Our apprenticeship with sorrow has led us here, to the very edge of culture and the wild, uncertain times we are in...We are being called upon to gather the wisdom we have found on our long walk with sorrow and make it available for others. We must enter the healing ground as elders who have been seasoned by grief, recognizing we carry soul medicine for those who are beginning their apprenticeship. Perhaps now we can begin to build a new culture, one that honors soul and the soul of the world.
Many people have shared stories about divine encounters with angels in which they received profound guidance, comfort, or instructions on how to proceed with their lives. And many people describe angelic interventions in which they are given a warning about something or someone in their lives . . . Without a doubt we are surrounded by our angels, invisible beings of light who guide us through the mysteries of our lives.
There is a church in Umbria, Little Portion, already old eight hundred years ago. Abandoned and in disrepair, it was called St. Mary of the Angels, for it was known to be the haunt of angels. Often at night the country people could hear angels singing there.
What was it like, to listen to the angels, to hear those mountain-fresh, those simple voices, poured out of the bare stones of Little Portion in hymns of joy? No one has told us. Perhaps its needs another language that we have still to learn, an altogether different language.
I didn't know what courage was until I met Harriet Tubman. And I'm telling you I studied hard something fierce 'cause I wanted to know the source of that courage. I asked her once and she said, "It ain't me. It couldn't be. I've got a guardian angel, that's what I have. They come when you think of others more'n yourself. They come like bees to honey."
~ from "Interlude: Harriet Tubman" in NAVIGATING THE TIDES OF CHANGE
In everything we do, in every aspect of our lives, in our thinking and our feelings, all areas, we need to infuse those areas with the Light of God. If we do that, we will experience a wonderful sense of joy. This quality is valued by the angels because it is so very special when humanity uses its free will to replace the energy of darkness with the Light of God, especially out of love. Each time a person does this in his or her own life, it is cause for the angels to rejoice.
Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Invoke them often and trust in their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.
Our guardian angels will be present during the time when our souls will exit this world and abandon the material body. They will be there at the moment to offer us solace and support during that transition and then help us adjust to the realms of the spirits when our soul will be directed toward God. It will be at that point that the soul will become conscious of its eternal condition.
According to a Talmudic legend, an angel escorts the soul from its abode in heaven into the tomb and there unites it to the embryo. The angel tutors the new being in the mysteries of the world, transporting it to heaven and darkness to see the heights and depths of creation, revealing to it the ways of beauty, truth, and goodness, disclosing the potential of its future life on earth, even to the time and place of death. As the child matures within the womb, it ponders the wonders it has seen. Then, at the instant of birth, the angel touches the child on the mouth, erasing all memory of these marvelous revelations.
~ in GIFTS OF THE SPIRT by P. Zaleski and P. Kaufman
When the angels touch our hearts and "kiss our minds," We are forever changed. Our wonder in being human comes back strong with angelic guidance. The magic of nature, the mythic quality of being human, the pain of the soul, the soaring of the spirit, the beauty of compassion, and the grace of reverence all come together, weaving life into a meaningful experience.
