3 Steps to Connect With Your Spirit Guide

We all have at least one spirit guide -- a formerly human soul assigned to be our earthly tutor to impress inspiration within us, to support us in decision making and to collaborate with us in creative endeavors. Do you know your guide(s)? If not, here is one process through which to engage, connect and communicate with this nurturing and protective spiritual presence.

1. Select a name. Our spirit guides are typically not souls known to us in this lifetime. In order to personalize the relationship with our "spiritual cheerleaders" it is helpful to think of this presence as an ally and companion. You would call any other friend by their name, so why not your spirit guide? You can select your spirit guide's name one of two ways: impulsively or contemplatively. If impulsively, go with the very first name that pops into your head -- regardless of gender (and remember that a great many names are suitable for use by both sexes). If contemplatively, you may wish to invest more time in sensing the spirit energy around you -- does it feel more masculine or feminine? Are you feeling pulled to a particular name from your past, an ancestor perhaps? Or maybe the first name of someone you'd like to honor that has passed on, such as a teacher or friend. Whatever you do, select only ONE name for your guide.

2. Formally christen your guide. I strongly recommend that this be done in the context of a prayer. The reason is that if you've come this far in your spiritual awakening, then you are in the act of becoming. As such, you are vulnerable to negative energies that desire to hinder and curtail your progress. Without protecting yourself in prayer, those negative energies may seize upon the opportunity to masquerade as something they're not in order to initiate chaos and destruction (as can happen while misusing a Ouija board). In the prayer, you may wish to use language similar to the effect of, "For the greater good of the highest order, I christen thee ________. Please step forward to take an active role in my life as my spiritual guide and mentor. Support me in making authentic decisions, impress inspiration within me and aid me as I move forward in service to others."

3. Await validation from your guide. Once you've set the intention to connect with your spirit guide, and have done so with heartfelt commitment, pay attention; about a week to ten days out, you should receive validation of this new presence, perhaps even a validation of the very name you've given your guide. You may sense a higher-vibration presence near you, especially when you are manifesting your personal gifts and talents (such as teaching or caregiving, artistic or musical expression, or forms of athleticism). You may get a ringing in one ear when in high thought. You may see or hear signs and symbols that you would associate with this loving presence.

For example, my primary guide is Frank. Frank's name probably isn't Frank, and Frank could care less, I'm sure; it's the acknowledgment of his presence in my life that matters to him. A week after I named Frank, there was a knock on my door. It was the young man driving the garbage truck for that day's pickup. He came to tell me that he split my mailbox post while backing the truck out of my cul-de-sac. I asked if the sanitation company would pay for a replacement and he said they would. But when he handed me the information, I noticed it was his name and contact numbers. Then it dawned on me, and I said, "If I report this, does that put you in any jeopardy?" The young man said it could affect his driving record, and he'd just as soon pay for the replacement post and install the new one himself. I told him I'd think about it and he left. Within the hour, I decided I would honor his honesty and allow him to take care of it as he had offered (and without reporting it to the company). I went to look at his information on the scrap of paper he had given me. Not only was his name Frank, his last name was Ward. That stuck with me until I realized "ward" is a word in the English language. I looked it up; the definition of the word ward pertains to guardianship and the act of keeping guard. This young fella's name translated to "Frank the Guardian!" Now, he was not my guide, it's what he symbolized that was the intended communication. (By the way, Frank Ward made good on his promise and when he came back to replace my mailbox post, he told me he wasn't supposed to have been there that day. He was filling in for someone that had called off, it was his first time in the area and his regular driving route was way across the other side of town.)

I can't guarantee you as spectacular a validation as the preceding example, but I can share that many others whom I have instructed in this spiritual protocol over the years have, in fact, enjoyed similarly unique affirmations. With this renewed understanding and heightened awareness, you should feel a sense of confidence and motivation going forward. For further information on guides, guardians and all things spiritual, click here .

Remember, your guide is very much like your conscience, there to help navigate and steer you to the proper opportunities and teachable moments for your greater good. Your spirit guide will aid you in fulfilling your birthright to "do what you are!"