beings
The Truth About Angels Among Us
The term ‘angel’ often means different things to different people. The true definition of the term is ‘messenger of the Divine.’ The English word angel derives from the Latin angelus, which in turn was borrowed from the Greek angelos, literally meaning ‘messenger.’
Angels in this context can therefore be anyone who brings us a message or gift from the Divine! In my own life I have experienced several physical messengers from God – both human and animal angels! However, this blog is about the spiritual angelic beings who are not of this world, but merely interact with humankind.
Firstly, we need to discern the difference between an angel and a guide. All spiritual beings emanate from the Divine Loving Essence, the Source, God, the Eternal, and exist in the Oneness, which is why all beings can be angels. However, the spiritual definition of angels, that stems from many religious traditions, are beings that have never had any physical, incarnated experiences.
Spirit guides have had prior incarnated experience. They are either a being who has had an incarnation on this earth plane, or another plane of existence. Guides can therefore relate to our human struggles of free will and soul growth, as they have faced these challenges themselves. They can help guide us through these challenges with deep empathy and wisdom.
Angels on the other hand are beings that have never experienced the potential hazards and hardships of free will. They have never gone through any of the contrasting experiences we have as humans. They are an expression of pure, unadulterated love, joy, and peace. They do not have the capacity to empathize with our physical experience of contrast, but they deliver instead direct messages from Spirit, that emanate from the Divine Source.
You And Your Spirit Guides
We are all surrounded by spirit guides and angels. These otherworldly beings have been with us since birth, and it is their mission to protect and guide us. But who are they, exactly?
Depending on your primary energy (feminine, masculine, or non-binary) your guides will likely have similar forms of energies. These guides are loved ones and friends who have passed on and are awaiting rebirth. They may even have been animals or one of your pets in their former life.
Most of us have a main guide, plus others who play a secondary role. Some may be around us for our entire life, while others are temporary, or stay only for a specific purpose or to teach a specific lessons, or point the way to a specific destination or solution. The one thing all of them have in common is unconditional love and acceptance – the kind of caring that we often seek among the living, but only rarely find.
Guides are around us all the time, whether we are aware of them or not. They know us better than we know ourselves, and they are able to anticipate what we need.
How do we know they are there? For the most part, they are invisible to us, but can be sensed in other ways. Sudden flashes of inspiration, a favorite song playing when we turn on the radio, the feeling of a hand on your shoulder. Those are all a sure signs a spirit guide or guardian angel is speaking to you.
So, is it possible to communicate with these invisible spirit beings? Of course! Each time we pray or meditate, we are speaking to them. Silently asking for help will call them to our aid. Even if we engage in something meaningful to us, like our hobby or a creative pursuit, there is a dialogue with spirit guides, since they are the source of all inspiration. For some people, journaling, especially of their dreams, is a good way to listen to what their guides are communicating.
Spiritual Attachment And Detachment
The physical world is not the only realm in which some of us struggle with issues of detachment (alienation), or attachment (codependency). The same holds true in the spirit realms.
If we experience spiritual attachment, this usually happens as a result of an addictive personality. In life, one could be addicted to unhealthy relationships, various substances, shopping, food, and so on. The driving force behind all of these is basically the same – the attempt to fill a perceived void with a substitute.
This inclination can then lead to the presence of negative spirit attachments with addictive energies. Perhaps the spirit entity had the same kind of addiction when it was in physical form, and still needs to experience that ‘high.’
When this happens, the victim in the physical world, to whom the spirit entity has attached itself, may become more stubborn and in denial over the need to change their habits. Many friends and family members who have had to deal with addicts, will tell you that addiction changed their loved one’s personality. From a spiritual perspective this is very true.
Spiritual detachment, on the other hand, happens when someone is the victim of abuse or trauma. A part of themselves ‘detaches’ or becomes distant from their core self, which may unintentionally invite a more powerful spirit presence to enter, to ‘protect’ or ‘guide’ the victim. Aristotle’s phrase ‘nature abhors a vacuum’ comes to mind. It means every space or void in nature always needs to be filled with something. The same holds true in the spirit realm.
The Halloween Ghost In The Art Gallery
A couple of decades ago, I was opening a new location in downtown Santa Fe for the owner of a chain of art galleries. As a gallery director by profession at the time, I was excited for this opportunity. Furthermore, it was an interesting location from a metaphysical perspective, due to its previous occupants. Once upon a time, it had been a part of the local bus station, and it was directly across a former burro alley from one of Santa Fe’s oldest hotels.
I noticed a subtle, yet potent energy in the gallery space from the beginning of the endeavor. Clearly, some spiritual entity was attempting to direct the gallery through me, and had other ideas about what kind of art should be displayed here! Of course, it did not match the kind of work the absentee owner had in mind. But I was being pushed psychically to consider more traditional pieces, as opposed to the contemporary focus that the living owner required.
An interesting event happened when I hired a contractor to build some art storage, which was also to serve as a divider between the showroom space of the gallery and the office area. Every time the contractor would work on the new art storage bins, there would be a kind of rustling noise after he left. It was unmistakable, yet every time I would try to locate the source of the noise it would stop, as if by magic.
Spirit Just Passing Through
Almost 19 years ago, spirit picked us up and deposited us into our new home – an old Victorian house built in 1909. It is usually not easy to restart your life in an old house. The plumbing, electricity, furnace, and fittings had to be worked on, repaired, or replaced entirely. Although it seemed to be a daunting task we were willing to it on, because we were led here by benign beings and absolutely loved the place the moment we first saw it.
When we decided to purchase the home, we also accepted the possibility of there certainly being some sort of haunting or ghostly presence in a house of this caliber. But sadly, when we moved in, there were no signs of paranormal activity to be found.
However, before moving in, I did have a dream that we would find something of significance in the house. Later, when we were removing the old kitchen cupboards, papers that were stuck behind them fell out. We soon discovered these papers belonged to a William Bradley who had moved to this area of Canada from California. His ancestors had come to the United States from Australia.
Mr. Williams was a chauffeur in his day and we found his papers to prove it. Eventually, we were able to track down his great nephew, who coincidentally has the same name as his great uncle. He was extremely pleased to be gifted this particular family document and we felt very gratified that we had done the right thing.
Working With Elemental Spirit Guides
There are several different classifications of spirit guides and energies that we as humans can work with to help us on our journey. Most spiritual traditions teach about the elemental energy within the four classical elements. This is found in ancient Buddhist texts, Native American spirituality, shamanic traditions, within the Judeo-Christian and other monotheistic traditions.
Working with elemental spirit guides can give us insights and strategies to promote positive changes in our lives, reveal our unconscious self-destructive patterns, and transform our subconscious mind and create a harmonious and balanced internal story. Elemental guides can also assist us when we are walking through a difficulty or life challenge, as well as intensify our ability to manifest the lives we want.
It is not difficult to connect with the elemental forces. There are many strategies that can assist in bringing these elemental forces into our everyday lives.
The Spirit Of Water
The spirit of water is associated with emotions and love. It can be used to help in assisting with emotional challenges, grief, and a better understanding and greater experience of love in our lives.
In many ancient traditions there is a parallel between water and being humble. It is said to be the humblest of all the elements, always seeking the lowest point. However, in its humble position it is also one of the strongest elements. In seeking the lowest position, it can evaporate into the air, satiate the flames of fire, and carve through the mountains of the earth.
The Ghost Who Warned Me
I moved into my first haunted house in 2005. I have communicated with beings from the other side since I was a child, but actually moving into a home where there was a spirit attachment, was a very different experience for me. I have also been in haunted houses before, but this time I was not able to just browse and leave – I was stuck in that house for a few months.
I was moving in with a family member, whom I knew had a lot of emotional issues, but who was also very sweet and wanting guidance and help from me. He was very attached to the house we were looking at renting. I told him right off the bat, “It’s haunted. Are you sure you want to move into a haunted house?” He asked me how I knew it was haunted, even though he knows I am psychic medium. I told him I could sense the presence. It wasn’t dark. It was male and it was associated directly with the house.
Despite all this, we moved in.
The night we moved in, I felt a presence hovering over me when I was sleeping… or should I say trying to sleep. The ghost said telepathically, “You brought darkness into my house. You need to get rid of it, or leave. I will help you get rid of it.” I was quite confused. I responded, “I am a light being. I’ve never caused harm to anyone. Why do you think I brought darkness here?” I did not get an answer.