An exciting part of energy healing, shamanic and spiritual practices is the potential to work with spirit guides. Spirit guides are not essential in this type of work, but can be useful and have their benefits. To effectively work with spirit guides, it is vital to know what spirit guides are and how to decern them.
What Are Spirit Guides?
A spirit guide is an energy being whos primary purpose is to guide or assist you in both the spirit and natural world. Spirit guides give opportunities for learning, discovery and healing. A spirit guide is an energy being who guides you; it is not a spiritual director or spiritual dictator. Spend some time thinking about what this means. A spirit guide does not direct you; it guides you.
Spirit guides can be any energy being from angels, spirit animals, enlightened beings etc. They can be perceived in many different ways from a strong knowing of their presence to spiritual viewing, hearing etc.
Spirit guides work with you, not for you. This is essential to understand. You can’t dictate to a spirit guide, nor can you demand the spirit guide do something for you. They are not your employee. Spirit guides guide or assist you.
Spirit Guide Discernment
Spirit guides are there to guide you on your spiritual journey. If a spirit guide starts to interfere with someone else’s practises, avoid. With this in mind, if someone tells you that their spirit guide is guiding you to do something, avoid. It is not a spirit guide.
A spirit guide will not direct you or take over your energetic or spiritual activities. A spirit guide will not tell you what to do and manage your life. A spirit guide is not a director or dictator. If a spirit guide directs aspects of your life, interferes in spiritual practices, tells you what to do, gives you attunements and does not allow for you to be in ultimate control, then this is not a spirit guide. It is essential to practice discernment and not give your power away. You are an immensely powerful being in your own right.
If you are in a situation where you can no longer make up your mind or take spiritual choices without direction from a spiritual guide, then you should stop working with this being.
When working with attunements, it is probably best to avoid attunements that are solely given or provided from someones spirit guide. This may be direct interference in the attunement founders spiritual practice, which can’t be guaranteed as safe. Always use your intuition and discernment, never just expect energies to be safe.
Some spiritual practitioners use their spirit guides as ways of instilling authority into their work. The intention of this is to excel the power of the spirit guide above that of you and often even the founder. It takes away any accountability from the attunement founder. This false authority is disempowering and takes your energy.
If you work with a spiritual practitioner who says they will confer and require direction from their spirit guide about your spiritual practice, avoid or take it with a large pinch of salt. Even if this is a spirit guide (never assume this), it is not your spirit guide. Again, a spirit guide guides you; it does not tell you what to do.
If a spirit guide is positioned as a powerful being in a directorial role in energy healing practice or organisation, it is best to avoid. This is not a spirit guide.
Also, try not to hold spirit guides in unqualified high esteem. In the attunement community, there is a cult-like following of those who elevate their spirit guides. I must stress; by definition, these are not spirit guides. Think for a moment who these beings are; there is no guarantee that these beings are benevolent.
If a spirit guide suddenly appears in your life, it can be very intoxicating. However, always take a step back and never assume benevolence. Ask yourself, what do the energies feel like, are you being guided or directed, are you being pestered, does the spirit guide take over or allow you to have control, has the spirit guide suddenly appeared in a time of crisis? If the energies do not feel right or you are not in control and being directed at, avoid at all costs. This is almost certainly not a spirit guide.
