Are Spirit Guides Real? How Can I Contact Them?

[lemuria]

So far I accept that Lucid Dreaming and Astral Projection are real... so far

Anyway, I heard a lot about this so called "guardians" that is supposed to be assigned by my "higher self". I don't think I'll accept "higher self" for now, but I'm open to the possibility of these... "guardians" or guides, like all of you prefer to call them.
Even if I get "advices" from them, I don't need to follow them blindly, am I right?
But then, how can I differentiate their "advices" and my imaginations?
How do they look like? Can they materialize themselves before me? Can they speak English? Do they have gender? Can I win lottery though them?
What can they tell me about my life?
Why must I be assigned with Guides in the first place?

If I die, can I become a Guide myself? Must be really fun! Spying on people and such .


P.S. If you're wondering why I reject the notion there exist a higher self and blindly following guide's guidance, is because, I hate the idea of something else is in control of my life (yep, it's a line from the Matrix)