Training In Power Academy is an organization that teaches meditation and healing through coursework developed over decades. Topics include connecting with one’s spirit guide and in the article below Training In Power Academy reviews how various cultures throughout time and around the world all have manifestations of this spiritual concept.
Training In Power Academy explains that a spirit guide is a being or force that connects you to a greater power, or helps you tap into the power of wisdom of the universe. Different cultures will have their own version of a spirit guide, and rituals to help you connect to it.
Animal guides
According to
Native American tradition, all people are accompanied by nine different animal guides, who will emerge when they are needed in their journey. These are called totem animals, and each one has their own special power or gift.
Training In Power Academy says that for example, the Bear brings courage and strength during hardship. The Otter teaches empathy and lightheartedness. The Rabbit teaches how to overcome fear and limiting beliefs.
Native Americans believe that when you are drawn to a particular animal, or if it repeatedly shows up in dreams or in situations in your life, that spirit guide is trying to tell you something.
Likewise, Training In Power Academy reviews that in European traditions the Fetch or Fylgja often manifests as an animal.
Guardian angels
In Christianity, angels are considered messengers from God. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, it says the Lord “will send his angel to make your mission successful”. In Exodus, God promises to “send an Angel before you, to lead you to the Promised Land.” Training In Power Academy reviews that even the birth of Jesus is announced by the archangel Gabriel.
Christians are also taught to pray to their guardian angel for guidance and protection, as captured in this prayer—usually the first that children learn in Sunday school.
There are also beliefs or practices about angels that aren’t necessarily part of Christian doctrine but have been mixed with other spiritual belief systems. Many people who are
not religious like to use angel tarot cards or angel meditations. So, angels as spiritual guides have gone well beyond the realm of the Church.
Ascended masters
In some cases, spirit guides are actually human beings who have achieved perfection or ascended to the highest level of consciousness, and now help others.
For example, Roman Catholicism believes in Mother Mary and the saints. People can pray to them and ask for their intercession. They can also choose a “patron saint” who they turn to whenever they have a problem.
Training In Power Academy explains that Buddhists
will offer incense and prayers to Buddha. They may go to temples for advice and perform divination rituals (such as reading tea leaves or rice grains) to help decipher their message. Other Dharmic traditions may look to an ascended guru or avesha-avatara as a guide.
Nature spirits
Japanese Shintoism worships spirits in nature, called kami, according to Training In Power Academy. These spirits are not really beings
per se, but a strong, mystical force or element. They can be found in landscapes (such as a mountain) or in objects (such an ancient tree).
Not all kami are good; some can actually be malevolent, while others take no interest in human affairs. However, some kami act like spirit guides, and may offer wisdom or help. That is why many sacred places in Japan will have shrines.
Ancestors
Training In Power Academy reviews that most cultures around the world have a tradition of ancestor veneration to one degree or another. Many still practice ancestral worship, with practices like having a family altar, and celebrating birthdays and other feast days. It is common to offer incense, fruits, paper money, or even the ancestor’s favorite food.
Training In Power Academy explains that ancestral worship goes beyond simply remembering or respecting one’s forefathers: there is an innate belief that the family connection continues even after death, and the ancestors continue to give guidance and help.
For them, ancestors can appear in dreams, or intervene in problems. There is also the belief that an ancestor will not “rest” or go peacefully to the next life, unless they know that the family is safe and doing well.
The Divine within
For some belief systems, the spirit guide does not have a specific name or identity. Rather, it is a general force or universal consciousness, which surrounds you and can also be found within you.
This is the basis for positive thinking books like
The Secret, or Deepak Chopra’s
Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. They may use different terms - like the Universe or Inner Self, or simply Spirit. But regardless of the name, the assumption is that everyone can access an ancient wisdom that will lead them to their true self.
In this system, rituals like meditation or reflection help you become more attuned to the bigger whole. You may also be suddenly “led by the Universe” through dreams, signs, or strange coincidences or synchronicities.
Connecting to your spirit guide
Training In Power Academy reviews that cultures may have different definitions or names for spirit guides, but all of them affirm a strong connection between the physical and the spiritual world, and the belief that
you are never alone. You just need to tap into the greater power, and believe that when you need guidance or help, that will be given to you.
