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Author Topic: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?  (Read 12839 times)

Marukai

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Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« on: April 26, 2013, 11:48:30 pm »
I'm a bit conflicted about Channeling and what the purpose is. I have started to research Channeling a bit and from my understanding it is a way to let a supernatural being or spirit possess you for a moment. I also continuously find references to the Ouija board as a form of Channeling. In my reading about the Ouija Board I find cases of complete possession. I refer to Ouija as such because that is the common name, but they are also called talking boards or spirit boards.


What other forms of channeling are there and what is the purpose besides divination?

[video=youtube;D4QOzi7_FUE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QOzi7_FUE[/video]

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2013, 12:00:00 am »
Quote from: Marukai;106845


 
"Anything worthwhile is dangerous."  - Victor Anderson

Ouija boards, on the other hand, are not worthwhile.
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2013, 12:25:05 am »
Quote from: Darkhawk;106846
"Anything worthwhile is dangerous."  - Victor Anderson

Ouija boards, on the other hand, are not worthwhile.

 
Insert slow-clap gif here. XD

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2013, 12:42:46 am »
Quote from: Marukai;106845
I'm a bit conflicted about Channeling and what the purpose is. I have started to research Channeling a bit and from my understanding it is a way to let a supernatural being or spirit possess you for a moment. I also continuously find references to the Ouija board as a form of Channeling. In my reading about the Ouija Board I find cases of complete possession. I refer to Ouija as such because that is the common name, but they are also called talking boards or spirit boards.


What other forms of channeling are there and what is the purpose besides divination?

[video=youtube;D4QOzi7_FUE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QOzi7_FUE[/video]

 
Before I answer let me just say that while I have channeled before, I do not recommend it for most people at all because of the risks involved. And I would never ever recommend Ouija for anybody, because it places the diviner into a passive role and subjects him or her to the whim of whatever feels like taking over. So that's my bias, keep in mind there are many differing viewpoints about it and this is just my own.

That being said, yes, there are other forms of divination, all built upon the same principle of essentially - as you said - allowing a spirit to possess you in some form and speak through you, move your limbs or otherwise manipulate your body somewhat. One form is via calling the spirit to funnel itself into your writing hand, and letting it write words on paper for you - skilled channelers of this variety will find that their handwriting and terminology changes completely during the writing session so that it looks very much written by someone else. Another form is to sink into a meditative state and let the spirit overtake your voice and speak through you verbally; most who channel this way have limited facial expressions and sit very still, since the spirit is focusing primarily on their voice. There are more extensive channeling efforts which get closer and closer to full-on temporary possession, with the channeler becoming more dramatically changed, animating and expressing themselves in an entirely different way that is pretty dramatic to see. Ouija is considered channeling because it beckons the spirit - often invoking literally just any spirit in the area who feels so inclined, which is a really risky move IMO - to take and move your arms (think shoulders down) and thereby move the pointer to different letters to spell answers to any given question.

It is primarily used for communication by people who often feel that any spirit can just be trusted simply by virtue of being a spirit at all or by virtue of appearing shiny and pretty and nice (which personally I feel is extremely flawed and dangerous thinking that just begs for trouble - my bias speaking, remember) and think that any spirit is going to go out of its way to answer questions about things like that one hot guy they like, who their guide is, what they should do with their life, and so on and so forth - often the kinds of things one might ask a counselor or psychologist, honestly. It is often in a question and answer form, sometimes with the channeler alternating between control of their faculties and surrender, to first ask and then receive the answer (especially when channeling for their own benefit) - and sometimes with the channeler being taken over for a longer period and answering the questions of a separate inquiring party, be it one on one or a small crowd (such as the chick who claims to channel an entity named "Seth", or the one who claims to channel "Abraham"...I can't remember the channelers' names). Frequent channelers claim to build friendships (or at least consistent contact) with particular entities, and call upon them to answer life's questions, predict the future, and/or dictate what people should do with their lives. Frequently you will find channelers claiming to have gotten in touch with aliens, "federations", "councils", "angels" and a host of other reportedly high, god-like beings which often claim to have a controlling interest in mankind's affairs and/or the evolution, destiny, fate or future of mankind as a whole. These channelers in particular have avid cult followings, write books allegedly channeled from entities, and go on tour channeling for excitable crowds of followers and inquirers who swear by the channeler's materials.

Personally, I have channeled before, but only with spirits I knew for years and years and I knew I could trust. In my personal opinion, I feel that the fundamental flaw of mainstream channeling practices is that they do not bother to establish this level of trust and often forsake adequate safety measures in favor of a naive belief that any spirit (or any spirit which glows, emits a lovey feeling, or basically seems legit with a single psychic "glance") is trustworthy and can be accepted at face value not only to speak with and give you the answers to your life, but to allow to take over your body and say and do anything it wants with you. The prevalence of predatory exploitation of channelers by spirits - be it possession, draining, attachment, or just trolling, or whatever - is through the roof because of this.

If one is to channel, my belief is that they should first attain a certain level of skill and a certain very deep level of trust with the spirit they wish to channel.

Depending on who you ask, they may say very different things than myself; there are lots of different views on the practice as a whole. It's ultimately up to the seeker as to whether they wish to channel or not, and not my place to persuade or dissuade from the practice. This is just my own interpretation and preferences.

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2013, 12:58:02 am »
Quote from: Rainbo;106851
Before I answer let me just say that while I have channeled before, I do not recommend it for most people at all because of the risks involved. And I would never ever recommend Ouija for anybody, because it places the diviner into a passive role and subjects him or her to the whim of whatever feels like taking over. So that's my bias, keep in mind there are many differing viewpoints about it and this is just my own.

That being said, yes, there are other forms of divination, all built upon the same principle of essentially - as you said - allowing a spirit to possess you in some form and speak through you, move your limbs or otherwise manipulate your body somewhat. One form is via calling the spirit to funnel itself into your writing hand, and letting it write words on paper for you - skilled channelers of this variety will find that their handwriting and terminology changes completely during the writing session so that it looks very much written by someone else. Another form is to sink into a meditative state and let the spirit overtake your voice and speak through you verbally; most who channel this way have limited facial expressions and sit very still, since the spirit is focusing primarily on their voice. There are more extensive channeling efforts which get closer and closer to full-on temporary possession, with the channeler becoming more dramatically changed, animating and expressing themselves in an entirely different way that is pretty dramatic to see. Ouija is considered channeling because it beckons the spirit - often invoking literally just any spirit in the area who feels so inclined, which is a really risky move IMO - to take and move your arms (think shoulders down) and thereby move the pointer to different letters to spell answers to any given question.

It is primarily used for communication by people who often feel that any spirit can just be trusted simply by virtue of being a spirit at all or by virtue of appearing shiny and pretty and nice (which personally I feel is extremely flawed and dangerous thinking that just begs for trouble - my bias speaking, remember) and think that any spirit is going to go out of its way to answer questions about things like that one hot guy they like, who their guide is, what they should do with their life, and so on and so forth - often the kinds of things one might ask a counselor or psychologist, honestly. It is often in a question and answer form, sometimes with the channeler alternating between control of their faculties and surrender, to first ask and then receive the answer (especially when channeling for their own benefit) - and sometimes with the channeler being taken over for a longer period and answering the questions of a separate inquiring party, be it one on one or a small crowd (such as the chick who claims to channel an entity named "Seth", or the one who claims to channel "Abraham"...I can't remember the channelers' names). Frequent channelers claim to build friendships (or at least consistent contact) with particular entities, and call upon them to answer life's questions, predict the future, and/or dictate what people should do with their lives. Frequently you will find channelers claiming to have gotten in touch with aliens, "federations", "councils", "angels" and a host of other reportedly high, god-like beings which often claim to have a controlling interest in mankind's affairs and/or the evolution, destiny, fate or future of mankind as a whole. These channelers in particular have avid cult followings, write books allegedly channeled from entities, and go on tour channeling for excitable crowds of followers and inquirers who swear by the channeler's materials.

Personally, I have channeled before, but only with spirits I knew for years and years and I knew I could trust. In my personal opinion, I feel that the fundamental flaw of mainstream channeling practices is that they do not bother to establish this level of trust and often forsake adequate safety measures in favor of a naive belief that any spirit (or any spirit which glows, emits a lovey feeling, or basically seems legit with a single psychic "glance") is trustworthy and can be accepted at face value not only to speak with and give you the answers to your life, but to allow to take over your body and say and do anything it wants with you. The prevalence of predatory exploitation of channelers by spirits - be it possession, draining, attachment, or just trolling, or whatever - is through the roof because of this.

If one is to channel, my belief is that they should first attain a certain level of skill and a certain very deep level of trust with the spirit they wish to channel.

Depending on who you ask, they may say very different things than myself; there are lots of different views on the practice as a whole. It's ultimately up to the seeker as to whether they wish to channel or not, and not my place to persuade or dissuade from the practice. This is just my own interpretation and preferences.

 
Thanks for all of the information. Would a Seance be considered a form of channeling?

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2013, 02:56:39 am »
Quote from: Marukai;106852
Thanks for all of the information. Would a Seance be considered a form of channeling?

 
I'm not as sure about this particular thing, but if I remember right, "Seance" refers primarily to a meeting or occasion during which attempts are made to communicate with spirits or with the dead - rather than any method in and of itself. Generally speaking, I think Seances frequently involve forms of channeling like the ones I described before, but I think sometimes they can involve other methods or just psychic/medium contact that relies more on one's spiritual senses (the medium/psychic posing as a sort of interpreter who maintains full control of their faculties at all times and simply listens to messages and relays them to inquirers) instead of inviting the spirit(s) to enter and control for channeling. Not sure though, "Seance" is a term I'm less familiar with, but think if my memory's right, I remember it being used almost like you'd use the word "party" or "meetup", I think.

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2013, 08:04:44 am »
Quote from: Marukai;106845

What other forms of channeling are there and what is the purpose besides divination?

 
Prostitution.  A hooker that can channel the spirit of Marilyn Monroe or Cleopatra fetches a premium.  And let's not get started on the niche reverse furry market.


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Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2013, 12:12:28 pm »
Quote from: Marukai;106845
What other forms of channeling are there and what is the purpose besides divination?

Always with the Ouija boards. They are a toy, and unless you (or anyone else using it with you) has mediumistic tendencies, you're not going to channel anything with it. And even if you DO, the channeling comes from the individual, not the toy. That is merely a method of communication. They do not open portals to the other side any more than any other method of communicating with the dead would do, because it's a toy. You could generously call it a tool. Even so, again, the work is done by the person using the tool, not the tool itself. An expensive set of socket wrenches will not make me a mechanic just by trying to use them.

Some mediums can channel the dead, and do so for various reasons. Divine possession is another form of channelling that absolutely should not be attempted without training.  Those are the two I can come up with off the top of my head.

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2013, 02:29:38 pm »
Quote from: Marukai;106845
I'm a bit conflicted about Channeling and what the purpose is. I have started to research Channeling a bit and from my understanding it is a way to let a supernatural being or spirit possess you for a moment. I also continuously find references to the Ouija board as a form of Channeling. In my reading about the Ouija Board I find cases of complete possession. I refer to Ouija as such because that is the common name, but they are also called talking boards or spirit boards.


What other forms of channeling are there and what is the purpose besides divination?

[video=youtube;D4QOzi7_FUE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QOzi7_FUE[/video]


Unfortunately, you've been reading the wrong sources. Spirit possession is physically impossible-the only thing that can take over your brain is a tumor. There is no space that another personality can get into, to put it simply. Ouija boards were originally a kind of party game, then some kook started marketing them as a divinatory tool to make a buck. When I want to get in touch with my ancestors, I try accessing "genetic memory," remembering what it was like to live in a grass hut, or be a tiny eutherian, in order to gain wisdom or incite. The only danger is from my butt falling asleep.

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #9 on: May 01, 2013, 02:43:00 pm »
Quote from: Materialist;107235
Spirit possession is physically impossible-the only thing that can take over your brain is a tumor.


Considering there are countless cultures, traditions, and religions which regularly involve spirit possession ... I'm not really more or less inclined to believe you over them, or vice versa. Everyone can claim a possibility of a thing, but it's much harder to prove it's real (or not) as fact when it comes to dealing with spirits.
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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #10 on: May 01, 2013, 02:46:23 pm »
Quote from: Materialist;107235
Unfortunately, you've been reading the wrong sources. Spirit possession is physically impossible-the only thing that can take over your brain is a tumor. There is no space that another personality can get into, to put it simply.


Have you a source for this claim?

Quote
...When I want to get in touch with my ancestors, I try accessing "genetic memory," remembering what it was like to live in a grass hut, or be a tiny eutherian, in order to gain wisdom or incite. The only danger is from my butt falling asleep.

 
Have you a source for the existence of "genetic memory"?
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Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2013, 02:47:05 pm »
Quote from: Materialist;107235
Unfortunately, you've been reading the wrong sources. Spirit possession is physically impossible-the only thing that can take over your brain is a tumor. There is no space that another personality can get into, to put it simply. Ouija boards were originally a kind of party game, then some kook started marketing them as a divinatory tool to make a buck. When I want to get in touch with my ancestors, I try accessing "genetic memory," remembering what it was like to live in a grass hut, or be a tiny eutherian, in order to gain wisdom or incite. The only danger is from my butt falling asleep.

So spirit possession is imposssible but you believe in genetic memory.

You do know that there's absolutely no proof of any such thing and it's at least as subjective as possession, don't you?

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #12 on: May 01, 2013, 03:12:49 pm »
Quote from: Materialist;107235
Unfortunately, you've been reading the wrong sources. Spirit possession is physically impossible-the only thing that can take over your brain is a tumor. There is no space that another personality can get into, to put it simply.

 
Wait one second.  Are you telling me that a thing which is not generally claimed to be scientifically explainable is not scientifically explainable?

On the other hand, OP really has been reading the wrong sources . . . .

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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2013, 03:40:16 pm »
Quote from: Materialist;107235
Unfortunately, you've been reading the wrong sources. Spirit possession is physically impossible-the only thing that can take over your brain is a tumor. There is no space that another personality can get into, to put it simply.

How much space does your one personality take up? Where in your brain is it? How sure are you that there isn't also enough space for a second one? Maybe your personality is just somewhat larger than average, and the rest of us do have extra space.

Quote
Ouija boards were originally a kind of party game, then some kook started marketing them as a divinatory tool to make a buck.

Though there is a lengthy history of similar mediumship and automatic writing techniques.

Quote
When I want to get in touch with my ancestors, I try accessing "genetic memory," remembering what it was like to live in a grass hut, or be a tiny eutherian, in order to gain wisdom or incite. The only danger is from my butt falling asleep.

Ahahahahahahahahahaha. Very nice joke. :)
« Last Edit: May 01, 2013, 03:41:17 pm by Jack »
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Re: Is Channeling Dangerous? What is the purpose of Channelling?
« Reply #14 on: May 02, 2013, 08:51:45 am »
Quote from: Marukai;106845
I'm a bit conflicted about Channeling and what the purpose is. I have started to research Channeling a bit and from my understanding it is a way to let a supernatural being or spirit possess you for a moment. I also continuously find references to the Ouija board as a form of Channeling. In my reading about the Ouija Board I find cases of complete possession. I refer to Ouija as such because that is the common name, but they are also called talking boards or spirit boards.


What other forms of channeling are there and what is the purpose besides divination?

[video=youtube;D4QOzi7_FUE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QOzi7_FUE[/video]

Drawing from a source is also considered channelling. Energy work like Reiki, and even wee rites like the Middle Pillar can be considered channelling.

The first time I saw the word used was in a Street Fighter II Strategy Guide that said Ryu channeled his Ki energy for his Hadoken. Then I was told by a 'good liver' that channelling is evil unless it's from the one "true power." :whis:
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