by jorn endresen

In our country we have come to use the word channeling a great deal, as opposed to medium. There is a lot of glamour around channeling and/or mediumship. It is a very seductive area. It is an area that can be very destructive. It is also an area that can be very constructive.

What I'm asking you to consider is this: When you start to move into the consciousness of the Soul what do we know? There is oneness. One of the hooks that is around things like channeling, mediumship, and that sort of thing, is a lot of glamour. There is the sense that if I can have this coming through me then it is better than just this little personality I call "me." And it can become for many people, a source of great distraction and a form of increased separation. I was talking with someone about 5 or 10 years ago that spent most of their life searching for an entity that would be willing to channel through them. And unfortunately they found one. And what they found, frankly, was one that was not necessarily operating with the highest and greatest level of integrity. Because when we recognize that when you cross to the other side there are many levels of clarity and of ability. And always, what your focus needs to be on is that of your own Soul contact and the whole because otherwise you can get into some big seductive stuff.

The contact between spirit and humankind has always been there. There are a lot of "myths" that carry a grain of truth: that the gods/goddesses walked amongst humankind, and that there was a time in which we walked hand-in-hand. And there is a time to come in which we will again walk in consciousness hand-in-hand. But in the way of things there was a period in which it was necessary and appropriate for a level of separation in terms of conscious recognition on this level of manifestation.

However, the connection between spirit and humans has always still been there. It comes in forms of people who have an intuitive flash of insight. You have all heard stories about a mother who is "pulled" outside just as her child is about to fall into the well. We have senses of times in which we were in great pain, and we are comforted by a presence, by an energy, by a source. We have times in which we have experienced a sense of a knowingness, which goes beyond what seems to be our normal moment-to-moment consciousness. There is not a one of you here that does not have contact with spirit. And remember, spirit is not separate from you. It is an extension of you, or actually you are an extension of it.

There has also been a recognition that there have been forms of which we have seen as separate spirit beings that have sought for centuries to make contact, and have made contact in various forms with humanity. This was valued and while sometimes feared by the masses, people who had an affinity for contact were sought after and often trained. One form of this training in early history was in the form of oracles. What makes an oracle? Besides the fumes coming out from underneath, that put people in a hallucinogenic state. What was it that made an oracle? It was a message from above, it was prophetic. What about the herbologist in the village who could walk through the forest and come across this scraggly little plant there, and know that it could be boiled down and would serve to cure the painful throat? That was a form of spirit communication, in a different way. That was contact with the nature spirits.

So the issue of communication is not a new one. And those people open to forms of communication are not new. The challenge has been not only to be open to communication, but also the level from which that communication has come, and the level of clarity that it would come from. Many oracles were killed, because their prophecies ended up not being true. It was not just the issue of making the contact; it was also the issue of clarity of contact.

Now there is also a recognition of the fear that a lot of these contacts were coming from the left side, from the dark paths, and the fear of obsession, and possession. And that is a reality. That can occur. In most cases it is what is called obsession. Very rarely is there true possession. What is the difference between the two? Obsession is a collaboration where there is a symbiotic connection between you and another energy. Possession is like you are taken over, engulfed.

In my observation, putting aside obsession and possession, the even bigger potentiality is that of our own subconscious content. Or the subconscious content of the so-called channel. How do you know, even if you have this contact, how do you know it's a separate being? Not even getting into the grade of quality. Just the fact that it is separate, that it is not just your ego, coming from some aspect of yourself that you move forward. Is it the aspect of our own desires, whether we see it as a voice, a contact outside of ourselves, or we call it our own Soul contact, or whatever we are dealing with, getting that clarity is a real trick, isn't it?

If indeed you are talking about someone who has the capacity to actually be a medium and in that mediumship has the capacity to have clarity and to bring in a higher level being, a higher level vibratory pattern. It is of critical nature that that person not only has a loose etheric body, which has the capacity to be flexible; to bring that energy in, but also has a strong sense of self. And a fairly highly developed and integrated personality with some Soul contact. Because what happens for a lot of people is that they are by nature psychically sensitive and they get very enthusiastic, often with a sincere desire to serve. Perhaps they do open to other contacts that are maybe not even intentionally trying to hurt them, but just trying to get attention. Because there are a lot of beings that cross over to the other side that are what we call earth-bound beings. In other words they are beings that are very attracted to the earth plane who perhaps don't even know they're dead. And they want a voice, they want an audience. They want an access. And sometimes it's very purposeful. One of the things during World War II, the Spiritualists' mediums, were kept incredibly busy. Because all of these soldiers were dying and their spouses, mothers, brothers and sisters most often never thought they would die. There was a lot of unresolved stuff. Well some of these guys were hanging out waiting for a medium, so that they could get their message across. And Spiritualists trained mediums had a whole flow of these people coming in asking about their departed soldier. And of course some of these soldiers were elbowing, trying to get in to get their message across, and they weren't willing to go on over until they had got their voice across. So there is a certain level of activity, of desire, just on that level. Even this level of contact can be overstimulating and quite draining to someone who has not been trained and is not properly monitored.

Just because someone presents themselves to you and says they are from the other side, first of all does not mean that they are, and secondly does not mean that you embrace them, and thirdly, does not mean that they are what they appear to be. However, what I would also say to you is fear is not an effective tool. It is love because in love is strength. Again I speak here of the love of Spirit, not of this love of sentimentality. Love that is rooted in the contact from the Soul. But it is when you stand in the clarity of this love/wisdom that when you approach any and all you will have the light of truth. In that ray of light, of love, only that which is in alignment with that light will stand before you. That which is not will go back to the shadows. But I would also say to you, the same is true for you. That when you are held in the light of love, do you not often find yourself at least at times, seeking to retreat in the shadows of familiarity?

One of the things that happens is that with a medium is that a being will make contact for the period of time that is needed and then will go. While there may be a vibratory residue that is left with the medium from the contact that is all that it is. The residue ebbs and usually diminishes with time. And for a great period of time for humanity that was all that was appropriate. The type of mediumship that is temporary in nature. Even this temporary contact has an effect on the vehicles of consciousness: etheric/physical, emotional and mental. There has to be a certain ability to be able to withstand the entrance and exit as it were of these particular vibratory patterns that we call these Entities. This puts a tremendous amount of strain on those vehicles, because those vehicles hold a different vibratory pattern by their very nature. Mediumship can be a vehicle by which access is gained by these beings to this plane to impart certain information for a short period of time.

Prior to this form of mediumship in the earlier development of humanity is what is called trance-mediums. And that was where the contact, because their consciousness could not hold the different vibratory pattern in a waking state, would actually go into a trance-like state. The contact would not remember anything of the information afterward. There would be a message that would come through, they would return and they would have no memory of that message.

Now it is said that this aspect of trance-mediumship, while at one time was purposeful is no longer appropriate for humanity. Now we see primarily the type of mediumship that I discussed earlier that is consciousness, though temporary in nature. There is another element that was introduced to humanity, and this is what is called overshadowing. And there were certain Lords of Light, who actually come and overshadow certain initiates. Overshadowing is where an initiate has a very close, ongoing relationship with a being, but it is one in which there still is a separation. Overshadowing allows an inflow of information on an ongoing bases.

There is also another form of mediumship that is making its way into humanity and this is called indwelling. What does indwelling mean? There are those Lords of Light, who have received permission from the hierarchy, to assist humanity in a unique way. This is where there is actually a permanent joining with an initiate. This is usually a result of agreements that were made long ago and lifetimes of preparation. There are very strong karmic implications both for the contact and the being that indwells. There is some indication that indwelling will continue and actually increase. Right now this form of contact is rather limited.