How many guides do you have?

[A peaceful mind.]

Many but that would depend on what I am doing.

[Orbie]

Originally Posted by Raewynn

Is that because you've never tried speaking with your guides, or because you've never tried counting them?

There is a sense of someone,a wise, funny and loving presence. Im just not in a place where its happening for me, hasn't for a long. long time but when it did, it blew my socks off

Originally Posted by Westleigh

I converse with two guides - a beautiful soulmate of mine who is always with me, and a very wise, more experienced guide who seems to know everything there is to know. I'm also aware of a small group of three angels who have worked with me in previous lifetimes and are around me for protection. I'm not really aware of animal guides or totems, though I have been told there are some plant and animal spirits around me.

I think it's worth pointing out that we all have a BIG team of spirit support and the guides we actually communicate with, if communicate we do, are really just the contacts points for a whole network which can vary in size quite a lot (and ranges in content from angels to guides to spirit friends and relatives to animals and nature spirits and any other thing besides). I often feel things suggested or pointed out to me by a spirit source I know is not one of my two main guides, and while I'm somewhat familiar with the personalities of some of these spirits, I don't know them closely or by name and that seems to be their intention as they tell me it's not important if I ask - and I do have enough trouble keeping track of the ones I have a relationship with! I just thank my spirit team for their help and support.

You could certainly "collect" guides if you wanted to, as in learn the names and personalities of lots of them, but we all have quite a lot of spirit helpers already with us.

All of what you say makes perfect sense. Like friends in real life, there is no limit to how many people can offer you aid. I asked my question in part because I've read a lot of material that likes to say how many guides a person has, and I never find that I fit those "rules". Not that I think I should; rather, I am curious to know how many people actually fit those molds. From the few responses so far, it seems pretty clear that there are no real "rules". And what "rules" there are seem likely to be established by man-made traditions more than anything else.

Of course, there sheer variety of guides speaks to that as well. :)

I don't actually learn the names of my guides all too often. Most of them are animals, anyways, so that makes things pretty simple. One of the few human spirits I know, I don't even call by name. I had given him a nickname initially, and when I did think to learn his name, he made it quite clear he was fond of his nickname. (I call him The Doorman, lol.)

Originally Posted by A peaceful mind.

Many but that would depend on what I am doing.

Oh? What kind? Or does that vary by what you are doing as well? :)

Originally Posted by Orbie

There is a sense of someone,a wise, funny and loving presence. Im just not in a place where its happening for me, hasn't for a long. long time but when it did, it blew my socks off

Oh, that sounds like a good guide, even if you don't get to interact much. I love guides with a sense of humor.

[Westleigh]

Yes, absolutely. Names really aren't important to spirits because they recognise one another by their personal energy, so learning their names or not makes no difference to them. Though they do understand that names are often important to us.

I think we all have both human and animal guides, but we tend to form close relationships with those members of our spirit team which are most appropriate for us. I don't think there is any formula which dictates that we be given one and not the other as we can learn very valuable things from both. And plant spirits too - I have had a couple of conversations with a very ancient tree spirit and was absolutely awed by it. But it may also be worth pointing out that there may be no real distinction, as spirits can take any form they wish (if a person feels more closely linked to animals, a guide who has been human could take an animal form so as to make the relationship a more comfortable one).

I have also seen a lot of books and websites which claim we have this many guides or angels and that guides always do this or the spirit world is always that. Human beings seem to find comfort in rules and black and white facts and lists of attributes. I would agree that these are all man-made traditions or assumptions (often people jump to the conclusion that their own experience must apply to everyone). If there is one thing I have learned about spirit it is that absolutes do not exist; there are no rules, no limitations, no way of being that is the same for everyone, and if you ever see anyone claim anything about it is fixed or universal or unchanging, they are mistaken.

[Internal Queries]

i don't think i have any guides. my imaginary friends make too many mistakes to be "other worldly". their perspectives of me, themselves and "reality" are different than mine but they bumble around nearly as much as i do.

[athribiristan]

Just one. I figured if I was going to take advice from spirit, I would go straight to the top.

[Wolfe of Wildwood]

Originally Posted by Raewynn

Lol, sounds similar to my situation. What animals are most prominent, do you know? And what sort of elementals? I'm not surprised elementals would opt to act as guides, but I don't recall ever reading much about it. I think I have a tree/dryad guide/friend, though I've not done much talking with her.

You have a cat spirit lingering around? What does it do that is annoying? I love cats. Does your grandma know it is there? Does she like cats?

well, the cat likes to knock things over and scare my dog whenever it's over there. Also, my grandma knows it's there, but can't see it. She doesn't light candles anymore 'cause the thing kept knocking over candlesticks. Other than that it just likes to follow me around. The elementals just sorta come and go, like these two or three (never can get an exact number) drayds that like to follow me around and talk to me (well, in a whispering in your head sort of way) when I'm in the woods outside my house. There's a fire one that visits me sometimes too, I think it's a faerie type thing. The animals are a wolf, bears, a falcon, a fox, a couple wild cats, and either a raven or crow. Yep, that's all the ones I can think of right now. (the fox is sometimes just a fox and sometimes a kitsune with a differing number of tails)

Originally Posted by Westleigh

I have also seen a lot of books and websites which claim we have this many guides or angels and that guides always do this or the spirit world is always that. Human beings seem to find comfort in rules and black and white facts and lists of attributes. I would agree that these are all man-made traditions or assumptions (often people jump to the conclusion that their own experience must apply to everyone). If there is one thing I have learned about spirit it is that absolutes do not exist; there are no rules, no limitations, no way of being that is the same for everyone, and if you ever see anyone claim anything about it is fixed or universal or unchanging, they are mistaken.

Totally, 100% agree!!!