When a spirit is being channeled, how can we be sure she is who she says she is and that the channeler's beliefs aren't influencing the information he receives?
Some people begin to channel after a two-day workshop. Others have been channeling, or receiving information from spirit all their lives, sometimes without even knowing it.
Let's take the ouija board for an example. The ouija board is the simplest method of channeling, simpler than automatic writing or automatic speaking, and because it is viewed as a harmless game, it is far more dangerous. People who play with the ouija board have no way of knowing what type of spirit they will contact. Most of the time the spirit will be harmless and may even provide valuable answers to questions. More often, however, the type of spirit that responds to the ouija board is more interested in satisfying his own needs than in serving ours.
There are many troubled mind-set spirits, trapped in the physical dimension, who will do anything to get attention, including lying about their identity. A mind-set spirit may say, for example, that he's an angel sent by God, and because we tend to assume that what comes from spirit must be the truth, we are easily be misled. There is also the more sinister possibility that we may attract a negative mind-set spirit. These spirits come from the "underbelly" of our physical world and may be difficult to get rid of after we've finished playing with them.
How can we trust the information given to us by a channeler? First, we should always trust our own intuition. How comfortable do we feel with him or her? Second, we should learn as much as possible about her from others and from speaking with her. What motivates her to serve as a channeler? Is she motivated by self-interest or by serving others?
