Recently, I met a woman named Karen Forrest. She was a military psych nurse for 17 years, so quite grounded. But these days, she offers counseling by “talking to angels and dead people.” She still laughs about the unexpected change in her life. She has 2 regional best selling books offering stories about angels, leading to her talk at a writers group I attend – using angels to get your book published. The basics are applicable to just about anything though.
I’ve spoken here before about the benefits of gratitude in your life. Aside from culturing a more positive approach that allows more accepting, it also supports those that are working on our behalf. As the “crust” many of us hold on the heart falls away and our perception refines, other forms of life and doership become increasingly obvious. But even well before that, the experience of being the detached witness and noticing everything continues to be done without us illustrates how pervasive this activity is on our life. Even if doership remains unknown.
We’re not talking about what you believe or don’t believe in here. Nor about superstitions and folk tales nor classical paintings of a “winged host”. We’re talking about ways of working with and directly experiencing what you may not yet perceive. You don’t see electricity either but you’ve learned to use it every day. All this needs is an open mind.
Karen studied extensively with Doreen Virtue and others to develop her skills. She stopped drinking alcohol and became vegetarian to be clearer. She observes that many people pray or “call on” higher powers only in crisis. She suggests asking for support throughout your daily life.
While her process is about working with angels, you can use it simply to develop intuition. Leave the woo-woo for later. (laughs)
Calling
1) ask for help – what is the next step?
2) what are my blockages?
3) follow the guidance – this is up to you.
1) She said that because of free choice, what is unfolding will always be unknown. But the next step to take now can always be seen. So ask – What is the next step?
She said it was best to use questions with a yes/no answer and see how we feel immediately after. Yes/no responses will be instant.
The need for Why? questions comes from the lower self. Mind questions. Instead – what can I do about it? Can I learn from this? What’s next? At first, we may not be comfortable with the answer if it seems somehow illogical. Nature has a way of taking the fastest route though, so it may suggest an unexpected turn. Or we may be asked to wait on something for a time. The why will often become apparent later.
She suggested we watch for “repeating messages”, things that keep showing up. She observed that intuition will be encouraging and repeating whereas fear will be negative.
2) She also suggested we ask what our blockages are? Where am I resisting? Acknowledge it and let it go. Blockages can also cause blended feelings, adding fear to anticipation for example.
A big resistance can often be all the baggage we have around a process like this. Keep it simple and let the results speak for themselves.
3) This last step may bring up further things to unblock. (laughs) If we have feeling issues with trust, blame or self-worth, this can certainly bring them to light.
As usual, don’t worry about the means, just what is to be done. If you are following your purpose or passion, the money and means will come. There is an old eastern saying – “the means gather around Sattva“. Put another way, the angels gather around purity of intent.
At first, the response may show up as a “gut feeling”. But we have to be clear on the difference between fear – a blockage or resistance, and discomfort, a no. For example, we may be afraid of a yes and thus it can feel like a no. If we want a yes but get a no, we may instead feel a hesitation or uncertainty. Thus, it is good to separate how we feel from the response. Where is this feeling coming from?
If what comes up is a big surprise, consider that good. It can indicate you didn’t dream it up.
As the skill is developed and we get clearer and more trusting, the impressions will be more “intuitive” with more information or understanding. This will continue until things come with a sense of deeper “knowingness” and a broader context. There may be a complete picture of what is to be done.
Another aspect will also develop if we want it, what we might call sensory or “psychic” skills. Clairvoyance, clairaudience, and so forth. We’ll see/ hear/ feel the response. Indeed, there can be conversations, like with a good friend. How this develops will depend on where we’re clear, our inclinations, and the senses we naturally favour. Some people may just want to develop clear intuition and avoid this.
Just remember, the process gets easier with practice. You’ve lived a lifetime without developing these skills. This process of asking, clearing, and doing will bring increasing clarity not just to the task at hand but to your life as a whole.
This is not an ego test. It’s not about getting it right. It’s about greater ease, happiness, and clarity.
She describes her own experience as intuition, body sensations and clairaudience, hearing them. She demonstrated with personal questions from most of the group, obviously getting immediate clear visual and feeling impressions, often before the question was fully asked. The feedback was diverse, relevant, precise, and practical. In one case, several in the room felt the feeling response, it was such a strong Yes.
She also touched on healing, saying most physical ailments have an emotional root. If we can engage divine healing, it is much faster, deeper, and more effective.
She mentioned the tiers of light beings – fairies, angels, archangels, and God. Other spiritual traditions have similar tiers of devata, devas, gods, and so forth.
Most people in our culture have some pretty odd beliefs around angels. Because there is no open discourse, the field is littered with junk. The majority of people surveyed in the US indicate they believe in angels but few take this past some idealistic concepts or admit it openly. Others are hostile. As the old Abba song put it “I believe in angels, something good in every thing I see… I have a dream, a fantasy, to help me through, reality.” The power of the celestial, the light of life is rendered a coping fantasy. Few people who have such experiences are willing to speak of it as there is little context available for understanding. They may take years coming to terms with it. Indeed, you can be medicated for “seeing things” or “hearing voices”. Even some “spiritual” teachers write such things off as “mythical” stories of a bygone era.
All I can say is – that’s another curtain I’m looking forward to seeing fall. It was refreshing to hear someone talk about it in an open, practical, grounded way.
Davidya
Last Updated on April 26, 2018 by Davidya
My sister-in-law nearly died while giving birth to her third child; she was bleeding internally, hemmorrhaging badly and they put my brother on notice that it was touch and go. She surived and later reported see “fairies,” stating they looked like fire flies. I now recognize they were quite possibly could have been angels surrounding her, perhaps called by the prayers for her.
Hi Louise
Yes, people call them light or energy beings. The small ones are like little lights, the larger ones like amorphous flowing light. Sometimes people will add other qualities to them due to beliefs or cultural cues, like wings.
The little ones are often called fairies or elementals or devata in Sanskrit. They have specific roles. The larger devas or angels are more “supervisory”.
Broadly, each type has certain qualities but they also have unique personalities. Devata can be quite mischievous, for example. Like tipping the jam off your knife. The Irish have many stories…
Both are around all the time – everything that happens is done. The trick is what kinds. They are energy beings so “feed” on energy. Positive vibes, the higher emotions, and prayer will attract both more and higher quality ones. In deep transcendence, bliss, and divine love, soma is produced by the subtle body – this is the “nectar of the gods”. This attracts higher angels and thus more powerful support.
What we’re talking about here is mutual benefit. Angels are always about service and the we.
When people come close to death, their bonds to physical reality loosen. They are thus sometimes treated to more subtle perception. Sometimes quite grand celestial experiences of finer values of reality.
When someone is frail, positive support is very helpful, both for them and for the support it attracts. Good for you. Sometimes when someone is very ill, people bring their anger, fear, denial, and grief. Even blame and judgment. Better to deal with our baggage away from the frail.
This is not to say grief or upset is bad. It is perfectly normal and healthy. But you want to do your work with others, not dump it on the ill.
Some people talk of having a guardian angel. We may have someone in charge of our evolution. But most of us have a whole host working on our behalf. We’re never in this alone.
As I spoke about in On Death, a friend of mine is dying consciously. Its been a very profound personal experience for many of us to share her journey through this. A very different experience than the traditional process. She’s is radiating an incredible amount of love as she loosens the bonds. And she’s not yet awake. Very inspiring.
In a recent conversation with someone who works with angels, an important point was made. Angels live and evolve as angels. They don’t become humans. Humans who spend time as spirit helpers are “spirit guides” – similar to angels but they have a heavier energy and are in a human evolutionary track. Calling them angels is thus a bit misleading.