Maybe you were raised without any faith at all, and then something happened that you could not explain away. Paul Selig knows that moment. A Yale-trained writer and teacher, he heard a voice at 25 and spent the decades since learning to listen. Here is who he is, who The Guides are and what they teach.
Key Takeaways
- Who he is: a New York writer, playwright and longtime university teacher (NYU and Goddard College) who became one of the best-known channels of our time.
- How it began: raised an atheist, he had a spiritual opening at 25 and in 1987 a psychic awakening. He worked as an intuitive for years before channeling books.
- What The Guides are: the name Paul gives to the sources he hears and speaks aloud, which he compares to tuning a radio.
- Core teaching: “The action of fear is to claim more fear.” Choose love, and rise to the Upper Room, a higher octave of awareness.
- Where to start: I Am the Word, the Mastery Trilogy and his two Next Level Soul interviews.
In This Article
Who Is Paul Selig?
Paul Selig is a New York City teacher, author and intuitive. He earned an MFA in creative writing from Yale, taught at New York University for more than 25 years and directed the MFA program in creative writing at Goddard College. He is also a playwright. Today he teaches channeled workshops around the world and is on the faculty of the Omega Institute, the Kripalu Center and the Esalen Institute.
What stands out is the contrast. He is a literary person, trained to be skeptical of grand claims, who ended up as one of the most widely read channels in modern spirituality. He is humble about it, too. He often says he wrestles with the role.
From Atheist to Channel
Paul was raised without religion. At 25 he was in the middle of a personal crisis, staying in a modest lodge in St. Paul, when he found a Gideon Bible in the room. A prayer for people in crisis became the turning point. Within days, he says, he heard a voice telling him to get his act together. In 1987, during the Harmonic Convergence, his psychic abilities opened further.
To understand what was happening, he studied energy healing and began working with clients, volunteering at a center for people with life-threatening illnesses. Over time he learned to trust the information that arrived. In 2009, he says, The Guides began dictating books through him. The first, I Am the Word, was published in 2010. Hear him tell it in The Journey From Grounded Professor to Channeler.
Who Are The Guides?
Paul calls his sources “the Guides.” He hears their words in his mind and speaks them aloud, sometimes holding a conversation with them. He likens himself to a radio tuning into a broadcast most of us do not normally pick up. The books are transcriptions of channeled sessions, kept as they came through.
Whether you take The Guides literally or as a poetic voice, the material has a consistent character: direct, spacious and focused on the divine already present in you. If you are weighing any channeled teaching, our overview of channelers and mediums offers a thoughtful way to decide what resonates.
Core Teachings of The Guides
Fear Claims More Fear
Paul quotes The Guides: “The action of fear is to claim more fear.” Acting from fear, even in small ways, draws more of it. The invitation is to notice when fear is steering and to choose a response rooted in love.
The Upper Room
The Guides describe the Upper Room as a higher octave of consciousness where fear and separation do not exist. It is reached through attunement, a conscious alignment of your attention, rather than through effort or belief. In the Upper Room, you recognize the divine in yourself and in all things.
Co-Resonance: What You Hold in Darkness Holds You
In The Guides’ Channeled Message of Hope to Mankind, Paul shares a teaching on co-resonance: what we put in darkness calls us to that darkness. When we hold another person in judgment, we hold ourselves there as well. Seeing the divine in others lifts both of you.
The Divine Self
The Guides speak of the Monad, the divine self that seeks to express fully through you. Resurrection, in this view, is not becoming someone new. It is reclaiming what was always true. This is the same message we hear across traditions: the power is within you.
A Time of Reckoning
Paul describes our era as a time of reckoning, when everything built on fear must be seen, released or remade in a higher form. It can feel turbulent. The Guides, he says, assure us that humanity is moving beyond its current limits.
A Simple Practice: Recognize the Divine in One Person
You can test the idea of co-resonance without any belief at all. Try this once a day for a week.
- Pick a person. Choose someone you find difficult, or someone you have judged this week.
- Pause and breathe. Take three slow breaths and feel your feet on the floor.
- Recognize. Silently say, “The divine is in you, and the divine is in me.” Let the words land without forcing a feeling.
- Notice. Watch how your body and your thoughts about that person change over the next hour.
For longer sits, our meditation guide offers gentle ways to begin.
Paul Selig’s Books
The Guides’ books are read slowly, a page or a paragraph at a time. These are good places to begin. We may earn a small commission from Amazon links at no extra cost to you.
- I Am the Word. The first book (2010), and a good introduction to the voice of The Guides. Find I Am the Word on Amazon.
- The Book of Love and Creation. An early channeled text from The Guides. Find The Book of Love and Creation on Amazon.
- The Book of Mastery. Book One of the Mastery Trilogy. Find The Book of Mastery on Amazon.
- The Book of Truth. Book Two of the Mastery Trilogy. Find The Book of Truth on Amazon.
- The Book of Freedom. Book Three of the Mastery Trilogy. Find The Book of Freedom on Amazon.
- Beyond the Known: Realization. A channeled text on realization (2019). Find Beyond the Known: Realization on Amazon.
- Alchemy. A channeled text (2020). Find Alchemy on Amazon.
- The Kingdom. A channeled text (2021). Find The Kingdom on Amazon.
Watch and Listen: Paul Selig on Next Level Soul
- The Journey From Grounded Professor to Channeler. His awakening, the Upper Room and the fear teaching.
- The Guides’ Channeled Message of Hope to Mankind. Resurrection of the divine self and co-resonance.
Keep Exploring
If this speaks to you, you may also like Suzanne Giesemann and her guides, the signs of spiritual awakening and the dark night of the soul. Our free masterclasses are a good next step, too: browse them here.
Go Deeper with Paul Selig: Awakening Divine Consciousness
Paul Selig guides you into awakening divine consciousness in Awakening Divine Consciousness, part of NLS Mastery. Watch the free trailer below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Paul Selig?
Paul Selig is a New York City teacher, author and intuitive with an MFA from Yale. He taught at NYU for more than 25 years and is known for the channeled books he says are dictated by The Guides.
Who are The Guides that Paul Selig channels?
The Guides are the sources Paul hears and speaks aloud during channeled sessions. He compares himself to a radio tuned to a broadcast beyond ordinary perception. Their teachings center on love, the divine self and moving beyond fear.
When did Paul Selig begin channeling?
Paul had a spiritual opening at 25 and a psychic awakening in 1987. He worked as an intuitive for years. In about 2009, he says, The Guides began dictating books, and his first, I Am the Word, appeared in 2010.
What is the Upper Room?
The Upper Room is a term used by The Guides for a higher octave of consciousness where fear and separation do not exist. They say it can be reached through attunement.
What does “the action of fear is to claim more fear” mean?
It means that acting from fear tends to draw more fear into your life. The invitation is to notice fear and choose a response rooted in love.
Which Paul Selig book should I read first?
Many readers start with I Am the Word and then move into the Mastery Trilogy: The Book of Mastery, The Book of Truth and The Book of Freedom.
Where can I watch Paul Selig interviews or take his course?
Two conversations with Paul are on Next Level Soul: The Journey From Grounded Professor to Channeler and The Guides’ Channeled Message of Hope to Mankind. His course, Awakening Divine Consciousness, is part of Next Level Soul Mastery.
