"Ramtha"

Spirit guide channeled through J. Z. Knight. According to Knight, "Ramtha" first made himself known in 1977 when he appeared to her one Sunday afternoon in 1977 in her home in Tacoma, Washington. Over a period of months, she became used to his presence and to his use of her body, through which he began to speak. In the 1980s he became the center of a movement that emerged in the context of the larger New Age movement. Knight became the most successful of the plethora of channels who became so definitive of the New Age.

Ramtha described himself as having lived on Earth some thirty-five thousand years previously. He was born in Lemuria, described as a section of the ancient continent of Atlatia (or Atlantis). When Ramtha was still a youth, the Atlatians misused their vast technology and created a disaster—the northern half of the continent, including Lemuria, was destroyed. The Lemurians had to seek a new home in the south; Ramtha's family relocated to Onai, the great port city of Atlatia.

After the disaster the Atlatian social system fell apart and was replaced with a feudal-like structure with the Lemurians at the bottom. After his mother's death, Ramtha fled to the mountains to nurture his anger. It became focused on the Atlatians, and he soon returned to Onai at the head of an army. He conquered the city and found a new life as a warrior. He became a conqueror who was stopped only by an assassin's sword.

He survived, but had to endure a lengthy healing process. He used the time for contemplation of the Unknown God to be found in the life force. The death wish that had dominated his life to that point and led him to become a warrior was replaced with a desire to embrace life. His search for the Unknown God led him to contemplate the wind. The wind was powerful, free-moving, without boundaries, limits, or form. The image of the wind beckoned to Ramtha to exist unbounded by the common human limitations, including death. His contemplation over a number of years led first to an out-of-the-body experience. But as his concentration continued, his very bodily vibration changed and he rose as a body of light. He had conquered life, and, leaving his earthly existence, he ascended.

Now, thirty-five thousand years later, he returned to teach what he had learned, through the instrument of a young woman. The essence of his teachings was that each person is a god, a master, who has forgotten his or her origin. In remembering and coming to understand one's true nature, the individual can become a creator who can have whatever he or she desires.

Ramtha's teachings came forth in the mid 1980s through a series of "dialogues," usually weekend gatherings at which Knight would channel Ramtha. These came to an end in 1987 and were replaced by Ramtha's School of Enlightenment (RSE), a more structured course that included a program developed for students. While the dialogue sessions had been held around the country, and even overseas, RSE is centered entirely on Knight's ranch in rural Washington, where students gather several times a year for intensive sessions of philosophical instruction and spiritual practice.

RSE allows more systematic instruction in Ramtha's Gnostic theology. The universe emanated in stages from God, described as absolute potentiality, says Ramtha. Each stage of creation was marked by a slowing of the frequency of the energy out of which the universe has been created. Individual entities, gods, have been embodied in each stage of creation and now have come into physical embodiment to grow and experience life, he says.

The primary problem of humans is having accepted the limitation of physical existence, Ramtha teaches, when in fact, they are gods with vast powers. The spiritual practice of the school, based in concentration and pranayama -like breathing, is designed to teach students to remember and use their godly powers.

Ramtha's School of Enlightenment may be contacted at Box 1210, Yelm, WA 98597

Sources:

Kerins, Deborah, ed. The Spinner of Tales: A Collection of Stories as Told by Ramtha. Yelm, Wash.: New Horizon Publishing,1991.

Knight, JZ. A State of Mind: My Story. New York: Warner Books, 1987.

Ramtha (as channeled by JZ Knight). The Ancient Schools of Wisdom. Transcribed by Diane Munoz. Yelm, Wash.: Diane Munoz, 1992.

——. I Am Ramtha. Edited by Cindy Black, Richard Cohn, Greg Simmons, and Wes Walt. Portland, Ore.: Beyond Words Publishing, 1986.

Ramtha (The White Book). Edited by Steven Lee Weinberg, with Randall Weischedel, Sue Ann Fazio, and Carol Wright. Eastsound, Wash.: Sovereignty, 1986.

Ramtha's School of Enlightenment: The American Gnostic School. Yelm, Wash.: JZK, 1994.