Channeling

By Rick Branch

Organization Structure: Because Channeling is an activity of the individual, there is no hierarchical structure. While many channelers will associate together at symposiums, psychic fairs and other New Age events, each is autonomous.

Unique Terms: Higher Self is the term given to that divine part of each human being which knows ultimate Truth. Ascended Master is the name given to a great teacher such as Jesus, Buddha, Saint Germain, etc. by New Age devotees. Great White Brotherhood is a name for the collective group of Ascended Masters.

Other Names: Trance channeling.

Simply stated, Channeling is the process whereby a human host claims to enter into an altered state of consciousness thereby allowing a spirit entity or alien being from some distent physical or spiritual realm to take possession of their body and give instructions to New Age believers.

This altered state can be in varying degrees of control. Some channelers will have complete control of their body and simply speak the message of the spirit guide. Others will completely loose consciousness, entering a deep trance as the message is given from the entity. Upon their return to consciousness those who enter the deep trance state will remember none of the message. A third group of channelers will often remain conscious but will voluntarily yield control of their body for the purposes of allowing the entity to use their hands for writing messages. This form of Channeling is more commonly known as Automatic Writings.

HISTORY

The history of Channeling can be traced back to its earlier more blatantly Occult roots of Spiritism. In the 1840's the Fox sisters claimed to communicate with the spirit of a murdered man, Charles Rosma. Their convincing act tricked thousands until 1886 when they finally confessed that they were frauds (Understanding The Occult, Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, pp. 145-146).

Despite their confession, the Spiritism movement was under way.

Several proponents of Spiritism, Automatic Writing and other forms of communication with the dead would also make their mark on the history of Channeling.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, who founded Theosophy in 1875, claimed to receive information from spiritual "superhuman `masters' or `mahatmas' allegedly living in the Himalayas." Another noteworthy figure was Alice Bailey, founder of the Arcane School in 1923, who channeled the "Tibetan master Djwhal Khal (D.K.)." Under the guidance of D.K., Bailey would write twenty five books (A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, Elliot Miller, pp. 145-146).

Though there have been others who have certainly influenced the development of Channeling, it was not until the 1960's and `70's that Channeling began to be commonly accepted and even fashionable. "The first popularized emergence of an unseen personality was the delivery of the Seth Material through the channel Jane Roberts. Published internationally in 1972 by Prentice-Hall, Seth Speaks quickly became a best seller as it explored the realities of the unknown world. Seth was the first unseen entity who was generally accepted by a large readership, numbering in the millions" (Voyage to the New World, Ramtha with Douglas J. Mahr, p. 12).

Since the emergence of the entity Seth, the spirit world has allegedly been leaking spirits into the physical world at ever increasing speeds. Some of the most popular spirit entities would include J.Z. Knight's Ramtha, Penny Torres' Mafu and Jach Pursel's Lazaris.

Jon Klimo of Rosebridge Graduate School claims, "By many estimates, there are tens of thousands of channels throughout the world today, with as many as a thousand in Southern California alone" (Channeling: Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources, p. 24).

These channelers with their entities in tow, travel to New Age fairs, seminars and conferences throughout the world. At these conferences New Age devotees flock by the tens-of-thousands to hear the latest truths.

However, it is not cheap to hear the wisdom of an Ascended Master, the departed dead or an alien being from another realm. According to Robin Westen, students who wish to imbibe in channeled truth must pay "up to $100 for a private session [and up to] $1,500 for a seminar" (Channelers: A New Age Directory, p. 13).

Elliot Miller of Christian Research Institute echoes this when he writes, "In 1987 for a group session J.Z. Knight charged $400 per person, Jach Pursel $275. Private consultations with Pursel, for which there was at that time a two-year waiting list, cost $93 per hour. Kevin Ryerson charged `$250 per session, [and] has had so many inquiries at his San Francisco office that he is referring business to other channelers'" (A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, p. 161).

This phenomenal growth can be attributed in part to the fact that more people currently believe that contact with the dead or the spiritual realm is possible. In the mid-1980's an "opinion poll was conducted by Andrew Greeley and the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Council. It reports that 42 percent of American adults believe they have had some type of direct contact with a person who had died" (Ibid, p. 141). Notice that the 42 percent are those who feel they have had contact, not those who believe that contact is possible. The latter figure would most certainly be higher.

DOCTRINE

Because there are thousands of channelers throughout the world, with different entities, who have supposedly lived at different times and in different geographic locations, it would be assumed that the messages of the various entities would be different. However, to make such an assumption would be an error.

While there are differences in the messages and even contradictions between the messages from entity to entity, the basic themes of all the channelers are the same throughout the world.

God is All and All is God

The spirit entity Lazaris, through his host Jach Pursel, gives this insightful information concerning the New Age concept of God.

"Now, as we were saying, the New Age is about developing a new relationship with God. Yes, God is a very important part of this New Age. Part of developing that new relationship is to replace inaccurate or only partially accurate ideas old pictures of God with more correct images. God is All That Is. Throughout the history of humankind, you have been looking to describe this Force in your attempts to get closer to It. The Source is God and Goddess and something that is more than either or both. It is All That Is. Every time you reference God/Goddess/All That Is, you are supporting yourself with a new and much more correct image, picture, idea of the Source" (Channelers: A New Age Directory, Westen, pp. 91-93).

Hence, the channelers' god is the pantheistic understanding that All is God and God is All. Lazaris' new "image [or] picture" is the next concept that all channelers have in common.

Since All is God, and You are a part of the All, Then you are God

This point is clarified by the entity Ramtha, through his host J.Z. Knight.

"What be you? You are God! Man expressing as God often forget that which is termed his Godhood, thus makes him grovel in the marketplace for survival. 'Tis not the way it is. You are a God that needs to remember. When you leave this audience you are no longer that which is termed mere man but you are that which is termed the Lord God of Your Totality. God culminates himself into All That Is. When that which is emitted from himself, of thought, is felt and sent back to him, that is what you are" (Voyage to the New world, Ramtha, pp. 127, 144).

Thus, man is, according to the channeled entities, a part of God with amnesia. Once mankind is able to remember or realize that All is God and that mankind is a part of the All, then it become obvious that mankind is God. Once this is realized, then it become equally obvious that, as God, each individual possess all truth.

There is no ultimate objective truth

From the entities of Orin and DaBen through their hosts Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer, respectively, this vital piece of information is given.

"As you read this book, we encourage you to use only that information which rings true to the deepest part of your being and discard any information that does not. Trust your inner guidance and messages. You are a special, unique individual with unlimited potential. We invite you to discover more fully your own divinity" (Opening To Channel: How to Connect with Your Guide, Roman and Packer, pp. 15-16).

The general theme of the Channelers is God is All and humanity is part of All. Once accepted, this truth rules out all objective truth. For certainly, if each person is God, then who could tell another person [God] what was right or wrong, true or false. Each individual must discover truth for themselves. Hence, truth is subjective and is to be found within each individual's inner nature.

This truth will be found, according to the channelers, when the New Age devotee becomes aware of their individual inner Higher Self or God nature. When this is accomplished, the individual can then begin to manipulate their views of reality.

Create your own Reality

Again from the spirit entity Lazaris comes this admonition.

"Work together to create your reality. Go to the abstract Higher Self and dream your Dreams. Ask it to work from its level to help manifest your Dreams. While working with the abstract Higher Self, build your desire. Permit your Higher Self to work with you to enhance your skill of reality creation and to improve the art of creating exactly what you want... Co-create your reality together. An important, but often overlooked fact: Before you can co-create you must be able to create. Once you have worked with creating the reality you want, then you can work with your Higher Self to figure out together what reality the two of you want. You can involve your Higher Self in the decision-making process" (The Sacred Journey: You and Your Higher Self, Lazaris, p. 142).

Thus the ultimate message of the New Age is manifest in the message of the various channelers. That message being, All is God, you are a part of the All, therefore you are God. Since you are God then you can alter reality to fit your view of truth, for all truth is to be found within the individual's Higher Self. What if the truth of one individual contradicts the truth of another? That does not present a problem for the New Age believer. All believers are God and therefore all views of reality are true.

BIBLICAL RESPONSE

1) All is not God. The Bible explains there are two classifications: Creator and Creation. Gen. 1:1; John 1:2-3; Col. 1:16-18.

2) The Bible forbids communication with the dead [Necromancy] . Lev. 19:31; Deut. 18:9-12, 15; 1 Sam. 28; 1 Chron. 10:13-14; Isa. 8:19.

3) Channelers are either committing fraud (faking spiritual communication), are self-deceived (2 Thes. 2:10; 2 Tim. 3:12) or in contact with familiar spirits [demons] who are masquerading as deceased spirit masters. Isa. 19:3; Eph. 6:12; 1 John 4:1-3.

RESOURCES

1) New Age Movement: Space Age Heresy, James Walker. This 90 minute cassette tape and manual will provide an overview of New Age theology and history, thereby giving a better understanding of how Channeling fits into New Age theology. $8.

2) A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, Elliot Miller. Aside from providing an excellent overview of New Age theology, this book devotes two chapters to the topic of Channeling. Discussing the various types of Channeling, doctrines taught by channelers and a biblical response to the message of the channelers. Hard back, 260 pages, indexed, footnoted, $11.

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