Channeler Rae Chandran refuses anything to drink but water. He sits on a "zabuton" and takes a deep breath, stiffens, then shudders, his posture and face relaxing into what can only be described as a light trance-like state.
"I ask that wisdom and knowledge come through me today," he says after a brief prayer -- acknowledgment of the golden light of all things sacred and divine -- "and benevolence for the intended people."
The intended people are myself, my ever-accommodating but somewhat skeptical Japanese husband, an American friend who having seen trance mediums at work before has offered to act as an independent witness, and Chandran's wife, Naomi, who despite being pregnant has made the trip from Tokyo to observe and support.