How To Channel Spirit Guides In 4 Easy Steps
Channelling provides a way for us to connect to the unseen. It can be a great tool in your spiritual practice, and can help you to build trust in the unseen over time. Channelling provides us with a bridge between worlds, between the seen and the sensed. You might hear people referring to it using different names such as receiving guidance, mediumship, connecting to spirit, guides, ancestors, angels, spirit team, higher self, aliens etc.
Spirit Guides may be far too woo or out there for some and that’s fine! You can use these practices to connect to your intuition or inner guidance. Ultimately, nobody knows who or what we’re connecting to, so try to trust where you’re at and what does or doesn’t resonate for you.
The thought of channelling guidance from the unseen might sound scary or out of reach at first, but it doesn’t need to be. I believe that anyone can access channelled guidance and that it’s here to support our path. Just like any skill though, it takes practice, patience and trust to develop.
What Is A Channel?
But what exactly is a channel? I like to think of our channel as being a bit like a radio antenna. Just as a radio picks up stations, signals or frequencies through tuning in, we too can tune in to access the unseen world through our channel. Through channelling, we are able to access messages from our angels, connect to source or learn what wounds we need to heal from our ancestors. As we work with our channel and connect regularly, our experiences, intuition and connection may strengthen – connecting may become easier, or the guidance we receive may become more profound. As we work with the unseen or with spirit, we also gain trust and confidence in the work that we’re doing and that it’s real – we’re not just making it up. Having said that, it’s totally normal and healthy to fall in and out of trust and doubt. This has been a big part of my journey and has worked to ultimately strengthen my connection to and trust in spirit over time.
Do I Have A Channel?
If you’re wondering whether you have a channel, then the answer is yes – you most certainly do. We all have a channel and access to the unseen, but like most things in life, getting used to using it (or even recognising that it exists) requires a little practice, patience and perhaps some unconditioning. In the West in particular, we seem to have lost touch with our knowledge of, or belief in, the unseen world. If we have experiences with the unseen we might be labelled as crazy, doubt ourselves, or feel too silly to share them with others. When we approach the idea of having a channel and using it from a place of playful curiosity though, it can become an exciting journey and can open doors to knowledge of self and others. It’s best to begin with an open mind & no expectations. Try to surrender to the experience without judgement.
What Is The Difference Between A Channel And A Medium?
I believe that we all have a channel, and that receiving or tapping into messages or guidance from the unseen (whether that be angels, ancestors, or your higher self) is a psychic skill that can be developed. Mediums also deal with receiving messages and/or guidance from the unseen, and of course mediums have a channel.
The difference between channelling and mediumship is that while channels may receive guidance from the unseen in the form of angels, ancestors, higher self etc, a medium works with spirits who have passed from this life onto the next, or “life after life”. A more understandable way of putting this is that mediums are channelling and receiving messages from the dead – from spirits who have been here in human (or animal) form, who are coming forward with a message or guidance for someone who may have known them while they were living.
Although I am open-minded about mediumship, I do not practice it. I do however, have a regular channelling practice, so this post mostly deals with that. I didn’t want to skim over mediumship without at least giving a brief explanation though. There is lots of information you can find about mediumship online if you want to learn more about it.
Step 1 - How To Channel Safely
When we approach the unseen and channelling messages from spirit, it’s important to take some safety measures. This is to ensure that we don’t open ourselves up to any lower vibrational energies, unwanted entities, or spirit’s with a less-than-light agenda. This might sound intimidating, but it really isn’t difficult.
Clearing the space that you’re in is a good starting point. You can clear your space using intention and sound, smoke, or tools like reiki or light language. Take a few moments to centre and ground yourself – meditate, breathe deeply and connect to earth. Once you feel that this is complete, hold the intention (or thoughts/desire) that you would like to connect to source/spirit/the universe through your channel for the highest good. Think or state that you would like to connect only to beings of the light, working for the highest good of all and see, sense or feel yourself being washed in a golden-white light of protection. Ask that you are protected and held throughout your time of connection and that the space you’re in is cleared of any stagnant or lower vibrational energy. Hold or state this intention as you use sound, smoke or energy to clear the space.
If you’re using sound you might want to clap or use a singing bowl. If your tool of choice is smoke you might feel called to smudge the space using incense or a smudge stick (sage, palo santo, cedar etc). Or, if you want to use energy to clear the space, I imagine that you already know what you’re doing!
Also, it’s important to notice what comes through. If anything that comes through doesn’t feel right intuitively, or is fear-based, violent or harmful to yourself or others, I wouldn’t trust that it was coming from a place of love. It’s important to be discerning and to notice when things are feeling fear-based or just don’t resonate. Trust that – learn to trust your instincts and discernment.
Step 2 - How To Channel Or Connect To Spirit
There are many ways to channel, but a couple of good starting points are meditating and journaling. Perhaps you’re facing a challenging situation in your life and want some guidance. Or maybe you’re just curious and want to see what happens when you try to connect.
Whatever your intention, set it. Simply ask the questions you’re seeking guidance on, or hold a particular desire in your heart. Perhaps you want support releasing a painful experience but don’t know how to go about it, or maybe you want to connect with your ancestors. Whatever it is, hold it in your thoughts and/or write it down. Once you’ve done this, meditate and focus on your breath to clear the mind. Sometimes messages come through during meditation. We might hear them as a voice, see them as an image or a scene, or simply sense the answer in a way that we can’t quite describe.
Step 3 – How To Channel Through Writing
The main way that I channel guidance is through writing – this is called automatic writing. Meditate first and then get out a journal and pen. If you don’t know where to start, ask your guides their names and where they come from. Then try to let go and write.
It’s important that you truly let go, which is where a regular meditation practice can be helpful, and try not to allow yourself to “think” of a response. It’s difficult to describe and can be quite subtle, but after some practice you may start to learn how to discern between channelled writing and your own brain/thoughts getting involved. As soon as I notice that my thoughts have got involved, I stop, reset and start again. In order to reset I might go back into meditation, or re-ask the question that I’m seeking guidance on.
At first, this practice might feel stupid. But don’t be disheartened, try to keep an open mind and keep at it. Ask the question and write. If you feel like nothing is happening just write gibberish, whatever springs into your mind, it might be utter nonsense. Stick with it though and do this for a few pages. Try a few pages a day if you can find the time. You might find that after some time, the gibberish starts to find form without you having to do anything.
This is where the channelling begins.
Once you’ve got used to this and found your flow you can start to ask more questions, dig deeper, or have a conversation with your guides. Sometimes you might ask a question and you won’t get an answer at all – but that’s okay. I’ve been channelling this way for a few years now and this still happens to me – I might get a really clear answer to one question and get nothing on another, despite both questions being asked during the same session. Perhaps if you get no answer, part of your journey is to figure this one out alone – that’s how I tend to take silence. But if you do start to get answers or guidance coming through, try to trust it and build a relationship with the unseen bit by bit. A friend told me that she’d read to channel or try to connect with your guides at the same time each day, to build a habit and strengthen the connection. Almost as though if your guides know you’ll be showing at 8am daily, that’s when they’ll show up too.
How Can I Tell If My Writing is Channelled?
I don’t follow a structure or routine like this and it hasn’t been a problem for me. I stumbled across the ability to channel through writing by accident, when I noticed that my diary entries switched between voices when I was reading back what I’d written. I might start an entry with ‘X is going on and I’m confused about this, I don’t know what to do and Z is why’. After a while of writing like this I noticed that the voice would change to something like ‘we understand that X is difficult but it is part of your path and you’re not seeing Y at play here. Why don’t you try to XYZ’.
It was a bit mind boggling at first, but now I connect all the time and trust my guidance, though I don’t always follow it. It’s almost like having an invisible sounding board who can help you with seeing the bigger picture, or muddling through a challenging situation. I find being able to connect to my guides at any time very comforting.
Step 4 - Other Ways To Channel Or Connect
There are tons of ways to connect and receive channelled guidance, so if meditation or journaling hasn’t worked for you, maybe you just need to explore and find your groove. Here are five other ways that have helped me to connect, but guidance can come through in the most unexpected places, so keep an open mind and stay awake. By this I mean be alert to any messages, signs or strange coincidences (synchronicities).
1. Yoga
Now my yogini friends may correct me on this one, but I believe that the whole point of yoga (or at least one of them!) was to clear the channel, to clear the physical and energetic bodies in order to connect during meditation. I hope my yogini friends aren’t reading this head in hands, but I believe that after practising yoga, a yogi or yogini would then enter a period of meditation… at least they did that in the early days and still likely do in the traditional schools. I’m flailing now, so I’m going to stop pretending I know about the yoga origin story.
What I do know through experience, is that yoga can be a great way to clear the channel, meditate and connect. It can be a form of moving meditation and I would implore anyone who hasn’t tried it to have a go. Anyone can do it, even if they aren’t bendy (the belief that you have to be flexible to do yoga is a big fat myth).
There are loads of forms of yoga, but I personally find yin/restorative yoga and kundalini yoga to be particularly amazing at helping to get you into a state where you’re ready to connect and channel. I’ve also sometimes found that guidance comes through during Shavasana (or corpse pose) at the end of any yoga class (Hatha, Ashtanga, etc) – that’s the lovely lying down bit that we all can’t wait to get to. I love myself a long Shavasana and feel short-changed when they’re short.
2. A Sound Bath
If you haven’t experienced a sound bath then get yourself to one now!! They are incredible. So nurturing, so healing, so restorative. You can attend a sound bath in person or on zoom, and they have provided me with some of my most profound journeys and channelled guidance. Some of them have been life affirming, life changing, mind blowing, or all three.
There are a number of different types of sound bath – some practitioners use crystal signing bowls, others use Himalayan singing bowls and some use gongs. There are also koshi bells, chimes, tuning forks and a whole range of other sound healing tools and instruments. Some practitioners use a mix of instruments and might also incorporate singing (with the voice) or chanting. I find that when a practitioner sings, it takes it up a notch and somehow cuts deep into my being, making my cells come alive. It can be very physical, visual, or both. I find it so healing and soothing.
Sometimes nothing seems to “come through”, but I still trust that it’s doing the work it’s supposed to. If you don’t experience anything trippy or out of this world, don’t be too hard on yourself. Be patient, persist and release any expectations.
3. A Normal Bath
In a tub, with water… I love to take a bath and more often than not couple it with bath salts, essential oils, incense and a guided meditation, sound bath or music. I’ve had some crazy spontaneous journeys and visions in the bath, so don’t discount this form of self-care as a potential source of channelled guidance! Sometimes it can take you by surprise, at other times “nothing” comes through. Experiment and see if anything comes through for you… and take care not to fall asleep!
4. Dreams
Sometimes profound messages can come through dreams. If you’re a dreamy person of the sleep variety (though sometimes guidance can come in when we’re daydreaming too!) then I’d encourage you to start keeping a dream journal. Keep a notebook by your bedside and scrawl down any dreams each morning when you wake.
If you can take some time to meditate or reflect on the dreams you’ve had and what they might be telling you then that’s a bonus. The
universe often speaks to us through symbols, so reflect on what the themes of dreams mean to you. It can be quite personal, so while I
wouldn’t discount using online dream de-coders, it can be a great practice to get into the habit of tuning into your own intuition before
consulting an external resource.
5. Light Language
I’d probably put light language under the umbrella of sound healing, but I love it so much I’m going to give it a space of its own. If you haven’t heard of light language, you can read all about it here. I find that when I’m receiving light language, I sometimes go on crazy journeys with lots of guidance, visions and symbols channelling through, often from multiple guides. Sometimes though, nothing comes through. Try to trust that the experience you have in the moment is the medicine you need at that time. Sometimes that might mean just having some time to rest and deeply relax.
Light language has changed my life and you can experience it yourself online or in person. There are videos and sound journeys dotted all over the place, as well as group healing, one to one healing and face to face healing offered by light language channellers. You can find some of my Light Language journeys on YouTube & I’ve popped one of them at the bottom of this post in case you’d like to give it a try. Happy channelling!
