Channelled Authorship – stage 3 speech

Mr Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters and welcome guests.

This evening I want to tell you about 3 books, 3 authors and 3 writers.

These books, authors and writers have something in common. They all involve what I am calling Channelled Authorship. My purpose tonight is to let you know that such material exists and to tell you something of the experiences of the writers involved. We need not concern ourselves with the content of the books themselves except to say that each gives advice or information that many millions of readers have found useful in helping them live their lives.

So what is it that I am calling channelled authorship: it’s when the writer of the material, the book or whatever it is, assigns the source of the material to someone or something other than themselves.

Fair enough. But they go one step further and tell us that the source of the material is not human. They are claiming the source of the material as some entity or being which does not live and walk among men but belongs to some type of existence other than what we know of as living.

The first of my books is Esoteric Psychology – Volume II. It was written by Alice Bailey and first published in 1942. It is one of a series of 24 books by Alice Bailey written between 1924 and 1949. The source or author of 18 of these books is a Tibetan called Djwal Khul. The important point to note is that Alice Bailey never met The Tibetan. All of the material and it is a considerable volume of material was dictated to her through her mind. Along with her brother Foster Bailey, she founded the Lucis Trust. This is now a world wide organisation dedicated to the spreading of the Tibetans teachings, with headquarters in London, Geneva, Darjeeling, Tokyo and New York. Alice Bailey died in 1959.

The second of my books is A Course in Miracles. The writer in this case is one Dr. Helen Schucman. She was a clinical and research psychologist and a confirmed agnostic. The Course consists of three books: a Text, a Workbook for Students, and a Manual for Teachers. Over 1,000 pages in all. The source is what Helen refers to as the Voice but whom she considered to be Jesus. Schucman says it made no sound but provided a sort on inner rapid fire dictation which she took down in a note book. Her notes were typed up almost daily by her boss and friend, Dr William Thetford. The process started in 1965 and finished in 1972. Helen was very uncomfortable with the experience throughout her life. She kept her experience a secret from most of her family and friends. Her name was only revealed after her death in 1981. She was told by the voice that it was not her job to publish the work but that she would meet someone who would. Helen met Judith Skutch in 1975 and it was she who got the book published. There are now over 1½ million copies in print world wide with thousands involved in study groups with many websites dedicated to the book.

My final book is Conversations with God Book I. It is the first in a series of three books by Neale Donald Walsch. The writer is this case is still alive and well. Neale Donald Walsch explains his experience himself in his books and is the only one of the three writers to co-author their book. As the name suggests, Walsch’s source is God. He wrote a letter to God in the spring of 1992, complaining about the state of his life and was more then surprised when he got a reply in the form of responses to the questions he posed. He explains in his book how he just writes and out it comes. The format of Conversations With God is just as the title says, conversational. Walsch makes a point or puts a question, which is followed by a response from God. This first book was published in 1995. Again, there are websites and study groups springing up around the world formed by readers wanting to share their experience of the material in the book. Walsch lives in different times to that of Schucman and Bailey. And can offer his readers seminars and speaking tours on a regular basis.

So we have three books, three authors and three writers. Books written over a period of 75 years. The styles vary considerably. From the very academic and technical style of the Tibetan, to the almost poetic style of Jesus and the friendly chatty style of God.

One could say that the higher up the source, the more personal the delivery.