Connecting with Your Guides

Article by Angie Webster

Long before I first heard of Reiki, I was aware of guides in my life. I had been aware of guides and spirits since my earliest childhood memories. However, I found early on that most people either were not aware of their own guides or were not comfortable talking about them, so I learned to stop discussing them and eventually began to wonder if something was wrong with me for experiencing these loving presences. I pushed them to the background as I grew up and went on with the business of making my way in the world.

Later, after a near death experience, the encounters came to the forefront again. I still refused to talk about them with others, fearing even more what would be determined about my state of mental stability. However, I was grateful for their guidance and their love. They always radiated complete love and peace, like nothing I had felt before, except from them and in the space between life and death. Their guidance was always kind and it was always helpful. I didn’t always listen or understand the guidance, but I learned to ask questions when I didn’t understand, just as you would with a tender and gentle teacher.

I have since come to know many other people who admit to knowing their own guides and trusting them as wise counselors and friends. It no longer seems like such a strange idea to me to be open about this, yet I am aware that for many this is a taboo subject that speaks of witchcraft or mental illness.

I also know that not everyone is aware of their guides. I believe we all have them, some of us simply may not be tuned in or may be expecting to receive a connection in the same way as others do. Our brains are all unique and we each receive information in different ways. Some may receive information from their guides through visual stimulation in the mind, with images appearing in the mind’s eye or perceiving things in their environment more clearly than others. Others may receive sounds very clearly in their ears or as words in their heads. Some may receive a sudden “knowing“, very clear information about something they have no previous knowledge about. There are many ways to receive information and some receive in a combination of these.

You do not need to be connected to or aware of your guides to practice Reiki. Sometimes new practitioners become very concerned that this hasn’t happened for them. Chances are, you are receiving information and you simply aren’t aware of it. There is no need to worry about being a “bad” practitioner or that you aren’t spiritual enough if you aren’t aware of your guides! You are fine!

You can keep setting the intention that you would like to connect with your guides, in the way that is most appropriate for you. Ask that any blocks or fears you have about receiving information from guides be removed as well. When the time is right, it will happen. Be open to it and be open to the manner in which it may happen. Relax.

Try keeping a dream journal, as messages often comes through both our subconscious and our guides in the form of dreams. Writing down your dreams can be a valuable way to see what your dreams are telling you. You may also benefit from taking note of any instances in waking life where you felt inexplicably drawn or led to do something. What happened when you did this? Or what were the results when you resisted?

Don’t get stuck on expecting to see a person appear in front of you. Not everyone has this experience. And not every experience with the same guide will be like that, even if it is sometimes. In my experience, when I have “seen” guides I saw them in my mind’s eye, not with my physical ones and they were not like physical people. They were beings of light. They were auras that emanated light, especially from their hearts.

Whether you think of guides as actual beings, as your Higher Self, your subconscious mind, as God or as intuition, it really makes no difference in the end. It is receiving information from a part of you or through a part of you that is capable of seeing and understanding things in a different and more expansive way. If this is helpful and loving, then why not make use of it? There is also no need to banish logical thinking. A good balance of intuition and logic makes for a balanced mind and a more functional life. Embrace your whole mind, logic and intuition.

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Angie Webster made a significant contribution to the Reiki community, with a particular focus on Animal Reiki, which she had a deep affection for. As a knowledgeable Reiki Master Teacher and Author, she conducted online courses on energy healing, herbalism, flower essences, and personal growth.
She is the author of “Animal Reiki: How it Heals, Teaches & Reconnects Us with Nature” and “Reiki from A to Z”. Currently, Angie has decided to retire from her professional life to devote more time to her health, family, and the little joys of life.