Thanks to everyone who attended the live teleclass with Andrea Hess from Empowered Soul. Talking with Andrea about Spirit Guides in an audio format was a momentous first for me -- it definitely marked the beginning of more to come. I would really appreciate any feedback about my performance on the call so that I can improve my public speaking. If you missed the call, the recording is now available to all those who registered; I'm also making the recording available to all my subscribers in a free download link at the end of my posts (scroll to the end of your email delivery or feed reader to find it).

Since there was so much information about working with Spirit Guides that Andrea and I wanted to cover and perhaps did not get to -- not to mention, while in the hot-seat, my vocabulary became illusive and my train-of-thought derailed a few times -- I thought I would share with you the notes I made prior to the conversation.

Talking Points

The following notes are my initial thoughts | impressions regarding the major talking points | issues Andrea and I hoped to address on the call. My notes here do not reflect all the practical and insightful points of view that Andrea brought to the call -- I encourage you to have a listen or check out Empowered Soul for Andrea's unique, complementary wisdom.

"What's the first piece of advice you'd give to people who want to communicate with their spirit guides?"

Release your expectations of what you think communicating with your guides is supposed to be. It's not something you've never done before -- you've always been communicating with your guides. Divine guidance is not complicated; it's not especially supernatural -- it's on-going, subtle; it happens every day. Your communicating to your guides is a first priority over their communicating back to you.

Tips for how people can tune in to their own Spirit Guides

On the call, Andrea offered some great advice regarding setting your intentions first, creating some basic personal ritual, or setting an atmosphere when soliciting divine guidance.

Create conditions that work for you. What will work best for you may be dramatic or eccentric; it could be low key, with few bells and whistles. The key is ultimately personal.
Keep it simple, comfortable, familiar. Don't make it more formal than it needs to be -- I don't personally require any official ritual, dramatic spell, or specific meditation.
Supercommon meditative activities (as opposed to supernatural) -- I personally feel that you are just as likely to receive intuitive information during mental states induced by simple activities like gardening, mowing the lawn, showering, running, driving, sewing, cooking, washing the dishes, drawing/painting/digital design work, any kind of hand-craft, or journaling.
Think of your guides as personal assistants who can arrange for you to discover the information that you need.
Speak to them out loud, whenever possible. Clairaudient intuition, in particular, is empowered as much by speaking as hearing. Be conversational and use familiar language, as you would with anyone you're close to.
Talk to your guides often; practice all the time. Don't make this type of ongoing dialog an event -- meaning, you do it once in a blue moon, or only under extreme circumstances -- do it all the time, regularly, through out your daily life.
Start working with your guides when things are going well, instead of waiting until you're needy. We have a tendency to ask for guidance when we're feeling desperate, confused, stressed, panicked; start talking to your guides when you are feeling especially hopeful, excited, peaceful, grateful. When things are going the way we want them to, we don’t feel we need to talk to our guides -- but that gratitude and positive feeling is the energy we want more of. I say talk to your guides when things are going incredibly well. That's your opportunity to focus on and practicing wielding the best spiritual energy.
Word Choice -- Instead of saying "Tell me…" try saying "Show me…" or "Help me find…" or "Bring me…" -- the complaint I hear over and over again is "I can't hear my guides." If this is the case, release the expectation of hearing them. You may personally be stronger in clairvoyance or claircognizance than in clairaudience.
Opportunities and Guidance delivered by the living -- Don't discount other people as being the most likely -- effective source -- for the information and opportunities you've requested. We all act as one another's guides.
Obey impulses or flashes of inspiration. Practice simple, sometimes mysterious acts that require courage and faith. Manifesting requires rightful action and follow through on your part.

What guidance is NOT: Andrea wrote to me how important is was for her to share this message: "Guides do not give us orders or tell us what to do, they're never critical or judgmental, their guidance is always in the highest good of all, they will never give us guidance that contradicts our personal ethics, etc."

My own comments supporting this: You are in charge. They're your guides. They work for you; you don't work for them. They follow your direction -- if you're hell bent on repeating mistakes or learning the hard way, they will assist you in doing so.

Biggest misconceptions people have about Spirit Guides

These are a few things I've noted about people who inquire about readings...

Your deceased loved ones do not become your guides when they pass over. Anyone you've known in this lifetime is NOT a spirit guide. Deceased loved ones do come around you and watch over you, but I refer to these entities as ancestor spirits. Ancestors spirits have a completely different motivation and role to play.
The guidance you receive will not likely come in the form of miraculous, supernatural events. Everyone is familiar with the concept of interpreting dreams -- begin interpreting your waking life from the same perspective. Just as your dream states are filled with symbols and metaphor, what you call reality is filled with the same types of clues and messages.

I cannot stress enough how unique the experience of spiritual guidance is to YOU. It's a relationship. It's dynamic -- it grows and changes over time -- and, most importantly all relationships are created by the participants. If you're trying to put a relationship, a soul -- not to mention the synergy of souls -- into a template or recipe or strict formula -- a role of some kind -- you'll end up with a wooden, hollow, soul less interaction. This actually affects all relationships.

The subjective details of perception -- the energy your guides use -- is taken from your experience -- the data stored by your consciousness -- and this is more emotional than it is informational.

Personal responsibility vs. receiving guidance

Andrea mentions the importance of free will -- that we're responsible for our own choices, no matter how much we'd like our Guides to make our choices for us.

To this I say "Amen! Absolutely!" Just as with manifesting techniques -- the Secret -- thinking or wishing or visualizing or praying without taking rightful action and following through only initiates the evolution you wish to experience on your path. If you ask for opportunities and assistance along your way, you must practice recognizing and acting upon those opportunities, in the present, when they happen.

Asking for guidance -- initiating divine communication -- is a small part of raising your vibration, follow your path, living your purpose, and creating the life you wish to live. The most challenging, important, and effective aspect to practice is learning to receive, in gratitude.

Seek Wisdom -- Practice Love