ISBN 0-fl7M77-'-431-M >$lfi.TS ON INVESTIGATIONS RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM PARANORMAL SOURCES From earliest recorded history, people have claimed that under certain special conditions they were in direct contact with, and spoke on behalf of, beings who “inhabit a higher dimen- sion of reality than our own.” Over the years, these mysterious contacts have been known by vaiious names, including “revelation,” “spirit communications,” “mediumship," and, most recently, "channeling.” This phenomenon, those who claim to have experienced the nature of the it, messages received, the scientific theories that explain and the techniques we can it, use to unfold our own latent capacities for channeling— all are explored in this exciting work. Channeling: Investigations on Receiv- ing Informationfrom Paranormal Sources reviews these channeled messages, their content and significance, and the prin- cipal modern channels who are bringing them to us —in many cases utilizing fas- cinating personal interviews conducted specially for this book. The author also provides an in-depth historical look at channeling, from its earliest recorded instances as religious revelation, through centuries of underground activity, to its current widespread popularity and acceptance. Klimo details the startling unifor- mity ofchanneled r.aaterial »md the effect of these "teachings” on both those who channel them and those who come to lis- ten. Drawing on cross-cultural findings in CHANNELI-NG INVESTIGATIONS ON RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM PARANORMAL SOURCES JON KLIMO JEREMY TARCHER, P. INC. Los Angeles Distributed by St. Martin’s Press New York Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Klimo, Jon. Channeling investigations on receiving information from paranormal : sources. Bibliography. Includes index. 1. Spiritualism. 2. Mediums. 3. Extrasensory perception. I. Title. BF1286.K58 1987 133.9' 87-11525 1 ISBN 0-87477-431-4 © Copyright 1987 by Jon Klimo All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing by the publisher. Requests for such permissions should be addressed to: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc. 9110 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90069 Design by Rosa Schuth Manu9fac8tur7ed6in 5the4Uni3te2d St1ates of America 10 First Edition For Jane VanderVeer CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi FOREWORD BY CHARLES TART XIII INTRODUCTION: SETTING THE SCENE 1 What Is Channeling? Exclusions and Inclusions ^ Constructive Skepticism Entities, Planes, States, and Stages A ^ Personal, Subjective Journey Selecting Examples of Contemporary Channeling ONE THE PERSONALITIES 1 CHANNELING AS A MODERN PHENOMENON 27 Jane Roberts and the “Seth” Books The Findhorn Circle A ^ Course in Miracles Z. Knight, Kevin Ryerson, and Jach J. ^ Pursel Messages from “Michael” From Heaven to Earth: the “Returns” Series ^ “Space Brothers” ^ Mark and Eliz- ^ abeth Clare Prophet Ken Carey, Meredith Lady Young, and Pat Rodegast International Channels ^ Others ^ An Inter- ^ view with “Lazaris” Conclusion 2 CHANNELING AS A HISTORICAL PHENOMENON 76 Prehistoric and Primitive Roots ^ Ancient Egypt, China, Japan, and India The Greeks ^ Other Early Cultures ^ The Rise of Monotheism ^ Jesus Christ ^ The Dark Ages to the Mid-Nineteenth Century The Spiritualist Era ^ Entering the Twentieth Century Four Notable Twentieth-Century Channels The Beginning of the Modern Era VIII CONTENTS 3 WHO DOES IT? 129 Correlation with Unhappy Childhood -* Seven Stages in Channeling Development The Channel’s Lot ^ Portraits of Five Contemporary Channels TWO THE MATERIAL 4 WHAT DO THEY SAY? 147 Two Approaches to Judging Channeled Material ^ Ageless Wisdom ^ Guidance and Personal Messages '* “Proof” from Discarnate Human Spirits Descriptions of Life in Non- ^ physical Realms The Future and the Past Subject Matter for Artistic/Creative Expression Scientific/Technological Material, Health, and Healing 5 WHO ARE THEY CHANNELING? 168 The Channel’s Higher Self ^ Gods and God ^ The Universal Mind and the Collective Unconscious-^ Group Beings Jesus Christ and Other Ascended Masters Nonhumans: The An- gelic Realm, Devas, Elementals, Plants, and Animals Human Extraterrestrials Discarnate Spirits 6 HOW DO DO THEY IT? 185 Full Trance Sleep Channeling -* Dream Channeling Light Trance Clairaudient Channeling Clairvoyant Channeling Automatisms (Automatic Writing and the Ouija Board) Open Channeling Physical Channeling THREE POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS 7 PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS 205 Early Twentieth-Century Views Closed Models of the Psyche -* A Freudian View of Channeling -* Jung and the Collective Unconscious Silberer’s Autosymbolism and Pro- ix CONTENTS ^ goff’s Dynatypes Hypnosis, Trance, and Cognitive Psychol- ogy Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry: Normal versus Abnormal ^ Parapsychology and Consciousness Research ^ 8 BIOLOGY AND PHYSICS The Traditional View of the Brain The Holographic Brain The Psychobiology of Transcendence ^ Physics and Para- physics Conclusions A Concluding Metaphor FOUR THE POTENTIAL 9 OPEN CHANNELING 303 Intuition and Creativity ^ The Creative Artist ^ Receiving Spiritual Experience 10 YOUR TURN 320 Discernment ^ Preparing Yourself: Beliefs and Attitudes Raising Vibrations and Cleansing Emotions ^ Working with Your Physical Body Grounding Stilling the Mind and Letting Go of the Ego Setting Intention and Verbal Self- Programming The Use of Mental Imagery Attunement Becoming an Open Channel ^ Some Sample Procedures Warnings -* Conclusion CONCLUSION 340 GLOSSARY 344 NOTES 351 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 365 INDEX 370 I especially owe my dear Jane the deepest acknowledgment for her lov- ing support of me throughout the making of this book. She has con- tinually worked for my productivity and fulfillment, teaching me along the way through the example of her loving and unselfish spirit. I want to thank my mother, who has always believed in me and what I am to do in this lifetime. And I thank my daughter, Elizabeth, for her love. Willis Harman deserves my thanks for suggesting in 1981 that I write down some of my ideas on channeling. A copy of what had I written found its way into the hands of Mineda McCleave in Daven- J. port, Iowa, and I have Mineda to thank for passing it on to John White. My appreciation to John for becoming my agent and matching me up with Jeremy Tarcher as publisher. I have felt John’s support and under- standing throughout. I wish to acknowledge the people who consented to be interviewed by me for this book. Their contributions have been of great value. They include: Ralph B. Allison, Earl Babbie, Margo Chandley, Armand Di- Mele, James Fadiman, Marilyn Ferguson, Philip Goldberg, Jean Houston, Stanley Krippner, “Lazaris,” Robert Masters, Jeffrey Mishlove, Robert Monroe, Tam Mossman, Michael Murphy, Karl F. Pribram, Jach Pursel, Shawn Randall, Pat Rodegast, D. Scott Rogo, Jack Schwarz, Judith Skutch, Huston Smith, Jose Stevens, Hal Stone, Charles Tart, Marcello Truzzi, Frances Vaughan, and Ken Wilber. I am indebted to the various expert readers who have given me much-needed feedback: Ernest Hilgard and Steven Feinberg in hypno- sis; William Tiller and Robert Shacklett in physics; James Brown in brain synchrony and psychophysiology; Justine Owens in cognitive psy- chology and state-specific learning; Matt Erdyie on Freud; and Frank Barr on his melanin model. I especially wish to thank Margo Chandley for her careful reading of the entire manuscript and for her numerous valuable suggestions. I want to acknowledge the help Jonas Bastys and Joshua have provided me with resource materials. Special thanks to Silver for his friendship and for our crystalline coffee conversations. Ernest Pecci has XII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS aided my thinking as well. In addition, many others have helped me throughout the research and writing of this book, and I only wish there were space to list them all. I think they know who they are. They have my gratitude. I wish to thank Connie Zweig, the editor who worked with me for most of this book. She took the obtuse, idiosyncratic poet-philosopher that I was in my writing, and patiently taught me to think and write clearly and succinctly. I wish also to thank Kip Hargrove, John White, and Hank Stine, who came in later as editorial readers to help wrest a final shape and size from the^manuscript. Hank Stine’s enthusiasm and expertise were especially helpful. And finally, I wish to say what an absolute pleasure and extraordinary education has been working it throughout with my publisher, Jeremy Tarcher. No author could ask for wiser, more witty, or more supportive circumstances for writing a book than Jeremy has provided. He is an artist among publishers, and it has been an honor for me to have worked with him.