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About Channeling
Part A - Bill
On a Seth discussion list someone once wrote:
I would caution you, too, in using automatic writing. You might want to refer to what other people have written about using automatic writing and ouija boards.
Bill responded:
No offense, but I believe caution should be thrown to the wind when experimenting with these things, unless, owing to some inner sense, it just doesn't feel right to you.
And, in the spirit of the present moment, I would not review what anyone else has written—why prejudice yourself with someone else's beliefs?
But if you wish to be prejudiced, here are some of my beliefs, based on experiences with many other Seth readers and a variety of boards of all kinds of materials and pointers, from the Parker Bros. plastic variety to a good sized antique wooden board, to boards made from letters taped to the underside of big glass coffeetables and so on. (Pointers have varied from wooden/ plastic "planchettes" to silver dollars and even a sort of custom hockey puck-like thing designed for a single "operator."):
- What happens when you sit down with someone at a board is a mixture of the beliefs and "energies" of those present, particularly the beliefs of the "operators" in their ability to work this particular form of magic (but not if the "energy" is especially powerful, say at a gathering of aspects of riotous old souls—in that case, you're likely in for a strange time, no matter what anyone believes. Heaven help you!).
- In some cases, this "energy" may enable the "reconnection" of all kinds of inner affiliations and resonances, as when you do this with the aspect of an old familiar soul you haven't encountered since ancient times. Such things as "crown chakra expansions" and inner visions may also show up, if you are open to them. This is all a function of what you believe and what you can open up to, and whether or not you can believe that you can be really good at this stuff, something which of course requires an open mind. Nothing kills this kind of thing faster than a supremely skeptical or rational mind. Too much of the narrow mindedness we call "skepticism" creates the equivalent of a "mental force field" beyond which few can penetrate.
- Alternatively, if you believe in "bad" or "malignant" spirits, this too can be experienced. A group encountering this kind of experience can surmount it, though, by getting into the moment and directing their thought/feeling into a more expansive area in which the nasty spook becomes merely the leftover anger/resentment/fear, etc., of an unsettled worldview, and nothing to be afraid of.
Just as Rob and Jane persisted beyond using a board (which becomes for some sort of a prop—something with which to occupy the conscious mind and supply a "rational" explanation for what's happening) into Jane's Jane/Seth channelling, most Sethian ouija-boarders I've known have quickly progressed into what's usually called "autotyping," wherein you sit at your computer keyboard in a slightly dissociated condition and have at it.
Many people have tried this in CyberSethia under a great variety of circumstances, including right in the middle of real-time ICQ sessions involving groups doing channelled "energy exercises" or completely spontaneous creations. The results over the years—tons and tons and tons of it across a number of mailing lists—are actually quite spectacular after the chaff has been removed from the wheat.
A group meeting at a Main Coordination Point to feel and explore those energies (doing things like renting rowboats and floating in the little lake in Central Park, meditating and "tuning in") is another way to create rampant inner psychic energies very conducive to powerful "autotypings." (See http://www1.shore.net/~billi/gcpe/george1.htm for an early and excellent example of this.)
But such outpourings are officially proscribed on this particular list (editor's note: not the Pulse list), as some believe they might interfere with the focus on the Jane/Seth writings. (At the time of this writing, the list was only allowing posts from the published books by Jane Roberts.)
However, I've discovered a great way to get around this!
Instead of autotyping, I recommend semiautomatic typing—semiautotyping, if you will.
Instead of clear utterances from great reaches of your psyche or massive beings halfway to ATI Itself, you merely reach into your own soul as you compose a post.
This doesn't require a deeply dissociated trance state from which it may be difficult to return to your usual condition (although I don't recommend getting into a car and trying to drive somewhere afterwards if you should feel particularly "spacey").
Further, this is more a condition of "gently expanded ego" than some exalted place wherein you see visions of hundreds of aspects, or pass through untold inner dimensions, or even hear the sounds of celestial spheres, although all of this is possible, too, if you wish it (but be careful when posting any of this stuff—you'll be giving yourself away).
You sign the thing with your own name before hitting the send button, instead of "Entity Galacticus," "Energy Essence Germanicus," "Phylo from Cassiopeia," "Pharoah So & So," or whomever, so that no one reading it is the wiser—most will assume you are a little bit on the whacko side (not unusual for Seth readers, afterall) and that the post you have sent is fairly typical of your slightly deranged mind.
You can get better and better at this little deception with practice, too, while incorporating this expansive style into your more everyday writings, or things you may put on websites—no one will know the difference, or if they notice it, simply ascribe it to a new style of creative writing you are temporarily adopting. (If you happen to be tuning in a lot to, say, a deceased British writer from the last century, this can get a bit odd, however, as you unconsciously begin to adopt certain words and phrases he once used; worse still would be the results if you spend too much of your meditational time plugged into the courts of Ancient Egypt, Atlantis, or some other time/place far removed from this moment in linear time—in that case, I wouldn't recommend posting your stuff here, as the flavor of this will also likely give you away.)
To try semiautotyping, simply sit at your keyboard, take some long, slow, deep breaths, relax your body and quiet your mind. Then let your fingers do the talking. (In fully automatic mode, requiring a deeper sort of dissociation, the results can get very interesting with practice, once you've gotten past the early gibberish stage—if there is one. This requires simply developing some confidence in what you're doing.) The semi-automatic mode—more suitable for this list, as mentioned, requires more of a conscious focus on what you're doing—you need to consciously stay tuned to what you're trying to say.
But whatever you do, do not under any circumstances gather with like-minded folks while attempting these activities! Do not sit in meditation together or engage in some silly activity like "aumming" or some other "group harmonic/vibration raising" thing—this may cause "psychically catalytic" reactions which could propel the entire group into unusual and powerful inner places, and could be entirely too unsettling for those present!!! There is fun, and then there is FUN! (As we all know, having too much fun interferes with our very important spiritual development.)
Back to semi-autotyping:
Give it a try! Your body and mind will only be taken over by some fiend from Hell if you believe such things will happen. (In fact, if this is what you believe, never mind—don't bother—let someone else try.)
I agree with Bill. There is NO danger. (Some people deliberately invite drama, but that is something entirely different. It is no more dangerous than daydreaming.) I have never been able to use the Ouija board—it just seems too clumsy and slow to me. I call what I do "autotyping", but it really isn't. I am not in a deep trance when I channel. My state of mind is much like idle daydreaming, except that I maintain a focus. All of the channelers I know (some of whom are very good) are "conscious channelers." None go into a "deep trance."
Everybody has a little different technique, but there are a lot of similarities. If you'd like to try it, here are some suggestions.
For the first few times, you will probably want to be in a quiet place. Later on, it doesn't matter. Sit at the keyboard and relax. Use whatever method you like - deep breaths, visualization, counting breaths, etc. Let your mind wander. Daydream. Then, when you are relaxed, ask for your "guide" or "higher self" or whatever name appeals to you. Ask a question, and write it down. Then simply write down what you THINK your guide would answer if there were one and if he/she were talking to you. That's all there is to it. When I started, most of my conversations were about 20 minutes long, and I did it every day for several months. Some people do more, some less. There are no rules.
Now the FAPaQ (Frequent Anguished Protests and Questions):
Q: But this is all my imagination. I'm just making it all up.
A: Of course you are. Your imagination is the tool you use to contact your guide. Your mistake is thinking that "imagination" and "real" are different concepts.
Q: But this is all just a pastiche of all the channeling I've ever read. There's nothing new here.
A: This is somewhat tricky. Your guide does not use words. You receive concepts, and YOU translate them into words. Quite naturally, especially at first, you will try to make these match concepts that you are already familiar with, and will miss the more subtle differences. Even so, you may be surprised. I went back to my early channelings some months later and realized that there were things there that I had never read and that really didn't sound like anything I might have thought of. I completely missed them at the time I channeled them.
Q: Ok, but it's just my voice in my head. It sounds just exactly like it always does. I don't hear any other voice at all.
A: No, probably not. The reason is that this voice HAS always been with you. What you are doing now is becoming AWARE of it. You are bringing it into focus, out of the general background chatter that always runs through your mind. I still don't "hear" it as a separate voice, but it "says" things that are not mine.
Q: But if it is always there, why bother to channel?
A: The important thing is to write it down, and then look at it again later. It is very easy to forget and discount, and just let this be buried in the normal background noise. What you are really doing is learning to pay attention to something that you have been ignoring. You may find it valuable.
Q: I asked it who or what it was, and I didn't get anything. I can't get a name or identity or anything.
A: You will. You are still tentative and not ready to accept it. The name isn't really important, but it makes US feel more comfortable. Some names are quite ordinary, some are quite strange - it doesn't matter at all. The name is just a symbol for you to use to direct your attention. One person I know asked, "Is somebody there? Anyone?", and then channeled "Anyone" very successfully.
Q: Ok, I've got several pages of stuff that I think I've channeled. Some of it looks interesting. Is there somebody who would look at it and offer advice? Is there somebody that can help me if I get confused?
A: Yes! This list [at the time] (editor's note: not the Pulse list) specifically prohibits any channeled material except from Seth. There are other lists which would be suitable. The famous cybernaut Bill I. runs a list devoted to a particular topic, but they are very supportive of beginning channelers. There is also a list called Conscious Creation. You can find the list here: http://www.consciouscreation.com/ccemaillists.htm
This list also encourages channeled material, and there are some samples in the CC Journal at http://www.consciouscreation.com/journal
Q: This all seems like a lot of work. Why should I bother?
A: Most people won't. Anybody CAN channel, but very few actually try it seriously. A few of those who do decide it's a waste of time, but in my experience, it's more usual to find it to be great fun.
One last comment. There are some books on channeling available. In my personal opinion, the best of them is "Opening to Channel" by Roman and Packer. Their home page is: http://www.orindaben.com/Home/home.htm
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