“The force that created the unimaginable splendors and the unimaginable horrors has taken refuge in us, and it will follow our commands.”               St. Catherine of Siena

God is within and without.  God is everywhere.  There is nowhere that God is not.  There are so many names for God.  Some of us call God Cosmic Consciousness, The All, Christ Consciousness, Great Spirit, Source.  Whatever name we use to talk about the Higher Power, we believe in a power Higher than ourselves.  My faith in God is as strong now as it was when I was four years old.  And, I have always retained pre-verbal memories of this current lifetime where I was contemplating God.  So, I am aware that I came into this particular existence with faith deeply embedded in my soul.  It is part of me, as it is of us ALL.

Writing about faith is tricky.  Because, some people might think that I am writing about religion.  I am not.  I am writing about spirituality and the deep KNOWING we have that there is a Higher Power, no matter what our ego would have us believe.  It is our ego that helps us to create the “unimaginable horrors” and the Higher Self (always connected to God) the “unimaginable splendors.”  That is why someone, ( sorry I don’t remember who) describes the EGO as meaning Edging God Out.

Since I see and communicate with angels, saints & ascended masters on a daily basis, I do not think it would be possible for me NOT to have faith!  Seeing is believing.  However, believing is also seeing.  This underlies all of our manifestations.  We need to believe that the power of God is within as well as without.  And, God’s power is ALL that there REALLY is.  God is always connected to us.  This connection is never severed.  We may withdraw or pull away from God, but, God never rejects us.  No matter how many ‘dark nights of the soul’ we go through, it is our ego that feels alienated from God’s Love.  And God’s Love is the only power that there IS.

Often, we forget to ask for the help of God and the angels.  There are multiple reasons for this.  Some people fear God, because they may have been raised in a religion that teaches about a punishing God.  They may be fraught with fears and guilt regarding not following rules set down that they have broken.  Sometimes people do not call on the angels because they think that they are pulling them away from someone who needs them more; however, the angels can be with everyone simultaneously and new angels are created with every thought of love God has.  And, God’s thoughts are all of Love.  Occasionally we self-sabotage by not calling for help.  And, sometimes our refusal to ask for Heavenly assistance is due to a false sense of pride or a sense that our prayers are not being answered, or not answered in accordance with HOW we think things should unfold.  However, these are only mistakes in perception and perspective.  The unlimited perspective of God, is something we accept with faith.  If we are genuine, sincere and ‘open’ to help, it is given.  Recognizing it when it arrives is sometimes challenging &/or confusing. However, as we raise our vibrations, spend more time in our Higher Self, and give love to our fear-full egos, we begin to realize our confusion as to what we believe to be best for us and what is TRULY best.  This is when we re-dis-cover our faith.  We trust that God and our angels are looking out for us in every moment.

There are many situations & circumstances in our earthly lives that test our faith.  We all know that it is easier to keep our faith when people and events are to our liking.  However, our faith, when practiced like a spiritual muscle, allows us to move through our obstacles and challenges with an equilibrium that allows us to live in the NOW.  The only point of power.  Keeping our faith through ‘dark nights of the soul’ isn’t always easy, no matter how strong our faith is.  That is why it is literature’s heroic journey.   Nevertheless, it is much easier when we call upon God and the angels.  It also helps to contemplate all the miracles that we have experienced in our lives to date.  With faith, all things ARE possible.  Eileen Caddy provides us with a meditation on faith:

“There is more to faith than sitting back and leaving everything to Me.  You have your part to play, for

‘according to your faith, be it unto you.’  When your complete faith and trust  are in Me, then anything

is possible.  Live by faith and demonstrate My laws for all souls to see.  Let us work as one, live as one,

be as one; I in you and you in Me.  When you fully understand that I can do anything, then you realize that

you can do anything, for I AM working in and through you.  Nothing will get done unless you take the action

and do it.  I AM within you and you are My hands and feet.  Dedicate those hands and feet to Me and to My

service, so that there is nothing to hold up the work and everything runs smoothly.  See that you work in perfect

harmony and rhythm with My laws, and behold wonder upon wonder come about; and give eternal thanks for

everything.”                                 (OPENING DOORS WITHIN)

As you know, I maintain a daily spiritual practice.  This is necessary, of course, for my work; however, I will do it for the rest of my life because it reminds me that I am spirit.  One of my many teachers, Marianne Williamson, agrees that constant spiritual practice matters: ” The ego is sly and insidious; in the words of Sigmund Freud, ‘Intelligence will be used in service of the neurosis.’  If you think that you’re too smart to have to worry about your ego, you have to worry about it even more.”        (THE GIFT OF CHANGE)

Thankfully, my Hatha Yoga teachers, almost three decades ago now, instructed us on how to transcend the ego and this has turned out to be invaluable, as at the time, I was not aware that I would become – thirty years later – an Angel Therapy (r) Practitioner.  Dr. Doreen Virtue taught us many more techniques for setting ego aside and moving into our Higher Self.  I teach these in my workshops.  Doreen also taught us how to identify “ego messages” from “angel messages” and with practice, as with everything, this becomes easier and easier to do.  Spiritual practice is a life-long commitment to God.  I can recommend ANY of Marianne Williamson’s books to you as valuable for your personal development.  When you are in a room with Marianne, her energy signature and her voice ring with authenticity and holiness.  Here is what Marianne says about faith:

“Faith is an aspect of consciousness.  We either have faith in the love that is eternally true or faith in the

illusions of the ego.  In that sense, there is no such thing as a faithless person.  If you have faith in the

reality of disaster, then disaster will be real for you.  If you have faith in a reality of love that lies beyond

a disaster, then you become an opening for its transformation.  The miracle worker does not look away

from darkness, but through it to the light beyond.  Faith is a kind of positive denial: we don’t deny that

something is happening in the physical world.  We simply have faith that this reality is but mere illusion

before the love of God.  We deny the ultimate reality of the world itself.”           (THE GIFT OF CHANGE)

I feel that Marianne’s description of faith matches the state we are in when we “are in the world, but not of it.”  This is what I learned from the Christ.  Marianne articulates it in a way we can easily comprehend.  Spiritual healing results when ONE person maintains this state, because, we are all ONE.  God’s Love is ALL THERE IS.

Deepak Chopra, described by Marianne and so many others as a “spiritual genius” describes the many stages of faith in his amazing book HOW TO KNOW GOD.  This is the book that I was reading, for the third time, in 2005 (on my sister’s birthday) when I fell into a deep sleep and awoke at 3 a.m. to the sound of angel wings.  I thought a flock of birds had landed in my room as I opened my eyes and saw Archangel Raphael ( at the time I did not know his name).  I was called, by name, to go to California and take the Angel Therapy (r) course from Dr. Doreen Virtue. Until that time, I had never heard of Doreen and I certainly had no plans to go to California.  Preceding this had been many years of amazing spiritual experiences, some I have shared and others yet too sacred to write about, and so I went!  This changed my life forever; therefore, I can highly recommend following the guidance of your angels and also reading Dr. Chopra’s books!  Even holding a book of someone of such Light increases our vibrations -so – if you aren’t going to read it – put it on your bedside table and let osmosis work its magic.

I like what Dr. Chopra has to say about faith and will share it with you here:

“When people say they have faith or that they believe in prayer, you cannot be certain what they mean without

more understanding.  This accounts for why there is such wild divergence of opinion about whether God

listens to prayers and answers them.  In relative terms, it all depends on the level of your consciousness.  At

lower levels the thoughts behind a prayer may be too diffuse to create a result.  As separation closes, the gap

between prayer and result is closed, too; every prayer is answered.  At the level of miracles prayer has the

power to alter outward events.  Finally, in the state of unity consciousness, there is no need for prayer. Your

every thought comes from the soul; therefore you would only be praying to yourself.”      (HOW TO KNOW GOD)

Faith, I believe, is not something we understand with the intellect.  It is a feeling.  A deep  KNOWING at the very core of our being.  An ultimately ineffable experience.  Sometimes, as we go through yet another transformation, another ‘awakening’ we are required to take yet another ‘leap of faith’.  One of the ways to do this is to call in your angels before you go to sleep and ask them to clear away any fears that may be preventing you from having full faith .  Ask them to do this while you sleep, so they can easily slip by your ego!  Notice your renewed faith in the morning.

I often call upon the Christ or Mother Mary for help when needing a ‘boost’ of my faith during difficult times.  However, we can also ‘borrow’ the faith of a saint or ascended master since we are all ONE.  The Irish Moon goddess, Aine  (pronounced AHN-yaw)  also helps us to increase our faith if we ask.  Although typically responsive in summertime and during full moons, lunar eclipses and such, I have found her to be accessible year round.  Call upon her to increase your passion as well as your faith.  You do not need a formal or special invocation, just be your sincere and open self.  If you are still relatively ‘new’ to this, then using Doreen’s invocation will be lovely for you:

“Beloved Aine, I call upon you now.  Please help me grow stronger, more powerful and more filled with faith.

Please ignite the passions of my soul, and help me relax enough to have fun and be playful while I fulfill my

mission and my responsibilities.  Please guide me as to how I can best help the world’s environment and please

surround me with loving people.”            (ARCHANGELS & ASCENDED MASTERS)

Aine is easier to connect with outdoors near water, during a full moon or around trees and plants.   Her energy is amazing.  I feel her with me now.  Thank you Aine!

As Dr. Chopra reminds us: “Every morning you have a new opportunity to know God.  Your starting point may be one of fear and guilt, or it may be one of expanded awareness –  that is all relative.” (page 297)  I had a neighbor years ago who always told her five year old daughter and mine, “tomorrow is a new day.”  A simple but very effective reminder.

Faith is the key to your transformation.  It is important to keep it strong.  Let the angels help.  It is their joy.   You are NEVER alone.

Much love & light,              Monica