After 35,000 Years, Ramtha Slows Down

YELM, Thurston County - For 35,000 years, the mystic warrior Ramtha has spread enlightenment.

Now, he's cutting back.

Ramtha's purported "channeler," J.Z. Knight, has told students Ramtha won't be making as many appearances as in the recent past, said Pavel Mikoloski, spokesman for Ramtha's School of Enlightenment.

Mikoloski said Ramtha's retreat coincides with a need for Knight to have more time for herself, but is not a result of it.

Students from 23 countries pay as much as $1,000 each to attend retreats at Knight's estate and learn from Ramtha, who allegedly speaks through an entranced Knight.

Many of the students have moved to the Yelm area to be close to the school and Knight.

Knight, 53, has said Ramtha first appeared to her in her Tacoma kitchen in 1977. Soon after, she began to channel Ramtha, and in 1988 established the school at her 120-acre ranch.