So you know Spirit Guides exist – at least you’re pretty sure they do! – but no matter how hard you try, you can’t connect or communicate with them. You’ve read lots of books on the subject, you’ve sought guidance and help from all sorts of healers and psychics and you still can’t open up the lines of communication.

Where are you going wrong? What else can you do? Let me share with you my favourite techniques for communicating with my own Spirit Guides, and some of the things I do to enhance my connection to them.

Always be in a good headspace

I can’t tell you how many times I have tried and failed to connect with my Spirit Guides because I have either been a) flustered, b) emotional, c) tired or all of the above. Even now, with years of experience behind me, I struggle if I am not in a good headspace. So if you are just starting out, this is even more reason to make sure you are feeling as good and calm and centred as possible before attempting to connect with your Guides.

A couple of things you can try, before connecting with your Guides:

1. Do a brief relaxation meditation, or even a simple 5 minute breathing exercise will do the trick. I’ve got some awesome meditations available over on my Etsy page, if you need some help!
2. Listen to some soothing music that will help calm you down and put you in a relaxed and happy state.
3. Cuddle your pet! Animals give off THE BEST energy, and something as simple as a pat or a cuddle with your fur-baby can get you in exactly the right frame of mind to be able to connect with your Guides.
4. Set the mood with a candle, incense, dim lighting – anything that will help you feel calm and relaxed.

Let go of any expectations

This is a biggie! Just because you had an incredible encounter with your Spirit Guides a few months ago, and the messages were clear and you had vivid visions and it was a completely awe-inspiring experience, doesn’t necessarily mean it is always going to be this way. Don’t set your standards too high – be realistic and be objectively open to whatever experience is in store for you.

And if you’ve never had an encounter with your Guides before, try not to let your imagination run away with you on what to expect. The best advice I can give you here is to let go of all expectations so that you aren’t getting in the way of what is organically meant to happen for you.

Next time you are connecting with your Guides, before you start, try this: Close your eyes, inhale slowly, exhale fully. Set the intention that you are letting go of all expectations and are open to whatever is in store for you for your highest good as you connect with your Guides.

Set an intention

Speaking of intentions, you should always do this before diving in to any spiritual work – you can ask for protection, ask for the experience to be uplifting, inspiring, practical, or all of the above! Setting a clear intention can be really helpful because a) it helps to get you in a good headspace, b) it sets the scene and establishes your boundaries, c) it sends a clear message to your Guides that you are ready and open.

I personally believe one of THE most important intentions you can set when doing any kind of spiritual work, is the intention that it be for your highest good and greatest joy. This is such a powerful caveat that clearly states you are open to whatever comes your way, as long as it is in your best interests. The more you can get out of the way of what is naturally going to happen for you or to you, the better the experience will be!

Experiment with different means

Of course you can always be specific about how you want your Guides to communicate with you but, in truth, I think you should leave this open for them to decide.

You may go into a session with your Guides assuming you will see them in your mind’s eye. But what if you are so busy looking for them, you miss the other ways they are communicating with you?

They may be sending you messages in so many other ways. Here are some of the more common forms of communication your Guides may use:

• Through your thoughts / memories – random words or memories pop into your head from seemingly nowhere.
• Through your physical body – sensations can be felt such as tingles, heat, or even the touch of someone’s hand or body on your own.
• Through music – music and lyrics are really common (and easy!) ways for your Guides to communicate with you.
• Pareidolia – I had to look the name of this one up because I’ve never known what it was actually called! I have often received messages from my Spirit Guides via shapes or patterns or images that appear in otherwise abstract objects. Example: the patterned wallpaper of a room I used to do healings in would often ‘speak’ to me by drawing my eye to specific patterns that then formed images or words that I was able to interpret. I’ve also used wood grain, clouds, rain splatter on a window, leaves of a plant, patterns in a mat or in an abstract artwork.
• Automatic writing – this one is my favourite, and this is the technique I use when doing distance healings for other people. My hands just move – seemingly of their own accord – and the words are transcribed as the session unfolds. I learnt to touch-type in high school and I am very fluent at it, so this is what I use to do my automatic writing. But if you are good with a pen and it comes effortlessly to you (unlike me, who doesn’t find holding a pen natural at all!), give automatic writing a try.

Bring in some helpers

A great way to enhance your connection to your Spirit Guides is to bring in a spiritual ‘helper’ to join your session. I ALWAYS have one of my crystals with me when I’m doing any spirit communication work. You could either have one crystal dedicated solely to assisting you with your communications with your Guides and that is all it is used for, or you could do what I do and intuitively choose whatever crystal is ‘speaking’ to you (one you are feeling drawn to) in the minutes leading up to your session with your Spirit Guides.

If you’re like me, and you have crystals and gemstones of all different shapes, colours and sizes in your home, you will already have a whole house full of helpers on hand ready to assist you. But if you are new to crystals and don’t yet have any in your home, you can always use something else to amplify the energy and make the communication with your Guide clearer and stronger. Some of the things I’ve used to enhance my own spirit sessions include:

• house plants – one time, I dragged all the plants I have in my entire house into one little semicircle in my loungeroom so I could sit amongst them and harness their energy for my communications. You don’t have to go that extreme though – just one will do! Or pick a fresh bouquet from your garden (tip: herbs are amazing energy conduits!) and have this by your side.
• candles – fire is an incredible conductor of spiritual energy so having a candle lit beside you is a powerful way to enhance the energy of your session.
• feathers – bird energy is next level. I love it so much in fact, that my house is filled with all kinds of feathers! I use them interchangeably all the time and they are really effective!
• water – a glass or bowl of water beside you can help to harness the energy and enhance your connection. You can take it a step further by putting a crystal or two in your bowl, or even some good-quality salt.
• essential oils or other natural fragrances – I have a room spray by Bohemian Farmhouse called Sacred Space Mist – Spirit Warrior – and I spritz it around me whenever I need an energetic boost with my spirit communications. But you don’t have to have a dedicated spray to get the same result – if you have some essential oils handy, you can put a drop or two of your favourite oil in your oil diffuser or even just sprinkle a couple of drops on a tissue and have that sitting near you. I find that my sense of smell is a powerful way to deepen my connection when doing work with my Spirit Guides, so give it a try!

There are so many ways you can tweak your Spirit Guide communications, you just have to get creative and experimental with it. Don’t be afraid to try something if it feels right for you! What works for one person isn’t necessarily going to work for someone else, so be bold and think outside the box and don’t always take what other people tell you as gospel – not even what I have just told you in this article!

You will know if something feels right for you, so you can then act on it. Same applies to communicating with your Spirit Guides – if the technique or tool or suggestion feels good, go for it! If it feels awkward or uncomfortable in any way, leave it for now. But don’t be afraid to come back to it later! Just because a technique hasn’t worked for you now or it hasn’t felt right, doesn’t mean it’s a total write-off. It just means it isn’t right for you now, in this moment.

My final tip, is be persistent! Practice practice practice. The communication is always happening, it just depends on how connected and in-tune you are as to how deep and strong your experience is. So even if you feel / see / know nothing at all during a session with your Spirit Guides, please reassure yourself that the communication is 100% taking place on a soul level, you just need some persistence, practice, and some experimentation to join the communication on a conscious level. If you want this enough, you WILL achieve it. Be your own cheerleader! And in the meantime, have fun with all the trying and tweaking and learning. You can do this!

What are your favourite ways to connect with your Spirit Guides? Do you have any other tips or advice to share? Please share them with me in the comments below!

Jo x