Knowing Yourself.....in earnest

[Steppingfeet]

This is my understanding of it also, and I expect it does apply in higher densities.  As I understand it, in higher densities one takes incarnation into an illusion, and when this completed, the entity moves to an inner planes realm where one reviews the incarnation and determines what sort of incarnation one should take next.  There seems to be some kind of mechanism whereby the incarnate state is separated from the disincarnate state.
 
Anywho, a disincarnate (inner planes) entity would seem to make for an inner planes contact according to simple logic.

The plane of the incarnate and the plane of the discarnate would make sense to a point. I vaguely recall reincarnative cycles for 4th and 5th density, but I don't remember what Ra said of sixth where they have literally become light.

I asked Jim about the origin of the terms "inner planes" and "outer planes." He couldn't recall but pointed me to this Q&A:

17.38 Questioner: Well, does each . . . does . . . this is difficult. Our physical plane—are there seven sub-planes to what we call our physical plane here?

Ra: I am Ra. You are correct. This is difficult to understand.

There are an infinite number of planes. In your particular space/time-continuum distortion there are seven sub-planes of mind/body/spirit complexes. You will discover the vibrational nature of these seven planes as you pass through your experiential distortions, meeting other-selves of the various levels which correspond to the energy influx centers of the physical vehicle.

The invisible, or inner, third-density planes are inhabited by those who are not of body complex natures such as yours; that is, they do not collect about their spirit/mind complexes a chemical body. Nevertheless, these entities are divided in what you may call an artificial dream within a dream into various levels. In the upper levels desire to communicate knowledge back down to the outer planes of existence becomes less, due to the intensive learn/teaching which occurs upon these levels.”

To which Jim added:

"So Don’s question seems focused on our physical plane, which I would also take to mean the outer planes because of the way that Ra responds to Don’s question first by saying that: You will discover the vibrational nature of these seven planes as you pass through your experiential distortions, meeting other-selves of the various levels which correspond to the energy influx centers of the physical vehicle.

So the outer/physical planes are where we live our lives within the third-density illusion. There could also be higher density ET beings that enter into our outer planes as we are all aware of UFOs within our third-density experience.

And I would agree that our guides and other discarnate entities would inhabit the inner planes. Ra speaks of these entities in their third paragraph. In the last sentence of the third paragraph Ra mentions one relationship between the inner planes and outer planes in their statement: In the upper levels desire to communicate knowledge back down to the outer planes of existence becomes less, due to the intensive learn/teaching which occurs upon these levels.

I take that to mean that the beings who exist in the higher inner plane realms are so involved with their own learning that they are not able to remove their focus from their own intensive learning experience, and this would reduce any communications from them to the outer planes of our third-density experience."

As regards the question about whether the act of excluding intrusive entities from such a contact entails a transmission of power (like your Gandalf thumping his staff or drawing his sword and fighting) or is more akin to simply creating a resonant field of working which passively excludes other resonances... 

"resonant field of working which passively excludes other resonances" - that's a clarifying and helpful way to look at it. Whether someone thumps a staff down afterward could just be theatrical flourish. Personally, I would just add more cow bell.