How to get the most out of your reading

What can I do to get the most out of my time with Spirit? 

I love when a client asks me this. This is an indication that they are excited and ready for their reading and they want to do what they can to maximize their experience. Being prepared for a reading is important. In fact, even if clients do not actually ask me this question, I send them information on how to do just that anyway. I do this because connecting with Spirit is an intense experience and it’s best to enter into it as ready as you can be.

Here is what I tell my clients:

Please try to keep an open mind and heart during your session

This is the number one suggestion I have. The more you can approach your time with Spirit with an open attitude, the better positioned you are to receive messages. Nothing blocks Spirit more than fixed ideas about what you need to hear or who needs to come through!

If you have questions, please reserve them for after Spirit has had the opportunity to come forth with their messages.

At that time if you have further questions we can certainly address them.

When we give Spirit the opportunity to speak, they often address your questions before you even have a chance to ask! After they have said what they want, we can always ask more!

Please review your deceased family tree.

This means really reviewing all of those you may know in Spirit - family and friends- as you never know who will show up! Many times clients are surprised by who comes through-spirit does everything for a reason. You can miss valuable information if you can't ID someone, so doing your homework really counts with this one!

Get into a focused listening state

Before the session, I suggest taking a quiet moment to transition yourself out of the noise of your daily life and into a listening state so your attention is directed at the information coming in for you.

This can mean different things for different people. If you practice grounding, ground. If you meditate, take 5 minutes to quietly center yourself. Or, have a cup of hot tea or write in your journal. Do whatever you need to do to help yourself be calm and present.

Please have paper and pen ready, as you will need to take notes!

Some mediums record readings, I do not. You are free to record them if you wish. I have reasons for this that are too numerous to go into here. Look for an upcoming post for my views on recording.

During the reading:

No additional information please!

In fact, the more you tell me the harder it is for me and Spirit. Think about it, if your grandmother was a knitter and loved cats, she very well may come with those two pieces of information to ID herself to you. If you tell that you want to connect with your grandmother who knitted and loved cats then your grandmother is going to have to work harder-come up with more and different information for you to recognize her. The less I know, the more detached I am from the information and the easier it is to bring it through!

And...

I cannot guarantee any specific Spirit will appear (no medium can) – Spirits are people and people decide where they want to be! While we certainly can request that a specific individual in Spirit please come forward, it is important to understand that whomever does come forward has done so for a reason! Sometimes readings are all Deceased Loved Ones, sometimes Angels and Spirit Guides, Archangels and even Ascended Masters come forward and sometimes it is a combination! There are always reasons for who does show up. So, the fewer expectations you have, the easier it will be for you to welcome in what Spirit brings you. This is a big one. For more on this, check out these posts here, here and here.

Readings are exciting and sacred experiences. The more you approach your time with Spirit with a an open mind and heart and a respectful expectation of success, the more you will get out of it!

Excited to do a reading? Me too! Contact me & let's set it up!

with blessings,

Ashley

Ascended Masters: what are they and how can I work with them?

Ascended Masters are great healers, teachers or prophets that once lived here on Earth and are now in the Spirit Realm [1] They come from every culture, time and society and they include familiar figures like Jesus and Buddah as well as Deities from ancient civilizations such as India, Greece and Rome. There are many Ascended Masters – we do not worship them, but at one time many of them were worshiped as Gods and Goddesses. These figures hold exalted positions in our cultural canons. So can we work with them? Do they come to readings, can we call on them and will they work with us directly?

In short – yes. You can absolutely connect with any Ascended Master directly and personally. In fact, Ascended Masters regularly come to readings and communicate much like other Spirits do. They show up spontaneously and when called upon. They appear in dreams, meditations, readings and just in every day life.  In fact, they are very adept at working with people directly and regularly. The truth is that you already have Ascended Masters working with you right now. So, why do they come to us and how will you know it when they show up?

Here are two primary ways you recognize that it is in fact an Ascended Master:

The feeling

You will know it is a Spiritual being of a different vibration. Their energy can often be an overwhelming experience of powerful love and an outpouring of light.  How you will perceive this depends on how you receive spiritual information – you may see a great deal of light around them, you may feel a finer, higher energy when they appear or you may feel flooded with emotion. This feeling transcends person to person love – it is an actual feeling of unconditional love. When I am in the presence of an Ascended Master I often simply cannot stop the tears from flowing. This is because I am responding to the pure, high vibration they have of Divine love. The presence of an Ascended Master usually feels so unmistakable and overpowering it can be a revelation. 

Literal imagery

Before, during or after your experience with an Ascended Master in a meditation, reading or dream, you will most likely come across an obvious representation of them. I say obvious, as in obvious TO YOU. Spirits use your internal knowledge bank to communicate with you. Is there a picture of Mother Mary you remember from your childhood Sunday School? She may use that to indicate her presence. The iconography of Ascended Masters is so common in our culture (you can get Jesus candles at the grocery store) you may see some of these images in your mind and then question it because it seems too obvious or even hokey. Don’t question it. This is how they communicate – they use the images you will recognize. Trust your feelings and trust your images. Ascended Masters are excellent with providing follow up confirmations and signs. Need to validate it was in fact them? Just ask them to send you some signs over the next couple of days and they will!

What if you don’t recognize them? How do you know it’s an Ascended Master?

There have been times I have met Ascended Masters in my meditations and not known exactly who they were. Usually though, they will appear with some identifying piece of clothing or an object that can help you pinpoint who they are. There will be some piece of information they came with that you can reference to look them up either in a book or on the internet. Check out the book I have listed in the footnotes – it’s a great reference for this.

Why do they come to us?

Ascended Masters often appear to signify important changes or developments in your life or spiritual growth. They have mastered certain lessons and aspects of being human beings and their presence with you is an offer of support and encouragement as they witness our experiences the trials they themselves did on their time on Earth. Ascended Masters serve as signposts and reminders as to the potential that lies within us all. Often their presence is enough for you to understand their message. If you are confused about what they have to say, the best next step is to look them up and see what their areas of specialties are.  

Opening your connection to Spirit is creating a direct pathway to Divine source energy.  

The experience of direct connection with Spirit – even Ascended Master Spirits and God Itself– is what defines the crucial difference between conventional religion and Spirituality.

In truth, there is no need for an intermediary to connect with the Divine. No priest, pastor, pope, rabbi or other religious figure is needed in order for you to connect with any Spirit – including Angels, Archangels and Ascended Masters. We all come from the Divine and we all have equal access to the Divine.

So trust your innate worthiness as a Divine being yourself, and your natural ability to connect with Spirits and ask to connect with the Ascended Master who can best serve your path now. All you have to do is ask.

with love,

Ashley

Listen up! How can I tell if what I'm hearing in my mind is my own voice/ego or Spirit?

Ashley Lindsay Searles, Spiritual Medium

Internal clairaudience is hearing Spirit in your head. We all have many thoughts streaming through our minds most of the time, and the constant chatter going on in there can make it tricky to hear the more gentle and loving voice of Spirit. Our egos tend to be at full volume, drowning out our intuition and the voices of our Angels, Guides and Loved Ones. Part of opening to Spirit is learning how to tell the difference between those voices in our heads.

So how can you tell if the voice you are hearing is Spirit?

Is it loving?

Spirit guidance (Light Spirits, like Angels, Guides and Crossed Loved Ones) is gentle, encouraging, positive and loving. If you are hearing fearful advice, it's probably your ego talking over everything else. Your guiding team of Spirits don't say things to make you feel badly, they don't criticize and they don't speak sharply. If you are hearing that, chances are it's your own internal critic.

Stop and ask again.

If you feel you are hearing from Spirit, but aren't sure, simply ask them to repeat it. This sets you up to listen and receive, and it will quiet your own voice. Spirit will repeat themselves. If you don’t hear anything in response, it was probably your ego.

Where in your head are you hearing it?

Many times Guides and Angels stand over to your side, towards the back. I have seen them on both the left and right sides. So pay attention to where you are receiving the information. If it's coming in more from one side than the other, it's probably Spirit. If it's loud and in the front of your head, it's probably your ego.

What physical sensations do you experience?

Every Guide and Angel has a unique vibration and way they feel to you. If you are in doubt about what you are hearing, ask them to step closer and repeat it. Then notice where in your body you feel their presence, and where in your head you heard their voice. 

Check for signs of validation

Many times in readings when I am channeling Spirit, I will get goose bumps and chills that serve to validate for me that what is coming out of my mouth is indeed truth and Spirit. So notice if you too receive physical validations when you hear Spirit!

Ask them to speak up!

Spirit has no problem upping the volume of you ask them to. We are all used to the loud voice of the ego, so hearing Spirit can feel very different. Their voices are softer and gentler - it just takes practice getting used to hearing them. They will turn it up if you ask!

Opinion shop (with Spirit!)

Direct questions to specific Spirits. First, try asking your Angel for an answer on your daily decisions like which gas station or grocery store to go to. Later in the day, ask your Spirit Guide to give you guidance on which route to take home. They will each have their unique way of communcating, their signature vibrational feel and a different place they stand near you. Your Angels may be on your right side, while you usually hear from one of your Guides on your left. The more you direct your questions to specific beings in Spirit, the more you learn their unique communication styles and the more confident you grow in hearing them. Get into the habit of asking for assistance with everything – little things like what to buy at the store, what music to listen to, even what to wear. This is fun and a great way to engage your Spirit team in the everyday process of making decisions.

Communicating with Spirit is a process that is constantly unfolding, and your relationship with your Guides and Angels shifts and grows over time. Part of developing this relationship is gaining confidence in your ability to hear them. Spirit wants you to hear them and will work with you as you learn how - just ask them for help and enjoy practicing!

If you want help discerning your unique Guides and Angels, we can work together in a reading or coaching session to discover exactly how they communicate with you!

with love,

Ashley