
“We did not intend to open an angel store,” says owner Keith Richardson, “We had something between a thrift store and an antique store in mind back in 1995 when we opened. Back then my wife Francesca began having
re-occurring dreams about seeing angels in the sky looking down upon her. One night she had a different dream. A friend, who had died the year before in a car accident, came to her with a golden bound book. When he opened it to show Francesca its contents, Francesca found that the book was about angels and how they relate to the lives of people.”
Another recorded miracle to emerge from the store is wood carver Bill Jeralds, who after a near death experience, lost his long term and short term memory. He received a gift from heaven - the ability to carve without prior experience. Miraculously, after being given a scroll-saw by a friend, he started to produce the most beautiful angels out of mere plywood.
In 2009, Bishop Donald Jolly Gabriel from Orange County, California became so impressed by Bill's art that he commissioned one for his friend Pope Benedict XVI. Bill became the first artist in the history of Ventura County to have a piece of art in the Vatican.
The word 'angel' means ‘messenger’ in Hebrew and Greek, and you might say that angels come in many forms. It could be a mysterious stranger being there at the right time, or a courageous animal protecting you from harm – and most of all human beings who selflessly assist others.
Angels can come to us in dreams, in tough times when we cry for help, or when we gratefully count our blessings. But however and whenever they appear, they bring both comfort and life-affirming hope. Interestingly enough, ninety percent of Americans say they pray for their health, their families, and for their prosperity.
However, today, I want to talk about a different meaning of the phenomenon called
‘angels’.
Have you ever thought of angels, not as some heavenly messengers totally out of reach for a mortal being, but as the embodiment of your own good and right thoughts?
When you think of angels as your own good and right thoughts, you will realize that you can substitute the word ‘angel’ with ‘my own right thought’ and see that it’s one and the same. Let me give you some examples. As they say ‘the proof is in the pudding’…
Angels, we are told, are messengers from God, coming down from the heavens. If you understand God correctly, and know that this God is the Universal All-Power, Intelligence, Wisdom, now and forever – then you, being his child, must also be part of this All-power. You, having glimpsed at the Truth, will now understand that your own right thought is part of, and stems from, this supremacy. So yes, angels, or your right thoughts, come from God or the Almighty.
New Thought, sometimes known as Higher Thought, promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is everywhere. It also states that only Spirit is real and your Soul is divine. Additionally, divine thought (your angel-thought) is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.
Your purpose in life is to make a difference with your words of encouragement, your deeds, and the application of your wisdom. You are an angel using your ‘right and good thoughts’ to help others. You can think happy, positive thoughts and you can think thoughts that make you feel joyous, and you can apply those thoughts to the people around you. You can learn to think about all the good in the world, and focus on this good only. All of those right and good thoughts are infectious and will bring happiness to you and your loved ones, as well as to all humanity.
What is heaven?
Heaven is a harmonious state of mind, and of course this harmonious state produces good, right, calm, loving and charitable thoughts. So again, yes, the angels or right thoughts come from heaven, your harmonious state of mind. Those angel-thoughts protect and lead you, and help you through the rough times. Those uplifting thoughts give you hope and courage. You certainly can call on them anytime you need guidance, as they are within. Isn’t your right thought a God-sent message?
Do you ever listen to yourself and know intuitively what is right and wrong? Do you think that you are a victim of circumstances, or do you fully realize that you hold the power to shape your life in your own hands?
The concept of heavenly angels, being exceptional beings, coming down from the heavens to aid and protect you, has been all over the world in one way or another. Religious teachings calling the angels ‘messengers of God’ in some mysterious way are outdated. This surely is a material belief in a material world, and there is nothing mysterious about right thinking. However, our world is not material – it is mental.
The teaching about ‘angels’ needs another look; let’s see it in a different light. We know that misinterpretation of the ancient writings in any religion is so common, that we constantly must be careful what we believe to be true. Let your heart guide you, but let true reason rule.
Everything in this Universe is mental, always has been and always will be. So the angels are spiritual visions, produced by our own sense perception as needed. To say it in a few simple words: look at this phenomenon and realize that the heavenly messenger is you for you, and from within – always.
Giving thanks to the blessings you have received and for the blessings that are coming your way today and every day; and saying ‘thank you’ to the Universe with sincere appreciation puts you instantly into a positive frame of mind. Gratefulness will catapult you to a higher frequency and will trigger loving thoughts naturally. Those are your true
angels.