What is Channeling? And Can I Do It?
Everyone seems to be talking about channeling these days. Maybe you have heard someone on YouTube or Instagram share channeled messages from higher dimensional beings like goddesses or archangels, spirit guides, or past loved ones. In this post, let’s dive deep into how such messages are received and if ‘channeling’ is something anyone can do.
Before we dive into the nitty gritty, here’s how I define channeling: it is the process of receiving energy and then expressing that energy into physical reality.
Some people might also call this connecting, tuning in, or receiving downloads. I intentionally keep my definition broad because I believe that all of us channel way more often than we realize or give ourselves credit for!
To me, the feeling of being in flow state, especially when we participate in some sort of creative activity like writing, playing music, or dancing, is a sign that we are connecting with and receiving inspiration from something bigger than ourselves—and that is channeling!
“I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas. Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. They are completely separate from us, but capable of interacting with us—albeit strangely. Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. It is only through a human’s efforts that an idea can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the actual.” - Liz Gilbert, Big Magic
TRANCE CHANNELING VS. CHANNELED WRITING
The way I think about channeling is that it exists on a spectrum of how involved your conscious mind is.
So let's say from 0% to 100%: where 0% represents you being “turned off” and only in tune with your own conscious thoughts, and where 100% represents “trance channeling,” where the channeler completely moves aside their own energy within the body and allowing space for another being or entity to speak (or write) through them.
Sounds kind of creepy, but if you've ever heard of Esther Hicks, who channels Abraham, this is exactly what she does.
Trance channeling often comes in the form of speaking. People who practice it usually have no recollection of what they have said while channeling. Sometimes their tone, pitch, and mannerisms might change while speaking.
I would suggest leaving this 100% trance channeling method to the 'professionals' and striving for more balanced (and energetically safe IMO) methods.
Channeled writing is one such method that I recommend, especially for those who are just starting out and wanting to try out receiving channeled messages.
When you practice channeled writing (also called automatic writing), you are still fully conscious and in control of yourself. However, with practice, you can learn to essentially "turn down" the volume of your conscious thoughts while allowing higher guidance to come through you as you write.
WHY CHANNEL?
Many practice channeling to facilitate communication with their higher selves, spirit guides, or past loved ones. In this way, channeling serves as a powerful spiritual connection that can bring you comfort, clarity, and a deeper understanding of yourself and the lessons you are moving through.
Others like to channel as a form of co-creative self-expression to share messages of hope, inspiration, and guidance with others.
One thing that I want to make super clear is that channeling is something anyone can do! As I mentioned, you’ve likely already done it before when you were in deep flow states of consciousness, even if you hadn’t labeled it as channeling at the time.
There can be a lot of pressure that we put on ourselves when trying out new intuitive skills like channeling, so my advice is to release any expectations and self-judgment as you start to practice and learn how to channel.
As you begin to trust yourself more and more, it can feel like you’re just making it up in your head—know that that is part of the process, and there is nothing you need to prove to anyone (or yourself).
With that said, if you’re interested in learning how to receive channeled messages for yourself, read on for my best tips and advice for getting started.
FIRST THINGS FIRST, ENERGETIC PROTECTION
You know that feeling when you hang out with someone who complains constantly and is super negative, and you just feel totally drained and in a pretty crappy mood yourself?
That’s a perfect example of how we tend to take on the energy of who we surround ourselves and connect with. It’s no different in the world of channeling and spirit communication, even though we can’t physically see or sense who or what we are connecting with.
So to make sure you are channeling intentionally and energetically protecting yourself, follow these steps:
Set your intention for who you’d like to connect with. It might be your Higher Self, Spirit Guide, a past loved one, an archangel, a Goddess, or an Ascended Master like Buddha or Jesus. If you want to stay open and just experiment with what comes through, it’s still very important to set your intention to only connect with beings of Love and Light. It sounds cheesy, but I promise your intention here matters and helps protect you from connecting with any lower-vibrational energies.
Visualize yourself in an energetic bubble or shield. Try repeating this, “I also like to call in Archangel Michael for energetic support and protection, as it is my intention to only connect with beings and messages of Light.” Visualize an opalescent shield or bubble going around your body and your aura, and any dense/negative energy that comes towards you automatically dissolves as it reaches this outer bubble.
Clear your energy with a white light visualization. I like to imagine a waterfall of white light pouring down from above my head and filling up my whole physical body and my entire aura. This helps me put aside any racing thoughts or worries as I get ready to connect, so I can enter my channeling session with a clear energy field without my conscious mind trying to run the show.
Disconnect and cleanse your energy afterward. Once I’m done with a channeled writing session, I disconnect. Sometimes I will literally physically clap or rub my hands together to “break” the energy apart. Other times I will visualize the white light waterfall cleansing and bringing my energy back to myself and returning any energy that isn’t mine (that I may have connected with).
HOW TO RECEIVE CHANNELED MESSAGES
Once you have done the above steps, you’re ready to practice channeling! Here are a few additional tips and tricks to try out:
Start writing in your journal or notebook. Focus your conscious thoughts on your breathing or on your hand moving across the page. Many find it helpful to start with a prompt—a question or a specific topic on which you’d like to receive guidance.
Don’t edit yourself. Practice giving your hand complete control of what comes out on the page, so your mind has less say in what will be written next. If you notice that you’ve started to misspell a word or missed some punctuation, continue writing without fixing it. Trust that you can return to the message to edit it later if you want.
Try using unlined paper. Subconsciously, our minds go more into receptive, free-flowing states and out of logical, orderly states when we write on unlined vs. lined paper.
Try using a symbol-based font. If you are typing on your computer, change the font to something symbol-based vs. letter-based to help you get out of your conscious, logical mind.
Start typing away and let your hands strike the keys intuitively, paying less attention to the words and more to just moving your fingers in a way that feels good. When you feel you’re done, highlight the text and change the font to something readable.
Even if what you’ve typed makes no sense and is literally just strings of random letters together, that’s perfect! You’re getting your conscious mind out of the way, which is hard work, and that is progress!
Ask yourself, "What do I most need to hear right now?" This is one of my favorite prompts to receive channeled guidance from my Higher Self or Spirit Guides.
It works so well because whenever I approach a channeling session with the pressure of "oh my gosh, I'm going to channel some mystical Spirit Guide that I can't actually see, but what if I'm just making it all up, and also what if I end up channeling something so profound that it changes the world, oh my gosh"... that tends to activate the ego and conscious mind that we’re trying to quiet.
Instead, by asking myself what I most need to hear right now, I take the pressure off myself to "get it right" and channel something super profound. Ironically, this is when I end up channeling actual powerful messages.
Revisit the message a few days or weeks later. I have often practiced channeled writing, only to end my session with a feeling of disappointment that I didn't end up connecting with my guides.
But when I come back to read over that same message a few days or weeks later, I'm often shocked at how impactful the message seems to me with fresh eyes! Sometimes, I even noticed that my handwriting or writing style had slightly changed.
Create your own channeling practice. We often hear and talk about channeling through the forms of speaking and writing. Still, I believe that we are channeling any time we are receiving, shifting, and expressing energy. Find a medium that lights you up (cooking, sculpting, yoga flows) and experience it with the intention of channeling higher states of consciousness into physical reality.
Remember: energy is felt. So even if you walk away feeling like you haven't received clear answers, maybe the video you recorded of yourself dancing will end up resonating deeply with someone else. Shift your expectations from wanting to always receive information to instead transmuting and creating new energy, and see where it takes you.
TURN ON YOUR CHANNEL
Here are a few additional resources I have used and created in practicing and guiding others to channel:
Channeled books - One of the best ways to experience the vibration of channeled messages—so that you can receive and co-create them yourself—is to read books that have been channeled from others. I recommend the books Bringers of the Dawn and The Great Human Potential. Also, even though this isn't technically a channeled book, I love Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert because many concepts speak to channeling and how we interact with inspiration, ideas, and emotions.
Channeling Workshop - If you want to start practicing and receiving channeled messages but are feeling intimidated on your own, you can purchase the replay of a workshop I led recently on how to channel. In it, I go more in-depth about different ways to channel and set energetic protection, and I also guide you through a few channeling exercises myself.
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Chelsea Jewel is an Intuitive + Karmic Astrologer, Spiritual Coach, and Intuitive Mentor to those waking up to their own intuitive powers. You can connect with her on Instagram or via her website, chelseajewel.com
