Religious Studies 276
Instructor: Dr. L. Anderson
Short Essay: Channeling
Submitted by: John Rosloot
Channeling, the notion that spirits or higher beings can communicate through certain individuals, appears frequently throughout history, going back to the oracles of Greece or even further. This belief has seen a resurgence in new religious movements.
For followers of the channeling phenomenon, the appeal stems from a desire to gain spiritual wisdom from a higher source; the same end proposed by many traditional religions. New Agers however, disillusioned with the hierarchy and dogma of traditional religions, seek a more direct source of enlightenment.
What are we to make of channeling? Is it merely fraud? Psychosis or self-delusion on the part of the channelers? Or could it be real? Could invisible entities actually be communicating through the living? If these entities are real, does this necessarily guarantee that they can be trusted?
Let us consider the books of Jane Roberts, dictated through her by an entity known as Seth. The shear volume of material, dictated live in its final form (or so we are told), is impressive. The material is quite complex, involving the multidimensional nature of reality and the soul, and yet it seems self-consistent. Despite some of its more far-fetched claims, it is presented in a manner which sounds rational and reasonable.
During trance, Roberts' voice deepens and becomes more masculine, and her facial expression alters markedly. These could be faked of course, however, JZ Knight, when channeling Ramtha, is observed to undergo marked and measurable physiological changes: "when she went into trance and Ramtha came through, her heart rate fluctuated between a high of 160 bpm to a low of 40 bpm in rapid succession"[1]. Aviva Neuman , a medium suffering from chronic leukemia, was in addition to channeling spirits able to channel consciousnesses associated with parts of her body and aspects of her personality ranging "from the lungs to the liver, from her health to her humour"[2]. Lab tests confirmed that there was a substantial increase in her red blood cell count after her blood's alter-consciousness, in trance, was asked to make this change to combat her disease.
While such evidence is intriguing, it could still be explained without resorting to spirits. Eastern mystics are able to exert control over their autonomic functions. There is increasing scientific evidence of the influence of the mind over the body. Mediums might achieve the same effect either intentionally, or unconsciously as part of a trance state.
What of the information these entities provide? Can this be tested? Entities who claim past lives in recent history could be questioned about details of their life and death, and historical records could be consulted to support or dispel these claims.
In Hungry Ghosts, Joe Fisher relates specific details he received of the past lives of several discarnate beings, which upon investigation revealed tantalizing confirmations of geographical and historical details, accompanied by mystifying errors regarding the past lives the entities claim to have lived. One channeled entity was Filipa, who claimed to have been Fisher's lover in 18th century Greece. Her recorded voice, or rather that of the medium channeling her, was studied by Dr. George Thaniel, a Professor of Modern Greek at the University of Toronto. "Dr. Thaniel determined the voice to be, in parts, the voice of a Greek woman who hailed from the north-east region of that country"[3]. "Yet specifics of her pronunciation could relate only to the years 1912 – 1920"[4], not to the 18th century as the entity had stated. Filipa claimed that "in life she had walked for days to see the big, big floating housings at Alexandroupolis"[5]. But Fisher's research revealed that the city had existed only since the mid 19th century, and received its current name in 1919. Similar inconsistencies are revealed in the testimony of several other entities whose accounts Fisher investigated. While some specifics of geography and history match, no evidence of the existence of the individuals claimed as past incarnations can be found. When questioned about these inconsistencies, the entities either continued to stridently support their claims, redirected blame to the questioner, or changed the subject.
Russel, an entity channeled by Aviva Neuman, warned that not all channeled spirits are truthful: "I would caution you that nothing is to be taken at face value. If it is easily believed on faith or taken on what you may term face value, then perhaps it is a little... valueless"[6]. Russel goes on to say that the first thing you must establish is whether a guide is, in fact, a guide or a playful spirit and not a guide at all[7]. The Bible also warns: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world". (1 John 4:1)
Claire Laforgia is another medium whom Fisher encountered, and who channeled an entity who called himself Dr. Samuel Pinkerton. Dr. Pinkerton claimed that "mediums who are not properly trained may leave themselves vulnerable to lost souls or earthbound spirits"[8]. But Dr. Pinkerton as well, while providing hints of knowledge of Fisher's dealings with other spirits, failed to provide verifiable proof of an earthly past life, and became evasive when closely questioned. Fisher notes that past researchers into reincarnation and channeling have faced the same frustrating results. The psychical researcher Sir William Crookes is quoted as saying "I have had hundreds of communications professing to come from deceased friends, but whenever I try to get proof that they are really the individuals they profess to be, they break down. All I am satisfied of is that there exist invisible intelligent beings who profess to be spirits of deceased people"[9].
Fisher believes that in many cases mediums are genuine, "having witnessed marked personality changes reflected by a host of different accents and intonations, and having received a considerable amount of accurate information that could only have been aquired paranormally"[10]. However, he believes that the entities he has communicated with have, for whatever reason, misled him intentionally, have couched lies inside truths to make them more convincing, have even warned him against the duplicity of some spirits to make their own claims more credible. Both Fisher, and Sandford Ellison, an associate through the channeling sessions, had suffered breakdowns in their personal relationships under the guidance of these channeled spirits. Ellison had also suffered grave business setbacks. All these passed after they disassociated themselves from the entities. The dire warnings of the spirit guides, should their advice be ignored, did not come to pass.
Fisher concludes that the most likely identity of these duplicitous entities is that of earthbound spirits. "Ancient spiritual teachings from a wide range of cultures tell of hosts of disembodied beings inhabiting a dimension which lies closest to Earth. This is the lower astral realm, a gloomy cesspool of the dead peopled by the spirits of those who have lived base, ignorant or selfish lives"[11]. "They hunger for the sensations of corporeal existence, which they have lost. This thickly-peopled dead zone, just beyond the frontiers of physical existence tallies precisely with the realm of the hungry ghosts in the teachings of Tibetan Buddhists"[12]. The Malaysian Samai tribe engage in ritual trance dancing, invoking the spirits of the dead to speak through the living. However, they consider the spirits mischievous and untrustworthy. "The Semai know that the spirits can often lead a person astray or into danger"[13]. When asked why the spirits behave this way the Semai replied that they envy the living.
Many modern channeled sources claim that we are all progressing inevitably towards a higher state, that there is no such thing as divine judgement or evil. "Quite simply and in a way that you cannot presently understand, evil does not exist"[14]. Some claim that we ourselves are gods, and create our own reality: "You create the world that you know. You have been given perhaps the most awesome gift of all: the ability to project your thoughts outward into physical form"[15]. But are they just trying to lead us astray? What better way than to convince us that our actions can't have any lasting negative effect? It is perhaps interesting to note the parallel of the serpent's message in the Garden of Eden, trying to convince Eve to eat the forbidden fruit: "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God." (Genesis 3:4).
Are channeled entities higher beings, seeking to help and teach us? Are they evil spirits or lost souls trying to use or mislead us? Or are mediums all frauds or psychotics? As in all spiritual matters, the truth is difficult if not impossible to ascertain. However, as with all things, the subject should be met with intelligent questioning and healthy skepticism rather than blind faith.
I leave you to consider these words of William Shakespeare:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray us
In deepest consequence.
Macbeth: Act 1; Scene 3
Cited Works:
Diamond, Steve. Into the Mystic: Ramtha Meets the Scholars. The New Times. May 1997. http://www.thenewtimes.org/issue/9705/97-05-jz.html
Fisher, Joe. Hungry Ghosts, An Investigation into Channeling and the Spirit World. Doubleday Canada Ltd. 1990
Reed, Henry. Edgar Cayce, On Channeling Your Higher Self. Warner Books. 1989
Roberts, Jane. Seth Speaks, The Eternal Validity of the Soul. An Amber-Allen Book. 1972
[1] Steve Diamond, Into the Mystic: Ramtha Meets the Scholars, (The New Times: May 1997), http://www.newtimes.org/issue/9705/97-05-jz.html
[2] Joe Fisher, Hungry Ghosts: An Investigation into Channeling and the Spirit World, (Doubleday Canada Ltd., 1990), 21.
[3] Ibid., 236.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., 16.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid., 241.
[9] Ibid., 246.
[10] Ibid., 250.
[11] Ibid., 255.
[12] Ibid., 256.
[13] Henry Reed, Edgar Cayce, On Channeling Your Higher Self (Warner Books, 1989), 172.
[14] Jane Roberts, Seth Speaks, The Eternal Validity of the Soul (An Amber-Allen Book, 1972), 238
[15] Ibid., 6.