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Ruth Montgomery: Herald of the New Age
Few people have lived as rich and as varied a life as has Ruth Montgomery, the bestselling author who has enlightened millions about everything from spirit communication and reincarnation to Walk-ins, extraterrestrials, and the New Age that is dawning.
Now she tells her own fascinating story: her earlier career as a nationally syndicated political columnist and distinguished Washington correspondent...her initial skepticism about psychic phenomena and her gradual conversion to the truths of this largely unexplored and mysterious realm...her friendship with renowned spiritualists like Jeane Dixon and Arthur Ford...her predictions of the sweeping changes that lie ahead of us as the twenty-first century approaches.
Now she tells her own fascinating story: her earlier career as a nationally syndicated political columnist and distinguished Washington correspondent...her initial skepticism about psychic phenomena and her gradual conversion to the truths of this largely unexplored and mysterious realm...her friendship with renowned spiritualists like Jeane Dixon and Arthur Ford...her predictions of the sweeping changes that lie ahead of us as the twenty-first century approaches.
- GenresScience Fiction
275 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 16, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 25, 2024
AN EXCELLENT SUMMATION OF RUTH MONTGOMERY’S LIFE AND WORKS
Ruth Shick Montgomery (1912-2001) was a journalist and syndicated columnist in Washington, DC., who later became a psychic who wrote a number of metaphysical books (sometimes through ‘automatic writing’), and claimed that she could communicate with medium Arthur Ford after his death.
She wrote in the Introduction to this 1986 book, “To relive one’s life through the pages of a book is a nostalgic journey backward through time… If it is true… that my books have forever changed the lives of readers and helped them understand the deeper meaning of life, then the credit should go to those unseen mentors whom I call the ‘Guides.’ I have simply been the chosen instrument for their imperative project to enlighten humanity about everything from spirit communication and reincarnation to Walk-ins, extraterrestrials, and the New Age, that is beginning to dawn… As the Guides gradually stretched my own thinking to encompass these new realities of time, space, and eternity, my faith in a benevolent Creator unfolded and expanded, as it inevitably will do for all who sincerely seek a richer purpose for living.” (Pg. vii-viii)
Coauthor Joanne Garland quotes Montgomery saying about reincarnation during a lecture, “Can we really believe that a just and loving God permits one soul to be born to wealthy, loving parents who will give it every advantage in life, while simultaneously consigning another soul to an unwanted birth in a city ghetto? Except through a belief in reincarnation, how can we justify the fact that one baby is born perfect in mind and body, while another comes into this life blinded or maimed?” (Pg. 7)
She recounts, “To complete her preparation for the series of articles on spirit communication, Ruth examined every book she could find on the subject, both pro and con… ‘While I could see how some mediums might be tempted to resort to trickery or fraud, especially on days when their abilities weren’t up to par, I remained frankly baffled by other phenomena that I could not explain.’ Did mediums maintain card files on the families of those who sought spiritual contact? If so, how could they afford such a complex information system long before the days of microcomputers, especially when they charged only three dollars for an hour-long session?” (Pg. 85)
About the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, “a new organization founded by some outstanding educators, professionals, and clergy to investigate psychic phenomena within the framework of established churches,” Ruth commented, “This was an encouraging approach… Spiritualism is a separate religion with its own congregations, but inasmuch as every major religion has had its genesis in psychic phenomena, it belongs within existing churches.” (Pg. 91)
Of Ruth’s book about Jeane Dixon, they note, “Ruth pointed out Jeane’s misses … along with her hits… But to her dismay the publisher changed editors and the new one insisted on deleting most of Jeane’s incorrect predictions. The resulting book offered an unduly rosy view of the seer’s success ratio. ‘I was not very happy about that,’ Ruth confesses.” (Pg. 108)
They observe, “Evidence for reincarnation continued to mount. Still Ruth posed her questions and recorded the answers that she found. If we do indeed return to earthly life again and again, why don’t we consciously remember prior lifetimes? Perhaps the burden of such memories would prove to be too cumbersome… a kind of providence curtains our recollections of prenatal follies, giving us fresh opportunities to surmount and overcome them.” (Pg. 126-127)
They acknowledge, “Never one to proselytize about her deepening belief in the spirit plane, she told neither relatives nor friends about her continuing communication with Arthur Ford after his death; but Ellie Amburn knew, and was eagerly awaiting completion of the unique book [‘A World Beyond’] that she was writing with Arthur.” (Pg. 156)
They suggest, “the Guides’ lengthy story of the life and teachings of Jesus inspired many readers to take a fresh look at the Bible and to rethink their own religious heritage from the revised perspective that they now embraced. The ancient teaching that life is continuous and eternal may not be so strange after all, if we realize our responsibility to love one another and to lend a hand where needed, we cannot help but realize that all of us are indeed Companions Along the Way.” (Pg. 174)
They state, “humans did not evolve from the same ancestor as apes, but were separate creations who gradually solidified from spirit form and who walked the earth far earlier than scientists had once believed. Indeed, recent discoveries in eastern Africa of three-million-year-old hands and a million-and-a-half-year-ole skull tend to support the Guides’ extended time frames.” (Pg. 188-189)
They recall, “‘Strangers Among Us’ created a sensation! … To [readers], the explanation of Walk-ins made every bit as much sense as reincarnation. If we indeed return again and again to physical life, taking on newborn bodies as naturally as we would don a new suit of clothes, they reasoned, then what would be so strange about a sick or discouraged soul yielding an unwanted body to another who wished to accomplish good in the world without having to waste time in childhood?” (Pg. 204)
They explain, “The Guides had repeatedly explained that because Ruth lives on one of the busiest avenues in Washington, in a large apartment building, extraterrestrials had found it impossible to land a spacecraft and present themselves to her. Since she no longer drives a car, she also conceded that they could not have intercepted her on a lonely roadway. But she now feels that there may have been an even better reason why she did not have a personal encounter. ‘Had I done so,’ she muses, ‘I might have been so enthralled that I’d have produced just another book about my own eyewitness account…’” (Pg. 227)
Ruth argues, “The Christian fundamentalists are sincerely trying to stem this flow of evil, and because they know so little about the New Age philosophy and are unwilling to listen to discussions about it, they are lumping all of these ideas together. It is a pity, because some of these people genuinely sincere in trying to save Christianity from satanic influences, but so many of them are ignorant, with closed minds and little education, that they fail to realize the close relationship between the ancient Easter religions and that which Christ brought into the world. They fail to understand that we are all one.” (Pg. 261)
Garland concludes, “As a seeker of the light, and a messenger of the true understanding that is about to dawn on the planet earth, Ruth Montgomery is indeed a Herald of the New Age.” (Pg. 274)
This book will be “must reading” for anyone wanting an excellent and insightful overview of Ms. Montgomery’s books and life.
Ruth Shick Montgomery (1912-2001) was a journalist and syndicated columnist in Washington, DC., who later became a psychic who wrote a number of metaphysical books (sometimes through ‘automatic writing’), and claimed that she could communicate with medium Arthur Ford after his death.
She wrote in the Introduction to this 1986 book, “To relive one’s life through the pages of a book is a nostalgic journey backward through time… If it is true… that my books have forever changed the lives of readers and helped them understand the deeper meaning of life, then the credit should go to those unseen mentors whom I call the ‘Guides.’ I have simply been the chosen instrument for their imperative project to enlighten humanity about everything from spirit communication and reincarnation to Walk-ins, extraterrestrials, and the New Age, that is beginning to dawn… As the Guides gradually stretched my own thinking to encompass these new realities of time, space, and eternity, my faith in a benevolent Creator unfolded and expanded, as it inevitably will do for all who sincerely seek a richer purpose for living.” (Pg. vii-viii)
Coauthor Joanne Garland quotes Montgomery saying about reincarnation during a lecture, “Can we really believe that a just and loving God permits one soul to be born to wealthy, loving parents who will give it every advantage in life, while simultaneously consigning another soul to an unwanted birth in a city ghetto? Except through a belief in reincarnation, how can we justify the fact that one baby is born perfect in mind and body, while another comes into this life blinded or maimed?” (Pg. 7)
She recounts, “To complete her preparation for the series of articles on spirit communication, Ruth examined every book she could find on the subject, both pro and con… ‘While I could see how some mediums might be tempted to resort to trickery or fraud, especially on days when their abilities weren’t up to par, I remained frankly baffled by other phenomena that I could not explain.’ Did mediums maintain card files on the families of those who sought spiritual contact? If so, how could they afford such a complex information system long before the days of microcomputers, especially when they charged only three dollars for an hour-long session?” (Pg. 85)
About the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, “a new organization founded by some outstanding educators, professionals, and clergy to investigate psychic phenomena within the framework of established churches,” Ruth commented, “This was an encouraging approach… Spiritualism is a separate religion with its own congregations, but inasmuch as every major religion has had its genesis in psychic phenomena, it belongs within existing churches.” (Pg. 91)
Of Ruth’s book about Jeane Dixon, they note, “Ruth pointed out Jeane’s misses … along with her hits… But to her dismay the publisher changed editors and the new one insisted on deleting most of Jeane’s incorrect predictions. The resulting book offered an unduly rosy view of the seer’s success ratio. ‘I was not very happy about that,’ Ruth confesses.” (Pg. 108)
They observe, “Evidence for reincarnation continued to mount. Still Ruth posed her questions and recorded the answers that she found. If we do indeed return to earthly life again and again, why don’t we consciously remember prior lifetimes? Perhaps the burden of such memories would prove to be too cumbersome… a kind of providence curtains our recollections of prenatal follies, giving us fresh opportunities to surmount and overcome them.” (Pg. 126-127)
They acknowledge, “Never one to proselytize about her deepening belief in the spirit plane, she told neither relatives nor friends about her continuing communication with Arthur Ford after his death; but Ellie Amburn knew, and was eagerly awaiting completion of the unique book [‘A World Beyond’] that she was writing with Arthur.” (Pg. 156)
They suggest, “the Guides’ lengthy story of the life and teachings of Jesus inspired many readers to take a fresh look at the Bible and to rethink their own religious heritage from the revised perspective that they now embraced. The ancient teaching that life is continuous and eternal may not be so strange after all, if we realize our responsibility to love one another and to lend a hand where needed, we cannot help but realize that all of us are indeed Companions Along the Way.” (Pg. 174)
They state, “humans did not evolve from the same ancestor as apes, but were separate creations who gradually solidified from spirit form and who walked the earth far earlier than scientists had once believed. Indeed, recent discoveries in eastern Africa of three-million-year-old hands and a million-and-a-half-year-ole skull tend to support the Guides’ extended time frames.” (Pg. 188-189)
They recall, “‘Strangers Among Us’ created a sensation! … To [readers], the explanation of Walk-ins made every bit as much sense as reincarnation. If we indeed return again and again to physical life, taking on newborn bodies as naturally as we would don a new suit of clothes, they reasoned, then what would be so strange about a sick or discouraged soul yielding an unwanted body to another who wished to accomplish good in the world without having to waste time in childhood?” (Pg. 204)
They explain, “The Guides had repeatedly explained that because Ruth lives on one of the busiest avenues in Washington, in a large apartment building, extraterrestrials had found it impossible to land a spacecraft and present themselves to her. Since she no longer drives a car, she also conceded that they could not have intercepted her on a lonely roadway. But she now feels that there may have been an even better reason why she did not have a personal encounter. ‘Had I done so,’ she muses, ‘I might have been so enthralled that I’d have produced just another book about my own eyewitness account…’” (Pg. 227)
Ruth argues, “The Christian fundamentalists are sincerely trying to stem this flow of evil, and because they know so little about the New Age philosophy and are unwilling to listen to discussions about it, they are lumping all of these ideas together. It is a pity, because some of these people genuinely sincere in trying to save Christianity from satanic influences, but so many of them are ignorant, with closed minds and little education, that they fail to realize the close relationship between the ancient Easter religions and that which Christ brought into the world. They fail to understand that we are all one.” (Pg. 261)
Garland concludes, “As a seeker of the light, and a messenger of the true understanding that is about to dawn on the planet earth, Ruth Montgomery is indeed a Herald of the New Age.” (Pg. 274)
This book will be “must reading” for anyone wanting an excellent and insightful overview of Ms. Montgomery’s books and life.
August 20, 2018
Life changing! Lead me to my Guru and to God.
February 26, 2012
fascinating to read of the spiritual experiences of a respected journalist. she re-whetted my appetite to look further into this field.
Currently reading
April 9, 2013ok
April 1, 2013
Amazing! Love all of her work
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews