101 Ways to Meet Your Angels (4 page)

ANGELS OF ANNUNCIATION

The angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would bear the Son of God. This event, known as the Annunciation, is a central tenet of Christian belief. During the visitation, the angel told her not to be afraid, and explained that she had found favor with God. “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). When Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary, felt embarrassed by her obvious pregnancy, an angel appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid … for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” After the birth of Jesus, the angel continued to look after the holy family and appeared twice to Joseph, giving him instructions on where to go to keep his family safe. Prior to his appearance before the Virgin Mary, Gabriel had also appeared to Zacharias, a priest who was married to Elizabeth, cousin of the Virgin Mary. The angel visited Zacharias when he was burning incense in a temple. Gabriel announced Elizabeth’s pregnancy to her husband there. Since Zacharias did not believe the angel, the angel struck the priest mute until his son John, later to be known as John the Baptist, was born.

ANGEL APPEARANCES AFTER THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST

Angel sightings and visitations are important aspects of the stories belonging to the New Testament Apocrypha (sacred texts excluded from the Bible for various reasons, including disputed authenticity), such as
The Vision of Paul
and
The Ascension of Isaiah
. In the case of Paul, an angel guided him through various realms of heaven and hell, and about 3,000 angels sang a hymn before him as he approached the city of Christ. Later, Paul witnessed 200 singing angels preceding Mary, and after entering the gates of Paradise, she explained to him that he had been granted the unusual favor of coming to that place before he had finished his earthly life. After entering the gates of Paradise, Paul encounters the ancient prophet Enoch in the third heaven, who issues a warning to Paul not to reveal what he has seen. Then the angel descends with Paul to the second heaven, and thence to the earthly paradise, where the souls of those deemed righteous await the resurrection.

THE ANGEL AT JESUS’ TOMB

The four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John include stories about the Resurrection, when Jesus rose from death. In Matthew, an angel sits on the stone that covered the mouth of His tomb, and Mary Magdalene and (the other) Mary see the angel when they arrive to anoint the body of Jesus (Matthew 28:2 ). Mark’s gospel reveals two women, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salome, arriving at the tomb with sweet spices to anoint the body of Jesus. Finding the stone rolled away, they entered and saw “a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment” (Mark 16:5). The Gospel of Luke states that there were two men in shining garments who told the women Jesus had risen (Luke 24: 4-6). The Gospel of John notes that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb in the darkness before daybreak, saw that the stone covering the sepulcher had been taken away, and ran to fetch Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved (John 20:1-4). The two disciples ran to the tomb, looked inside, and saw nothing but the linen that had been used to wrap Jesus’ body. The men returned home, leaving Mary Magdalene, who stayed at the tomb and wept. At last, peering inside, she saw two angels in white, “sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain” (John 20:12).

ANGEL WORSHIP POSED ISSUES FOR THE EARLY CHURCH

During the early Christian era, many people believed in and even worshipped the angels despite the apostle Paul’s stance against angel worship. The presbyters and bishops of the early church believed a clear distinction had to be made between the angels and Christ. They taught that only God and His son were to be worshipped, Christ was the communicator closest to the Heavenly Father, and the angels served as lesser intermediaries between God and His people. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 a.d. proclaimed angel worship in keeping with other beliefs that the church held as true (dogma) but another council reversed that decision in 343 a.d. Finally the controversy ended in 787 a.d. when the second Council of Nicaea declared a limited dogma of the archangels which included their names, specific functions, and legitimacy of their images in art.

Belief in angels can be inspired or enhanced by time spent in sacred spaces. Such areas do not have to conform to constructions for ritualistic purposes, but rather they can be places where holy beings of spiritual realms are always welcomed. Constantine the Great (306-377 a.d.), the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire, declared that angels have wings. Subsequently, during and after his reign, angel imagery included winged angels in churches, cemeteries, and other sacred places. If you want to welcome angels into your home, garden, or workplace, angel imagery with or without wings can serve your purpose. Hang posters, framed art or calendars, or add angel statuary in a designated place. For example, allocate an area or room in your home, a corner of your cubicle or office, or a protected area of the garden where you can sit undisturbed to reflect and pray. If you prefer beckoning angels while in nature, choose a familiar gulley or a field, a favorite sitting area under a tree, or bank of a lake, river, or pond. Maybe you enjoy sitting amid sand dunes where you can watch blades of grass waving in the sea breeze. Or perhaps you prefer a special rock in a canyon, in the desert, or on a hillside. The point is to find a place that you feel safe, protected, sheltered, and comfortable. That place becomes holy by your presence, thoughts, affirmations, supplications, and prayers. Angel images inspire you to beckon the angels. When they come, welcome them with an open mind, a loving heart, and respect and gratitude for all they do.

Here are some suggestions for creating your sacred space:

• Play peaceful music.

• Display pictures of your favorite religious deities.

• Display pictures of your loved ones, living or deceased.

• Light candles to create the right energy.

• Arrange crystals or rocks collected from meaning places.

• Arrange pictures or statues of angels.

• Find a special journal in which to write.

• Put down a fountain with the soothing sound of water.

• Turn the ringer on your phone off.

After your sacred space is created, set your intention that this is your special place to come, where you can let go, pray, and be open to the gifts and miracles of angels. Each and every time you enter your space, invite the angels to gather and ask them to surround you in their loving light and protection. Ask them to fill your space with the highest vibration of divine white light and energy, and know that with every breath that you take you will become one with this sacred healing light.

Start your day by entering your sacred space, and ask the angels to fill your day with blessings. During the day, ask them to show you what you need to know. Enter the sacred space at night, and release fears and worries to the angels. Offer thanks, gratitude, and appreciation to the angels.

The ancient Egyptians practiced
dreaming true
, or using the dream state to ask and receive answers from the gods. The ancient Greeks engaged in
dream incubation
, usually near water such as springs, lakes, rivers, or the sea, invoking Asclepius, god of healing. You can practice a similar technique of dream incubation by taking a warm bath, and preparing yourself to beckon the angels to meet you in the dreamtime. The following checklist will help you to get started.

HOW TO INCUBATE DREAMS INVOLVING ANGELS

• Change your bed linens to make the sleep environment fresh and clean.

• Put a sachet bag of rosemary, lavender, or mint near your pillow.

• Keep the lighting soft with a candle or lamp.

• Take a warm, scented bath and dress in a clean gown or pajamas.

• Put a pencil and paper within easy reach.

• Ask your guardian angels to protect you while you sleep.

• Declare what you wish to see or learn in your dream, and invoke an angel by name, or call upon your guardian angels to meet you in the dreamtime.

• Extinguish the candle or lamp.

• Meditate on your question and ask for the answer as you slowly descend into sleep.

• Lie quietly upon waking and revisit your dream request, as you recall as many details of your dream as possible.

• Write down your dream, or fragments of it. If the meaning isn’t readily clear, consult a dream dictionary for meanings of your dream symbols.

Regular practice of dream incubation techniques will help you more easily gain clarity about life issues or problems for which you seek answers. You will find the boundaries between waking and dreaming become blurred and as fragments of your dream enter your mind throughout the day, insights and even the answers you seek, will come.

10: Keep Detailed Notes of Your Experiences with Angels

Whenever you have contact with your angels, whether in the dreamtime, in meditation, or at any other time, jot down detailed notes to reinforce what you saw, heard, tasted, smelled, or felt. This diary of details will reinforce your thinking about angels, and it will also help you begin to distinguish which angels come to you, and the circumstances of their appearances. For example, do the angels come only when you invite them or have a question? Or do they visit you in your time of need? Do they visit when you are anticipating them and feeling peaceful? The following six suggestions are designed to help you log and write about angel visitations.

THINGS TO NOTICE AND RECORD ABOUT ANGEL VISITS

1. When, where, and how did it occur?

2. What were you doing, and what was your mood?

3. What exactly happened—write down all the detail you can recall.

4. Which of your senses detected the paranormal activity or angel presence? What did it feel like?

5. What did you do when you realized something was different? If the level of your curiosity or intensity of your feelings shifted, describe the difference before, during, and after.

6. How did the contact end?

If contact with the angels is a new experience for you, keep a journal to help you understand what might be the most effective way for you to detect the presence of angels. It is also helpful to know and recognize the different types of angels.

KNOW THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANGELS

The hierarchic system of the angels is the result of human design, not that of the angels. Seraphim and cherubim were mentioned in the Old Testament, but then Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of Saint Paul, purportedly added seven more in the New Testament: thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.

Some modern religious scholars take issue with the idea of angelic hierarchies. One philosopher, Mortimer Adler, finds such speculation [of angel ranking] “highly entertaining.” And Christian evangelist writer Timothy Jones, in
Celebration of Angels
, states that “However tantalizing the recorded glimpses of angels in Scripture are, they are ultimately just that: glimpses. We can take great comfort, however, in knowing that populating the heavenly spheres are creatures so great they boggle and frustrate our every attempt to pin them down.”

Ranking the angels according to a hierarchy may indeed be the work of humans, but it is easy to understand why someone would create a system around which to sort all the information about angels that spans centuries, and ecclesiastical, as well as secular literature and art. A ranking system enables us to more easily assimilate the available information in order to understand the identities of these heavenly beings, their divine purposes, and importance to our lives.

11: Get to Know Your Guardian Angels

From birth to death, your guardian angels are ever near, shadowing your every move. Think of them as divine helpers, immediately available to respond to your summons. Their love for you is unconditional. Nothing you can say or do changes that. Your job is to accept that at your side throughout your life is a loving, helpful, albeit invisible companion. Your angels have names, and you can discover those names by beginning a dialogue, asking questions and receiving answers. Open a dialogue with your guardian angels just as you would with a new friend. For example, ask questions such as “What is your name?” “I would like a sign to know you are near; what sign shall we use?” Or, simply ask questions requiring a yes/no response such as, “Shall we meet each day at 3:00 p.m.?” By welcoming your angels, and taking time to pray with them, you draw ever closer to them, becoming more perceptive to cues in your environment, or to feelings that alert you to their nearness. As you establish a rapport with your angels, recognize their presence, and call them by name, you will begin an amazing journey that can only be described as transformational.