Here are 11 simple ways you can develop your relationship with your spirit posse right now:

1. Ask clearly

Our spirit guides can guide us with anything from finding a car park to healing a broken heart, from experiencing more joy to finding the right job, from meeting your future partner to getting through your darkest hour, from finding the courage to step into your highest calling to letting go of the past. No request is too big or too small, too specific or too broad. But because we live in a world of free will, in order for them to step in, first we must ask.

2. Be unattached to the outcome

When I started working with my spirit guides I spent a long time waiting for them to appear in black and white before I took them seriously. I wanted a personal relationship, to see and feel them like I would a friend or family member. I wanted to know their age, their background, their personality, and hair color. I wanted them to pop over for dinner and share a bottle of red. The moment I let go of what I thought the experience should look like (e.g. that they should be a buddhist monk vs. a heavy metal singer, should I see them or hear them, should I receive their guidance in my minds eye or through another person), the more my relationship with my guides deepened. Let go of how your mind thinks they should be and open yourself up to receiving their guidance in ways beyond your expectations.

3. Do a ‘Meet your spirit guides’ attunement meditation

Our spirit guides are always at the ready to connect with us, however tuning into their frequency is sometimes not as easy as switching on the TV (at least not at first). Putting dedicated time aside by doing a meditation or spirit guides attunement like this one is a great way to make initial connection with your guides.

4. Create a spirit guides guidance box

Find yourself a small special box for you to communicate with your spirit guides. On a small piece of paper, write down a question or something specific that you would like their help with. Fold the piece of paper up and put it in the box.

5. Ask for a sign

Pick a particular object that you want to receive as a way of communicating with your guides. It could be anything from a symbol like a star or a red rose. The first time I did this I chose a peach feather. Within 60 minutes I found a peach feather on waiting for me on my front door.

6. Create a sacred space

Create a sacred space for you to connect with your guides every day. It could be a window ledge, your bedside table, a pinterest board or the whole corner of a room. Put some time aside every day to connect with your guides. Just like any relationship in our lives, in order for it to grow, we must invest quality time into it.

7. Intuitive writing

One of my favorite ways to connect with higher realms is through intuitive writing. Start by clearing a sacred space by lighting a candle and sitting down with your journal and two different colored pens. With the first pen write your question. Then take the second colored pen, asking your guides to answer and let the response flow from your hand to the page.

8. Call in your team

If you are undertaking a particular endeavor, don’t be afraid to call in the best guides for the job! For example, if you are writing your first book you might recruit a guide who has written books or poetry of their own. If you are going through a particularly hard time you could call on a wise teacher guide to help you work out what the situation is trying to teach you. For example, when I write I call in my favorite Sufi poet and divine mother. When I was working in advertising, before a big presentation I would call in one of those exuberant old school ad men to help me sell in my concepts, and it worked every time!

9. Don’t micromanage them

Just like in the workplace, the best leaders are the ones that are clear about the task at hand and then trust that the team have the skills to get the job done. Your team of spirit guides are the same. Be clear on what you would like them to guide you with and then trust that the job will be done. No micro managing, no doubting, just trust that the work is being done.

10.Keep a spirit guides diary

Keep note of any guidance, visions, dreams or intuitive hunches you receive. Connecting with your spirit guides requires you to notice and trust the intuitive guidance when you receive it. In writing things down it gives you a black and write record of what is so often intangible.

11.Sweet dreams

Sleep is a wonderful way to connect with your spirit guides. Before you go to bed ask your guides to come to you as you sleep. When you wake in the morning grab your journal and start writing the messages that you received in your dream. Regardless of whether or not you have a conscious memory of it, be open to the idea that the information will come when you put pen to paper. Jot down anything that pops into your mind, regardless of how much sense it makes