Journalist David Thomas described his life a decade ago as “drinking too much and enjoying too little” and that he once lived “under the grey cloak of skepticism,” but he does not say what led to the rather dramatic change in attitude. With this small background given, he then pursues interviews with 6 trance channelers/a few hundred thousand disembodied aliens gonzo style.
Tuning In: a Journalist, 6 Trance Channelers and Messages from the Other Side has a cast of upper middle class adults, the Pleiadian Collective and at least one old Indian chief. Alongside the interview transcripts he has with (ostensibly) space-beings, he shares his feelings about the suicide of a friend, his perception of energy changes in a room during a channeling session and his search for and discovery of project partner and videographer Matthew Klinck.
Some measures for the skeptics might have made a nice addition; questioners do like data such as temperature readings and MRI scans Although he goes without this, it does seem what was said to him in each session was really what was said. The messages of the channeled entities vary from each other; some of the spirits seem even to be aware of each other and to have differences of opinion.
Issues addressed by the allegedly channeled spirits may seem banal. In the session with the Pleiadian Collective, the entities speak on diets. “There is no one right or wrong diet to follow. It depends on what your body needs at the time, because going through this process there are certain chemical needs. So eating an all-vegetarian or all-vegan diet is not always appropriate. If you’re not ready to deal with an emotional issue, chances are your diet is not going to be very good. When you start to eat healthily, it starts to lighten your frequency. So you’re not numb anymore, and emotional issues start coming to the surface. So if you don’t want to deal with those issues, you’re not going to eat healthy. If you feel that having something is unhealthy or it’s going to create a negative response.”
If considering this book, it is well worth recalling an anecdote shared by Z. Budapest in her book Summoning the Fates. After spending an excessive amount of time on channeling and dowsing, a prankish spirit came through and told her “We are here to enslave your planet.” After some startled queries, Budapest got the message: the information, however obtained, is only effective if lived. So while seeking the wisdom is always the start, in the end it’s living the wisdom that matters.
Recommended for entertainment.
~ review by Diana Rajchel
Authors: David Thomas and Matthiew Klinck
Hampton Roads, 2011
pp. 240, $22.98
