Editing Spirit guide (section)

== Description ==

In traditional African belief systems{{Which|date=April 2023}}, well before the spread of Christianity and Islam, Africans believed and continue to believe in the eternal and ubiquitous spirit of the ancestors and the Almighty God.<ref>Mokgobi, M. ''Understanding traditional African healing.'' Originally published 2014. Ibadan, Nigeria : LAP Publications, 1995- Ibadan, Nigeria : LAP Publications. 1995. p.1-2.</ref> The ancestors are thought of as the ‘living-dead’, who continue to show a compassionate interest in the daily lives of their living descendants.<ref>Van Dyk, AC., ''Traditional African beliefs and customs: Implications for AIDS education and prevention in Africa,'' South African Journal of Psychology. 2001;31(2):60-66.</ref> Ancestor spirit guides are superior to the living and may include deceased parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles or aunts. It is believed that because they have crossed over to the other side of life, the spirit guides act as mediators between the living and the Almighty God. This way of life is regarded as ancestor reverence, communication or remembering, and not as ancestor worship per se.<ref>Berg, A., ''Transcult Psychiatry,''2003 Jun; 40(2):p.194-207</ref>

According to Western [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|theosophical]] doctrine, spirit guides are not always of human descent. Some spirit guides live as energy, in the cosmic realm, or as light beings, which are very high level spirit guides. Some spirit guides are persons who have lived many former lifetimes, paid their [[karma|karmic]] debts, and advanced beyond a need to reincarnate. Many devotees believe that spirit guides are chosen on "the other side" by those who are about to incarnate and wish assistance.

Some early modern [[Spiritualism (movement)|Spiritualists]] did not favor the idea of spirit guides. Spiritualist author and medium E.W. Wallis, writing in ''A Guide to Mediumship and Psychic Unfoldment'', expressed the opinion that the notion of spirit guides is disempowering and disrespectful to both spirits and living people. Although he does not deny that seeking people may be helped by spirits here and there, he decries the idea that said spirits are appointed or assigned to do nothing but help the living. He advises would-be mediums to steer clear of the notion that they are being "guided" unless they have demonstrable proof that such is the case.<ref>Wallis, E.W. and M.H., ''A Guide to Mediumship and Psychic Unfoldment.'' Originally published 1901. Reprint edition by Health Research 1996, p. 162-3, 193.</ref>