Ruth Shick Montgomery (June 11, 1912 – June 10, 2001) was a journalist with a long and distinguished career as a reporter, correspondent, and syndicated columnist in Washington, DC.
Later in life she transitioned to a career as a
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
and authored a number of books on metaphysical and New Age subjects. The polar shift of the early 21st century was among many predictions made by a spirit guide group from whom she regularly translated messages. She was a biographer of paranormal medium
Jeane Dixon
Jeane Dixon (January 5, 1904 – January 25, 1997) was one of the best-known American psychics and astrologers of the twentieth century, owing to her prediction of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, her syndicated newspaper astrolo ...
and a protégée of
Arthur Ford, who claimed that he, like
Edgar Cayce
Edgar Cayce (; 18 March 1877 – 3 January 1945) was an American clairvoyant who claimed to channel his higher self while in a trance-like state. His words were recorded by his friend, Al Layne; his wife, Gertrude Evans, and later by his s ...
, could access the
Akashic Records
In the religion of theosophy and the philosophical school called anthroposophy, the Akashic records are a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future in terms of ...
(or database) of the Universe.
Journalism
Montgomery began her long journalism profession as a cub reporter for ''Waco-News-Tribune'' while receiving her education at
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
(1930–1935). Later she graduated from
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
(1934) and began work as a reporter on the ''
Louisville Herald-Post
''The Louisville Herald-Post'' was a newspaper that was published in Louisville, Kentucky.
Origins
''The Herald-Post'' was created in 1925 from the merging of the old ''Louisville Herald'' and '' Louisville Post'' newspapers. Louisville financi ...
''.
[}]
In 1943, she became the first female reporter in the Washington bureau of the ''New York Daily News'', and embarked on her extensive Washington, DC career. She covered notable foreign affairs (the
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...
among them), was a syndicated columnist for Hearst Headlines and
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
and was a well-read correspondent with the
International News Service
The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909. .
At
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's funeral, Montgomery was the only female of the 12 invited reporters. In 1950, while a reporter for the ''New York Daily News'', she was voted president of the
Women's National Press Club
The National Press Club is a professional organization and social community in Washington, D.C. for journalists and communications professionals. It hosts public and private gatherings with invited speakers from public life. The club also offers e ...
. In 1959, she was a member of then Vice-president
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
's press corps on his tour of Russia. Montgomery wrote of her 25 years covering Washington in her 1970 book, “Hail to the Chiefs; My Life and Times with Six Presidents”.
Montgomery wrote annual newspaper columns listing predictions by psychic Jeane Dixon beginning in 1952. In 1962, “Once There was a Nun: Mary McCarran's Years as Sister Mary Mercy” was published and thus began Montgomery's long career as a non-fiction author. In 1965 her book, “A Gift of Prophecy” about Jeane Dixon was published and became a best-seller, selling over 3 million copies.
Montgomery retired from her journalism career in 1969.
As part of their Texas Collection, the Archives Division at Baylor University contains a research collection which include papers of Montgomery.
She held honorary doctor of law degrees from Baylor University and Ashland College.
New Age writing
Soon after meeting celebrity medium Arthur Ford, Montgomery began automatic writing, first with a pencil and later with a typewriter, and said she was able to communicate with Ford after his passing. These post-mortem communications became the basis for a lengthy series of books which resulted in her achieving minor celebrity status, when Montgomery became a regular on the morning talk show circuit. During the 1960s and 1970s she became a household name.
Montgomery, whose prolific New Age writings earned her a loyal and enthusiastic following, believed her mission on Earth was to educate the public regarding her views on
life after death
The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
, which is not uncommon among
spiritualist
Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century
The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...
s. She also studied
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
and came to believe that mental and physical illnesses often have their origins in past lives. Montgomery wrote of such things as
birth marks
A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...
indicating the possible sites of past life injuries and commented that often children born with serious defects or illnesses are in fact repaying debts incurred in previous existences. Her books sometimes discussed the past lives of the famous among her contemporaries, stating that Ernest Hemingway had once been a Hun warrior and that in a previous incarnation Jacqueline Kennedy was a famed French queen.
Montgomery was a believer in the existence of extraterrestrial contact and documented meetings she had with non-human aliens on a number of occasions, particularly when she resided in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in the 1970s.
With other like-minded
mystics
A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult.
Mystic may also refer to:
Places United States
* Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts
* ...
, Montgomery founded the Association for Past Life Research and Therapy. Her many books (allegedly channeled via
automatic writing
Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged spiri ...
from her
spirit guide
A spirit guide, in Western spiritualism, is an entity that remains as a discarnate spirit to act as a guide or protector to a living incarnation, incarnated human being.
Description
In traditional African belief systems, well before the spre ...
s) popularized
spiritualist
Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century
The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...
notions in public consciousness in the 1960s through the 1990s, and paved the way for what is now known as the
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
movement. Montgomery is particularly noted for documenting the
walk-in Walk In can refer to:
*Walk In, 1997 Hong Kong film directed by Herman Yau
* ''The Walk-In'' (TV series), a British TV crime drama series
* "The Walk In" (''The Americans''), an episode of the US TV series ''The Americans''
* Walk-in (concept)
* '' ...
theory whereby a person's soul can depart a hurt or anguished body and be replaced with a new soul which overtakes the body. In her writings she presented an extensive list of present-day and historical individuals she said were examples of "walk-ins" including several US presidents.
Past life regression
In her book ''A World Beyond'', Montgomery revealed that in a past incarnation she had been alive during the time of Christ and known as Lazarus' third sister Ruth, who is not mentioned in the Bible. As this woman, Montgomery claims to have witnessed Jesus'
circumcision
Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...
.
Predictions
Echoing the earlier predictions of Edgar Cayce, Montgomery believed that ancient advanced civilizations of ''
Mu'' and ''
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
'' had destroyed themselves thousands of years in the pre-history of modern man. Montgomery claimed we would see remnants of the lost continent of Atlantis rise from the sea after a "Polar Shift" which she foretold coming to pass in 1999.
Montgomery predicted in the 1970s (with the help of her supposed spirit guides) that
World War III
World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...
would begin in the mid-1980s when a brush-fire conflict, started by Ethiopian strongman
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam ( am, መንግሥቱ ኀይለ ማሪያም, pronunciation: ; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian politician and former army officer who was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991 and General Secretary of the Work ...
, would spread first to the Middle East, and then Europe. Montgomery's "guides" stated that humans have
free will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
and can make their own decisions regarding their
destiny
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often ...
, and after the failure of her predictions regarding global strife, she attributed her error to this cause.
Montgomery also predicted that
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
would be a one-term President to be followed in 1984 by a big-spending
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, and that in the 1970s and 1980s, America would have a "
walk-in Walk In can refer to:
*Walk In, 1997 Hong Kong film directed by Herman Yau
* ''The Walk-In'' (TV series), a British TV crime drama series
* "The Walk In" (''The Americans''), an episode of the US TV series ''The Americans''
* Walk-in (concept)
* '' ...
" as president in the 199 ("unsure which term, 1992 or 1996") before a Polar Shift, which was to happen "in the last months of the century" would eradicate most human life on Earth, and greatly alter existing coastlines.
The Guides predicted in her 1999 book ''The World To Come'' that the walk-in president would not come until 2008 at the earliest, and therefore the Shift would be delayed until 2010–2012 at least. The potential catastrophe of the shift was also reduced by human free will. Except for Florida and the coast of California, the Guides reported, most of America will survive, a direct contradiction of Montgomery's earlier forecast of significant global destruction in the coming event.
Influence in popular culture
Montgomery's book "Aliens Among Us" has been cited by
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
as the inspiration for the 1985 Van Halen song "Love Walks In". The book's account of benevolent aliens residing on earth in human form for the purpose of assisting humanity during a critical time is the template for speculation in UFOlogy communities. Alleged extraterrestrial candidates include far-reaching public figures such as technology visionary
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...
, psychic medium
Danielle Egnew and the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
.
Bibliography
Montgomery was a prolific writer on the subject of clairvoyance, reincarnation, past life regression, psychic phenomena, and clandestine extraterrestrials, most of which were sold as popular mass market paperbacks.
''Once There was a Nun: Mary McCarran's years as Sister Mary Mercy'' (Putnam, 1962)
''Mrs. LBJ'' (Avon, 1964)
''A Gift of Prophecy: The Phenomenal Jeane Dixon'' (William Morrow & Company, 1965) first appeared in a condensed version as story in Reader's Digest entitled "The Crystal Ball" (July 1965).
''A Search for the Truth'' (William Morrow & Company, 1967)
''Flowers at the White House'' (1967)
''Here and Hereafter'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1968)
''Companions Along the Way'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1970)
''Hail to the Chiefs: My Life and Times with Six Presidents'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1970)
''A World Beyond: A Startling Message from the Eminent Psychic Arthur Ford from Beyond the Grave'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1971)
''Born to Heal: The Astonishing Story of Mr. A and the Ancient Art of Healing with Life Energies'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1973)
''Companions Along the Way'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1974)
''The World Before'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1976)
''Strangers Among Us: Enlightened Beings from a World to Come'' (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1978)
''Threshold to Tomorrow'' (Putnam, 1983)
''Aliens Among Us'' (Putnam, 1985)
''Ruth Montgomery: Herald of the New Age'' (Fawcett, 1987)
''The World to Come: the Guides' Long-Awaited Predictions for the Dawning Age'' (Harmony, 1999)
See also
*
List of newspaper columnists
This is a list of notable newspaper columnists. It does not include magazine or electronic columnists.
English-language
Australia
* Phillip Adams (born 1939), ''The Australian''
* Piers Akerman (born 1950), ''The Daily Telegraph''
* Janet Al ...
*
List of American print journalists
This is a list of selected American print journalists, including some of the more notable figures of 20th-century newspaper and magazine journalism.
19th-century print journalists
* M. E. C. Bates (1839–1905) – writer, journalist, newspaper ed ...
References
* ''Ruth Montgomery: Herald of the New Age''.
* ''The World to Come: The Guides' Long-Awaited Predictions for the Dawning Age.'' ;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Ruth
1912 births
2001 deaths
20th-century apocalypticists
21st-century apocalypticists
New Age writers
American political writers
Pseudohistorians
Atlantis proponents
American psychics