Channeling. It’s more than just a fun trick to amuse friends and family with during Super Bowl intermissions and at tailgate parties (“Hold my beer while I channel Aristotle”). Channeling is an art form. Perhaps one of, if not the oldest form of creative expression there is. Prostitution is the oldest. Uhm.. Never mind. I don’t think its related.
Channeling is loosely defined as “A natural form of communication between humans and angelic beings, nature spirits, non-physical entities, and even animals or pets.” *cough* Sure, you can accept that definition if you’d like, but its hardly scientific. It certainly is an unproven assumption with little to no factual evidence on the credibility of those who make such grandiose claims. Do angels exist? Nature spirits? Is it channeling when your cat meows at the door to be let out? Maybe, possibly, maybe not. (likely not)
However, this is not a topic to be placed with disdain in the trash bins of our minds alongside stories of “I was raped by aliens”, theories of a flat Earth, or “Elvis is alive and works as a gardener at Graceland” videos. No. Channeling is a real phenomenon that is worth studying, and once understood; mastering.
The most prolific and famous of all channelers could be said to be Edgar Cayce, a devout Catholic who during his lifetime was able to predict future events, describe the great “secrets” of the universe, speak at length about Atlantis, diagnose and suggest remedies for physical and mental ailments, and wasn’t too bad at doing the foxtrot and tango with his wife. His body of work is so vast, that the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E) was formed in order to preserve the 14,306 readings he had done on topics ranging from reincarnation to crop circles and what was buried beneath the paw of the Sphinx. Cayce felt uncomfortable charging money for use of his gifts, and died from a stroke at the age of 67, having successfully devoted the bulk of his life to the betterment of others.
History has had a long love affair with seers, oracles, shamans and priests who claimed to be able to communicate with Gods, angels, spirits, and a few of them had the added bonus of being able to see into the future and return with nuggets of pearly wisdom (sans sweet n’ sour sauce) for the fortune-seeker or tribe to digest.
Channeling goes back. Way back to Genesis, where it could arguably be stated that the serpent who tempted Eve into eating a yummy Granny Smith [citation required] apple, was “channeling” the spirit of the Devil, which is to whom the serpents words were tenuously attributed towards. How the heck can snakes talk? Who knows! I can only imagine a hand puppet poking out from behind a bush pretending to be one. Or perhaps the story happened to be metaphorical and archetypal in its origin. Your guess is as good as mine.
Throughout the rest of history, Kings and leaders of various sizes and shapes have resorted to those proficient in the art of channeling to solicit divine wisdom on various matters of importance. From the Oracle of Delphi who would make “predictions” on the seventh day of each month — court astrologers; and later, modern-day prophets and prophetesses ranging from Neale Donald Walsch author of the Conversation with God series, Esther Hicks who channels a group entity named “Abraham”, Jane Roberts “Seth” and various other men and women who claim the ability to express an intelligence/personality ostensibly outside of themselves. Channeling has been around for a long ass time with no sign of it ever going away. We all crave the wisdom of Gods and beings more enlightened than ourselves, and we are too darn lazy to figure things out on our own.
But is channeling legit? I believe it depends on how one defines the word, in the same way that one must first define “God” and have it collectively-agreed upon before the question can be answered with any degree of intellectual satisfaction.
To me, channeling or to “channel” is a type of invocation. It is an “allowing” of a certain aspect or personality to be given the unbridled reigns of wild and creative expression. This often means that the “authentic” self, the “you” that is hidden by ego and caked over with bias and prejudices; is the you who is really you. It is the subconscious. The intuition. The version of who you wish to be and actually are. Deep down inside, existing beneath the conditioning of society and ego. The unsullied God or Goddess.
If we can agree upon the definition that I have outlined above, then we can discover possibilities useful in explaining how channeling works, and how we can better improve upon the ability.
As someone who believes in channeling, I put forth the following as examples that fit within the parameters of what I have come up with. No need to raise your eyebrows in suspicion at any of these, promise.
Painting a picture, writing a poem, singing a song and dancing are each expressions of what we call “creativity” or the “spirit”, but could that also be what channeling is? The power of the human imagination and spirit? Let’s try and build up this theory.
Think of a time when an original or interesting thought suddenly popped into your mind. Or what about that time you dropped to the ground and started doing the worm? Where the heck did those impulses come from? Here we have two possibilities. Either it came from inside of ourselves, or it came from someplace or something/someone else. An educated and logical guess would favor the former than the latter, as I will attempt to illustrate.
(real) Musicians often perform in a trance-like state where a type of “spirit” is embodied and time appears to stand still. Certain painters (and anyone who paints abstract) tap into this phenomena as well. Except for those that rely upon technique rather than passion, of course. Bob Ross and your happy trees , I’m looking at you.
Many poets and authors often write for long lengths at a time, not really thinking ahead to what the next word will be, but seamlessly hooking themselves into a state of “being” where ideas and thoughts flow effortlessly, requiring commitment to the “muse” that writers and creative types often find themselves under the spell of. There is suspension of disbelief involved, and an almost manic type of dedication that appears to “possess” the writer. Sometimes making it into a form of automatic writing, or channeling.
Dancers too, are familiar with the “trance state” that has them acting from a place of grace and fluidity. It is a common ritual in African religions to be able to bring participants to a state of ecstasy where they “forget” themselves and commune with spirits for purposes of healing and enlightenment.
Podium-banging politicians, disheveled street “prophets” bearing messages of inspiration, individuals under the influence of psychotropic drugs, these are further proofs of the ability to channel forth subconscious information. Stand-up comedians, also, have managed to develop the apparatus that enables an impressively smooth stream of hilarity and insight to manifest itself. Some comedians can even pull off gnarly impersonations of famous celebrities, which is totally a form of channeling, wouldn’t you say?
Additional examples of channeling abound, such as Nikola Tesla, an inventor who experienced strange visions and claimed to be in direct communication with aliens. Television evangelists who perform public acts of healing and miracles or drive out demons; also give credit to outside forces for their abilities. Let’s not forget actors either, who are able to channel a specific type of personality to the extent that they can lose themselves in the character that they are portraying, transforming themselves into a radically different person.
Even you, the average human being, has acted as a channel. Have you ever spoke or written about a topic and everything comes out so naturally that you wonder where it was coming from? When there is little obstruction by our egos, or conscious deliberation, we sometimes end up in what psychologist Abraham Maslow describes as “peak flow” or “peak experience”, which is a state of mind that is highly receptive. This could well be one of the components or clues in how success in channeling may be realized.
With my personal definition of channeling accounted for and supported by examples; the next question to ask might be, “how do I get started with channeling?”
The answer to that question, comes from asking another question. Why would you want to? What is the goal behind your intentions? Are you interested in bringing more of yourself in line with what your authentic self is? Or are you hoping to summon forth a group of Ascended Masters/extraterrestrials who will answer questions obediently and with lots of cryptic words and ideas being said? With little idea or care as to whether or not that information is factual?
Or, are you interested in mediumship? Where you call forth the spirit of someone’s long-lost cousin or sibling, mother or child? Can that be done? I believe so, but this article is about channeling, not speaking with the dead, so you’ll have to wait until I am able to channel out an article that deals with this particular subject. See what I did there?
Once you’ve determined what the intention is behind your desire to channel, there are ways and methods that can help you achieve this goal.
The theory of channeling I put forth has a simplified explanation which allows for a logical deconstruction of the techniques that are involved. Here are a few of the common elements that exist across a spectrum of those who have demonstrated exceptional ability to communicate with “outer-worldly” entities.
Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts, Paul Selig, Esther Hicks, Neale Donald Walsch all have had the ability to enter into a trance-like state. Receptive, sensitive and easy to steal a wallet from(my guess).
They are able to speak or write whatever/whoever it is that they channel, with minimal interruption, second-guessing, doubts or hesitation that may impede the flow of communication.
With the exception of Edgar Cayce (who appeared to bring forth “original” ideas/teachings), each of these people have had a educated foundation from which their channeled messages draw upon. Jane Roberts and “Seth” have their origins in the New Thought movement, Esther Hicks and “Abraham” were influenced and inspired by Jane Roberts. Paul Selig and Neale Donald Walsch are men who both spent years of their lives learning about various New Age ideas and theories, which are then elucidated upon and organized by whichever persona they wish to present information through. God or aliens or ascended masters, take your pick as it doesn’t really matter. Long as its not Jesus… again!
From the above, we arrive at four conditions common among channelers:
- The ability to relax and surrender to a state of trance.
- The ability to trust the information/instinct that is coming through.
- A foundation from which your channeled messages can draw upon. Previously known information, ideas, expertise, terminology, etc.
- An archetype, personality or “entity” which can be real or imagined, that serves as the vehicle of expression.
Being relaxed, trusting and knowledgeable; seems to be the minimum requirement for those of us who desire developing our potential to pull forth a clear and evolved sense of intelligence that has already and always existed within ourselves. When we doubt the intelligence we possess, it can be made easier to fool ourselves into thinking that an “outside” entity is responsible for providing the information. This is why a “persona” gets invented to circumvent this particular obstruction. It serves to function as a distraction from negative ideas and beliefs we may have about our self-worth that places an artificial boundary around what we consider our capacity for “intelligence” to be. Hint: We’re a heck of a lot smarter than we give ourselves credit for.
To fully encapsulate what one must first “accept” in order to become a channel, there is a clue to be found within scripture. From Luke 17:21:
Neither shall they say, ‘Lo, it is here!’ or ‘Lo, it is there!’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
And just for giggles, here is what Deuteronomy 18:9–12 has to say about oracles, fortune-tellers and hokey people in general:
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
Kind of a bummer, I know. Nobody wants to face eternal damnation over any of all this.
The next step would be to establish a foundation for what we wish to express. Do you want to channel through the written word? Through music? Dance? Speech? There is a minimum amount of competency required should one desire to realize that beautiful smooth and steady stream of thought/feeling/movement that appears to come from seeming nothingness. It is intuition and rationality working in perfect tandem. Intuition for the flow, and rationality for the information. Otherwise you’ll get gibberish and nonsense or a lot of stutter and hesitation, and unless you aim at rattling an empty soup can at passerby on the street while asking them for change, that kind of behavior just won’t do.
We then would have to develop a strong sense of self-awareness. To separate our “inner-voice” from the “outer”, and be able to distinguish between the two. This involves mindfulness and paying close attention to ordinary thoughts, emotions, ego and instincts. How can we differentiate our own thoughts from… our own thoughts? Sounds complex, but it isn’t really. Let me share with you a story.
Several years ago I dated a woman named Amy, who crushed my heart. We hit things off really well on the first date, exchanged kisses and became intimate (sort of) around the 3rd. However, Amy was also dating one other guy while we were going out. That guy was around her longer than I was. So one day as we were having breakfast, she dropped the bomb that she would be pursuing this other fellow and that she was sorry to see me go. End of relationship.
I brushed it off as well as I could, but the damage was done. I went to a level of disappointment that I had no anticipation or expectation for. From being excited about forming a relationship, to being tossed out on the curb. It all came to a screeching halt in one fell swoop.
So on that evening while I was shaving in the mirror, I felt tears as I thought about the incident. Previously, I had a streak of women in my life who were wrong for me in one way or another. I had lost hope, and it was renewed while I was with Amy. My emotions and the despondency I was suffering from had no outlet to express themselves through. I didn’t want to pretend that I wasn’t hurt, and I didn’t want to be blaming Amy or myself, either. I was rightfully stuck in a state of despair and general anguish at the world. At God. The universe.
What happened next, is something I will never forget. I voiced my sadness by asking a question, not expecting any kind of reply when suddenly a voice entered my mind. It was crisp and clear and full of confidence. It spoke to me, saying that this is not the end of me. That I am worth being with. That I will find the girl of my dreams someday. And that this moment was an experience for me that was necessary to have, in order to get closer to the person I most deserved to be with.
I was put off by this voice immediately. I dropped the razor into the sink and stared at my eyes, wondering if I was making this up. Perhaps I was, and perhaps I wasn’t. I asked it further questions, and it answered. But it gradually phased itself out over the next few minutes until it was gone. Upon reflection, I came to realize that it really was my voice but it was different than the one I normally used to think, critique and form opinions with. It was more elevated, more wise, more calm and serene, but my voice nonetheless.
As I write this, I am struck with the realization that it was my higher self speaking. That’s a whole another article to be writing.
There were other incidences of “channeling” that have happened to me since. Such as a the three-day weekend where 50,000 words magically sprouted from my fingers, and a book was written with little effort and thought. All I remember of the process is that I had surrendered myself to what was trying to make itself heard. Ain’t nobody stopping this train. Choo, choo!
And while thinking about my personal experiences with the phenomenon, I’ve come to realize rule number 5, which is an important disclaimer to keep in mind should you decide to pursue the art of channeling.
5. Be brave enough to admit that you don’t have all of the answers.
Whether you subscribe to channeling as being a product of one’s imagination, the expression of a source outside or inside of yourself, or an alien named Xydpapo-17 from the Beta-Centauri star system; you have to be able confess that you aren’t completely certain about where all this is coming from. This mindset honors authenticity and promotes a responsible approach when dealing with the unknown and the possible wisdom received from it.
To conclude, channeling, like any form of art requires an artist and a medium. You are the artist, the medium will be whatever you choose it to be. You’ll be needing self-awareness, intuition and technique in varied combinations so that you can paint upon the canvas the idea, image or “spirit” you wish to express.
The ingredients/technique of optimal channeling:
- Development of awareness by means of mindfulness/empathy
- Elimination or reduction of stress to enable a daydreaming/trance/state of surrender
- A purpose/goal of what is to be accomplished or attained
- A broad working knowledge related to your purpose/goal
- Trust (intuition) that can be explained if needed (rationality)
- A “vehicle” or “means” of expression. Higher self/ascended master/alien/God/angel/spirit, etc.
- ??
- Profit
There you have it. A final word of caution should be said about the dangers involved in surrendering yourself fully to energies and forces that are not understood or easily controlled. Taking pride in your talent can potentially affect the quality and “truth” of your communication, and disrupt the good that you are attempting to do. If you are pursuing channeling for dishonest means, then corruption is inevitable once proficiency is realized and you are charging for your services. Keep in mind that this is exactly what Deuteronomy warns against, and it raises a question of ethics should you be using your skill to provide those in need with false hopes and deception.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
But the Kingdom of God is within.
Being able to balance the paradox can bring about many joys into your life once a mastery of channeling is realized. For better or worse.
Godspeed.
