The spirit world I have come to believe is a dimension that exists alongside our material reality, it's not some place up in the sky or removed from us but is present & accessible to all of us at all times and all that is required to make contact with those beings that reside there is our own willingness, intention & openness to do so.
In this place we call the spirit world we can find ancestors, archangels and angels, ascended spiritual masters, religious figures, deceased loved ones, fairies & spirit animals. These beings are all extensions of God, Great Spirit, Source or whatever name that you want to give to the All-That-Is.
The term spirit guide is also known sometimes as a helping spirit or a guardian spirit & is a term for any of these spiritual beings that help us in a life-positive way. We can call on them for guidance, protection, healing, encouragement & inspiration at anytime. Some of them have been with us from birth while others appear at various times in our lives to perhaps help us through the more difficult times. We may hear them, see them, feel them or just know that they're with us & we can have any number of spirit guides with us at any one time throughout our life whether we are aware of them or not. They want to help us have a more peaceful, harmonious & happier life, yet they will not interfere with our free will.
How We Can Receive Messages from Spirit Guides.
There are four major ways to receive messages from the spirit world
Visual (Clairvoyance): Where you see spirit beings in your minds eye or as an apparition. Auditory (Clairaudience): Where you hear spirit giving you a message in your mind, this is usually short & to the point. Kinesthetic (Clairsentience): This is when you feel or sense something, sometimes called a gut feeling or intuition. Cognitive (Claircognizance): This is a "knowing" through our thought process also called inspiration or insight. Often someone doesn't exactly know how they know & if asked will tell you that they just somehow know.
As our receptivity to the spiritual dimensions opens & develops we discover that one of these pathways is the strongest & feels the most natural, with a secondary one that works fairly well. The more we practice & attune ourselves to the spiritual dimensions we may find that we can receive input through the other channels as well. All we need to do is to hold a clear intention to receive these messages & to remain receptive & the messages will come to us, often in unexpected & surprising ways.
