NOTE: This article was written for the Shiatsu Society Journal, Spring edition 2024. It is aimed as Shiatsu Practitioners - an energetic bodywork - but could be applied to other healing arts. I originally trained in and qualified as a Shiatsu Practitioner before diversifying.

Have you had those moments of being ‘in flow’ during a treatment, when it’s as though ‘you’ step out of the way or switch off, as though entering a trance, no longer is the conscious mind thinking, you may feel a-glow, you’re being guided by an invisible inner compass, your intuitive sense guiding your hands maybe taking you down a different path to your usual routine, perhaps you are receiving sense impressions or information about your client? Well in those moments you are acting as a channel in your practice. 

What does it mean to be a channel? The Oxford dictionary defines it as, “a Channeller: (a person) serves as a medium for (a spirit)”, whilst the book ‘The Science of Channelling’ has a broad and flexible definition for the term: “Channelling is the process of revealing information and energy not limited by our conventional notions of space and time that can appear receptive or expressive”. 

For me, channelling is a state where I become empty (natural trance state), where I have a listening and receptive awareness - opening to the presence of healing guides, who do the work!  My heightened sensitivity becomes attuned to the subtle energetic information and experience of my client through the body on multi-dimensional levels as I simply witness the healing being received by them or hearing the messages coming to me for them.  It is a flow state, where I step out of my ‘small self’, becoming a conduit, holding a healing intention for the person I am servicing - like a human bridge to liminal space, as in this context, angelic beings and guides with transcendental vision perform the healing.

Conduit for healing

There are many different types of channelling in the world: healers, artists, writers, musicians, channelling information or messages and so on. Some of us are very sensitive or open to a magic in the world that wishes to express itself or work its way through us through our different talents, passions or interests.  Others have also been seeded with a ‘Soul Mission’ for their time on earth, that we need to uncover, which is a role in the community that will help to raise the collective consciousness of humanity at this time - big or small. 

In my experience, healers act as a conduit for healing energy. We are the human form through which healing guides, angels and archangels work through us or support our work - whether we are conscious of this or not. I remember one of the first times I experienced this was in a treatment with Dinah John. It was the end of the session, my eyes were closed and she told me she would leave  the room so I could rest. But after a while I felt confused as I could feel a hand that was so hot on my stomach I thought she was still there.  So I opened my eyes to ‘see’ a smiling face made of bright white light looking at me with their hand on my belly.  I gasped in shock. I asked her later about it and discovered this is her helper, who she was aware of and had named ‘Beloved’.  Maybe you already have a sense of something similar? 

What are the benefits of working consciously with Guides in your practice?  

So if the guides are already working through us, why not open up to this connection, more consciously? Well there are many benefits.  The first being that for us practitioners, our work can feel much easier, more fluid and less taxing.  As we ‘hand over the work’ in an act of co-creation, the outcome can also become more powerful and profound for your clients.  Why? Because Angelic beings and Guides have a transcendental vision of people. Therefore they are aware of the cosmic, energetic landscape of an individual's consciousness and experience on a multidimensional level, including karmically. They know where and what to work on as they are not limited by the conscious mind. Their bandwidth of knowledge is that of the universal mind and they can comparatively play a symphony compared to our one note. At least that's how it feels to me. 

What is required?

Firstly, we need to have an interest and an open mind to work in this way as this will open the doors to widening your perception. Developing or healing channelling skills in a practice, requires trust and practice, just like Shiatsu training.  We need to be willing to do it differently to open up to new possibilities and get comfortable with not knowing.  We need to lean into and trust our intuition more and more.  It can really help to have a friend or a colleague who is up for you just playing with this new form and contacting your guides to do the work. This way you can just play and enjoy the process free form without pressure. 

The how 

Allow the conscious mind to switch off, or dial down the noise. Close your eyes and set the intention to connect with your highest compassionate healing guides as you open the session.  Learn to call them in and connect with them here (see audio).  Ask your guides to work with you and through you. So like any process, this is going to take practice to connect in with them.  You might want to do this solo regularly to begin with.  

So what do you do then?  Well, you could ask them to give you instruction or information which you will then receive through your different senses - clairvoyance, clairsentience, clairaudience etc.  Notice where you want to move intuitively rather than habitually, or you may simply want to stay put for the whole session or a large part of it. Notice how the energy in the room changes and notice where your client is being worked on without you touching them. When you notice a shift, you could ask if you should move or what light level they are working at, or what age the client is, or if this is their own emotion or absorbed, or is this trauma from this life… whatever comes to mind. 

You can ask for the information to come to you through your different senses and play with this. You could scan the room to see how many guides are present with you.  Each time you do this, you'll start to learn how many are your helpers and how many are theirs. You may want to have a notepad with you to drop down any messages or information that starts to potentially flow through you to tell your ‘client’. The key is to be open, curious, play and simply ask questions.  Most of the information I receive about clients, I feel the clearing that is happening and simply ask ‘what's going on?’ to receive an answer, nice and simple.

You and your way

How you receive information and transmit healing will depend on our current intuitive skills (this can evolve), interests or passions, beliefs, karmic patterns and personal wounding, our intention which will, consequently also determine the clients you attract. 

I will use myself as an example with this; I've had to clear my own trauma symptoms so I understand the impact mentally and emotionally on an individual when trauma response remains in the subconscious. I have an interest in supporting people to recover from this as I know the pain of it.  I also have a passionate interest in the energy and potential of the mind. I also believe in past lives - some examples. So my mind is open to all these things and forms the window for my perspectives. 

This all affects how I work (now off the body on the subconscious mind energetically), the information I experience (often resolving trauma)  and who I attract (highly sensitives - who can bring past life trauma which needs resolving as part of the process). These are some of my key filters currently, you will have yours. Are you aware of what is filtering, what you perceive? This may also be following you towards your purpose in terms of who you are, who you are here to help and how. 

Practically 

Where you are at in your own healing journey will impact what information you are able to receive - we can only take clients as far as we have come - so we need to work on our ‘stuff’ to be a clear channel, keep going with our self development and self care.  You can ask your guides to work on you, to give you healing.  You could even ask them to release any energetic or mental blocks, you have to connect with them.  When you call your guides you can ask them to give you healing and notice the changes in your subtle energy body as they work.  You might like to ask what they're working on and how long they'll be working for. 

Your methods of receiving intuitive information can expand.  For example, I always believed I had rubbish clairaudient skills, as I found it harder and that's what I would repeat in my mind.  So of course, I never picked up any information that way. ‘I am clair-sentient and clairvoyant’… until one day, I decided not to think that anymore and simply try more often, as well as believe it was possible.  Then a door in my mind opened and it simply started happening, almost immediately.  You could be the same, let yourself play with how you pick up intuitive information through the senses. 

Wisdom of your higher calling 

The way that we can channel is extensive, for example, this whole article came about by me, simply asking my guides ‘what do you want me to write about?’, and ‘stepping out the way’.   Allowing my conscious mind to switch off and move into a state of alpha (natural trance) for the ideas and words to flow through me, pretty effortlessly.  It can be the same for you, with intention and practice. 

Opening up to this guidance for me, has really helped me to enter what feels like a state of ‘flow’ both in sessions and out. That I'm being guided down the stream to who I am meant to help and support in my own unique way, with my own unique voice, instead of being in a state of logical resistance, clinging to a rock, trying to figure it all out with my ‘small mind’ feeling like I am swimming upstream. 

Who knows what might happen in your practice if you explore this conscious connection to your guides - what will it look like for you, because we're all different… But what an exciting possibility!  From my experience, it can accelerate your growth further, enhance your skills and open you up to new opportunities.  It can give you a renewed sense of purpose, connect you to your sense of Calling and deepen your access to the mystical realms of life which are incredibly beautiful.  So why not have a play?...! 

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