Mark Porter wrote in The Radio Times (5-11 November 1994) about 'alternative' healing, he refers to one surgery that has its own healer at the practice as 'the partners at the practice have been amazed by some of the miracles worked'.
Observing that alterative healing does not automatically involve a religious dimension, he comments on the work of George Chapman and Dr Lang. Admitting that he adopts a cynical stance, he does however concede that 'it does appear that no one really knows how it works'. Unable to not include various caustic interjections as he writes, he nevertheless concludes that it may be worth patients asking their G.P. about the possibility of help from such healing, saying that while some may ridicule it, others may have referred their patients to healers. As many will be aware, scientists can often be very closed- minded, and resist any ideas that conflict with those already held (e.g. quantum physics at one time) and certainly those that seem to have a 'paranormal' colouring. Nonetheless, many branches of science have an unenviable record for resisting the existence of realities that in time were conclusively verified.

Although Michael does not seek publicity, preferring to quietly pursue his work as healer, those who need his help invariably manage to contact him either through occasional news reports or hearing of successful healing from relatives and friends.
In the case of Lilian Massey of Sheldon, Birmingham, she was given the devastating news that she required a mastectomy due to breast cancer. After receiving healing from a friend, it was suggested that she contact the Chapmans. She did so and reported that her health improved dramatically. However, the joy was short-lived as she was then told she had developed lung cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy for eight months. She received distant healing from George Chapman and contact healing from Michael together with healing from her friend.
Tests made after this resulted in Lilian being advised that she was now clear of the cancer. Giving details of the healing in Psychic News (18/5/96), Lilian said: 'I was over the moon. I wanted to share this experience with other people because it is so special'. She then adds wise words: 'I can only say, if you haven't tried it, find out for yourself'. In view of what Michael has achieved, this is undoubtedly advice worth considering.

To Chapter 6

Back to the Index