and chaos it would create would keep us from properly proceeding in this incarnation.
The memories of actions engendered by previous incarnations do not belong in the present. It is enough that we carry the emotions, if they are strong enough to remain with us, and the subconscious recollection of these circumstances. An abundant conscious memory can not only be confusing, but can manifest in guilt, phobias, and illness. For instance, someone who murdered his spouse in a past life may be reunited with her in this lifetime in order to learn unconditional love, compassion for suffering, and forgiveness. Yet he would not be able to proceed if plagued with overt recall of his past deed. He would not be able to love her the way he was supposed to in order to be wounded by her transgressions, nor be able to learn how to forgive. He would excuse her if hampered by the knowledge of his past deeds. He would believe that her actions were his own doing, and would never learn unconditional love. He would probably proceed in misery, saddled with guilt, confusion, and trauma. In due time, these emotions would more than likely create instability, illness, and inappropriate behavior.
While all incarnations are not necessarily so dramatic, the present must proceed on its own, with knowledge of previous lives occurring gradually, when the person can understand and accept them into his consciousness. Our angels and guides are here to help us and will see that we receive this information if and when we are ready. We will know that it is appropriate to accept these experiences because of their positive effect, and by the feelings of enlightenment and liberation they generate.
I read about an Eskimo hunter who asked the local missionary priest, “If I did not know about God and sin would I go to hell?”
“No,” said the priest, “not if you did not know.”
“Then why,” asked the Eskimo earnestly, “did you tell me?”
—Annie Dillard
He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all His ways.—Psalms 91:11
CHAPTER 5
The Power of Angels
Using Prayer
As we awaken to our loving power within and our true godliness, many of us are now realizing that it is time to lift ourselves away from the trap of physicality and materialism. We find ourselves reaching as never before in our evolutionary pattern toward our highest reconnection with ourselves and with each other. That is why there is such a growing interest in transcendence. This age, which is more than 50,000 years in the making, according to the Hindu prophets, is a time for us to evolve into our true selves. As the great spiritual master Jesus of Nazareth said, “All these things I do, you shall do also.”
Individuals are questioning whether their needs are of any importance in the grand view of things, and whether their prayers are being heard. You should know that when prayers don’t seem to be answered it is not because they aren’t being heard. It is because the response is in keeping with the cosmic calendar, unlike our time frame on Earth, and in tune with our soul’s most beneficial requirements.
Whether we choose to believe it or not, our prayers are heard and considered. Prayers with prayer beads such as the Catholic rosary or Vedantic Japa Mala are intrinsically powerful because the vibratory level has been built up by thousands of devoted people faithfully repeating the same combination of words for hundreds of years. They raise one’s own vibrations, as well as those of the planet. Fervent, faithful, honest prayer is answered the most readily. Prayer by “rote” or repetition, garners a weaker response, but is not without value. Insincere requests, motivated by greed or selfishness do not belong in prayer. The most effective prayers for having our needs met are offered in our own words, expressing simply what is in our hearts and minds.
In truth, our life is such that its unconscious components are continuously present in all their multiple forms.—Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind
Years ago, when I was teaching yoga on Long Island, and making my way as a psychic counselor—an unheard-of vocation at the time—I was also breaking into regional media. My angels told me the time was right to reach a larger group of people than the local audiences I was used to, and they directed me to broaden my horizons. Television producers, who were beginning to take notice, seemed to agree. But rather than guest appearances or shows as I was promised, I was misused, I felt, by private requests for personal readings, gratis, with hints of something to come. Often I would return messages left by a show’s producers, usually long-distance, merely to be met with personal questions about love lives and careers. Now I am not one to object to offering help when one needs it, but these calls made me feel used, and were highly trivial, like “My best friend Elvira is in love with this guy, Johnny, but I know he really loves me—how do I get him to notice me?”
If I tried to steer the conversation to business, the answers were generally evasive, and non-responsive:
“Well, there are other psychics we’re considering . . .”
“Well, we haven’t made a decision . . .”
Fruitless interviews in offices, during which I was asked for personal readings to higher-ups of higher-ups, gave way to frustration and desire for a career which didn’t invite so much self-interest or potential for being used. On my way home one day, I stopped at a church.
“Please,” I implored, “let this come to an end. If I am meant to be on television then let it be. If I am not, then let that be.”
When I arrived home a message was waiting. It was from a different producer on another show, and a week later I was on Midday Live with Bill Boggs making my national debut.
Spiritual teacher and philosopher Rudolph Steiner conceived of a complex society of angels and spirits as the result of visionary experiences. Angels, according to his system, exist on the first level of consciousness above humankind; above them, in ascending order of levels, are Archangels, Archai (Primal Beginnings), Exusiai (Authorities or Powers), Dynamis (Mights), Kyriotetes (Dominions), Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. Beyond the Seraphim is the Godhead. Each level of being has higher and broader responsibilities in terms of spiritual evolution, beginning with archangels, some of whom are responsible for leading races or nations
While prayer is asking, meditation is waiting, listening, and turning within. As a tool for growth, it enables us to tune into or achieve a higher state of consciousness and awaken awareness of our true selves.
While it may take years of practice and dedication to attain the perfect state of inner peace and universal awareness achieved by master teachers and yogis, sometimes just stopping and turning within can provide you with the answers or the centering you need. Many times when I am looking for something that I simply can’t find, or need an answer to a problem, I stop what I’m doing, clear my mind of thoughts, and ask for help. The answer or course of action doesn’t come like a thunderbolt, but generally enters my consciousness shortly thereafter.
Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view.—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance
We have more control over ourselves and
