Ryerson, Kevin (1953-)

Kevin Ryerson is a contemporary channel who became nationally known due to his association with actress Shirley MacLaine, who wrote about her interaction with him in her international best-seller Out on a Limb (1983). Born in 1953, Ryerson's childhood consisted of a number of psychic experiences, which he came to understand during his teen years in light of his study of occult literature. He joined a study group sponsored by the Association of Research and Enlightenment (ARE), through which he studied the Edgar Cayce materials and learned to meditate. One evening, during a meeting of his ARE study group, Ryerson slipped into a trance, and a voice claiming to be a spirit guide, "John," began to speak through him.

The study group members became fascinated with "John" and with Ryerson's channeling and began to tape the sessions. "John" identified himself as the biblical apostle John and said that he had returned to assist people in the transformational process and make them aware of the Christ within. Ryerson later sought out Richard Ireland, a Spiritualist medium from Phoenix, Arizona, and was eventually licensed as a minister by Ireland's University of Life Church. In 1976 Ryerson became a full-time professional channel.

Ryerson's career has encompassed several projects. In 1979 he met Gurudas, an herbalist and natural healing practitioner. Gurudas taped a number of channeling sessions at which "John" spoke of natural healing processes and substances, which became the basis of a series of books. Early in the 1980s Ryerson met Shirley MacLaine and conducted several channeling sessions with her. The convincing nature of these sessions was quite important to her development, and Ryerson subsequently recreated their meetings for the film version of Out on a Limb (book, 1983; movie, 1987). He has also made several other media appearances, in Poltergeist II, The Magic Boat, and Palooka. Ryerson's character is also featured in MacLaine's books Dancing in the Light (1985) and It's All in the Playing (1987). He allowed himself to be studied by Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove and William Krautz at the Center for Applied Intuition.

Ryerson has his own website at http://www.kevinryerson.com/.