Spirit guide

Many traditions posit the existence of a spiritual being who assists the individual and guides him through his life, accompanying him from birth to death, and possibly assisting in the transition to the afterlife. Further, there may be a guide who assists through some particular activity or crisis. Depending on the tradition the guide may be interpreted as a guardian angel, an ancestral spirit, a good daimon, the voice of conscience or the higher self, group mind, a being more highly evolved than humanity, even a child's imaginary playfellow. It is the guide whose voice directs at moments of choice, although this voice may be drowned by the louder claims of selfish desire or habit. Some commentators claim that, for example, the good daimon in which Socrates believed was actually the voice of the unconscious self. As well as through an "inner voice", the presence of a guide may be made obvious through dreams, clairvoyance or clairaudience. Some magical or shamanic traditions see the guide embodied in animal form. A particularly strong presence is that of the inner self helper of a person with "multiple personality disorder".