There are a couple of reasons why I refer to teachers, elders, and other beings in the Akashics as mentors rather than ascended masters or dimensional overlords or any other such designation. For me this has to do with relationship and underlying reason for the interaction. Many of the terms we use to refer to beings in the Akashics or any spiritual realm have aspects of hierarchy and power invested in them. There can be an implicit or not so implicit understanding that we as embodied beings are less than beings we contact through spiritual means or at least there is an inequality of authority such as is implied in the teacher/pupil roles.
I’m not saying that hierarchies don’t exist in the spiritual realm, that there aren’t various states of learning and becoming, or that there aren’t ascended masters. But what I find 
that a great many people who are working in the Akashics want there to be this inequality. They want the being(s) they contact to be someone important because it seems to make the information more relevant, revelatory and authentic, plus the person receiving the information is then associated with the being and the process. Even with the best intentions, they are in it as much for the ride as for the positive effects they and others receive. Which is why many don’t check to see who it is they are actually speaking to and what their bona fides are, since knowing that the person telling you about the various dimensions you are going to ascend to is actually a being no more advanced or in the know than you would spoil the process.
I prefer to use the word mentor because for me it better reflects the type of relationship I and my students are seeking. Anyone can be a mentor. The term doesn’t connote power or a special status, but knowledge and experience which can be specialized or general. Also, a mentor is focused on an individual and has agreed to be responsive to their particular needs and interests which can also be specialized or general. A mentor/mentee relationship sees both parties putting equal amounts of energy into the project that has been undertaken and encourages the mentee to take ownership of it and of themselves. In a mentor/mentee relationship it is about the journey of the mentee which at times can be exhilarating, depressing, difficult, or joyous. A mentor rarely gives out grand declarations which are vague prophecies with no practical application. A mentor works with specifics, even if they are difficult to take in or deal with. And when the journey has progressed to the point where the mentor is no longer necessary, then they are happy to see their part of the journey end and see the mentee flourish and move on to the next thing.
So when I’m talking with someone or reading their account of how they work with the Akashics and what information they get, one of the first things I’m asking myself is, “Are they in it for the journey or for the ride?”
