Recently I caught a debate on a Facebook forum about the use of ‘alternative’ historical research and whether it should be used as a resource, or dismissed as 'shameful' and trashy ‘nonsense.’ The Akashic record which I use to augment my own detailed, multi-disciplinary research, certainly fall into the category of ‘alternative’ studies and as such is not recognised by the conventional canon of historical academia, but does that make them ‘nonsense?’
People are entitled to their personal thoughts and opinions on the validity of using the psychic as an additional resource - and I respect that - and would hope for the same respect in return. It is an interesting debate, but not one I'm going to get deeply involved in here. The main reason for this post is that I want to explain about the way I use the material to craft my works of historical fiction.
The Akashic Records as a title is a useful handle to describe an ability by a person to tune into the past at a vibrational level, and experience it as one would experience say watching a film. Added into that experience is full sensory and emotional detail. Imagine a film where you can smell the smoke and taste the food. Imagine feeling the emotions of the characters and tuning in to their thoughts. As long as the person with the ability to access this resource has the co-ordinates, they can find and connect with the energy patterns that created the original imprint. In my case, the person is my good friend and longterm colleague Alison King, a lady with an amazing ability.
I don't understand the science of how it works although I'm positive that at some point it will be explained. By the same analogy, I don’t need to know what’s under the bonnet of a car to be able to drive it.
Of course such psychic observation is not permissible in the body of conventional historical research. It’s not something solid that can be proven and might all be the work of a vivid imagination. My own experience consisting of eight years with Alison, building up evidence over hundreds of thousands of words and numerous hours of digital recording, and testing our findings against known historical records, leads me to believe that this is not the case, but as I said above, it all boils down to personal opinion. I don’t interfere with the free will of others to believe otherwise. I can only tell you what I know from personal experience.
There are moments when the tuning does go awry, or flies in the face of the current known evidence. There are moments of white noise and interference from the conscious mind, but once these are taken into account and sifted out as a margin of error, it still leaves mostly positive data that does not disagree with known historical fact. It’s not as if the Akashics are coming up with information that is wildly inaccurate or outside the mindset of the historical period in question either. Usually it’s quite the opposite.
The way I use the Akashic records is threefold.
Point 1. I use it to fill in the gaps where no one knows what happened. If one believes in it then one is darning the unrecorded holes left in history. If one is a sceptic, then even so,it's still a fabulous imaginative resource. Since I am writing historical fiction, providing I don’t go way off kilter and the premises are within the realms of probability, then there isn’t a problem. So, for example, I might want to know what the future Henry II thought about marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine and what she thought about marrying him. I might want to find out what William Marshal thought about Magna Carta. I might want to see a day in the life of a bishop, or find out what a character’s favourite horse looked like or what made him or her amused or angry. It’s all out there, waiting.
Point 2. I use Alison’s gift of psychic time travel to look at the known history in detail. Generally I look at the primary sources first, followed by the secondary sources, and then ask her to view the 'original' happening through the lens of the Records. The alternative research scores strongly here in that one gains the thoughts, emotions and reasoning behind events - resources that are frequently not evident in the written medium, or have been corrupted and changed into accepted history by oft-repeated opinions. The passionate couldn’t keep their hands off each other relationship between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine is a case in point where the Akashic interpretation of a political match that wasn’t an easy personal fit, is perhaps more realistic than certain biographical opinions!
Point 3. The third use of the Akashics is to point me in the direction of further conventional historical research. The Records help one examine the facets of history with a fresh eye. One receives a view of history through a completely new lens, that can lead to all manner of different ways of thinking outside the box – ways that don't disagree with the primary source historical record, but refresh it or open up brilliant new avenues as the detritus of the years falls away. That to me, whatever the origins is a source worth treasuring and exploring, not just for novelists, but for those working with history. I know two historians and an archaeologist who use very similar techniques to give their researches a kick. You won’t find them fessing up anytime soon because it would be career suicide, but they’re out there with day jobs in the professional academic community. Me, I write fiction, so I have the leeway to stick my neck out that they don’t.
If you look at the sidebar, you will see a link to a blog where I have been posting Akashic Record details from my background research into the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and you can judge for yourselves how plausible or wildly off kilter you think it is.
I research my work extensively, using primary source, academic secondary sources, locations visits and living history. Psychic time travel in the form of the Akashic Records and the all-important imagination are further strands that are an integral part of the blend. For those who accept the existence of that ability to engage with the past, then be welcome to see these final two threads as being of different colours. For those who prefer to see both as imagination – that’s your personal choice too.
Thank you.
