1. Ensure that the room is the right temperature and that you will not be disturbed. Take the phone off the hook and close the blinds or curtains.
2. You may wish to burn a little incense and/or light four white candles. If you use candles, place one in each of the four directions and sit in the middle. If it makes you more comfortable, play recognizable songs or an album of one of your favorite singers, because these are likely to be distracting. However, a New Age, relaxation, or stress-reducing tape can be helpful.
3. Wear loose-fitting clothes. You want to feel as loose and relaxed as possible, so wear something comfortable that does not restrict you in any way.
4. Sit or lie in a comfortable chair. A recliner chair is perfect for this. A bed is not usually a good idea, as you do not want to fall asleep while performing the exercise. I have done that myself a number of times, and now always do this exercise in a relaxed sitting position, rather than lying down completely.
5. Once you are as comfortable as possible, close your eyes. This is done for a number of reasons. By eliminating one of the senses you heighten the others. Also, it is much easier to visualize something with your eyes closed. This also eliminates any potential distractions that could be caused if your eyes suddenly noticed something in the room.
6. Allow all your muscles to become as relaxed as possible. I normally use the progressive relaxation technique described in the next chapter to achieve this, but any method that works for you will do.
   
   One good method is to tense all the muscles in one arm, then let go and allow them to relax. Continue with the other arm and each of your legs, and then tell your body, neck, and head to relax.
   
   Another method is to extend your arms in front of you, take a deep breath, and count backwards from five to one as you exhale. When you reach “one,” let your arms drop loosely into your lap and say to yourself, “relax.” With a little practice you will find yourself becoming totally relaxed in a matter of seconds using this method.
7. Become aware of the stillness and quietness around you. Go through your entire body mentally to see if you are completely relaxed. If any part is not as relaxed as it could be, focus your energies on it and tell it to relax.
8. Once you are completely relaxed, picture the back of your right hand in your imagination. If you are left-handed, picture your left hand. See it as completely as possible. Mentally turn the hand over so you can see the palm vividly in your mind’s eye. Picture the main lines and the tiny skin ridge patterns. See your hand for the wonder and miracle that it is.
   
   Turn the hand over, focus on your thumb, and gradually concentrate on the thumbnail. Allow your thumbnail to fill the picture in your mind completely. This nail will be the screen on which you project your thought form.
9. Picture in your mind your guardian angel. This may not be easy to do at first, and you are likely to find your mind drifting off on all sorts of tangents. When you find this happening, simply visualize your thumbnail again, and then picture your guardian angel. It is important that you stay relaxed. Our minds are inclined to wander, so there is no need to berate yourself when this happens.
10. We all have different pictures of what our guardian angel looks like. You might picture a cute little cherub, or perhaps a tall angel dressed in beautiful robes. Your guardian angel may simply be a bright light that expresses ineffable love. Your angel may, or may not, have wings. In fact, it might simply be an impression, an awareness that your angel is there. Use your imagination and let your inner mind conjure up a picture for you.
    
    None of us can escape our backgrounds and upbringing. If you come from a religious family your image of your guardian angel is likely to be traditional one, dazzlingly white, with large wings and flowing robes. If you have no spiritual background your image could be completely different. It makes no difference. Simply visualize it as fully as possible.
11. Once you have an impression of your guardian angel in your mind it is time to turn this picture into a thought form. Let the picture of your guardian angel disappear and be replaced by an image of our thumbnail. Once you can clearly see your thumbnail, switch back, as quickly as you can, to the image of your guardian angel. Do this several times. You will find that it will become faster and easier each time you do it.
12. At this stage you start to invest the image of our guardian angel with emotion. Think of a particularly happy time in your life, when you felt yourself surrounded by security and love. If you have never experienced these feelings in your own life, simply imagine what it must be like. Allow these feelings to surround you completely, so that your entire being is enveloped with the energy of pure love.
    
    With these strong emotions pervading your being, visualize your guardian angel again. Because of the practice you had in switching at the previous stage, this should be easy to do.
    
    Again, do this several times. Allow the picture of your guardian angel to fade and be replaced with feelings of perfect love. When they completely surround you, switch back to a picture of your guardian angel. What you are doing here is imprinting the strong emotion of perfect love into your image of your guardian angel.
13. At this stage simply observe your guardian angel. You may find the picture becoming much clearer in your mind. You might feel your angel reflecting love back to you. Your angel may start to get a life of his or her own and surprise you with what he or she does. All these things are positive and you can congratulate yourself on what you have achieved.
14. In this final stage you set your guardian angel free to come and go as required. Your guardian angel has been constructed in a sense by your imagination and visualization, but you have added consciousness and love. Both your creation and a part of the universe, the angel is part of you, but also has individuality. Consequently, although acting in your best interest all the time, the angel may not always do what you wish.
    
    Become aware of your thumbnail again and gradually widen the view until you can see your hand clearly. Turn it over in your mind so that the palm is facing upwards. Visualize your guardian angel standing on the palm of your hand. Large or small, your guardian angel can still fit on the palm of your hand.
    
    In your mind, thank your guardian angel for being there. Surround the angel with love and watch the love being absorbed. Finally, again in your mind slowly bring your open palm up to your lips and blow gently. Watch your angel lift off the palm of your hand and fly upwards.
15. Spend a few moments in quiet contemplation before returning to your everyday world. Come back slowly by counting from one to five. When you reach five, open your eyes, stretch, and when you feel ready, get up.

You probably will be unable to complete this exercise on the first, or even first half-dozen, attempts. It makes no difference how long it takes; you will get further into the exercise every time you do it.

Excerpted from Spirit Guides and Angel Guardians: Contact Your Invisible Helpers, by Richard Webster