guides

This is to serve as a guideline to help you begin to develop your own inner spirit sanctuary.

1. Begin this exercise by making sure you will not be disturbed. Take the phone off the hook, etc.

2. Set the atmosphere with candle and fragrance.

3. Close your eyes and relax. Perform a meditaion exercise(as in The Mystic Marriage), or some form of rhythmic breathing. The more relaxed we are, the easier it is to access the subconcious mind and stimulate it into revealing spirit contact.

4. Now visualize the following scenario. Imagine it. Make it real with the creative powers of the mind.

     As you relax, draw all of your energies around you, as if someone has placed an old, comfortable quilt about your shoulders. You are relaxed and at peace. There is a sense of anticipation, for you are about to be introduced to one of your spirit guides.
     Within the darkness of the mind a scene begins to form. Faintly you hear the sound of water, a soft, gentle stream that must be close by. There is the sound of birds, and you begin to feel the warmth of the sun upon you. You smell the gentle scent of spring flowers and new-mown hay. A soft breeze caresses your face.
     You look about you and see that you are in a small, circular garden. The color of the flowers stands out strong against the greens of the grasses and trees. Surrounding the garden are stately oaks, their branches extended as if protecting you.
     You breathe deeply of the sweet air. You are relaxed and at peace. You know this place. You have seen it before. Maybe in your dreams or maybe in a distant lifetime--it doesn't matter. You just know that it is your haven. It is a place where you can go to heal and refresh yourself. It is a place of life and peace.
     You see that you are sitting upon a stone. It seems to have been carved out as if to be a chair for you within this garden. It makes you feel solid and connected to the earth.
     As you look about, renewing your memories of this sanctuary, you see a path that leads down from a distant mountain to this garden. This path is lined with stones of every color and kind.
     At the opposite side of the garden, you see this path continue. It leads out from the garden to a distant valley. As you look down this path, you see your present home within that distant valley.
     You understand that you are at a plateau, an intersectionof time and place. It is an inner sanctuary where the real and the unreal meet. It is the place of finite and the infinite, the physical and the spiritual. Knowing this is freeing. It relieves you of stress and worry. In this place there is only "to be."
     As you sit upon your stone chair, you see the path toward the mountain a small, golden light. It seems to draw closer and closer to you.It floats gently up the path towards your little sanctuary.
     Its light is soft and gentle, yet it shines with a brilliance you have never seen. As it reaches the outer edge of your sanctuary, it stops, a large pulsating crystalline light.
     You watch, waiting, but it doesn't move. It stays just outside your garden. This puzzles you at first. Then you remember. This is your garden. Nothing can enter without your permission. You find this thought to be very comforting.
     You slowly stand and take a step forward. You nod your head, acknowledging the light, and giving permission to enter. The light draws forward and hovers just before you.
     The light shimmers. Soft strands of gold stream forth from it. The light seems to unfold itself, like a flower blossoming. As each petal of this light unfolds, you see that something or someone is inside. Then you see before you a wonderous being! See it, imagine it. Know that it is real.
     As you look upon this being, pay attention to what you experience. Are there specific colors? Fragrances? Do you feel a touch or tingling on any part of your body? Is the being male or female? Even if the unfolding only reveals a symbol, that symbol can reflect a male or female energy. Trust your impressions.
     Begin to carry on a conversation in your mind with this being. Ask it's name. What's it's purpose? Why is it around you? How can you come to recognize it more conciously in the future?
     Don't force the answers. Let them come naturally. Let this being communicate about itself to you, tell you why it is working with you and what it will help you accomplish in the future. Ask your guide how best to call upon it in the future.
     Don't worry that you might be imagining it all and that it may be a product of the mind and not a reality. You would not be able to imagine it all if there wasn't something real about it.
     Now bring the conversation to a close. Ask your guide for something that you can use to verify it's reality. Is there something coming up in your life that you need to be aware of? Is there something important that you need to know? Ask it for a touch, a tingle, or some kind of physical sensation at a specific time over the next couple of days. Make it a reasonable request, one that is easily fufilled and confirmed.
     Now thank your guide for the opportunity to meet and work with it. As the golden light folds back up around your guide, send it off with your best thoughts and love.
     As it withdraws from your garden, moving back down the path, you sit back down upon your rock. You understand that in this inner sanctuary you can invite all of your guides into your awareness. This is exciting, and you are excited about the opportunity of expanding your horizons.
     You breath deeply, relaxing and reliving the conversation in your mind. As you do, the garden begins to fade. You find yourself sitting in your home, comfortable and peaceful, remembering all that you have experienced. Slowly and gently open your eyes, aware for perhaps the first time that there is life and energy on all dimensions around you.

This is most effective if you have someone read this to you...much easier to relax!