What is the source of the information? Theories abound about what the source of channeling is: The Unconscious Mind, Our Higher Self, or Collective Consciousness. In mediumship studies, the main theories of the source are that it is psi (e.g., telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance), superpsi (using multiple other channeling types, such as clairvoyance, precognition, or telepathy, to get information), some sort of universal knowledge reservoir, or actual survival of the deceased person and their personality.
What do channeler’s think is the source? We’ve done multiple survey studies asking people this question. People could choose as many sources as they wanted. For example, one survey was with people who had various types of channeling experiences (mixed group). More than half of the participants choose their higher self (56 percent) as the source. The universal mind (50 percent), the collective unconscious (47 percent), and gods and/or God (43 percent) were the next most commonly chosen. Many people were not sure (44 percent). The remaining sources checked were deceased human beings (37 percent), angels (33 percent), Jesus Christ (24 percent), plants or animals (22 percent), other ascended masters (20 percent), group beings (16 percent), earthbound spirits (13 percent), elementals (9 percent), extraterrestrials (9 percent), and devas (6 percent) (Wahbeh, Radin, et al. 2018). Our study in trance channelers found similar results with a few interesting differences (Wahbeh and Butzer 2020). For example, the trance channelers chose group beings as a common source where those in the mixed group did not. Perhaps the source of channeling is not just one source but different sources based on the type of channeling, the information being accessed and the channeler.
Another concept to think about is that we are all one. Everything is interconnected is the first premise of IONS guiding hypothesis and there is certainly growing evidence from multiple disciplines, like quantum physics and cosmology, that this is indeed true. If everything is interconnected and we are all one like many spiritual traditions have taught us for millennia, then is there a distinction between ourselves and the source? Wouldn’t the source always be some other aspect of ourselves? What do you think? What is the source of your own channeling experiences?
Another interesting topic of channeling is the type of information that people actually receive through their experiences. Many have noted similar themes in the type of topics that are channeled. They are:
- Guidance and Personal Messages
- Ageless Wisdom
- Descriptions of Life in Other Physical and Nonphysical Realms
- The Past and the Future
- Health and Healing
- Information from or About Deceased Humans
- Art and Science
Do you notice that the information you receive is of a particular type? Why do you think that is so?
Curious to learn more about channeling? Take a deep dive into The Science of Channeling through our new online course! A part of the IONS Channeling Research Program, this self-paced program sheds light on experiences we call “channeling” — the process of revealing information and energy not limited by space and time.
In this course, you will explore the latest scientific evidence for channeling phenomena, looking at research questions such as “Is channeling real?” and “Is it a mental health concern?” Join IONS Director of Research, Helané Wahbeh, as she reveals the fascinating research on this common phenomenon which we are just coming to understand!
About the Author
Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR, is the Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Wahbeh is clinically trained as a naturopathic physician and research trained with a Master of Clinical Research and two post-doctoral research fellowships. She has published on and spoken internationally about her studies on complementary and alternative medicine, mind-body medicine, extended human capacities, stress, posttraumatic stress disorder and their relationships to physiology, health, and healing. Dr. Wahbeh is especially known for her research around — and noetic approach to — channeling.
