Channeling Explained: A Nondual Perspective

By Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
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Channeling is often described as the process of serving as a conduit for a spirit, entity, guide, or higher intelligence. In popular spirituality, it is imagined that a human steps aside and allows another being to speak through them. But from a nondual perspective—the recognition that all is one and that separation is ultimately an illusion—this raises important questions. If there are no separate beings, then what exactly is channeling? Who speaks, and to whom?

This article explores the nature of channeling from both the dualistic and nondual perspectives. We will first look at the conventional understanding of channeling, then shift into how these experiences may be interpreted when seen through the lens of nonduality. We will also examine some well-known channelers and how their work might be reframed nondually, offering new insights for anyone drawn to this mysterious phenomenon.

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What Is Channeling?

Traditionally, channeling is understood as a practice in which an individual allows an external consciousness—whether a spirit, ascended master, extraterrestrial intelligence, or even God—to communicate through them. The channel often enters a trance-like state, loosens their grip on their own sense of self, and becomes a vessel for something “other.”

For the channeler, the experience can feel like words, images, or energies are flowing through them, without conscious effort. For the audience, the words may carry a sense of power, wisdom, or clarity that transcends what the channeler could have generated on their own.

This model assumes duality: a channeler here, and a separate being there. Communication appears to move across a gap. But if reality is nondual—if all is one without separation—then channeling cannot be what it seems on the surface.

Channeling in a Dualistic World

The dualistic interpretation of channeling mirrors how humans generally experience conceptual reality. We see ourselves as individual people, separate from one another and separate from the natural world. In this frame, channeling fits neatly into the story of separation.

A “higher” being exists outside of the human channeler.
That being has access to wisdom or knowledge the channeler does not.
Through a mysterious process, the being “steps in” and speaks, using the channeler’s body as a vehicle.

This perspective makes intuitive sense when we believe in separate selves and separate realms. It preserves the narrative of hierarchy: there are beings who know more, and beings who know less. And it also aligns with our deep longing to feel guided, supported, and connected to something larger than ourselves.

But what happens when the illusion of separation is questioned?

Nondual Understanding of Channeling

From a nondual perspective, there is no one “here” and another “there.” There are not many beings but rather isness or oneness, appearing as many. Everythingness is not divided into fragments but is the indivisible ground of all experience.

When seen in this light, channeling looks different. Instead of one separate being speaking through another, what unfolds is All That Is expressing itself in a new configuration. Words, ideas, and energies emerge spontaneously, not from “elsewhere,” but from the infinite source that is always right here.

This perspective dissolves the hierarchy. The channeler is not a lesser being opening to a greater one. Instead, channeling is an expression of the same source that animates all experience. The wisdom expressed through channeling is not foreign—it is an aspect of the same infinite intelligence that gives rise to the breath, the heartbeat, the thought, and the world.

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Channeling as a Shift in Identity

If channeling is not about one being stepping aside for another, what is it? From a nondual lens, channeling can be understood as a shift in identity. Normally, we are identified with the personal self—the “me” with its history, opinions, and limitations. When channeling occurs, the identification softens. The sense of being a small, separate “me” gives way to a wider field of expression.

In this wider field, fresh expressions can arise. They may sound wiser, more expansive, or more loving, because they are less filtered by the habitual ego or unconscious. Yet they are not coming from “outside” because there is no outside or inside. They are arising from the same nondual 'stuff' that always already is—just free from the usual boundaries of identity.

This explains why many channelers report not remembering what they said during a session. When the personal self is nonoperational—even temporarily—everything flows more freely, unencumbered by the ego’s habit to control or edit.

Famous Channels and a Nondual Reinterpretation

Jane Roberts and Seth
Jane Roberts, who channeled the entity Seth, produced teachings that emphasized the power of beliefs in shaping reality. In a dualistic frame, Seth was an independent being speaking through Roberts. From a nondual view, “Seth” could be seen as a voice or thought of All That Is emerging through Roberts when her personal identity softened. The wisdom did not belong to Seth as a separate being, but to the infinite source appearing as Seth’s voice.

Esther Hicks and Abraham
Esther Hicks channels “Abraham,” a group of nonphysical teachers offering guidance on the Law of Attraction. While Abraham is presented as a distinct collective, the nondual perspective suggests that these teachings are simply clarity expressing itself through Esther. The apparent “other” called Abraham is a symbolic form that allows humans to hear wisdom more easily, but ultimately, it is all the same.

Edgar Cayce
Known as the “Sleeping Prophet,” Edgar Cayce delivered readings while in a trance state, offering medical advice and spiritual insights. Traditionally, this was seen as accessing the Akashic Records or connecting with other realms. Through a nondual lens, Cayce’s trances dissolved his usual identity, allowing isness to reveal knowledge that was always already present—knowledge not belonging to “another world,” but to the indivisible whole.

Why Channeling Persists in Human Experience

If all is one, why does channeling arise at all? The answer may lie in the way human beings navigate meaning. The mind often needs symbols, stories, and characters to receive wisdom. Hearing a teaching from “Abraham” or “Seth” feels more approachable than hearing it from the undefined vastness.

Channeling, then, may be less about receiving wisdom from outside and more about bypassing the resistance of the personal self. By attributing wisdom to “someone else,” the ego relaxes, allowing the message to come through. In this way, channeling serves as a bridge from duality toward nonduality.

Channeling as a Bridge Toward Nonduality

Channeling can act as a bridge from duality toward nonduality because it often creates a direct experience of stepping outside the habitual identification with the personal self. In dualistic thinking, we see ourselves as separate from others, from wisdom, and from the All. Channeling, even when framed as communication with an external being, temporarily suspends the ordinary sense of self. The channeler’s ego relaxes, and a wider field of expression becomes accessible. This first-hand experience of “something beyond the personal self” can hint at the deeper truth of nondual oneness.

For those receiving channeled messages, the process can also subtly shift perception. Hearing wisdom attributed to a “higher being” can bypass the usual mental resistance of the ego. Listeners may feel the insight as something larger than themselves, yet the truth resonates deeply and profoundly. Over time, this repeated experience of receiving messages from a source that feels both within and beyond the self can loosen rigid boundaries, creating the first cracks in the illusion of separation.

Eventually, repeated exposure to channeling experiences—either as a channeler or a receiver—can help people see that the wisdom is not “from somewhere else” but arises from that which is always present. In this way, channeling becomes a practical tool for shifting from a dualistic framework, where wisdom comes from others, to a nondual understanding, where all insight is recognized as the spontaneous expression of the infinite. The bridge is the experience itself: an embodied realization that the separation between “me” and “other” is provisional, and that everything is indivisible.

Channeling and the Disappearance of the Channeler

In deep nondual realization, even the distinction of channeling dissolves. There is no longer “me” channeling “them.” There is only one seamless expression of life happening. The words spoken are simply what is happening in that moment. Every conversation, every gesture, every breath could be seen as channeling.

This recognition demystifies channeling without diminishing its power. The mystery does not lie in the existence of other beings, but in the ever-present wonder that there is anything at all. The fact that words and wisdom emerge spontaneously is itself miraculous.

Final Thoughts on Channeling

Channeling, when seen through the lens of duality, appears to be a mysterious exchange between separate beings. But when seen from nonduality, channeling is nothing more and nothing less than the All expressing itself through a temporary opening.

There is no channeler, no channeled, no boundary across which wisdom travels. There is only the infinite, appearing as voices, words, thoughts, images, and teachings. To embrace this view is to recognize that channeling is not a special gift reserved for a few, but the natural expression of life itself.

Ultimately, every moment is channeling. The mind just claims experience for the self, and it appears be controlled or owned. But this is not actually so. Every word spoken, every silence held, every insight glimpsed, every painful thought is nondual everythingness expressing itself. To see this is to awaken to the true nature of both channeling and life—an endless play of the One, disguised as many.

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