Ghandi once pointed out that his life was what people should look at for guidance. Gary Douglas Smith, a newly developed healer, has taken on this same philosophy for himself.

I received an email from Gary Douglas Smith that intrigued me. It said he was a healer and that he had discovered his healing talents worked via the telephone. As I read the email I noticed the humility in the words and was suddenly swept up in the hope that I too could be one of his healed clients.

The day before I spoke with Gary, I had had a car accident. A woman ran her SUV into my Toyota Corrola as she was trying to stop on a sheet of ice. The impact brought back the soreness and aching of several previous injuries I had sustained through the years and so my head, back and shoulders were all sore. I was anxious to see what would happen during our conversation.

For three years, Gary suffered from headaches that kept him from functioning well. His career in advertising was being neglected because of the pain he was feeling. After visiting a neurologist who gave him no answers, he tried alternative medicine. Nothing seemed to curb the headaches and his will to go on was faltering.

One day, as he was sitting at his desk, he had a strong feeling that if he were to stay in his job he would die. He quit the very same day, with no avenue planned to replace his income. He vowed on that day he would focus his efforts on what his real purpose was in life, and not flounder in the corporate world.

Previous to this point, Gary had questioned many things. He had not been raised with traditional religion and wasn't sure what spirituality entailed. "How much power do we really have?" was one of the questions he asked himself.

As he went on his discovery for answers he had a revelatory experience. In Gary's words he explains briefly what happened. "The day after my 31st birthday, while in quiet, I heard a clear, distinct voice. There was no mistaking this voice; it was the voice of God. God relayed four messages to me. The second message (I do not believe that I am supposed to share the first message) was, 'You have been given the gift of healing.' The third message was, 'You will lead man away from suffering.' The fourth message was, 'There is nothing to fear.' That entire week I heard the same four messages over and over again. A few months later, while taking a break from watching a movie on television, I felt compelled to listen to God's voice. God repeated the same four messages and added, 'You will awaken to this knowledge in your 31st year.' At that point, I remembered that I had heard these four messages, as well as the instruction that I would realize my gift in my 31st year, at the time of my birth or even before my actual birth. The experience was so strong that I felt I was actually transported to that pre-birth period when I first heard the messages, and I understood that I was now awakening to God's plan for me; that this experience was unfolding perfectly.

"After meditation in the morning, I was compelled to begin a writing exercise recommended by Barbara Marx Hubbard. While journal writing, I began to ask God questions and leave space for replies. Almost instantly I experienced a form of automatic writing in which my questions were being answered in a "voice" clearly not my own. The style of writing and even some vocabulary were unfamiliar to me, and I believe that these writings are communications from God. After a short while, I began to feel like rather than a form of automatic writing, the messages were a more controlled, active dialogue with God. I began to journal God's messages. These messages have been given to me in order to teach me how to love myself.

"About three months ago, I had a phone conversation with the secretary of a well-known author. At the time, she was experiencing some health problems, but I had no way of knowing this. When I next spoke with her after a few weeks had passed, she told me that she had had an 'instantaneous healing' immediately after our initial conversation. She said her hands and arms were healed from age-related ailments and arthritis, to the point where she was unable to open jars and had no real range of motion. Her husband witnessed the change in her movement and called it a miracle.

"I spoke to her again some time later, and performed another healing over the phone because of some excruciating back pain that confined her to bed Shortly thereafter, her physician-ordered physical therapy was cut short and he told her it was almost 'miraculous' how she had recovered and sent her home.

"I have also been working with the well-known author. His age-related ailments have also improved to the point that he now swims in his lake and rides his bicycle up and down the hills near his home (that was his dream when he moved in to his house earlier this year). I am honored to be of any assistance to him, a man whose work I admire and who has been a great supporter of my own path."

Gary not only had these miraculous occurances happen in his life, but also was privileged to assist a man who had been diagnosed with cancerous tumors. The man had discovered a couple of tumors on his neck. He sought out Gary for assistance in healing. The day before Good Friday, this man called Gary and told him that they had discovered a couple of cancerous tumors in his lungs and asked him for healing work. He was given a year to live and was scheduled for surgery the next day. Gary agreed, even though the time period was very short. As the surgeons opened him up the following day, they found two sacs with nothing in them but harmless puss. There were no cancerous cells. The PT scans had shown positive for cancer so they were amazed at what they saw.

While Gary was telling me this story, his voice suddenly changed, without him being fully aware of it. I felt my head tingling and a sensation going down my back and my neck. I also felt as if I had been taken into another realm for a matter of seconds and brought back suddenly to hear his voice come back to "normal". It occurred to me that there was something within the tonality of his voice that was channeling healing without his knowledge of it. A perfect vessel of energy, flowing through to touch the lives of others.

The pursuit of truth for Gary has been a humbling one he says. Learning to trust what is from God and putting his faith in His work, has been a challenging journey. He says, "I wish I knew more", as he looks for more answers. He looks to Ghandi and Joan of Arc for inspiration in his decision making. He feels that his mission here is to confirm to those around him that God is real and that we should learn to love ourselves. I think we can all benefit from Gary's thoughts, as he continues to seek truth in his life.

To read more about Gary, you can visit his web-site at www.garydouglassmith.com.