Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Wisdom from Your Spirit Guides: A Handbook to Contact Your Soul's Greatest Teachers

Rate this book

Your Spirit Guides Are Waiting to Talk to You!

Whether you realize it or not, you’re in constant contact with your spirit guides. Your spirit guides, a team of energetic beings, are ever-present spiritual teachers offering guidance, support, wisdom, and love.

In this book, world-renowned spiritual medium James Van Praagh shares the benefits and rewards of having a conscious relationship with your guides. You’ll explore the many different guides you can encounter over the course of your life and lifetimes, including earth guides who have physical bodies and those who reside in the Spirit realm. Since our soul’s energy is constantly changing, our guides, too, are changing, making for a rich and infinite array of possibilities.

You will also discover where the guides come from and what they are here to do. James offers insights from the guides that deal with common situations, and shows you how to make contact with your own inner guides and protect yourself from unwanted energies. The book features a series of powerful energy-raising exercises and meditations to enrich your journey to understanding your guides and the assistance they can impart on your life. In doing so, you’ll learn how to work with your chakra points, increase your heart space, and ground yourself to receive messages from your guides.

“From the moment we take our first breath, our unseen support team is always nearby to assist and take care of us. Even in the most desperate of moments, we are never alone. There are many beings encouraging you to rise up and believe in yourself, or to find an aspect of yourself that you have forgotten which can strengthen your resolve.”

154 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2017

334 people are currently reading
430 people want to read

About the author

James Van Praagh

63 books296 followers
His very natural, easy-going style would lead you to believe that James Van Praagh is chatting with a friend on the telephone, not communicating messages from the grave. James is a survival evidence medium, meaning that he is able to bridge the gap between two planes of existence, that of the living and that of the dead, by providing evidential proof of life after death via detailed messages. "I'm clairsentient," he explains, "which simply means clear feeling. I feel the emotions and personalities of the deceased. I am also clairvoyant," he adds, clarifying that, "the first is feeling, the second is seeing, very much like Whoopi Goldberg in the movie, Ghost." The true essence of the messages are the feelings behind the words. James is an expert on this subject, since he has been in touch with those feelings most of his adult life. "The spirits communicate by their emotions. No words exist in the English language, or any other for that matter, which can describe the intense sensations."

Personality traits come in as well. If a person was talkative while alive, he will come through with plenty to say. James also relays physical traits and death conditions as evidence. "If I convey recognizable evidence along with even a fraction of the loving energy behind the message, I consider the reading successful."

James' public popularity began during his appearances on the NBC talk show The Other Side. The show concentrated on paranormal issues, and James became the favorite guest and resident expert on the subject of life after death. Even Howard Rosenberg, the Los Angeles Times distinguished television critic, dubbed James "spectacular".

Through the years his message of hope has touched a great many more people due to his television appearances on such shows as Oprah, Larry King Live, Dr. Phil, A&E Biography, Maury Povich, 20/20, and 48 Hours. His unique paranormal experiences during the past twenty-five years have seen him author best-selling books, create meditation programs and development videos, teach mediumship classes, conduct seminars to sold-out audiences, and produce successful television projects.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
227 (52%)
4 stars
140 (32%)
3 stars
50 (11%)
2 stars
13 (2%)
1 star
4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Charmin.
1,075 reviews139 followers
December 15, 2023
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. SPIRIT GUIDES:
- Guides are our friends, helping us to fulfill our destiny.
- Spirit guides are our team of energetic beings that you have carefully chosen before your present incarnation.
- Begin to recognize signs from your spirit guide simply by being aware of the world around you as you go through your day.
- We learn to raise our energy to get their messages.
- Dreams: guides know that it is difficult for us to recognize them in our conscious state, so they often come to us in our dreams. We have to train our minds to have a conscious connection with our spirit guides and loved ones.
- Bodies are merely shelves for souls. We often travel to the astral dimension when we are dreaming.
- In the spirit world, everyone knows what you’re thinking.**
- Become aware of at least one guide, their preferred name, and how they choose to appear.
- The connectedness we have with each other is far beyond our ability to realize with our limited earthly brains.

2. BLUEPRINT:
- The gift is to be able to recognize who and what has been placed before you for what they are, and tools from what you learn.
- The blueprint has been created by me before incarnating.
- Sometimes life events that we consider to be "failures" or "tragedies" may be great spiritual advancements.
- The guide to attract will be in sync with your level of understanding of the potential that you are feeling.
- Our sacred contract is made up of destiny points for the coming life. These are incredible opportunities given at times of which we can take advantage. A blueprint is created in which that particular lesson will be likely to succeed.
- The goal is to evolve spiritually. **
- KARMA plays a huge role because your words and actions in previous lifetimes influence your future lifetimes.
- “Now” is all there is. It’s the only place where your power resides. You are unable to change the past, and the only time you can alter your future is now. Even though you are an eternal soul, the human world is ruled by the ego and lower mind.
- You created your soul's blueprint, and you have the connection to understand your purpose in life.
- If you only remembered your divine selves you would not be so quick to undermine yourself and give away your greatness. **
- If you would live by your power, your troubles would melt away and you would live in the true happiness that is part of you.
- One must take the time to know one's self on all levels.

3. GUIDES AS HELPERS: Guides are meant to help you help yourself.
- Each of us has free will, and by understanding and using it, we become aware of all our possibilities.
- These loving spirits assist us in remembering our true power of being and potential.
- Guides protect our free will and they must abide by those rules.
- When a guide comes close, you may experience a sort of tingling. **
- For those of us who actively want to receive advice, their influence can become startlingly obvious. Besides influencing your thoughts and actions, guides create certain opportunities and manifest experiences in our lives.
- Types of communication: sensing, telepathic thought, inspirational thought, symbols, meditation, trance state, automatic writing, and dreams.

4. TYPES OF GUIDES:
A. Animal guides: do you ever think of animals as subhuman: they are often highly evolved beings. Pets activate unconditional love in us. Animals not only teach us about our physical environment but also about our human potential.

B. Nature guides are real and inhabit forests, mountains, oceans, rivers, and the air we breathe. It is up to us to pay attention to the subtle intuitive messages nature guides transmit.

C. Master guide: our master guide has been involved in many of our incarnations and is usually a member of our soul family.
- It knows when your earth life is finished and is present at the time of your death to usher you to the spiritual dimensions.
- A Master's guide’s main role is to teach. We tend to repeat the same kind of occupation from one life to the next — you’re calling.
- People are responsible for their thoughts and words and deeds.
- Golden Feather's desire was that mankind will learn to appreciate a diverse world and make an effort to connect to all living things.
- I am to see another person as being different than yourself is to not see yourself as a whole.
- Put out your intention to your master guide. Be specific when you do.
- Be mindful of the subtle shift in energy when you were thinking of a problem or working on a solution.
- You are in the invisible world where answers and actions become very clear to you.
- It’s your job to become aware and learn your soul's plan for this physical incarnation.

D. Gatekeeper: Gatekeepers are protector guides who safeguard the energy. They will give you a signal when you step into a place where the energy is negative or if you are around someone who may cause harm. You will get a "clear subtle message" whether I thought or feeling— to move away from the situation— it is up to you to act on it.
- If you ever feel psychically uncomfortable in a situation, it’s always good to close your eyes and call your gatekeeper for protection.
- As you open yourself up to the spirit world, you must learn discernment. You must be aware of the kind of thought energy you’re creating and sending out into the atmosphere surrounding you. If you ask your guides for assistance, be mindful of their energy.

E. Relationship guides: Relationships hold our most difficult lessons because we tend to have unrealistic expectations or we need to be in control.
- Soulmates always bring with them important soul lessons.
- Your guide will always show you a way to resolve a difficult situation.
- Instead of repeating the same choices, we have the opportunity to make better ones and that’s to escape the pain that our previous choices have brought us.
- You generally magnetize to those people who are on the same vibrational frequency and at the same time release those who are not.
- We are here to RESOLVE any and all negative karma, not to create more.
- The perfect time to connect and listen to your relationship guide is when you are ending a relationship.

F. Healing helpers: healing helpers come in and out of our lives when we are experiencing health issues or battling addictions.

G. Inspiration guides: inspiration guides can come in and out of our lives for brief periods— sometimes until we understand and process a troublesome spiritual conundrum.
- The best way to attract your inspiration guide is to raise your energy level.
- Think of your inspiration guides as teachers. They will direct you, give you hints and hunches, but as always, you have to follow through.
- Get our egos out of the way and let spirits speak to us in their own way.
- Inspiration guides will always influence us for our highest good. When you express your kindness, you acknowledge that the other person deserves your light and love.

5. FREE WILL: Your thoughts are your freedom and are always your choice. Never let go of the responsibility for yourself and who you are. Never let another take it away.
- When you relinquish your uniqueness to make someone else happy, you are doing a disservice not only to yourself but to the universe. **
- Insecurity stems from a fragile ego.
- Be true to yourself and express who you are.
- Everyone has a right to believe the way they choose, and we should honor their choice.
- All of us are the result of our life experiences in the way we are being taught. **
- Egos need to attack blame deflect and project. Except for the teachings that resonate with you.
- Every soul is on a different path, but our paths are on the same map.

6. Empathy is a beautiful lesson.
- Joy can be used to balance the flow of energy and create harmony.
- People are always willing to help because everyone is light.
- Whatever people thought about me was not my business.

7. Discernment: When you work hard at knowing who you are, it is easier for you to recognize what is “other” than you.
- Anytime that you come from a place of judgment, it is your ego getting in the way.
- Train yourself to become constantly aware and conscious. Thoughts are real– they can affect your mood and your health.
- It’s important to take time out of your day to process any negative energy or feelings that can impede the inspiration your guide service is doing.
- The "noise" in activities of everyday life can drown out the voice of your soul. Meditation and mindful pursuits allow your inner voice to be heard.
- When spirits approach, you may feel cool breezes around your body.
- Your intention should always start with you, and then the ripple effect of your spiritual growth can and will benefit all those who cross your path.
- Auras: the colors of the rainbow or healthy colors: browns and grays are unhealthy.

8. We make agreements with some guides before our incarnation to stay with us the whole time.
- Our guides are eager to help because it’s a learning opportunity for them as well: they evolve spiritually as you do.

9. The wisdom that you receive from your guide, it’s not meant for others to live by, it’s meant for YOU.
- It’s the whole reason why you have decided to have a conscious relationship with your guide.

10. Ethereal Council: The wisdom of the counselors filter you through your spirit guide, but it is possible to greet your ethereal counsel.
- The council assists you in preparing a team of guides that is best suited to help you fulfill the blueprint that you have all formulated to best serve your soul's evolution.
- Send out a thought to your guide calling it by name. Spirit people live in a mental world— thoughts are as real to them as words are to us.

ACTIONS:
- Keep a spiritual journal to track your progress. Let spirit know why you want to communicate with it. Decipher the symbols.
- Set your intention daily. *
- Some things will come through your guides that don’t make sense at the time, but if you have them written down for future reference, you won’t have to worry about forgetting anything. *
Profile Image for Vicky Lea.
203 reviews90 followers
November 25, 2025
Sections of this book are highly instructional while inspirational as well. However, it seemed to lose its steam about halfway through. Still, if you desire to know more about your guides, I definitely recommend this one.
249 reviews1 follower
October 21, 2020
I became aware of my spirit guides and could identify moments in my life where they had influenced the course of my development. I’ll keep paying attention.
Profile Image for Margarida.
461 reviews43 followers
April 12, 2020
Obra importante para quem procura desenvolver a sua mediunidade e comunicação com os seus Guias Espirituais e outros Seres de Luz. Com exercícios práticos.
Profile Image for Sara Monk.
147 reviews10 followers
September 4, 2018
A good introductory book about spiritual guides. The book has exercises to assist you in grounding, connecting to source, and to begin having a conscious relationship with your guides. I enjoy his writing style and the stories included were interesting.

You are never alone; you are divinely supported.
4 reviews
January 21, 2019
Very good book

I enjoyed Wisdom from Your Spirit Guides very much. I have read many of James's books and this is one of my favorites. He includes detail exercises on contacting "your" guides, and information to raise your vibration and awareness. I highly recommend this book as a must read.
Profile Image for Karla Samman.
332 reviews2 followers
May 2, 2024
Me pareció un libro muy útil.

Desde hace tiempo quería leer a este autor, por fin llegó el momento y cumplió absolutamente con mis expectativas. Contiene información muy interesante para quienes nos atraen estos temas. Esta escrito de una forma sencilla y clara. Incluye ejercicios prácticos. Estoy segura de que será un libro al que todavía le sacaré mucho jugo. Agradezco al autor su generosidad.
1 review
February 10, 2018
Good, but a little fluffy

This is a good book, but it's not exactly what I was expecting. It was a lot of stories from his life and his experiences with guides. Toward the end there are several good meditations, though some seem like they would open you up to all kinds of spirits coming to you if you aren't specific with your intentions.
Profile Image for Chels.
199 reviews
August 4, 2019
It's a nice little introduction to the spirit world. At times, I felt like it was a bit hokey but while reading it I felt nothing but love. I'd never heard of the author before reading this book, but he seems pretty knowledgeable. It was a quick read and I think I'd recommend it to someone who wanted to try to look into mediumship or spirit guides.
2 reviews
February 16, 2018
So informative

A really great book for practical and understandable instructions to get to know and begin contacting spirit guides. Everything was laid out to proceed calmly and joyfully. I hope there is a development circle in my area.

Profile Image for Becky Boyd.
36 reviews
February 19, 2018
Great guide to develop your own spiritual practice

There are some great meditations and information in this book for your own spiritual development. I will be referring back to James Van Praagh's instructions.
4 reviews
July 18, 2018
Good read

This was my first book by James Van Preach and I really enjoyed his down to earth approach to a topic that can be somewhat confusing. He laid out his techniques in ways that are relatable and easy to do your own. I will be reading more of his other books.
1 review
August 16, 2018
He is authentic and totally resonates with my natural spiritual intent.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to advance their spiritual travels with themselves and their spirit guides.
Profile Image for Lisbeth Labellarte.
177 reviews1 follower
March 20, 2025
I’ve read several book by Van Pragh- this one is a very concise book to learn about spirit guides & how to connect with yours. His stories in each section are helpful, but could would prefer a little less with more practical application.
Profile Image for Natasha.
239 reviews1 follower
May 6, 2025
I liked this but it felt too broad. I'd prefer if he picked one topic or technique and delved deeply into it, and maybe that's what he does in other books. Although maybe the breadth is also nice, because readers can take what resonates and leave the rest.
1,729 reviews
September 4, 2018
library book- I didn't find this as helpful as some of the previous books I've read. Maybe I'm just not in the right place for it....
Profile Image for Tammy.
3 reviews
October 31, 2019
Super awesome read with relevant, concise and useful info. Practical and clearly laid out strategies for contacting your guides.
Profile Image for Daniela Marquez.
10 reviews
February 18, 2021
I loved this book. It was a very easy and quick read! I will be referring to this book during my spiritual journey from now on.
6 reviews
March 24, 2023
Very interesting and easy to read. I borrowed this book from the library but it would be a great book to keep on your shelf for reference.
72 reviews
March 28, 2023
Parts of it I liked a lot, but some not so much.
Profile Image for Amber.
73 reviews
November 2, 2023
It had some good tidbits in it, but I wish it had more depth.
Profile Image for PÅ.
3 reviews50 followers
December 19, 2023
Perfect balance between good “theory” and practical exercises/methods for communication. Easy consumable and ideal for beginners readers in this field !
332 reviews
March 12, 2024
A good book

The author takes the reader through steps to help them understand spirit. There is good information here and good stories.
Profile Image for Shelby Marter.
76 reviews
July 4, 2024
Wanted to read something out of the box. Interesting perspective but not exactly my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 35 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.