David Schwerin (one of the authors) has spent over 40 years on a spiritual path and has been guided by several spirit guides. In 1998 he was encouraged to learn the art of channeling. This advice included the recommendation that he get in touch with Diana Muenz Chen (the other author), an expert in teaching this skill. Somewhat reluctantly, David contacted Diana and began trekking from Philadelphia to New York for a six-week course in all aspects of channeling. Since the introductory course, David has practiced channeling his Higher Self and many of his guides, with most of his time spent channeling Hermes, his main guide. Since mastering this art can take a lifetime or more, David still has much work to do. After the six weeks, David stayed in touch with Diana and was introduced to Diana’s Higher Self (known as Lady Diana) via telephone conference calls. David’s guides were also present at these meetings. After messages from David’s Higher Self, which usually included the next steps in his earthly adventure, Lady Diana welcomed questions on every subject imaginable. David has always been inquisitive regarding cosmological matters; he asked a lot of probing questions over the years. Most of David’s questions were answered by Lady Diana or, when she didn’t know, one of the spirit guides who attended the session. This process has extended for more than 20 years with most of the monthly calls being recorded. David is grateful for this opportunity and feels truly blessed.

Diana regularly channels[1] Archangel Michael, who is the co-leader in their channeling school called “The Open Heart School.”[2] Archangel Michael leads Healing Meditations and teaches classes, such as the Ongoing Channeling Classes and The Anatomy of the Soul. Diana and Archangel Michael have been a channeling team for many years. They have written a textbook on how to channel called Channeling: The Heart & The Art, which is available on Diana’s website and on Amazon.

Archangel Michael is a spirit being that is directly connected to Creator. He has a huge energy field that heals and protects us. Archangel Michael has had no incarnations as a human being, as he is not involved in that part of creation. He serves Creator fully and completely by taking actions that promote movement. Archangel Michael is particularly active on the Earth right now because of the time of strong change we are experiencing. He helps many people to deal with their challenges. He works through many human beings, such as Diana. Michael joined David’s team of spirit guides more than 5 years ago.

As David was preparing to downsize his “accumulated possessions,” he considered disposing of the treasure trove of wisdom represented by the recordings of all these channeled sessions. Before doing so, he decided to ask for guidance about the advisability of turning parts of this wisdom into written form. Without permission, he didn’t feel comfortable making this information public. Around that time, Michael asked Diana and David to turn what they had learned into a book about the Soul and to disseminate it widely. He continues to provide profound information and encouragement to aid them in this project.

David has always been curious about how aware people are of the Higher Self and Soul and how much they know about how the two function in relation to one another and in relation to the human personality. Prior to beginning this book, he designed an informal questionnaire to gather information.

The questionnaire was sent to those known to be on a “spiritual path” for at least five years; many had over 40 years of spiritual study and practice. While the number of respondents was small, the results confirmed that there were considerable differences of opinion among them. Many confused the role and standing of the Higher Self and Soul, at least as far as the co-authors of this book have experienced and been taught by their spiritual guides. If those who are familiar with the terms and have spent a long time on a path of spiritual development had trouble describing or defining these essential parts of our being, surely other people would be puzzled. This book is meant to clarify as much as can be done in a brief work on the subject. The survey was returned by people born in North America, South America, Europe and Asia thus providing a measure of cultural diversity.

Some of the varied comments are shown below:

·        Higher Self is not bound to time, space or form. Soul is transitory . . . it carries the illusion of separation. (20 years’ experience).

·        The Higher Self has no growing to do, it is the unitive force. The Soul can be influenced by other forces than absolute good. (30 years’ experience).

·        My Soul is eternal; my Higher Self is this lifetime communication vehicle. I never thought about it [before] (20 years’ experience).

·        In essence the Soul is an individual entity, the Higher Self is not. (30 years’ experience).

·        I think they are the same thing. Part of the problem we face is that these terms are used often interchangeably and confuse people. (30 years’ experience).

·        I think the Higher Self guides and directs the individual Soul in its task of returning to unity with the Universal Soul. (30 years’ experience).

·        Higher Self feels like it is part of God . . . that universal consciousness that comes flowing to me. Soul feels like me as a distinct being. (30 years’ experience).

·        Higher Self is the best and most evolved aspect of the Soul to date. (40 years’ experience).

·        The Higher Self is already evolved and connected with God all the time. In contrast, the Soul is the gestalt of our current consciousness/energy-being, our state of development. (30 years’ experience).

·        Higher Self is more verbally oriented, always pure; Soul is more physical/emotional. (5 years’ experience).

What do most people mean when they speak about Soul? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, Soul is “the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life.” Dictionary.com describes Soul as, “the essential element or part of something.” As you might expect, we intend to provide more in-depth concepts and understandings about the origin, purpose and structure of Soul.

We all have a wellspring of energy inside and all around us. In Chinese medicine this vitalizing energy is called Chi or Qi. In Hinduism it is called Shakti. In the West it is called Spirit. It is all the same thing, just different names by different spiritual traditions and cultures. Similarly, different cultures have different names for Soul. For example, Atman is the Hindu name for Soul. For the sake of simplicity and clarity, we will use the term Soul in this work, but intend the term to represent what all cultures mean when they refer to the innermost essence of an individual. A glossary at the end of this book lists a variety of terms for Soul.

Similarly, the names for God are many and varied. Source, Creator, All That Exists, Life Force, One Life, The All. In this book, we will use the term Creator.

 As you read, you will encounter psychic abilities, such as clairvoyance—perceiving energy as images and clairsentiece—perceiving energy as physical sensations.[3] There are always two pathways in life—the physical world and the energy world. You can perceive either one separately or perceive them together. The physical world is the most familiar; you live in it every day, seeing objects, hearing sounds, feeling sensations, and so on.

You can sense the energy world through psychic abilities that mimic your physical senses. For example, you can connect to your Soul during meditation and perceive golden light on your mind screen, which is subjective clairvoyance, or hear a message from your Soul in your mind’s voice, which is subjective clairaudience.

Accessing the energy world pathway through your psychic senses is a skill which can be developed. Learning how to perceive energy through your psychic senses is like learning how to speak a foreign language—it takes time and focus—and is not a gift given to a chosen few.

David’s main guide, Hermes, has helped him with his writing (two books, dozens of articles and many blogs for the Times of India and elsewhere.) His other guides, Higher Self and Soul have helped David introduce Socially Responsible Business practices and a psycho-spiritual body of work to China. Some of these activities may be referred to in this book to illustrate the spirit world’s interaction with and contribution to our journey in each lifetime. It will also help inform the reader of the spirit world’s capabilities and limitations. While the material in this book is focused and brief, we believe readers will find it life changing.

[1] The skill of expanding your Personal Energy Field (PEF) and connecting with a discarnate being, a being without a physical body, to receive healing and guidance.

[2] Go to www.dianamuenzchen.com to access Diana and Archangel Michael’s offerings.

[3] All psychic abilities are listed in the glossary.