Angelic Pathways (6 page)

“The healer? I was told that there was a spiritual healer who worked here,” I elaborated.

“That would be me,” said a voice from over my shoulder. When I turned to gaze into the warmest and wisest eyes I’d ever seen, I was rendered speechless. For a moment, we stood there in silence as something strange passed between us. To this day, I struggle to pinpoint exactly what that was, but it was accompanied by feelings of familiarity, comfort, joy, and peace.

The woman placed her hands on my shoulders as I stood there dumbfounded. “I’m Ella. It’s about time you came home. I’ve been waiting for you,” she said as she hugged me, and instantly my tears began to flow. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, and in that moment all the pain and confusion I had been wrought with since my mother passed months earlier disappeared. I somehow had found my way home to a family I didn’t even know I had.

Upon our very first meeting, Ella and I had a connection and bond that would have taken most people years to develop. I felt as if I had known her my whole life, and as she kicked into spiritual mentor mode, I found myself eager to learn whatever she was willing to teach me. Whether it was about tea, tea culture, or my intuitive gifts, she was never lacking in wisdom. I willingly walked along the path she carefully laid out before me, a path that would ultimately lead to one of my greatest moments of spiritual growth. She became my adopted mother, and it was through her tender nurturing and encouragement that I finally came to understand and accept my intuitive gifts.

Through meditation and honing my skills, I learned to connect with the Realm of Spirit in ways I never thought possible. I grew more accepting not only of Gabriel’s presence in my life, but of all of divinity. From listening intently to Jesus’s instruction, to visiting a cloud temple occupied by the Hindu gods Shiva, Kali, and Ganesh, to seeking out the wisdom and compassion of Kwan Yin, I finally arrived at the conclusion that there was so much more to the Realm of Spirit than religious texts even touched upon.

With my eyes wide open and my curiosity more ravenous than ever, I pondered why religions clawed at each other’s throats and vied for followers and their undying loyalty. Why had history been riddled with wars and conflicts, all brought about by one group claiming their god was the bigger god, when in the Realm of Spirit, I could meditate peacefully in my mountain retreat which Jesus and Mary Magdalene, hand in hand, often visited. I could then turn around and visit Archangel Uriel’s fiery mansion to play fetch with his two pet dragons only to later speak with the Council—a cluster of twelve entities that offer wisdom and issue decrees for humans as well as the archangels. All the years of being taught that one religious belief was the only way to some promised salvation just couldn’t stand up to real, tangible experience with the divine itself.

Through my spiritual travels and under the instruction of Ella and Archangel Gabriel, I finally arrived at the understanding that we all come from one Source. All of us. I believe that every single creature and entity in this universe is crafted by the hands of the same Creator, a being that I still have trouble comprehending, but one that I still refer to as God. We are all his children, and it is to him that we are to return.

One might think that my acceptance of my intuitive gifts and my interactions with the Realm of Spirit would cause me to abandon the religious teachings I grew up with. Not entirely. I didn’t have to leave my Christian faith to become accepting of the faiths of others. Though I embrace and respect the philosophies of many religions and those who follow them, the cornerstone of my life remains Jesus of Nazareth. He is my mentor, but more than that, he is my family. He is my father, and to him I am answerable for everything I do in this lifetime.

Though I embrace this pantheism with great conviction, it was not a belief that I was able to adopt overnight. Even now, there are days when years of religious conditioning rear their ugly head and whisper in the back of my mind,
What if you’re wrong?
I’ve had my surlier moments when I’ve pretended that I couldn’t hear Jesus or the angels calling me to offer their instruction or to discuss some aspect of my life. Doing so has often led to a life crisis that forced me to turn my attention in their direction. I know that if I’m wrong, they will tell me and then body-slam me onto the proper path—repeatedly, if need be, until I am sore, winded, and making a timeout gesture with my hands.

“All right, I surrender. You win,” I’ve often said after being set aright by the powers that be. And that’s just after arguing with them over the next book or taking on a new client!

As I’ve walked this life’s path, I’ve grown savvy to the angels’ spiritual wrestling techniques. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted nothing to do with “God’s plan.” Gabriel called acceptance of my destiny a walk of faith; I called it unemployment. Either way, I lost the battle. In fact, I nearly lost my life, but there are days when I scoff and say death may have been the easier path. After losing everything I owned, including irreplaceable treasures such as my childhood photos and family heirlooms with more sentimental than monetary value, I sometimes wonder why I even bother getting up every morning. But then I’ll get e-mails such as this:

Dear Chantel,

I just wanted to thank you for writing your books and being brave enough to talk about the angels and discuss the real problems many of us face when it comes to spirituality. Like you, I’ve encountered many a dark day and questioned my belief in God, but then I stop and look at my life through the angels’ eyes and realize that everything has a purpose—not just my life, but all the good and bad that comes with it. Thank you for helping me to make peace with myself and showing me how to focus more on how to endure and learn from every lesson God brings before me.

So many times I have received letters asking for prayers and intercessions for people in some of the most harrowing circumstances imaginable. I find myself so badly wanting to write back and say that all will be well, that it will all work out in the end. But the truth is, it might work out, but it might not. When I look up into the eyes of an archangel, seeking an answer either way, he may answer me or he may simply fold his arms, shake his head, and deny my request for insight—or, in many cases, foresight.

For some whom I’ve read for, the angels have offered up a few predictions, though not many. I’m not in the business of making predictions, and neither are the angels, for that matter. Like them, my life’s purpose is to simply guide and offer wisdom. But unlike them, I cannot see the future, not even my own, and I’ve lost count of the days where it’s galled me that I can sit and talk with the legendary Archangel Michael and not even get a winning lottery number while my phone is ringing off the hook with calls from bill collectors.

All in all, working with the angels, or divinity as a whole, does not make life easier by any stretch of the imagination. There are days when I think what many see as a gift of intuition is really more a burden. The responsibility that comes with it is oppressive, to say the least. Any medium with a genuine connection to the divine, and with even a modicum of self-respect, knows that it’s not a matter to be taken lightly, because in the end, we are answerable to a Higher Power, the very one that sends the archangels to connect with us to begin with.

Ironically, the mighty sting of being in direct employment of the divine is not too dissimilar to being in the service of humans. It’s your job to keep your employer happy and pleased with your work, but you can’t really expect your employer to reciprocate that favor. In fact, Michael has told me on more than one occasion, “It’s not our job to make you happy.” And he’s right. The archangels’ vows are many, but making us humans happy ain’t one of them. Invariably, that is our job, and based on my many years of working with clients and even looking back at my own life, I have to say that we humans generally suck at creating real, lasting happiness. I liken it to sand. We can pick up happiness here and there by the fistful, but for whatever reason, it tends to slip through our fingers, leaving only a few grains … remnants of what once was. And then, like the foolish humans we are, we pick up another handful.

All the while, the archangels watch over us. Most look on with compassion in their eyes. Others cant their heads in bemusement of just how dense the human race is. Still others roll their eyes or turn away with a scowl of disdain. Regardless of an angels’ feelings toward us, they all express the same sentiment: “And to think you humans asked to come here.”

Yep, that’s the crux of it. We asked for this, and now that we’re here, we’re searching for something, anything, to fill us with the same feeling of elation that can only be gotten in the spirit world anyhow! Archangel Uriel says we’re slow learners, while Archangel Michael takes a more diplomatic approach and says we’re simply brave, adventurous souls.

Whatever we are, we’re here under the watchful eyes of the archangels, our brothers and sisters in spirit, the ones entrusted to guide us and bring about our fate, however it must come. They’re a hodgepodge of personalities that I find entertaining most of the time and frustrating at others. As an angel medium, I wish my life could be like a Hollywood movie where I get to go on cool adventures and play the heroine that gets the guy in the end, but such is not the case.

No, I get to live my life just as normally as anyone else, with perhaps a more acute sense of awareness of the goings-on in the spiritual world. Most of the time I tend to tune it all out, but when it comes knocking and I’m given an assignment from the Throne, I have to rise to the occasion. As with any job, there are good days and bad days. There are days when I say I could never live without the archangels by my side, and there are days when I wish I had never met an archangel. Either way, I recognize that working with them is an invaluable life experience, one that will no doubt affect me long after I’m done with this world.

I would never discourage anyone from pursuing such connections to the Heavenly Hosts. Even if the angels don’t give you the answers you seek, you can at the very least be comforted by the fact that they are there. If there is a bonus to being a medium, it’s not having an easier life or having all the answers to the toughest life challenges, but knowing that there is someone on your team rooting for you. There is someone you can trust and know will love you unconditionally. There is someone who finds no fault in you even if you find it in yourself. There is someone who will carry you when you can’t walk another step.

The archangels, your spiritual siblings, will never leave your side. By divine law, they are bound to us, as all have taken vows to fulfill their divine purpose, which includes helping us humans fulfill ours.

[contents]

chapter two

ANGELS ALL AROUND US

Everyone has the ability to connect with their angels on some level. I believe that every human was bestowed with the gift of intuition, a gift that comes in myriad shapes, colors, and sizes. The extent of one’s intuition varies as greatly as the people in the world, and I’m certain that no two gifts are exactly alike, mostly due to the understanding that intuition is a purely subjective mechanism. Whispers from the divine are filtered through our own human thoughts, emotions, and desires, and because of this, I feel it will be a very long time before the skill can be measured by science. There are just too many variables to take into account.

Still, I know from nearly twenty years of experience that intuition is very real and very powerful; and if honed properly, it can help you to build an intimately close and lasting relationship with the archangels—the angels to whom Heaven delegated the task of working directly with humans.

No doubt you’ve seen many a book that covers the topic of angel communication. You may have even stumbled across my previous works,
Azrael Loves Chocolate, Michael’s A Jock
and
The Angel Code
. Both books present angels in a practical, tangible way that makes it easier for us to accept our gift of intuition and to better understand and get to know the angels. Doing so can help us to initiate and facilitate a deeper, more meaningful connection with the divine.

But my purpose doesn’t stop there.

As you read previously, a close relationship with the angels can be very much like a close relationship with family. Most days you love them and welcome their presence, but other days you just want to be alone. Regardless, I feel that establishing a conscious connection with the divine can yield invaluable insight and wisdom. For as obstinate as I’ve been and for as flustered as I’ve been with life circumstances in the past, there is one thing I can never deny: the angels have always brought to my attention the reasons that I had to endure such difficult challenges.
Always.
Without them and their commitment to remain by my side, I would not have made it this far. So I can say with complete conviction that we as humans should seek to establish and foster a relationship with our cosmic siblings. While I don’t believe it will make your life easier by any means, it will make life easier to grasp. Also, you will cease to merely exist and go through day-to-day routines, and will begin to live and see purpose and meaning in everything you do and everything around you.

Better still, it can lead to an increased awareness and understanding of yourself. Engaging the archangels helps one’s eyes to open to the realities, as well as the illusions, we humans tussle with every day. And when you seek out the divine wisdom of these celestial hosts, it helps you to better understand the whys and hows that vex us in daily life.