Speaking from Source: The Couple Who Channels As One – An Interview with AJ and Thomas

Some couples finish each other’s sentences. AJ Cavanagh and Thomas Workman finish each other’s channeled messages.

AJ Cavanagh and Thomas Workman were both already channeling before they ever met, each on their own for years. AJ connected with a group of extraterrestrial beings. Thomas channeled a collective of native elders he called the grandfathers. Then they crossed paths at a meditation class in North Carolina, and their private practices slowly grew into one shared practice. Today they channel simultaneously, sensing the same ideas at the same time and completing a single message together, one that always comes back to a simple truth. You are not broken. You are unconditionally loved.

In this conversation, they talk about what it took to get there, coming out later in life, walking away from a religious upbringing that no longer fit, and learning to trust something moving through both of them at once. Whether you’ve experienced channeling yourself or you’re just curious what it feels like to be spoken through, this dialogue is an invitation to rethink what love, connection, and Spirit can look like when you stop trying to do it alone.

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I’d love to hear about your backstory. Before you met, you were both channeling in private sessions. What was happening in your individual lives before you came together?

AJ Cavanagh: We each had our own spiritual background that had been with us throughout our lives, which makes us very complementary as a couple. That’s certainly a big bonus.

For me, I was always aware of my origins as an Arcturian twin soul. Even as a kid, I was the one who would spot the UFO in the evening, guess the Christmas present, and experience all sorts of things like that. Naturally, as I questioned the universe, answers were forthcoming, and my spirituality grew. I eventually began teaching classes on spiritual and personal development through meetups and other groups in the ’80s and ’90s.

What was your day job?

AJ Cavanagh: I went through several different experiences. I had so many strings to my bow, but this guy over here is the professional—the one with the career and the PhD.

I once asked Spirit, “Why the diversity?” But it really fleshes you out as an individual. I met so many people and had so many different interactions in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. It all contributed to my capacity to do what I’m doing today.

Thomas Workman: He’s being very humble because those jobs included working for Canadian Television on a business television show that he helped produce. While he was in Vancouver, he also worked as an extra on television programs and in live theater. He owned his own restaurant and coffee shop, too. These weren’t small endeavors; they were big undertakings that were all training him, I think. 

AJ Cavanagh: You’ve got my personal hype man here. This could get off the rails so easily, David, I’m telling you!

But back to the story. I was living in Toronto and would take the subway home from my day job. It was one of the few cities where you could get around without needing a car. I would come home late at night and walk through a park to reach my house.

At the end of the day, I would question the universe. I would ask things like, “Why did this situation happen to me today? Why did I have this setback? Why did I meet this individual?” As I posed those questions, I found myself saying the answers out loud.

At first, I thought it was simply my own reasoning ability. But when I really looked at the answers, I realized they were coming from something beyond myself. I couldn’t have figured them out on my own. In those moments, I realized I was actually channeling.

I really looked forward to those times when I could have this very private conversation with Source, even though I was in a public park. It was a back-and-forth exchange, similar to when you’re in the shower or bathtub and inspiration suddenly strikes.

Thomas Workman: My story is quite different. I grew up with a strong religious background because that was all I knew in Illinois during the ’60s and ’70s. There wasn’t anything but church, so I thought, “Okay, I guess the way to the universe is through church.”

What denomination were you a part of?

Thomas Workman: I started as an Episcopalian and was an altar boy as a child. Then I joined the Church of Christ and went deeply into fundamentalism. I eventually wound up in the Church of the Nazarene and then something a little more Evangelical Free, which I sometimes joke is “evangelical light.” I was really searching to discover what was there and what there was to know.

When I changed jobs and moved from Texas to Washington, D.C., I reached a point in my life when it was time to make a change. Religion wasn’t working for me anymore; it wasn’t enough. I began investing myself in everything I could learn about metaphysics.

I found a wonderful mentor who invited me to join her intuitive development group. She later told me she also had a private, invitation-only channeling group. I thought, “Well, I hope you have good refreshments because I don’t know what I’m going to get out of that.” But I went, and eventually something within me began to emerge. I started channeling.

I received private tutoring for a couple of years, and then it was time to move again. I relocated from Washington, D.C., to North Carolina because my father lived in Charlotte. His wife had passed away, and I wanted to be closer in case he needed my help.

At the time, while AJ was channeling the Arcturian beings, I was channeling several different individuals, particularly a group I called the Grandfathers. They were a collective of Native elders. When I went into trance, I found myself in the middle of a circle with a fire at its center and drums all around me. I could feel each elder speaking at different times, sharing whatever answer or message they wanted to give. It was a little exhausting, to tell you the truth, because the energy was bouncing between all those drums.

When I moved to North Carolina, I wondered, “How do I continue? What do I do?” Back then, Meetup was the main way to connect with people. I went online and found AJ offering a weekly evening meditation called Meditation for Busy Minds, so I decided to check it out.

I called him ahead of time because that’s the kind of person I am—I’m a good little boy. I said, “I’ve just moved here, and I’m interested in being part of this. Will I be welcome? Is this a place for me?” He replied, “Yes, I accept everybody. I’d be delighted to have you. Just come.”

I showed up that night during my first week in North Carolina, in the Raleigh-Durham area. I knocked on his door, and he answered and said, “I’m happy to do this with you, but everyone else canceled.”

AJ Cavanagh: I normally had ten or twelve people every week, and every single person canceled except Thomas. It was kind of freaky. I kept looking at my phone and seeing messages saying, “Sorry, I can’t make it. I’m stuck in traffic.” I was wondering what was going on. Then this new guy arrived, and I felt a little bad, but I have a no-cancellation policy. I told him, “If you still want to do it, come on in.”

Thomas Workman: And we did.

AJ Cavanagh: Spirit has a plan for everything. It was almost like Spirit was saying, “Pay attention to this guy. You need to give him your full attention.” He was the only person in the room.

Was there some attraction on that first night? Did you think, “This is interesting,” or was romance not on the table yet?

Thomas Workman: I’ll tell you what happened. We went into an hour-long meditation, and it was amazing. Meditation had become a very important part of my practice by then, so it was meaningful to meet someone who truly understood it.

After Shavasana, we both sat up, and he looked at me and said, “You have the cleanest chakras of anyone I’ve ever met.” Now I always joke, “Shut up—you had me at chakras.”

That’s quite a pickup line.

AJ Cavanagh: It worked! But when you observe someone in meditation, you can see how practiced they are, and I could tell how practiced he was. I could also see the energy around him. He was sparkling, and that genuinely surprised me. As much as it may have sounded like a pickup line, it was also a sincere compliment.

Thomas Workman: I turned to him and said, “I have to get to know you. There’s something more here that I need to understand.”

I wouldn’t say it was romantic at the time. That developed later. We simply decided that we needed to get to know each other, and the rest happened naturally.

About six months later, AJ said to me, “I think I really have feelings for you, but I’m leaving. I’m not supposed to be in North Carolina. I’m supposed to go back to Arizona, so I’m going to leave. But there’s a place there for you if you want it.”

At the time, I didn’t know how I could make that work with my job. I was surprised they had even allowed me to move to North Carolina because all my clients were government clients based in Washington, D.C.

My company had just started a remote-work program, so I called my boss, ready to resign. I began by saying, “My partner is moving to Arizona,” and that was as far as I got. She said, “Go. That’s fine. We’ll sign the papers. You can work remotely now.” And here we are. We married a year later.

You married a year later—how wonderful! How many years has it been now?

Thomas Workman: That was in 2018, so I think we’re in our eighth year.

I’m curious about how your channeling unfolded in the weeks, months, and years that followed. How did you move from channeling for one another to channeling together? What were the steps in that process?

Thomas Workman: It started with our meditation practice. About six months before AJ left North Carolina, both of our leases were ending, so we decided to move into an apartment together. I told him, “I have an altar, a mini temple, and a meditation practice. I can put it somewhere else if you want, but this is something I’m going to continue doing.” He said, “I’d love to do that with you.” So we began meditating together, and that naturally led to our channeling.

When you go deeply into meditation, it’s hard not to begin hearing them because deep meditation is very much like trance. There really isn’t much difference between the two. We said, “They want to channel,” and AJ offered to facilitate for me.

The Grandfathers would come through and give a message while AJ asked questions and facilitated. When I sensed they were finished, AJ would begin feeling the beings, so the beings would start channeling and I would facilitate for him. We went back and forth like that every Sunday night, devoting our meditation time to channeling. We continued the practice regularly even after moving to Arizona.

Then one night in Arizona, I channeled the Arcturian beings, and AJ channeled the Grandfathers. We thought, “Well, that’s strange. What is this?”

Was that intentional, or could you simply feel it coming?

Thomas Workman: It wasn’t intentional. I went into meditation, and the next thing I knew, I was hearing the beings.

AJ Cavanagh: It was funny because so many channels hold tightly to who they channel. They become identified with those entities, so this was a surprise to us. The energies were completely different. The extraterrestrial beings had a very different energy from the Native Grandfather ancestors.

What they wanted to demonstrate was that they were all operating from a collective. The Arcturian and extraterrestrial beings spoke as a collective, and the Grandfathers spoke as a collective, but ultimately they were all speaking from Source.

Thomas Workman: We asked them what it meant, and they said, “We know one another.” We learned that we all share a single Universal Mind. That universal consciousness is shared by all beings, and every one of us has the ability to tap into it.

The Grandfathers joked, “Who do you think our ancestors are? Who do you think we learned from? We’re Star People.” Then the Guides began introducing themselves and explained, “There are many across the collective who recognize you and would like to speak through you. We’re going to introduce different entities to you—angels, Ascended Masters, and Elementals.”

One of my favorite stories is about the night we met the Elementals. We were living in a beautiful but tiny apartment with a terrace and a small area covered with rocks. We fed the birds like crazy, so we had birds, squirrels, beautiful quail, parakeets, and all sorts of creatures visiting us.

We also had a fire pit and regularly sat outside beside it. One night, we kept talking about how beautiful nature was: “Don’t you love these birds? Aren’t these bushes delightful? Look at the oleander and its beautiful flowers.” We went on and on about our appreciation for it all.

We also kept saying, “Someday we’re going to live on a larger property and be surrounded by nature. I can’t wait. Won’t it be wonderful?” That happened to be our meditation night, so we made sure the fire was out and went inside to meditate.

The first beings who came through were the Elementals. They said, “We want you to know that we were listening, and we appreciated hearing how much you value us. We love that you understand and appreciate us. We want you to know that we’ll join the collective and speak at times. We really love knowing you.”

We often kept a dozen roses on our altar and replaced them when they began to die. We would always put the old roses into the fire because we wanted to give them back. That night, we had burned a set of white roses.

The next morning, I went outside and found a single, half-singed white rose lying about two feet from the fire pit. I grabbed AJ and said, “Did we miss a rose? Did something fall out? We stoked that fire like we always do before going inside.” We realized it was their gift. They had left us this beautiful gift.

After that, we continued meeting more and more entities who became part of the collective voice.

Why do you sense, both individually and as a partnership, that you’ve been called to channel? From a personal perspective, what is the calling? And from the Guides’ perspective, what are they trying to say or accomplish through you?

AJ Cavanagh: As we developed this practice, one of the things the Guides said to us was, “This is aligned with your desire, and we want to support that desire. You’ve been asking to learn to channel and develop in these ways, so we’re bringing that forward for you.” That has been absolutely wonderful.

Thomas Workman: But I think they were also talking about a lifetime. In other words, they were saying, “You’ve been seeking for a lifetime. This is important to you, and we want to honor that.”

I have to tell you, though, when the Guides said they wanted us to channel their messages publicly, I was quite hesitant. My response was, “Really?”

Had you not channeled individually in a public setting before?

Thomas Workman: We had channeled individually in group settings for a while. What we had not done was channel the Guides simultaneously. In fact, we had no idea how to do that.

I said to the Guides, “You don’t need us. You already have great channels—incredible people who are popular and whom people know and trust. What do you need us for?”

Their answer was very interesting, and it’s something we now share with others who are developing their channeling abilities. They said, “We need all of these voices because humans are trained to listen to individual voices. Not everyone will hear the message from the same person. We want your voices because there are people who will hear it from you more clearly than they may hear it from others. Your voices have value to us.”

That was enough for us to say, “Okay, now you have to teach us how to do this.” In all our training, we had never heard of simultaneous channels. We didn’t even know what that meant, so we allowed the Guides to teach us.

AJ Cavanagh: There was an interesting analogy in that as well. When the Guides came through as a collective, they were very clear that the days of idolizing individual channeled beings were over. They didn’t present names because names separate and individualize. Many of today’s leading channels do present collectives, as you know, but the Guides also wanted to prepare us to mirror that collective.

Just as they present as a collective, they wanted us, as simultaneous intuitive channels, to share one mind and reflect the oneness consciousness coming to the planet.

When we supported or anchored one another during individual channeling, we could feel the energy shifting between us. But when we sat down together, followed the protocol we had developed, and entered meditation, we discovered that we could go into trance together and intuitively know when each of us should speak.

We record everything, so we still have recordings of every session going all the way back. There are many years of them now, which is fascinating. When we listen to them afterward, we sometimes realize that one of us had envisioned a word or concept and the other spoke it aloud. We’ll say, “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Sometimes we both see sacred geometry behind the message. When an audience member or private client asks the Guides a question, I’m in trance and mostly removed from what’s happening. But in my mind’s eye or third eye, I may see colors, images, and sacred geometry. Thomas sees them, too.

As the Guides answer through either Thomas or me, the geometry seems to trace the circle of the concept. It’s really the same, and they don’t let up until the circle is complete. It’s fascinating because they want you to understand every angle of the answer to your question. They’re such loving entities.

I want to make sure I understand. Do you see a sacred geometric symbol, or do you see something moving around the geometry? What exactly are you seeing in your mind?

Thomas Workman: I often see a symbol, such as Metatron’s Cube, or any number of other forms. The point is that they download everything at once. They give us a complete package, but I couldn’t tell you what’s inside that package until it comes out of my mouth.

I do know that we’re not finished until we’ve expressed every element of it. The circle is one of the ways they tell us, “No, we haven’t completed the circle yet. We’re still going. There’s more to say and more to explore.” That makes the Guides’ answers long, but complete.

We’ve learned to trust that. I can’t emphasize enough what it’s like to have something come through me in meditation and then come out of AJ’s mouth, and vice versa. It’s really quite amazing.

We’ll both feel the same answer, even when only one of us is speaking. We’ve now learned to trust the feeling that tells us when it’s time to shift the energy from one of us to the other.

Another interesting thing is that we’re not always channeling the same entity. We’re often channeling different members of the collective. There are times when it is clearly one voice, and we are channeling the same entity, but there are also many times when different voices come through.

Early on, when the Guides were trying to describe themselves as a collective, they showed us the image of a gigantic ball. Different faces emerged from all around it, pushing through its surface. It was one collective mind expressing multiple perspectives.

Different Guides may come forward at different times. It might be an Ascended Master, an angel, an extraterrestrial being, or one of the Grandfathers. Any one of them may come through and say, “We have a perspective that will be helpful to this individual.” It’s very selective and specific, and that’s what makes the answer so complete.

Do you identify who is speaking as they come through, or do you feel the person doesn’t need to know because they’re all part of the Guides?

Thomas Workman: They’ve told us that their individual identities are unimportant. This was part of what we learned about the shift in paradigm that I think we’re all experiencing.

One aspect of that shift is moving away from the idea that channeling is a very special gift available to only a few people. In the old paradigm, we almost had celebrity channels, much like celebrity psychics. We’re beginning to see that change.

For us, that means understanding that there are multiple perspectives and allowing the perspective that meets the need of the moment to come forward. I can’t emphasize that enough because it really is about who the Guides are speaking to at that particular time. It never feels the same twice.

AJ Cavanagh: There are consistent premises they discuss, but the experience never feels exactly the same. We can personally feel the vibrational shift between the Elementals, the Ascended Masters, and the Grandfathers, for example, which is fascinating.

That’s also why we call ourselves Speaking From Source. When we channel, we reach into the aspect of Source Consciousness itself. Some people may channel a dragon, an Elemental, or a fairy, while someone else says, “I’m channeling Archangel Michael.” That can create a sense of separation or a question of which is somehow better. But it’s all Source. It’s all Source Consciousness and part of the Divine.

We’re a beautiful part of that Divine as well. What thrills me is the inclusiveness of knowing that we’re all in this together and sharing in it.

Thomas Workman: We were both raised in an environment and paradigm that said we must be channeling someone and that there must be a name attached. That’s why we initially referred to the beings and the Grandfathers.

We asked, “What do we call you?” They literally said, “We don’t care. That’s completely unimportant to us because names can separate. We’re far more interested in being seen as a collective. Why don’t you simply call us the Guides?” The message is far more important to them than the identity.

You’ve mentioned a few misconceptions about channeling. Are there others you’ve had to navigate during the more than a decade you’ve been doing this, both individually and together?

AJ Cavanagh: As we developed, we discovered that channeling is first and foremost for your own personal growth. The Guides have guided us, coached us, and opened our minds, even though we’ve both been spiritual throughout our lives. That growing certainty enabled us to go public with greater confidence.

But it’s always about your own development first. 

Thomas Workman: Another way to think about it is that channeling isn’t external; it’s internal. It is, first and foremost, a spiritual practice for you. We always joke that we’re sitting at the front of the classroom.

The Guides began by correcting our own misperceptions about certain premises and beliefs, the grudges we held, and the histories we carried. They had to help us work through those things in order for us to become effective messengers. We’ve really been sitting at the front of the classroom ourselves.

We both still keep journals, and we continue going back through the transcripts. There isn’t a Wisdom Wednesday message we put together that I don’t feel I’ve personally lived through that week. I’ll read one and think, “I know what that means. I love that one.”

AJ Cavanagh: Wisdom Wednesday is a free email available through our website, Speaking From Source. Every week, you receive an inspirational message containing the wisdom of the Guides. All those messages emerged through our channeling, but also through our lived experiences, which the Guides were able to use in that way.

Thomas Workman: Another thing we often discuss is the need for a protocol. When you decide to develop a channeling practice, it’s very important to establish a specific protocol. Some aspects of ours surprised us.

Early on, we would simply enter trance and bring in the Guides. During one online session, an audience member said, “I’m having heart palpitations.” We thought, “No, that’s not good. That’s not what we’re trying to create.”

The Guides quickly told us, “You need to add meditation to your protocol as you bring us in. You need to connect.” They are as much an energetic channel as anything else. People often walk away having received the energy. It isn’t necessarily the words; it’s something else working through the experience.

We recognized that we needed to build that into our protocol. Now, whenever we channel, we begin with a short meditation and bring the audience into it with us, whether we’re working with an individual client or a group.

There are also things we do to prepare ourselves to be the most effective channels we can be. Some are almost silly—we can’t fight before we channel. If there’s something between us that needs to be resolved, we have to resolve it.

Other practices are more self-evident. We clear our minds and meditate before channeling, and we maintain a daily meditation practice. Our spiritual practices are part of our lives; they aren’t simply something we do for the sake of channeling.

AJ Cavanagh: This has enabled us to maintain a unique and clear connection, as well as a beautiful delivery that allows for an energetic transfer. That can happen whether you’re seated across from us, in a large theater, or joining us over the internet. It really is amazing to experience.

Thomas Workman: The Guides have trained us throughout this process. For example, when we were developing our protocol, we had a temple area with an altar and candles representing different energies. We went through an elaborate process that included ringing a bell and doing all sorts of things to call the Guides in. It took a good 20 minutes before we even began.

One day, while we were channeling privately without an audience, they said, “You don’t need to do all of that. It’s too much work.” They also reminded us, “This should be fun for you. It should be joyous. You don’t need to call us in because we’re already here. In fact, we’ve never left. We love this room you call your temple, and we’re always here.”

They helped us understand that they aren’t present only when we channel. We don’t have to call them in from somewhere far away because they’re always around us. We’ve now developed a natural practice in which we hear them throughout the day.

We still formally invite them in, and we still like candles, but our opening is no longer as elaborate. We continue doing certain things because they hold meaning for us.

AJ Cavanagh: One particularly significant part of our protocol is that we wear these shawls. They create a protective barrier of light—a container around us. They’re also our way, and the Guides’ way, of saying, “We are formally channeling now.”

It’s no longer Thomas and AJ; it’s the Guides. We may receive inspiration and messages throughout the day, but the moment those shawls go on, we step aside. It’s a beautiful little ritual, and I love it.

For the last couple of years, I’ve been interviewing channels for Awakened Magazine. People would say things like, “The Guides are taking us through a training process,” or, “It feels like boot camp,” or, “This is really more about me than it is about other people.” In the beginning, I would think, “Okay, that’s interesting.” Then it started happening to me.

I went through a ten-week channeling program with a woman named Shawn Randall, who appeared in the film Tuning In. The first thing she said was, “Channeling, first and foremost, is for you to experience unconditional love from your Guides.” I was completely ignorant about channeling, and inside I was thinking it would be more like, “Here is the message from beyond.” Instead, I found myself thinking, “This feels so good. This feels so interesting.”

As I began developing a relationship with a couple of loving and wise beings, I realized, “This is for me. Everything they’re saying is transforming me.” Then, through the protocol she had developed with us, a third entity appeared in my consciousness. I knew who it was, and I asked, “Why is he here?” They replied, “Because you have a very complicated relationship with him.” It was Jesus. I had been a pastor for ten years and left ministry in 2008, and because of everything surrounding that experience, I had essentially set Jesus aside. It was complicated.

I’ve been in this training process for the last two years. It began when I spontaneously started channeling during a medicine ceremony. Messages came through me for everyone in the room for about an hour, and I could see inside them. But I couldn’t figure out how to channel without medicine.

Then, in October of last year, I began seeing a regression therapist to navigate some grief related to my parents’ health. During our third session, I spontaneously began channeling without medicine. Since then, I’ve channeled weekly, and every time, it feels like, “This is for me.” It may also be for other people, but first and foremost, it’s for me.

What fascinates me is that I can hear someone explain an experience, but it isn’t until I experience it myself that I understand what they meant. When people said the channeled messages are for me, part of me thought, “Sure it is. You’re just saying that.” But no—it really is for you.

Thomas Workman: That’s right, because you are part of the message. This isn’t a telephone service, and I think that’s important to understand.

A couple of months ago, we were working with a private client and discussing a particular situation. The Guides said to her, “You just need to tell them, ‘Be gone before someone drops a house on you.’” As I listened in the back of my mind, I wondered, “What? Why did you say that? What was that?”

Later that day, I asked the Guides, “Was that me? Did I jump in and get in the way?” They said, “No, you were watching The Wizard of Oz the other day, and we thought it was appropriate to the situation. We decided to use it.”

You are part of the channeling. Your consciousness, your relationship with Jesus, your perception of angels, and your conception of the Ascended Masters are all part of it. The Guides have often told us, “We’ll come in whatever form works best for you.” They’ll come as an angel if you need them as an angel, as Mary if that resonates with your background, or as any other entity you need them to be. I think that’s part of their universal and unconditional love for us. They do that for others as well.

AJ Cavanagh: It’s called resonance—that sense of affinity with the vibrations you’re naturally drawn to and enthusiastic about working with. It’s really beautiful.

Thomas Workman: David, my religious background gave me a very different relationship with Jesus. It has been delightful because he came in early during what I call my reconstruction.

There was a point in my life when all this seeking was also reconstructing me, and one element of that was getting to know who Jesus really was. He’s funny—he’s hysterical. My understanding of him has changed dramatically since I started channeling. I don’t know whether you’ve had that experience, but that has certainly been mine.

In this season of your work together, what do you sense the Guides are doing in and through you right now? What feels most important?

AJ Cavanagh: One of the biggest surprises for us was discovering that we weren’t simply channeling random messages, and we certainly weren’t making predictions. The Guides are working specifically through us to help people better understand themselves—their purpose, why they incarnated in a physical body, and the power they already possess.

They want people to understand that they’re already fully equipped with a chakra system and a third eye. It’s built into them. They also want people to recognize their connection and understand that they’re part of everything. There is no separation. Being in a physical body doesn’t change the fact that we exist as eternal souls.

As channels, we reach upward and become part of it all, which provides evidence of that connection. The Guides are breaking open the door to many of the false ideologies we’ve held in the past. As you mentioned, we aren’t broken or poor, pitiful souls. We are unconditionally loved.

That has been the revelation for us. It’s also how we arrived at the synthesis behind our book, The Aligned Soul, which I’m sure we’ll discuss later.

Thomas Workman: I often describe it this way: particularly at the beginning of our work with them, the Guides focused on a set of premises. These were conclusions we had reached about ourselves, our world, and the universe that we had simply gotten wrong.

We allowed other humans, our social conditioning, and what can sometimes be a lower-vibrational environment to teach us certain things about ourselves. Those ideas became premises that we accepted without question, and we began making choices based on them: “I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m not whole. I’m broken. There’s something wrong with me. I’m not very good. I’m dealing with karma. The universe tolerates my ancestors, and the universe tolerates me.”

We may say, “Of course I’m loved,” but beneath that is the belief that we’re merely tolerated and that we’ll have to wait and see what happens. These premises extend all the way to the stories we tell about what happens when we die and why we’re so afraid of death. The Guides want to correct those beliefs.

They’ve been very clear about why this is so important: we’re ascending, expanding, awakening, and growing in awareness. Those old beliefs no longer work for us. They don’t serve us.

Several years ago, during COVID, they wrote an essay through us called “The Floor Beneath.” People were losing loved ones and experiencing tragedy everywhere. They were asking, “Why is this happening? What did we do wrong?”

The essay, which is still available on our website, describes what happens when the floor drops out of our lives—when everything falls apart, we lose our jobs, our spouses leave, or we face any other upheaval. The Guides explained that it’s so difficult because we’ve banked on that floor. We’ve placed all our confidence in a belief we’ve never questioned, even though we’ve outgrown it.

But the floor never drops without another floor beneath it—a floor that fits who you are now. I feel the Guides are helping people question their belief systems: “Am I really broken? Am I truly loved?”

Several years ago, a client said to us, “I’ve heard the Guides say, ‘Source adores you,’ probably ten times. But the other day, I finally got it. It truly reached me.” The Guides would say she realized it—she ingested it. She told us, “Everything changed. Everything became different.” I think that’s what the Guides are seeking now more than ever.

When they first began working with us, they said, “This is all about joy. The symptom of wholeness is joy. You should be living lives of great joy far more often than you are.” They told us there is more joy available than we currently have the capacity to receive. Increasing that capacity is part of our expansion and ascension.

Imagine moving from the third to the fifth dimension. Consider how much more you’ll be able to appreciate, see, and know. Our joy expands with us.

But the Guides joked, “First, we have to bring you to the level of joy available to you now. You’re too busy complaining, being grumpy, and searching for problems.” They once said, “You humans love your drama so much that you even call it entertainment.” I thought that was fascinating. “How much misery can I watch on television over the next three hours? Sign me up!”

You have a new book, The Aligned Soul. The three areas the Guides are focused on also happen to form the book’s subtitle: Remembering Your Purpose, Power, and Connection. Is the book composed of channeled messages you’ve received over the years?

AJ Cavanagh: Yes. It contains almost 300 channeled messages that we curated for the book. The Guides were very clear that there was a purpose behind these messages. During this time of ascension, they don’t want us worrying about whether the sky will fall. They want us to know ourselves.

When we know ourselves better, we understand one another better. That allows us to understand our place in the universe, as well as the other beings and civilizations within it.

Thomas Workman: The book is really a collection of Wisdom Wednesday messages. We transcribe all our channeling sessions, and we generally channel at least three or four times a month. We review those transcripts and ask, “What message would be pertinent for our followers right now? What do they need to hear?” Then we select and share those messages through Wisdom Wednesday.

We’ve been doing that since 2019. Eventually, we asked the Guides, “Is this it? Are we simply supposed to send emails? Is that the whole point?”

They replied, “No. We want you to spend time examining the themes across our messages, teaching from them, and sharing them in as many ways as possible.”

We’ve been part of the Soul Search community and its streaming television network for quite some time. We produced a twelve-part series organized around twelve fundamental premises the Guides wanted us to understand, such as the truth that we are eternal beings.

To create the series, we went through our collection of channeling transcripts and assembled the messages by subject. The Guides said, “That’s what we want you to do with this book, and that’s what we’ll have you do with future books as well.”

AJ Cavanagh: The television series is called The Infinite Pathway: The Journey to Self-Realization. It’s available to stream free through the Soul Search Network on Apple TV and Roku.

That series ultimately led to The Aligned Soul and several other projects we’re developing. It also informs our live channeling, when we appear onstage before an audience and share messages in the moment, which we absolutely adore.

Part of my story connects to my next question. As I mentioned, I was a Christian pastor for more than a decade. Part of being a Christian pastor is that all your beliefs have to fit inside a particular box. If they fall outside it, you may lose your job.

When I transitioned out of ministry in 2008, the first issue I wrestled with was LGBTQ inclusion in the church. For five years as an associate pastor, I was the person who answered those emails and phone calls: “Am I welcome here?” The answer was, “Yes, but…” I’m sure you’ve heard that response.

Later, as the lead pastor of a new church, I was the one ultimately responsible. I never felt comfortable with the answer I was expected to give or with any part of it. It became the first issue I deeply explored. After months of reading, processing, and wrestling, I released that theological belief. I simply acknowledged, “This doesn’t resonate with me,” and let it go.

That eventually led me to examine what may be the ultimate question of inclusion: heaven and hell. Does everyone get in? Now, many years later, my question is whether there is even a heaven or hell—whether there is an “in” or an “out” at all.

How has your sexuality impacted your spiritual journey and your channeling, if it has? Have you found it to be an issue or a non-issue in your service to the world and within the spiritual community? It’s a broad question, and perhaps one people don’t often ask, but I’m curious about it.

Thomas Workman: I’m glad you asked. I came out very late in life, when I was in my fifties. I had been married for 26 years and had two adult children. It was very difficult for me to acknowledge honestly that I was gay.

This happened while I was living in Washington, D.C., going through all this training and learning. I felt as though something was holding me back. The truth is that my gifts didn’t fully emerge until I became honest with myself and began living authentically. That opened every door in the world.

AJ’s experience was different. He grew up knowing himself better than I did. He didn’t live the lie that I lived. I was under all the pressures good Christian boys experience regarding who we’re supposed to be, how we’re supposed to live, and whom we’re supposed to love. I wanted to go to heaven—the whole thing.

For me, authenticity was the door that allowed Spirit to say, “Okay, we can use him now. We can do something.” Everything opened after that. It was only after I came out that I met the Guides and that AJ and I met each other, so I really do credit that authenticity.

Beyond that, one of the premises we’ve learned is that the universe is ultimately inclusive. It has no sense of exclusion. In fact, it adores and utilizes diversity.

I don’t mean diversity in the way we discuss it within a corporate or political setting. If you look carefully, the universe has created us with tremendous diversity. Look at our animals, plants, and humans, then look across the universe at all the different civilizations and beings. You’ll find certain commonalities, but you’ll also see immense diversity.

We’ve come to understand that diversity is part of the universe. This is never a matter of who is in or out, or who is right or wrong. In fact, the concept of right and wrong can fall away because it has no place in the universe.

Humans love right and wrong because we need rules. We need to know that we’re okay. But Source and our many Guides throughout the universe don’t need that. There is something within the essence of a person that extends far beyond any particular life choice they make.

AJ Cavanagh: As we’re speaking, I’m conscious of the Merkaba symbol behind us. You can see its diversity of shapes—circles, triangles, and others. But notice how those shapes intersect and support one another.

From the perspective of a single circle or triangle, you can’t appreciate the whole. Only when you see the complete image can you understand how each shape contributes to it. That’s also how we each contribute to society.

The Guides have explained that who you are—your personality, whether you’re Black or white, male or female, gay or straight, or born in England or Ireland—is part of what they call your unique lens. That lens is specific to you.

Your current incarnation is your unique lens. It shapes the way you see and experience the world. If you imagine one of those circles looking outward through all its intersections, that is how it perceives reality through its unique lens while remaining part of the greater whole.

That’s how the soul develops. We grow through understanding our diversity and recognizing that there is always more available to us. I may love pasta, but then I discover this wonderful thing called sushi. Our taste buds and palates expand, and our souls expand in the same way.

Thomas Workman: On a personal level, I’ve learned that how I love is more important than whom I love. I believe the universe brought AJ to me for many reasons, both personal and professional. But what I’ve truly learned over the years is how to have a relationship with another human being, and that has been revolutionary for me.

We joked with a group recently that the Guides were the ones who first taught us. To anyone who knew me ten years ago, I am so sorry. I’m not the man I once was. I think that transformation is what the Guides are really interested in.

Before we wrap up, tell me about “the hug.” What is it?

Thomas Workman: We love the hug. When we channeled privately, we would sit at our altar—not because that’s necessary, so don’t put it in a course, but because that’s where we felt comfortable. We surrounded ourselves with our favorite crystals and images of the different entities we adore and who seem to adore us.

We would channel, and then we could feel the Guides beginning to withdraw. Now they say, “We are complete,” but before they began using those words, we could simply feel that they were finished. Yet they weren’t gone, and the energy felt so wonderful that we didn’t want it to end.

It felt as though we were being hugged energetically. It was like having a blanket wrapped around you on a rainy day or feeling the sun on your back. We all know what a genuine, loving hug feels like.

When the Guides asked us to channel for others and bring their messages forward publicly, we finally agreed. Then we asked, “Would you do us a favor? Would you share this feeling with everyone we bring you to? We want others to feel what we experience at the end. Would you give everyone a hug?”

The first few times, we weren’t sure what would happen. We didn’t think the Guides would say no, but we told the audience, as we still do today, “When they say, ‘We are complete,’ don’t move. Let them hug you. It will feel like an energetic embrace.”

Over the years, I’ve changed that invitation slightly. Now we ask, “Would you allow them to hug you?” We discovered that some people don’t like to be hugged, are afraid of being hugged, or don’t trust the experience. We’ve learned to say that if you’re open to it, you’ll receive the hug.

The first few times we did this, we came out of trance, looked around the room, and asked, “Did you feel it?” People were weeping and experiencing all kinds of emotions. They had felt it. It has never let us down, and now we simply trust that the Guides will always end with the hug.

AJ Cavanagh: We knew we could feel the hug as individual channels, but we didn’t know whether other people would feel it, especially through the internet during our monthly Live with the Guides group channeling. But they do.

As much as the experience is about the words coming through, it’s also an energetic transmission. It begins with the alignment meditation and is beautifully bookended by the hug.

That’s why we value the opportunity to participate in the Awakened Lifestyle Expo—to share the Guides’ messages and wisdom, and to offer the unconditional love of Source Consciousness itself.

If we had to distill what the universe wants to tell humanity, it would be very simple: You are truly adored. You are unconditionally loved.

We resist that truth. We disbelieve it and continually search for evidence against it. We shake our fists and say, “My car wouldn’t start this morning. What are you doing to me?” But if there is one message the universe wants us to understand, it’s how deeply we are adored.

You’ll be channeling at the Awakened Lifestyle Expo, and we’re very excited about that.

AJ Cavanagh: We’ll be offering a special interactive channeling on Sunday afternoon. Audience members will be able to ask their questions directly of the Guides and experience the hug as well. We’re excited to meet everyone.

We’ll also have copies of The Aligned Soul available throughout the Expo, and we’ll be autographing books for anyone who purchases one there.

Thomas Workman: We’ve been having fun at these expos. When people visit us, we give away general message cards and invite them to select one. We’ve also begun asking people to place their hand on the book, ask for a message, and randomly open to a page.

It has been wonderful to watch Spirit speak to people through the book, which is really its purpose. We encourage people to open to a random page and ask, “Universe, what do you want to tell me today? What do you want me to know or think about?” 

People can reach out to you for private sessions, join your monthly group channeling, and become part of your Circle of Light community. Can you tell us more about those offerings and where people can learn about them?

AJ Cavanagh: Absolutely. Everything is available in one place at SpeakingFromSource.com. You can book a private session, find the date of our next Live with the Guides gathering, and subscribe to our free Wisdom Wednesday emails to get a feel for the Guides.

You can also join our beautiful Circle of Light Community. As we evolve, we need to establish communities, and the Guides have been very clear about the importance of community and open-heartedness. We wanted to create a safe space where like-minded people could gather, share, learn about the wisdom of the Guides, and connect with us in a different way.

This is a new and evolving community for us, and we would love for people to become part of the Circle. You can choose an annual membership or pay monthly. The membership essentially pays for itself because it includes access to a monthly Live with the Guides group channeling, where members can submit questions in advance.

Thomas Workman: But the real purpose is community. The Guides have been very clear: “Don’t leave people with messages—even beautiful messages and feelings. Help them form a community. Help them find one another and connect.”

This can be a lonely planet, especially as you awaken. The Guides call awakening souls “Sentinels.” They’re the ones standing ahead while the crowds are still watching television or looking at their phones. As that awakening advances, it can feel very lonely, so the Guides told us we needed to find a way to build community.

That’s something we also practice personally. We started a small practitioners’ community in Phoenix because we found that practitioners were often especially lonely. They were too busy competing with one another instead of supporting one another. Community is important to the Guides, and we have a wonderful time creating it.

AJ Cavanagh: We’re stepping into an understanding of spirituality that isn’t exclusive. You don’t only need a Reiki Master, a sound bath, a channeler, or a medium. All these things can be part of your spiritual toolkit.

The more you immerse yourself in meditation, sound baths, intuitive guidance, readings, and experiences such as the hug, the more you ascend. Your vibration opens, your chakras sparkle, and you experience greater synchronicity and joy. It’s all very symbiotic, which is another reason community is so important.

People can visit AwakenedLifestyleExpo.com to purchase tickets and experience your full channeling session, as well as many other wonderful workshops. We’re thrilled to have you at the Expo and excited for people to meet you.

AJ Cavanagh: Anyone visiting our website can also go to the Events page and purchase a ticket for the Awakened Lifestyle Expo directly through our site. We have that link and many other resources available for you.