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(Chemistry prof Joe Schwarcz)

"What do a Jewish Gypsy on a California beach, claims of miraculous cures, and an angel in the form of a multicoloured parrot have in common? If you are a devotee of talk shows, or count yourself among the thousands who have forked over a small fortune to attend a "Reconnection" seminar, you'll know the answer is "Eric Pearl."

I had never heard of Pearl - whose seminars are being given in Montreal through Tuesday - until he was featured in The Living Matrix, a film devoted to hyping a variety of incongruous healing schemes, collectively referred to as "energy medicine." Pearl described how he had cured a young boy of cerebral palsy through 'reconnective healing.'"