Visions of Health
Written by Chris J. Magyar
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
Sheryl Karas and Paul Hood offer a healing touch from a different angle
Sheryl Karas and Paul Hood are the most normal psychics you’ll ever meet. They are both so “conventional”—self-description there—that neither one embraced psychic work until a year and a half ago, when they met. Karas spent 25 years as a peer-to-peer counselor, and Hood has degrees in spirituality and mysticism, though both have led patchwork careers that include journalism, caregiving, graphic design, electronics, perfume making—it is their well-rounded history that possibly contributes to such a feeling of normalcy when being around them.
Their work, however, is anything but normal.
Using a combination of channeling, intuition, hands-on work, energy work, and good old-fashioned conversation, Karas and Hood perform some remarkable—some might even say miraculous—acts of healing.
Though it turns out they’ve found a good niche here, Karas and Hood did try to “run away from” Santa Cruz. The punitively high cost of living and an opportunity to try an MFA creative writing program in Canada led them to British Columbia. “I was still clinging to the conventional part of my life,” says Hood.
After a month together in a 12-foot trailer—“If a relationship survives that, it can survive anything,” Karas says, laughing—they realized something. “No matter where you go,” Karas says, “everyone claims it’s so expensive and things were so much better 20 years ago.”
“If that’s the case, we figured why not live in Santa Cruz, where things are so expensive and Sheryl saw how great they were 20 years ago,” says Hood with a smile.
“Not to mention we’re not starting from scratch here, having to explain that our work is legitimate,” Karas adds.
Legitimacy is an important part of their work, and still something of an uphill battle, even in open-minded Santa Cruz. “We try not to use the term ‘psychic’ too much, because we’re not fortune tellers,” Karas says. “We work in a very specialized way, strictly with health and medicine. And although our approach is unusual, we try to stand in a middle ground in regards to western medicine.”
One of their first patients, whom they treated for free when they were “trying out” the practice, was complaining of a mysterious pain his doctors could not solve. Karas and Hood both got a strong feeling that there was a cyst involved. The idea was too unusual for the patient’s usual doctor to consider, but Karas and Hood strongly suggested that he seek out the opinion of a second doctor. This one investigated, and found a large cyst on the hip that was being caused by a bone spur. Western medicine took it from there.
Not every story is so dramatically rooted in psychic intuition, however. Many of their patients have had health problems stemming from more emotional places. And the couple has learned to work at the patient’s pace. “We cannot leap over resistance,” says Hood. “The healing can happen in seconds, but sometimes only after weeks of groundwork and preparation.” They give examples of patients who weren’t ready to participate in their own miracle, and how the results fell disappointingly short.
“Our only intention is the highest benefit for all concerned,” says Karas. “We can do many helpful, useful things.” Hood adds, “We have two lifetimes of experience to offer.” Karas returns, “We’ve got each other’s back. We can check each other’s work.” Then Hood says, “We try not to talk at the same time.” Karas adds, “Because we’re so often going to say the same thing.”
The easy blend of their conversation and the conviction in their ability to help show that when it comes to their brand of healing, the old adage must be true: two heads are better than one.
Learn more about Sheryl Karas and Paul Hood at healingcommunication.com, or by calling 325-4076.
© Copyright 2007 Sheryl Karas & Paul Hood
Good Times Article 02/07
