Word of mouth pays the bills

I had heard of people like Clem Cummings before, but I was still surprised when he told me what he did. “You’re a – what?” I remember asking. I intently listened as though I knew what it was, but as he continued to tell me, my mind wandered as I questioned – “is this for real?”

You see, Clem Cummings is a spiritual healer. He heals with his hands. He has powers given to him by “the heavenly father” and has the ability to mend people with cancer, AIDS and arthritis – so he tells me.

I met Clem, a Cree chief from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, on an Air Canada flight out of Pearson International Airport last week. He was a kind-looking man who happened to be sitting next to me. He was on his way to Goose Bay, Labrador. He had been there many times before. Clem, had been many places.

“Are you heading there for business.”

“Nope, nope. I am there to heal. I am a healer, you know. A spiritual healer.”

“Ohhh,” I said trying to mask my puzzlement.

Behind Clem’s silver hair, large glasses and rough skin seemed to be an old soul – a wise soul who I felt compelled and somewhat privileged to listen to. Soon after clicking my seatbelt shut, I realized that I needed a pen and paper and had to write my thoughts down.

“What is it that you do?” he asked.

“Umm well I am still in school. Just about to finish a program in corporate communications.”

He shook his head as if he was trying to figure out what it was. “Basically, I like writing and I want to write for companies and organizations.” Hopefully that made more sense.

“A writer!” Clem said enthusiastically. Perhaps I had given him the wrong impression, but what the heck – sure, I am a writer. “What do you write about? Who was the most interesting person you ever met?” Clem loved hearing what I had to say.

“We’re not allowed to have things written about us,” he told me. “That’s not what we’re about. We don’t want to advertise what we do. We work through word of mouth.”

All this time I kept thinking, pen, pen, pen, paper, paper. Must find something! Then Clem told me to write down his number in case I ever needed him for anything. “Oh, let me just grab a pen and paper!” Perfect. “Do you mind if I write a few things down?” He leaned in as though he was almost waiting for me to ask him that question.

I had so many questions. Was this his full-time job? Did he get paid for this? Was this entirely done by word of mouth? Oh, where do I begin? I wasn’t sure how much Clem wanted to tell me and I didn’t want to press too much.

“What do you mean by word of mouth?”

“I travel throughout the country, meeting people and helping them. They find us and we come.”

“So this is your – job? Or….” I trailed off.

“This is what I do. It’s all about love and peace.”

Clem seemed pleased to see me taking so many notes. He even enunciated the sentences he really wanted me to include. “Looooovvveeee and pppeeaaacceeeee.”

The power of word of mouth, I kept thinking. Here is a man who goes through his entire livelihood based on the communication between one individual to another to another to another. He doesn’t make much at what he does, but he also doesn’t need to.

“So what if I wrote something about you?” I asked.

“Well as long as you’re doing it for the greater good. That’s different. We are true healers. Some others – I don’t know. They can’t always be trusted. We are told not to advertise. But you can tell people about me – if they need me.”

Although Clem hadn’t answered my question, I got the sense that he didn’t mind me writing about him. Can blogging be considered, word of mouth?

What Clem does is foreign to me, yet his passion for it was enough to make me believe in him and hope for the sake of others that he truly heals people. He told me to give him a call in a few years when I was stuck in the “corporate jungle.” I laughed and wished him luck in Goose Bay.

Clem Cummings: 306-922-4929.