The Beginning

Becoming a trance channel and medium started in 1981 with a murder. Sitting quietly in my home one night in Oakland, California, I heard gunshots. I ran out of my home trying to find out what happened. My neighbor, Nancy, lay still and silent on the ground on the front lawn of her home. I checked her body for vital signs to no avail and then noticed a small caliber bullet hole in her forehead. The moment I realized she was gone, an excruciating sense of grief flowed through me. Surprisingly, a moment later I felt a tremendous calm replace the grief. Much to my surprise I sensed her energy or personality hovering about 12 feet above me. Not unfamiliar with the eternal nature of the spirit at the time, I immediately took it to be the spirit or soul of Nancy. There also seemed to be another being with her. I could not identify this being but in retrospect I imagine it was one of her guides or teachers, or perhaps a departed family member.

As clearly as I hear a person speaking to me on a telephone, I heard Nancy say to no one in particular, "That was a strange way to die." There was no emotion in her "voice", just a simple matter-of-fact statement. There was a bustle of activity, neighbors coming out of their homes, police and ambulances arriving. But through this commotion, I could still sense the peace of Nancy, hovering above and calmly watching the activity around her lifeless body.

I happened to have seen a car with its lights off roaring up the street shortly after I heard the gunshots. The police wanted to interview me and undergo forensic hypnosis to see how much I could remember about the car. I agreed to be hypnotized, and was able to remember the model, make and color of the car. This information was used to capture Nancy's killer, a man who had raped her and wanted to prevent her from testifying against him.

Experiencing hypnosis piqued my interest a great deal so I decided to study hypnotherapy. I found during my training that I could go in to very deep altered states of consciousness very quickly. I also found that while in a hypnotic state I was open to psychic phenomena.

Near the end of my hypnotherapy training a friend was leading me through a guided hypnotic state to explore the condition and health of my body. While in a deep hypnotic state I sensed a very powerful energy in the room with us, not unlike the energy I sensed when Nancy died. But it was not Nancy; it was someone, or something different. I received the mental and emotional impression that the energy was kind, benevolent, and loving. I got the feeling it wanted to drop into my body. Very strange. I mentioned this to my friend and he suggested I let this energy enter in to my body. Due to my curiosity, I invited this to occur. I felt an amazing electrical surge and noticed my personality seemed to become compressed into a "corner" of my body. I was still somewhat conscious at the time and realized this strange new energy began to control my body and began talking to my friend using my mouth and voice.

This being or energy introduced itself as Ecton, described itself as a non-physical personality, a traveler through time and space. He mentioned that he was there by invitation from Richard and others and if permitted would assist humans in greater understanding of life. Ecton then mentioned a few key things about my friend which I did not know, for the purpose of demonstrating that the Ecton personality is not Richard pretending. Approximately 5 minutes later, I groggily came out of trance to see my friend with his jaw gaping.

Befuddled and sleepy I asked my friend, "What on earth was THAT all about?"

Attempting to muster a suitable reply my friend said, "I'm not sure, but whatever it is, Earth isn't what we're dealing with here!"

Within 6 months, during which time I learned how to allow Ecton to use my body and my voice without interference, I started conducting groups and private counseling sessions.

Thus began many years of channeling the Ecton personality. Life has become a VERY wild ride for me since Ecton's first visit. On the positive side, my work with Ecton has enabled me to travel the world over sharing his messages of love to people open enough to hear him, and has provided me with great satisfaction. And at times his presence in my life has challenged the very core of my beliefs and understanding of who I am, and how reality operates. Sometimes this challenge has been painful, as I realized that what I thought was true about myself or my world was in fact a gross self-deception.

My work with Ecton remains a challenge, due to the insecurity I feel about presenting myself as a trance channel. When I was a child I thought I would take a more "normal" pathway to career and success, perhaps as a doctor. If someone had told me one year before I started channeling that I would become a professional trance channel I would have pulled out my straight-jacket, wrapped them tightly in it, and sent them to the nearest rubber-room. I still feel self-conscious when someone asks me about my career.

But in my clearest, most secure and lucid moments, I consider myself fortunate to have attracted the Ecton energy in to my life. And I feel pleased that thousands of individuals I've worked with have gained understanding and benefit from Ecton's guidance.

From the beginning Ecton's assistance has been based on concepts of unconditional love, unlimited creativity, and absolute personal responsibility, communicated with deep, laser-like precision. These messages have been difficult to choke down for many due to humankind's heritage of perceiving themselves as powerless victims of a strange and forbidding world. But over and over again Ecton reiterates how truly powerful and loving we are, at our core. And over and over again he attempts to lovingly coax us out of our self-imposed isolation into the knowledge of the power and love we have imbedded deeply within us.

And as each of the individuals I have worked with rejects the notion they are at the mercy of the world and it's pain, an epiphany of self-awareness washes over them like a tidal wave scouring and cleansing a debris filled shoreline. This epiphany doesn't necessarily become an eternal smile never to be wiped from their faces, but more so provides an awareness of a greater truth they can use to improve the quality of their daily lives and make appropriate changes when changes are necessary. Of course, change can be difficult, but with the backing of a greater truth, change somehow becomes easier and gentler. And prioritizing what needs to be changed and what needs to be accepted as-is is a tool for greater wisdom.

I will continue to channel Ecton, as long as people ask me to do so. And the moment they stop asking is the moment I will retire. At times I look forward to this retirement. But for now, there seems to be a lot of work left to do in improving our lives on planet Earth.

Each of us is responsible for our lot. Take responsibility, full responsibility for your life. Temper this with love and remember your profound god-like creativity and you will create a heaven on Earth for yourself, your family, your friends, and whomever else wishes to participate.

In Love,

Richard Lavin, Channel for Ecton