What Is Channeling? Higher Guidance — From Ancient Origins — to Modern Mystics

What is channeling — and is it something only “gifted” people can do?

Or is it a natural ability we all have?

In this video, we explore the ancient origins of channeling, how it's been used by mystics and civilizations for thousands of years, and how the practice is making a modern resurgence.

From the Oracle of Delphi and Tibetan oracles to Edgar Cayce, Esther Hicks, and The Law of One—we look at the wisdom traditions that shaped this sacred practice.

You'll also learn how channeling actually works on a consciousness level—and why you're probably already tuning in without realizing it.

If you’re curious about developing your intuition, exploring non-local awareness, or simply trying to make sense of the rising interest in psychic communication, you're in the right spot!

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Hey, I’m Ian Vogel—host of Alternate Timelines. My journey started on a small farm in the midwest, where I always felt a little out of place. After years of skepticism and even a stint as an atheist, a near-death experience changed my perspective on everything. Since then, I’ve explored plant medicine, past life memories, and the mysteries of consciousness. Now, I’m sharing those experiences to help others navigate their own awakening. Through real stories, deep conversations, and wild explorations of the unknown, we’re building a community where it’s okay to question reality. You’re not alone in the unknown. 👽✨

Episode Transcript

HypeMiC & FaceTime HD Cam (00:00):
These days it seems like everyone and
their neighbor is channeling,whether it's their spirit
guides, ascended masters, orsome galactic council.
But channeling isn't just aTikTok trend or a party trick.
It's an ancient practice rootedin real experiences that
cultures around the world haverelied on for thousands of
years.
In this video, we're gonna breakdown what channeling is, how it

(00:22):
works, how our ancestors reliedon it, and why you're probably
already channeling without evenrealizing it.
What is up?
I am Ian with alternatetimelines where we explore
topics like reincarnation,extraterrestrial contact,
psychic abilities, metaphysics,and the infinite potential that
lies within each of us.
If you vibe with this kind ofcontent, I invite you to like,

(00:43):
share, subscribe, and leave acomment or review on whichever
platform you're on.
It only takes a few seconds ofyour time and supports the show
in a massive way.
Your support matters a lot andis greatly appreciated.
the first thing that we need todo is define exactly what
channeling is.
For the purposes of this video,I'm gonna stick with the most

(01:04):
common definition, which is theact of receiving messages or
energies from a higher ornon-physical source.
It's as simple andstraightforward as that.
I totally get that for a lot ofpeople, the idea of accessing
information in a way thatdoesn't involve physically
gathering that data through oureyes and our ears may seem like
a fantasy.

(01:24):
Trust me, I was there at onepoint and lived as an atheist
for many years during that timein my life, you could not talk
to me about anything that Icouldn't put my hands on or
directly experience.
It It wasn't until I started toexamine the experiences in my
own life that had no rationalexplanation, that I opened my
mind up to new possibilities.

(01:45):
But before we get into themechanics of how channeling
actually works.
I think it's important to talkabout the historical
significance of this once widelyused practice, because For
millennia channeling wasn'ttreated like some fringe
phenomenon, it was woven intothe fabric of entire
civilizations.
In ancient Greece, the Oracle ofDelphi was one of the most

(02:06):
trusted sources of wisdom andguidance for centuries.
Leaders, warriors and ordinarypeople would travel long
distances to hear the words ofthe pythia, the priestess who
said to channel the God Apollo,she would enter a trance-like
state and deliver messages thatinfluenced major political and
military decisions.
The idea that humans could tuneinto information beyond our

(02:27):
ordinary perception wasn'tlimited to ancient Greece.
In Tibet.
Oracles were and still are,consulted for everything from
spiritual teachings to nationalpolicy.
The state Oracle of Tibet, forexample, was considered a direct
channel to higher spiritualwisdom, guiding people like the
Dalai Lama and many othersduring times of crisis.

(02:49):
Indigenous cultures from aroundthe world have a rich history of
practicing various forms ofspiritual communication.
Shamans, medicine people andseers would enter altered states
through meditation, drumming,plant medicines, or fasting to
receive guidance from the spiritworld.
These messages weren't seen asstrange or questionable.

(03:10):
They were seen as necessary forthe health of the tribe, the
individual, and the land itself.
Despite developing independentlyacross different continents and
cultures, these channelingtraditions shared remarkable
similarities.
The core idea was always thesame, that there's more to this
world than we can perceive withour five senses.
And if we can learn to quiet themind and tune in, we can access

(03:33):
wisdom that lies beyond theveil.
Moving into more modern times,there's one famous channeler
that stands out above the rest,and that's Edgar Cayce.
Born in 1877, Cayce became knownas the sleeping Prophet because
he would enter a self-inducedtrance, a completely unconscious
state, and deliver detailedinformation about health,

(03:53):
healing past lives and evenfuture world events without any
conscious memory of what he hadsaid afterwards.
Over the course of his life, hedelivered more than 14,000
readings.
Many of which were meticulouslydocumented and verified.
He wasn't working for fame orfortune.
Edgar Cayce lived a simple lifeand saw his gift as a way to be

(04:15):
of service to others.
What's really interesting isthat during Cayce's lifetime,
many people held a lot ofrespect for psychic phenomenon.
Spiritualism had been booming inthe late 18 hundreds, and the
idea that a person could receivemessages from beyond wasn't as
heavily stigmatized as it wouldlater become.
But as the 20th centuryprogressed, there was a major

(04:36):
shift.
Science being viewed strictlythrough the lens of materialism
and rationalism began todominate the cultural landscape.
Anything that couldn't bemeasured under a microscope was
increasingly dismissed assuperstition, fantasy, or fraud.
Channeling, which was once awidely accepted practice got
pushed to the margins becomingassociated with charlatan's,

(04:59):
unreliable mystics, and fringebelievers.
It wasn't until the 1960s andseventies with the rise of the
new age movement, thatchallenging started to make its
way back into the mainstreamconversation.
This renewed interest in theancient and sacred practice of
channeling was ushered in by anew set of voices.
Jane Roberts, for example, beganchanneling an entity known as

(05:20):
Seth, resulting in the Sethmaterial, which was a
groundbreaking body of work thatintroduced us to the now widely
known idea that you create yourown reality.
Then there was Helen Shukman, aclinical psychologist who,
despite her own skepticism,channeled what would become a
course in miracles, a teachingthat emphasizes forgiveness, the

(05:42):
end of separation, and thesimple, yet profound truth that
only love is real.
Another important body ofchanneled material that emerged
around this time was the law ofone.
Which is often referred to asthe Ra material.
In the early 1980s, a team ofresearchers led by Don Elkins,
Carla Riker, and Jim McCarty.
Began receiving a series of deepphilosophical communications

(06:05):
from an extraterrestrialconsciousness known as Ra.
The material they recorded divesinto topics like the structure
of the universe, the evolutionof souls across dimensions, and
the idea that free will andunconditional love are the
foundational principles ofexistence.
What really stands out about thelaw of one is its depth,
consistency and the profoundrespect it has for personal

(06:28):
sovereignty.
It's not all about dogma orblind faith.
It's about recognizing that weare all fragments of a singular,
infinite Creator and that we areall here to learn to love and to
serve.
More recent figures like EstherHicks, who channels Abraham and
Darrell Anka, who channelsBashar, have continued to
deliver channel teachings to abroader audience.

(06:50):
Their messages often focus onthe law of attraction, emotional
guidance, multidimensionalrealities and humanities,
accelerating evolution, Butdespite differences in style,
vocabulary, and even cosmology,when you step back and listen
closely, the core themes thatemerge are strikingly consistent
in regards to personalempowerment, the creative power

(07:12):
of thought, and unityconsciousness.
There's also a strong emphasison the importance of free will
and unconditional love.
I often highlight some of themore profound teachings,
insights, and even some of thequirky details surrounding
channeled material in mynewsletter.
Now, I invite you to follow thelink in the description and sign
up if this is a topic thatresonates with you and interests

(07:34):
you as much as it does me.
At its best, channeling hasalways been about helping us
remember the truth of who andwhat we really are today.
Channeling isn't just happeningbehind closed doors or in remote
temples.
It's everywhere.
Podcast, YouTube, TikTok, youname it.
We are living in a time wherespiritual knowledge is no longer

(07:57):
hoarded by gurus and religiousscholars.
Society is shifting away fromtop-down structures where a
handful of authorities tell therest of the world what to
believe, and we're moving intoan era of direct personal access
to sacred knowledge andexperiences.
But with that freedom comesresponsibility because when
anyone can share anything, thequality of information can

(08:19):
become questionable.
That's why practicingdiscernment is more important
now than ever.
I personally think that we havea lot of reasons to be
optimistic, even if it is noisyand chaotic out there in the
world.
The fact that so many people arewaking up asking questions and
exploring consciousness is asign that something powerful is

(08:39):
happening beneath the surface,and the more we learn to trust
our own inner knowing, the morewe can clearly navigate our
current situation.
Now that we've explored itshistory and why channeling is
coming back into the spotlighttoday.
Let's shift gears and take acloser look at what's actually
happening during the challengingprocess itself.
When you really understand howconsciousness works, it starts

(09:03):
to make channeling feel a lotless mysterious.
To understand channeling, wefirst have to recognize that
consciousness is not generatedby the body or brain.
Rather, consciousness flowsthrough the body.
Everybody has the ability tochannel and does so in one way
or another.
What do you think is happeningwhen you remember something from

(09:24):
childhood?
If our bodies completelyregenerate every seven to 10
years, as most biologists willagree, then information
pertaining to older memories hasto be coming from somewhere
external.
Sure cells may remain, but allof the atoms that made up those
cells are eventually replacedwith new ones over time.

(09:46):
The body you're in now is simplynot the same body that was
present when the originalexperiences recalled in memories
took place, especially in thecase of childhood memories.
This unsolved question is alsoknown as the body paradox with
as much as our currentscientific establishment knows
about how the human body works,you'd think they would've found

(10:07):
an organ or internal systemresponsible for memory storage
by now if it existed.
Ancient sages and wisdom keepersof the past understood very well
what modern science is beginningto come to terms with.
The fact that the brain acts asa radio receiver for
consciousness, rather than agenerator of consciousness.
And if the human brain receivercan be tuned to one frequency,

(10:31):
who's to say that it's notpossible to turn the dial just a
little bit and pick up otherfrequencies as well?
We've all had the experience ofthinking about someone you
haven't spoken to in a while andlooking at your phone to see a
missed call or text message fromthat person.
This phenomena has beendocumented by many people over
several decades.
And that's just the tip of theiceberg.

(10:52):
Scientists like Rupert Sheldrakehave dedicated their entire
careers to researching howpeople and animals both
demonstrate the ability to acton information that they should
have No way of knowing.

HypeMiC & FaceTime HD Camer (11:04):
For most people, this experience is
fleeting and often dismissed asa coincidence.
But what if coincidences werejust a part of a larger
organized pattern that wehaven't yet noticed?
And despite all of ourtechnological advancements, how
much can science definitivelysay about consciousness At this
point, not very much.

(11:27):
Everyone has the ability tochannel and does channel in one
form or another, whether theyrealize it or not.
Our personalities are not storedin the body, and any creative
ideas that we may have aredefinitely not stored in the
body.
Michael Jackson famously saidthat one of the reasons he spent
so much time in the recordingstudio is because he didn't want

(11:49):
Prince to get the songs.
He's alluding to something thatmany artists freely admit.
That they don't come up with thenew ideas themselves.
Instead, they receive creativeimpulses from an external
source.
This concept has been understoodby every traditional culture
around the world and goes bymany names.
Including the muse by theancient Greeks and Saraswati in

(12:13):
Hindu cultures.
The fact that ideas are receivedfrom an external source is a
phenomenon that's beenrecognized by people throughout
human history.
Channeling is a skill, and likeany skill, some people will
naturally be able to do it moreeasily than others, but
regardless of natural abilities,it is possible to develop and

(12:33):
improve one's ability to tapinto various sources of
non-local information.
So let's talk about how to dothat.
This may seem counterintuitive.
But when it comes to channelingeffectively, the key isn't to do
more, it's to do less.
If the mind is where we receivechanneled information, being
able to clear our headspace ofirrelevant thoughts and mental

(12:55):
chatter is crucial.
You can't pour into a cup that'salready overflowing.
There are potentially manytechniques that Channelers could
use when receiving messages, butthere's one foundational
practice that all Channelersrely on, and that's meditation.
the ability to focus one'sattention entirely on
experiencing the present moment,free of thoughts, desires, and

(13:19):
judgements.
Intention also plays a majorrole in one's ability to receive
channeled messages.
Approaching this ancient artform with reverence, respect,
genuine curiosity, and a desireto serve others can have a
profound impact on one's successWhen channeling.
It's said that love is a keythat opens many doors, and when

(13:40):
those doors start to open, it'scommon for channelers to receive
information in a variety ofways.
Messages can come in fromvisions, emotional cues, sounds,
dreams, straight up downloads,or any number of other ways.
And while being able to receivechanneled information from
beyond may seem intriguing, notall sources of spiritual

(14:03):
information are created equal,far from it.
In addition to receivingtransmitted data, a channel must
be able to assess the materialcoming through with a critical
eye.
It is super important to know ifa channeled message came from a
place of love and highervibrational frequency, or from a
lower vibrational source.

(14:24):
Learning discernment and how todistinguish truth from falsehood
is an essential skill for bothchannelers and non channelers
alike.
That's why I created this videoright here to show you how to
tap into your own intuition andeasily spot channeled
misinformation in any situation.
This video is everything.

(14:44):
I wish someone would've told meyears ago.
I learned it the hard way, soyou don't have to.
We'll see you there.