The Essential Doreen Virtue Collection Part 16

Most of the time, Romeo is well behaved. Sure, he bosses my husband and me around by insisting that his plate be constantly overflowing with fresh food. Of course, it has to be the most expensive brand of cat food or he won't touch it. But beyond this idiosyncracy, Romeo has never given us any trouble . . . except for that one day when he climbed onto the roof of our two-story home. Since the roof is made of tiles and sits at a steep angle, I feared that Romeo would slip and hurt himself. I know that cats are resilient in falls, yet I also worried that Romeo-a lifelong declawed housecat-might also run away from home in the panic of falling from the roof.

I ran to a window that adjoins the roof and pried off the screen, hoping to reach my beloved boy, but he stood about two feet from my outstretched arms. Too frightened to step out onto the slippery roof, I loudly pleaded with Romeo to come to me. He looked at me and blinked sleepily, but he made no motion to walk in my direction.

I looked at my watch. My husband and I were scheduled to leave the house for an important meeting. Yet, how could we leave the house with Romeo stranded on the roof? Finally, I realized I'd neglected to pray about the situation. Always, my past prayers had resulted in speedy action from the universe. But sometimes, in the midst of crises, I would "forget" to ask for spiritual help until I'd realize that my solo human efforts were ineffective.

It occurred to me to ask Romeo's guardian angels for help. Although I had never consciously thought about my cat having angels, at that moment, it seemed like a perfect solution. After all, doesn't everyone have guardian angels? Why would animals be excluded from this gift from G.o.d?

I closed my eyes and directed my prayers to my cat's guardian angels: "Please tell Romeo to come to me at the window and allow me to pick him up off of the roof." I felt a wave of peacefulness wash over me as I opened my eyes. I felt compelled to say, "Romeo, come here," and this time, it worked!

Romeo immediately walked over to me and allowed me to lift him into the house. My cat was safely in my arms as I shed tears of grat.i.tude for the immediate help given by his guardian angels. All of us, including animals, are surrounded by guardian angels who provide love and protection.

Angelic Protection for Our Pets Renee, a woman who has taken several of my angel communication courses, also found that her own guardian angels provided protection for her pet cat. She related: I had a wonderful experience and want to share it. As always, before I go to sleep, I do as Doreen suggests, and ask G.o.d to place an angel on every corner of the house to protect us through the night. My son came home at two A.M. from work. He was tired and did not check to see if the house was locked up. He accidentally left the back door open-I mean wide open, with a two-and-a-half-foot gap.

In the morning when I got up, the living room was cold, the door was open, and my cat, who would normally run outside, was pacing back and forth at the door. It was as if there was an invisible block that was preventing her from going outside. She is an indoor cat and would not know what to do on her own outside. Thank you, angels!

Humans' Best Friends-Eternally Just like us, our pets' souls never die. Their spirits often stay right by our side following death. I frequently see dogs and cats next to my clients, and I know that they are providing the same sort of love and companions.h.i.+p that they did while alive. The owner may not be consciously aware of their deceased pet's presence, but on a soul level, we know when our dog or cat is there. We benefit by having the pet with us because it adds an extra layer of "love energy" around us-like a moat around a castle or a b.u.mper on a car.

Once after I'd appeared on an East Coast morning show, I walked into the "green room" and saw a 40ish man sitting on a couch. There was a full-color, three-dimensional springer spaniel dog over his right shoulder, reclining in a crescentlike position similar to that old image of the cow jumping over the moon. Normally, I keep my spiritual visions to myself unless someone asks. For some reason, I was impertinent and asked the man, "Did you just recently lose a dog?" His wife, who was also in the green room, rushed to my side in response to my question.

It turned out that their beloved dog had recently died, and we had a beautiful family reunion right there in the green room. The dog showed me scenes of playing with his owners and jumping in piles of colorful autumn leaves with the man. The man and his wife enjoyed reminiscing over these sentimental memories. "I told my dog that we'd always be together," the man shared with me. They are together, I thought. They truly are.

The Crystal Elements and Angels In addition to elementals and animals, the nature kingdom provides us with the "mineral realm" to help us heal. This includes crystals, which have the ability to amplify angelic energy, just as the crystals in watches and radios amplify other forms of energy.

I've found that crystals are a wonderful tool for connecting with the angelic realm. They act like megaphones by increasing the signal strength of communications and healing energies that our angels are sending us. Many of the crystals have properties that are particularly aligned with the angelic realm, including: Clear quartz-Try wearing a clear quartz crystal on a necklace, or holding one up to the area between your two physical eyes ("the third eye"). You'll feel a sensation similar to chills or an air pressure change, which means that the crystal is directing the angelic energy to you like a prism.

Rose quartz-A wonderful crystal for opening the heart chakra, which is the center from which we feel love. The more your heart chakra opens, the more you will be open to receiving the outpouring of Divine love that G.o.d and the angels bestow upon you.

Sugalite-This beautiful purple stone is often called "The Love Crystal" because it elicits a wonderful feeling of high-level love. I find that it is completely aligned with Archangel Michael's energy. The first time I wore a sugalite necklace pendant, I was giving a speech in Colorado Springs. During the speech, I channeled a powerful message from Archangel Michael even though I hadn't planned to do so. Sugalite is wonderful for opening the throat chakra so that you can communicate more clearly and powerfully.

Amethyst-This beautiful purple crystal has an extremely high vibration, and some people find that amethysts give them a "buzz" similar to caffeine (so, not everyone can work with amethysts). However, it is a powerful crystal for opening the crown chakra, which is the energy base for "claircognizance," or "clear knowing." It will help you to more clearly receive information from the Universal mind of G.o.d, or the collective unconscious.

Moonstone-A beautiful opal-like stone that helps you increase your spiritual frequency and vibratory rate. It can also help you better connect with the high energy level of the angelic realm. Its color looks like the transparent beauty of angels.

Lapis-A royal-blue stone that is useful in awakening clairvoyance, or the ability to see the nonphysical world and higher dimensions.

Spectrolite (AKA Labradorite)-This beautiful greenish-blue stone reminds me of the richest colors in mother-of-pearl. It is wonderful in raising the frequency of your intuition and giving an angel's-eye view of all situations. In this way, you can rise above lower-self beliefs and see things from a higher perspective.

Angelic Prayers for Animals Here are some prayers that you can use with animals. Please rewrite the prayers to fit your particular circ.u.mstance and to include your pet's name.

PRAYER FOR HEALING A PET.

Dear G.o.d, I ask that You, Archangel Raphael, and the healing angels surround my pet with Your healing love energy. Please help my pet and me to feel peace so that healing may occur. Please send us a miracle, knowing that everything is already healed in Your eyes. I ask that You help me have faith and trust so that I may experience Your love within my pet and within myself right now. Thank You.

PRAYER FOR A LOST PET.

Dearest G.o.d, I know that no one and nothing can truly ever be lost, since You are omnipresent and can see everything and everyone. I affirm that nothing is lost in the eyes of G.o.d. I ask that You, Archangel Michael, Archangel Raphael, the nature angels, and my guardian angels help me reunite with my pet right now. I call upon the guardian angels of my pet to send a signal so that I may find my pet. I now relax, knowing that G.o.d, the angels, and my higher self are already communing with my pet. Thank You.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

Angels, Afterlife, and Healing from Grief

Even though the angels know that n.o.body truly dies, they still empathize with the grief that we endure when a loved one pa.s.ses away. The angels are here to help us heal from grief, sometimes by showing us signs such as b.u.t.terflies, birds, or angel-shaped clouds. Other times, our deceased loved ones will deliver a message to us, letting us know that they are okay. As with any life challenge, it's important that we invite our angels to help us heal from painful losses. After all, as mentioned previously, our angels can only intervene when we give them permission.

Our deceased loved ones often function as guardian angels. Those who are recently deceased are with us off and on while they go through experiences similar to school in the afterlife plane. They are always within earshot, so if you mentally call to specific deceased loved ones, they will come to your side right away. Deceased loved ones help us during crises, and they attend holiday and family gatherings. They love to be acknowledged, so even if you're not sure whether that really is the presence of your loved one that you're sensing, say, "h.e.l.lo, I love you" to them anyway.

Deceased loved ones often enter our dreams to give us angelic healing messages. These dreams are larger than life, with vivid colors and strong emotions. You know that they are real experiences, but your lower self may try to convince you that it was your imagination. It wasn't. The angels and our deceased loved ones enter our dreams with healing messages because they know we are wide open to guidance at that time.

Saying Good-bye Mich.e.l.le Mordoh Gross, who lives in Spain, related this touching story to me of how an angel helped her say "good-bye" to her dying mother: I sat there by my mother's bedside, desperately trying to comfort her, talking to her about life after death and telling her how much I loved her. Doctors could not understand why and how she was holding on to life so long. But I did. She wanted to hold on while I was there, until the end of her strength, wanting to spend as much time with me as possible.

So it occurred to me that I was no longer of any help. On the contrary, I was involuntarily forbidding her to leave. It was a brutal revelation; still, I made the hardest decision in my life. I had to leave her so she would feel free to pa.s.s on.

I visualized that I was leaving her under the care of an angel. I knew we were spending our last moments together as I held her weakened hand in mine. With a broken heart yet still talking sweetly, I told her about the angel who would be sitting where I was the moment I left. I described the most beautiful angel anyone had ever seen. I told her the angel would come to keep her company, a light in the dark. It would protect, guide, and hold her. I asked her to not be afraid, but to trust.

Tears streamed down my face as she, not able to speak anymore, squeezed my hand in acceptance. I kissed her hand, thanking her for being the bond G.o.d chose for me between heaven and earth. And so I left.

It was five P.M., a few hours later, and I was on an airplane headed home. I suddenly opened my eyes from a nap and looked out the window. The sky was bright and blue, cloudless except for a single yellow-and-orange cloud right before my eyes. It had the shape of the beautiful angel I had imagined for my mother, with wings and all! Its arms, extended before it, were holding another cloud in the shape of a person, like a mother holding a sleeping child. And more, under the person-shaped cloud, stood yet another cloud, shaped like a bed. I then knew that my mother was safely on her way home to heaven.

Two hours later, I reached my home, certain that the phone would ring-and it did! Hospital nurse told me the news I already knew. My mom had pa.s.sed away at five P.M. that day. My mother is now safe-without fear, sickness, or suffering.

During our last conversation, my mother had asked me, "When will they come and get me?"

"When you are ready, that is the best time," was my reply. She then promised to send me a rainbow if what I believed was also true for her. And, believe it or not, eight months later, there is not a single day I haven't seen a rainbow, s.h.i.+ning bright, and bringing color into my life.

Family Members on the Other Side Many of the angels who help us are actually deceased loved ones. They are either permanently a.s.signed to us as "spirit guides" or are with us temporarily during crossroads or crises in our lives. One of the joys of my sessions are the family reunions, where my clients realize that a beloved deceased relative is still with them.

Doreen: Your loving and giving nature has attracted many beings on the other side who are ready to help you. You have two deceased female loved ones with you. One of the women with you looks like she colored her hair, she's heavier-set, her face is rounder, and she wasn't elderly when she pa.s.sed on-perhaps in her '60s. This woman looks like she is of an ethnic descent with darker skin.

Abby: Oh, that would be my grandmother on my dad's side! She did color her hair, she did have a round face, and was semi-voluptuous. You're describing her exactly.

Doreen: Yes, she's with you.

Abby: Oh, that's wonderful! We were very close when she was living, and I've missed her so much after her death.

Doreen: You've also got a man with you who appears to be a grandfather. He looks like he was a blue-collar dresser. He's tall and big, and he's on your mother's side of the family.

Abby: Maybe that's my grandfather who I actually did know, my mother's dad?

Doreen: He's handsome, with white hair, like a Bob Barker type.

Abby: Yes! Oh, I've got s.h.i.+vers. I've forgotten about him, but I'm so glad that he's there with me!

Doreen: He's with you right now. Did you lose a little brown dog, because there's one hanging around you?

Abby: Yes, that's my dog, Figi, whom I lost two months ago! Oh, she's with me!

Doreen: Yes, she's with you right now, acting as an angel.

Abby was thrilled to know that her favorite people and dog surrounded her. Once she understood that they were her angels, she began having mental conversations with them regularly. Abby frequently asks her grandma and grandpa to help her, and she reports that she is very grateful for their a.s.sistance.

Healing Conversations from Beyond It's also very meaningful to me when my clients' deceased loved ones send messages to try and heal or improve their post-death relations.h.i.+ps. This is one of the ways our deceased loved ones function in angelic ways to help ease our souls of grief or guilt. In the following case, you'll read how my client's deceased sister came through to complete some unfinished business. When we have conversations with our deceased loved ones, we help them ease their souls and bring peace to ourselves in the process.

Doreen: There's a woman with you who wasn't that old when she pa.s.sed.

Ruth: Could be my sister.

Doreen: Did she have darker hair?

Ruth: Yes.

Doreen: Okay, then, that's her. There's a sisterly look and feel to her. She looks as if she was in her 50s when she pa.s.sed.

Ruth: She was 52.

Doreen: Okay, so that's definitely her. She's very healthy now, I can a.s.sure you. Her face is very full, and she's not in any pain. She apologizes because she feels that she was almost sponging off you at the very end of her life.

Ruth: Oh, that's so sweet of her, but really, I didn't mind caring for her at all.

Doreen: Well, she says that she needs to get this off her chest because it's bothered her since her death. Your sister says that she felt very useless and powerless and that you know she wouldn't have imposed on you unless she absolutely had to.

Ruth: Please tell her that it was my pleasure to be with her during her final months.

Doreen: She can hear you, Ruth, and she's nodding appreciatively at your words.

Ruth: I love you, Sis! I'll always love you.

My client Karla also received a message from the other side that lifted the guilt she'd carried for five years: Karla: My mother pa.s.sed away five years ago. At the time, I was heavily into drugs. As she was dying, she asked me if I still used drugs and I said no. I lied. I have felt guilty ever since the day she died because of this lie. I only did it because I didn't want to put any more on her than her illness already had. My question is: Does she know I lied? If she does, does she forgive me for it? I am in recovery now, and I have four years, eight months, and eighteen days clean and sober. However, this really bothers me a lot.

Doreen: Please rest your conscious, dear one. Your mother knows that you told her this because of your love for her and that you were trying to save her from additional stress and pain. She does not judge you in any way-quite the opposite! She blesses you for your caring nature.

Soon after she pa.s.sed over, she helped you to become clean and sober. She still watches over you with unconditional love, as does your grandmother and two guardian angels.

Healthy Relations.h.i.+ps with Deceased Loved Ones Our relations.h.i.+ps with our loved ones don't end with their death. The relations.h.i.+p merely changes form. As a psychotherapist and clairvoyant medium, I help my clients maintain healthy relations.h.i.+ps with their loved ones on the other side. Healthy post-death relations.h.i.+ps are important for the sakes of souls on both sides of the veil of death.

Grieving survivors have mixed emotions that they must sort through following the death of a loved one. The survivor probably feels a great deal of sadness, loneliness, and confusion. These are feelings that we expect of someone who has just lost a friend or family member. However, survivors sometimes feel anger or a sense of betrayal toward their deceased loved one. These feelings are difficult to work through since most survivors don't like to admit they are angry with someone who has pa.s.sed away. It doesn't feel "correct" to hold resentment toward someone who is gone.

Yet, admitting these perfectly normal feelings is an important part of healing from a loss. After all, our deceased loved ones are completely aware of how we feel and think about them. We can't hide anything from a person on the other side! We can only hide feelings from ourselves-but at the expense of our peace of mind. When we deny our true feelings, we block our own happiness and also the spiritual progress of our deceased loved one.

My client Laura, for example, was very angry with her father for not taking better care of himself. Laura's dad had pa.s.sed away after a lengthy illness, and she was furious at him for his unhealthy lifestyle of smoking and drinking, which had contributed to his death. Simultaneously, Laura felt guilty for being angry with her father. She felt she should "have more respect for the dead."

During our first session, Laura's father came through from the other side and asked for Laura to please forgive him. He explained that his deep concern for Laura's emotional welfare was keeping him earthbound. This is a very common occurrence: When we are extremely upset about a loved one's death, he or she stays near us to ensure that we are okay. However, unless our deceased loved one has an a.s.signment to be our spirit guide, spending so much time with us thwarts their own progress. Laura's father wanted to move on to the spirit world so he could partic.i.p.ate in growth-producing activities, but he first wanted her permission to leave her side.

Another client, Maryann, held very deep resentment toward her deceased father for the childhood abuse he had inflicted upon her. During our session, Maryann's father came through and expressed his deep regret for hurting her. He also asked for her forgiveness.

As Maryann sobbed tears of grief connected to both her childhood abuse and to her father's death, Maryann's deceased paternal grandfather suddenly appeared. Her grandfather explained that he had been responsible for much of Maryann's childhood abuse. He explained how he had severely beaten Maryann's father when he was a boy. This childhood abuse had spurred Maryann's father into becoming a child abuser when he grew up. The grandfather begged Maryann to forgive him and her father. He explained that by forgiving both of them, Maryann would release herself from the snares of unhealed anger and resentment.

Both Laura and Maryann wanted to forgive their deceased fathers. But wanting to forgive, and honestly forgiving are two separate processes. Both of my clients had several counseling sessions with me before they were ready to release their anger and resentment completely.

Laura was finally able to see her father's unhealthy habits as his way of dealing with his unsatisfying career. She could feel compa.s.sion for him for being stuck in a job he didn't like, and this mind-set helped her release her unforgiveness toward him. My other client, Maryann, forgave her father and grandfather after she told me, "I'll forgive my dad and my grandpa, but I won't forgive their acts." This is one way to let go of old anger. After all, it's most important to forgive the person, if not their actions.

We do ourselves and our deceased loved ones a world of good when we openly admit and work through all of our grief-related emotions. One productive method is to write a very honest letter to your deceased loved one. As you write your letter, don't edit or censor your feelings in any way. Remember, your loved one already knows everything you feel about him or her. Your loved one doesn't judge you for holding any negative feelings; he or she simply wants you to feel the peace of mind and happiness that stem from self-honesty and forgiveness.

Your relations.h.i.+ps with your loved ones on the other side can be wonderfully fulfilling. Many of my clients tell me that their post-death relations.h.i.+ps with their loved ones are even closer and more honest than before their death. Death doesn't mean an end to the love you have shared. Remember: Love never dies!

Here is a prayer to help you heal from grief and to feel the comfort that your deceased loved one and G.o.d want for you. Please edit this prayer so that it comes from your heart and fits your particular situation.

ANGELIC PRAYER FOR HEALING GRIEF.

Dear G.o.d, I know that my deceased loved one is home in heaven with You. I ask that You watch over him/her so that he/she is uplifted by Your love. Please send extra angels to my loved one and help him/her feel wonderful and happy in adjusting to being in heaven. Please send extra angels to my side, and help me release my sadness and grief. Help me heal from my feelings of heaviness so that I may return to the life that I know my loved one wants for me. Please send me a sign from heaven so that I know my loved one is in Your hands. Amen.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

How the Angels Help Us in the Material World

I'm often asked if it's okay to ask the angels for help with material issues. "Is it all right if I ask them for a great parking s.p.a.ce?" "Am I wasting the angels' time by asking them to help me with something that I could easily do myself?" and "Maybe G.o.d will be offended if I ask Him for material items or trivial things." These are among the concerns I commonly hear, expressing fears that prevent us from asking for help.

The angels repeatedly say to me, "Matter doesn't matter." G.o.d and the angels don't perform in a "triage fas.h.i.+on" like doctors who have to judge which person has the most pressing needs. For one thing, G.o.d and the angels have no time and s.p.a.ce limitations, so they are able to help everyone simultaneously.

It is also G.o.d's will that the angels help us fulfill our higher self's purpose. G.o.d and the angels know that if our minds and schedules are occupied with worries, concerns, and fears about material goods or supply, we won't have the time or energy to fulfill our purpose. It's not that the angels are here to help us achieve a lifestyle of the rich and famous; they just want to ease our mind so that we are free.

They also know that we sometimes use material items as a time-wasting device that I call a delay tactic. This means any activity that diverts your attention away from fulfilling your purpose.

So, the angels swoop in to alleviate our overinflated concerns with material situations and items. Please don't misunderstand. They don't rescue us from being irresponsible. We wouldn't grow and learn if that was the case. What G.o.d and the angels want us to know is this: "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call on us to help you. Surrender any situation to us that is causing you distress or making you lose your peace of mind. We promise that we will comfort you and affect the material world in a way that will support you in your present environment. Leave it to us to take you home." By home, they mean heaven on earth-our natural state, where all of our material supplies are met in Divine order while we focus solely on giving to the world with our natural talents and interests.

Easing Your Way When working with the angels, one of the first "tasks" they may a.s.sign you is to clear your home, office, or car of clutter. The angels say that our possessions weigh us down and that so much of our focus is on acquiring and then protecting them.