Stigmata: How the Mind Wounds and Heals the Body

Stigmata cases involve a perceived divine mandate, where individuals interpret their Christ-like wounds as a God-given sign, granting “permission” to embody suffering. This belief empowers the mind to override immune responses, sustaining wounds as a biosymbolic act. In my many years of investigating cases of alleged stigmata for the Catholic Church, BBC, and National Geographic, individuals manifesting these rare wounds reported a sense of divine purpose, facilitating the mind’s control over physiological processes. These wounds, when legitimized, do not heal and do not get infected. In this webinar you will learn from these rare stigmata occurrences how to identify the wounding and healing components of belief systems.

Secular Permission from Doctors

Similarly in secular contexts, patients often seek “permission” from medical authorities to access their healing potential, mirroring divine permission in stigmata. Cultural editors (medical authorities) can limit or enhance healing by shaping patients’ beliefs about their agency (personal action). Patients with chronic conditions (e.g., autoimmune disorders) show improved outcomes when doctors validate their capacity for self-healing, reducing stress and enhancing psychoneuroimmunological resilience.

Both, divine and secular permission act as catalysts, enabling the mind to override biological defaults (wounding in stigmata, healing in therapy). By recontextualizing limiting beliefs (expanding horizons of possibilities) patients can grant themselves permission for healing previously dependent on external conditions. It is important to note however, that the methods taught in this webinar are not simply wishful thinking, mind over matter, or divine intervention. Instead, you will learn evidence-based principles of cultural psychoneuroimmunology (how learned thoughts and emotions affect the regulation of nervous, immune, and endocrine systems).

I will present a case of stigmata I investigated for National Geographic, including clinical and lab results on how the immune system responded to wounds that did not heal and did not get infected. This is the first time in the history of these rare instances of stigmata (only approximately 400 cases since the 13th Century) that science has conducted studies that identified how beliefs transcend biological parameters of wounds and healing.

In this Webinar Participants Will Learn:

The components of mindbody healing, to enhance rather than replace medical intervention.

How cultural beliefs enhance or deter mindbody healing mechanisms.

What constitutes cultural editors and how to maximize their placebo, and minimize their nocebo influences.

Lessons from healthy centenarians (100 years and older) on how they prevent the illnesses of aging.

NOTE: Because of the limited spaces for these exclusive monthly online webinars, the registrations are not refundable. The sessions will not be recorded nor available for sale in order to protect the confidentiality of the discussions during the webinar.