Spirit Guides: Who are they and how do you connect with them? (Blog)

[Erin Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Erin Pavlina's blog:

Spirit Guides: Who are they and how do you connect with them?

[Scott]

Great article Erin, but I have a question about this last line:

"if you get great results and you’re happier, does it really matter where the information is coming from?"

This is where a religion like Christianity would say, "Whoa! Hold it! You're being deceived!" To make this a bit more general, we already know that forms of evil do exist, whether they're demons or low-frequency spirits or whatever. My question is how can we be certain that these entities aren't simply fooling us with feelings of happiness and/or giving us what we want in order to serve some ultimately evil purpose?

[Erin Pavlina]

I wondered if someone would interpret the last line that way.

If evil causes me to go out and be more compassionate, kind, caring, peaceful, loving, and helpful, and make me feel happiness, joy, love, bliss, and inner peace then god bless evil. But seriously, if you're getting advice that says, "go out and kill your boss" then we're not talking about guides.

[Seance]

Great post.

I'm trying to develop my relationship with my guides and also my own psychic abilities. Just everyday things like guessing who is calling when the phone rings; trying to visualize something that was misplaced; and interpreting signs.

At my brother's wedding I correctly identified my Best Man's gift, and when he came home I correctly identified what he had handed me in the brown paper wrapping from his Honeymoon cruise. I've gone whole days correctly guessing who is on the other end of a ringing phone. Oh, and how could I forget the question I posed a few days back, "I wonder when Erin is going to reply to one of my posts?" I checked the forums to see you had in the "Interview the person below you" thread. Recently I had one of those "the little birdy told me" feelings that my mother was in a car accident. I didn't know how severe it was, but she turned out alright. I'm always sending her messages to pick up certain groceries, or something like chinese take-out (she may act on them, or ignore them, but she always receives them.) It's neat, surely, but I want to aid people rather than entertain myself.

I look forward to a birthday phone reading with you. It'd be great to get some third party advice.

[emf]

Originally Posted by Scott

"if you get great results and you’re happier, does it really matter where the information is coming from?"

This is where a religion like Christianity would say, "Whoa! Hold it! You're being deceived!"

This reminds me of the first Pavlina article I ever read, Living Your Values. Steve blithely wrote that he recreates his list of values every so often when he wants different results in his life. That is totally contrary to everything I've ever learned about character and integrity.

I do see the Pavlina point though.

[Slade]

You may wonder if you’re actually in tune with your guides or not, but the most important thing to remember is that if you get great results and you’re happier, does it really matter where the information is coming from?

About five years ago, my "channel opened up" - as a result of a stroke that paralyzed me on one side of my body. My guides got really loud in response to a life-threatening emergency, and became consequently less easy to ignore.

I believe that we forget and lose our ability to communicate with them, or we are taught that what we are clearly experiencing is "something else."

Imaginary Friends...? Or maybe Mental Illness...

My parents were able to confirm for me that I had expressed the presence of angelic entities as early as the age of 4. I had a relationship with them when I was small, but as I grew up, I began to believe that what I was experiencing when I channeled Spirit Guides were CHARACTER voices, and simply part of my creative process as a writer.

It was a literary agent, who was working with me on a fiction project at the time, that first pointed out to me the Story I always tell.

He cited Joseph Campbell, Jungian archetypes, etc, as the basis for his belief in Meta-story - that all storytellers are simply re-working and re-telling the same ancient Myths of the collective consciousness.

I had never even thought there was any kind of pattern to the fiction I wrote - but he quickly pointed out a theme running through everything I'd ever written, going back to short stories in High School - and my parents corroborated an early grade-school obsession with Joan of Arc.

I invariably wrote about people who receive divine messages and interact with spiritual beings, and are persecuted for it or perceived as insane.

If I am insane, let me tell you, this is a great mental illness, unlike any other I've heard of - it makes me more peaceful, more happy, more fulfilled, purpose-driven, it has helped me as a writer, it has encouraged me to share my stories on a global scale... I even learned a couple of programming languages along the way!

Pretty cool for a sickness...
Note: yes, I'm being sarcastic.

This was my greatest fear. And why the web site I currently publish, and the story I'm telling you right now, is a very big personal breakthrough for me.

Last year, Erin started writing about her experience with stepping into her purpose as a medium. It's not so much something you bring in as something you let out or let through.

A few months ago, in reply to one of Erin's posts about Spirit Guide Names, and in particular to the comments, I wrote about focusing on:

the Bigger Picture of why they are interacting with you in the first place. You don’t have to know a stranger’s name to be saved by him or receive a life-changing message.

I was just having this conversation via email with Jeff over at DruidJournal.net

Erin's writing about the topic, and the response of others, illustrates the point that Messages and Divine Guidance are often confirmed from a variety of sources.

Many of them simply human...

[Luca]

Hi Erin,

Thanks for another great article! I have a question...how do you account for people who do really bad things like criminals? Do they have bad guides? Does that mean that they are hopeless and can't change since they have bad guides? Does it mean that they have these guides since birth?

Sometimes I have the feeling that in life I've received a lot of protection, guidance and help from somewhere...I guess guides. However, after my latest break-up I don't know what to think anymore. About a year and a half ago I started really praying that I meet someone ... The One. After a few months I did meet someone and we liked each other a lot. After we met we realized that we lived half a block away from each other and the morning after our first date we met at the bus stop (I guess we both saw those coincidences as good signs). It really looked like he was the one but things didn't turn out that way.It was a serious relationship that lasted for 6 months but it was not THE Relationship. I guess going through a break-up made me realize some of my shortcomings and also led me to a spiritual path but I am still confused as to why my guides "helped" me get into this relationship.

[Erin Pavlina]

People who do bad things are exercising their free will. Guides can lead us to water but they can't make us think.

As my guides are quick to point out, "Don't blame the guides!". (that is a direct quote)

No one is born a criminal. Disconnection from love and Source cause people to move into a lower vibrational state, such as fear or anger, and they act at that level.

[Ali]

Erin

Great article, thank you for such a knowledgble article. I do believe in a spiritual guidance as you do. I do believe that there is a great spiritual power that is more powerful than we are and provides us guidance. I am into spiritual study and I can tell you this is what I have been learning and trying to develop my skill on. This spiritual energy that each one of us get is a guidance for the best of actions, but as you clearly said it gave us the freedom of choice therefore it doesn't control us fully. It is us who block our communication with that spiritual power based on our STRONG bond with the physical world. I do believe living in such physical world doesn't mean there is no spiritual power however for many if the matter is not experienced by our senses it aint there ..

Thanks

Ali

[Ali]

Erin

just a question .. what is your openion about getting spiritual guidance through dreams? do you have an input regarding such issue?

Thanks

Ali

[emf]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

But seriously, if you're getting advice that says, "go out and kill your boss" then we're not talking about guides.

I have fears about dealing with evil that isn't as obvious. Guides can tell you (by giving you a gut feeling) that the black guy will default on his loan, the blonde with a large chest is not very bright, and Muslim kids with backpacks are dangerous. Loan officers, personnel department employees and police officers who follow their gut feelings can damage lives without ever realizing that they actually are not compassionate people. I think anyone wishing to listen to their spirit guide should be carefully supervised by a kind, loving, peaceful, caring psychic for a while. It's not always easy to tell spiritual intuition and social conditioning apart. You can feel both in your gut.

[Vanilla]

Originally Posted by Luca

Hi Erin,

Thanks for another great article! I have a question...how do you account for people who do really bad things like criminals? Do they have bad guides? Does that mean that they are hopeless and can't change since they have bad guides? Does it mean that they have these guides since birth?

Sometimes I have the feeling that in life I've received a lot of protection, guidance and help from somewhere...I guess guides. However, after my latest break-up I don't know what to think anymore. About a year and a half ago I started really praying that I meet someone ... The One. After a few months I did meet someone and we liked each other a lot. After we met we realized that we lived half a block away from each other and the morning after our first date we met at the bus stop (I guess we both saw those coincidences as good signs). It really looked like he was the one but things didn't turn out that way.It was a serious relationship that lasted for 6 months but it was not THE Relationship. I guess going through a break-up made me realize some of my shortcomings and also led me to a spiritual path but I am still confused as to why my guides "helped" me get into this relationship.

Perhaps, like you said, this relationship was to help you to grow spiritually and to learn what you do and DON'T want in a future relationship. Maybe your vision of the ONE was not the best for you and your spirit guides were helping you to see that. Or, maybe you took those two coincedences and ran away with them. But, don't take this to mean that your spirit guides led you the wrong way. And, just as important, don't take this to mean that your ears aren't working...=)

Everything happens for a reason, you just have to find the positive meanings from them. You also have to find the lessons that were meant for you to learn. Where did you go wrong in your relationship? Where did he go wrong in the relationship? What have you learned that you can change about yourself? What will you do differently next time? If you're honest with yourself...and take the time to look back over your relationship with a different perspective...you'll realize that your spirit guides were there with you all along...=)

[yasi_joy]

thank you erin the article was great

[Jeff Lilly]

I've been talking with a regular cast of characters in my meditations for several months now, and I always assumed they were just aspects of my subconscious. But lately I've begun to wonder if they might not actually be spirit guides, especially after a couple of conversations with Slade, who posted earlier in this thread. I decided to do a meditation and ask them point-blank: are you a guide, or are you just part of my subconscious? One of them said she was part of my subconscious (my "anima", to be exact). The other two essentially said they were guides! (I wrote a longer description on my blog, Druid Journal.)

Has anyone else tried this?...

[Adam]

In response to Jeff...

I haven't questioned the recurring characters in my meditations before, except when I verified who my anima was. I have had similar occasions where entities have been different from what I would imagine them to be, though. Most often, when I'm being childish and I ask for the God and Goddess to appear (Wiccan tradition), the Goddess would appear as the Crone and be extremely cryptic... God wouldn't be anywhere in sight. If I'm on path, though, I get both God and all three forms of Goddess, sort of shifting back and forth as She makes Her points.

I haven't talked to guides much in meditation, though. In fact, I have only seen one once, when I was questioning the nature of evil, and she simply told me to follow her. She came first as a snake (symbolism: bringer of knowledge, though I didn't realize it at the time) then reappeared as a woman dressed in white robes when I looked at her oddly, and led me to the Akashic Records. I can 'feel' my guides much more than I can see them, and I find it easier to recognize them when my eyes are open... They like resting just behind my shoulders... I suppose that is a side effect of me practicing energy manipulation more than visualization, though.

[TheColonel]

Thanks Erin. Very nice!

[Jeff Lilly]

Originally Posted by Adam

If I'm on path, though, I get both God and all three forms of Goddess, sort of shifting back and forth as She makes Her points.

I find it easier to recognize them when my eyes are open... They like resting just behind my shoulders... I suppose that is a side effect of me practicing energy manipulation more than visualization, though.

Adam,

By "on path", what do you mean? Deeper in meditation, more "tuned in", more serious?

Slade mentioned to me that he also feels his guides at or near his shoulders. One of his primary guides, if I remember right, stands immediately behind him and rests her hand on his shoulder.

[Vanilla]

I grew up in a very religious household and was very religious and involved in the Christian, pentacostal church for much of my life. I am still very spiritual, although I've left many of the religious practices behind, for I do not agree with some of them. Within the past few years, I have come to terms with my sexuality and have expressed to my parents and friends that I am lesbian.

My question is this. My parents and many people within the church are very much against this. They feel that I am possessed with a 'bad' spirit and am listening to 'bad' spirits. However, I feel as though I'm very much in tune with my spirit, and spirit guides. It's hard to be confident in what I believe, when these 'mature spiritual' people claim they know better. What spirits are they listening to? And are they listening to their spirit guides, or just their ego's and subconscious???

[Luca]

Hi Vanilla,

First of all thank you for the reply to my post.

Regarding your post I think you should listen to your guides. Your parents and the people at church are simply wrong. They are probably just following the doctrine imposed by the church or being old fashioned. This is who you are and you need to stand up for yourself. I'm Christian but I think it's a really messed up religion...too many crimes were committed in the name of Christianity.

[Adam]

By "on path" I mean that I've been in a spiritual and developmental frame of mind over a longer period of time. When I've been wasting my life for a couple of months, it really doesn't matter how deep into meditation I am (and it is harder for me to deeply meditate when I've been living unconsciously), the Crone will show up and knock me around a bit.

Also, Vanilla and Luca, I've noticed that it isn't just Christianity that holds a monopoly on putting dogma before spirituality. I can say from experience that there are Wiccans out there who give Fred Phelps a good name... It depends on the individuals willingness to ask themselves if something leads to peace, or if it will cause suffering.

[Vanilla]

Thanks Luca and Adam!

[cftwo]

Erin - a great post. I smiled when I read that someone else's spirit guides use cars to communicate, too.

[Slade]

Vanilla, darling,

You need a big old preachy rant that's on YOUR side for once - so I'm gonna give it to you, right about now.

: )

Give yourself permission to prioritize no authority before the voice of God within you - your Higher Self, your Guides and Guardians - those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

You really can't trust any other source of wisdom before your own - they'll have to get in line behind your heart.

It's unfortunate that so many Protestant Christians have forgotten that the entire reason why they exist - a very worthy goal, I might add - was so that we can ALL have the imminent spiritual RIGHT to communicate with God directly - without middle men, interpreters, etc.

Who could possibly claim - given this premise of individual freedom - to have a hot line to the divine that's somehow a Better Connection than anyone else's?

Since when did mere humans start designing gender identity for the rest of the souls in the Universe? Was that a Microsoft Update I missed?
: )

You will have no confirmation of God's authority external to the voice of love within you. If your connection is working, that's the best you're going to get. It also happens to be the only one you NEED.

There really is no authority - in your reality - beyond the heart, soul, and mind that you brought into this life. Your life is jacked directly into the same source "theirs" is - and of course you're getting different answers - you're asking different questions.

Just so you know - many spiritual traditions not only allow homosexuals to participate, they honor it, as one of the many infinite flavors we come dressed in - and that includes many Christian denominations.

If you want to take it a step further, I encourage to explore the Goddess Based Traditions that will jar your spiritual memory concerning the feminine aspect of God.

If it really comes down to a Bearded Man and A Fat Lady in The Sky, I'm placing my bets that it took both of them to create you - and that no mortal humans in your immediate vicinity were consulted for advice about the process...

This really goes beyond Homosexuality or Gender - one thing that is true for all people and all faiths - the Creator is responsible for all designs - there is no room to edit out anything in Nature by slapping it with the ridiculous label "un-natural."

Calling something Evil is the lazy person's way of skipping the wisdom that fear has to teach them - and telling themselves it's okay to stay in that mode. It's a cop-out. It's certainly less work.

Hate comes with many free, easy to load templates. So far I haven't encountered anyone - regardless of sexual preference or any other useful self-image - who has found much wonder and joy in her life without willfully making some challenging modifications and customizations.

Renovate your soul and your heart - start by ripping down the contributions to your spiritual identity that you don't care for - I don't care where they came from, who put them there, whether they are your own guides or the Devil himself - if the Messages you find hanging around in your consciousness don't have something wonderful to say about you - they have no place in your life. They are a tangle of attachments - cords - like a bad fire-hazard behind a Christmas tree.

If all you're left with when you're done is an empty Grinch-robbed shell of a spirit - be a Who and celebrate - you've finally made room to fill your life with love - and if you have to string together the first specks of love to redecorate sitting on the floor by your lonesome - go for it, Girlfriend! It will not be long before others recognize your talent for carrying nothing but home-spun love and will delight in hanging out with and helping you redecorate.

Find your compassion for those who can't assist you or won't participate out of ignorance and fear - this is their choice. You are in the unique position of exercising your greater heart and capacity for love. The one thing that their fear will not survive is your love. Make sure you love yourself - it's the one infinite source of power that is entirely your choice, that you can never run out of...

The best way, I've found to determine whether you can trust a source of spiritual wisdom - and this works with spirit guides, deities, diseases, angels - and holds true for all these well-meaning but misguided Mortal Human Sources of information as well -

Anyone who has your best interests at heart will NEVER deliver guidance that doesn't support and love you unconditionally.

Anyone who wants to place conditions and limitations on the wisdom and love they share is NOT trustworthy.

It's really quite simple - which Source loves you and loves you loving yourself?

Any other agenda or motivation can not be trusted. Any other source is circumspect and possibly shady... even if they don't mean to be...

You have to choose to believe that you are already everything you've ever wanted to become - that you are exactly as God intended you to be.

There is NO absolute divine evidence to the contrary.

Anyone who refutes that is either the Author or the Gossip of an unconfirmed opinion. If God has started handing out definitive judgment on Sexual Preference - quick, while we have Her on the line, shouldn't somebody ask Her if She has any advice about anything else we might actually find important? Like War or Global Warming, maybe?

Or has the threat of Lesbians eclipsed all other threats to Mankind while I was signed off-line?
: )

[Vanilla]

Slade....

Thank you sooooooo much for this post! This post came at just the right time, and I'm so grateful for it!! I'm going to save it in my own personal records.

P.S. I love your sense of humor! =)

[Slade]

Yeah!

I hoped you'd sign on to find it soon! And you were there within seconds to receive it...

Consider that confirmation that we are all Guided, with great success.

I am honored by your response.

[Evelyn]

Well this is the best post i have read in a long time!!!!!!Thank you SLADE and U as well VANILLA. This is A true sign of compassion and unconditional LOVE!!!! I think we all needed that............
Thank You

[Slade]

Evelyn,

Thanks for the encouragement - I will post here more often!

[songwriter]

Great to see that the spirit guides are the ones behind synchronicities.
There's a lot of people who believes and follows synchs, but we don't know.

You may know I write music, etc. but sometimes I've just thought that maybe that's not my path, in a "professional way" or so, and it should be only a hobby for me.

Ok!. And then I've lived a huge amount of synchs related to music people that I've casually met on the streets and things like that... sometimes twice in an hour... like the Incredibles show thing. . Much more than what could be "casuality"... so it's synch. So I know, my way is music.

Jung said that we can decide most of the things with logic and conscious, but great decisions mostly can not be decided with logic thinking, you know.
That's where your subconscious is the one to hear. Intuition, signs... for me synchs especially.
Like science can know about space and time, but not in extreme terms. Science can't find an origin or end of space and time or so but it useful for more down to earth things... you know.

When talking about BIG things, big questions, decisions... the reason-logic thinking falls short.

I know my way is music but I don't know my way to music. I mean to let it out to many people. I don't think those synchs just want me to keep on writing and keeping it to myself.

I've thought of three possible ways. One, is being signed by a record company... second, is just delivering music online and reaching many people... and third, thought I dislike it so much is... the shows like... Pop Idol and things like that... where I think I don't fit at all. But I've had many synchs about it... and that has made me open the possible chance to them. Thought I don't understand how I could fit there...

I hope to find some sign, person, synch or so about it.

"Don't keep me waiting here, let me know the way..."

The Beatles-The Long And Winding Road (live)

but still they lead me back...

[backpocket]

well, u can always try open mic nights, just to get used to performing. and the how to isn't the most important thing.

like what the 2 good people who started this forum always say, knowing what you want and the why is more important than the how to, because the how to will reveal itself.

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by backpocket

well, u can always try open mic nights, just to get used to performing. and the how to isn't the most important thing.

like what the 2 good people who started this forum always say, knowing what you want and the why is more important than the how to, because the how to will reveal itself.

Yes, but I'm so strange... that I did an open mic night... and I didn't feel a thing. Not bad, not good, it was hugely strange for me. I didn't feel fear or so but I didn't feel like reaching someone or so... I guess it's good for the first time...

There are so many ways... but there's only one path.