I first met my Guardian Angel when I was 7 and in second grade. Our teacher, Sister Viola Marie, a young and very sincere woman, told the 50 pupils in front of her that we each had a special spirit who not only protects us from danger but also helps us to tell right from wrong. Immediately over my right shoulder I saw a bright, almost blinding light. It flashed with a thousand spokes and felt warm and comforting. The spirit told me its name was Lucien and was with me forever.

I didn’t tell anyone about Lucien. I think I believed everyone could see him/her (the spirit had no gender which didn’t bother me at all). I assumed all my classmates had met their angel in that moment of my revelation. Lucien has continued to be with me all of my life. My sense of him/her has not changed except that now and then there is more purple within the light.

Over the years I have picked up other Spirits. Most I recognize as the soul of someone I have known in this lifetime. My father crossed over when I was 10 and I know that his spirit follows and surrounds me. A few years ago when I was in a meditation course, I came to know a fellow who assists me when I journey out of my body. It is very helpful and comforting to have a specific being who helps with this unfamiliar territory. He allays fears and interprets as needed. He manifests to me as male and the way I recognize him is by his laughter and his beautiful teeth. He told me the first time I met him that he has always been so proud of his teeth and they allow him to smile broadly. It is fascinating to see which characteristics our angels and guides reveal to us!

Over the past year or so, Meeting My Guides and Angels has been a primary focus of my Mediumship Practice. For the past twenty or so years I have kept lists of those I felt to be around me at that time, giving me enlightenment. I usually have about a dozen at any one time. Over half are people I knew somehow in life: my fourth grade teacher, my stepfather’s sister, my great grandfather, my dearest mentor, a college professor who taught me poetry, a boss of mine who helped me find a path into my profession.

It is also ok to ask ‘famous’ people to be our Guides. I asked Cicely Saunders, the founder of Hospice, into my life and she has come. I have included a couple of much admired poets: Gwendolyn Brooks whom I did meet in life and Walt Whitman (mostly because he was a nurse during the Civil war).

This fall, as I have been taking James Van Praagh’s Mediumship I class, I have begun asking for spirits to specifically assist me when receiving messages for clients and loved ones. This has been a hugely mind-expanding experience! And the most unexpected entities come through! For instance, a very dear friend lost her husband last May to a sudden heart attack. The event was shocking and did not give her a moment to say goodbye. She has been waiting for a sign (although she still feels him around her). Quite unexpectedly in meditation one day, I was visited by a woman who owned and managed the first Home Health and Hospice agency I worked for. I didn’t know her personally really at all, but I respected her greatly and had heard that she passed away from cancer a few years ago. But there she was in my meditation. I recognized her because of the color and style of her hair, but mostly the pitch and cadence of her voice since I tend to be more clairaudient than clairvoyant. And she identified herself. It was at this agency when I had first met my widowed friend! Our boss gave me a message from the husband to pass along. She said that he wanted his wife to know that he was with her still, but he was working hard to adapt to the life of spirit on the other side and would be with her more obviously once he figured it all out. I called my friend and relayed the information. She was so thrilled and the fact that our boss relayed the information made her laugh and made the experience more credible!

I have had a couple of other very unexpected emissaries. My mother’s cousin came to me with a personal message. And a man with early onset Alzheimers whose care I helped supervise at an Adult Family Home. It took me a minute to even come up with his name, but he was the perfect being to relay the message for the person who needed it!

So how can anyone make friends with their Guides and Angels?

First, don’t try too hard. I always have to look from my peripheral vision or at least off to the side. I never get a full form vision, just a telling detail or two. This can be a voice as well as a form. It can even be a taste or smell or just the sense of someone near you.

Second, believe what you receive. If you get a glimpse of some bright or unusually colored light, let yourself know that you have glimpsed an angel and say Thank You! If you keep remembering things about a certain person who is now in spirit, take that as contact!

Third, ask, ask, ask! Reach out to the Universe and ask that your Spirits manifest! You can ask generally for any spirit or you can request people whom you have known or people you have admired. Keep asking and express gratitude for any glimpse!

Fourth, trust your dreams. Often spirits come to you this way! Examine your dreams immediately upon waking since they can fade rapidly.

Fifth, set aside time for meditation, when you can be alone and just open your mind and especially your highest heart. This allows an uncluttered space for spirit to join you. I am not good at sitting still so I often meditate as I walk. Do whatever feels most right and comfortable for you!

Sixth, write your impression down. The things you think, feel, experience and dream are often very, very brief and quick. Keeping notes in a beautiful book is very helpful. I have my Spiritual Diary which is different from my daily journal and poetry notebooks. Sometimes I don’t write in these sacred pages for months. Other times revelations come several in a day! Stay faithful to this practice and from time to time read over what you have written. I find things every time that I forgot and that make sense now only after time has passed.

Blessings on this pursuit and don’t get discouraged. I have found the Spirits have quirky senses of humor. Be prepared to be surprised and blessed.

With Love,

Joanne