Now that I know channeling so intimately, I’m aware of how misunderstood it is. And I should know, because I used to misunderstand it too.

Since I get so many questions about it, I thought you might like an insider’s view of what it really is. As a professional channel, I can explain it from my perspective.

Most of you will find that it’s not what you think it is at all, but something quite normal that can be helpful to you in your everyday life, whether it’s done for you or you learn to do it yourself.

Let’s take a look first at what it’s not, and then at what it is.

Common Misconceptions About Channeling

1. First, channeling is NOT talking to ghosts or dead people, or letting them talk through you.

That’s called mediumship. I suppose you could say that’s a sub-category of channeling, but relating channeling to that just confuses the issue.

2. Channeling is definitely not something that’s just practiced by nut cases.

It’s a normal activity that we all do to some degree. (Yes, you likely do it and don’t even recognize it.)

This doesn’t mean that everyone who says they’re channeling is actually doing it to the extent they claim. Just like any skill, people practice it at different levels of expertise. Developing it to be used consistently and reliably takes time and attention.

And yes, this means that if you wanted to develop your channeling skills, you could.

3. It’s not always done in a deep trance, where an entity “takes over” someone’s body.

I’ve read about and even know some people who channel like this, but it’s not typical.

More often than not, the channel is what’s called a “conscious channel” and goes into a barely noticeable altered state that is more receptive than our more typical, alert state of mind.

So What Is Channeling Then?

Really, channeling is simply a means of accessing information. (And sometimes energy, but we’ll stick with information for now.) It’s information that you always have access to but don’t usually tap into or notice.

The significant thing is that this information is relatively free of your own clutter and subjective opinions. It may not reflect your own opinions at all.

Sometimes the information comes through with such crystal clarity and is so unexpected that it can make you gasp out loud.

The tricky thing about channeling is that it’s more an art than a science. Even when we get information, it’s not written in black and white. There’s a bit of finessing that needs to happen as it’s very subtle and nuances can easily be missed. So it’s essential to get experience with it before relying on it for important issues.

How Does Channeling Differ From Intuition?

Well, actually, channeling is a form of intuition, but it’s a unique mode of receiving the information.

It’s almost like it’s one level removed from your own intuitive impressions. It’s more objective in the sense that you don’t have to actually “feel” it or understand it. It just sort of drops in and there it is.

So there’s less processing to channeling, and not much (if any) interpreting involved. It really is more like you are just a channel for the information to come straight through.

At least that’s how I experience it. It seems a little more pure to me than intuitive impressions.

I would also say that channeling has a more continuous, connected flow to it, almost as if someone is talking to you. It just keeps coming and has a speed to it (sometimes fast and sometimes slow.)

When I channel, I find that my intuition definitely gets activated, but it’s obviously very different. It’s both a different way of receiving, and a way of receiving different information. These impressions come and go during the channeling session, somewhat alongside it, sometimes more a relevant part of it.

But Don’t You Have To Channel a Being? What About Guides?

There’s a long and a short way to answer this question. Right now we’ll do the short way.

(I personally don’t think there’s anything even outside ourselves at all, and that this is all us. But that’s a whole other discussion altogether. ;-))

You can channel a being, but you don’t have to.

Even so, I’m not sure “being” is the right word. For those who do mediumship, they are connecting more with what we think of as a being than those who channel beings.

That said, it’s helpful to think of what you’re channeling as a being. I sometimes connect with particular healing guides and/or energies that are quite powerful and amazingly helpful.

But let’s enjoy a little irony here and see what one of my channeling guides said about whether they are beings or not. (I would like to quote directly from the audio, but most of them are not transcribed and are hard to search. For now, I’ll paraphrase what I remember.)

When asked about this, they explained that what they are is less a “being” and more a particular grouping of energy and information that can be tapped into for a particular purpose. Which grouping gets tapped into is dependent on the channel and on the purpose for each channeling.

When asked for a name, they will give me something that I think of more as a “handle”, or a way to be clear about who/what I am intending to connect with if I want to do so again.

Some people channel the same being or entity (most will say they are a group of entities) every time they channel.

I have a few whom I connect with often, but have always continued to meet new ones, depending on the situation and need. If I channel for someone else, I find it most productive to tap into energies and information specific to them and their concerns.

More Questions? Comments?

This is first in a series of what I foresee as quite a few articles about channeling. I’ve already got a long list of topics to cover, including answers to questions from my newsletter subscribers.

Still, I’d love to hear what questions you might have so I can be sure to address them too. Just put them in a comment here, or you can email them if you’d rather. (I know how it is! ;-))

Or maybe you’ve got some helpful knowledge or experience with channeling yourself. If so, that’s great; please share!

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