J\q\ ^on^I,ue^ from Page 20A
ly with them and know that
they trust, love and accept me
just as unconditionally.”
The third type of channeler
does not channel information
from other personalities, but at
tempts to bring their conscious
and higher (spiritual) selves in
to close interplay. This kind of
channeling is very similar to
meditation and available to
almost anyone, said Sara )ane
Thomas, a hypno-therapist who
teaches workshops on channel
ing at the Synthesis Training
Center in Eugene.
“What is happening during
channeling is that we quiet
ourselves and go inward until
we find the core of our beings.”
she said. “The messages we get
from our higher self is not ver
bal; that is, we don’t hear voices
but get feelings or sense what it
is trying to tell us."
Sometimes the messages
transmitted to us from our
higher self can get garbled or
may be misinterpreted. Thomas
said.
“If we make a mistake chan
neling information for
ourselves, we’re the only one
who is affected.” she said. “But
if you make a mistake channel
ing information for someone
else the consequences can be
more serious. It’s a big respon
sibility and one that I personally
try to stay away from. I’m not
perfect. So I would rather teach
people how to contact their
higher selves for themselves.”
Workshops teaching people
to channel are available at the
center, Thomas said. She uses
hypnotism as an aid to help
people make contact with their
inner selves and also may go in
to trance with them, she said.
“I can usually tell where peo
ple are because I have been
there,” Thomas said. “There is
something electrical I can
sense, and sometimes I can tell
them how to move or focus to
enhance their experience. Other
times I just leave it all up to
them. It depends on the person
and the situation.”
With channeling, the chance
always exists that the channeler
may hook up with negative
energies or entities. While this
danger may be more acute for
the first two types of chan
neled, opening up to your
higher self also can be risky.
“Everything in nature has an
aura,” Thomas said. “And
when we begin to open up
through the process of channel
ing, the aura also expands, and
we are more vunerable. That’s
why I advise that everyone learn
channeling with a competent
teacher and take time to learn
how to protect themselves.”
Learning how to surround
one's self with white light is
one of the best ways people can
protect themselves, Thomas
said.
"Each of the seven chakras
(energy centers) in the body
vibrates to a different color,”
she said. “Pink, for example, is
associated with the heart and
denotes love while green has a
calming effect and promotes
healing, which is why hospitals
often use green in patients'
rooms. White light is associated
with the highest chakra and is
made up of all the colors of the
spectrum. Thus it serves to
unify and strengthen the whole
aura when you focus on it.”
People concentrating on pro
tecting themselves with white
light should first imagine their
aura to be egg shaped and pro
jecting a foot below and above
the head, Thomas said. Next,
they should try to feel the
energy pulsating around them
and visualize it as being
brilliant, pure and crystalline,
she said.
“It’s cumbersome at first,”
Thomas said. “But after awhile
you get the hang of it. When
you do, then and only then
should you try to open yourself
up to channeling.”
Channeling in small groups
also can improve protection for
many people and make it easier
to tune into their higher selves,
she said.
“At first it's hard to chan
nel.” she said. "But the longer
you do it. the easier it gets. It’s
like making a groove on a
record; pretty soon you can
zoom into the higher realms
without much strain or
preparation.”
Although channeling in
creases self knowledge and
awareness much like medita
tion, the two practices are dif
ferent and should not be confus
ed, Thomas said.
“Meditation is simply for
you.” she said. “But channel
ing is getting in touch with
ourselves for a higher purpose.
When you do it you are trying to
bring back specific information
rather than just expanding and
seeing what comes up.”
In addition to artists,
therapists and spiritual ex
plorers. people involved in mar
tial arts also may use channel
ing techniques to improve
awareness and physical
performance.
’‘Essentially, chi is the life
energy that exists in all of us.”
said Wayne Vincent, who
teaches an Aikido class through
Innovative Education at the
University. “Chinese medicine
states that chi flows through the
energy meridians (conduits)
that run through the body and
feed energy to all the major
organs and muscles in the body.
Through concentration,
breathing exercises, meditation
and visualizations we can learn
how to project this energy out
ward and sense an opponent's
attack. Extending chi allows
you to then join and blend with
this incoming, aggressive
energy and redirect it so that
your opponent is non-violently
disarmed.”
This same sensitivity also can
be used to sense where a per
son’s energy is blocked, Vin
cent said.
"By learning how to channel
chi, one can facilitate the move
ment of energy along each meri
dian in the body as an aid to
unblocking muscular tension
and revitalizing your whole
self.” he said. “This practice is
especially important after prac
ticing martial arts and seems to
help students cool down and
focus on relaxation. Energy can
also be transferred from one per
son to another and used to ease
the pain of sprains, muscle
strains and all-around body ten
sions. I try to make chi massage
and chi channeling exercises a
regular part of my class and en
courage everyone to participate
in them."
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ummer Session University
Jun© 22
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August 14, 1987
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