Sunday, September 30, 2012

Spreading Your Wings

A Neighbor's Angel
Often we think of spreading your wings as a means of taking flight, soaring above the mundane and communing with the Angels on High.  But when I saw this statue, I was reminded how important it is to also stay grounded.  Spreading your wings could be a sign to remember to enfold those around us with tenderness and compassion.  A comforting, kind, caring love that transcends judgment of any kind. 

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen

 

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Happy Michaelmas Day!

First moonflower bloomed this morning!
In celebration of the Feast of Saint Michaelmas Day, the nature angels honored our garden with a beautiful white moonflower.  I don't usually go outside first thing, but I was guided to this morning.  I was so surprised.  I saw an unusual large white flower had bloomed on a vine during the night.  The full moon is this evening so it is a double gift.

I'd bought a packet of moonflower seeds in the spring, but nothing happened for the longest time, just a short spindly vine growing on the trellis by the birdbath.  Disappointed, I turned my back, forgetting all about them. Another lesson in surrendering.  But here she is, a little shriveled in the light, but beautiful with her heart shaped leaves.

The message is a good one.  Something may seem like a lost cause, but don't get discouraged.  It will bloom in a little light at the right time if we just do our part and then let go.

Curious, I read about the symbolism in a dream book.  Moonflower vine exemplifies the bountiful spreading of a singular spiritual deed.  Mine or someone else's, it really doesn't matter.  It happened!

Today we thank Archangel Michael and all the Angels, particularly those who are appointed as guardians of mankind for all their love, guidance, and protection.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings, Karen

 

Friday, September 28, 2012

Keep On Paddling...

Keep on Paddling
A Tourist by a Gator at Blue Springs
 
I took this photo at Blue Springs on Wednesday and wrote an earlier blog on love. Seeing this picture, I am reminded of an old song:

Row, Row, Row your boat...
Gently down the stream...
Merrily...merrily...merrily..
Life is but a dream."

The angels were sending me a message about not getting hung up on fear.  Just keep on paddling through the dream, sending love.  I realize how often I might get sucked up in drama, when the only solution is to keep moving downstream, enjoying the moment.  In spite of the appearance of the gator, this man and his companion were experiencing a beautiful day at the springs.  Love and wisdom go hand and hand, and so naturally, they didn't stop to stare.

When we meet up with fearful  thoughts, like gators, that can disturb our peace, we can choose to just keep on paddling by, knowing that we are always in the presence of angels. That conviction  can make all the difference.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen



 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Love is Letting Go of Fear...


 Elliot came up with an idea to spend time in nature yesterday, so we headed for Blue Springs.  A beautiful fall day, we took a walk on the wooden trail bordering the Springs.  At one of the look-out points, Elliot saw a lone fish in the clear water and waved.  It struck me as funny.  I jokingly asked him why he was waving to the fish. "Do you think he sees you up here on the deck?" 

He assured me that the carp could feel the love vibration.  I had to smile because in a matter of minutes a large school of the same fish swam over to join in the energy.

I must say I did think he was carrying it a little too far when sending love to a smiling gator.  But it was Yom Kippur a high holy day and love was in the air.

                                                (Smiling gator at Blue Springs yesterday)

On the way home, I lovingly tried to rescue a large turtle.  I feared for his life. He was leaving the woods, heading toward a residential neighborhood on the other side of the road. Elliot pulled over and I hurried to help.

As luck would have it,  I picked up a long stick to shepherd him back to the woods. Defiantly, he ducked into his thick shell as if to say, "I wish this woman would get a life!"  I must confess I talked to him about the wisdom of not crossing the road, but he paid me no mind. 

 I knew then, I was learning a lesson on letting go.  I snapped a photo and wished him well, by the side of the road.  He had to follow his own rhythm.  A young woman driving by, saw me taking a picture.  Getting out of her car with her camera, I asked, 'See what you can do to keep him safe?  As we pulled away, I sheepishly thought,  Okay...so letting go happens in degrees, but I'm learning.


My turtle friend trying to cross the road.


I'm also learning about healing.  During all the excitement,  fire ants were biting my toes.  Rather than tend to the ants, I kept my focus on the turtle, gently prodding him along.  The bites were really nothing, I told myself choosing to recognize only the perfection of being in God's image and likeness.  This little bit of conviction brought amazing results--instead of the red swollen fiery welts I usually experience, I had only a few dots that soon diminished as well as the flame. 

I looked up the symbolism of turtle in Animal-Speak:  Keynote:  Motherhood, Longevity, Awakening to New Opportunities.  "...A symbol of the turtle was an invitation for the blessings of both heaven and earth."  I read on..."If turtle has shown up, it is time to get connected to your most primal essence.  Go within your shell and come out when your ideas are ready to be expressed.  It is time to recognize that there is an abundance out there for you." 

A wonderful message for each of us.  The Autumn season is proving to be a time when Angels communicate their messages in nature.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen





 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

On Wings of Upward Thought

Wood carved Angel from Wikimedia.com
This angel wisely points upward, a reminder to keep our thoughts on High.  His face, radiant; his eyes, understanding. He knows the answer to every problem.  Love more.  Fear less.  It is not easy for us to be in a physical body so closely tethered to the earth's materiality and the  convincing misperceptions of our five senses. 

Conviction is needed.  The belief in things unseen.   We have been taught to look for the negative instead of the good in this world of judgment.  What we focus on, we draw into our experience.  Worry, doubt, anxiety, and guilt block the flow of divine inspiration.  By keeping our thoughts on upward wings, we are subject to God's law of Love rather than mortal mind's ideas of fear and separation.  An opportunity is available to bring a touch of heaven into each of our relationships  if we look for the Light in everyone and keep an open heart.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen

 

Monday, September 24, 2012

Life in the Fast Lane

I snapped this photo of the Daytona International Speedway while sitting at a stoplight.  The Angels seemed to be saying, Slow down and enjoy the ride.  You're part of the human race, but that doesn't mean you have to accelerate 24/7 on the fast track of life, going round and round in circles. 

Stillness speaks, so it is good to pause often and quiet the mind.  A definition for angels in the glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy is most helpful.  "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality."

The atmosphere around us is always filled with angels. It is important to take a pit stop and tune in to higher thoughts.  The roar of our own "engines" can drown out the best of ideas if we keep on speeding along in hot pursuit of the next ego demand. The ego is behind the wheel driving us hard and fast.  It is that part of our mind that always is seeking, but never finding.  This keeps us off balance and discourages taking time to go within.  No sooner does the ego find one thing, then it's off looking again since the latest didn't fill it up for long.  

The angels are as near as our next breath, when we pause and take a deep breath, remembering that we are not alone, we can find peace and answers come in amazing ways. 

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen



 

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Take a Breath and Have Fun

On my way out the door this morning, an angel thought reminded me to grab my camera. I was thankful to be prepared when this little lizard peeked out of the dolphin's blow hole.  The patient little fellow posed for a closeup shot.

This is the season where angels speak loudest through nature. I looked up the symbolism of the dolphin and the lizard.  In Animal-Speak, Ted Andrew writes: "when dolphin shows up it is time to breathe some new life into yourself.  Get out, play, explore and most of all breathe."

And lizard is symbolic of detachment. Lizard often saves its life by breaking off its tail so it has time to flee from its predator.  A message that sometimes we must detach part of ourselves from others in order to accomplish what we need to do.  Lizard energy can help us break from the past and explore new realms, but we must follow our own intuition now.

The lizard is also associated with dream time and with the psychic and the intuitive, a heightened sensitivity.  Dreams often contain subtle perceptions which we may not be conscious of, that can give us insight and solutions.

Take a deep breath, let go of the past and enjoy this beautiful autumn in nature.

Joyful Blessings,

Rae Karen

Thursday, September 20, 2012

All Things Work Together for Good

Photo from the web
I was in for a surprise when I entered the church last night.  A friend greeted me with a warm smile, saying, I hear you're looking for some more plants.   In that moment, I knew the angels were working behind the scenes as I'd not mentioned my loss of vines to anyone.  (See 9/19 blog post Choosing Again).  It gets even better. The vines she has for me are a favorite spot for butterflies to lay their eggs. I'd just recently visited a butterfly garden and learned all about the process of a caterpillar becoming a beautiful monarch.  So I'm learning to trust the process and if things don't go my way, to just try to give thanks for the lesson, and say, oh well...  Then move on...Divine Love is amazing and things have a way of working out in the most wonderfully creative way.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Choosing Again...

Photo from the web
I had an experience over the weekend that put me to the test.  The past week, the weather has been pleasant and it's a treat to sit on the patio and look out on the meditation garden.  Thick  heart-shaped vines have grown abundantly over the summer, canvassing the fence at the back of the lot, adding both privacy and a strong presence of nature spirits. I really loved the view.

On Saturday, my neighbor who lives behind us, was working in her yard. The angels prompted me to share a book with her.  There was a little opening in the vines where we could speak. She was busy pruning a bush on her side of the fence, but stopped and gratefully accepted the gift.

I came back inside, feeling good for following through on guidance.  A few hours later when I looked out again, I was in shock. She'd trimmed down most all of the vines at the back of the fence. 

It hurt my heart, but I knew that I had a choice.  In the past, I might have boiled over but I realized that I could either come from love or fear.  The vines would eventually grow back in the spring.  She'd done it so we could more easily converse over the fence.

 If all things work together for good, except in the ego's judgment (A Course in Miracles) then it must apply to affronts that could lead to seeming separation.  That's what fences are all about.  It's kind of funny because I'd been praying to have all the walls I've built to stop the flow of Divine love to me and me to others be removed.  According to A Course in Miracles, everything is either Love or a call for Love.

The Angels help us stay in the light and love of God's true Thought.  That's what I like about the statue in this picture.  Clouds swirl around her but her head is in the light.  Angels can shield us from every negative thought we may try to entertain.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen


 

Monday, September 17, 2012

You Hold The Key




Several days ago, I watched light particles fall like rain outside my window.  The earth is being showered by the coronal mass injections from the sun.  It doesn't sound poetic, but the energy is very transformational, so much so that lately I often feel like I'm in a molecule jumbo, in the process of becoming something new and different, but not yet discernible as to what that might look like. 

Recently I saw a little snippet in meditation where my physical body was shaped like a key stuck in a keyhole to a door to another realm.  Half in and half out, it wasn't a comfortable feeling.  I laughed at the idea because  it made sense.  I was leaving the old, having gotten the key into the hole, but waiting for the next step. Elliot, my husband, told me to just turn the key and pop open the door. 

"If  I'm the key, I'm not sure how that's supposed to work" I laughed.  "I need help--and that's where I believe my angel friends come in." I told him.

I'd forgotten all of this, enjoying a weekend visit from my girl friend from Virginia.  This morning I was drawn to a new angel book I'd bought on sale at the library last Thursday.  I had to smile when I opened it to a section:   You Hold The Key. 

The book makes an important point.  We get to decide how much we want to open our hearts to the angels.  The key is to ask them for assistance with goals we hope to achieve. The more service-oriented the goal, the better for everyone during this time of fast paced change.

So if you're feeling a little out of sorts, just know that you are a work in progress and get ready for a wonderful new change.  We thank the angels for helping us to accelerate our spiritual development.

Blessings,

Karen

P.S. After taking many pictures of  keys and keyholes, the angels guided me to an old clipart book, The Ultimate Angel Book, where I finally found the right image for this blog.  (I was sorry I hadn't asked for their help earlier.)


 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Sounding the Trumpet

(image from Wikimedia Commons)
The sound of a trumpet broke down the walls in the Bible.  Listening to the messages of the angels can break down the barriers we have set up, consciously or unconsciously, that hold us back from being our true selves. When we are authentic,  we more freely express and share our gift with the world. 

The Angels are asking us to come up higher and rejoice that our true Identity is and always will dwell in the Oneness of Divine Mind.  Wherever you find yourself today is perfect to celebrate the wonder of you and  to begin to enjoy life.  A favorite line in A Course in Miracles that comes to mind:  The past is over and all that is left is a blessing.

Many blessings,

Karen

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Legions of Angels on September 11, 2001

Lillie Leonardi, a former police officer who retired from the FBI due to post-traumatic stress disorder linked to her role in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks has written a book about seeing legions of angels guarding the Pennsylvania site where a hijacked airliner crashed.  She served as a liaison between law enforcement and the families of the passengers and crew members killed in the United Airlines Flight 93 crash. She arrived on the scene about three hours after the crash.
 Leonardi's book, "In the Shadow of a Badge: A Spiritual Memoir," centers on her vision of angels.

“A white mist then began to take shape,” Leonardi recounts in her book. “It moved and swirled in patterns of spectacular white light. All at once, the mist took full shape and I saw what appeared to be angels.”

“There were angels standing in the open area to the left of the crash site. There were hundreds of them standing in columns. There was a field of angels emerging from the realms of the mist. They were Archangels with their wings arched up toward the sky,” she explained.

“And I didn’t say anything to the guys because you can imagine if I would have said, ‘I just saw angels on the crash site,’ they’d have called the office and they’d have said, ‘She lost her mind and tell her to go home’,” she wrote.

But she added that she saw more than just the shapes inside the mist. She, and two men with her, spotted a Bible from the plane that had been barely singed. All of a sudden this huge wind came out of nowhere and flipped that Bible open and I remember it flipped open to Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd…” she told CBS Pittsburgh

I learned about In the Shadow of a Badge last night and look forward to reading her book.

On the anniversary of that tragic day, we remember those who lost their lives and the loved ones they left behind.  May God's angels enfold our hearts to extend love and peace and strength to all.

Blessings,

Karen

Monday, September 10, 2012

Angels on the Lookout

 
(artwork from Wikimedia Commons)

The more we stay vigilant for the presence of the angels, the more palpable they become in our lives. Our faith builds a bridge, experience by experience, and soon we begin to really understand that we are never alone.  Right now, in this very moment, we are on holy ground.  Holy in the sense that it is untouched by the material world.  We abide in the presence of Divine Love.  The Angels are on the look out, eager to help those who are willing, for they cannot assist us without an invitation.  Isn't it wonderful to know that in our darkest hour, an angel was there, watching over us.  God has truly given his angels charge over us to guide us in all of our ways.  When life is especially challenging, just a silent request for help, coming sincerely from the heart, brings not only peace but inspiration to guide us to the answers we seek.

Enjoy your day with the Angels and expect wondrous things to unfold.  Nothing great has ever been achieved without enthusiasm.

Blessings,

Karen

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Are We Listening to Angels?

(Artwork from Wikpedia Commons)

Angels are messengers of Divine Love.  Isn't it wonderful that God sends inspiration, guidance, and protection through the ideas that come into our consciousness from a higher state of being?  One  reason people often doubt the reality of angels is because they find it hard to believe that a heavenly visitor, wearing large wings, is hanging around, waiting to bring comfort and direction.  While there are many cases of humans actually having an experience of seeing an angel, more often than not, this wondrous angelic presence goes unnoticed because angels are not material, they are spiritual. 

Angel messages are accessible 24/7, but we must unhook from the distractions of this world long enough to still our mind and really listen.  What ideas come to mind?  Usually we will get a nudge or a push that we need to take some sort of action. It may not seem to have anything to do with our current concern. But when we follow through, the results become apparent that we are being led by wisdom far greater than we can understand.  This divine wisdom is within us.  Edgar Cayce explained in his readings, that we are each an angel, never having left the consciousness (the throne of grace and mercy).  Our goal is to reunite with the sacred part of ourselves, that Angel untouched by the perceptions of this world.

The world is a confusing place, but there is perfection in the seeming chaos.  Whatever we are dealing with is perfect for the growth of our soul, no matter how much we resist that idea.  So the best thing to do is accept the challenge with gratitude, and then listen for higher guidance as to why the lesson and how to heal it.  It takes work, but life becomes smoother when we do.  Divine Love solves every problem.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen

Friday, September 7, 2012

Flower Angels

           (artwork from wikimedia commons)

I found this lovely painting on the web yesterday.  Flowers bring love to the heart and often the angels will send messages through these cheerful ones.  If you find a particular flower crossing your path, pay attention.  Something in your own life is about to unfold and bloom.  In his book Nature-Speak, Ted Andrews explains the esoteric meaning of different flowers and trees.

I bought vinca over the weekend, not paying attention to the symbolism, I just wanted a colorful flower to brighten up the front yard. Curious, I looked up the meaning just now:  "Its essence awakens a renewed sense of coming into a new life.  ...it has ties to the energies of love and immortality." 

Another flower I was attracted to, was on the rescue shelf.  A pretty purple plant called, Shooting Star. I laughed when I read its symbolism:  "Keep your feet on the ground as you open to the new."

With all the changes in 2012, these messages apply to us all.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen

 

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Entertaining Divinity

                            (Angel Standing in the Sun, William Turner, wikimedia Commons)
--I throw my selfe down in my Chamber, and I call in and invite God and his Angels
thither, and when they are there, I neglect God and his Angels, for the noise of a
file, for the rattling of a Coach, for the whining of a doore.
                                                                                                --John Donne

This quote made quite an impression on me.  How easily distracted we become by the most mundane things when we are always in the presence of Holiness.  Where we put our attention is the place that our energy flows, creating our reality in each moment of now. 

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

 Blessings,

Karen

 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Let There Be Light


(cherumbim artwork from the web)

Light has been a big theme for me the past several days.  First off, my neighbor has a generator in his front yard called LIGHT TOWER.  We laughed about the name this morning at our A Course in Miracles meeting.  Last night, light crossed my path again in a deliberate way.  While we were driving home at dusk, passing through the neighborhood, I saw a real treasure discarded near a trash can.  An old fashioned lantern, made of heavy iron,  it was large enough to house a fat white candle the  size of a small birthday cake.  The design was handsome and it even had a little door.  I wanted it in the worse way, and so Elliot sighed and helped me haul it into the trunk.  We are light workers, after all.  I brought it home and cleaned it up.  All I need is a new wick for the candle. 

This morning, I smiled when my Course in Miracles saying card was on light. I read the words from Christ:   "I am come as a light into a world that does deny itself everything.  It does this simply by dissociating itself from everything.  It is therefore an illusion of isolation, maintained by fear of the same loneliness that is its illusion. I said that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.  That is why I am the light of the world.  If I am with you in the loneliness of the world, the loneliness is gone..."

The message is a welcomed one.  No matter how dark a situation may appear, the Light of Christ is within each of us.  Sometimes it takes darkness to make that discovery that we are Light.  Gratitude paves the way to enlightenment.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen
 

Monday, September 3, 2012

Have Fun: An Angel Message

(Photo by Chris Castle)


Today the angels say take time out to play and have fun. Lighten up.  My friend, Drew, sent this photo of her granddaughter and her fun-filled playmates.  When I took a closer look at the picture, I noticed the large, tight knots in the rope by the slide.  I got it.  The choice is mine:  Stay tied up in knots, or let things slide and be joyful in the now. When we can let go, answers come in unexpected ways.

Have fun today with your angels.  Be spontaneous, like a little child. 

Joyful blessings,

Rae Karen

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Love is Fulfillment


(Artwork from the web - Archangel Gabriel)
I was in the middle of processing an interaction with someone that I thought could have gone better.  I sat down at my desk and popped open an old journal. I was surprised by the entry.  It was so appropriate, I knew the angels had guided me. I'd made notes from The Book of Azrael, from the A.R.E. library several years ago.

 "So long as you resent a circumstance, resist an experience; find fault with, hurt, hate a person or a thing, you will never be released from it or them.

ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE CAN EVER BE CONCLUDED, FINISHED, AND DONE WITH UNTIL LOVE HAS ENTERED INTO IT.  LOVE IS FULFILLMENT.

Without love, there is nothing; the creation you started fades into nothingness.  Thoughts and concepts which are not supported by Love have not reached the point of their creation where they have an existence--a state of being--or identity--so, when Love is not forth coming, the thought must remain in abeyance until such time as intent is pure and all Law has been compiled with."

I was so thankful for the reminder.  It's important not to try to control the flow, but allow and accept things as they are, rather than wasting time wishing they were different.  By accepting each circumstance as perfect for my soul's growth in that moment, I am not resisting but opening up to receive Divine will, by letting go of personal attachments.

Archangel Gabriel oversees love in all relationships.  Call on him.  His gentle guiding presence will permeate your circumstances adding divine love to all those gaps where you may be withholding love.

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Blessings,

Karen