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A Short History Of Spirit-Channeling
Over time many kinds of labels have been used for those who channel. Healers, medicine men, shamans, adepts, masters, oracles and prophets come to mind as people who often access information from sources not acknowleged as real by many in todays society. Though this process can be found accross all cultural lines, recent channeling in the West is commonly attributed to the influence of the Fox sisters in the 1800's and to the subsequent rise of the Spiritualist church. Even today some of the best development training to be had is through classes affiliated with this church. Joel Bjorling has assembled the most useful material that describes the varous movements and channels in this century. Over 2500 channeled works are listed in his compilation. With the popularization of channeling that occurred in the mid-1980s came a huge number of books from many new channels and contactees.
In the heyday of spiritualism in Eurupe an astute and careful Paris attorney named Leon Rivail undertook a long study of mediums which he published in the mid-1800s. That book is still in print today and is still the most comprehensive record available of this phenomena. He investigated both the physical manifestations that might accompany mediumship and the process of communication itself. Many different processes are possible and in use depanding on the particular mix of channel and spirit energy. At the most basic level an image is presented to the human brain and that image is translated into words by the brain. During the development period of the channel which may last several years, the spirit is able to anticipate which images will result in a sentence structure and content that will produce clear communication. Some psychics never get past the stage of seeing the raw image and have to guess how to interpret it. If the image is like a video clip, this may not be such a hindrance, otherwise it can be a real problem. In any case the communication of words is to be regarded as subject to cautious interpretation not literal acceptance.
As mentioned, the process of development for the highest quality communications may take several years and if you find in questioning any denial of this reality, the source is suspect. Those mediums that are what is called a conscious channel have the opportunity to censor or shift the meaning of an answer if it is not part of their world experience and this is one reason to look for a trance channel. In trance channeling subtle bodies of the channel leave the physical body temporarily to allow another energy to enter and engage in communicatiion. The longer into the session, the farther away and less likely the personality of the human is to influence an answer. In the early stages of development, the human personality may hover near for the whole session. Also the early part of a session is one in which the spirit energy is acclimating to the physical body and so many spirits many speak a continuous set of prepared remarks during this time rather that answering questions immediately.This kind of warm-up period is helpful for clarity. After his passing paranormal investigator Frederic Myers wrote through one source on the process of automatic writing: " The nearest simile I can find to express the difficulties of sending a message--is that I appear to be standing behind a sheet of frosted glass which blurs sight and deadens sounds--dictating feebly to a reluctant and somewhat obtuse secretary." Equally important is the framing of the questions. If you ask fuzzy naive questions, you will get fuzzy answers from a spirit that will become frustrated with your vacancy.
There are billions of souls on this planet and billions more in the spirit realm. Passing into the great beyond does not bring instant enlightenment. Just bcause you are "dead" doesn't mean you are smart. If a channeled work sounds like somebody's red neck uncle Fred, then it is not likely to be any more valuable than advice from the blowhards and busybodies in this life who claim to know what is best for everyone. Be aware, however, that there is so much variety possible in life experience here that no one person could possibly relate to the full scope of religious beliefs, educational, cultural and personality levels to whom channeled material may be addressed. Each work has a purpose and an intended audience, but we may never know what that is. If you see that a work comes from Saint Germain, El Morya or Kuthumi, expect it to sound like a Theosophical writing.The intention of the channel in undertaking training is a key element in determining just what kind of spirit entity will manifest. If intentions are frivolous, do not expect anything but meaningless, perhaps even dangerous answers from "playful" spirits. Use your common sense. A simple test is to ask yourself if you could imagine a spiritual savior giving such advice. If a passage inspires fear instead of comfort, the source is less than it could be. Discernment is especially important in evaluating channeled works because fraud is common in psychic circles, both from the channel and from the alleged source. This is one of the hardest lessons learned by many who dabble in channeled material. In 1748 Swedenborg cautioned us:
"When spirits begin to speak with man, he must beware lest he believe them in anything; for they say almost anything; things are fabricated by them, and they lie; for if they were permitted to relate what heaven is, and how things are in the heavens, they would tell so many lies, and indeed with solemn affirmation, that man would be astonished..."
Stainton Moses received many warnings and insights about channeling as did Kardec who insists that spirit sources must be tested.
"Good spirits are never offended by such examination; on the contrary, they advise it, because they have nothing to fear from scrutiny. It is only bad spirits who take scrutiny amiss, and who try to dissuade us from making it, because they are sure to be losers by it; their dissuasion, therefore, proves their inferiority.""It is only through moral purity that a spirit draws nearer to God, and thus extends the circle of his knowledge."
"Intelligence is far from being a sure sign of moral superiority; for intelligence and morality do not always go hand in hand. One spirit may be good and kind-hearted with scanty knowledge; while another may be intelligent and learned, and yet be very little advanced in morality."
"Perverse and jealous spirits can do everything that men do in the way of evil,and you must therefore be constantly on your guard against them. When superior spirits have to find fault, they do so with prudence and moderation; they never speak ill of any one; when they warn, they do so with gentleness. If; in the interest of both parties, they desire that two persons should cease to meet, they bring about some apparently fortuitous incident that will keep them apart in a natural way. Language calculated to excite trouble and distrust is always that of an evil spirit, whatever the name he assumes. You should therefore exercise the utmost circumspection in regard to anything that a spirit may say against any of you, especially if a good spirit has previously spoken well of the same party; you should also distrust yourselves and your prejudices. Accept, of spirit-communications, only what is good, generous, rational, and approved alike by your intellect and your conscience."
"The more elevated you are morally, the higher are the spirits you attract; and these necessarily keep off the lower ones." [ True both for the medium and the sitter.]
The other side of the coin is that many of the holy books of world's religions derive either directly from channeling or a similar inspirational process.
Leon Rivail also published The Spirits Book which records the answers to an elaborate set of over 1000 questions he asked of the "intelligences" as he called them. The answers revolutionized his long held ideas and convictions.The result is essentially a textbook of Spiritualist Philosophy and is still a good read to this day. The book is very instructive in evaluating what kinds of answers you might anticipate from a channel today. Since he was a Christian, the questions and answers come from Christian perspective. Spirit writings which are transcriptions of public channeling question and answer sessions will often have a more eclectic source, as if a panel of spirit experts were on hand to answer nearly any kind of question imaginable.More often than not channeled works are philosophical in nature. Advice is given that will enhance personal growth and broaden one's world view. Perhaps ten or fifteen percent will have some prophetic content. Contactee books are more likely to talk about the universe, the environment, alien cultures and coming shifts in consciousness.
"Our sole object is to improve you morally"
"We cannot too often remind you that our mission is to aid your moral progress, and thus to help you forward on your road to perfection. He who seeks only wisdom from his commerce with spirits will never be deceived. But you must not suppose that we waste our time in listening to your foolishness, telling your fortunes, and assisting you to waste your time; we leave all that to the tricky spirits who amuse themselves with doing so, like mischievous children."
"You must never forget that the essential and exclusive object of spiritism is your moral amelioration; and that it is for the attainment of this end that spirits are permitted to initiate you into the knowledge of the life to come, thus furnishing you with examples which you may turn to your own profit. The more thoroughly you identify yourselves with the world which awaits you, the less will you regret the one in which you now are. This is, in fact, the sole aim of the new revelation."
In a recent interview, best selling author Whitley Strieber tells us " The purpose of prophecy is to warn us against negative events that will transpire if we continue on the path that we're on at the time that the prophecy is made. The Visitors say the future is like water. The present is sort of a compressor that takes the water of the future and turns it into the ice of the past, where change is much less possible." "Prophets are supposed to be wrong in the ideal world. What's the use of prophesying something that's inevitable? Why bother?" "...my book recognizes the use of prophecy as a tool, which is why it both warns against a number of futures that I have seen." "The reason these things are being prophesied now is so that they can be avoided, not because they have to come true." These thoughts are echoed by many successful modern day prophets. Jean Dixon makes a further distinction that she has experienced. She has found that certain predictions that are given to her over a period of preparation of several days always come true and she calls them revelations. This is not true of most of her predictions which she considers warnings that are subject to change. For example, she cites the assassination of JFK as a revelation and the assassination of Robert Kennedy to have been avoidable. She predicted both well in advance of the events.
Because of strong Biblical roots, prophecy is widely respected in Christianity and many other religions. The practitioners of the Bahai faith have gone to great lengths to document and present the many prophecies given over the ages by other religions because they see these predictions as a validation of their own faith. The compilation they offer makes for very interesting reading regardless of your faith. Their compilation includes Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Native American and Mormon prophecies The ancient Hindu Puranas are unusually well detailed. Krishna lists the signs that tell us when the current age, the Kalki Yuga, will end. The list is an uncanny description of the times in which we live.
Peter, under the inspiration of the Spirit, is quoted to have spoken these words by the prophet Joel: "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy...." (Acts 2:16-18 quoting Joel 2:28-29) Well there is certainly a profusion of prophecy these days and it runs in historical threads with all manner of offshoots. Primary to this page are the Catholic, Theosophical, Native American and contactee views of the coming changes. The threads complement each other in interesting ways and the Theosophical outlook has given birth to a simpler perspective based on the outpourings of many modern channelers.
Prophetic revelations come in many forms. Some are sought out by some kind of channeling process or search for inner guidance. Sometimes an object called in the most general sense a mantic device is thought to give psychological permission to open, e.g. crystal ball, tea leaves, palm, cards, or chart. Still revelations arise spontaneously through some kind of vision such as those experienced and documented by the Catholic church. Unfortunately many of these are left out of church history because they do not fit the preconceptions and current teachings of the church at the time they are received. Prophecy is said to be "one of the nine gifts of the Spirit described in I Corinthians 12:7-10. It is an utterance that is inspired by God. While certain believers have a special gift of prophecy, Paul encouraged everyone to prophesy (I Corinthians 14:27-28)." Since channeling is frowned upon by the church, prophecies from this source are often ignored. Just how you differentiate between spontaneous channeling and the gift of prophecy can be a very tricky issue prone to hair splitting. As Dr. Gordon Melton, an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, tells us, "although most contempory Jews and Christians are loathe to think of the Biblical prophets as channelers, the term fits them perfectly." John, prophet of the Book of Revelation tells us, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and heard behind me a great voice." Christians may call the process the inward witness of the Holy Spirit, Divine Voice or simply a personal revelation. Jeane Dixon authored a special chapter entitled "A note to the clergy" in which she explores the resistance of the church to modern prophecy. In his day, because of his modesty and disarming manner, Arthur Ford had a busy speaking schedule at orthodox churches and the number of invitations was far beyond his ability to reciprocate.
Many prophecies never come to pass and in the case of catastrophisms, this is obviously a good thing. Does this simply mean that the basis of the warning was heeded and thus the consequences were avoided? One major problem with prophecies is timing. Dates are often very difficult to pin down even for a spirit entity unless linked to a key event that will foreshadow the main prediction. Because of this dates are frequently not given. Sometimes predictions are purposely vague to avoid karmic involvement from the spirit side or over influence in the daily affairs of man. In Wisdom of Ramala, Ramala tells us "There are many young souls on my side of life, as indeed there are on the plane of Earth, who are only too happy to give guidance out of a misguided feeling of self-importance, but be wary of such guidance." Also, "but those of us who are truly aware of the responsibility of guidance, who know we are responsible until the ending of time for everything that we say and for everything that you as individuals do because of what we say, are bound to act with consciousness."
One thing is sure, no prophet is totally accurate in their preditions of the future unless their language is so vague as be next to meaningless. Arthur Ford speaking through Ruth Montgomery said "We see a much longer spectrum of time from this side of the veil that do you, but by no means do we see from the beginning to the end of life. We are no more infallible here than there, except for broader vision and deeper awareness of the purpose of God's plan." Another aspect to prophecy is that they might be better viewed as possible or probable futures. For example, there have been many phophecies of a third world war in this century. And in fact during the Reagan administration there was an unpublicized event, described by Helen Caldicott in her speeches, where we came with a minutes of having a full blown nuclear exchange with the U.S.S.R. Such a near miss could have been seen by prophets as the event itself, one of several possible outcomes. One big interpretation problem comes with the passage of time. Has the predicted event already happened? Talk of major wars from prophets in previous centuries is hard to pin down. More modern prophets have an edge here over older seers like Nostradamus.
In his rules on mediumship Kardec tells us:
"We may also recognize inferior spirits by their random predictions of future events, and their minute assertions in regard to pretended facts of which we know nothing. Good spirits sometimes give us a hint or a presentiment of future events, when some useful end is to be gained by so doing; but they never, or rarely, give minute details or fix dates; the announcement of some given event, as being destined to occur at a given period, is usually a hoax."
When prophecy does fail and the stakes are high, the almost universal response is that the prophecy really did happen, but that it was fulfilled on a subtle level invisible to our physical level of perception.
Seers have predicted nearly every imaginable kind of catastrophe for the coming millenium. Others have said that we have acted in time and that most of the more horrible events will not happen. The run of the mill predictions that fill a chapter in a more general book are usually a vague repetition of things said by others before them. The two most general kinds of predictions relate to deleterious earth changes and a striking shift for the better in the temperment of mankind that will allow the "2000 years of peace" mentioned in the Bible. This upturn is usually bad news for those of militant intent because they are the ones that are said to pass on during the changes. In New Age literature the upturn is given a set of confusing names like fourth density, fifth dimension, ascension or photon belt consciousness.
The first published contactee was George Adamski. He describes personal meetings he had with aliens that looked much like humans. They took him aboard their ship and he wrote a detailed account of his experiences. Things have changed quite a bit since that beginning in the early fifties. Many people tell us that they have telepathic communcation with off planet beings. They have often seen unusual craft, but they have not necessarily been taken aboard or met face to face. Nowadays someone like Adamski would probably be called an experiencer or a participant if he went willingly and an abductee if he didn't. In Adamski's day the UFO community of investigators largely ignored contactees. They were an embarrassment. The stories sounded crazy and the language they used sounded more like a minister than a panic stricken basket case trying to cope with a new found reality. As fate would have it, several decades later around 1985 the abductee phenomena got so totally out of hand that researchers could no longer brush it under the rug.
What UFO researchers want is physical evidence and independent confirmaable testimony. What contactees want is immutable truth, sacred knowledge, a sense of the customs and laws of the cosmos in words and images our minds can understand. The earliest telepathic contactees sounded a lot more like theosophists than space cowboys and if you substituted the word chariot for space ship, you probably wouldn't notice the difference. Early on there is a shift from Saint Germain or Jesus beaming healing rays from their mother ships to dire warnings about man's abuse of Planet Earth and prophecies of doom if we don't shape things up. Along with this kind of material we may also find detailed descriptions of alien cultures, goals and physiology.
One possible conclusion is that more than one kind of entity can funnel information into the minds of the psychicly sensitive individuals we usually call channels. Some of these people start out as abductees and through some process like mental training, implants or a new sense of affinity they begin to take their contact as a moral obligation to speak out publicly. Another possible conclusion is that extraterrestrials may communicate with us each having different agendas and standards of truthfulness. There is no question in the minds of abduction researchers that the ETs lie to abductees, however, the kind and purpose of communications experienced by abductee are rather different than that seen with contactees. Contactees are told they are uniquely chosen by the ETs as messengers. Brad Steiger tells us they may be "barely heedful of their own personal welfare...and those closest to the contactees report that he (or she) has become literally a changed and different person." Bud Hopkins tells us a homely example. " Suppose you are sitting on a bus, calmly reading your newspaper, but your foot extends a bit into the aisle. Suddenly there's an excruciating pain, you look up and see a 300-pound blind man standing on your foot. It is clear that he did not intend to hurt you, but that doesn't help the pain or change the fact that you now have a broken toe. In 15 years of abduction research I have encountered not a shred of evidence that suggests UFO occupants are innately evil. But sadly, in the meantime I've seen the equivalent of hundreds upon hundreds of broken toes."
Hand in glove with many of the newer descriptions of the days to come is the concept of fourth density, sometimes also referred to as ascension or a fourth or fifth dimensional shift. In this scenario, all those that survive the earth changes will go through a rapid spiritual advancement. This growth will be characterized by a new closeness to the creator, loss of ego, telepathic abilities, an increased vibrational rate and a strong desire for world peace. These terms and a more exotic explanation for them via a "photon belt" came into being from communications through early contactees. The concepts preceeded this period and date back to Blavatsky's writings in the last century. Though the terms were bandied about early, it wasn't until a decade later that they were described in detail in the sixties by Gildas. Different authors may use the terms in confusing ways. Others may loosely be said to call this concept by names like the coming of the New Age, the Golden Age, the Age of Light, the Christing of Earth, the Age of Aquarius, the Sixth World and from a more Christian perspective the Second Coming, the Tribulation, the Rapture or Armageddon.
The photon belt has been the butt of a good many jokes because some predictions made in reference to it are questionable at best and its description differs so much from one source to another. Loosely speaking the concept parallels the three days of darkness prophesied in the Bible. There is mention on the web that the term orginated as a hoax in a UFO newsletter which was taken seriously and applied to the older Biblical concept by new age sources. In reality this is no laughing matter but it is hard not to break out laughing when reading some of the more recent material. For those without a grounding in the metaphysics of what is possible in this world, the concepts can seem very strange. If you are aware of the kinds of miraculous events that occur in the daily life of an avatar like Sai Baba in India, they the predicted shift of consciousness does not sound so far fetched. The predictions are two-fold the physical events and the consciousness shift to fourth density which is described above.
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