Verling CHAKO Priest, PhD was born in Juneau, Alaska. Hence her nickname of Cheechako, shortened to just Chako by her family and friends. Her family moved to Napa, California when she was a toddler and where she attended schools. She then met her husband while attending the University of California at Berkeley. He went on to become a Navy pilot and Chako became a navy wife and traveled all over the world. When he retired, she went back to University, but this time at Sonoma, CA where she received her BA and MA in Psychology. From there she went to the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and earned another Master degree, as well as her Doctorate in Transpersonal Psychology. In 2002 and while she was meditating, Lord Sananda came to her and although she could not see him she felt his physical touch gently stroking her cheek. That stroke launched her into channeling the Masters and writing seven books.