Communicating with Spirit Guides and Channeling

Christina Grof and Stanislav Grof, MD

I do not believe that I could get the equivalent of Seth’s book on my own. This book is Seth’s way of demonstrating that human personality is multidimensional, that we exist in many realities at once, that the soul or inner self is not something apart from us, but the very medium in which we exist…Seth may be as much a creation as this book is. If so, this is an excellent instance of multidimensional art, done at such a rich level of unconsciousness that the “artist” is unaware of her own work and as much intrigued by it as anyone else.

Jane Roberts, Seth Speaks

In nonordinary states of consciousness, one can assume different roles in relation to the various entities and situations encountered in the inner world. It is possible to be an uninvolved observer, to actively participate in the sequences, or to actually identify with various elements of the scenario. However, occasionally one can come into contact with an entity that appears to be entirely separate from and independent of one’s own inner process. He or she offers a personal relationship and continues to play the role of guide, protector, teacher, or superior source of information. In the literature on psychic phenomena, such figures are usually referred to as spirit guides.

In some instances, the subject is able to recognize the nature of these beings; at other times the spirit guides introduce themselves and explain where they come from and what their mission is. They usually appear to be discarnate humans, suprahuman entities, or deities, inhabiting higher planes of consciousness and endowed with extraordinary wisdom. Sometimes they resemble human beings; at other times they look like a radiant source of light. There are also instances where they do not appear in any detectable form but their presence can be sensed. They communicate with their protégés through direct thought transfer or through other extrasensory means. Occasionally, they have human voices and send verbal messages.

A special example of experiences in this category is channeling, a phenomenon that in recent years has become very popular among the American public and has received extensive coverage in the media: an individual becomes a mediator, or channel for messages that come from a source allegedly outside of his or her individual consciousness. These messages are transmitted through speaking in trance, automatic writing or telepathic transfer. The quality of the channeled material varies, and the question of the ultimate source of the information has been the subject of many speculations and conjectures. However, channeling can be a healing and transformative experience for the recipient, and channeled information has often been of value to others as a guide for personal growth and consciousness evolution.

Channeling has played an important role in the history of humanity. Among the channeled spiritual teachings are many scriptures of enormous cultural influence, such as the ancient Indian Vedas, the Koran, and the Book of Mormon. Many passages in the Zoroastrian sacred text Zend Avesta and in the Bible also have their origin in experiences of this kind.

Among the important sources for channeling in the twentieth century is an entity that called himself “the Tibetan”; both Alice Bailey and Madame Blavatsky acknowledged him as the source of their spiritual writings. The Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli credited the same entity as the real author of his psychological system called psychosynthesis.

During his lifetime, C. G. Jung had many transpersonal experiences. Prominent among these was a dramatic episode during which he channeled his famous text Seven Sermons for the Dead; the entity that inspired it introduced himself as the Gnostic Basilides. Jung also had powerful experiences with the spirit guide Philemon and left a painting portraying him. His experiences with this entity convinced him that various aspects of the psyche can assume a completely autonomous function.

One of the most popular contemporary channeled texts is the best selling book A Course in Miracles; it is very highly acclaimed by lay people, as well as by many professionals who use it as a basis for lectures, seminars, and courses. It was channeled by Helen Schucman and dictated by an entity who called himself Christ. Schucman was a traditionally trained psychologist, atheist, and disbeliever in the paranormal, with a solid university position and good professional credentials. When she started hearing an inner voice mediating information that was entirely new to her, she went into a state of profound conceptual confusion, with doubts about her sanity.

The main reason such experiences trigger a serious crisis is that Western society traditionally has only ridicule and pathological labels for phenomena of this kind. However, it is not easy for channelers to completely ignore and discard their experiences in view of the extraordinary nature and quality of the information that con be received. For instance, on occasion channeling can bring absolutely accurate data from the areas of knowledge that the recipient has never been exposed to. This seeming proof of the existence of spiritual realities can lead to serious philosophical confusion for those who had previously held a very different belief system.

In some instances, the experience of channeling can be intense and intrusive and may seriously interfere with everyday life. Another problem is the danger of ego inflation in the channeler. The spirit guides are usually perceived as very advanced and evolved beings; they appear to be on a high level of consciousness and have superior intelligence and extraordinary moral integrity. The channelers might interpret their having been chosen as proof of their own superiority.

Stanislav Grof, M.D., is a psychiatrist with fifty years of experience in consciousness research. He was Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, MD, and Scholar-in-Residence at Esalen. He teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies and at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, and conducts training and lectures worldwide. He is one of the founders of transpersonal psychology and the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association. Among his books are; The Adventure of Self-Discovery, Beyond the Brain, LSD Psychotherapy, The Cosmic Game, Psychology of the Future, Beyond Defeat, The Stormy Search for the Self (the last two with Christina Grof).