A STATE OF MIND, MY STORY: Ramtha: The Adventure Begins

Among the intriguing bits of information that readers of Knight's autobiography will discover is the fact that the idea of dentists' advertising their services (in the State of Washington, at any rate) was first suggested by the spirit of a 35,000-year-old warrior from Atlantis; that Knight inspired the California poet Joaquin Miller to celebrate her beauty in verse, even though he died 33 years before Knight was born; and that God doesn't like the enlightened to engage in tugging and shouting matches with fellow-customers during clearance sales. Knight, whose reputation as a psychic has attracted widespread attention among New Age aficionados, claims to have experienced just about every paranormal phenomenon imaginable--reincarnation, spirit possession, UFO sightings, out-of, body experiences time-warp travel, miracle cures. Raised in a family even Mammy Yokum might regard as dÉclass, the author rose by dint of hard work (and a vocabulary that would do a longshoreman proud) from groaning poverty to being the owner of her own cable-TV companies. She was first contacted by her chief spirit guide, the ""barbarian-warrior"" Ramtha, while busy in her Tacoma kitchen one February evening in 1980. Since that fateful encounter, Knight has used her entrepeneurial skills to merchandise a series of Ramtha tapes and what she calls ""Ramtha Dialogues,"" gatherings at which the faithful are counseled by the Lemurian sage (at $100 a head--it was Ramtha who set the fee). For some, Knight's story may prove a source of inspiration and strength. For others, it is likely to be hailed as a ""camp"" classic.