Documentary fiend that I am, I found one that followed a couple of Amish women who practiced Braucherei. Don’t ask me how to pronounce that. It’s Dutch, I think. It’s considered by some to be a form of folk healing or faith healing. It’s used for things like pain or warts. There are also some who believe it to be a form of white magic or black magic, depending on who you ask. That’s right, the show was about Amish witches. The documentary left a lot to be desired as to whether or not it was actually a documentary, but it got me thinking. While they were interviewing the women, following them through their days, and observing their practices, I was reminded of some of the things that I do and that others I know do as part of their practice. There were similarities and, of course, differences.

There was one woman who admitted that she engaged in the dark methods of the practice, including animal sacrifice. I almost laughed out loud when she said she was struggling with demons. I could see before they introduced her on camera that something was up with her. The other two women wanted to try to help her see she could do a lot of good if she was willing to use her power for good. She ended up leaving. In the end, all three of the women left the Amish to become “English,” leaving the practice of being a bauchau behind them.

There were several things I found interesting. The first was that while the community came to them in secret for their help, they were ignored or outright shunned the rest of the time. This is an example of human behavior that plays out time and again. The “I hate you and want nothing to do with you until I need you, then you should help me” thing. It’s a failing of my character to want to tell them that if they can stand on their principles of “non-contamination by day,” they can also keep their “suffering and ailments by night.” I was indignant at the constant disrespect these women endured. It flared up big time watching people turn away from the bauchau, knowing that if their kid got sick, they would be the very ones knocking on their door begging for help. Does no one see the irony in this?

Another thing I found interesting was that the practitioners talked about demons and bad energy. It didn’t surprise me, as people who are sensitive can feel it. They also have the knowledge to detect when the energy of something or someone is off. In their own ways, they are vigilant about protecting their energy. However, they, like most practitioners, suffer from arrogance in thinking that others can have demons, but not them. If what I could see was any indication, they were wrong.

Part of their practice is to “pull pain.” It’s a process of extracting pain from someone, funneling it through the practitioner and into a vessel of water. The water is later dumped out. There is another modality of healing that uses a bucket of salt water to place that energy into as part of the process. The thought that alarmed me as I watched was that they channeled the pain through their bodies. I wanted to scream, “NO!” at the screen. I think I did. I was horrified.

One of the things I always tell my students is never, I mean NEVER, take on something from someone else. It doesn’t matter if it’s only a small pain. In your body, it could turn into something much bigger. Everyone uses energy differently. It can have a different effect on you than it did on them. You won’t know until you’ve drawn it in. By then, it’s too late. As I understand it, the other modality I mentioned pulls out negative energy/pain and tosses it immediately into the bucket of salt water. It doesn’t pass through the practitioner. Many healers still take ailments into themselves. In my opinion, that is a long walk off a short pier where Death awaits.

As I mentioned before, all three women ended up leaving and joining the secular world, which was a bittersweet ending. For those who don’t go to “English” doctors, they have nothing. Brauchau also work with herbal medicine. A simple poultice or salve can be helpful. I feel sad that the women have left the community. Those who might have needed them have no one. On the other hand, the spiteful part of me feels justified in saying, “serves you right!”

Most healers I know will say that it’s because they were not ready to embrace the truth that good can come from being different. I know that to be true, but it doesn’t make it right. It’s not right to disrespect someone else’s anything because you don’t get it or can’t do it. Yet, it’s something we do every day, myself included. It’s astonishing that we tend to easily discount things, people, and experiences without a second thought. It always amazes me to hear some of the things people say and do while displaying a distinct lack of self-awareness.

It also struck me that what is commonplace for me some would consider to be evil, and of course, what strikes me as the most evil of practices, blood sacrifice, is a walk in the park for others. It all depends on your perception of things. Where you draw the line in the sand matters, but the line can move. It could wash away entirely in a wave of circumstance, turning all we thought of as good into evil and all evil into good. Others will try to tell us what fits into which in category, but ultimately each of us decides what is good and what is evil.