So after taking a week off to consider how to write this next installment, hopefully you have been practicing diligently on meditation in order to strengthen your internal “quiet.” For most of us, we need a measure of internal quiet so we can “hear” our guides and, like I said, meditation is an excellent way to achieve that. Not only because it reduces the distraction in our life, but because meditating familiarizes us with what our own internal “quiet” sounds like.
For years I had been talking to and asking life help from a spirit guide I had met while becoming attuned to Reiki. Because the instruction during the meditation had been to meet our guides, I didn’t understand that this guide was a healing helper and not my Life Guide- the one I had chosen to assist me in my life’s journey long before I was born. It wasn’t until years later that I found out the woman I had accidently “bumped into” during a meditation session was my Life Guide. Needless to say, my Healing Guide didn’t have much to say about my life’s questions. I found him distant and quiet and, to be honest, incredibly frustrating. I was considering awarding him the title of “Worst Guide Ever” when it dawned on me that we might have several guides and perhaps the woman I’d met was the one who’d have more insight. So I asked her. Literally.
Challenging Your Guides
On my drive to work that day, I challenged her. I stated that if she was indeed my main guide—my Life Guide—that I needed a sign for evidence. I gave her a specific sign that I wanted, that it could be something I physically see with my eyes (a picture, a real animal—in this case I asked for an owl as my sign), or something someone said to me without my prompting them. She had until Friday of that week (it was already Wednesday, and I remember this because I got my last sign on Thanksgiving day). I even gave her a time limit of 5 o’clock on Friday, just to make sure we had limitations set up.
I got to work without a single owl swooping over my car (I work a first shift job, so no surprise there) and heard nothing that could even be considered a “hoot” of any kind. Like any other day, I marched up the stairs to my cube, popped in my podcast and set to work. Lo and behold, if the very first thing they started to discuss wasn’t owls. I froze. Could it be that fast? Could this really be the sign I had asked for? I told Mother (the name by which she had introduced herself all those years ago, though their names are irrelevant—more on that later) that I wanted to see/hear something about an owl. I didn’t give her limitations such as a specific species of owl (Snowy, Great Horned, Screech, Barn, etc.). The discussion being had at the beginning of the podcast was about owls- something I had no way of knowing in advance. It could be random chance, but I didn’t think so. I don’t believe in coincidence.
Naturally I was excited and skeptical, so I did the very first thing that comes to mind when receiving what might be the confirmation you asked for while at work. I got up and ran to the bathroom to damn near hyperventilate and challenge her again. (Mother and I have subsequently had many bathroom conferences. Weirdly, it seems to be the quietest place I can find.) Locking myself in a stall like an excited teenager, and flapping my hands wildly in enthusiasm (I have no insight as to why we women do this. It appears to be a natural response and helps us focus J), I whispered “OK-OK-OK…If that was you…Thank you. But can you please give me another sign? I need to be sure. This time I’m asking for something about a horse. Same deal- I can see it/hear something about it, it doesn’t matter. You have until Friday at 5.” Then, exhaling, I hurried back to my desk.
I worked through the first podcast then played the next one in sequence after it had finished about an hour later. While I don’t believe in coincidences, I also won’t make the puzzle pieces fit if they don’t. But I had been specific in my request- it could be an image, a real animal, or a discussion about a horse- or something horse related. As I listened to the second podcast, there it was, subtle but there. The ladies were discussing holy stones and how people have long since used them to protect themselves, their homes, and their horse stables. Maybe a little too hard to believe? Read on: the podcast was in no way related to anything horses, nor did they discuss anything about horses before or afterward during the podcast. This was just a singular example of the uses of holy stones (naturally formed rocks that have holes all the way through them and believed to be very protective for the person who finds them). Once again, I froze briefly before taking flight back to the bathroom. (My co-workers must’ve thought I was an absolute lunatic.)
Now I wanted to make darn sure of whom I was talking with, so I challenged Mother one last time. This time I was very specific in what type of horse I wanted to see: a paint(ed) horse. The rules didn’t change, but the type of horse did. Excitedly, I ran back to my desk and spent the whole day not hearing a single thing about a painted horse or paint horses in general. Nothing. Disappointed, I headed home to start preparing for Thanksgiving the following day.
My partner Paul Smith (@klrvynt) and his wife, along with some other friends, were coming for Thanksgiving dinner that day and Paul and Lisa showed up early. Lisa, being a librarian in Fox Lake, brought a huge box of children’s books for my daughter; books that were going to otherwise be disposed of. As I opened the box, the very first book on the top stopped me in my tracks. I hadn’t shared with anyone my recent exploration, challenges, and confirmations with my guide yet, but there on the top of the stack was a book about a horse. And not just any horse, mind you, but a paint horse. And not just any paint horse, but the most revered type of paint horse in Native American culture—the Medicine Hat complete with war shield.
Medicine Hat Paint Horse
A little background: A Medicine Hat is a nearly pure white horse with limited color up around its ears, resembling a “hat.” They might also have color at the base of their tail, and elsewhere on their bodies, but this is very minimal. The horse is nearly 90% white otherwise. Though many Native tribes revered the paint horse, the Medicine Hat was considered especially sacred and thus protected in battle by Great Spirit. Those horses possessing a war shield—a patch of color across the chest—were considered even more sacred, and basically invincible. Today, true Medicine Hat horses are still not very common as most paint horse breeders prefer less white than what is found on these special creatures.
Medicine Hat with war shield
There are many reasons this sign was personal and special to me, besides the fact I’d asked for a paint horse sign. For one, I’ve been inexplicably connected to Native American spirituality since the late 1990s, when I was essentially called to this life path by one of my totem animals. (More on totem animals later.) When I received this special sign, I already knew the relationship of Native belief and spirituality in regards to the Medicine Hat and seeing this cemented for me the truth about my guide. She was who she said she was, and she made this last sign very personal so that I knew when I saw it.
When challenging your guides, keep in mind that they don’t work in linear time so giving them a timeframe (specific day and hour) helps them (and you) tremendously. Without this guideline, you may get your sign eight years from now or in the middle of the night when you least remember it. Be respectful too. You respected and valued them enough to ask their assistance before you incarnated, so remember that. These are people who you looked up to as a teacher or mentor. They’re also appointed by God. You’re not worshipping these guides; you’re asking their insight like you would a very wise friend or professor. So treat them accordingly. Choose signs that you will recognize, but don’t be so specific as to limit their ability. For example, if you live in New Mexico and ask to see a Snowy owl fly over your car on your way to work one morning, chances are you’re going to be sorely disappointed. They’re not miracle workers, they’re guides. So maybe ask for a general sign and give them a set time to respond. Then you can narrow it down, as I did.
Two things to remember, though: One, if you don’t get your sign, chances are you’re not asking the right guide. Hence why I never got any feedback from my Healing Guide (Sitting Bear); it isn’t his job to tell me anything. He is here to assist me when I do Reiki and offer guidance as to how to be a better lightworker. Ask for your Life Guide to respond. Also, make sure your sign isn’t too limiting (Snowy Owl by noon on Friday, and it is already 11:55. Plus you live in N.M.). Second, don’t keep challenging your guide. They’re not going to keep playing the game. Three was more than enough, and any time I asked Mother to give me a sign confirming who she was because I was feeling insecure and just wanted the thrill of seeing this happen again, she didn’t “perform.” They’re not circus acts. Challenge them three times—if you must—and narrow down the specifics, like I did. Once you have your sign(s), thank them and trust that they are who they say they are.
Lastly, there is a caveat here is to make sure you are addressing your Life Guide if they are of the Light and the Highest Divine purpose to help your soul manage its way closer to God. Always make sure to seal your communications with God’s light and the Divine protection. Call on St. Michael to assist you and protect you. Again, your guide(s) will never boss you, belittle you, threaten you, encourage you to do something destructive or harmful to yourself or anyone else, cuss or swear at you, or make you feel threatened in any way. (They may startle you if you happen to see them or sense them unexpectedly, but if that is the case they will cease you let them know it spooked you. Lesser spirits/lights will not cease because they don’t care if you are upset. They actually enjoy it.) Your spirit guides are of the Divine and therefore will act accordingly. If you feel, hear, sense, or see anything like what I’ve just mentioned, that is not your guide and you need to send them away, ceasing to communicate with them immediately.
My Spirit Path 