The Essential Doreen Virtue Collection Part 18

Something compelled me to go back to the grocery store. Sure enough, someone had brought it into the store, and it was waiting there for me, cash and all. Our world is full of loving and honest people, and I am blessed to be a part of it.

In another story of lost and found money, two healers named Rach.e.l.le and Mary Lynn asked the Archangel Michael to watch over their missing purse: Rach.e.l.le and Mary Lynn were driving from Pittsburgh to Cleveland and stopped at a restaurant for dinner. One hour later, they pulled into a gas station. Mary Lynn reached for her purse to pay for the gas, but to her horror, she realized that she'd left it at the restaurant.

Since both women have great faith in the power of angels, particularly Archangel Michael, they immediately asked him to watch over Mary Lynn's purse. Then they affirmed, "Everything is in Divine and perfect order" to help anchor their faith.

Driving back to the restaurant, they asked their angels for directions to the restaurant since they couldn't remember where it was located. They felt the presence of angels guiding and calming them, and they got off at the right exit, went to the restaurant, and the manager handed Mary Lynn her purse. Everything, including her credit cards and $200 in cash, was intact.

One month later, Mary Lynn had to call Archangel Michael in on another case of missing items! Since she is a cardiac nurse, Mary Lynn "floats" through the hospital and doesn't have a permanent desk or locker. She keeps all of her belongings, including keys, money, and day planner, in a briefcase.

One night, Mary Lynn was very busy with an emergency, and her briefcase was left unattended. After the surgery, she discovered that it was missing! So, she immediately asked Michael to locate her belongings, plus she sent blessings and Divine love to the person who had taken it. Within one hour, Mary Lynn received a phone call from security, saying that they had her briefcase. As before, all of her belongings were recovered without anything missing.

Whenever we lose any item, it's important to ask for spiritual help. So often I talk to folks who tell me stories of how they searched for hours for an item. Then, they finally ask G.o.d and the angels to help them and-boom!-the item is found minutes later. This is what a woman named Maggie discovered as well.

A part-time waitress and student, Maggie had carefully placed her $65 cash payment from the previous evening's work inside an envelope in her purse. Then she ran some errands during which she took out $5 from the envelope to buy food at a Taco Bell.

The next morning, she searched everywhere for the envelope full of money, but it was gone. Maggie searched all through her trash cans and under every paper in the house, spending several hours searching to no avail. Finally, in desperation, she turned to G.o.d and the angels for help.

The instant she made this request, Maggie received a mental image of the Taco Bell bag from her dinner the night before. She went to the trash can, opened the bag, and there was her envelope full of money!

Angelic Reminders The angels take care of us and our homes as well. A partic.i.p.ant in one of my Divine Guidance workshops related this story to me: As I drove to work the other day, I heard a voice inside my head telling me that the coffeepot was left on. I would normally not think about this at all, as my husband frequently works out of our house, and he's the one who primarily makes and drinks coffee. Yet, the voice sounded imperative.

So I called my husband and got him on his cell phone as he was driving. I asked him if he'd remembered to turn off the coffeepot before leaving the house. "Oops, I forgot!" he exclaimed. He returned home and turned it off, grateful that the angels were watching over our precious home.

Angels on the Road The majority of angel stories that I receive concern automobiles. Our angels closely monitor us when we're in cars because they don't want anything to happen to us before our time. Of course, they can only do so much, such as scream warnings at us. Our free will gives us the option to ignore the angels' pleas to slow down, change lanes, and so forth.

A caller on a radio show asked me about the angels surrounding her. "There's a large female angel standing next to your right shoulder," I said. "She's wiping her brow and showing me that she helps you while driving and has kept you from a number of near misses. She acts like you keep her busy nonstop, saving you while driving. Let me ask you, do you drive like a maniac or something?"

"Well, not exactly," was her demure reply, "but I do put my makeup on while I'm driving to work." I saw an image of this woman driving with her visor mirror in front of her, applying her lipstick while her angel frantically grabbed the steering wheel.

The angels love us, but they want us to pay attention while we're driving!

The following story, told to me by a woman named Lynette, is the most typical type of Divine intervention I hear: I was driving in the fast lane when I heard a voice inside my head saying, "Slow down, now!" I slowed down a bit, and as soon as I did, a car came out of nowhere. I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car broadside. I literally stopped six inches from her car! The incredible thing was that I wasn't even scared or shaking-startled a little, but my knees weren't knocking like I would have expected in a sudden situation such as this.

Many of the stories I hear about Divine intervention are hair-raising tales, such as David's experience.

David was driving on a busy Southern California freeway when he suddenly noticed his gas gauge needle dropping rapidly from F to E. Hmm, I just filled the car up with gas, David thought. I wonder if I left the gas cap off of the car at the gas station. As the gas gauge fell below E with the reserve light on, David pulled to the side of the freeway to investigate.

A moment after he pulled off the side of the road, David heard a huge crash. He looked up, and in the lane he had just exited from was a three-car pile-up. If he hadn't pulled off the road, David surely would have been in the collision!

He said a prayer of thanks and also prayed for the people involved in the accident. Then he cautiously stepped out of his car to confirm that his gas cap was on-which it was. David then turned his key in the ignition and was amazed to watch the gas gauge climb immediately to F. His reliable car had never had a problem with the gas gauge before, and hasn't since. David knows that G.o.d and the angels rescued him from a serious accident by manipulating his gas gauge. They obviously knew David well enough to know that he'd immediately investigate such an occurrence!

As David's story ill.u.s.trates, the angels can affect the physical world and create miracles when needed. Madison, a healer from Utah, experienced how angels can defy physics: I was driving in the right-hand lane of a four-lane road. There was a car in front of me and one to the left. All of a sudden, the driver in front of me hit his brakes! I had to swerve into the left lane to avoid hitting the car. By all rights, I should have hit the car to my left side. But I looked up in the rear-view mirror and the car that had been on my left was about six car lengths in back of me. There is no doubt in my mind that I was saved by my angels.

Angelic Time Warps Many people, myself included, have also discovered that angels can help us reach our destinations on time. One woman said that she was running late in picking a friend up at the airport: There was no physical way for me to reach the plane on time, so I asked my angels to help me get there. Somehow, I got to the airport, parked, and was at the gate to meet her with five minutes to spare, and her plane was on time! It was as if the angels helped me to go into a time warp, because the drive to the airport always took one hour, and I made it in 30 minutes. I wasn't speeding or driving any differently than I normally do.

Another woman told me a similar story: I was running late and left the house 20 minutes later than I normally do. I asked my angels to get me to work quickly, safely, and without stress. Usually, it takes me between 30 and 40 minutes to get there. Today, I arrived in 15 minutes! There was virtually no traffic, I made all but two stop lights, and at those, I waited only seconds. I did not exceed the speed limit at all, and I actually arrived at work early! Thank you, angels.

If I hadn't experienced similar miracles of angelic "time warps," I wouldn't believe these stories. But I've had similar things happen to me and have heard so many of these stories that I now accept these events as normal options available to anyone who asks the angels for help in time traveling.

On a less mystical but related note, a woman named Patti told me this story: Driving home from a friend's house this evening, I took a route unknown to me. I simply affirmed, "I am Divinely guided," and I felt myself led by an unseen force to take many streets that I'd never before driven on. I actually ended up shaving 15 minutes off my normal commute time from her house to mine!

Safety at Work One day I was on a Midwest radio show doing angel readings by phone from my home. I find that I can easily see someone's angels, whether I'm talking with them face-to-face, over the phone, on the radio, or even just by thinking about the person. Our spiritual sight, or clairvoyance, is not limited in the way that our physical sight is.

The caller on the radio show said that he was a firefighter who had narrowly escaped death the previous evening. "Someone helped me to get out of that burning house," he said breathlessly. "I know it! I could feel the presence and hands of someone helping me escape, yet there were no other firefighters in the house with me. I was totally alone, and I know this was an angel who saved my life. I have an idea who it was who saved me, but I just want to make sure. Could you tell me who my guardian angel is?

Who saved my life last night?"

"Yes, it's your grandfather," I said. I had watched the elderly gentleman next to the caller's right side the entire time he was talking. The grandfather showed me how much he adored his grandson and wouldn't let him come into harm's way.

The caller was amazed by the instant validation. "I knew it!" he exclaimed. "My granddad pa.s.sed away just three months ago. I'm holding his death certificate and photo in my hands right now. I knew he was the one who saved my life! Please tell him I said thank you, okay?"

"He can hear you right now," I replied. "He knows that you are grateful, and he also knows that you love him very much. He loves you, too."

Our angels help us stay safe at work. They'll intervene if we're faced with a life-endangering situation before it's our time to go. The fireman experienced this type of heroics from his granddad, the guardian angel.

However, for day-to-day safety issues, we must give G.o.d and the angels permission to intervene. Because of the law of free will, they can only help us if we-or someone who loves us, such as a parent, friend, or spouse-ask for their help.

Police officers consider Archangel Michael their patron saint because he watches over and protects them. Many law enforcement officers wear pins or carry images of Archangel Michael as reminders to ask for his help. Michael's protection is not limited to police officers, however. Like a living Superman, Michael is able to be with everyone simultaneously who asks for his help and protection.

Mentally ask Archangel Michael to stay next to you and guide you. He'll tell you, very loudly and clearly, if you need to get out of harm's way. Michael helps everyone, regardless of their religious or nonreligious orientation. All he asks is that you request his a.s.sistance. He'll take care of everything else.

I also find it helpful to visualize work equipment and facilities surrounded with white light. As discussed earlier, white light is a form of angelic energy that has intelligence, power, and life force. When you imagine a piece of work equipment surrounded by white light, it becomes insulated against damage or theft. Use your intuition to know if you need to regularly continue to re-seal it in light, or if the item will stay permanently sealed. If in doubt, re-seal it in white light for extra protection and insulation.

If you are worried about a loved one's safety at work, mentally call for additional angels to surround the person. Visualize your loved one encapsulated in white light. Know that the angels and light will never violate the other person's free will. However, they will create a "moat effect" which will prevent untoward energies from coming into contact with your loved one.

Peace and Quiet The angels know that noise is a major stressor that can rattle our nerves, interrupt our sleep, and erode our peace of mind. Fortunately, when we ask for their a.s.sistance, the angels are able to intervene and bring heavenly quiet to any situation.

A radio talk show host told me that his guardian angel helped him have a peaceful morning. It was Sat.u.r.day about seven A.M.., and he was trying to sleep late on his day off. However, the neighbor's dog was barking furiously. How am I ever going to sleep with this racket? he thought, annoyed. Then he remembered that I had given him an angel reading on his show the week before. I'd told him that his main guardian angel's name was Horatio, and that he could call upon this angel for help with anything. "I figured I'd put Horatio to work helping me," he recalled. "So I mentally said to Horatio, 'Please get that dog to stop barking, right now!' The second I finished making the request, the dog became completely silent and stayed that way all morning long. Count me in as a believer!"

I'm very sensitive to noise because my ears are attuned to hearing angels' voices. So, when I arrived at a seminar location recently and found that the fire alarm was going off (a false alarm), I was determined to heal the situation rapidly. Their fire alarm system consisted of flas.h.i.+ng strobe lights on the four corners of the seminar room's walls, accompanied by a very loud, shrill alarm that would sound every two minutes. You could talk at a normal pitch for a couple of minutes and then-oops!-the fire alarm would go off, and everyone would have to yell to be heard. The strobe lights were flas.h.i.+ng continuously, creating a weird disco effect.

A few of my students were at the seminar with me, and we all huddled in a circle moments before I was scheduled to begin my lecture. Together, we asked for Archangel Michael and Raphael to fix the fire alarm. I asked for deceased firefighters and engineers to come to our aid and alleviate the situation. Then we turned the entire matter over to G.o.d. I felt a.s.sured that somehow the fire alarms would be fixed by the time my speech began.

As I was being introduced moments later, the strobe lights suddenly stopped flas.h.i.+ng. Everyone looked around as they realized that the fire alarms had been fixed at just the moment I walked onto the stage. Ask and you shall receive!

This worked so well that the following week when I was again accosted by noise, I decided to try this technique once more. I was at the beach, relaxing after an extended period of very hard work. I had maybe two hours to enjoy myself when two young men sat right next to me and turned on their boom box, which was playing loud rap music.

I mentally conversed with the young men's guardian angels, saying, "Please let them know that their music is bothering me, and would they please turn it down?" I knew that the angels would try to help me, but I wasn't so sure whether the young men would listen to their angels or ignore their conscience! Yet, moments later, they turned off their boom box. Asking for angels' help always works.

My manager, Steve Allen, discovered the proof of this when we were filming a segment for a national television show at my home. During the interview, my refrigerator was making a lot of noise. Steve mentally asked his angels to quiet the refrigerator, and the motor shut off the instant he asked! Although Steve is a man of great faith, even he was surprised by how rapidly his request was granted.

CHAPTER TEN.

Healing Our Past-Life Issues with the Angels

As a therapist, I've always been intrigued by the topic of past lives. For years, however, even though I could see the therapeutic value of conducting cathartic past-life regression sessions, I believed the whole subject was founded in fantasy. Of course, I also didn't believe in angels or life after death for a long time either! I was a left-brained skeptic about all things esoteric. It took a few miracles before I was sufficiently open to the idea of a spirit world.

Still, even when I thought that the idea of past lives was nonsense, I saw its therapeutic value. Many clients with phobias didn't heal until they underwent past-life regressions-for example, a woman who compulsively overate and didn't respond to traditional therapy. Yet, when she underwent hypnosis with the intention of finding the original trauma connected with her compulsion, she saw in her mind's eye a scenario where she had starved to death in a previous life. Immediately following the session, her appet.i.te normalized and she dropped weight.

Now, does it really matter whether the woman actually had the past life or not? No! The only practical consideration is the here-and-now, since healing can only occur in the present moment.

In my book Divine Guidance: How to Have a Dialogue with G.o.d and Your Guardian Angels, I discuss practical ways to clearly receive advice and suggestions from heaven. Yet, hearing the advice isn't enough. We've got to follow it, to put Divine guidance into action. If you're feeling stuck, paralyzed in your ability to apply Divine guidance to your everyday life, it could be because of a past-life issue. For instance, many people I've worked with have received Divine guidance to become intuitive counselors or spiritual/alternative medicine healers. Yet, as much as they desire these goals, they feel an equal or greater amount of fear.

In many cases, these present-day healers had past lives where they were killed because of their intuitive or healing skills. I've worked with people who've had numerous lives of being beheaded, burned at the stake, or some other horrible form of death because their intuitive skills threatened local church or government inst.i.tutions. They died in the Inquisition and during the witch-hunting eras. So, in this life, when they are Divinely guided to begin a counseling or a healing practice, is it any wonder that they feel profound fear? Actually, it's an intelligent decision if you think about it: "Let's see, I've been killed for being an intuitive before. I think I'll decide to not be openly intuitive in this life."

So, whether you believe in past lives or not, you can still benefit from the role that they play in applying Divine guidance to our present life. As I've said, Divine guidance has practical applications in helping us lead a happier, more harmonious life. However, many people unconsciously block the awareness of their Divine guidance. Or, they don't follow their guidance. The result is unanswered prayers-not because G.o.d and the angels are ignoring them, but because the Divine guidance is in limbo like a letter from heaven that the recipient refuses to open and read.

Here are some of the blocks related to past lives that prevent us from enjoying the benefits of applied Divine guidance: Past-life vows-Ever get the feeling that you can't get ahead financially? Do your relations.h.i.+ps seem chronically problem-ridden? Vows of poverty, celibacy, or suffering that you made in past lives may be the culprit. Again, regardless of whether you believe in past lives, it cannot hurt you-and it may just help-to sever vows that you may have made.

Here are some powerful affirmations to release the effects of such vows. I use this method with my clients who are blocked because of past-life interference, and the results are outstanding. The key to the efficacy of these affirmations hinges upon your saying them with conviction. In other words, you must mean what you are verbalizing instead of merely voicing the words. Say each of the following affirmations twice, either mentally or aloud, with great intent: * I hereby sever all vows of poverty I may have made in any lifetime, and I ask that all effects of those vows be undone in all directions of time.

* I hereby sever all vows of suffering I may have made in any lifetime, and I ask that all effects of those vows be undone in all directions of time.

(Note: Do not say the following affirmation if you are currently following a purposely celibate lifestyle): * I hereby sever all vows of celibacy I may have made in any lifetime, and I ask that all effects of those vows be undone in all directions of time.

The fear of being powerful-This particular fear often stems from past lives in which we did misuse our power. In particular, if we lived in the ancient civilization known as "Atlantis," the fear of misusing our power is prevalent.

Atlantis was a thriving society that used cutting-edge technology based upon crystal-driven and solar-powered energy. Atlanteans had many advanced methods for healing and transportation. Many of them also had an insatiable hunger for power. The Atlanteans used their technological know-how to develop weapons used for conquering other civilizations. One by one, Atlantis acquired power over many land ma.s.ses in the world.

Ultimately, however, they misused their weaponry power and ended up destroying their own land ma.s.s. It sank in an explosion caused by weapons that were being deployed to overtake land on the other side of the world. To this day, souls who lived in Atlantis fear annihilating themselves and their loved ones through their abuse of power.

Past-Life Issues, Present-Life Challenges If you suspect, or know, that you had a traumatic past life that led you to close down your intuitive abilities, your angels can help you release this pain. Your angels can also help you heal any health challenges related to your past lives. I've worked with many clients and students who were born with injuries or other body issues that were directly related to the way they died in past lives.

For instance, a woman named Suzanne who was impaled by a sword during battle had chronic pain in her left hip-in the exact spot where she had received her past-life fatal injury. Another woman who was hanged in a past life suffered chronic neck pain in this life and was phobic about wearing tight-necked s.h.i.+rts. Both of these clients are among those who have successfully eradicated pain from their lives by inviting their angels to heal them.

It's not necessary to remember or recall your past life in order for your angels to heal you. However, sometimes the angels will let you know the a.s.sociation between present-life issues and unhealed pain from your past life. Almost always, the healing occurs when you release the pent-up emotions from your past life.

For instance, your angels may guide you to forgive those who killed you in a past life. They may help you release centuries-old feelings of horror that you've held in response to witnessing a wartime ma.s.sacre. In those instances where it is helpful and therapeutic, your angels and your own unconscious mind will allow you to remember the past-life scenes. They will never show you any information for which you are emotionally unprepared.

My client Grace finally understood why she was so drawn to Celtic countries when she received an angel reading that helped her understand how her current self-esteem issues were tied to her past life: Grace: Why do I feel so unworthy and inadequate, and what can I do about it?

Doreen: The angels tell me that you are healing from this, but it's going slower than you like. So, you are making progress with this issue. It's interesting. You have humility as one of your spiritual qualities and part of your purpose. Apparently, part of your life purpose was to come and learn about humility in this lifetime, because in a previous lifetime you did not have much humility at all.

Your angels show me a past life in which you were a privileged daughter of upper-cla.s.s parents, and you were raised with a silver spoon. I have to be blunt about what they show me: You were really snotty and kind of looked down your nose at other people. But it was because you just didn't understand; that's all you knew. You had a wonderful life, and it wasn't a wasted life. But the way that you looked at people in general was colored by never having to go through any kind of challenges, and so you set up this life to balance that life and to learn humility.

But the trouble is that in many cases, you subst.i.tuted humility for self-worth issues, when they are two separate things. And that's the lesson for you right now: How do you balance humility without going into shame or guilt? So the spiritual lesson, which is where you are headed on your learning path right now, is truly knowing the oneness of all of us. To know that the grandness of G.o.d is within each of us, including you. No one is more or less special than anyone else.

You still have that regalness from your past life with you. This looks like it was in a Celtic country, such as Wales or Ireland. You still have a little bit of standoffishness from that life, and that puts you into your ego state and makes you feel afraid. You're almost afraid of your natural reactions to other people, and so it's really about noticing and guarding your thoughts about other people.

As you see others, so you see yourself. If you can learn to see the bliss and beauty within others, then you'll more easily see it within yourself. Your angels say that you need to monitor your thoughts, and when you go into judgment about yourself or others, forgive yourself and let those thoughts go. Don't fight them or they'll increase in size and strength. Just notice the thoughts, and then let them go. But you're so close. Please let's not discount the progress that you've made! Your angels show me that you've just grown and grown in this issue. It's just learning to balance and not going to other extremes of self-judgment or other types of judgment. Both extremes always feel painful.

Grace: You're right, I have come a long way, and I need to give myself more credit for that.

Doreen: Well, we all have our moments of harshness about ourselves. The angels are here to help us heal this tendency because it really gets in our way more than it motivates us.

Several of my clients have come to understand why they've had contentious relations.h.i.+ps in this life. For example, a client named Bridgette realized that she'd had two problematic relations.h.i.+ps in past lives with her mother. Those relations.h.i.+p issues had carried over into this life, where Bridgette and her mother constantly fought. Bridgette's angels helped her to realize that if she didn't heal her mother-daughter relations.h.i.+p in this life, she would probably have another lifetime battling with her mother in a future life. That was enough to motivate Bridgette to heal the relations.h.i.+p, with the help of her angels.

Karma Releasing Karma is a long-held belief system that says that everything we do is a "cause" of "effects" that we later experience. The belief in karma is one way of looking at the Universal law of cause and effect, but it is not the only way. Cause and effect is an untrans.m.u.table law, but this law does not hold that we should be "punished" or "blocked" because of our past experiences. On the contrary, the Law of Cause and Effect is a law of love, and it seeks to release us from our past.

For one thing, the idea of "past" is based on a belief in linear time. We know that time is actually simultaneous, not linear. In other words, everything you have ever experienced and will ever experience is happening now, right at this moment. That is because there is no other moment but now. Humans on Earth created the belief in past, present, and future time as a way of measuring their growth and accomplishments. However, the spiritual truth is that we all are already as accomplished as we could ever want to be. We're already home, perfect in all ways, since we are in union with G.o.d. The only "path" or "goal," if any, is to realize that we've already got everything we desire. As soon as we realize this fact, we experience it.

Let's put it another way, because it's very important that this concept be explained in clear and simple terms: There are several realities co-existing right now. A good a.n.a.logy is to think of these realities as several movies that are each in a VCR on top of your television set. You can choose to watch any movie you like. You don't need permission from anyone else; you are the authority figure here. One movie is a really beautiful masterpiece, a magnificent film that inspires and empowers you. Another movie is a low-budget, mediocre film. Still another movie is a "comedy of errors," in which the characters get in and out of one jam after another. Then there's the tragedy, which is filled with heavy drama, heartaches, and problems of every imaginable type.

All of these movies co-exist simultaneously, each waiting to be played and experienced right now. Which movie will you play and experience? You decide based upon the thoughts that you choose to think. It's important for all of us to understand that we truly do choose our thoughts, and therefore, choose the movie-or type of life-that we experience. Everyone is equally qualified to choose and experience every movie. You don't have to earn your right to experience the beautiful, harmonious movie. A powerfully peaceful and meaningful life is your birthright. Although going through pain and obstacles is one way to achieve spiritual growth, it's not the only way. You truly can achieve enlightenment with a peaceful life, because you are already enlightened right now.

If you are experiencing lack, limitation, or pain of any kind, it simply means that somewhere within you, you are choosing thoughts of fear. Sometimes we're not even aware of these thoughts, or we believe that we have no control over them-as if the thoughts choose us! With practice, you can become aware of what type of thought is in your mind each moment. Whenever you feel pain of any kind, you'll know that you have held a fearful thought. As you progress on the spiritual path, you'll develop less tolerance for pain, until you reach a point of having a "zero tolerance for pain policy." At that point, you'll no longer hold fearful thoughts, and you'll instantly recognize and release any fearful thoughts that you may mistakenly choose on occasion. You can work with the angels in releasing the fearful thoughts and their effects. After all, the angels are always with you and always ready to help you. Just think, Angels, please help me! and they will intervene and heal.

Every loving thought and every fearful thought has an effect. Loving thoughts come from your true self. Fearful thoughts come from your false self, or ego.

Effects stay connected to their causes. Whenever you choose a fearful thought, it stays tethered to your ego-self, like a hot air balloon. Therefore, painful experiences stay connected to you-one after another, in a seemingly endless pattern and cycle-as long as you hang on to the cause or the ego's fearful thoughts. However, if you release the cause, its effect flies away along with it.

The beautiful bottom line of all of this is that all of the fearful thoughts that you have had, or that others may have had about you, can be released. Their painful effects can be released along with them!

In A Course in Miracles, it says, "Acknowledge but that you have been mistaken, and all effects of your mistakes will disappear." What the Course is saying is that we can "collapse time" by returning our thoughts to truth-the basis of true reality. Nothing real can be threatened; nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of G.o.d.

This is very different from s.h.i.+rking responsibility for your actions; and it is also very different from the religious concept of "atoning for sins." Releasing karma simply means releasing false ideas, which are causing painful effects. After all, mistakes don't require punishment, they simply require correction. All of us have made mistakes-some of us have made mistakes that we may consider practically "unforgivable." Yet, G.o.d sees right past those mistakes and instead sees our created perfection. We are powerful beings, but we're not powerful enough to undo the perfection that came with us being made in the image and likeness of our Creator. Nothing you could have ever said, thought, or done could have ever changed how perfectly wonderful you truly are and always will be.

In some of the afterlife astral planes, there is a belief that if you make mistakes in a lifetime-such as being cruel to another person-that you must reincarnate with some physical or emotional problems to "atone" for those mistakes. When you incarnate from this framework of thinking, you elect to have a lifetime of punis.h.i.+ng pain and problems. However, you can escape from this mistake in thinking any time you choose.

The angels will help you release the effects of mistakes in thinking made in this lifetime or any lifetime. And it doesn't matter whether you believe in reincarnation or not.

How the Angels Can Heal Past-Life Issues Just by holding the intention to heal your past-life issues, your angels will be able to help you. In addition to having a formal session with a trained past-life regressionist, your angels can help you remember and release your past-life issues. You can accomplish this goal either in your sleep or during a meditative state: In your sleep-Before you go to bed at night, mentally ask your angels to enter your dreams and show you any significant past lives that are related to your current-life issues. You will have dreams about other times in which you lived, and you may or may not remember these dreams, depending upon your unconscious mind's preparedness in handling the emotions.

It doesn't matter if you remember the dreams, from a healing standpoint. What matters is that, during these nighttime episodes, your angels have your permission to enter and heal your pent-up emotions. You should awaken feeling like you've done a lot of clearing-out work during your sleep. You may even feel a bit drained. Nonetheless, you'll know that you have engaged in important work in your sleep that will have a strong healing effect overall.

In your meditations-While in a meditative state, ask your angels to show you visions of your past lives. Then allow yourself to be focused, with an open mind. Don't strain to make anything happen. Instead, be like a pa.s.sive movie screen that receives projections from the angels.

Your ego-mind may try to convince you that you're making up the pictures that you see in your mind's eye. Release these fears and concerns to your angels so that you don't interrupt the flow of information being sent to you.

As you watch or relive the past-life memories, be sure to maintain an awareness of your angels. Know that they were there with you in your past lives, and are with you now as you relive the old memories. Your angels will guide you so that you can heal and cleanse any past-life pain.

For example, they may ask you to imagine a different "ending" to your past-life movie, almost as if you are rewriting the script of that past life. So, instead of being traumatically killed, you invent a scene in which you die peacefully in your sleep. Your unconscious mind will override the old emotions with the new, more peaceful emotions.

Or, your angels may guide you to forgive yourself or other people in your past life. Be sure to ask your angels to help you accomplish this releas.e.m.e.nt, as you may find it difficult to forgive completely on your own. The angels will enter your cellular and emotional memory and clean away any residue of past-life negative emotions.

Here is a transcript of an angel therapy session with a client whose past-life issues were interfering with his present-life work and finances. Read how the angels helped him lift away his previous poverty patterns so that he could enjoy more prosperity and meaning in his profession: Sam: I'm just getting ready to launch my own creatively based company. What do the angels say about this?