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There have been documented reports of oracles and prophecies dating back to--and
probably before--Greek and Roman Mythology. Any Greek god worth his olives sought and
heeded the prophecy of the appropriate oracle: little different from today's mystics,
Themis offered divine advice to her audience when asked "we implore you, tell us by what
device our wreck and ruin may be repaired"...certainly an eternal struggle, and one
modern gods and goddesses tackle daily today, and not always for $2 a minute. Apollo,
among other titles a god of prophecy, had his oracle at Delphi, and freely shared every
prophecy he received.
The Revelations of Biblical lore, and numerous reported incidents of mediums or
channels receiving spirtual messages have, repeatedly throughout history,offered
communication from and about supreme beings. From the Book of Revelation, chapter 1,
verses 1-2: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants
what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John"
In the modern age, spirit communications surged in popularity with the arrival of a
series of key eighteenth- and nineteenth-century spiritual leaders. The Swedenborgian
Movement of the 1740s, Anna Leet's "Shaking Quakers" communicating with souls of the
dead shortly thereafter, Andrew Jackson Davis and his "mystical medicine"
Some scholars refer to the Fox sisters as the origin of the enormous following of
spirit channelers (Swatos, Melton), some instead cite Swedenborg (Stein), and still
others look to major twentieth-century figures as the real pivotal mediums of the
current practices of channeling. J. Gordon Melton suggests that channeling is simply
the "contemporary term for the earlier Spiritualism," though with the distinction
between them being that the earlier version was more centrally concerned with
"communications with dead friends and relatives" whereas the more recent channels relate
"philosophical and theological teachings from a disembodied entity."
At the start of the twentieth century, there were a few notable figures in paranormal
activities--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle took time out from his friend "Sherlock Holmes" to
witness for Spiritualism, and wrote extensively on the subject--though seemingly only as
a warm-up for the huge rush of famous and infamous characters of the mid- to late-
century world of spirit communicators. By the 1920s, a formerly struggling photographer
from Kentucky named Edgar Cayce had established himself as a premier psychic by
recognizing peoples' health problems and offering readings and teachings, and later
forming the Association for Research and Enlightenment as a repository for his collected
works. According to Michael F. Brown, the thousands of pages of Cayce's works housed at
the ARE (learn more about them:
the New Religious
Movements ARE page
) earn the channeler the (dubious) distinction of being the "most prolific channel in
American History" and perhaps most notable for all that, simply because he dabbled in
such diverse areas in his readings.
Just in time for the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, psychic Jane Roberts
began receiving messages from the young boy entity "Seth" and by most all scholarly
accounts, set in motion a revised and expanded psychical revolution that would eclipse
the relatively minor success of her channeling predecessors. Rather nicely described by
Rosemary Ellen Guiley as "a form of mental mediumship that became popular in the United
States and elsewhere as part of the 'new age' movement,...communication through
automatic speech and automatic writings with various nonphysical beings," Channeling is
indeed a favorite among 'new agers' and thrived as that movement began in the 1970s.
Close on Jane Roberts' psychic heels came former insurance man Jach Pursel, the very successful channel for "Lazaris," actress Shirley MacLaine and her books detailing her "spiritual odysseys," the legally troubled but financially successful JZ Knight and her entity "Ramtha," (learn more: NRM's Ramtha page ), and the more recent Neale Donald Walsch and his "Conversations with God" series. Many publications have been printed and reprinted, videotapes and inspirational materials have been sold like metaphysical hotcakes, and groups like the followers of "Michael," "the Urantia Book," (learn more: NRM's Urantia page ) and the "Course in Miracles" ( NRM's Miracles page ) continue to thrive and grow as new agers sell their services on line and on the paperback rack at the bookstore. An internet search for "Channeling" on any major search engine will produces hundreds of references to channelers and/or channeling web pages and discussions. Some channelers enjoy a fair amount of public recognition as being more plausible or acceptable than others, though critics and skeptics of mediumship have denounced channelers alternately as "frauds," "satanists," "culters," "maniacs," "crooks," and other, more extreme (and unpublishable) names.
Followers and practitioners of Channeling vary somewhat in their definitions of the practice, but for the most part hold certain common beliefs. Channeling is generally considered the transmission of messages or ideas from non-human entities, or spirits or souls outside the human body, to and through a human, for translation and transmission to that, or other, humans.
It is also generally accepted that the medium, or person serving as the channeler, must be emotionally and intellectually prepared to receive and transmit any such communications. Many "how to" channeling resources stress that mediumship is not for everyone. Most adherents to the Channeling Movement believe that a medium needs direction and/or preparation to fully receive and relay such paranormal communications. Often, but not always, preparation to channel may include the Channeler's induction to a trance or meditative state, and may or may not require the use of crystals, stones, chakras, or other talismans to encourage the communications.
Depending on the particular channeler, communications may come from the spirits of dead people, from otherworldly presences, or from spiritual leaders. A large segment of current Channeling proponents, for example, report and discuss channeled messages from a higher, divine being, though there seems to be a general consensus among channelers that traditional Christian notions of there being just "one all knowing God" is not necessarily so, and that the source of their spiritual messages may well be many spiriual entities. Channelers often refer to the existence of multiple layers of consciousness, and to the idea that Channeling is more accessible to those open to accessing those alternate levels.
The Spiritual Connection
A popular and informative page discussing Channeling news, including links to other
related sites.
www.channeling.net
"What is
Channeling?: Mediumship and the New Age"
Channeler Marina Michaels has compiled a very practical and conversational article
offering just the material her article's title suggests: information about Channeling,
what it is, how to do it, what she's learned and the reality versus the myths of
available Channeling lore. (The main page, "Sonic Net is also an interesting basic
"Independent Website on Spirituality.")
http://www.sonic.net/~marina/channel/whatchan.html
The Channeling Page
Another good source of information from and about channelers, providing basic concepts
on Channeling, and links to channelers and chat groups.
http://home.sol.no/~kjole/ncca/channel.html
The Gale Group
Biography Resource Center
A general on-line biographical reference tool loaded with personalities,with
particularly comprehensive information on leaders and practitioners of religious
movements (much of it attributed to J. Gordon Melton).
http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC?u=MARQ
"Don't touch
that dial!"
An interesting and initially balanced (with a decidedly anti-cult skepticism at
conclusion) article by Eric Pement (1988), subtitled "The New Age Practice of
Channeling," offering broad historical and social overview of Channeling and its rise to
popularity in recent years. Notable for its full discussion of the topic--and for the
fact that it was accessed by direct link from a popular Channeler's page.
www.webzonecom.com/ccn/cults/isue06d.txt
The Watchman Expositor
An outstanding and impartial source of information regarding many current events in
new religious movements, with a particularly comprehensive description of Channeling.
www.watchman.org/chanpro.htm
Mystic Planet Presents Channeling
Includes lots of links to Channelers, and messages from some of the best-known
entities in Channeldom.
http://www.mysticplanet.com
The Spirit
Web's "Channelings & Higher Realms" Page
Lists many Channels and their entities, including links to electronic transcriptions
of their more recent transmissions/messages.
http://spiritweb.org?Spirit/Spirit/channelings.html
About.Com's "New Age: Channeling" Page
Information tool "About.Com" weighs in with their very complete and impartial, almost
encyclopedic reference site about Channeling, Channelers, the history, controversies and
major entities of the practice.
http://newage.about.com/culture/newage/msubmenu154.htm
"The Best of the Alternative Web"
Llama links touts itself as being "alternative," and does indeed offer vast amounts of
information about alternative movements, including Channeling and related paranormal
activities (see "consciousness expansion"). A fun, informative and colorful site
offering links to pages on many new age topics.
www.llamalinks.com
Specific Channelers and Channeling-Based Groups:
Ramtha's School of Enlightenment: The
American Gnostic School
Pop Channeler JZ Knight's page; loaded with information about Knight and her
channelings, her schedule, her products for sale, and words from Ramtha.
www.ramtha.com
The
SpiritWeb's Urantia Page
A brief description of the beliefs of the revelations believed to be in the Urantia
Book, and answers to FAQ about the Urantia Book and its channeled teachings.
www.spiritweb.org/Urantia/urantia-faq.html
The Urantia Book On Line
The sacred text of the Urantians, a group guided by spiritual channelings, is the
Urantia Book, and this site allows electronic access to the entire text, along with
links to further information about the movement.
http://www.urantiabook.org
Swedenborg and
Channeling
An article (actually a thesis paper presented at a recent Cesnur conference)
discussing the history and controversies revolving around Emanuel Swedenborg and the
rise of Swedenborgianism. A long and scholarly paper, but one loaded with historical
analysis on a central figure in the re-emergence of mediumship, and worth reading for
anyone interested in the subject.
http://www.cesnur.org/testi/Swedenborg.htm
The Michael Teachings Page
Suggestions and coaching from the entity Michael's channelers on "how to channel," how
to get Michael's books, and some recently received channelings from Michael.
www.michaelteachings.com
The Seth Network International Home page
Offers brief update for and about the activities of followers of the late Jane Roberts
and her primary entity Seth, and refers anyone interested to links to a Seth-heavy
bookstore, Seth followers mail list, and information about the Seth conference in
October 2000.
http://sethnet.org
ReCreation
Home page for the ReCreation foundation--Neale Donald Walsch's organization--
discussing the group's beliefs, news, and Walsch's anwers to queries about his
phenomenally (commercially) successful dialog with God.
www.conversationswithgod.org/what_we_do.htm
God Channel
A site representative of the many pages available discussing transmissions from God.
www.godchannel.com
Ask Merlin Channeled Psychic
Readings
A variant of other channelers, Merlin combines a broad range of new age ideas with the
more magical elements of consciousness to create this hybrid-Channeling/Psychic business
and page. One stop new age/metaphysical shopping...
http://wizardwonderland.com
The Kryon Channelings Page
A rather homegrown page, and an excellent example of the hundreds of channelers with
electronic resources devoted to sharing the messages they receive, their own definition
of "channelling" (sic), and detailed explanations as to why
theirs
is an authentic and plausible entity/spirit/voice/being/prophecy. This page, from Lee
Carroll, offers readings much like installments in a drama series, perhaps exciting
continued interest in a cast of channeled characters (as in: "Wo returns!").
http://www.kryon.com/k_25.html
Connecting with your soul
This channel offers a "program" that will help the purchaser of the program to make
contact with his "higher self." One of hundreds of on-line businesses angling for the
favor (and business) of new agers.
http://thepotentialsunlimited.com
"A Spiritual Beacon on the
Internet"
Channelings from "the Assembly of Light," information about "The Prophecy Stones," and
some sample readings.
http://spiritualguidance.com
Purchase a "How-to" Manual...Sort of
This site markets itself as offering "everything you need to know about mediumship and
spirit channeling"--as long as you buy the "ten lesson study guide," when in fact it is
the homepage of The First Spritual Temple, a "Christian Spiritual Church," and much of
the "how-to" information is found in the religious movement's online literature and
teachings. There is much good information here about mediumship, spirituality,
Spiritualism, and spirit communications.
http://www.fst.org
Created by
Trish Downey Phipps
For Soc 257, New Religious Movements
University of Virginia
Spring 2000
Last modified: 04/19/00