ok spare me the humiliation for im new well when trying to channel if thats what you call it? (connecting with the afterlife) well what are guides and how do you access them?

Hi Lydia,
maybe this topic is interesting for you:

Spirit Guide Question (now on page 12)

Bye Spooky

Welcome Lydia,

We all have guides and they are constantly talking to us. We just have to listen for them. Go into a meditative (quiet) state and when your mind has cleared of all the thoughts, start talking to your guides and you may be surprised. ;-)

Love, Mairlyn ;-)

Lydia:

Here's a prior post about guides.

http://www.afterlife-knowledge.com/cgi-afterlife-knowledge/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=afterlife_knowledge;action=display;num=1127931174

Guides are an interesting topic for me.  I'm very new to this, but guides are something I have had a bit of interaction with over the years.  Some examples:

- I was living in a military barracks and was laying on my bunk praying and asked for a sign that someone could hear my prayers.  The fellow in the bunk above me instantly began babbling (nothing I understood) in his sleep as if answering my question.  He never did that before in the year we'd been bunk mates.  I think a guide prompted his mind to do it.  He never did it again and I didn't ask.  Frankly it scared me, I wasn't really ready for it.

- I had a strong feeling and some synchronistic signs my beloved dog, who had died a week earlier in a traumatic death (his heart stopped 6 times before we said no to further restarts) was stuck because of his loyalty to us and his confusing death.  (I had no idea what a retrieval was or any knowledge of this stuff then).  I was alone in our yard so I openly told him it was okay to move on and we'd be alright, not to worry about us - I just spoke this to the air.  Our other living dog came over to where I was from all the way on the other side of the house where he couldn't see me and gave me a dog-type hug.  I can't explain it, but I knew at the time it wasn't my deceased dog pulling these strings, but my guide- I could definitely feel the presence of both my deceased dog and my guide.  I presume my guide helped my dog find his way also, because within a minute I had a significant sign he had indeed moved on.  (these details would take too much writing and are personal, so I've left them out - I trust you understand).  I thought it was incredible how my guide helped both me and my dog out so completely with such small thoughtful interaction.

- I had a dream which involved a deceased loved one visiting me briefly.  This guide presence was there facilitating the visit, and this is the only time I've (maybe) seen him/her.  The problem was that it was a human form without features, not dark, but not light, just a non-intrusive, friendly presence with no face or features, so I can't say "he" was wearing "this or that."  It had no obvious gender, no clothing, not even skin that I could see.  Anyway, I knew who it was though and it showed me around.  My friend came out from behind splintery oak bars like in a jail of wood, but without anything visible behind the bars but darkness.  We rejoiced and hugged, then he slipped back in.  The guide person stayed behind and to the side, but was clearly in charge.  I got pissed in the dream because I wanted to follow my friend, but the oak bars stopped me.  I was angry enough to wake up, which was the wrong thing to do, but hey, I'm an amateur.  I've come to believe now the bars were for me, not my friend, and in fact they were in an L shape around my original position, not his, so it makes sense.

Anyway, those are some of my guide interactions.  Sometimes I just know it's helping me out, so I haven't really any "sightings" to speak of.   I know I need to get to know this guide, but it's a slippery task.  It won't interfere much, just sort of drop very small amounts of help or clues then goes away for long times.  

Again Lydia, I've only had these interactions while in a relaxed, fairly upbeat frame of mind.  I wish I had a better formula for you, but that's one of the reasons I'm here myself.  Maybe you could just be watchful, try the suggestions from the experienced ones here, and see if you can sense when a familiar presence shows up to help you.  I think if you look for a distinct vision in your mind, you may miss the presence altogether.  As I said, I don't even know what my guy looks like.  Be open to the feeling and don't be scared when it seems to know you all too well.  Guides are good at what they do for a reason.

Lydia:

If you try to make contact with your guidance, don't judge whether you're in contact with it by whether or not you have prolonged conversations with a guide you see and/or hear.

It can come in the following forms:

-Dreams (don't underestimate the value of dreams).
-Unexpected visual images while you're meditating, having a waking dream, or even a mind's eye image while you're eyes are opened and your engaged in activities.
-An occasional voice.
-Thoughts that seem to come from nowhere.
-Intuitions, hunches, feelings.
-Spontaneous understandings.
-Back and forth conversations that you hold within your mind. This way of communication might be a little tricky, because there's always the possibility that your own little mind thoughts are coming to you. One way to tell the difference is if answers come quickly, and provide answers that you haven't considered before.
-And other ways, that I haven't mentioned.

Try closing your eyes, ask a question, and wait for a word, phrase or image to come. A number of times after getting a word, I've looked up the definition in my dictionary, and found that the word has a definition I didn't know about, and the definition answers my question.

Probably the best way to get into contact with your guidance, is to ask your higher self to set you up. It'll set you up in a manner that is best.

After a while it'll become obvious to you that you're in touch with your guidance in various ways.