1 - All About Channelling And Guides

I am dwelling in a form
which to you would appear
perhaps as simply a shimmer,
as a movement within the air.

(Ortan)

What Is Channelling?

Channelling is the means by which you can make a direct connection with a non-physical or discarnate being called a guide (see p. 10). It is a process of consciously connecting with entities who exist on other planes of reality, and those who do so are known as channels. Throughout the history of humanity people have channelled various types of entities.

I prefer to distinguish channelling from the work of mediums. Mediums work with dead people - entities that have been in existence as human beings and have now passed on. The focus for mediums is to prove the existence of life after death, but the focus for channels is less narrow. The work of mediums is, however, extremely valuable, as it is important to realize that there is an existence after death, and their work is complementary to that of channels.

Channelling involves deliberately shifting your awareness to achieve an expanded state of consciousness. You have to learn to concentrate and to get your own thoughts out of the way so that you can become receptive to your higher guidance.

The ancient Egyptians, for example, channelled the 'God' energy, while in ancient Greece the Delphic Oracle was frequently consulted. Even in the Bible, Old Testament prophets channelled energies which they identified as 'God'. Madame Blavatsky, the founder of theosophy, channelled a series of masters and as a result wrote Isis Unveiled, a classic work about ancient religions and their revival. Alice Bailey, inspired by her Tibetan master, set up the Arcane School.

Probably one of the best-known recent channels is Edgar Cayce, who would sink into a state of hypnosis in which he would provide astonishingly accurate readings for his clients. Jane Roberts and her guide Seth brought through huge amounts of information in their books. Finally, Sanaya Roman is a gifted channel who has helped thousands on to their path of growth and personal development.

Some people hear clear words from their guides; others see pictures which they describe; and still others just get a sense of what the guide is trying to convey. As you do more and more channelling the guides help to develop this gift of connecting.

Guides exist outside of space and time, and as a result they are able to be with you at any time you wish. They do not have physical bodies, although they may well once have done on either this or another planet. However, such guides were frequently teachers even when they were physical and since their passing over they have continued to develop spiritually.

A Gateway Into Love

The higher realms where the guides exist are full of love (see Chapter 2 for a discussion of levels and dimensions). Your guide's aim is to make you more powerful, more independent and more confident. Your guide is full of love, compassion and understanding for you. Your guide knows that you have a higher purpose, which represents the real heart of your reason for choosing to be born at this time and in these circumstances. I believe that, before birth, each of us is encoded by our soul with a 'mission - our higher purpose for this lifetime. We consciously choose this with our soul's guidance.

A Clearer Viewpoint

When you channel it is like climbing to the top of a mountain. You will discover more about yourself and others and see your life from a higher, broader perspective, which helps you to discover the deeper meaning of situations in which you find yourself.

A Means Of Self-Help

As a channel you can learn to do things effortlessly if you choose. But you will still struggle if you choose that. This does not mean that everything will come to you, and that you can just relax and do nothing. What it does mean is that you can gain a greater sense of what you want to create and will be able to find easier ways to bring it about. Channelling won't solve all your problems - it will only change you in the ways you want to change. You are the one who takes action and you are still responsible for your own life, but working with a high-level guide does accelerate your growth opportunities and your learning curve. Channelling a guide will help you to see yourself and others with greater compassion and objectivity and less judgement.

The Purpose Of Channelling

When you decide to open to channelling your guide, what you are doing is bringing the guide's energy down to the physical plane which you inhabit. Guides have no physical form, but you do - you are the receiver of their energy and you are the transformer of their energy. You transform their energy impulses into words that can be understood by other people, or you may transform the energy into music or painting, or you may choose to channel healing frequencies for the assistance of others.

Spiritual work is about bringing the frequencies of spiritual realms into our everyday reality, grounding those frequencies so that they can be perceived by other people. Channelling is just a form of that - grounding in the energy of your guide and the things that your guide wants to share with you, and through you with other people.

In short, when you learn to channel you are creating many opportunities for personal growth and development, as well as for service to humanity. Channelling will obviously result in different changes for different people, but typically people who channel become more self-confident, happier, clearer about their path and their choices, less selfish, less stressed over life's problems, calmer, more loving and psychologically much stronger. One of my students told me that she and her guide have developed a marvellous way of bringing healing for her physical body: she channels this energy into her body and within minutes she can begin to shake off health problems such as colds and viruses.

How Can You Tell If You Are Ready To Channel?

Good channels are those who enjoy thinking for themselves. They are often on a path of service to others, such as healing; they are also independent, open-minded, self-confident, sensitive and in touch with their feelings. They are people who enjoy learning and who are open to new skills, ideas and knowledge. The qualities that guides seem to value are dedication, enthusiasm and the willingness to be a channel. You need to have a willingness to make your life work at every level, and to attract a high-level guide it helps if you have spiritual interests, a desire to help others and a concern for their well-being. Channelling always seems to help others in some way.

A common fear amongst people who want to channel is that they will be the one who can't do it. They are very concerned that they aren't ready, they aren't worthy and so on. So how do you know that you are ready to channel? Everyone who completes the channelling courses we teach does actually channel during the class. They may not be destined to be verbal channels, but they all make a good, strong connection with their guide so that after the class they can develop the relationship to support them.

I firmly believe that people are only drawn to the courses we teach when they are ready to use the material. Ultimately only you can know if you are ready to channel. But even when you are ready, you may still feel very anxious about whether you really can do it. This anxiety is really just a reflection of the excitement you are feeling deep down at the possibility that you can be a genuine channel. Fear is merely one end of a continuum, and excitement the other.

Other Fears About Channelling

At the School of the Living Light we have taught many people to channel and there are some fears that come up frequently. One is that channelling will turn you into a space cadet, out of touch with reality. In fact it seems to have the opposite effect - people often report that they feel more grounded, centred and better able to deal effectively with their daily lives. Your guide can be of great assistance at a day-to-day level.

Another fear is that you will be taken over, as I mentioned earlier. But channelling does not entail a surrender of control. One respondent in our recent research with channels said of her guide, 'Light Angel is always close but does not intrude in my life unless I ask for help and assistance.

Light Angel does not make decisions for me but helps me look at things in an even and fair way.' You are likely to find that your sense of self is greatly enhanced, as if contact with the Other creates a greater awareness of your own identity. You may find that it becomes easier to set limits and to define your personal boundaries.

Yet another fear is that you will become vulnerable to lower entities. Actually you can recognize these lower entities by their negativity. Once you have a good connection with a high-level guide, this guide will protect you whether or not you are channelling.

What Are Guides?

I have already mentioned guides in various contexts, but a clear explanation will be helpful at this stage. In brief, guides are beings who have chosen to work with us at this time to enable us to access high-level information to assist in our growth. Guides connect with us at a high level called the soul level. The information they bring is then transmitted into our physical brain as pulses of energy.

Encouragement Rather Than Control

High-level guides encourage you to rely on your inner guidance even over their guidance; they never try to take over or to control you. In fact the situation is quite the opposite: guides encourage you to grow and support you in what you choose to do. Ortan always reminds me that it is a law of the universe that you have to ask. What he means by this is that you have to choose to ask for help in whatever it is you are doing.

Guides have far too much respect for us to intervene without being asked. They see that we must learn the lessons that our soul chose for us in this lifetime; if we want to do this alone, so be it. But you don't have to do it alone ever again when you have chosen to channel your guide. All you need to do is ask for help. The guides will do all they can from their side to offer the highest lessons and the highest experiences you can have.

Connecting With Your Guide

Often guides begin to connect with you in your dreams. A very common experience is waking in the night and not knowing why. Ortan explains that the veils between the realms are very thin at night, especially between about three and four in the morning, so this is the time when people have vivid dreams of guides or are awoken by their guide trying to contact them. You may find that you are becoming interested in channelling, going for readings, attending talks on channelling, meeting channels or reading books on the subject.

You may be very interested in your spiritual path and keen to know more about your work and higher purpose in this lifetime. You may feel you are looking for something but are unsure of what it will be, or you may feel ready to have a more open connection to the higher realms.

If you do ask for a guide to assist you, one will begin to work with you. In your meditations ask for a guide to begin working with you. Sometimes during meditation you get guidance that seems to be of a higher wisdom than your own. As your connection with your guide strengthens and deepens you may think more often about channelling a guide, and although you may have doubts and questions about channelling you will feel that you want to know more.

Different types of guide

Although people talk of guides in general there are different types and each has a different purpose. The guide aligns with the purpose of the person who is doing the channelling. In this chapter I would like to share with you material that my guide Ortan has asked be included, specifically about myself as a channel, the types of guides and the names of guides.

This book was written because Ortan started to bring through information about a book on channelling. On 10 August 1995 he suggested that: 'The book could discuss the guides, their nature, the types of guides, the types of people perhaps who connect in to channel and what happens afterwards of course. This is of interest and also to tell people how these guides, we guides will assist them in the changes to come, to tell them that there is nothing to fear in these changes.' Ortan also envisaged the book being accompanied by meditation tapes. We have since made these with his assistance, and information on how to obtain them can be found on p. 158.

Ortan wants humanity to understand that there are major changes going on at this time, changes that are resulting in a huge surge of interest in channelling, in meditation, in spiritual development generally. Ortan is very keen for us to know that there is nothing to fear, that although the changes may be great we will be safe and protected. The key to an easy transition in this time is to dedicate yourself to realizing your own potential as a spiritual being who has chosen to take a human body at this time. It is of fundamental importance that all of us who are now awakening focus on understanding ourselves as spiritual beings, and that we start to open more and more to higher guidance and higher wisdom through channelling.

Guides To Help Our Awakening

Many souls are now awakening and remembering. These souls need help to reach the path of light and initiation, and this is where the guides and channels come in. They are here to help us in the very important process of transformation into beings who know what they are and why they are here. I believe that this awakening process is cumulative: as more and more people awaken to higher realities, they make it easier for others to follow. My own experience with guides has been that they are always available, very loving, and often have a deep sense of compassion and service to humanity. Some have had earth lives and others have not. In a sense this is of no importance: those who did have earth lives have long since evolved beyond the need to keep incarnating. See p. 124 for Ortan's words on the effects of channelling.

Guides can be experienced, as I have mentioned, in a whole range of ways. Some people see their guides: they have a strong visual sense of the guide as a being. Often these seem to be the guides who did incarnate, and the form that is perceived by the channel is a reflection of that last incarnation. For example, there seems to be a considerable number of Native American guides working with humanity at present. I have channelled for people with such guides and had very strong visual impressions of their energy and that of their animals - many of them work directly with animal energies. In the Native American tradition, many teachers worked directly with animal spirits. Indeed, sometimes the initiate seemed actually to 'become' the animal.

Other guides are just felt as they join their channel. It may be a sensation as subtle as a deepening of their breathing, a gentle tingling around the top of the head, a shift in posture or an emotional response like intense happiness or deep love.

My Own Guides Explain

I have two guides working with me at present. Ortan, who has worked with me since the death of my great friend and spiritual teacher, and Shalaya who joined me later in 1994. Both have given me information about themselves which may help you to understand how guides themselves view guides.

Ortan explains that he has no physical form at all, and cannot be seen or heard with the normal sensing mechanisms of ears or eyes: 'I am dwelling in a form which to you would appear perhaps as simply a shimmer, as a movement within the air.' He goes on to explain that in his dimension, which he describes as a place of light, all are in service to the divine. The beings there have some sort of a community, working together and communicating with each other - they are all connected energetically to make one consciousness. Many of these beings have evolved from incarnations on the earth and other planets.

In this dimension some of the entities have pledged to assist humanity in awakening to their spiritual potential and in starting on a path of growth. He stresses that in his dimension there is a constant awareness of love, of light and of service. He further explains that in this dimension simply dunking of something creates it immediately.

From the perspective of guides all entities, including us humans, are part of the oneness - Ortan sees us as divine sparks of energy, each with a unique role to play in the evolution of the universe. He reminds us that we all come from the divine source and in time we will all return to it. Furthermore, the main experience of the divine is love and light - the vibrations that are always present in the guide's dimension of reality.

Ortan explains that you could visualize reaching the guides dimension as going through many layers or planes, each of which is energetically different. This is just like the experience of death, where souls pass first to the astral plane and then onwards and upwards. At death, of course, we are assisted by some of the souls already on the other side: they help to lift us to the level that is appropriate for us.

When I begin to channel Ortan I first feel a sense of his love, and then as he moves in to share energy with me there is a slight shift in my body, as if I have just rocked very slightly forwards. Once we have merged I feel tremendously expanded, loving, patient and tranquil. As I channel I just move out of the way and let Ortan do the talking. I don't hear him - I just find that I can start talking and he is doing that talking. I don't need to think about it or monitor it at all. It is as if I am in a state of meditation. Although I can hear what is going on if I choose to, I rarely take that option.

Shalaya's energy is completely different from that of Ortan. I can only describe it as feeling 'larger' than Ortan's and more intense. His voice is a little deeper than Ortan's and he tends to talk a little more slowly. When I channel Shalaya I feel the love and expansion just as I do with Ortan, but Ortan has a sense of humour and fun that is not really present in my experience of Shalaya, who feels much more focused.

People who are present when Shalaya is channelled report that there is a very different sensation for them too - they say Ortan is more 'grounded', more interested in mundane, earthly matters, than Shalaya. Shalaya's energy is quite difficult to hold, as he seems more 'alien than Ortan in a sense.

Unlike Ortan, Shalaya has no interest in subjects such as physical health - he doesn't work with me for channelled readings as Ortan does, but only joins me when I am teaching advanced students. He describes himself as a focus of vibration; he says he is a being of light and vibration, with no form and no physical existence. From Shalaya's perspective the world of matter is a tricky place - he has great sympathy with us and the suffering that we experience in the human form. He explains that he is not bounded by space, time, matter or any other aspects of a physical environment; in fact he has told me that he does not have independent existence in the way that we have. Although he is an identifiable energy, his type of beings just project their consciousness out across time and space in order to communicate with us.

When asked about his name, Shalaya just said that this is of no importance - the word 'Shalaya' represents his frequency, but he is neither male nor female. But I always refer to Shalaya as 'he', since 'it' somehow doesn't feel right in our language.

Personal Guides

Everyone has a personal guide. This is why everyone who wants to is able to channel. These personal guides are here specifically to assist you in fulfilling your higher purpose in this lifetime. Your personal guide will be interested in the things that you are interested in and will be able to advise you on your personal life, your career, your relationships, your health - whatever you want to ask about. These personal guides work to help you throughout your life, focusing on you as an individual (for a channelling on personal guides see p. 127).

In my work with Ortan I have been constantly amazed by how easy it is for people to channel. It is as if these personal guides are just one step away from our waking consciousness, ready and willing to work with us.

Transcension Guides

Ortan describes himself as a transcension guide - these are guides whose primary focus is on our growth and our ascension into ever higher levels of spiritual awareness.

Ortan says that some apparent guides are not true guides but our higher selves. He goes on to explain that we can channel our higher selves or guides or both if we so choose. At the beginning of your growth, channelling the higher self is a very useful thing; I did this myself in my early years of channelling. Once you are channelling you can ask: are you a guide or are you my higher self?

It will be helpful at this point to distinguish between the higher self, the soul and the monad. You can see them as parts of yourself that exist at different levels.

Ortan defines transcension as ascending and transcending the bounds of present reality and transmuting it into a different kind of reality. He has also made it clear that the process of ascension is currently taking place for all humanity and for our planet. This is discussed in Chapter 2.

Healing Guides

Many healers are drawn to learn to channel. When working with them in classes it often becomes clear that they have been channelling their guide or guides for a long time, but they were not conscious channels - they didn't realize where the energy was coming from or how to access it at will. There are many healing guides now and there will be a great need for healing as we take more and more responsibility for our own health at all levels physical, mental and emotional.

Healing guides are often not verbal guides. They work with colour and energy, with frequencies and vibrations, and don't normally need to use words with those who are working with them. The partnership or relationship between a healing guide and a healer is more of an intuitive thing. This is why healers often have more than one guide. Healing guides can channel through particular rays or particular frequencies for particular things. They work on different frequencies, and combined will produce a different effect.

Ortan says that all healing comes from the divine level, the All That Is. We therefore don't heal people but are just the channels for healing energy.

Learning to channel is one way to become a more effective healer, and this will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 8. If you are a healer, channelling on the current state of energy of your clients is extremely useful both to them and to you. Many homeopaths, spiritual healers, osteopaths and other alternative healers have found their guide's assistance invaluable in their practice. One acupuncturist has found that her guide will help her word her suggestions in such a way that their impact is greatly enhanced. As a result, it is much more likely that her clients will follow her advice.

Healing guides are often angels (see below), and they are one of the easiest types of guide to contact. The angels of love and healing work through healers, and those healers who are conscious channels can easily have a direct experience of loving assistance of these beings in their work. In short, healers who also channel experience a richness and confidence in their work that develops and deepens as they continue.

Creative Guides

There is a whole level of guides who are to do with creating things: they create music, art, environments and much more. Many people channel these creative guides or master builders -whatever you wish to call them.

People who work in the arts or other creative fields will fall into a reverie; this is when they connect with their creative guides. Much of the work which we consider inspirational comes from guides such as this, who are on a very pure frequency. Their channel has chosen to incarnate and to hold this pure frequency in this particular lifetime.

Clearly the artistic and creative guides are completely aligned with the higher purpose of the channel. From my own observations and with Ortan's guidance, I have come to believe that the most creative among us are also natural channels.

There are many stories about composers who 'hear' fully formed the music they go on to write. There are also stories of information coming to both artists and scientists through dreams. Perhaps the best-known concerns the discovery of the structure of DNA, the substance which transmits genetic information from one generation to the next. In a dream one of its discoverers, Crick, 'saw' the distinctive double helix shape of its molecule. He was subsequently able, in a waking state, to use this inspirational dream to move his scientific work forward.

Angels

Each angel vibrates only to its particular frequency. As an analogy, one could imagine them holding on to slivers of light which have the frequency of joy, healing, love, abundance and so on. In any channelling class of around twenty-five people at least one or two will be channelling angels.

Angels are usually channelled by people as a preparatory stage to open their hearts and to bring some joy and lightness into their lives, for they work from the heart as all guides do. Often their very lightness is enough to open the persons energy enough to be able to hold a guide (some people are unable to hold a guide energy at the beginning). The angels are also extremely interested about what is happening on the earth plane. Angels are completely aligned to service. Channelling for this book on 10 August 1995, Ortan said: 'It is service they seek out as a bloodhound seeks out its quarry!

As explained earlier, angels often choose to channel through people who are healers or who need healing. They often come in for a short time to prepare the channel's energy for the next guide, especially if the person channelling has not had much experience with meditation and energy work. Because angels hold a pure frequency they are very useful for those who need more discipline or who are looking for their higher purpose or trying to find their higher path of growth.
An angel called Samuel, channelled by a friend, Jennie, assisted me in writing this book.

His channelling was accompanied by a deep feeling of love and of a form of purity and innocence that was truly beautiful to experience. Often angels will connect with us without our realizing what is happening. We will simply experience feelings of great joy, of opening, of hope or of love — these are the sorts of emotions that characterize angelic contact. As we learn to quieten our minds, so we can open more and more to the whispers of these wonderful beings.

Guide Names

People are always interested in the names of guides. They ask in classes, and in readings too people often enquire of Ortan what the name of their guide is. Ortan always says that the name is of no importance: you can perceive the name as being like a call signal on CB radio - a way of tuning in to the unique energy signature of your guide. When my guide Shalaya was asked why he introduced himself by that name he said:' We are all one being, and "I as Shalaya" simply reflect a particular energy frequency and so I identify this frequency as Shalaya, for this frequency best reflects my/our energy?

Sometimes, even after successfully channelling their guide, people have no clear idea of the guide's name. But this really doesn't matter - it is the connection that is important. Some people in our classes get no name at all, but have no difficulty in channelling. So if you find that you cannot get a name when you begin to channel don't worry, but just enjoy the connection.

Below, in no particular order, are some guide names taken from classes over the years.

Examples of guide names

White Cloud / Running Water / White Eagle
Voltan / JK / Chimal
Ashtar / Yarwey / Zortan
Havar / Pal / Sovar
Sapphire / Ortala / Orteya
Hamar / Zena / Lyria
Serang / Orshala / Melchior
Michael / Raphael / St Germaine
Dyasha / Gornash / Chiron
Armjia / Christos / Olithia
Guy / Skysos / Light Angel
Korei / Omar / Michael
Micael / Jahal / Rockie Bear
Tibius / Islan / Shaeya
Aun / Rohan / Yashan
Auricle / Jai / Coerdelia
Amatreya / Ozo / DwalKhul
Moona / Sananda / Silver Haven
Evis / Simone / Tadeus
Autis / Islis / Nemoho
Dibdin / Sabu / Jonathan
Ottila / Oran / Muburek
Tanqui / labo / Ranthea
Quick Silver / Chaim / Ocara
Adran / Chan / Sorhas

The names of guides don't seem to correlate much with what they are here to do with you, or with how they are going to help you. You will notice that lots of these names are unusual, even weird, but many people channel guides with perfectly ordinary names like John, Samuel or Sarah.

There are groups of guides and groups of angels and they often give the same name: the Michaels are an example. Many people channel a guide called Michael, and it is my belief that these are a group of high-level beings who just use one name. There are also other beings you can channel, among them the ascended masters such as Sananda, the ascended Christ.

When people first make the connection with their guide in our classes, they often think they are channelling Ortan. He explained this to me as follows: Ortan is a teacher, and he facilitates the connection between the channel and their guide until it is stabilized. Because he is holding the energy for this connection, the channel tunes into his energy and thinks he/she is going to channel Ortan. Once the connection to their own guide is stabilized, they realize they are not.

Ortan and I have agreed that he will not be channelled by anyone else during my lifetime. If you are using this book to make the connection with your guide, you too may think that you are making a connection with Ortan. You are, but only in the sense that he is out there in the higher realms ready and willing to assist you in making the connection with your own guide. All you need do is ask him to do this in meditation, and the connection will begin to be built. It is not chance that you have been drawn to this book. Ortan has put out the call on the inner planes of reality to all those who can benefit from a connection with him, and you have answered that call.