Spirit Guides

You’ve probably heard the term Spirit Guides and wondered what they were. Are they the same as angels or are they ghosts of our ancestors? Did God send them to us? And what would they look like, sound like, be like.

I’ll be frank: I never thought about spirit guides at all until a few years ago when I discovered I had them. Specifically, I had three. I learned this during a professional coaching session with a client who happened to be a medium. She wasn’t even there to talk about her work in clairvoyance and spirit, but apparently while I was trying to help her with her professional hair stylist business story, seven of my late family members showed up and completely demanded her time. She had to pause in the middle of our session and she profusely apologized and said that she usually kept that part of her life completely separate from business, but apparently my ancestors were really attention seeking that day!

Several months later, out of curiosity, I scheduled a session with this client specifically to learn about any messages my ancestors had. I got some very clear and distinct information from late family members, but the medium also shared with me that I have three spirit guides.

She didn’t tell me a lot about them except that:

a.       There was one female guide who had been with me a long time, maybe since birth

b.       There was a male guide who came into my life in more recent years, particularly since I became a business owner, in order to instill more confidence and yang energy into my persona; and

c.        There was another female guide who came into my life very, very recently in order to balance back out some of that masculine/yang energy into something softer and more intuitive

Since that reading, I have tried to understand my guides and the messages that they had for me, but it hasn’t been a focus on my magical or mindful learning. I did take a workshop a couple years ago and I got a lot out of the meditation we did at the end, although not as much from the information that led into the meditation. But in my own silent, still moments, I have gotten a deeper sense for who my guides are and maybe what they want for me.

So, what exactly is a spirit guide:

Spirit guides are entities that we choose before birth to help us grow spiritually. They represent parts of our own unconscious mind that seek wholeness and unity, and they are the personified parts of our Higher Self, revealed to us when we need spiritual guidance.

Basically, they are universal forces that are here to help. They are the aspects of our life force energy which can teach, support, comfort, warm, reveal and remind us what we need to learn in order to grow.

When we develop a relationship with our spirit guide or guides, working in tandem with our own elevated intuition, we can map out a spiritual future for us that is progressive and enlightening.

What they Look Like:

So, spirit guides can take many different forms. I believe most people will have multiple guides (sometimes just as specific times of their lives, sometimes overall) and they can be grouped into two categories: major and minor guides. Major guides might be life-sustaining and focused on the biggest spiritual development we require, whereas Minor guides might flit through our life in a short period of time or who focus on the smaller details and spiritual growth we seek. Again, one of my guides has been with me for most of my life, one joined me around ten years ago, and another a few years later. I might have had other guides before I met with the medium, who are no longer with me. I don’t know.

I never felt like there was a presence of spiritual being right with me, guiding and directing me toward my highest self. I still don’t. But I have nonetheless been able to do the work I felt necessary to help me understand what my guides at least represent, and I communicate with them. Sometimes I get messages that I don’t know where they come from – they might be old memories that I’m unconscious of, they could be my intuition and gut instincts, or they could be messages coming from my guides. I’m open to any and all of the above. I know it’s my choice to work with them, and my decision to listen to them, and certainly it is my responsibility to act in accordance with what I feel is best in spiritual, and material ways.

So, how will your guides show up. Here are some of the ways:

a.       Animal – Some spirit guides will appear to us as animal figures. Animals are sacred totems for many indigenous peoples and represent tribes, lineages, talents, wisdom and capabilities. Your spirit guide might show up in animal form. They might even show up as half-animal, half-human like a centaur or mermaid or minotaur. There are also gods and goddesses with animal features and attributes, like Ganesha and Anubis – your spirit guide could show up looking or acting like one of them.

b.       Light beings. Light beings (sometimes known as guardian angels) are another possible manifestation of spirit guides. They are specifically focused on helping us move through traumas in our life including death, loss and grief. They are called “light beings” because there is often a light or auric glow surrounding them.

c.        Your spirit guide might show up as one of your ancestors. Could be your favorite uncle, who you loved and admired as a child. Could be a more distant relation, one that you had no idea of until they connected with you. Ancestors are entities with a blood connection to your lineage. They may be people you knew in life, or those that were so far back that you’d never seen a photo or even heard of. Spirit guides in the form of ancestors often have deeply emotional ties to us, because they are genetically programmed to love us. I often say that we are the manifestation of our ancestors’ dreams. So if an ancestor starts repeatedly contacting you (through dreams or meditation or whatever) offering advice, I would attempt to work with them to understand their guidance because we would certainly hope they have our very best interest at heart. We are living their destiny. They want it to be true and meaningful.

d.       Gods and goddesses can show up as spirit guides. Maybe you need the strength of certain god figures. It might be one that reflects your ancestral and cultural background, or it could be a god or goddess from an entirely different culture.

e.       Ascended Masters. We’re going to be talking about this subject at a later date, but Ascended Masters are beings that previously lived human incarnations here on earth, passed, went through a profound spiritual awakening and achieved enlightenment and have now transcended the cycle of reincarnation. They are our ultimate teachers, and gateways to the divine. All people can call upon them, not just those who share a specific connection. Examples of Ascended Masters include Gautama Buddha, Krishna, Confucius and Jesus. Some saints might also be Ascended Masters, like Saint Mary – the Mother of God.

But what really are spirit guides?
I personally do not believe that Confucius is your literal spirit guide, even if that’s who seems to show up for you in dreams and meditation. Confucius or Christ or your Cousin Becky or the screech owl that called out to you from your rooftop as a child, or whoever it appears to be.

I believe – and you can take this or leave it according to your own beliefs and experiences – but I believe that spirit guides are actually manifestations of us. They are versions of us that are ascended and enlightened and live within the divine realm, and they journey back in time at our request in order to act as spiritual mentors.

So, the three guides I have could be future versions of me – hundreds, maybe thousands or tens of thousands of years in the distance, who have reached enlightenment and want to steer me in the correct direction toward it, and now share responsibilities with the other two guides to help me keep on the right track. If I’m not able to heed the advice of one, perhaps I can hear another.

What is your Spirit Guide going to help you with?

Their goal is to direct you toward your ideal life purpose and plan. We talked about the Akashic Contract when we discussed Natal Charts recently. Well, your Akashic Contract is the specific terms of your life’s (all lives) purpose. Your Natal Chart is the chapter, so to speak, of that contract for this specific earthly life. One of the reason I encourage everyone to work on their Natal Charts is because you get an inkling of the greater purpose and meaning of your existence just by knowing the details of this life, as communicated by the heavens. Knowing that gives you a stepping stone toward the greater knowledge of all that you can be. Your spirit guides – whoever they are and however number of them you have – are your ambassadors, your cheerleaders, your mentors and teachers and rabbis and coaches toward fulfilling your everlasting spiritual destiny.

They may show up in dreams or meditations or fantasies. They might whisper a word that your ear barely hears but feels is important. They often communicate with us in our thoughts. No, they are not in your head, but as your vibration level raises in accordance toward your purpose, your guides can help you hear the inner language of possibility and recognize it.

How do you see, hear and know what your spirit guides want for you? There are many practices that can help you communicate with your guides:

·         Dreamwork – I recommend keeping a dream journal beside your bed, with a pen. Before you go to sleep, set an intention to meet or speak with your spirit guide. Try to do this consistently for at least two weeks. Set an intention, and then pay attention to what happens in your dreams. Not just individual dreams, but patterns throughout the period. In repetition, you will often find messages and meaning. What do those objects, figures, people, sounds, experiences mean to you? Explore that further and you begin to sense what your guides are at least directing you toward and wanting you to understand.

·         Scrying – seeing into objects (reflective surfaces like mirrors or crystals, or other items like tea leaves at the bottom of a cup). Scrying releasees the conscious mind and allows you to find clarity and guidance within what otherwise seems locked away. This is especially a helpful spirit-guide-seeking practice for anyone who is particularly visual.

·         Meditation – Silence your mind and get into a comfortable position (sitting is better than lying down, although you might want to meditate in hopes of sleeping and dreaming, in which case lying down might be perfect). Use breathwork to sink slowly into your body and out of your thoughts (you cannot still your thoughts entirely, just don’t try to focus on them when they do surface).

·         Plant medicines: Some people will go to extremes using plants like ayahuasca to achieve elevated dream or trance states in which they confront their demons and shadow selves, and get in touch with the spirit. On a much simpler and safer practice, I recommend flower essences, which are energetic imprints of plants and flowers suspended in a brandy base. Even marijuana frankly could become a portal into your unconscious mind and possibilities. If you use anything more intoxicating such as mushrooms or ayahuasca, please have someone with you during the experience to make sure you receive any medical or emotional care you require during what could be a traumatizing experience if unprepared. Even still, plant medicines are fickle – you don’t know what they will throw you into. You might just spend a day dealing with the mess of your own personal demons. Some individuals frankly should not even consider plant medicines and I would instead recommend that they speak with a medical professional before attempting any work on their own. I also recommend journaling through any experience such as this.

·          Trance State – this is somewhere between meditation and dreaming, a half-conscious state of being. In trance state, images flash before your mind and you are semi-aware of them but not focused on them. During trance, your mind is open and receptive. It is not filtering itself the way the conscious brain does. This makes it a perfect state to connect with your spirit guides. You can also use various techniques such as self-hypnosis, tapping, breathing exercises, vibration, sensory deprivation (like salt floats for instance), visualization (like watching a pendulum) and even dancing, to achieve the perfect trance state to communicate with your guides.

Lastly, here are a few more things to know about your guides:

Even once you discover your guides, they may not tell you their names. Mine haven’t. I gave them three names of my choosing. Sometimes I will think or even speak all three, but I don’t use them conversationally with any one or more. Names, frankly speaking, aren’t important to these entities. If they give you a name to use for them it’s because they recognize that in your earthly incarnation, you still require labels and names to make sense of WHAT something is and what it can do for you. If a guide shares a name with you, go ahead and use it. If they don’t offer a name, you may choose to come up with your own, or not. Ultimately your choice.

As I mentioned, our guides probably change over time. Maybe one stays with you throughout your life, the way one of my female ones  does, and maybe they all shift and change. Old guides may leave you when you have already clearly completed a part of your spiritual development, and new ones might come in when you need a sharp change of course. We won’t understand why some are only with us for short periods of time, but if one is no longer available to you I would take it as a positive sign that you no longer need them, and others will work with you instead.

You might not ever see your guides, or have any sense of what they appear like or what their attributes are. You may not hear their voice or feel their presence in a room or share a conversation with them during a dream. But if you feel that your own intuition is raising, that is a sign that your spirit guide is connecting with you on a deeper level, one that you may not be able to discern or see.

And most importantly, your guides are not your boss. They aren’t here to tell you what to do. The messages come through them, but are not from them. Your guides are here to nudge us in the right direction, but they work by communicating vibrationally with your intuition and wisdom and emotional intellect. In essence, they help you provide yourself with the guidance you seek and therefore, you always have free will. Your spirit guides will not intervene with what you are doing, even if it directs you away from your life purpose. They don’t give orders or even instructions. They are just guides, light posts, gentle encouragers toward what we know, deep down if not consciously, what we wish to do and how we might best accomplish that.

So, I can’t tell you how many spirit guides you have, or anything like that, but I do believe everyone has at least one. I think it’s up to us to decide the best way to make contact with them, and to listen, and to heed those messages, warnings, instincts, voices, sounds, intimations, or inclinations – however they show up. They’re from you – the you that has also reached an enlightenment and knows, in retrospect, what the best journey to it looks like.

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