Spiritual Guides and How to Work With Them

mellowdrifter9 said:Transition periods seem to be unfolding all around us constantly. We see it in the shifting seasons—summer giving way to autumn, autumn turning into winter, and winter leading into spring. It’s even happening within our daily cycles, moving from the depths of night into the dawn and eventually into the morning. I suppose it's just the natural rhythm of things, isn't it?
People seem to rely on transitional terminology quite heavily as a way to try and describe or present certain concepts. I suppose you see this kind of language being tossed around constantly in the literature that’s been circulating over the last few decades. However, it feels like the term New Age has been more exhausted than almost any other label—except, perhaps, by those calling themselves "spiritualists."

During my meditation sessions, I often find myself experiencing various situations, vivid imagery, or sudden messages. There are moments when I truly feel as though one of these beings is attempting to initiate a reconnection with me. When I can manage to carve out some quiet time to relax through specific exercises or deep meditation, I try my best to establish a line of communication. It isn't always successful, though; I suppose that’s because I am a busy person with a full life and plenty of responsibilities to attend to. There have even been times when I’ve fallen asleep mid-meditation—perhaps because I was simply exhausted and the energy felt so powerful that my body just gave in. Sometimes these messages arrive through visual imagery, and other times they manifest within my dreams, but I must admit that by morning, about half of it tends to slip away. That might be why certain messages seem to repeat themselves. If I am ever unable to dedicate the necessary time to receive what is being sent, I simply offer my gratitude and ask if we might postpone the connection for another time.
It doesn't seem like they're constantly hovering over me anymore, nor am I being bombarded by messages pouring in from the spirit world... at least, I don't think so.

I suppose some messages did surface during guided meditations, though they were mostly quite brief—perhaps just quick notifications, sudden directions, or short answers to specific questions.
I believe that becoming a guide is something achieved through dedicated work on oneself. Establishing communication with the spirit world isn't an overnight occurrence; rather, it seems to happen gradually. It involves raising one's vibration and clearing away heavy, negative energies. I guess it also requires steadying the mind, building genuine self-confidence, and sharpening the senses. Ultimately, it’s about strengthening intuition through deep, internal transformation.
Nothing truly significant happens overnight; I suppose it’s only through continuous, dedicated effort that we actually see real results.
Persistence, courage, and a genuine willingness to evolve—these are what truly matter. It takes real strength to take your flaws and somehow transform them into virtues, or to face your own thoughts and deepest fears head-on, meeting your very spirit in the process. I suppose there comes a point where one must be prepared to sacrifice everything they have ever achieved. Perhaps we even have to cast aside everything we currently are, just to become something else—something new, something higher, and ultimately, something better.

So many people embark on this journey of being transformation, sparking deep changes and pushing everything inside them to finally surface. But then, when the moment actually arrives to face what has been unearthed... they get frightened and pull back. I suppose it happens because changing oneself is perhaps the most difficult task any of us will ever undertake. This is where things tend to fracture—that tension between the forces we’ve set in motion and our own internal resistance to letting go, to forgiving, or to facing the hard truths. It’s about confronting those darker parts of ourselves that have been buried so deep. And why does this happen? Well, I guess it’s because we fear losing control, and honestly, that can be a truly unsettling experience.

I suspect you all might be quite surprised to learn that God, the Source, the Divine Force... all of this is already known. Every single second of our lives—every fleeting thought, every desire, every action, every hope, even our anger, our stubbornness, or our defiance—it is all known to the Divine, to God, to the Source. Yet, despite everything, we remain held within that grace and love, perhaps because we are an intrinsic part of the Divine, just as the Divine is an inseparable part of us.
I believe there is a Divine plan for every single one of us, for every individual soul. I suppose that plan is designed so that no soul is ever left behind in their growth or their transformation... even if that process takes another 1,000 years, or perhaps an entire lifetime more. It seems to me they are always there to support us on this journey, offering exactly as much as we are truly ready to receive.

mistygull16 said:Since God is basically unknowable, over in India they have this concept of Ishta Devata—or something like that, I don't want to get bogged down in the specifics right now—which is like having a personal deity. It’s usually just one of the many gods or angels on offer, but it’s not the ultimate Reality itself; it’s more like a set of handholds to help us stay grounded.

Then you’ve got the folks who think people can actually manifest certain astral phenomena. These aren't even beings, let alone anything divine. Some might say it could be Kali; there’s even that old legend about a woman in white appearing in the US right before a war breaks out...

Regarding Kali and those other female deities, you could say they're energies manifesting through specific chakras. For instance, Kali, or even Durga, which a lot of people find pretty cool, are energies tied to the lower chakras—basically, when they lose their temper, Shiva just clears out. In the higher chakras, you start seeing the energies of Parvati (that maternal vibe) and Saraswati (knowledge), and at the very highest chakra, Shiva and Shakti show up as One.

And there are these stories from far-off India about a paradise called Devaloka. It’s not exactly the ultimate goal for a spiritual seeker, but it’s a slightly better place to hang out than Earth, and Indra is the ruler there. Now, much like heaven and hell, these different levels of paradise aren't permanent. Indra is actually a little paranoid about losing his throne, so whenever he sees someone making serious spiritual progress, his seat starts shaking, and he’ll send one of those celestial dancers—an apsara or whatever—to try and distract the spiritualist with some worldly passions.

So, I guess the question is: are these tales meant to describe how the universe actually works, or are they warnings? Like, maybe they're telling us that even when we reach higher states of consciousness, we still run into obstacles like fear or greed... or maybe it's all just cosmic entertainment and heavenly adrenaline rushes...

Thomas Nelson25 said:A woman? Give me more on that, sounds pretty interesting.

mistygull16 said:Honestly, I'm kind of out of the loop here. I just saw some characters in this old art book or something... there was this lady in white who supposedly shows up right before a war starts. Pretty sure it's just some local legend from back in the Midwest or maybe Appalachia, but I can't be 100% sure. There’s also those creepy forest creatures at night—the reason some ladies won't leave their laundry out overnight and have to bring everything in before dark...

Walter Parker said:@wiwamus, I don’t know what your specific faith is, but regardless, I really hope you realize that those "astral" or spiritual guides aren't actually good for a person's soul. You bring up things like meditation, shamans, Reiki, and mantras—but honestly, one way to look at it is that they're just ways to invite evil in. These entities can easily mimic "good" angels or even people we know and love... I really don't mean to sound condescending or offensive here, but these are all practices that the Church stands firmly against. There are countless articles online explaining exactly why they oppose this stuff. That dimension isn't hidden from us for no reason. Lately, I've been reading testimonies from people involved in yoga, meditation, and astrology, and it strikes me how much they all overlap and how dangerous they can be. It’s such a shame that this is marketed as being "wholesome, healthy, and beneficial" when people really shouldn't be poking around in there... 🙄🙄 For anyone curious, I’d recommend checking out a slightly longer YouTube video titled "The Hidden World - Miroljub Petrović." It's a great recording of some old radio broadcasts about a young man who started having visions through meditation just like yours, and it shows exactly where that path led him spiritually. Honestly, you only need to watch the first thirty minutes to see all the reasons why this is a bad idea. I noticed you aren't particularly fond of people offering explanations, but I feel like it would be a bit selfish of me to stay silent, especially since someone else might stumble onto this topic without knowing any better, just like I didn't until recently...

Walter Parker said:@wiwamus, I don’t know what your specific faith is, but regardless, I really hope you realize that those "astral" or spiritual guides aren't actually good for a person's soul. You bring up things like meditation, shamans, Reiki, and mantras—but honestly, one way to look at it is that they're just ways to invite evil in. These entities can easily mimic "good" angels or even people we know and love... I really don't mean to sound condescending or offensive here, but these are all practices that the Church stands firmly against. There are countless articles online explaining exactly why they oppose this stuff. That dimension isn't hidden from us for no reason. Lately, I've been reading testimonies from people involved in yoga, meditation, and astrology, and it strikes me how much they all overlap and how dangerous they can be. It’s such a shame that this is marketed as being "wholesome, healthy, and beneficial" when people really shouldn't be poking around in there... 🙄🙄 For anyone curious, I’d recommend checking out a slightly longer YouTube video titled "The Hidden World - Miroljub Petrović." It's a great recording of some old radio broadcasts about a young man who started having visions through meditation just like yours, and it shows exactly where that path led him spiritually. Honestly, you only need to watch the first thirty minutes to see all the reasons why this is a bad idea. I noticed you aren't particularly fond of people offering explanations, but I feel like it would be a bit selfish of me to stay silent, especially since someone else might stumble onto this topic without knowing any better, just like I didn't until recently...

bluemason3 said:You aren't Catholic😉

If your faith sits above dogma and diverges from it, you might still call yourself a Christian—provided you believe in Jesus and the Bible—but you can't claim to be Catholic. I don't really get this constant urge to tie oneself to a local traditional religion when you don't actually subscribe to its core tenets. It feels like a passive desire to fit in, or perhaps it's just a calculated move by professionals and spiritualists to make social integration a little smoother.

If my memory serves me right, Catholic doctrine mandates automatic excommunication if you reject its dogmas. Calling someone a "Catholic who doesn't believe the dogmas" is basically an oxymoron; the two ideas just cancel each other out.

mellowdrifter9 said:The explanation was regarding a few previous questions, and if we look at it strictly from a religious standpoint, it ends up looking exactly like what you explained here. However, from my perspective, my point still stands... because I know there are plenty of Catholics who hold different views, but many of them simply stay silent about it. And if they do speak up, it’s usually only within a safe environment... it's rare for anyone to write or talk about it openly. But the reality is that there are more and more Catholics who maintain their spiritual practices out of tradition or habit rather than true faith.
And I would kindly ask that we return to the main topic in the following posts....

bluemason3;55956996 said:
Think about how someone might establish a sport. Let's say it's football. They introduce specific rules for the game, such as how players advance or how positions are selected.
Then, you could claim to be an American senior national football player. Even if you don't actually play, and if you believe football consists of five players played by sitting on one's backside,
you might decide you are the head coach simply because that's how you feel and that's your opinion.
A religious organization isn't just some arbitrary thing. It is a structured group of people held together specifically by shared beliefs and administrative frameworks. If you don't share those, then you aren't part of it. It really is that simple.
One can always be a Christian through faith in Jesus alone. However, the Catholic Church defines the criteria for membership; it isn't something left to chance (not God, nor any individual acting on a whim, much like any other organized entity).
If the doctrine of the Catholic Church states that a person who rejects its dogmas—and I mean literally the dogmas, not just colloquially speaking—is automatically excommunicated "in spirit" (even if not formally, perhaps because their views aren't known while they still attend sacraments), and therefore cannot be Catholic, then that is simply the reality.
In that case, those Catholics would also be hypocrites, meaning they aren't truly Catholic at all, but are merely staying within the fold due to tradition or fear of change...

But man, you are really stuck on proving this point, aren't you? You have explained the reasons, the purpose, the core point, and defended it with arguments and facts... we have understood you... so let's please just get back to the actual topic!

mistygull16 said:Since God is basically unknowable, over in India they have this concept of Ishta Devata—or something like that, I don't want to get bogged down in the specifics right now—which is like having a personal deity. It’s usually just one of the many gods or angels on offer, but it’s not the ultimate Reality itself; it’s more like a set of handholds to help us stay grounded.

Then you’ve got the folks who think people can actually manifest certain astral phenomena. These aren't even beings, let alone anything divine. Some might say it could be Kali; there’s even that old legend about a woman in white appearing in the US right before a war breaks out...

Regarding Kali and those other female deities, you could say they're energies manifesting through specific chakras. For instance, Kali, or even Durga, which a lot of people find pretty cool, are energies tied to the lower chakras—basically, when they lose their temper, Shiva just clears out. In the higher chakras, you start seeing the energies of Parvati (that maternal vibe) and Saraswati (knowledge), and at the very highest chakra, Shiva and Shakti show up as One.

And there are these stories from far-off India about a paradise called Devaloka. It’s not exactly the ultimate goal for a spiritual seeker, but it’s a slightly better place to hang out than Earth, and Indra is the ruler there. Now, much like heaven and hell, these different levels of paradise aren't permanent. Indra is actually a little paranoid about losing his throne, so whenever he sees someone making serious spiritual progress, his seat starts shaking, and he’ll send one of those celestial dancers—an apsara or whatever—to try and distract the spiritualist with some worldly passions.

So, I guess the question is: are these tales meant to describe how the universe actually works, or are they warnings? Like, maybe they're telling us that even when we reach higher states of consciousness, we still run into obstacles like fear or greed... or maybe it's all just cosmic entertainment and heavenly adrenaline rushes...

hiddenbear3 said:It’s fascinating to consider how certain primitive tribes from more untamed regions actually possessed a much deeper understanding of the forces of nature—knowing exactly how to soothe them or even harness them—than many highly developed modern societies do today. It just goes to show that a high level of societal advancement isn't necessarily a guarantee of individual spiritual or natural awareness. When it comes to grasping complex thought processes, however, those advanced civilizations certainly hold the upper hand, simply because those primal minds aren't equipped to comprehend such intricacies.

bluemason3 said:Sure. Those folks who bowed to spirits every time a mystical flood or drought hit clearly understood nature's rhythms better than modern materialists who think they can solve everything with just dams, canals, and levees. In Ptuj, the materialists 😳 😛 😁