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Calling All Angels

What is your image of an angel? They appear in all spiritual traditions and Wikipedia defines them in this manner:

1. A typically benevolent celestial being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, especially in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism.

2. A representation of such a being, especially in Christianity, conventionally in the image of a human figure with a halo and wings.

3. angels Christianity The last of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. From the highest to the lowest in rank, the orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.

4. A guardian spirit or guiding influence.

a. A kind and lovable person.

b. One who manifests goodness, purity, and selflessness.

Last weekend I found myself immersed in angelic energy in the form of an Angel Alignment training offered by Candy Danzis who is referred to as The Mainstream Mystic, so called because although she deals with lofty subjects, she is as grounded as can be. Garbed in irridescent hues, golden curls framing her radiant face, she fairly glowed with love and light, which she reminded us is our true identity. I freely admit, I experience spiritual amnesia from time to time, forgetting all about that. I was grateful for the wake up call.

I had long been familiar with angels and had viewed them as messengers of God, but like most people, had been reticent to reach out to them for guidance. What I learned in the workshop is that their joy is to be of service and what greater purpose is there, but to share love and the reminder that we are of Divine Design? According to most ‘angel experts’, angels were never human and they differentiate between guides and angels. Perhaps those we love who are now in Spirit are our guides, but not angels. Angels appear in what ever form we can best understand, but the image of fluffy beings with wings are said to be of our imagination and not their true form.

By the end of the weekend, I felt as if I were immersed in love soup, surrounded by celestial sweetness and with a determination to take the energy back out into my daily life, my heart taking wing.

www.candydanzis.com

As a bonus; one of my favorite angel-themed songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjkJDu0B-1U

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Joy of Quotes

posted by Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW

Marta Davidovich Ockuly is the Chief Inspiration Officer & Founder of Joy of Quotes which offers delicious and wondrous word soup. She has gathered together wisdom from around the world and invites readers to drink deep.

She excitedly shares: “I live my bliss by being an agent for peace, joy and positive change. In my experience, creative action leads to joy attraction, and joy leads us to our authentic path of passion. My joy is teaching and inspiring people to re-discover their path of joy by taking baby step creative actions. I use a tool I call a Joy Magnet Mandala. If you visit the www.JoyofQuotes.com ‘joy quote’ page (click on subject, then joy), read through the intro section, and click on the Joy Power Report link to get all the details. I’ve used this simple process with people of all ages and it’s transformational when used consistently. I encourage others to take the idea and share it. Peace in the world starts with peace in our hearts. People connected to their autherntic joy (essence) are harmless.”

Marta’s passions are “teaching/coaching/mentoring, journaling, creating collages/expressive art, movement (NIA, Zumba, Latin dancing), nature (hiking, biking, beach walks, gardening), flirting with babies, reading (currently reading: Inspiration Deficit Disorder by Jonathan H. Ellerby – highly recommend it!; just finished The Element by Sir Ken Robinson – that’s a book I’d like to give every person on the planet), researching (joy, neuroscience, intuition, human potential, the brain), finding positive empowering quotes which inspire me to share on my sites, and learning in general. I consider myself a creative free spirit and a perpetual student.”

She began her career in Advertising/PR/Margeting. “I’m an award-winning writer and conceptual thinker. I’ve been paid for my ideas and creativity since I was 14. I had my ‘awakening’ in the late 80′s, founded the Angel House Center for Creative Change in the 90′s (google Angel House, Strongsville, OH). Followed my bliss to Sarasota, Florida in 2003. I returned to college (after a 30 year break) that same year. My first degree was in Radio/TV/Business Writing. The BA I chose to pursue in 2003 at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, was in Human Development and Counseling. Six months after starting the program I was diagnosed with AML (leukemia – and another huge story!). I went into remission within 21 days, Returned to classes, bald and battling tons of complications, and graduated in May, 2006 with High Honors (3.96 gpa). I also won their Writer of Excellence Award and Outstanding Human Development Graduate Award.”

By the end of 2009, I was ready to go for my master’s degree. I discovered the only Master’s degree in Creativity in the world is offered through the International Center for Creative Studies at Buffalo State College in New York. So I applied, got accepted, and relocated to Buffalo to complete my M.S. I arrived at the end of May and will be finished around the same time in 2011. I’ve doing a very accelerated program – it usually takes 2 years to complete – but I have things to do and places to go – so I’m more than half way there already! The center’s mission is to “ignite creativity around the world’ – and I’m fully alligned with that idea!”

Words are her sustainance. “I’ve always loved quotes. My favorites change from day to day. The quote which has inspired me the longest is “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” -Albert Einstein My favorite this very moment is, “Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women.”- Mustafa K. Ataturk. I hand-pick every quote. I read many wonderful words, but I only include the quotes which resonate for me or I feel intuitively guided to include.”

With delight, Marta offers: “Creativity feeds my my heart and soul by keeping me alligned with my personal joys and purpose. To thrive – I MUST express my creativity – through stories, writing, sharing in some form. I deeply believed expressive arts were important in every phase of my healing journey out of cancer, to the point of my awareness that blocking my creative flow leads to a build up of stress and dis-ease.”

When asked to describe one of her favorite charities, Marta waxed poetic about Mission of Love, which ”is a humanitarian aid organization founded by a woman I call this country’s Mother Teresa. Her name is Kathleen Price and she runs this amazing effort from her kitchen table. Her story is filled with miracles. She has sent more aid through the Denton program than any humanitarian group in the country. Tens of thousands of tons of aid – without a drop of help from the government. Her organization is non-political, non-religious. This means there is no agenda other that helping – heart to heart – those with great needs. She is an angel to the Lakota people in Pine Ridge Reservation, Wounded Knee, as well as in her home town of Youngstown, Ohio. Her volunteers were first responders in the Katrina disaster, and also in Haiti. I could fill 2 books with her wonderful work. Go to the site. Go on one of her trips. It will be the experience of a lifetime. I’ve been on a half dozen missions. The last, this past January, was to Casa Guatemaa, an orphanage built on the water in the middle of a jungle. Kathy manages to get $100 worth of value out of ever $20 donated. She does all the work. Oh – did I mention she started this when she was told she was going to die, she had a double mastectomy, toxic implants, and took Dow Chemical all the way to the Supreme Court to get that nightmare off the market (again – another story). She also has a big, beautiful family, 4 daughers, a husband, grandchildren (now), and she just keeps going…

And this multi-cultural thriver keeps going as well.

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Touched By The Extraordinary

posted by Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW

I would venture a guess that there isn’t a person reading this blog who has not lost someone close to them. Wondering how many have had communication with those loved ones and are willing to acknowledge same without feeling as if they are hearing the music to The Twilight Zone playing in the background. Although most would not considered facing loss a blissfull experience; messages that they are safe and that they love you, can certainly be.

Intuitive Psychologist Susan Barbara Apollon has birthed a new book entitled Touched By The Extraordinary Book Two: Healing Stories Of Love, Loss & Hope. It is filled to overflowing with intimate descriptions written by those whose after-death encounters have brought them a sense of peace. Some were penned by Apollon, others by those she knows personally and professionally, including three others of my friends Natalie Kaye, John Harricharan and Dr. Beth DuPree. All are intelligent, credible professional people whose open hearts and minds allowed for verbal and symbolic messages to come through to them.

Some of my favorite sections of the book shine a light on intuition; trusting the inner guidance that we sometimes ignore, angels who are there awaiting our call for assistance and answered prayers, that sometimes come in unexpected ways.

Apollon’s personal style invites the reader into the lives of those who generously shared their anecdotes. Her work bridges the mainstream and the metaphysical and her therapeutic specialty is in service of those who have experienced trauma and loss. As a grateful breast cancer survivor, Apollon has faced death and emerged with a stronger sense of who she is and of her purpose in this lifetime.

In the 12 years since my husband’s death and 2 ½ years since my father’s passing, I have received many messages that could have their place in this book. Some have arrived in the form of dreams; quite vivid and colorful, others via verbal messages that show up in the quiet moments and still others through found objects, including an event that occurred two years after Michael’s transition. My son and I had been standing in the side yard with a landscaper neighbor. I was asking him about removing a few trees which had succumbed to a scorching drought. As he gazed upward at the no longer-evergreen tree, he reached in between the withered branches and pulled out an amazingly intact L.L. Bean sports watch that I had given to Michael many years earlier. I had asked my son Adam if he had put the watch there and with a bewildered look in his eyes, he shook his head. The watch had been quite a distance up the tree, too high for my 6 foot tall husband to have gotten it caught in the branches. It was not waterlogged or rusted as I would have imagined it to be had it been exposed to the elements. It showed up a day after my 42^nd Birthday when I had asked for a message from Michael AND the time on the watch when it stopped was the same as time of death on 12/21/98.

Touched By The Extraordinary…offers the invitation to step beyond the ‘norm’ into a world in which loved ones remain a constant in our lives; a loving presence even in the absence of the physical.

www.touchedbytheextraordinary.com

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Gratitude Is Heaven

posted by Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW

“Gratitude is heaven itself.”-William Blake

Ponder gratitude. Enter into each day with an attitude of gratitude that spills over into every interaction you have. Do a gratitude dance. What would that look like? I imagine it starting with a wee bit of toe tapping that takes over my legs and from the top of my head that has my hair stand on end, meeting in the middle and building to a “whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.”

When I consider all of the people, places and things that bring an appreciative smile to my face, I envision a royal treasure trove filled to overflowing with shiny gold coins and lush silks. Each one is valuable beyond measure. Magic surrounds me. Cosmic coincidences give me the giggles. Folks I didn’t know months or years ago are now dear to my heart. What was life like before them? Hard to imagine.

This song by the brilliant musical inspiration Rickie Byars Beckwith, beckons with the perfect invitation to do my gratitude dance. I dare you to stand still while listening:)

Alle-Alleluia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhz1En2rAzo

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