Dear Julia:

I've noted that you refer to yourself as a psychic medium instead of a channeler. A friend of mine goes to a "psychic channeler." Are psychics, mediums and channelers the same thing? If they're not, then what exactly is a channeler?
- Audrey

Dear Audrey:

The words we choose to label things often carry strong connotations. For example, whether someone is a "spiritual counselor," "Spiritualist minister," "psychic" or "fortune teller" will greatly influence our expectations of them based on our past exposure to those terms. Many of these terms are used interchangeably, so it's possible that someone who labels herself a psychic/medium is doing basically the same thing as someone else who labels herself a "channel."

In general, however, it's understood that a psychic is someone who can tap into information about the past, present or future that can't be perceived with the five physical senses; a medium is someone who can perceive and relay messages from departed loved ones in Spirit; and a channel is someone who is able to connect with metaphysical entities who are of a higher spiritual nature.

The level of spiritual development of the individual will largely determine the form of his or her abilities. As we first begin to awaken spiritually, we may naturally experience things we might label "psychic." We may "know" who is calling on the phone, sense when someone is lying, or have a feeling when someone is in trouble. At first, these experiences are generally unbidden, but in time, we can learn how to induce them purposefully.

Usually when we gain the ability to communicate with the spirits of people who have departed this world, we have already been psychic for some time, either in this life or a prior life. There are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part, as we grow more and more sensitive, we experience a natural progression from psychic to medium. Just as with initial psychic experiences, early spirit communication experiences are usually spontaneous, and it is only as we work with these abilities that we may gain the power to use them purposefully.

As we evolve further, we may become able to consciously access spiritual guidance of a higher order. Channelers generally consider themselves to be communicating with spiritual beings of an enlightened nature such as angels, ascended masters, spiritual teachers and even "God."

While most channels these days mentally "hear" these entities and then relay their messages, in "trance channeling," the entity takes over the physical body in order to speak through it. In such cases, the voice that comes through is often different from the channeler's normal voice, and the channel may lose consciousness completely and have no recollection of what transpired while they were "out."

While all of this probably sounds wonderfully exotic, in essence, each of us "channels" every day. We are surrounded by non-physical entities and energies, and are in constant psychic communication with them and other living beings as well. Most of this happens on a subconscious level, so when we first become aware of this psychic communication, we may assume this is a new thing happening to us. At this point, any contact with a being of a vibration lower than ours will tend to scare us and we may label it evil, and any being coming from a vibration higher than ours will tend to awe us, and we may assume it is divine or god-like.

This is where channeling becomes tricky. We all know that we should "test the spirits" that come through mediums, but the same holds true with channeling. This is a simpler matter when we are communicating with departed relatives, however, because we can ask for names and other details that can be recognized by their loved ones here on Earth. By contrast, channeled material is far more general and impersonal. Since the entity coming through is most likely unknown to us and the information relayed can't be checked against any objective source, there is a tendency to blindly accept whatever comes through as the gospel truth.

It's thus important to understand that there are more entities on the other side who would love to share their view of "life" with us than there are people living on Earth who would be happy to have us listen to all their ideas and opinions. Imagine stepping onto a crowded subway train in a big city and calling out, "Would anyone like to tell me your opinion on this or that controversial subject?" As you might imagine, many of the individuals who would step forward would have big egos with insatiable appetites for attention.

This is like opening up to anyone in Spirit who is willing to help us, and it explains why so much "channeled" material seems to run on and on like people who love to hear themselves talk. These entities may be well-meaning and their messages may ring true, but that doesn't mean they can tell us anything we don't already know.

Sometimes, however, these entities not only sound wise, they can tell us some of the events about to unfold in the future. When that happens, we may assume that all they say is right and valuable. Just because a spirit is viewing things from a higher perspective than we can does not mean that they are any smarter or wiser than we are - they simply have a better vantage at the moment.

I'm also skeptical of channeled entities with big personas. The more an entity tries to impress us with its exalted nature, the more likely it is that we are dealing with a big ego on the part of either the entity, the channeler, or both.

Mediums are trained to refrain from too much interpreting - our job is to learn how to tune in and then just relay what we perceive whether it makes sense to us or not. With channeling, however, the message is expected to be whole and clear, which means the channel's beliefs and expectations will play a much larger role. As soon as a channel perceives the presence of a spiritual entity, her brain will immediately begin to try to label and make sense of the impressions it's receiving. This means that different people could be in contact with the same spiritual entity, and one might say he is talking "God," another to an alien, another to an angel, another to her higher self, and yet another to an earthbound entity.

Also, channeled material pretty much presents the same teachings over and over again: we are the divine creators of our own realities; the physical world is just an illusion; the earth is like a classroom where we are all learning and evolving; love is the highest force in the Universe; the only thing to fear is fear itself; God is not some wise man in the clouds, but rather "All That Is"; since God is All, there is no one right religious path, etc. (If you think about it, it's comforting and validating to know that all these higher spiritual entities agree.)

I don't want to sound like I'm knocking channeling, for that is not at all the case. In fact, these core truths are often profound revelations to the newly spiritually awakened, and for the rest of us, they can be great reminders of what's really important. Humankind has received a lot of insight and inspiration from channeled material; from the Vedas to the Old Testament to a Course in Miracles, most religious paths have at least some channeled material at their foundation, and by studying these teachings, we elevate our souls.

As with everything you encounter in life, it's simply important to question it and take the best from it while leaving the rest. Please also remember that there is no truth that is more valid or valuable than the truth you find in your own heart, for each one of us has a built-in, direct line to God within us.

- Julia