There are many different ideas about where psychics (to use an umbrella term) obtain their knowledge of the typically unknowable, even amongst psychics themselves. Some claim to commune with angels, some with the deceased, some claim to read minds, and some claim to just intuitively know the information. There are countless different sources credited with channelled information. In this entry I’m going to take a brief look at one of the most popular of these sources: the Akashic Records.

The Akashic Records are said to be a storehouse of not just the collective knowledge of mankind, but of all conceivable knowledge. “Akashic” is a Sanskrit word meaning “aether”, and though the idea of the Akashic Records originates in Hindu philosophy, it was really popularised in the late 19^th century by Madame Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society. It has since been widely adopted by the New Age movement.

The idea is that a clairvoyant or medium can tap into this storehouse of knowledge and relay desired information to us here in the material world. The Christian clairvoyant, Edgar Cayce, is undoubtedly the best known psychic who claimed to gleam his information from the Akashic Records. Or to be more specific, the voice that spoke through Cayce made this claim, since Cayce himself gave his readings while asleep and had no recollection of them when awake. This fact earned him the title of “the Sleeping Prophet”.

It is not considered to be a physical place in time and space, but rather, a set of spiritual accounts that can be accessed by those with the required ability. You might call it God’s Wikipedia, although it is more commonly referred to by terms such as “the mind of God” and “the super-consciousness”. There is said to be nothing that cannot be learned from this storehouse of information. It is constantly “updated” with every thought and deed of every being in existence, and those said to have accessed it claim that they don’t so much read these records as watch them, in the same way we would watch a film.

There is one question that the sceptical or even remotely critical mind will inevitably ask: “if the Akashic Records are a universal archive of all conceivable information, then how can those reading from it produce prophecies and information of such a drastically different nature?” It seems evident that information gleamed from spiritual channels is often coloured by the beliefs of the person receiving that information. Is it an accident that Edgar Cayce, a devout Christian, gave readings in which the importance of Christ was paramount? I doubt it. Of course, the sceptic would say that this is actually a reason to be suspicious of the information gleamed from Cayce and others like him, that he is pushing an already existing religious agenda by giving it authority from an alleged “higher source”. However, it must also be remembered that in Cayce’s case, he often channelled information that ran in direct contradiction to Christian doctrine, something which has earned him the mistrust of many of his fellow believers, even to this day. There are many cases where channelled information surprises, or even displeases the one doing the channelling.

In the Talmud it is written, “we see the world not as it is but as we are”. This seems to be just as true, if not more true, of the spiritual realms. To many, the stated source and “colouring” of such information matters a great deal, especially if they come from a particular religious background. However, I think that history shows that whether such information comes from a Christian, Islamic, Jewish, pagan, or from any other perspective, the truth it points towards is largely the same. The question of accuracy is a different matter altogether.

I think it’s safe to say that any sceptic reading this blog would have stopped four paragraphs ago. When I talk about the Akashic Records, I might as well be talking about… actually, I can’t think of an example more nebulous. The point is that the materialist and the sceptic demand empirical evidence, which is entirely reasonable from their worldview, I agree. I myself often look at claims and think, “I’d like to see at least one shred of evidence for this”. I also firmly believe, however, that verification of the spiritual can only come through personal experience, and cannot be shown or taught. But that is a big subject, and one to save for another day.

The point I’d like to finish with though, is that information supposedly gleamed from the Akashic Records, like all information, should be carefully considered. Take from it what is helpful, and what resonates within you. The accuracy of information obtained from spiritual sources has been, and will continue to be debated, but if such information helps an individual in their understanding of the world, or eases their concerns, then from my point of view, it has already served a great purpose.

- David