I would like to continue a thought I put somewhere in these message boards regarding channeling.

This regards people who present themselves to other people as having a hotline to God.

Often these sorts of people do not come out and overtly say they have a "hotline to God." But they conveniently imply that they do, and to young inexperienced and naive people, it is similar to being a baby, and thinking one's parents are "God."

Whatever the parent does or says, to the infant, it might as well be "God" saying or doing it. Only later do children catch on that their parents aren't all perfect.

Just the same, it is only later that grown people sometimes find out that other people who imply they have "hotlines to God" --- are, on the contrary, far from perfect.

I can remember once when I was trying to get through grief --- one of these types approached me with a comment that was supposed to be straight from God himself, and which was supposed to "fix" me.

I won't go into trying to explain this any further, but I will say this: at the time this occurred I was very confused, and this "hotline to God" person only confused me further. Nothing can magically "fix" a person going through grief. I imagine she thought that her supposedly miraculous comment was going to "fix" me. I can say right here it accomplished the opposite. It just confused me further, and if anything just stalled me further from moving on in life.

Sorry I can't say more on this but it just gets beyonds words, and anything that is easy to explain.

Hi, I think that there is an important distinction to be drawn here.

Channellers don't often to my knowledge approach individuals in this manner, although I could be wrong, this seems more like the evangelical christian phenomenon of prophesying, or 'getting the word'.

Chanellers as a type are generally egotists who wish to appear much more important than they actually are, obviously, by appearing more 'blessed' or closer to god than us mere mortals they can achieve this needed ego inflation. This is, of course a general comment and based upon mine own experience.

I do not doubt myself that somewhere out there there are true channellers who are doing exactly what they claim to, but it is like looking for a needle in a haystack attempting to find them by wading through all the crap that is produced by all the disillusioned. Most channelled material I think is well intentioned, generally applicable and channelled unfortunately from nowhere more spectacular than the individuals subconscious.

A good rule of thumb I think is that true channellers keep a very low profile and would not abuse whatever trust their ability may impose upon them as regards other people.

One of the best things I've ever read about evaluating channeling was in a book written by Robert Perala (I believe he has a website, but I'm not sure what it is).

I never did have the time to read his whole book so I don't even know if I entirely "agree" with everything in it --- but one thing he said in it was that he found in his own life experiences that SOMETIMES channelers can have important information (which was of great help to him and saved him a lot of trouble from making a bad risky decision once).

As for myself, the few times I have ever heard a "channeler," they have not said much of anything which was any help to me. Also I TEND to have my own way of getting my own guidance in life on things, which is to simply pray (about whatever the question is), and then more or less forget about it and wait for an answer to come, however it comes. I have seen people before who, looking back, I think got into a sort of "danger area" in which they expected "answers" to come only in one certain form --- whether it be dreams, or voices in their heads (about the most dangerous, in my opinion!), etc.

Anyway BACK TO WHAT I ORIGINALLY WAS TRYING TO SAY ABOUT WHAT ROBERT PERALA SAID:

Robert Perala said (not verbatim) that when we hear people do this hotline to God stuff, like channel, we do well to remember that the entities they "channel" have some agenda --- whether it be "good" or "bad" --- and he added that some of these "agendas" might not be entirely "bad" --- and yet that does not mean they have our best interests at heart.

It has helped me to realize this principle when I think about a lot of things in life.

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inspector 8
Robert Perala said (not verbatim) that when we hear people do this hotline to God stuff, like channel, we do well to remember that the entities they "channel" have some agenda --- whether it be "good" or "bad" --- and he added that some of these "agendas" might not be entirely "bad" --- and yet that does not mean they have our best interests at heart.

Nor does it mean that they know what they're talking about. I don't know where the idea started that just because someone died they instantly become wise, good, etc. Even without an agenda, they may be just showing off.

When I was in the Moonies, people often said "Spirit World told me..." as if that clinched the argument. And I asked them: [b:826577fa45]Who[/b:826577fa45] in Spirit World? There's a lot of people there, some smart, some stupid, some good, some bad, some clueless, some with an agenda you don't know about. It's like saying "Someone on earth told me..."

Very good point. Thanks!

I've noticed "channeling" has become a way some people use to manipulate people in some groups. It's that "special knowledge" thing: it comes from "Higher Beings" supposedly, so carries more weight.

I just recently left a group whose members tend to use "channelled wisdom" "Intuitive Knowing" and "Secret Doctrines of the Enlightened Ones" to quite literally abuse or coerce others, so my view of this is pretty dark right now. I guess any time you can give your biases or agenda the apparent approval of God or some "higher" source, it's human nature to abuse that.

Random Factor

I agree with your points on the ego inflation of the leaders of these groups. What group have you left? This one takes the cake though. [www.higherforces.info]. Their channeler, Tom Ringrose is channeling aliens that interpret the Bible and comment on the on going conspiracy and so called world government that dominates the common folk. This kind of paranoia also seems universal in these groups. Does anyone have any insight into this group, Higherforces.info or the Gathering in Schuyler, VA.?

Also this group has been around for 30 years with such nonsense. It is really interesting that people can be soooo gullible.

I'm afraid I don't have specific information on this group, but the rhetoric is terribly familiar.

The group I was part of is actually a profession, massage therapy. But since the "spiritual truths" of this group (a collection of Oriental doctrines and European occult dogma) are on a civil test now, all kinds of cults and emergent religions and fanatics are crawling out of the woodwork to back this test. Specific spiritual doctrines can be enforced by civil law, and everyone from New Age channelers to the Far Christian Right are celebrating this "new spiritual future" for America.

I've backed off. It is simply too dangerous to contintinue questioning or trying to stop. God is in control (whatever God is decided by civil statute to be the "True" God) and my job is simply to believe and support God's will, whatever that will is.

It is a horrible mess.


Rand

One might look at it this way,

First of all, to the best of my knowledge, no one channels anyone who is currently alive. I mean could you imagine if somebody started claiming that they were channeling President Bush, or, Michael Jackson??

Could be it happens one day but not as far as I know.

The majority of these "entities" are either deceased, "ascended masters" (they still left the planet), or, alien beings from someplace out in the universe.

So, let's say for a moment that one does entertain the idea that this might just be so.

How would one know that the "being" they were hearing, seeing, whatever was really who they said they were??

I mean if you really want to consider the possibility, perhaps only the used car salesman and snake-oil salesmen get to come back to give it another try......

What criteria would one have to discern with???
Think about it.