Press reviews, Germany:
"City Journal Saar", dated 9.6.2002

"Free from drugs"

Saarbrücken: In June a lecture entitled "Free from drugs" was held by physicians and psychologists of the Medical Science Group in Saarbrücken. Part of the medical lecture series, "Spiritual Healing," it dealt with the special theme of addiction, and healed persons told of their healings from heroin- and alcohol addiction, substitute agents and "designer drugs". Promising means of conquering addiction are a current topic in the Community. How did the Bruno Groening Circle of Friends become involved in the area of drug-assistance?

My way over the abyss

In October 1993 the book My way over the abyss by the former heroin addict Petra Rüther appeared. In this book she describes with great candidness how she - hardly more than a
child - fell into the clutches of narcotic addiction and had to experience all of the horrors of that vicious circle. For almost ten years she struggled to become free from drugs through withdrawal cures and long-term therapies, but without success. But this book doesn’t end, like so many others in the genre, with resignation and surrender - or with a switch to government-sanctioned substitute drugs--but rather with a "happy end". She describes with sensitivity her way out of addiction through the teachings of Bruno Groening, which have made it possible for her to be permanently drug-free from 1985 until the present. Today Petra Rüther is an energetic woman in her early forties, full of the joy of life. As a result of her personal experience she has a deep sympathy for the misery of drug addicts.

Pioneer work in the drug scene

After the book appeared she began with her husband and friends to speak directly to addicts on the street in the name of the Bruno Groening Circle of Friends, inviting them to so-called "Community Hours", the local meetings of the Friends of Bruno Groening, to absorb there the healing power that Bruno Groening called the "Healing Stream" (This is the term Bruno Groening used for the spiritual power that causes the healing; he also used the synonyms "healing wave" and "divine energy"). In the Community Hours his teachings are transmitted, reports of healing successes are given and the Friends "tune in" together to the healing power. Through this pioneer work local groups arose in many German cities and in The Netherlands - above all in the strongholds of drug addiction - in which people dependent on addictive substances meet to take on energy and calmness together.

Petra Rüther is not an isolated case!

In recent years this help toward self-help has been crowned with success, and many addicts have been able to escape from the vicious circle of physical and emotional dependence on drugs, alcohol and various other addictive substances. Below you will read a healing report describing a course of illness and recovery that is no less moving that the report of Petra Rüther. The amount of help and healing is increasing.

Community work - what happens in the local groups?

During the Community Hours only positive and uplifting things are spoken of. The goal is to get rid of the addiction and related problems through conscious connection to the good. Those present tell of the help and healing they have received and of their experiences with the teachings of Bruno Groening. A Community Hour lasts about two hours and takes place every three weeks.

Healing Report

Stephanie Knabe (37)

"At 15 (1979) I became severely depressed and had weight problems and eating disturbances. I often stuffed myself with food and soon gained 10 kilos. I tried to reduce, but had frequent relapses. I even went to a health resort for a cure because of my weight problems.

Two years later I had my first contact with drugs - with hashish, which I smoked intensively. Between 1983 and 1990 I occasionally took LSD, heroin, cocaine and psychogenic mushrooms (psilocybin). From 1991 on I started taking drugs more often - cocaine and heroin - especially at the weekend. I then became really dependent. I was 28 at the time. In 1992 I went into the state-supported Polamidon program for addicts. In the beginning they gave me one ml. of Polamidon, but at the end I was taking 30 ml of Polamidon daily. Such a quantity I had to obtain illegally. If I was without Polamidon for one day I almost went crazy. I just can’t believe that I survived. (Editorial note: Polymidon is a very strong pain-reliever. The highest dosage is ten drops (one ml.). Three ml. of Polamidon can cause death even with people who have already had contact with drugs). I had no way out, and didn’t have the energy to separate myself from the addiction.

In July 1999 I saw an interview of a former drug addict (heroin-dependent for ten years) who had become well through spiritual healing. They spoke of Bruno Groening, through whom this healing had occurred. I heard the name for the first time. Two weeks later I saw the same interview with Petra Rüther one more time. This time I immediately wrote down the telephone number, called it, and was introduced into the teachings of Bruno Groening at the end of September 1999. I felt the Healing Stream right away at the introduction (during an Introductory Lecture, interested persons learn the most important things about the teachings of Bruno Groening and his life and learn how to absorb the healing energy).

A day later I was strong and felt lighter than I had for a long time. From then on I regularly tuned in to this power. I wished to finally be free from Polamidon. But as long as I went on injecting it there was no hope. That was a very difficult time. My arms and hands were full of haematomas and my veins were already in very bad shape. In March 2000 I started to drink 15 ml. daily instead of injecting the 30 ml. and began to reduce the dosage by one ml. per week. At the same time I regularly attended the Community Hours.

In November 2000 I had gone down to one ml. of Polamidon. The need to inject was gone. On Thursday, November 16, 2000 I woke up in the morning with the thought, "Don’t take any more ‘Pola’ today!" And so it was. For me it was like a second birth, a second life. I was able to sleep regularly, was never restless, had no nausea or diarrhoea - actually the typical symptoms of withdrawal from Polamidon.

Since February 2000 I have been working full time again. Despite a few adjustment processes related to a life without drugs I have felt stronger and more healthier than I have in a very long time. I have no depression and no longer any desire for drugs. Today I can’t imagine ever taking drugs again, whatever the form.

Spritual healing, also in cases of addiction

Physicians and psychologists confirm how successful spiritual healing can also be in the area of addiction. The leaders of the local groups work closely together with the Medical Science Group (MWF) of the Bruno Groening Circle of Friends, which records and documents the healing reports.

G. Blättner, M.D., Director of the MWF, says in this regard:

"In contrast to the usual healings, it is often not a simple matter to record the healings of former drug addicts. Spontaneous improvements, even healings often occur. The former addicts feel as if they are "seized" by something, their aggressiveness and sometimes the addiction, too, give way spontaneously. But to establish a regulated, orderly life requires a further step. Some of them stick with it and find their way back to an orderly life with regular work and the founding of a family. Others receive the power and motivation through their experiences in the Community to pursue a withdrawal- or long-term therapy. Still others stay away because after a more or less long period of freedom from drugs they succumb again to the pull of the "scene" and have a relapse. The magnificent successes, however, such as the example given here in the brief report, clearly reveal to me as a physician the special significance of the teachings of Bruno Groening in the area of addiction."