The Reiki Cafe 

Just putting out feelers here, has anyone met their spirit guides. I've done a couple meditations to meet my guides. It was a wonderful experience.

dway,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- and it is amazing that so-called "guides" have agendas of their own

- which suggests to me that they do not 'belong' to anyone

>:-}}

- in some ways, it might be a bit like the relationahip a shaman has with his\her Power Animals: the Power Animal may end the relationship just as the Shaman may do so

>:-}}

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Namste all!

How do you distinguish contact with spirit guides vs. overrun imagination? I have never had any contact as far as my five senses are involved- but, I have had experiences of being guided to do things a certain way, even though my logic would have me do another way.

Mal

I felt skeptical for some time about wanting or having guides. I had been dealing with ghosts/spirits in my home for long time and frankly wanted to be done with all of that around me. I also wondered about the reality of it all or was it going to be my imagination creating guides/helpers.

In my experiences I have found that when my mind is busy doing other things as in being mindful and having intentions then that is when a guide/helper will cozy up with me. When I am drumming and entering another state of being that is when someone shows themselves to me. I might hear them chanting or drumming behind me or from the third eye position I get a vision of them and I ask, who are you please? I am then given a name of some sort or a few words of some sort which are usually more of a puzzle for me to figure out.
At my last drumming circle March 2nd, we were in round 4 and I felt the urge to stop drumming and was looking in to the candle fire on the altar for a while and then off to my right, in my mind's eye, I see a Native woman who is preparing something in front of her. I see her coloring of hair, skin, what she wears including clothing, jewelry, and I see her side profile. I ask, who are you and I am given, let's say telepathically, the name Lakota woman. I ask again for another name and am told the word Emry and I sound out to myself Emery blah, blah, blah and then I say Enri and then she tells me the word French. After the circle I speak to my Shaman and ask if she had this experience also. She had not. I get an email from her the next day and she said she stepped with Lakota woman that night and found out she was so happy she found the circle and plans on coming to many more of them. She was so excited she was dancing all over the place and interrupting her with many comments. She said she was a medicine woman and appeared to my Shaman more like a crone, very old and very wise. She said she was Lakota and she was of French decent. We both said, isn't that interesting? and Wow!

So for me I find these visits and introductions come when I am open for them to come and not when I ask them to come so therefore there is no imagination factor playing in.
Lakota woman did not appear just for me, to be a guide or spirit helper for me. She came to the circle to be a healing helper for everyone in the circle and beyond. That is one of the wonderful benefits of being in a Reiki circle or a drumming circle. It is one helping hand upon another helping hand doing lots of good energy work which can benefit so many, near and far.
Lakota woman came to visit the other night and helped with some distant work I was doing for someone. She just was there at one point and then off she went.
I know of two other guide's/helpers I have that visit when I think or say their names as I would like their assistance doing energy work. They used to be around me all the time and this got a little overwhelming so one has to know you can tell them to back off or leave you entirely.
Similar to what FK said in his post, guides/helpers are free to come and go just as totem's are in Shamanism. There is no ownership in this. One must not look at them necessarily as life long friends, but they come when asked or when their talents are needed. Some can be very overbearing and we also have free will to ask them to leave and not return. One must always be very careful when dealing with other realms or spirits in any form. One must be very careful what one asks for. We must also remember to give thanks to any spirits/helpers/totem's that do come to assist us.
As in drumming we have prepared the area and ourselves and by the rounds of drumming we are calling in the helpers to assist us in any healing/energy work we are doing. The last round of drumming we are now getting quiet, being thankful, and lovingly returning them to from where they came.

So Mal, from my sharing my experiences, I hope this answers your question somewhat.

Donna

\i've never to my memory have had the experience of meeting with my/our spirit guides. Once though, I lay on the couch, and Imagined/saw myself, kneeling in a snow co vered clearing in the middle of a forest, Wolves surrounded me, there was no noise. The alpha male/female tried to bite me, but I feel now that this was playful, she/he batted me with paw, but I pushed gently away, saying I was in no fear. or something. It seems a bit vague now, anyway the wolf got up, took me gently by the hand in its mouth and began to lead me into the forest. Then i woke up. but It felt like I wasn't asleep. Just opened my eyes. That was it.

Hi Jag,

Here's some info from one source on totems/guides of Wolf and Jaguar. See if this information resonates with the dream/vision you had some time ago.

Wolf's wisdom includes:

Facing the end of one's cycle with dignity and courage
Death and rebirth
Spirit teaching
Guidance in dreams and meditations
Instinct linked with intelligence
Social and familial values
Outwitting enemies
Ability to pass unseen
Steadfastness
Skill in protection of self and family
Taking advantage of change

Jaguar's wisdom includes:

Seeing the roads within chaos
Understanding the patterns of chaos
Moving without fear in the darkness
Facilitating soul work
Empowering oneself
Moving in unknown places
Shapeshifter
Psychic sight ....

Black Jaguar's wisdom includes the above as well as:

Keeper of the circular time continuum
Gatekeeper to the Unknowable

FYI, when I see your user name of Jaguar I see the black Jaguar, is this so?

Do you feel any connections with this info and your vision?

Donna

Otoharo!

What a beautiful experience. thanks for sharing!

I trained in Inner Peace MOvement during the 70/s and 80's. The whole focus was working with guides. Guides may take any form. There are some who come and go. There are some who stay with you always. If you are interested, there is someone you can ask. See resources.

For instance, I have seven who stay with me. They chose to do this before I became physical this time. They have an affinity for me. I talk with them all the time. However I never see them. that is, they have no form, just balls of light in my aura. There are two angels with each of us also. One of them stays.

finality

Namaste all

My family is devoted to a saint that lived a little less than hundred years ago. We have together witnessed manifestations out of thin air attributing to the personality of this particular saint and random events that can only fit the description of "miracles". We are all healthy skeptics-but with open mind, but these events have left us baffled. I was wondering if anybody has witnessed events from their spirit guides that defy the laws of physics as we know them now. Thanks

Mal

Yes thanks, recently I had a dream were i saw a white horse and wolf, a shaman friend of mine told me one was a pathfinder and the other my power animal. cool. but some time back at a sweat lodge one other of the participants saw four lights surrounding me. I guess I'm not as alone as I thought I was. Blessings.