What A Spirit Guide Is and Does

Everyone has guides, whether they know it or not, and those who consciously communicate with their guides have an enormous wealth of resources to tap
into.

Those of us that DO - see/sense Spirit Guides differently. I believe that we
all come from one Whole, a life-force that encompasses everything in
existence. How it came to exist or what it's complete purpose is I don't
pretend to fully understand. What I do know is that IT IS THERE/HERE and it
does work in, with and around us to create our realities and to protect and
learn about ourselves.

I also believe that within this life-force exists different dimensions of
reality, different vibrational dimensions which we can reach through raising
our vibrations through meditation, hypnosis, ritual, and other energy
raising actions such as drumming, chanting, dancing... etc.

It is my belief there is no limit to how many dimensions there are, and that
the more enlightened we become the easier it is to access and move through
these dimensions.

Spirit guides, among many other beings, reside in such dimensions and come
to us from this world of spirit to help us in our evolution. Spirit guides
generally don't have a physical form; therefore they tend to reside on
higher vibrational planes (dimensions) because they are not hindered by the
physical lower-vibration body. They work from these planes (the world of
spirit) and move into our reality (3rd dimension) occasionally to offer
guidance, assistance and insight. We can reach them through the above
mentioned methods such as meditation, hypnosis and by "tapping in" to our
life-force and raising our vibrations that way.

Spirit Guides will stay with us even if we choose to ignore them, and they
will continue to love and honour us throughout our life. These guides are
here to help us with our Lesson or Lessons, and it is often true that their
own Lessons may run in tandem with ours.

They can be teachers or protectors as well as helping to direct our paths
and to release old past life karma.

One of the most popular misconceptions is that the spirits serve us,
personally, rather than the Whole. This is not quite so. The spirits do
serve us, and we serve them as well, in partnership. The partnership is
mutual; there is no seniority (or ascendancy), nor is there an aspect of
subjugation or obligation. While it is true that there are many people who
understand that Earth society is based on Free Will, it is also true that
very few people have applied this concept to the spirit world. Spirits
operate within the parameters of Free Will, and they, too, have the right to
claim fair treatment, love, and respect; rights that humans in our society
have come to expect or learned to take for granted.

Spirit guides can be many things and have usually lived in a physical body,
on a physical plane like Earth, and have usually had some connection to us
from a past life of ours. They can be souls of people who we knew in past
lives and to whom we have a karmic link. They could also be ancestors of our
present life or perhaps souls who have decided to stay in the spiritual
realms for a while and not reincarnate to the physical plane and therefore
volunteered with our approval to be a guide for us. We chose each other
because we knew they would help us "get the job done", and because we knew
we could trust them as fully and completely as they willingly trust in us.
They are essentially, like us, energy-vibration which manifests in whatever
form they choose...or which is acceptable to us. However, they do retain an
identity because they are also souls, and have usually led lives in the
physical plane also, just like we are doing now. They have their own
personalities, their own goals, their own perspective and their own styles
of communication.

Spirit guides will usually approach us in a form that is most comfortable
and acceptable to us. For most people this is probably in the human form,
though some of us might choose to see an animal, a crystal, colours, shapes
or stars etc.

I believe we have as many as are assigned to us. I believe we have one guide
(Master Guide) who joins with us at birth, and stays by our side right
through our lives until we pass on. This isn't to say that this guide is our
only guide.

I also accept that at different times in our lives, depending on the
situation and lesson(s) we have to learn, we have new guides join us to
provide guidance and insight into the situation. We can either choose to
ignore this or use it.

If there is a change in life direction or emphasis, the master guide will
step back and these other guides will come forward. These guides can come in
unexpected forms, such as a stranger coming out of nowhere and giving us a
helping hand. These guides can stay with us for a long period of time, or a
very brief period... depending on what the lesson(s) is, and whether or not
we're learning it.

There is always a guide of ours nearby... whether it's our spirit guide,
animal guide or angel, someone will always hear what we say/think. So in effect we can talk to them any time we choose. Just don't always expect an answer straight away.

There are many ways of meeting your guides. Most children know their guides
from birth, and can easily open up the channels to talking to them (remember
those imaginary play friends? Were they really imaginary?), but as we grow
older we get negative messages from our parents and other adults around us,
time to stop playing with imaginary friends Darling" "Don`t be silly" "No
they don't really exist." "That's nice dear, but shouldn't you be playing
with some REAL friends?" and messages like this, so children learn to break
their connection to their guides and forget about these wonderful beings.
I believe that these unseen, imaginary friends are the child`s guides 
frequently the master guide amongst them assuming an identity with which the
child can communicate as he or she develops.

For those people that work to connect with their guides or naturally do so -
often hear their guides speak, others get distant visual images, and yet
others just get a sense of what their guide is trying to communicate, the
important thing is to begin to develop trust that will allow us to be aware
of the communications that we are being given. Each person's experience will be different.

Saying that, some people do have difficulty connecting with their Spirit
Guides and have trouble visualising them possibly because they are a
sentient person and have trouble "seeing" things that are not in the 3rd
dimension. However, they can usually "sense." They may get flashing images, but `sense` more. So, don't be disappointed if  you can't see, or sense, or hear perfectly in meditation or through some of the above methods. Not everyone is that gifted.

We must trust that whatever messages we get, however we get them, are right.
and what we need to know just at that point in time and learn to trust ourselves. My personal advice is to go with the technique that is the simplest and most comfortable, easy and relaxing for you.

Guides may also approach us in dreams or daydreams, imparting messages and
giving guidance from there, where we are in a more open state and less
critical in receiving these messages.

A guide can arrive as a feeling, a smell, a light, a sound, or even just a
`knowing` that it is present.

Spirit Guides are not the same as Angels. They are of the same "energy",
being that of a higher vibrational force, but I don't agree they function in
the same manner. Yes, we do have an angel who also stays with us throughout
our lives too, but this is not our spirit guide. Angels rarely incarnate on
the physical plane, preferring to do their work from the angelic realms
(higher energy realms).

Spirit guides, though they can take on any form they choose, usually take a
gender". i.e. they appear as male or female; this is based mainly on the
person/being they are presenting to us. Angels on the other hand are without
gender. They may appear to us as more masculine or feminine if they appear
to us, but they are in essence genderless, androgynous... it's their energy,
which supplies them their more masculine or feminine attributes.
Angels function on a higher vibration than spirit guides, and in a higher
dimension than spirit guides.

An encounter with an angel in it's full glory could very well scare someone
more than assist or sustain them. Angels are such beautiful beings with such love that their energy itself can bring too much truth to the person and as humans we are capricious creatures They are the essence of purity. Too much truth can be scary or even terrifying, that is why angels will usually take on a form of lower stature when we encounter them, someone on our level so we can interact with them without the head-on, possibly overwhelming experience of an angel.
They are excellent conveyors of universal love, they are not always equipped
to deal with earthy problems.

Spirit guides on the other hand have a lower energy and aren't nearly as
intimidating in their full form. To put it simply - Angels are of the stars and guides are of the earth. Animal totems, animal guides or Power Animals can be a little of both. Spirit guides can and do take the form of animals and may always appear to
us as an animal but I also believe that animal totems in the strict sense
are different. They are the essence of the animal with it's message which
appears in our life through various means such as divination, dreams,
physical appearance of the animal etc when we need to receive this message,
similar to spirit guides who come in and out of our life. By `sharing` with
one particular totem we gain access to its qualities.

In the past animal totems functioned as spirit guides for those in native
cultures, and they often appear in meditations and past life regressions as
guides for those who have had past lives in native cultures.
However, anyone from any culture can benefit from accessing his or her totem
animal.

According to some Native American beliefs, we have two animal spirits who
walk with us, one on our left and one on our right. These animals appear to
us in dreams and visions to guide and protect us along the path of life.
We also have a guide within us, which envelops and surrounds our very being.
It is through these guides we derive our personal strengths, and it is with
this animal's Medicine that we can shape our path in life.

I personally believe that we have several animal totems we learn about as we
progress through life... these animals and their essence protect different
aspects of ourselves and guide us in that area.

In contrast, the spirit guides tend to look after our whole wellbeing.
It is true that some people view guides not as spiritual entities with
consciousness outside of ourselves, but as part of ourselves. These people
view and feel that guides are our 'higher self' personified that hasn't yet
been 'owned' or integrated into our personalities. In the world of 'Spirit',
this could well be part of the picture, part of our Divinity or WHOLE but
the picture is 'huge' and it hasn't been completed yet.

In conclusion, it is largely due to ego that people have not really been
able or willing to perceive or interact with their Spirit Guides, as the ego
is a barrier against recognising the Whole, and to understanding one's own
place within the Whole. Ego, in this context, is the belief-system which
says that Humanity is the most important aspect of Life, and that I, as the
individual, am greater than the Whole. Many people are sadly not even
consciously aware of their own egoistic outlook; yet they reflect this
philosophy in their isolation, sadness, scepticism and general imbalance
through life.

We have several different types of guides depending on the culture you come
from. Metaphysically speaking there are 4 basic categories or types of guides:

The Relative Guide.
This is usually a person who knew you in this lifetime. They are the
relative who helps you through day to day situations. They are the soul who
greets you at the door when your time comes from 'transition' from life to
death.

The Spirit Guide.
This is usually a person you knew in a past life. Or it might be a Power
Animal. Someone who is on the same spiritual level as yourself. This soul
helps you with your higher purpose or mission in this embodiment. The karmic
issues, the spiritual lessons, the gifts and talents you brought from the
past into this life and so on. Their main purpose is to help you evolve your
soul during this incarnation and to learn and grow.

The Angels.
Everyone has a Guardian Angel watching over them, protecting them and
providing a connection to the higher Divine Force. Angels are rarely
incarnated beings. They are 'of the stars' and are the messengers of the
Divine.

The Master Teacher.
Our Master Guide joins with us at birth, and stays by our side right through
our lives until we pass on. This Guide gives us direction or emphasis. At
different times in our lives, depending on the situation and lesson(s) we
have to learn, we have new guides join us to provide guidance and insight
into the situation. If there is a change in life direction or emphasis, the
Master Guide will step back and these other guides will come forward. These
guides can come in unexpected forms. You will also have with you, at the
appropriate time, a Master Teacher. This soul is someone who is on a higher
spiritual plane than yourself. They help you with the responsibility of
development', the dissemination, the higher more advanced spiritual
evolutionary issues that a person will need to be aware of.
It is refreshing to know that many people are learning now to take
responsibility for themselves, and in their process of self-learning and
self-healing, they will come to understand their partnership with their
Spirit Guides or Higher Self . Through this connection and as they come to this understanding the love energies and Light around these people will multiply with absolute perfection, as is the way of Spirit.

You also have your Inner Band Circle and Outer Band Cirlce of Guides. To learn more about your own guide/and or guides schedule a one hour Intuitive Guidance Session with Dr. Kelli.  Click HERE

I have a wonderful collection of these angel orbs from my house!

More about them in my upcoming book released in 2008!

5-7-08

Archangel Raphael joined in during my recent meditation regarding my upcoming workshop.