Gateway of humility

Humans are taught to think life isn't supposed to be a smooth journey. Many of us have "close calls" where it may seem like death misses us by a whisker. Did you have a close call where you felt it wasn't your time to leave? Did you approach the gateway of humility, a tunnel of light perhaps and realize love is the answer? Maybe you feel a bigger plan is at work?

I knew a girl who was hit by a car and put into a coma. She ended up pulling out of it and later, regaining consciousness.  She indicated her deceased grandmother had told her she'd be back another time.  The doctors didn't believe her. Her family wasn't sure if she was hallucinating. She believes her grandmother is now a guardian angel who protects her.

Alison Dubois' life demonstrates the power of guardian angels. She is the focus of a t.v. show called Medium and author of the best-selling book, "Don't Kiss them Goodbye."

When she was six, Allison's deceased great-grandfather supposedly approached her with a message for her mother: "I am okay, I am still with you. Tell your mom there's no more pain." Allison shared his comforting words with her mother and turned to embrace a lifetime of creating connections between loved ones and the those they have lost who are seldom really far away.

Another purpose of her Alison's gifts surfaced while she was an intern in the homicide bureau of a district attorney's office. Curiously, she began to visualize the crime as she handled evidence. She claims to have regular dreams where people contact her from the other side. Allison listened to her Higher Self and gave up law school aspirations to be a consultant profiler on criminal investigations. Her abilities have also been tested in closed research studies and one of the many test subjects she impressed with her readings turned out to be Deepak Chopra.

Alison trusts her guides and surrenders to a power greater than herself.  This enables her to exist at a high level of conscious awareness, to accept and evolve with changes as the observer inside herself.  Her life is a testament to the benefits of trusting love, energy and guardian angels.  She senses these being make themselves available to assist us providing we ask. 

Test the faith

"The danger is not that the soul should doubt whether there is any bread, but lest, by lie, it should persuade itself that it is not hungry." -Simone Weil

People develop faith in what they hope for, and may believe in what isn't always verifiable.  Through believing in something greater than ourselves, we can learn to banish fear and the conditions of lack from which we seek to escape.  Our beliefs, individually and collectively shape who we are and what we do.  It's not uncommon for views to change based on life experience. 

Based on documents and interviews, the Miracle Detective is a book that examines major alleged holy visions from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  Some of the most controversial sightings are listed, "authentic" and "extremely significant." Many sightings with large, devotional followings are listed "false" or "doubtful."  Yet, is it reasonable for guardian angels to leave a trail?

The Scottsdale apparitions are considered some of the most controversial sightings.  They began at St. Maria Goretti Parish, in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.A., outside Phoenix, in the late summer of 1988, and supposedly lasted eight years. 

Nine, young people contacted their pastor, Father Spaulding,  separately to confide they were hearing voices. These people ranged in ages from 19 to 31. Some began to receive detailed messages recorded them for Father Spaulding. He reviewed the messages and believed them to be authentic.  A short time later, Father Spaulding himself claimed to begin to receive messages, and to hear encouraging voices.  His personal experiences shaped his perception of miracles.

He formed a prayer group of the young people. Our Lady gave them encouragement and advice in her messages, and they received a lesson each week for the group to meditate on. Each lesson was on a basic subject, like humility, compassion, pity, and greed.  Four members of this prayer group claimed to have actually seen Our Lady, one claimed to have taken dictation directly from God, and the rest had reported receiving locutions from angels for reflection. These experiences prompted each individual to reflect on the reasons for the deepest pain or greatest difficulty in his or her life and then, each individual found the courage to work through and rise above it. 

The nature of the messages varied among the visionaries. Father Spaulding and Gianna Talone (Sullivan) claim to have received the most apparitions. During the initial controversy, a documentary about the "Scottsdale visionaries" was broadcast on local Arizona television.  This made Gianna's professional, scientific life as a pharmacist difficult and the impact of her beliefs contributed to her first husband filing for divorce.

Gianna has since moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, the site of the Lourdes Shrine. the oldest in the U.S.  She believes that experiencing grief and rejection in life remind her she has to lose some worldly things to gain wisdom.  She described that seeing  Our Lady was a way to "become aware of all your own faults, your pride, your lack of generosity and compassion.  You felt the pain of all that, of being so far from that beauty, that peace and perfection. You feel ashamed of yourself and despondent."  After she faced some of her greatest weaknesses and fears, she found meaning in new relationships and in changing the focus of her life.

Gianna encourages individuals to pray for "discernment" because "feelings aren't facts." She believes that the scepticism and controversy in Scottsdale could be described as "humanity's interference with God's plan." She describes the divergent public beliefs as, "ego, mostly, people wanting it to go their own way, or to take control, or being jealous of one person, or suspicious of another. Pride and hurt feelings, that's what got in the way."

Perhaps you learn more about yourself when you don't try to avoid your own suffering. Gianna Talone endured years of self-doubt, fear and loss in her life, but she kept trusting, even when these negative feelings were overwhelming. Her periods of darkness ended when she rose above her own egotistical pride.  "I just woke up one morning and found the sadness gone." This test of her soul may have connected her to something more than traditional guardian angels. Whatever it was, it triggered her turning point: discovering a deeper purpose and greater self-acceptance.

Believe what you will

History hasn't been able to disprove Jeanne d’Arc's claim that she was contacted by angels. Did Archangel Michael or the Virgin Mary advise her to command the French army? With no military experience, this peasant girl achieved the unthinkable.  Her guidance enabled French generals to liberate her county and cause English invaders to flee.  This conflict had lasted generations.

At age 13, Joan spposedly heard a voice, as if someone spoke in her ear.  She also described a blaze of light. Joan continued to sew and spin as usual, yet she later claimed to receive regular heavenly messages from angelic counselors St. Michael, St. Margaret, St. Catherine, and others.

By age 16, the voices had begun to urge her to find the French Dauphin, Charles, whose armies were waging a losing war against the English for control of France. She actually tried to meet one of Charles’ generals, but she was rudely sent away.  Angelic voices became even more insistent. 

Joan attempted to consult the general. On her way, she received a vision: The French would suffer a major defeat by the English, in the “Battle of the Herrings,” in the town of Orléans. When her prediction materialized, days later, she was able to speak with Charles himself. Her advising enabled French military strategy to evolve. She also fought fearlessly on front lines.

The Church authorities of her era didn't believe she communicated with God, the Virgin Mary or angels.  She refused to recant and prayed. Joan of Arc was eventually burned at the stake.

Joan of Arc's story reveals guardian angels enter our lives to influence our thoughts to help others. Thay may not always protect us from all danger, but they supposedly reveal the will of God. We can benefit from their companionship and assistance when we seek it.  Believe what you will.

Scalped by a windsurfer

I was truly astonished by a story recounted to me by a man in his mid sixties.  He recalls that during his teenage years, he escaped a brush with death due to the help of a 12 year old girl. 

As it was, he was swimming on a curve in an area where wind was firece and waves were high.  Out of the blue, a windsurfer came flying toward him and the fin of the board scalped his head, leaving him face down in the water and in a terribly weak state.  He's unsure whether the windsurfer himself was oblivious, or had no conscience. He didn't stop or apparently even look back.  On that particular day, the area was essentially void of people. Yet, a twelve year old girl appeared and turned him over before asking her parents nearby to call an ambulance. This is why the scalped man with a scar on his head believes he's alive today to tell his tale. When the paramedics came, the windsurfer was nowhere in sight. He had disappeared, along with the girl.

In this man's mind, angels may appear to us on our own level, as humans, and influence our fate based on quick thinking. Angels may also represent a plausible explanation when no other one will satisfy.  When a mystery bewilders us, the mind still often seeks logical answers.  Yet, a sense of knowing perhaps it wasn't your time to go allows you to believe in the immeasurable.  Once such a rescue is experienced, views of sceptics and their theories will not weaken one's convictions.

Right place, right time?

No doubt there have been times in your life when you felt as thought you were in the right place at the right time.  You may have won in weekly bingo or had that lucky numbers on a 50$ lottery ticket just when you needed the money.  You may have arrived at a bus stop just as the bus arrived so you didn't have to wait.  You may have been late for an important appointment and suprisingly got green lights almost all the way to your destination. Those good experiences are the ones you remember because circumstances seemed to unfold in your favor. The question is, did you have anything to do with it? Or was something beyond you influencing the outcome? Of course, you can believe what you choose to believe and your opinion may be right.

People always arrive in my life just when I need guidance.  Sometimes I attract assistance because I look like I need help, but it goes deeper than that.  One such occasion relates to a timely experience where my passport, money and identification were stolen during a visit to Estonia. I was supposed to be heading to Finland on a ferry that evening, but that departure wasn't meant to be. I was fortunate my employer was in his North American office when the small shop I was in permitted me to email. He was able to wire me some money for the next day. I reported the theft incident to police who arrived on the scene and returned to the hotel I'd stayed the night before. They still had my credit card info.

The next day, the informal Canadian mission told me to replace my Canadian passport would require 10 days. That would have to be ordered from Finland. I also had an Estonian passport however. After making my official statement at the local police station, partly though a translator, I decided to set out and try to find out how to replace that document in what might be a shorter wait time. 

Imagine my surprise that in asking directions every so often to ensure I was headed in the right direction. In speaking to a parking attendant, an older man drove up to pay for parking. He was perhaps the age of my grandfather. He knew of the government office I needed to visit and offered to take me there in his car. Me without a map, he estimated it would have been 2-3 hours away walking on foot. He only spoke Estonian and I did my best to explain my situation. I made the choice to get into his car. I learned he was a government consultant. With his assistance, I went through bureaucracy meant to take 14 days in less than 6 hours. This kindly stranger took me to where I could pick up the money that had been wired to me. He helped me to organize a job interview, told me where to go, and he picked me up later by car to take me to the ferry to Finland.

This man is an angel in disguise. He appeared out of nowhere.  I felt I could trust him. We only communicated in Estonian.  He told me he had a granddaughter my age and went out of his way to help me.  For a few years after that experience, I sent him Christmas cards.  He also sent me a letter. Then, he vanished. My mind echoes he may have died. My heart knows this soul is immortal and ever-present. In my life, he was definitely in the right place at the right time. He reminds me I am always in the right place to learn if I am receptive. His compassion is a mirror. I see that we each exist to make a difference in th lives of others.  When someone helps you, you are also helping that person, even if the how is unclear.

“When God puts love and compassion in your heart toward someone, He’s offering you an opportunity to make a difference in that person’s life. You must learn to follow that love. Don’t ignore it. Act on it. Somebody needs what you have.” -Joel Osteen