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Soap Opera Digest presents
The Spirit Guide:
Are Angels Real?
By Michael Karol
"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." - The Bible, Hebrews 13:2
The concept of angels and their existence has been around ever since mankind developed the ability to reason and wonder - specifically, to wonder "Why am I here?" and "Why does life seem so hard, or even impossible, to navigate sometimes?" But do angels appear to us at our most intense times of suffering or depression, and help us?
Whether or not angels do, in fact, exist, "One out of every five Americans believes he or she has seen an angel or knows someone who has," according to Thomas Hargrove of the Scripps Howard News Service, which conducted a survey of 1,127 adult residents of the United States.
Seventy-seven percent of adults in the poll answered "Yes" to the question, "Do you believe angels, that is, some kind of heavenly beings who visit Earth, in fact exist?" Another 73 percent believe angels still "come into the world, even in these modern times."
According to angel expert Dr. Doreen Virtue (see page 20), "There's no way to scientifically prove that angels are real, with current technology, in a controlled experiment. However, using the scientific 'empirical' approach, which uses case studies, we have thousands of stories from people of all ages, faiths, and backgrounds reporting, for instance, that during a time of danger, a welldressed stranger appeared and rescued or healed them, and then disappeared without a trace. With so many people reporting the same phenomenon worldwide, you begin to believe that it really exists."
Robert Todd Carroll, in the Skeptic's Dictionary, describes angels as having "different functions. Some do nothing but worship their Lord. Others are sent to deliver messages to creatures on Earth. Some are sent as protectors of Earthlings. Still others are sent to do battle with devils, who are viewed as initiators of evil temptations."
But, being a skeptic, he felt compelled to add this cautionary note [italics his]: "Since angels are invisible but capable of taking on visible forms, it is understandable that there have been many 'sightings.' Literally anything could be an angel and any experience could be an angel experience. The existence of angels cannot be disproved. The downside of this tidy picture is that angels cannot be proved to exist, either. … Belief in angels, angel sightings and angel experiences is entirely a matter of faith."
And the faithful are sharing their stories everywhere. Here's an eyewitness account, taken from the iVillage.co.uk Web site: "It was 1979, I was 23 and seeing a guy who was very keen on me. We lived in Inverness, which was not exactly famous for its nightlife, so my boyfriend arranged to go clubbing with some friends and me. He would drive. He met us, but there were extra people who wanted to go, so we crammed six into the car. I was stepping in when suddenly the whole world seemed taken up by fog. I couldn't see anything but this grayness, or hear anything except a voice (quite ordinary, but insistent) saying, 'Fasten the seatbelt, fasten the seatbelt.' This was before the seatbelt law and I had never previously fastened the belt in a car before.
"I had to fight to get it shut as it was adjusted for my boyfriend's mum, who was a tiny woman. I just managed it and looked up to see lights right in front of me. There was a sickening crash and screaming. There had been a three-car crash and I was the only person to walk away from it. At the [same] time, in Glasgow, my Nana had a nightmare and kept repeating the name of the hospital I was taken to for a checkup. Also, my friend in the back of the car, when she recovered, asked me, 'Who was the man sitting on your knee?' She said he was dressed in black with a moustache and looked old-fashioned. I didn't have anyone earthly sitting on my knee, but I believe my guardian angel saved my life."
Lots of people, especially after the tragic events of 9/11, believe the angels in our lives are corporeal, people that we view as a cut or two above the average mortal: firefighters, emergency workers and policemen; teachers who report to work every day, underpaid but determined to influence positively the minds of young Americans; and everyday heroes who help a disabled person cross the street, or take a homeless person to a shelter.
Still, we can understand and logically process a firefighter's bravery, or an average citizen's burst of good will in a crisis. What about stories and behavior that cannot rationally be explained?
Guardian angels might be considered a special subset of angel mythology. They can be physically present or not, help you with an exam, prevent you from taking the wrong exit on a trip, or literally save your life. Many have experienced guardian angels as a comforting presence.
Including me.
My mother died in the fall of 1991, after fighting colon cancer for two years; her passing left my family bereft. The next year, I was not able to attend our yearly Passover Seder, held in Boston, where the majority of our family lives. It would be the first one without Mom.
I decided, in her honor and because I knew she'd get a kick out of it, to make Matzo ball soup. When I got home from the grocery store, I looked at the package and realized I'd bought the wrong kind of mix. I cursed, but determined to make the soup, ran right back out to exchange it.
I had been outside, in the hallway on my floor in the building, literally seconds before. This time, when I opened my apartment door, an overwhelming and familiar rush greeted me: the smell of fresh roses, which was mom's favorite flower.
I stood there, in the doorway, mouth open, and began to cry. I knew in my heart that it was my mother's way of telling me, "It's okay, honey, I miss you, too, but I'll always be there for you."
There had been no flower deliveries that day to the building, and none of my neighbors had been spraying rose scent.
I believe my mom, in fact, was acting at that moment as my guardian angel. I also believe there are many things in this world and our universe that defy explanation. They require faith. I can live with that. And apparently, so can most of us.
"I knew it was my mother's way of telling me, 'It's okay, honey, I miss you, too.' "
The Angels of Virtue
Nobody knows more about angels - on this side of heaven, anyway - than Dr. Doreen Virtue (before you ask, that is her real name). A doctor of psychology who holds BA, MA and Ph.D. degrees in counseling psychology, Dr. Virtue is the author of 22 books on angels and related issues, including Healing with the Angels, Divine Guidance and Angel Therapy.
VIRTUE: The No. 1 way that people experience angels is by feeling their presence. The angel's love makes it a very pleasant and healing experience. Some people feel their angels as an air pressure or temperature change; other people feel their angel's embrace or touch. The second most common way is via visual experiences. People see their angels' energy and presence through dream visitations. These dreams are usually quite vivid and memorable. Other people see their angels' energy as sparkles or flashes of light. I've interviewed a few people who've seen apparitions of angels for very clear, but very brief, moments of time. Most people who clearly see a full angel report seeing a very tall, large and benevolent being of light. Sometimes, the bright light obscures the face, so no gender or details are discernable. ... Apparently, angels appear to people as we expect them to look. We expect to see wings on angels, so that's how they appear to us.
SPIRIT GUIDE: Is there a specific way to summon angels, such as prayer? VIRTUE: Angels are always with us, so we don't need to summon them. Instead, we have to listen to their guidance. And if we want their help, we have to ask. The "Law of Free Will" prevents them from intervening in our lives without our permission, with the exception of a life-endangering situation before it's "our time" to go.
SPIRIT GUIDE: Do angels have corporeal shells? Or are they more spirit-like?
VIRTUE: They are definitely more spiritlike than material-seeming. However, they're able to move and interact with material objects. Many people report having angels cover them with real blankets, move their cars out of danger, imger, and pull them by the hand from a drowning experience. In these experiences, angels temporarily take on the make-up of a solid human body in order to effect a cure or a rescue.
SPIRIT GUIDE: What else are angels called?
VIRTUE: In Eastern cultures [Hindu or Buddhist], they are called bodhisattvas, ancestors or deities. In the West, we sometimes call them our spirit guides. The word angel means "messenger of God." In monotheism, angels are heavenly postal carriers bringing messages from the Creator to the created [mankind].
SPIRIT GUIDE: Have angels always existed?
VIRTUE: We have evidence going back to the time of Babylon that all ancient cultures have recognized the existence of the benevolent spiritual helpers that we call angels. The three monotheistic religions [Judaism, Christianity/Catholicism and Islamic] have our modern view of angels as a core archetype.
SPIRIT GUIDE: Is the word angel ever used properly to describe a human?
VIRTUE: Yes, definitely. One of my favorite biblical quotes is in Hebrews 13, in which Paul says, "Be careful when entertaining strangers, for by so doing, many have entertained angels unaware." In other words, sometimes angels take on human form. So, you never know if the person you're talking to is an angel sent from heaven or not. And ordinary people can definitely play an angelic role in your life. Besides being a kind and loving person, an "angel person" might say the exact words that you need to hear. Unbeknownst to that person, they've "channeled" a message from God to you, in answer to your prayers. This is an example of someone being an Earth angel.
SPIRIT GUIDE: Do angels reveal the will of God? Or are they more personal messengers, trying to guide us on the right path(s) during our lives?
VIRTUE: The will of God, in terms of wanting peace on Earth for all, is evident in all the angel experiences that I've studied. Angels always ask us to improve some situation, such as our own lifestyle, health, career, the world, and so on. I've found that the angels only ask us to make these improvements because we've prayed to be happier or healthier. All you have to do is ask. - MK
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