Files From the Edge (22 page)

Psychic Channeling of Angels

Some people who do psychic readings claim to channel “higher beings.” My research has convinced me that some of these individuals are channeling nothing more than their own imaginations. Many enjoy having an audience and being the center of attention and some like to have a following because it makes them feel very important. Although I have sat through a good number of channeling sessions, the one I will present is from a woman in New York who claims to channel the archangel Gabriel. There must be at least a hundred psychics in the New York area alone who claim to channel this angel . . . Gabriel must be a busy guy! Speaking through the psychic, Gabriel asked the small group if anyone had any questions. I raised my hand and asked a number of basic scientific questions and all I got were very long answers filled with spiritual interpretations, none factually correct. Finally, although seemingly getting very annoyed, “Gabriel” allowed me to ask one more question. I asked a simple one; out of the blue I said; “What’s the capital of North Dakota?” Well, Gabriel didn’t know the answer to that one either and it seemed strange to me that an archangel couldn’t answer questions my sixth-grade science class could. The channeling of angels, extraterrestrials, and other beings is very complex and more of a contact experience. My investigations into this phenomenon will be covered in a future book.

The Strange Case of John Gray

Sometime back in 1979, a number of people involved in paranormal research told me of a very interesting man named John Gray who lived in Greenfield Hills, Connecticut. It wasn’t until 1982 that I finally gave him a call and said that I wanted to meet with him. It was quite difficult understanding John—over the past several years he had suffered two strokes that left his vocal cords partially paralyzed. Despite this handicap, however, I was able to understand every word he said. It felt as if our communication was taking place on a higher level . . . perhaps telepathy was being used.

I made an appointment to visit his home that weekend and had four days to prepare but something unusual took place. In the days preceding my meeting with John, I felt a presence as if something was trying to probe my mind. Looking back, I compare the feeling to the Pink Floyd lyrics “There’s someone in my head bu it’s not me!” At night, I had vivid dreams of meeting an old man with a white beard in some mountain temple. Every time, he would walk over to me and touch my arm and then I would wake up. This dream recurred over three nights and by the third time, I knew it was not just a dream; someone was trying to contact me, perhaps using psychic projection and remote viewing.

Saturday, our meeting day, was still a couple of days away so I spent some time trying to get background information on John Gray. The only bit of information I found on Mr. Gray was a Fairfield, Connecticut, police report made in 1981 concerning prowlers on his property; other than that he seemed a blank slate. Then I got a lucky break: a reporter for a local newspaper,
The Fairfield Citizen
recognized the name and found a story written about John Gray in 1970.
[2]
It seems the paper selected Mr. Gray as Citizen of the Week for his past accomplishments in science and the arts. It’s important I present at least part of this story because it will show that although John Gray made some very incredible claims, he was not crazy or mentally unstable. He was a very credible man who had the respect and admiration of many.

An Accomplished Gentleman

Mr. Gray was a Briton who lived in Canada for many years before coming to the United States. He was an expert engraver, artist, engineer, philosopher, and inventor—truly a Renaissance man. Mr. Gray was not just a dabbler in many pursuits; he was very well trained in all areas of his expertise. Over the years, he has contributed cutting-edge technologies to industries in a number of fields. I found it very extraordinary that a single human being could achieve all of this in one lifetime. From 1945 to 1970, John was a consultant for the American Bank Note Company, the largest firm of its type in the world. There, John worked as the only engraver who made embossed dies, a highly specialized skill. In 1945, Mr. Gray engraved a picture of King George V of England later placed in a British palace. Queen Mary sent John a letter congratulating him on his excellent work and remarkable likeness of the image.

During World War II, John established the John Gray Company in which he manufactured critical equipment for the English armed forces. He made range finders for the Royal Navy and invented a barrel gauge locator for anti-aircraft guns that improved the efficiency of shooting down German aircraft. This device was considered one of the keys in English victory during the Battle of Britain. Another of John’s crowning inventions was a periscope that could be used in tanks. This allowed soliders to stay in the protective armor of the vehicle and safely spot their targets. This device is still in use today by the United States and its allies in Iraq.

My Visit

My first visit with John Gray was in the summer of 1982; at the time his wife had just passed away and his granddaughter was taking care of him. I arrived at his home in the late morning on a warm August day, knocked on the door, and was greeted by his granddaughter. She led me into the living room where her grandfather was waiting and introduced me. John was sitting in a chair with his back to me but as he got up and turned around, I was shocked—this was the man who had appeared in my dreams! John had two strokes over the past year and although he was able to get around quite well, his speech was greatly affected. As we sat, John opened up with a strange revelation: “I am not the original soul in this body; I walked into it in 1935.” I was taken by surprise—John was claiming to be a walk-in. According to a Hindu belief, a walk-in is a person whose original soul has departed the body and been replaced with a new soul. It supposedly takes place when the human body is injured, ill, near death, or when a person loses the will to live. The soul agrees to leave the body and a new one is placed into it by a higher being, usually angelic in nature. Deep emotional trauma and suicidal desires are said to be suitable settings for a walk-in.

After entering the body, the walk-in may behave differently and have a totally new personality. She or he may speak in an unknown language, respond to a different name, be disoriented, or have a greater spiritual awareness. In popular New Age writings, the walk-in exists to carry out a task in the physical plane. This mission may involve one or large numbers of people, and it usually entails the teachings of wisdom and matters of spirituality. The “new” soul inside the body may claim he or she is an angel, or an ascended being; some claim to be extraterrestrials here to save the world. Many walk-ins claim heightened psychic sensitivity and may become healers or ministers. In John Gray’s case, the walk-in soul is a great Tibetan master who lived more than a thousand years ago and now has come to the physical plane to teach a number of apprentices the secret arts to battle forces of evil. Although John seemed to be a man of peace, this would explain his contributions during World War II that helped the allies be victorious.

In Islamic belief, a walk-in is not a human spirit but an evil Djinni who has come into our world to get revenge on a man or woman who injured it or the Djinni’s family.
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It is also believed that a Djinni will walk into the body of a recently married young man so it can experience the physical pleasures of intercourse with his wife. The possession of the human body is not forced; the person must consent and for allowing use of a physical body, the Djinni may offer a wish as payment. However, there are stories in which the Djinni never gives up the body or commits murder. When the original soul finds itself back in the body, he or she may wake up in a mental hospital or on trial for a crime he or she didn’t commit. Sometime during their research, paranormal investigators may encounter people who claim to be walk-ins, but what bothers me about this is the simple fact that if you are a walk-in, would you be so eager to advertise it?

Anyway, after hearing John’s tale, I didn’t know what to make of it. The claim was fantastic and this was the first time I had actually met a walk-in face to face. I asked John if it was he who had probed my mind and visited me in my dreams. He said, “Yes. I had to know your true intentions ... they are pure or else you would not be here now.” John said he was often visited by UFOs and showed me a number of photos he had taken. He also claimed that a secret government agency in league with organized crime has been trying to get him to agree to work with them. John said that on more than one occasion, a powerful evil master came into his bedroom at night and tried to kill him, but he was able to drive it away. According to John, he was able to win the battle and vanquish the dark force, but it left him in the weakened state that I now find him.

John claimed to have extraordinary powers, so I asked for a demonstration. John replied that he had the ability to levitate things and showed me a photo of a pie plate floating above a table. I replied to him that anyone can take a photo and fake it, if he had this power then he ought to prove it to me. I was sitting across from him on the couch with the windows open behind me. John seemed a little upset that I would make such a demand, but as I looked at his face he then smiled and the pupils in his blue eyes turned to pinpoints, then he waved his hand and behind me there was a
crash!
All three windows slammed shut at once with great force and the sound made me jump out of my seat. I asked John, “Did you do that?” He replied, “Yes I did. Enough demonstrations for the moment; there will be plenty of time for that later.” Of course I wanted to see more, and thought that perhaps it was just a freak accident. John seemed to be reading my mind and said, “There are no such thing as accidents and coincidences.”

John claimed to be part of an ancient secret society called the “Brotherhood of Mahatmas,” the spiritual guides of mankind and the guardians of the secrets of the cosmos with the Master Djwhal Khul as his teacher.
[4]
As mentioned earlier, John was a talented artist; he took me into his workshop and unveiled two paintings: one of Jesus and the other of Babaji, an Ascended Indian Master. The oil paintings were incredible and the detail was so life-like they appeared to be high-resolution photographs. As we walked back into the living room, John told me he had selected me to go to India and study under Babaji who has incarnated many times over thousands of years. He said this is Babaji’s final time on Earth, and I must go and see him because he is going to leave soon. John then showed me photos taken by a student of his in India of a young-looking man levitating off the ground in the lotus meditation position in front of a crowd of people. There was a long letter that started out saying, “BABAJI IS REAL!” I guess this student had some doubts before his trip. John said that he would pay my way and all expenses if I would agree to study with the master Babaji for five years.

According to Hindu mysticism, Babaji is one of the representatives of God-the-Father. From time to time, he incarnates on the Earth as a teacher for the sake of helping people. One of his incarnations took place at the end of the nineteenth century; it was described by Paramahansa Yogananda.
[5]
Yogananda describes in particular how Babaji easily dematerialized and materialized several times in front of his students; he also performed the materialization of objects out of thin air. According to the followers of Babaji, his last incarnation was from 1970 to 1984, again in northern India. He walked into a young man’s body and lived in it for fourteen years.

John asked me once again if I would be willing to go to India. I had recently started a new position teaching science so I politely declined his offer. John seemed disappointed but said it was my decision to make. I asked John if it would be possible to get copies of his notes and photographs, and he said, “No, but someday you will get most of it.” He excused himself; he was tired so I left for the day. I visited John several more times before I moved out of the area.

Did John have psychic powers? Well, it sure seemed like it; he was able to get thoughts out of my mind and insert vivid images. John passed over sometime in the early nineties. I had no idea he had left this world until one day when I got a call from a friend. He said he got lost in the back roads of Fairfield, Connecticut, while driving and suddenly got the urge to turn down a lonely road. He came upon a house that had a sign outside that said “Estate Sale.” He then said that I came into his mind and he swore he heard the voice of a man say, “Stop and get it for Phil . . . you will know when you are there.” He got out of the car and was “directed” to a small box of papers and photographs. He purchased them from a woman and then left and found his way back to the highway. Two days later, he gave me a call and said, “Phil, I have something for you, but don’t ask me how I know.” I went to his home the following weekend, he gave me a packet and said, “I heard a voice say this was for you.” I opened it up and could not believe my eyes—it was John Gray’s notes, drawings, and a number of photographs. I always wondered if John was a real walk-in or was it just the imagination of an ill old man trying to escape reality. One day while shopping at the mall in Danbury, Connecticut, I saw a sign outside a hair stylist shop saying “Walk-Ins Welcome” and it made me stop, wonder, and finally smile. As for Babaji, well, I never went to India but whoever he was, he would show up again in my life in another form (a bizarre incident, presented in the chapter Messages from Beyond).

metal Bending

Using the mind to bend spoons and other metals is a controversial subject. It began in the 1970s, when Uri Geller held spoons in his hand and seemed to bend them by psychic means. Many magicians have come forward and claimed that Geller’s metal bending ability is nothing but a trick, and they have been able to duplicate the feat. During my investigation of a “haunted home,” all the spoons and forks in a kitchen drawer were found bent the morning after my visit. Was it the result of an angry ghost or a hoax? Whatever the cause, the people who lived there didn’t think it was funny—they had to buy a considerable amount of new silverware. I have seen spoon bending before, and although I accept the idea that it can be done with trickery and without psychic powers, perhaps in rare cases a trick is not involved.