Twenty years ago when I first stepped out onto my path, I desperately wanted to meet my spirit guides. I was alert and eagerly awaited signs of their presence. I looked forward to having immediate connection upon introduction.
It did not work that way for me, at least not initially.
One day during a meditation, I sensed a protective, loving energy nearby. I understood this might be one of my helping spirits but was frustrated when they didn’t materialize in front of me.
Weeks went by, and I got a sense that the loving presence was male.
Weeks went by again, and I was still no closer to meeting whoever was beginning to show himself. In another meditation, I got the impression of wings. I began to wonder if it was a bird, a fairy, or possibly an angel.
More weeks went by, and eventually I saw blue energy. After several months, I finally put it all together – loving, protective, male, wings, and the color blue. It was Archangel Michael!
Although I could sense his presence (particularly during meditation or shamanic journeys), I was disappointed there were still no profound messages coming through.
Then one night, I woke up to a menacing energy in my bedroom, and I instinctively called to Michael. He came immediately, and I felt comforted and safe. He was there for me, just not in the way I had expected.
Over the years I have shared this story with many students and clients when they express similar frustration.
It’s not unusual, especially when our intuition is just beginning to open, that it takes awhile to come into a fuller awareness of who our guides are and what role they might play.
Often it happens slowly over time as both parties – the helping spirit and us – learn to communicate with each other. This is a process of attunement, similar to listening to an old-fashioned radio. Once you locate the frequency, it’s still a little fuzzy until you adjust the knob and get clear audio.
At other times, meeting a guide is more immediate. A few years later during a journey, a new guide wandered in and began talking to me about something that had nothing to do with the Intention for the journey. I immediately knew who he was and understood his purpose was to help me with ancestral healing. I thanked him and promised to connect with him at another time once I had finished the journey I was on. He has become one of my main guides for ancestral healing.
Our spirit guides may have just one specific purpose. I rarely hear Archangel Michael talk, but I frequently sense his assistance and protection when doing compassionate depossession work with clients.
A different angel puts song lyrics in my head when they want to send me a message. A nature spirit helps me sense when a bird or animal is nearby on my hikes. A whole team of divine beings guides me in shamanic healing sessions for clients. Another of my spirit helpers runs ahead of me, clearing the way for synchronicities to align. I picture him like a curler, sweeping obstructions out of my path so life can flow more easily and I can see the miracles.
If you are eager to meet your spirit guides, please be patient. Begin having conversations with them out loud or silently in your head – even if you don’t yet know who they are, and even if you can’t yet hear, see, or sense them clearly. Trust that you are already connected. Usually the glitches in communication happen on the receiving end (our end), so our guides have likely already been sending us messages and fulfilling their role. We just might not yet be aware of it. This comes in time.
Holding a sincere intention to connect with our guides eventually leads there. Even before we know specifically who they are, we can feel their support and love with us.
This work is real, and it matters.
October 14, 2021