The Universal Guides
I’m becoming more spiritual now that I am sober. I look at things differently and have a more intense understanding of my true self. I’m meditating and praying and listening to my Higher Power. I have spiritual guides and God and my higher self all working for me. But are all of these things different? Or are they all the same?
Gabby Bernstein has been one of my mentors for a few years now. I’ve read several of her books, and I took her Bestseller Masterclass last year. She inspires me, and part of myself sees me doing what she does in some ways. Her “about” section on her website reads:
“I’ve been on a spiritual path most of my life. It all started with me sitting by my mother’s side, meditating in ashrams in upstate New York.
I turned to spirituality on and off throughout my teens and early twenties. I was a dabbler until my darkest hour. It was spirituality that saved me in October 2005, when I hit bottom and got sober.
The day I chose sobriety was the day I became a Spirit Junkie. I started soaking up spiritual principles, meditation practices and anything else that helped me get aligned with my true purpose: to be a source of love and inspiration in the world.
Today I am a #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight books. My mission is to help you crack open to a spiritual relationship of your own understanding so that you can live in alignment with your true purpose, too!”
She has a book called The Universe has Your Back, which opened my mind a lot to different elements of spirituality. She talks about a love she has with a higher power. She calls it “the Universe.” It is her spirit guides, her higher power, her God, her truth, her consciousness. It’s the energy of a higher being. She has a spirit guide.
But since this is not called “God,” people get weirded out by it. I’m writing about it because that’s what I do. I bring up topics that are controversial or uncomfortable. That being said, what is a spirit guide?
According to Hanna Lapinsky, “Spirit guides are disincarnate spirits that act as protectors or guides to living, incarnated human beings. These entities are also known as totems, guardian angels, and nature spirits. These are not always of human descent. They live as light beings or energy which vibrates at a higher frequency. Spirit guides are your spiritual helpers. They guide and protect you. They also help you make tough decisions. They shield you from negativity, increase your creativity, and allow you to reach your full potential. Each human being has at least one spirit guide. But, most people end up having multiple spirit guides within their lifetime.”
A google search shows me that the general idea is that there exist benevolent spirits who desire to help people or “guide” them through life. Belief in spirit guides is commonly associated with New Age, pagan, and spiritualistic belief systems. The term spirit guide is not always used, as they are also called “ascended masters” or “unseen helpers.” Automatic writing, dream states, hypnotism, and meditation are all practices related to spirit guides. Also terms such as magic circles, centering, iridology, crystals, self-actualization, and positive affirmation are often associated with spirit guides. The goal of contacting a spirit guide is usually to discover some secret wisdom and rise to a higher level of consciousness.
Are spiritual guides ever wrong? It's normal to have trouble trusting intuitive guidance, especially when you are first opening up and using your intuition. It can be especially hard to allow spirit to guide you when you don’t have the support of family or friends, or they think you’re a wacky woo-woo person. Guides are not wrong; they are telling you what they see at that point in time.
I believe in God, and I believe in Spiritual Guides. Are Guides and God the same? Are they all intertwined? Why is it normal to believe in God, but once someone starts talking about spiritual guides, they are considered a looney toon? Isn’t spirituality all the same? Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.
Gabby has the right idea when she simply refers to it as “the Universe.” because it is an all encompassing term. But if I go to church and start saying “the Universe” instead of “God,” people will probably look at me funny. Why is it that when the word God is taken away, it gets criticized and shut down? Isn’t spirituality all encompassing and all the same? What makes Guides different from God?
Does anyone really have the answer?
