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experiences with spirit guides

Scott N Denver

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I feel like starting a new "we'll see how it goes" thread

Anybody have any experiences with spirit guides that they are willing to publicly share here?
 

Gerbah

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Sort of. I haven't actually consulted one officially but I know two people who are very sensitive to spirits and such and who have a certain perception of the aspects of reality that are not within the "normal" bounds. They seem to find it a tiresome thing to have.
 

Katsuni

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Not quite exactly whot was being referenced to gerbah, though, yes, I imagine that would be quite tiresome indeed.

A 'spirit guide', likely as intended to be meant by scott, is the one commonly referred to by north american indian tribes, which's whot most people associate them with... in reality, the use of such is actually quite widespread by many different religions, including some versions of christianity in the form of angels or saints (catholics basically believe in spirit guides, though not quite labeled as such; the majority of the other versions of christianity basically state that only the holy spirit counts as such).

In the most widely known traditional sense, a spirit guide is a non-physical, non-currently-living being, or entity of some natural aspect, which takes a recognizable form to guide one, either during sleep, meditation, or other trancelike state, with or without the use of drugs to easier contact such.

A guide can take the image of someone yeu know, of an animal, of a spirit of nature, or any of a number of familiar concepts to the individual in order to direct them, but unlike just 'that little voice in the back of one's head', spirit guides generally take on a physical appearance and show themselves to be present, and directly help show the recipient the 'correct' path to take.

Under most accepted forms of such, the guide is just that; a guide. They won't DO the work for yeu, they'll just either give hints, or flat out tell yeu, where yeu should go next, or whot yeu should do with yeur life, and so on. Essentially, they have other worldly knowledge that they're willing to share if yeu show respect towards them.




I personally have not had direct contact with any spirit guides, or at the very least, have not recognized such, nor in the manner which they are traditionally described within. I did have a similar situation, but it turned out she was merely an aspect of my own mind rather than a seperate entity. And she was a total bitch anyway; literally and figuratively, though I hate the figurative connotations normally, it's fitting in that case XD

Now as to whether such exists or not for 'real', who knows... some believe spirits of the world, ancestors, or other spiritual beings exist en masse, others believe only singular entities do, and some believe in no such thing at all. I've not had direct contact, as stated, so can't say so myself, but wanted to make sure the definition was presented for people to know whot's being talked about, at least as I understand it.



For referance:

- Going into a drug-assisted trance to speak with a spirit guide who portraits itself as a wolf or other animal
- Being asleep and being given direct instruction by a deceased family member
- Being in a meditative state and directly communing with a spirit of nature in whotever form it takes
- Being in some 'higher' state, such as the trances that some christian believers go into which include falling to the floor in a minor seizure of sorts, and directly contacting the holy spirit
- Physically seeing and directly speaking to an angel, saint, or other important religious icon in any state other than regular consciousness


Things which would not count:

- Getting a 'feeling' yeu should go a certain way
- Praying for something and believing yeu know the answer
- Pretty much anything that does not include either being in a state other than normal consciousness, and does not include directly speaking with the image face to face.



If moses had spoken with the burning bush and it turned out he was asleep at the time, rather than awake and aware, it could be considered a spirit guide. If awake normally, it doesn't count, as one is required to be in an 'other' state to perceive such guides.

Hope this helps people =3
 

Gerbah

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I don't see why it doesn't count if you're not awake though. Surely that would mean you are more perceptive because you don't need to rely on being in a trance? You would just see the spirit the same way you see the sky is blue, as an objective phenomenon, since we all occupy the same reality and you have the perception to see those parts of it. That's why it's tiresome for the two people I mentioned because it's just part of their normal reality and they can't switch it off. According to these people I know, the "spirits" (I use quotation marks because, as you say, their existence is accepted by many different religions so they can have different names) can provide guidance in the sense that if you ask them they can tell you stuff. Or do stuff for you, etc. It depends on the relationship, if any, you develop with them. It seems to be tricky though because like humans, they have choice between good or bad, so you can end up in a mess if you get involved with bad ones.
 

Katsuni

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I don't see why it doesn't count if you're not awake though. Surely that would mean you are more perceptive because you don't need to rely on being in a trance? You would just see the spirit the same way you see the sky is blue, as an objective phenomenon, since we all occupy the same reality and you have the perception to see those parts of it. That's why it's tiresome for the two people I mentioned because it's just part of their normal reality and they can't switch it off. According to these people I know, the "spirits" (I use quotation marks because, as you say, their existence is accepted by many different religions so they can have different names) can provide guidance in the sense that if you ask them they can tell you stuff. Or do stuff for you, etc. It depends on the relationship, if any, you develop with them. It seems to be tricky though because like humans, they have choice between good or bad, so you can end up in a mess if you get involved with bad ones.

I think the issue is moreso that it means yeu're not truly in touch with the spiritual world then; yeu're just hallucinating or imagining things in that case.

I dunno, I haven't done extensive study on the matter so am not sure why the odd 'rules' are in place as they are.
 

Lady_X

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i've read some fascinating books from mediums but no personal experience....the thought of it terrifies me...mostly because...it just seems too emotional...too painful...i'm a 7...i don't like pain :(
 

Scott N Denver

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Sort of. I haven't actually consulted one officially but I know two people who are very sensitive to spirits and such and who have a certain perception of the aspects of reality that are not within the "normal" bounds. They seem to find it a tiresome thing to have.

Yes, I definitely can see that. Personally, i can't say that I've ever found it "tiresome", but other things maybe. If you can "walk in two places at once" effectively, your probably okay though. Or at least thats been my experience. I usually say "there is much beauty in this world, and much not-beauty. Having heightened/extended awarenesses brings BOTH into greater focus." I wouldn't call that tiresome. Exhilirating and depressing, a lot to take in, deeper, more to pay attention to, more things to watch out for and ignore/avoid, etc...

In terms of trance, sleep, meditation, "normal life", I think the issue at hand is how well can you "see sideways" or have access to the level(s) on which these other things occur.
 

Fidelia

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Have you had experiences with spirit guides, Scott?
 

Scott N Denver

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Have you had experiences with spirit guides, Scott?
As it said in the first post "Anybody have any experiences with spirit guides that they are willing to publicly share here? "

why do you ask?

I feel quite comfortable talking about most of my eastern training. For the most part, what I might say on this topic lies mostly outside of that training, and I'm not sure how comfortable I feel publicly talking about it. Many things exist as experiences to people, whether those experiences are "true" or not, I don't want people connecting the idea of "Scott talking about eastern philosophy" with "Scott talking about [various shamanic training stuff]" The heart sutra and the diamond sutra don't talk about spirits. Other eastern people and books might, but usually only as a sidenote or because the Tibetans are occult as all get out and track the souls of their dead to find their reincarnations, or at least that is what they claim. Notice how fact non-committal I am being here :D
 

Scott N Denver

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Ok, I thought about it some more. I will say this. Yes, I've had experiences on this topic, as well as a number of others. Some experiences need only be symbolic, they might not be deeper. For example, you saw an image of a certain object or animal. But it was just a psychological or archetypal image, as opposed to necessarily being a "visitation" by some independent external being. I do think those things are possible too, however.

If you look deep enough in the right places, you will find assertions in various eastern philosophies of other realms of existence or levels of consciousness. [There is a reason that Buddhism talks about "all sentient beings" instead of "all people" or "all animals" or the like.] Attitudes towards such things varies. However, a person will generally be well-trained and "safe" before accessing such things. We tend to not access them for their own sake, but either ignore them, or enter them with some other purpose that is just being given expression on that level. Not always, but frequently as I understand. Often, we stand simultaneously in this world and, to some extent, on these other levels. But again, there importance is usually strongly downplayed, or we are doing something else and some aspect of that is given expression or awareness on these levels.

In a sense, the purpose of yoga is to clean oneself, or purify ones self on various "inner levels." As part of that process, one may gain access to and become aware of the activities on various other levels of consciousness. So yes, I do have experiences. But I don't wish to give them undue influence/importance, nor do I wish to particularly encourage people towards such things, and definitely not for their [ie those kind of experiences] own sake. If they already have such interests, and something I say reinforces that interest then so be it, but I don't want to somehow "put people down that road." Plenty of people do advanced yoga without such awarenesses/experiences, and if the only reason you are coming to us is to train such things, I'm gonna tell you to leave and go somewhere else. Shamanism can provide that training for example, go there or some other such thing. Many things exist, only some of them do we place much value on.

I have encountered MANY times the idea that various saints, sages, gurus, etc, continue to exist on subtle non-physical levels of being [theory-wise: we all do for a while, until we physically reincarnate, but these people know how to prevent or at least massively delay such reincarnation], and will occasionally "visit" their students, provide guidance, emanate their saintliness, etc. With that said, I have NEVER encountered the idea of "spirit guides" as such in any of my eastern training. Which isn't to say its not true, but at best we don't place much emphasis on it. There is also plenty of discussion about other levels of existence onto which people can reincarnate, but also that this human level of existence is considered the "most ideal" for attaining enlightenment[Note: "pure land" groups are the notable exception to this]. The others are either too comfortable or too distracting/painful.

How was that for a non-answer answer?
 

Fidelia

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So, basically that's a no and your branch of religion doesn't necessarily include that experience as desirable anyway?

I've talked to both native and Eastern religion followers who have had personal encounters with spirit guides. In a couple of cases, practioners of Eastern religions felt that they were a source of comfort and guidance at first (some had several and even trained others how to get in touch with theirs), but the spirit guides turned on them later. The one Cree person who told his experiences said that a variety of different spirits had approached him, promising various things if he would follow them or do something to honour them. He ended up selecting one in particular who took on various forms and whom he said did actually give him what was promised. He knew of other medicine men who had their patron spirits which granted them different powers that were normally not within the realm of possibility. I know of others who have had ancestors or animals appear to them in dreams to tell them something or give them advice.

I have no doubt that they are real. Because of my world view, I believe that they aren't benign, but I know enough normal people who have had encounters that I believe such a thing definitely does exist.
 

Scott N Denver

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So, basically that's a no and your branch of religion doesn't necessarily include that experience as desirable anyway?

I've talked to both native and Eastern religion followers who have had personal encounters with spirit guides. In a couple of cases, practioners of Eastern religions felt that they were a source of comfort and guidance at first (some had several and even trained others how to get in touch with theirs), but the spirit guides turned on them later. The one Cree person who told his experiences said that a variety of different spirits had approached him, promising various things if he would follow them or do something to honour them. He ended up selecting one in particular who took on various forms and whom he said did actually give him what was promised. He knew of other medicine men who had their patron spirits which granted them different powers that were normally not within the realm of possibility. I know of others who have had ancestors or animals appear to them in dreams to tell them something or give them advice.

I have no doubt that they are real. Because of my world view, I believe that they aren't benign, but I know enough normal people who have had encounters that I believe such a thing definitely does exist.

Yes, I have "had experiences" with spirit guides. Many times. Not as elaborate as what other people describe though. For example, and this is the most common one, I will go from normal/typical to internally seeing an image of someone or some animal, recognize the "feel" as probably a spirit guide, and there will be some usually a ~sentence message attached to it. Usually nothing will be said, its more like the expression or transference of a feeling or thought. "Try this" "Stop doing that" "go check out that woman around the corner" "climbing a mntn would be good for you right now" stuff like that. I've never made "deals" with any spirit guide, nor has any such thing ever come up for me. I think shamanism and nature religions deal with that far more. I will also say, I often feel "influences" but they are usually somewhat removed in origin [maybe from a spirit guide, maybe an intuition, maybe a recollection of something, maybe a "quit being distracted and focus!"], and its again usually a simple ~sentence thing. "Go exercise" "quit thinking about topic X so much" "get some fresh air" "you have an appt at 4PM, better start getting ready for that" etc.

From what I've been taught and what I've read, one's spirit guides are supposed to "only have the best intentions for you". I think thats referring to life-long guides. Other guides don't stay as long. Other "beings" might just happen to be passing by, and are interested in an exchange??? When you talked about people being betrayed by their spirit guides, I'm guessing that's what it was. I've usually heard of beings and exchanges in the context of shamanism, its quite well known there. I don't wish to give undue emphasis to this point, because it can attract people for the wrong reasons, but as yogis we develop "potentials" on our own, we don't need some spirit or whatever whatnot to "give" them to us. We also [can] walk in realms far deeper/subtler than the ones where one can find spirits.

Eastern guru jaggi vasudev talks in one of his books in response to a student specifically asking about spirit guides and other entities positively influencing one something to the affect of: "Understand this very clearly, for one seeking liberation, and you all are here because you ARE seeking liberation, any such non-corporeal entities are in the same situation [ie cycle of death and rebirth, ie reincarnation] as you are. Their specific place might be a little different from yours, and perhaps in some ways their specific place might seem preferable to yours, but they are in the same situation as you are. How can one in the same situation as you help you to escape that situation??? Whatever else they might be able to do, they can't help you with that. Remember, you are here for liberation. Don't get distracted"

I would say the following, if I want to understand the depth of Buddhism or the advanced spiritual practices of taoism, or the elucidation of the depth of vedanta, I go and read historical books/scriptures on those subjects. For some examples: the heart sutra, the diamond sutra, the tao te jing, and the ashtakavra gita. I'm sure spirit guides do things too [god that sounds so trivializing, I don't mean it to], and I have had experiences in that department, but there is a world of difference in terms of impact on me between 1) there is a [negative influence] here, try to avoid it, and 2) "form is not other than emptiness, emptiness is not other than form" to quote the uber-famous line from the heart sutra. Both can have their place, but the second relates to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, the first does not. I think other people get a lot more advice from their guides. Personally, I'm quite content to stick to "input" from saints, sages, advanced yogis etc, and the works they left behind. Looking at a picture of ramana maharshi, or anandamayi ma, or radha ma for one second has had FAR more impact than all the dealing with spirit guides and the like that I can think of. How can a spirit compare to enlightened saints and sages??? Thats just me though, and to each there own. Different people are looking for different things.
 

Gerbah

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Yes, I definitely can see that. Personally, i can't say that I've ever found it "tiresome", but other things maybe. If you can "walk in two places at once" effectively, your probably okay though. Or at least thats been my experience. I usually say "there is much beauty in this world, and much not-beauty. Having heightened/extended awarenesses brings BOTH into greater focus." I wouldn't call that tiresome. Exhilirating and depressing, a lot to take in, deeper, more to pay attention to, more things to watch out for and ignore/avoid, etc...

In terms of trance, sleep, meditation, "normal life", I think the issue at hand is how well can you "see sideways" or have access to the level(s) on which these other things occur.

From what the two I know say and the problems they've shared with me, it is potentially tiresome because it makes life complicated, e.g. they're hanging around in the room you're in when you'd rather they didn't, even if they aren't bothering you, or someone else makes a partnership with a “spirit” and instructs it to harass you. The benign ones seem to just mind their own business and not interfere in human affairs, and if they do tell you things, they don't want anything in return.
 

milkyway2

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There are a lot of things where I want to say "Yes this must be true because lots of normal people like me saw it."

But then I ask myself... how normal am I really...and how normal is everyone else... and what is normal....

Scientists have found the frequency our consciousness operates on. And apparently it's extremely weak. I think it's fairly easy for us to slip into other states of consciousness.. I don't know how.. or what that means exactly in reference to spirit guides. But I guess I'm trying to say that I think some people connect to another realm of consciousness where they see things sometimes and many people see similar things even. But just because it's another state of consciousness doesn't mean anything you see/feel is real outside of your head.
 

Tiltyred

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- Being asleep and being given direct instruction by a deceased family member

That has happened to me. But it wasn't any real profound instruction. He told me to wake up and go to work, and I argued with him, and he argued back, and finally I did wake up, and it was indeed past time for me to get up and I was late for work.
 
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