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Who are they?
A guide could be anybody, but often they have
lived on earth many centuries ago. Because of
the time spent in spirit, they have become
highly developed in spiritual ways. They choose
to remain close to the earth life, and act as a
link and teacher. Many mediums will often tell
of their guide as being a Red Indian or from
some other exotic race. The reason is simply
that Red Indians for example, lived a very
spiritual existence, and also believed in their
own psychic skills. Based on these backgrounds,
they are ideally suited to spiritual work. But
it is not always the case, the level of
spirituality dictates if they able to take on
the work, not the background. A guide could also
be, as some mediums report, someone they knew in
a previous life, or indeed a family member.
Whoever the guide is, and from whatever
background, the medium will have some form of
affinity with them. It is this familiarity that
bonds them and allows them to work closely
together.
One guide for one
medium?
For some, yes. But often a guide will be with a
medium for a particular part of their life, or
to teach certain things. It may also be that a
medium has more than one guide, each assisting
with various tasks that the medium performs. For
example they may have guide that assists them
with healing. For some mediums, they meet their
guides very early on in their lives and that
guide will stay with them until the end of their
earth life. It could be that many people meet
their guide in development circles, where they
learn to know and trust them. Guides present
themselves as people, and even have a sense of
humour. They are also concerned with your
personal growth not just your psychic ability,
you don't have to be a medium to have a guide.
Guardians & spirit
helpers
Mediums also have a guardian, this spirit person
could be likened to a doorkeeper, he is their to
protect the medium and generally keep things in
order. He can be called upon to sort things out
if the medium becomes overworked or confused.
Unlike the guide, the guardian is not a teacher
but rather an onlooker with the mediums interest
in mind.
There are other spirit helpers who may be known
or unknown, who will aid you at certain times
although it may not always be obvious to you.
But if you listen to your 'gut feeling' or
recognise an idea or new thought, you may have
been listening to your guide or helpers!
The purpose of spirit
guides
The guide acts a link between the medium and the
world of spirit. He assists the medium to form a
better contact with those who wish to
communicate and aids less experienced
communicators to get their message across. He
will teach the medium how to attune to the
spirit world and is both a friend and advisor.
Another important role of the guide is in trance
communication. Some guides have spoken through
their medium, as in the case of Silver Birch.
But the guide will also assist when another
spirit person wishes to speak through the
medium.
But a guide does not control or run the life of
the medium, he / she retains their free will. A
guide cannot force a medium to do what they
don't want to and in no way dominates him / her.
Nor can working with a guide free you from
responsibility or making the wrong decisions in
your life. But they will help where they can to
lead the medium in the right direction, although
ultimately the decision still lies with the
medium themselves. A guide and medium will be in
partnership, they both have the desire to be of
service and let others know their loved ones
have survived into a new world.
Do we all have a guide?
Wherever our life has led us, we all have a
guide, although these may be referred to as
Guardian Angels. These Angels will watch over us
and try to steer us in the right direction.
Perhaps you have had that `gut feeling` that
made you do something or not do something, often
that is your Guardian Angel lending a hand. It
is still up to you to follow or reject those
feelings. Many of us will go through life
totally unaware of these spirit helpers, often
only being to able to listen when tragedy
strikes.
As our spirituality increases, for whatever
reason, we tend to attract spirit helpers around
us. We may be told by a medium who they are,
often this is a general description. But it is
when we begin to develop our own psychic skills
that we truly become aware of our guides.
Well known Spirit
Guides;
Silver Birch:
Guides can do more then just aid a medium in his
clairvoyant work, they can also be teachers. The
much loved and respected guide Silver Birch did
this by speaking through the medium Maurice
Barbanell. Maurice would go into trance to allow
Silver Birch to address those in his circle. The
words imparted by this wise and experienced
guide has served many a medium an understanding
of the spirit world and have been published in a
number of books.
Here is an extract from
Silver Birch's teachings;
" If you help only one soul to find itself, if
you comfort only one mourner, if you heal only
one sick person, then the whole of your earthly
life is justified. How privileged you are to be
aware of the tremendous power that is around and
about you, that enfolds you, guards you, directs
you and ensures that you will continue to unfold
your latent divinity and the gifts which are
your cherished possession."
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Try it for yourself..
I often get asked how people can get to know
their own spirit guide, so here are a few
suggestions that might help you.
Meditation
Begin with a prayer asking for protection and
guidance. Then get yourself comfortable, if you
prefer, set some gentle music playing in the
background, aromatherapy candles can also help
you relax, just be sure to choose those that
calm and soothe not those that invigorate. Take
some deep slow breaths, and calm your whole
body, until you feel relaxed. Try to slow down,
becoming so relaxed that your heartbeat seems to
slow down, withdraw into yourself a little yet
be aware. You can't always eliminate normal
noises such as traffic or people, but each time
you try they will recede further away.
Next imagine a brilliant white light, for me
this is in front and slightly to the left, but
it can be anywhere, above, below, left or right.
Look at this light as it gets brighter, see and
feel how pure it is. Now start to draw the light
towards you, bring it in towards your heart.
Feel it enter and become one with you as it
fills your entire being. Feel it's purity and
divine brilliance as it touches you from head to
foot, sense how vibrant and living it is, it is
more than light, more than purity - it's a
living energy.
Now create a place to meet and talk with your
guide, this could be a beautiful garden, a
summer field, a hillside - anywhere. Try to use
the same place each time, so it becomes familiar
to you. Ask for your guide to join you here. The
act of asking him/her to join you keeps you in
control.
Don't expect some disembodied voice to suddenly
start speaking out of thin air! It doesn't
happen, rather, spirit will speak to you in
thought, in images and feelings. It's more a
case of somehow knowing what is meant,
understanding comes from feeling the answers
travel through you. In the same way don't force
the information, but let it come to you.
Finally, don't be disappointed if you don't hear
your guide or build a foundation of learning
from them. It's enough to know that you have
help around you. Just because your guide can't
be heard on a daily basis doesn't mean you can't
develop mediumship. They often work in the
background and will still assist you in the
process.
Notes:
The idea of spirit guides is not limited to the
work of mediums or Spiritualists, but can be
found in many cultures and beliefs. For example
the peoples of Amazonian South America believed
in ' Spirit Helpers '. These 'helpers' were
typically the spirits of their ancestors or
animals such as the eagle and jaguar.
Shaman
You may also come across the term Shaman, and
while Shamanism is a belief beyond the scope of
this website, it's worth knowing the background.
To become a Shaman you had to be 'called' to the
service, often there were initiations and
suffering. A ceremony which involved symbolic
death and resurrection, endowed the new Shaman
with a new existence, forever changing him.
During the initiation the new Shaman would meet
and converse with spirits, learn how to go into
trance, astral travel and be taught which
spirits he could call upon in the future. Those
who did not attain the full range of Shaman
powers became 'medicine men'. Regarding their
work, these peoples believed illness was the
result of evil spirits entering inside people.
They performed an elaborate ceremony to call out
the evil spirits. Only the Shaman have the power
to communicate with the spirit domain, acting
much like our mediums do, as an mediator and
message giver. Shaman were major figures for a
tribe, often taking on many roles; teachers,
poets, healers, story tellers and other
functions.
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