Shadow Person Or Spirit Guide?

All my life, I have all ways been overly sensitive to feelings and thoughts. When someone walks in a room I can tell on the spot what they are feeling and sometimes thinking. My sensitivity runs much deeper than that though. It's hard to explain, I just know. I pick up on things in a group that most do not. I all ways thought I was just very emotional, cursed of sorts. In the past 5 months, it has gotten worse and I have a feeling of being called to something, but no direction... Does that make since? I often know who is about to call me then the phone rings and it's that person. I have the "gut feeling" when something is about to happen. I have dreams and a day or so or maybe even a week later, it happens. This list can go on and on. I do not believe in coincidence. I believe it happens for a reason. I shared this with a friend. She had suggested I may have a gift, not a curse, to being a medium, and said I should open myself to a my spirit guide. I did research on this matter. Did a protection prayer, asked for my guide to come forth, did some free writing, got the name Paul,hi, go, stay, help. Very odd. Then later that night, I was in bed watching tv, when I saw a shadow figure go under my bed... I didn't feel scared, just felt odd. I can say I felt as if there was two not just one. Then in the morning, I was in my bathroom getting ready for the day, when my dogs started to go crazy barking at something under my desk in the living room. I checked it out, nothing I could see, but my dogs would not be redirected from the desk! I am, as I stated, a "newby" at this and I believe I should do a sage smudge soon, maybe. Not sure. Maybe some advise to get me started in the right path would be wonderful.