 
### The Happiness Principle

The True Story of Angels coming to the Earth with the Key to Lasting Happiness and Peace

By Randy Petersen

with Elise D. Petersen

Copyright 2015 Randy M. Petersen

Smashwords Edition

Dedication

This book is dedicated to an angel. An angel who was sent into my life when I was at my lowest point and who lifted me up and healed me. An angel who believed in me and this work, without whom there might not continue to be a work today. An angel who's inspiration and assistance was critical in the production of this book. An angel who helped me find true and lasting happiness and hope. The name of this angel is Elise. She is my wife, she is the love of my life, she is my eternal hope, and she is my greatest blessing. She is my everything.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - They Talk of Angels

Chapter 2 - That Crazy Little Thing Called Death

Chapter 3 - Go Ask Your Father

Chapter 4 - I Send Angels Before Thee

Chapter 5 - Our Little Angel Returns

Chapter 6 - The Happiness Principle

Teaching 1 - Belief and Understanding

Teaching 2 - Spiritual Light: The Concept of Spirit

Teaching 3 - Life's Meaning: Understanding the Plan

Teaching 4 - Positivity and Optimism

Teaching 5 - Thankfulness

Teaching 6 - The Soul

Teaching 7 - Priorities and Moderation

Teaching 8 - Forgiveness

Teaching 9 - Prayer

Teaching 10 - The Spiritual Routine

Teaching 11 - The Power of Love

Teaching 12 - Seeing Signs of God's Presence

Conclusion - Supercharging the Principle

Appendix I - Pollution Solution

Appendix II - The Structure of Prayer

Appendix III - The 747 Breathing Technique
Chapter One

**They Talk of Angels**

I remember as a young boy sitting in church and hearing stories of great spiritual miracles; of visitations to the Earth by angels. Messengers from a kind and loving God sent here to give guidance and hope to the living. I recall being most touched by the concept of angels at Christmas time. Aside from the angelic decoration and imagery, I was greatly influenced by the story of the birth of Jesus and the angels that visited shepherds tending their flocks by night.

I remember thinking that shepherds could be anybody... just average folk, and it made me feel special that God would send angels to everyday people like me, not just those that were considered important. There was a feeling surrounding Christmas that I remember seemed like more than just a feeling. It was an energy that inspired peace of heart, a greater affection toward my family, and an increased love and caring for others. I always wondered if angels had anything to do with inspiring these wonderful sentiments at this special time of year.

I especially loved the belief in angelic beings that lovingly watched over me and cared for me. Guardian angels they called them. They supposedly stayed with you all of the time and helped you and protected you from danger. I often wondered how my guardian angels interacted with me. Were they by my side or behind me most of the time, or did they constantly hover in the air above watching over me? How did they help me? Did they talk to me and give me direction concerning the things I should or should not do? I wondered if they influenced my family, friends and others to be kind and helpful to me.

Most of all, I wondered how I could know for sure that they were really there. I always wished I could talk to them; but how do you talk to someone you can't see? Finally I wanted to know who they were and why they loved me so much, that they would constantly care for me. Were they total strangers or perhaps someone I knew in heaven before I came into this life? Maybe it was my Grandma or Grandpa that died before I was born?

No matter who they were, I knew that guardian angels were special people. I was taught that they were strong but kind, patient, caring and compassionate, and yet they would unquestioningly stand up to evil and destructive people in protection of their charges. I also heard that angels radiated a light or spirit that carried with it feelings of love, happiness and healing, and when that light touched people, it could literally change their lives. I remember thinking that someone who possessed all of these qualities would have to be an angel alright. I certainly didn't know anyone that had such personal characteristics in the physical world.... except maybe for one person... my dad.

Now my dad may not have possessed these characteristics in angelic quantities but he certainly fit the profile, especially for a living person. While my mother was a very caring, kind and spiritual woman, I always felt most drawn and attached to my dad. I grew up in a good Christian home in southern California. I was the youngest of five children by just about eight years. My parents thought they were finished having kids when I came along. My mom always referred to me as their "surprise". There was such an age span between myself and my next oldest sibling that at times, it felt like I was an only child. While this was challenging it also offered a wonderful benefit. It meant that my dad had more time for me.

No matter what we were doing, spending time with my dad was always my favorite activity. In his spare time my dad was a pianist, composer and play write. He had this big old upright piano that we heard back in the 1920's had once been a player piano. As a child I would stand by that piano for hours, watching and listening to my dad play and sing songs. I would make request after request, and he was always happy to oblige. Some of my most memorable times with my dad were those when we would just lie out on the grass together, in the backyard at night, and look up at the stars. He would teach me the constellations, as he tried to field my many questions about the vastness and wonder of the Universe.

He was a good looking man standing about 6' 1" with dark hair and blue eyes. He had a manner that was kind yet commanding, and a smile that a movie star might envy. Even with all of his charm and charisma he was as down to earth and approachable as anyone you would ever meet, and yet it wasn't his outward characteristics that made the greatest impression upon you, but those that came from within. You would feel better just standing in his presence. There seemed to be a spirit about him that radiated positive feelings of joy and comfort and love. He seemed to genuinely care about others and he was known to go out of his way to be helpful and supportive of those in need.

All of this having been said, I believe the most precious gift that my dad gave to me was the gift of unconditional love. While he encouraged me to be honest and kind and patient, and to cultivate integrity in all that I did, I always knew that he loved me without expectation or condition. Aside from my wife Elise who I would meet and marry many years later (and who has graciously assisted with the production of this book) he is the only person that has ever loved me in that fashion.

Yes, at least in my world, my dad was the only person that came close to such angelic qualities and well, I knew he wasn't an angel. No matter how amazing he seemed to me, he was still just my dad. Most of my questions about angels would have to go unanswered because I found that no one really seemed to have all of the details. As I grew a little older my own personal fascination with these otherworldly beings faded with time and ever maturing interests.
Chapter Two

**That Crazy Little Thing Called Death**

When I was 14 years old, we moved from California to Utah. My dad, a wholesale food executive, had been transferred to a new position within the company for which he worked. Within just a few months of moving into our new home, he began to have stomach problems, and shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with colon cancer. This was a tremendous shock and a blow to our family, but after surgery and radiation treatments, we all had high hopes that my dad would recover.

About nine months after our arrival in Utah, I was sitting in a ninth grade math class at school, when I was suddenly called to the principal's office. As I walked down the empty corridors, thoughts of discipline and punishment filled my head. Why did they want me in the principal's office? What had I done? As I walked through the door, I saw a family friend standing at the front desk. He greeted me with a very troubled look on his face. Still puzzled, I asked what was going on. He informed me that my dad had become very sick that morning and that we were going to the hospital. The drive to the hospital was a quiet one. I don't think that this man wanted to be the one to tell me what was going on, and frankly, I was so scared I didn't want to ask.

As I entered the hospital's ICU waiting area, I encountered my mom and older siblings together, most of them in tears. My mother informed me that my dad had become very ill that morning and was in a great deal of pain. Once at the hospital, after running a few tests, it was determined that his colon had burst. Shortly thereafter, he had slipped into a light coma-like state. The doctors had told her that there was nothing that they could do, but that they would try to keep him comfortable until he passed away.

A wave of terrifying shock raced across my body and a tightness grabbed my chest. My mind began racing as I tried to accept what my mother had just told me. Suddenly the answer came to me... I couldn't accept it! I wouldn't accept it! The thought of life without my dad was an unfathomable, unconscionable state of existence. I remember running from the waiting area in a blind panic. "I need to find someone who can give him a blessing", I remember thinking. I believed in God; I trusted in God; certainly this wasn't supposed to be. I needed to find someone who could provide me with a miracle. After about an hour I realized that my miracle was not to be found, so I returned to the waiting room, sat down, lowered my head, and quietly wept with the rest of my family.

At around 6 pm that cold February evening, we were told that the end was near, and we were called to my dad's room to spend his last minutes on Earth together as a family. As we gathered around his hospital bed, I became transfixed on the heart monitor sitting high on a stand to the right of his bed. The blips on the monitor were shallow but steady, with their accompanying audible beeps. Over the next few minutes those blips became harder to discern and the beeps came further and further apart, until finally a steady tone rang out from the machine.

That was it. He was gone. At that moment I felt like a piece of paper that had been violently torn in half. One tattered portion still remained, while the other had simply blown away in the cold winter wind. My focus shifted to my grieving family, and fear swept over me again, as I saw their own shattered state. It felt like the main pole had been knocked out from under our family tent, and our world had come crashing down upon us. Over the next couple of months I didn't deal very well with this event. I became a little withdrawn and somewhat depressed, but most of all I was just "spaced out". When I returned to school a week or two later, I just sat in class, staring off into space; in my own little world. As a result my school work suffered and when report cards came out, I was failing every class but two. This was only because of two kind and compassionate teachers who both gave me undeserved "A's".

But that wasn't the worst of it. I was so distraught that it seemed on a subconscious level, I was losing it as well. I developed a little habit of sleep walking at night after I had gone to bed. I would wake up in different parts of the house sobbing. My bedroom was in the basement, and one night, I remember waking up to find myself sitting in the corner of the living room, which was upstairs. I was on the floor, cross-legged, and crying. In short, it appeared I was having a breakdown.

That is until one night when I had a dream.

It was the most wonderful dream or rather experience. If it was a dream, it was the most vivid I had ever encountered. I remember standing (where I was I could not tell) and my dad appeared before me, about ten feet away. Instantly I ran to him, and grabbed hold of him, hugging him as if I were never going to let go. I call this an experience because it was more than a dream. It seemed so real. I could feel him. I could smell his aftershave that I knew so well, and I could feel his breath on my neck. We never exchanged a word during this encounter; he just held me and comforted me as I wept. While we didn't speak verbally, somehow he communicated to me that he was still very much alive (so to speak), that he would always be with me to give me guidance and comfort, and that everything was going to be alright.

When I awakened the next morning I was transformed. I was myself once more. It was as if the fog had been magically lifted and I had hope again. Today I have a certain knowledge that my father actually visited me in spirit that night, and with the assistance of a power greater than the both of us, he was able to lift the destructive darkness of death that surrounded me, and instantly heal the dysfunction that had consumed my life.

This whole event definitely changed or molded my view of what death was all about. I knew that my dad was in a safe place, and that he still existed even in death. It seemed that he had the ability to offer powerful help or assistance to me at times. The vivid, healing dream seemed to be proof of that. Thoughts of angels filled my head again as a million childhood questions seemed to be answered in an instant. If my dad wasn't an angel before, he certainly fit the bill now and if I ever doubted the existence or power of angels, all of those doubts had just faded away that day in the morning sun.

Over the years I could feel my dad's presence. I don't know how to describe it other than when he was alive, I just got to know how it felt to be with him. As I mentioned before, he projected a warm comforting feeling. As a result, at times after his death I knew he was there, especially during certain key events in my life. While this was wonderful and comforting and I assumed he was there trying to help me, that was pretty much all I knew about my dad's ongoing involvement in my life. When it happened it was amazing and encouraging but the great majority of the time I couldn't tell whether or not he was with me. So over time, much like my childhood interest in angels, my dad's afterlife influence in my world pretty much faded into the background of the many other competing interests and concerns.

Now I wish I could entertain you with the intricate details of the ups and downs of my life over the next two decades or so, but I just can't. You see, I've never been much of a self-promoter and quite frankly, many of the details of my own life bore me almost to tears so I guess I just don't understand why anyone else would be interested. This much I will say, my Dad's heavenly influence in my life would not substantially resurface until another sad and similar event occurred... the death of my mother.
Chapter Three

**Go Ask Your Father**

One day I received a call from my sister informing me that my mom had become seriously ill. Soon after her first symptoms appeared, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was given just a few months to live. At 78 years of age, she had lived a good life and this was that inevitable kind of thing that will eventually take most of us.

During her illness I would periodically travel to where she was some 500 miles from my home. I would try to help and comfort her, spending as much time as I could with her during her last few months on this earth. At the end of my last trip, when it came time to go home, I knew that it was the last time I would be with my mother in this life.

As I sat by her bed just prior to my departure, I wept, not knowing what to say to her. Even though she was facing her own mortality, she seemed more concerned for my welfare than her own. As she tried to comfort me, she paused in the middle of a sentence and got a very far off look in her eyes and said, "Talk to your dad... He will hear you... He can help you." She then seemed to come back to the present and picked up her previously paused conversation where she had left off.

Now in all the years since my dad's death, my mother had never suggested that I talk to him, let alone that he could help me. And yet my thoughts almost immediately returned to that time when I was a young teenager, shortly after his death, and darkness surrounded me, and threatened my life so dramatically. I recalled the night that he visited me in a dream, obviously carrying with him great gifts of power that almost instantaneously resolved my issue. Frankly, I hadn't thought about it in years. While I knew that I had felt his presence from time to time, I wondered anew if he had been sent by our Creator since that time to listen to my concerns and lend a hand throughout my life. It made a lot of sense. After all, who else would be more qualified for the job? Who else cared for and loved me that much? So what had my mother just suggested; or what had been divinely suggested through her?

Was she proposing that instead of patiently waiting for my dad's spiritual assistance, I should actively reach out for it? Eventually I had to leave so I gave my mom a final kiss goodbye, expressed my love for her and my undying appreciation for everything she had done for me, and then I got in my car and started the long drive home. On that drive, I continued to wonder about her comments concerning my dad. Could I actually talk to him? Would he hear me? Did he still have the ability to help me? The next day I received a call informing me of my mom's passing.

About six months later, I was neck deep in my own personal life crisis and felt that I was at my breaking point. Just as I was about to give up, her words entered my mind again, "Talk to your dad... He will hear you... He can help you..."

Feeling that I had nothing to lose, I got into my car and drove to an isolated spot next to a nearby river. There I paced back and forth in an emotional and somewhat angry state, and began talking to my dad. In the beginning, I felt a little foolish but I kept it up, talking to him like I used to when he was alive and in the physical.

Interestingly, after about twenty minutes, I felt a calming warmth fall upon me which seemed to put me in a more peaceful and relaxed state. In addition to this wonderful gift of comfort, I had the short term answer to the personal issues that had been overwhelming me.

I was absolutely amazed by what had just happened, so I kept doing it. In addition to placing a priority upon traditional prayer, I would go out in the backyard almost every night and sit or pace, and talk to my dad. Overtime, I began receiving comfort and insights that I had never imagined possible, until one evening when the realization hit me, "Since his death, my dad had never actually left me but had always been there, waiting for me to reach out for his assistance".

In time my communications with my dad shifted from warm impressions and insights to the point at which often, I was receiving sentences and even paragraphs of information. Now lest the casual observer or armchair psychologist out there accuses me of mental illness, I must clarify that these communications came in a peaceful and healthy place. It was not like hearing voices but the information always arrived in the form of my own trusted inner dialog.

My dad encouraged me first and foremost to place a priority upon my relationship with God. He made it clear that God needed to be my predominant focus if I wanted this wonderful process to continue and increase. He said that he was there as a result of God's power and good grace, not solely due to his own personal abilities or motivations.

For months I talked to him in the evening and felt his love and listened to his guidance. As I applied his direction, my life got increasingly better. I loved this connection with my dad. It was almost like having him back in the flesh again and much like my childhood; I had him all to myself. That is until one evening when he asked me a question. "Isn't it wonderful how we can talk like this again and wouldn't it be nice if your brothers and sisters could have the same opportunity?"

The question sent a cold chill throughout my entire body. I knew where my dad was headed with this and I must say I did not like it. My response was quick and determined. "Oh no!" I exclaimed. "I know what you're about to ask and the answer is NO!" My Dad was measured and kind in life and nothing seemed to have changed since his passing, as in response to my objections he simply said, "I understand, but you must realize that you can't keep such knowledge; such a gift hidden forever." He then dropped it and didn't bring it up again that night.

Hey I didn't want to hog this wonderful miracle all to myself, but I was pretty sure that if I told my siblings about this they were going to think I was insane! What if word got out beyond my inner family circle? Most of us spend years trying to develop a certain amount of credibility in this world; I wasn't about to flush it all down the drain in the twinkle of a single phone call.

Night after night I continued talking to my dad and periodically he would again ask the same question, "Isn't it wonderful how we can talk like this and wouldn't it be nice if your brothers and sisters could have the same opportunity?" After about a month of his persistent persuasions I eventually agreed to approach my older brother Richard with the story of my newfound relationship with our dad.

While my brother has always been a very spiritual person, he is also extremely practical so I wasn't sure how he would take such news. When I met with him and told him what had been happening to me, I was astonished at how accepting and "as a matter of fact" his response was. When I had finished, he told me he believed that what I was saying was true and that it made perfect sense to him.

At times since then he has talked to our dad as well with good results. While I'm not saying that he hears words and sentences as I have, he has experienced comfort and strength and received important insights. Eventually I shared this information with my other siblings and they all seemed to happily receive it. I began to receive other constructive and uplifting promptings that I knew were not coming from my dad, but none the less were positive in nature. As a result, I suspected that in addition to my dad I must have other angels attending to me.

Much like the push to share my experiences with my family, was an increased prompting to share what I was learning with others, rather than keep it all to myself. Since the applied concepts that I had learned from my angels had improved my life, it only made sense that others could benefit from this information. This encouragement towards service to others was as powerful as my dad's counsel to stay close to God. It too was being promoted as a key priority. I received this about as well as I received my dad's encouragement to talk to my family. I was not happy about it. What? Was I suppose to go around telling everyone that I had been talking to my dead father and that he and other angelic figures had a message for them? The entire prospect made me feel nervous and frankly, a little queasy.

If all of this wasn't enough, over time I began to feel an energy coursing throughout my body, like a rushing of electricity back and forth, back and forth. My hands would burn, the soles of my feet would tingle and the tops of my thighs felt like they were vibrating or buzzing. At times it literally felt like this energy was projecting right out of my face. At its peak I could close my eyes and see what appeared to be this energy organize and build and then fire away from me down what looked like a conduit or tunnel. The only way I can describe this visual representation is that it looked like smoke but with more substance. It was predominately a beautiful purple in color with a mixture of brilliant white and an occasional sparkle of deep ocean blue. Of course this development could not go unaddressed by my angelic mentors as they began prompting me to learn to use this energy to help others, and develop my abilities in the area of spiritual healing. My abilities in the area of spiritual healing? Did I have abilities in the area of spiritual healing? If I did I was certainly unaware of them. All of a sudden sharing my experiences with others seemed easy, compared with asking them to let me lay my hands on them and heal them.

As a child I grew up in a Christian environment where I saw spiritual blessings given all the time. They would lay their hands upon the persons head and one individual would say a blessing. I even participated in such spiritual works as I got older. I sensed that what I was being asked to do was slightly different. Eventually I decided to give it a try so I found a kind volunteer willing to let me work on them. She was a woman in her late 30's that had been struggling with alcoholism and chronic depression. While I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do, still I tried to explain what I had planned for our session, and then I asked her to talk about her situation and condition. As she tearfully explained her many difficulties and destructive emotions, she made a passing comment that jumped out at me. She said, "Sometimes... my heart just hurts." Her heart hurts, I thought. And then it came to me. Maybe I should place my hands over the area of her heart and bless her, rather than placing my hands on her head.

So after obtaining her permission, I appropriately placed my hands on the upper part of her chest and began to quietly (to myself) pray and say blessings over her. Again I felt the energies begin to course through my body as the palms of my hands began to tingle. My breathing became deep and steady and a feeling of warmth and calm fell upon me. After less than ten minutes of this, I lifted my hands and told her that I was finished. She looked up at me and replied, "I think I feel better". She said that at a point during the blessing it felt like something had been lifted off of her chest and that she could finally breathe for the first time in months. She said that she had not known this kind of peace since her problems started years earlier.

After this experience I worked on anyone that would let me. While I wasn't making the lame walk or the blind see, I again and again found that people experienced the most relief from emotional and behavioral type issues as a result of my blessings. As I did more of this work, at times I found that when I would go to place my hands upon a person to bless them; I would encounter resistance within about a foot of actually making physical contact with them. It was as if there was something in the countenance or aura surrounding their body. If I found such resistance I would usually hold my hands above the individual while doing my healing work, rather than making contact. At times I saw good results from doing this.

It seemed like my angels again got back to work as I next began to hear the powerful prompting to open an office so that I might see more people. Being the reluctant spiritual worker that I seem to be, I resisted this direction as well because it just didn't make sense to me. I lived in a small area, and demographically it just didn't seem to add up. Who would want to come and see me? How would I be able to keep an office open? Reluctant or not, like most of my big promptings, I eventually got on board and opened an office. Over time as I blessed more people, their experiences became much more vivid and dynamic. While it didn't happen to everyone, many had incredible tales to tell at the end of their sessions.

Some reported having visions or visuals. They said that they saw angels. Some saw beautiful landscapes, while others encountered groups of people that had come to give them a message. One woman had a vision of her unborn daughter. The girl claimed to have come to encourage her mom and dad to let her be born. The two were on birth control at the time and had no immediate plans to have children. On more than one occasion some claimed to have seen and even conversed with loved ones who had passed away. One man who was suffering from depression was visited by his father who had died four years earlier. His dad gave him counsel and then told his son that he was quite frequently there trying to help him.

Some of those that were blessed felt the positive presence of other people in the room and some even felt other hands laid upon them. This kind of contact was always interpreted as positive. Finally, on multiple occasions some reported that they saw or even conversed with Jesus. Most described it as one of the most hopeful and peace inspiring experiences of their lives. All of these experiences were too diverse and varied to describe here, but they carried with them comfort and life changing guidance and information.
Chapter Four

**I Send Angels Before Thee**

As I continued to progress in the work, a friend of mine approached me, asking if I would try to help her with a personal issue. She was 23 years old at the time and she had been suffering from what friends and family thought was bipolar disorder. She experienced periodic mood swings that at times were quite dramatic. She asked if I would work on her since she was faced with inevitable long term treatment with medication and possible short term hospitalization. By this point in time I had acquired a massage table. It made the work more convenient and gave me easier access to the person being blessed.

On the day of our first appointment she entered the office noticeably a little apprehensive. We talked briefly as I explained what I was about to do. Once she seemed a little more at ease, I asked her to lay on the table and close her eyes and take some deep breaths. I slowly ran my hands in the air above her body scanning for the right place to start. I felt something almost immediately in her countenance above her face. So feeling prompted to stop there, I began to work. After about 6 or 7 minutes she went almost limp on the table as if she had passed out and then she opened her eyes and looked at me. I asked if she was alright but she gave no reply, starring at me almost as if she didn't know me. I told her that I wasn't quite finished and asked if she would close her eyes again so we could continue, but she didn't close her eyes.

Instead she slowly sat straight up on the table, gently gazing about the room as if she were seeing it for the first time. I waited a minute or two more and then I asked her again if she was OK. This time she answered yes but her manner of speech sounded slightly different. As I asked questions and she answered, she began to speak like a little child of just four or five years of age. In all honesty at this point I became quite scared. In one powerfully terrifying moment it hit me, "She must have multiple personality disorder!" I instantly feared that I had unintentionally brought forward some alternate personality and I didn't have a clue how I was going to bring my friend back. Visions of delivering her to her boyfriend and family as a four year old girl later that evening filled my head. What was I going to do? In the midst of my panic I suddenly heard a powerful prompting that simply said, "Just keep talking to her and everything will be alright". Not having a better plan by far, I decided to do just that. So I did my best to compose myself as I continued to chat with this apparent little girl.

She seemed at ease and yet somewhat cautious. My own mood shifted rather quickly from fear to calm as the room seemed to fill with a relaxed, peaceful feeling. It almost appeared that she was as interested in figuring me out, as I was in her. One of the first questions that I asked was if she knew who Natalie was? She giggled and exclaimed, "Oh yes; I do! I love her!" Her name was Lilly Ann and she claimed that she stayed with Natalie all of the time. When I asked why she was with Natalie she simply said... "I help her." When I asked for examples of how she helped, she said that she tried to cheer up Natalie when she was sad, that she encouraged her to help the people around her, but to also stay away from those that threatened to be a negative influence in her life. She proudly claimed that one of her main priorities was to help her have fun, or rather joy in life. Having been with Natalie most of her life, she told of a time when Natalie was a little girl and they used to play together. Her favorite activity was to play in the creek and catch frogs. She told of a time when the two of them found an injured bird and nursed it back to health. She spoke as if she were a real playmate that participated in all of these adventures with Natalie.

"If this was an alternate personality", I thought, "We should all have one." The described influence that she was having on Natalie's life appeared to be helpful, supportive and loving, and in no way could be interpreted as negative. Thoughts of my childhood fascination with guardian angels briefly flashed through my mind. It seemed like Lilly Ann fit this profile more than that of a coping mechanism stuck deep in Natalie's subconscious. So in an attempt to clear up my building confusion concerning Lilly Ann, I asked her, "How did you come to be with Natalie? Did someone send you?" To this she simply replied, "Father did".

I was shocked! Was this really happening? Was I actually talking face to face with a guardian angel? I responded to this a little sheepishly as I asked, "Whose father?" Lilly Ann giggled again and answered, "He's your father and my father, He's everybody's father." "Are you talking about God?" I quickly followed. "Yes" she said, "but he's just Father to me." She then said, "You know him, Randy. You talk to Him all of the time". "Prayer? Are you talking about praying?" I queried. "Yeah, Father loves it when you talk to him." she answered.

OK... so I was conversing with an angel; an angel that was sent by Father; the Heavenly Father in whom I had believed all of my life; the Father that I prayed to almost every day. An angel? Really? Weren't angels supposed to be strong commanding figures wielding flaming swords of truth? This angel appeared to be a preschooler.

Next I decided to ask the last great obvious question of Lilly Ann. "Why were you sent here? Is there a reason why you came and talked to me today?" In reaction to this she looked down and paused for a few moments and then replied, "I don't know. My brothers and sisters just told me I was going to come here today and that I should talk to you." She went on to explain that her brothers and sisters were four adult type angelic figures that cared for Natalie as well, but they also took care of her, Lilly Ann. Eventually I needed to try to end the session since it was getting late and I was still feeling a little anxious concerning how I was going to get Natalie back. Not having another course of action, I reasoned that if the spiritual healing work brought Lilly Ann forward perhaps it could bring Natalie back. I asked Lilly Ann if she planned on returning and visiting with me again in the future. She said that she'd like too, but she wasn't sure. She would have to talk to her brothers and sisters.

So I said goodbye and had her lay back on the table and close her eyes. I asked her to take some deep, steady breaths and I then placed my hands in the same area over her head and began to work. Within a minute or so her muscles began to visibly relax and then for a few moments her breathing became shallow, and then she quickly opened her eyes. The first words out of her mouth were, "Randy, what happened?" To my great relief, it appeared that I had Natalie back. I asked her if she was alright. She told me she was fine except that she had a headache. As I continued to question her she appeared to have no recollection of what had just happened. So now I was faced with my next difficult task; how to tell Natalie about Lilly Ann.

When I was finished describing to Natalie what had just transpired, she was understandably a little shaken. Which one of us wouldn't be after hearing such a tale? I told her the good news was, that we now knew that she had angels with her and that they seemingly had just approached us, so it was likely they could eventually help us overcome her emotional issues.

After Natalie had left my office, I began to analyze the events of the evening anew. While others would most likely work overtime in order to interpret this experience as the result of a psychological disorder, I was becoming increasingly convinced that it was genuine. Coming from a devout Christian background, the thought of an angel coming forward and speaking through a living human so vividly had never crossed my mind, and I knew that some would rubber stamp it as wrong or evil without ever giving it another glance. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get myself to think of this event as negative in any way. While Lilly Ann was with me, the feeling or spirit in the room was remarkably hopeful, peaceful and filled with joy. I hadn't felt that good in months.

In future sessions with Natalie, Lilly Ann didn't always appear, but when she did it was always miraculous. She would tell of other ways she tried to help Natalie and she talked more about her brothers and sisters and their influence. She helped us understand what was causing Natalie's behavioral issues and gave us guidance on overcoming them. She talked of the spirit world beyond this life and some of the facets of how it operates. Her manner of speech was simple and sometimes confusing, but the knowledge and wisdom that she possessed was remarkable. During one session I found myself being counseled by her concerning my own issues and problems. She had me in tears, and by the end of our discussion I felt uplifted and like I had been blessed with a healing inner peace.

As I continued my work with others, in time more angels made their presence known. It's very important to understand that the experiences with Natalie and Lilly Ann were the only instances in which an angelic figure vividly manifested through someone with whom I worked. In every other instance it has been as a result of the person being blessed hearing or visually seeing their angels during a session. The person receiving the blessing then either relayed the experience during the session or recounted the story after it was complete. As the work grew, I was prompted to train others in this spiritual healing process and as a result I too was able to experience the power of it and in turn had experiences of my own. My wife Elise has also had amazing and vivid spiritual experiences as a result of this work.

Herein you will find a message of hope and love, of peace and healing, and of growth and wholeness. Yes my friends, angels do exist and they are standing by your side right now, even as you read these words. They patiently wait for you to recognize them and to actively invite them into your life. They have come to strengthen marriages and loving relationships, to bring families closer together, to inspire positivity and hope, and to heal the strife and division within society today. This they will do by changing the world one heart at a time. They come bearing one basic principle that if embraced and applied, will deliver everlasting peace, fulfillment and true happiness.

So read on. They love you, they would do anything for you, and they are ready to get to work right now. So reach up and take them by the hand and begin the journey toward changing your life forever.
Chapter Five

**Our Little Angel Returns**

After the first experience with Lilly Ann, I was concerned that Natalie might be hesitant to continue with our sessions. With one of her major issues being stress and worry, perhaps she would lack the courage to continue. I for one could not wait to converse with the little girl again. My desire to learn more about her and to further test my theory concerning her angelic nature was only out-paced by my fascination with her personal, firsthand experience with God.

When Natalie did return, it took a few of sessions to get Lilly Ann to come back. On the day she did, the one thing that struck me immediately was the almost palpable feeling she brought with her. Her very presence appeared to produce an instant happiness and hopefulness. All of the things I had been worrying about earlier that day, big or small seemingly faded into the background of her powerful presence. My thoughts drifted once more to my childhood understanding of angels and the transformative light that was said to radiate from them.

As we renewed our acquaintance, I began asking a few of the many questions that our first encounter had since inspired. Lilly Ann told of other ways that she interacted with Natalie, in an attempt to help her find her true spiritual path, and to live a happy and peaceful life. She recounted more than one instance where she and her four angelic companions literally saved Natalie's life, further supporting the evidence that I was indeed dealing with guardian angels. Then I asked Lilly Ann if she could give me just one more example of how she positively influenced Natalie's life. She thought for a moment and then as if a light bulb had switched on above her head she giggled and said, "Oh yeah; I paint pictures for her!"

She proceeded to explain that she has a paint brush that automatically produces any color that she thinks of. She described the colors to which she has access, as much more vivid and dynamic than those found here on Earth. So she paints pictures and these paintings can make Natalie happy, or calm her down or inspire her toward good works and actions. Of course Natalie has never consciously seen one of these pictures but Lilly Ann's loving intention and the process of painting the pictures produces a powerfully transformative spirit or energy within the recipient.

After finding out she was a little artist, I gave Lilly Ann a small hand held white board that I kept on my desk and four dry erase markers and asked her if she would draw a picture for me. She doodled off and on using the board during this and other sessions.

While all of this information was in its own way fascinating, it seemed trivial compared to my desire to learn about her reported interactions with God. So I decided to ask her how she came to have this important calling with Natalie. Lilly Ann told me that she had been alive at one time but that she had died at a young age. Mercifully she did not have the details of her own demise, but she said that she knew who her mom was and that she was still alive. This led me to believe that Lilly Ann had lived within the last 50 or 60 years at least.

Again I asked if she would share with me how she came to be with Natalie. To this she answered, "I had a choice. They asked me and I told them that it was OK." Just to clarify I asked, "To come here... to help Natalie?" "Yeah", she answered, followed by:

"Then I went and I got to sit on Father's lap and He played with me and it was really fun!"

Much like some of the revelations in the first session, this statement hit me with a little bit of shock and a whole lot of awe! I have always thought of God as loving and kind, but I would think He is way too busy to sit any one of us on His lap... and well... play with us? I guess I just thought that if I ever did get to meet God, it would be more like having an audience before a king. My deep ponderings were interrupted as Lilly Ann continued.

"He always picks me up and He swings me around and He puts me on His lap and we talk and talk and talk... I can play with Him... He loves to play."

My whole life I had been taught that I could have a personal relationship with God, but this was off the hook! What Lilly Ann was describing was not only personal but it was up close and personal! Still having a difficult time wrapping my mind around this concept, I decided to move along and ask a few questions concerning what Father is like and what they talked about, at which point Lilly Ann stopped answering my questions as she said, "You already know all about Father, I don't need to tell you". To this I asked, "You mean what I've been taught like in church?" She quickly corrected, "No. You know Him too." "What do you mean?" I asked. "It's not like I've sat on His lap and talked to Him." She looked up from her whiteboard and with a grin replied, "Yes you have."

At this point these spiritual propositions began coming faster than I personally could process them. Was it possible that before coming to this life I too had a close personal relationship with God, just like Lilly Ann but perhaps I just didn't remember it? If this was true, were Lilly Ann and I part of a select group or did everyone have this connection with Deity prior to coming to this Earth? Not considering all the people that have come before and all those that have yet to arrive, there are over seven billion people on this planet. That's a lot of lap time!

So I asked, "Are you saying that everyone has had experiences with Father like you have? How is that possible?" To this her face lit up and with another knowing grin she proclaimed, "Father loves all of His children." While it wasn't the answer I was looking for, I have always believed in the omnipotence of God. I remember thinking that there may be spiritual processes here which I don't even come close to understanding so I decided to again... move along.

Next I asked Lilly Ann what she talked to God about; what was the topic of their conversations? She told me that when she was first taken to Him after her death, He sat her on His lap and asked her if she would do Him a favor. He asked if she would go back to Earth and help Natalie and others like her. She gave Him a big hug and told Him that she would. He counseled her that this was a big decision for such a little girl. She said that He then gave her "understanding", the understanding that she had before she came into this life, after which He asked her anew and she once again happily agreed.

I asked her what else they discussed and to this she simply replied, "Everything." "Everything" I questioned, "What does that mean?" Again her response was quick and to the point, "He's Father... You can tell Him anything." I confided that this piece of information would come as a relief to many. I told her that a lot of people have a hard time talking to God. Some feel unworthy or as a result of their many mistakes they fear He is disappointed in them. Some even believe that God is angry with them. To this she again quickly reacted, "Oh no! Father is not... He's not angry or being mad... I don't think I've ever seen Him mad."

Lilly Ann then bowed her head slightly and cast her eyes towards the floor and softly shared, "Sometimes He cries and He's sad, but He's never mad". She continued to explain in a touchingly delicate manner that Father is pained by the extreme personal suffering of some of His children. When they drift further and further away from Him and His guidance, and repeatedly make the same bad choices again and again, hurting themselves and others, He is saddened. While He feels desperately for the children that He loves so much, He won't force them to do anything outside of their own free will, even if it's in their best interest.

After this and later sessions it became clear that Lilly Ann had talked with Father on more than one occasion. In fact it seemed that she had visited with Him many times, and time and time again she expressed to me her undying devotion to Him. It was clear that Father was the most important person to her. No one loves her more or treats her better than He does. She seemed to understand that everything she has comes from Him. On one occasion she told me that she knew if she did everything that Father asked then she didn't have to fear or worry about anything. She could just be happy and, as she put it, "have fun".

I must admit that after all of the experiences that surrounded my blessings and this work, I expected when Lilly Ann made herself first known, that she would eventually deliver a grand and important message. Perhaps even a message for the world. Yet when I asked her why she had come she would only say, "To help Natalie." or "Because Father asked me to." Once I even asked her straight out if she had come with a message for the world and to this she simply said "No." In time it seemed that no divine message was forthcoming.

Well it took a little more time, but in time I realized just how wrong I was. Besides giving us guidance on how to overcome Natalie's issues, over the course of our visits Lilly Ann had delivered the most important spiritual message the world could ever receive; the testimony from a beautiful little angel that there is a God, and not just a God but a loving and kind parent and friend. In time other angels including my dad would bear witness to this wonderful fact and its practical importance.

Most importantly, they collectively gave us one key principle that will bring true and lasting happiness into your life. One simple concept, that when focused upon above all other things, can magically change your life and the lives of your loved ones forever. In the following chapters we will outline 12 angelic teachings that if learned and applied will assist in the attainment of this principle.

My wife and I have applied these teachings in our own life and as a result we have literally been spiritually transformed and reborn. We have seen our prayers being directly answered on a regular basis, and the blessings in our life continue to increase.

Through this principle you too will begin to see your prayers answered and the spirit and light of Father will begin to heal emotional, behavioral and even physical issues in your life. These precepts can strengthen families and other personal relationships, and in time temporal blessings will follow.

These concepts are not some kind of quick fix or a faddish self-help program. They have not been developed by someone holding multiple PhD's, looking not only to advance career but also personal recognition. They are not a collection of teachings from belief systems from across the world. They are basic truths. Truths that were given to a guy without any advanced degrees. Truths that came looking for a guy that was initially in no way looking for them. They are not concepts learned from men and women in religious seminaries or institutions of higher education. No, just simple truths taught by angels.

So what is this one principle; the real secret to lasting joy and contentment? Well I won't make you wait any longer... Here it is...
Chapter Six

**The Happiness Principle**

The Secret to a Happy and Fulfilling Life

One of my first recollections as a child concerning church was that obviously it all seemed to revolve around God. It appeared that the main point was to get closer to this unseen Deity. It was promised that if I did, my life would be better and that I would be happier. So I learned from those that claimed to have knowledge of God and had successfully made such a connection. I also learned principles from Holy Scripture, most particularly the Bible. These concepts if applied promised to place me in a better position to receive God's guidance in my life and His influence or spirit. In fact it seemed that the whole church experience and pursuit was designed to make God my main priority.

Lilly Ann certainly confirmed this dynamic within spiritual pursuit overall. To her, Father is the first priority and as a result she has been endowed with great power and ability. This reminded me of a passage from the Bible. In the book of Matthew, chapter 6, during Jesus' Sermon on the Mount He encourages a shift from focusing on the things of this world, and making our main purpose God and His purposes:

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

This is just one of a handful of Bible verses that had stuck with me over the years. It seemed to be the embodiment of how Lilly Ann and other angels operated. A main focus upon God was the simple plan that gave them purpose, ability and happiness, and hope for success in the future. It also seemed to be the formula for eliminating worry and fear. In the last verse Jesus promises that if we will do this, there will be no need to worry concerning the future.

While our angels have taught us many things, this seems to be the one overriding secret to happiness. The best guidance we can receive in life comes from God. The details of our intended path will come from God. All emotional, mental and physical well-being comes from God, and the good habits and character traits necessary to maintain these blessings come from Him as well. The most productive help and advice on how to raise our children and treat our families comes from God, and He is the one that sends angels endowed with great power to protect and assist us. Yes, more and more this seemed to us to be the complete package. As we continued to look closer it became very apparent that all of the other teachings that our angels had shared with us existed merely to support this one principle or to assist in its attainment.

It appeared that this one concept was the key to wholeness on all levels or simply put; it was the formula for true and lasting happiness. So we gave this principle a name and gathered the other teachings that our angels had shared with us around it. So here it is:

_The Happiness Principle_ _= When you make God your top priority and focus, in time all else will be added unto you._

What will be added unto you? Will blessings fall from the sky into your lap? Well no; but you will be placed in a position to take advantage of greater opportunity in life. You will be guided onto your best possible path. You will be given the guidance and tools to develop better personal relationships, to raise healthier and happier children and to advance in the job or career that is on God's best intended path for you. You will receive all of the righteous desires of your heart, and if the things you have been pursuing and participating in are not good for you and your family, you will be moved onto a more healthy and productive path. In a nutshell, you will attain a greater level of personal peace and contentment.

So why did we call it The Happiness Principle? Well simply put; in life the one thing that most of us desire is happiness. Contented fulfillment for ourselves and for our families and friends is the ultimate goal. We search for it throughout our lives through various pursuits. Many believe that it will be found in the acquisition of money and possessions. Others think that power and prestige deliver true joy, while some think that it is a destination that's always just around the corner. Others search for contentment through spiritual pursuits as they constantly look for the next lasting unseen solution, and sadly there are those that have given up; believing that happiness is nothing more than an unattainable myth.

There exists a virtual sea of self-improvement systems and theories promising hope in the areas of personal growth, mental health, and individual success. Some are based on psychological theories and study while others approach the issue from a spiritual angle. Most involve complicated systems or approaches, or multiple steps and principles. All promise that when applied their system will not only bring success and a certain level of balance to one's life, but fulfillment and happiness. We know based on our angelic experiences there is only one principle that will provide lasting joy and peace, not only in this life but in the next.

A real and productively functioning connection with God is the one and only path to true happiness. Hence, The Happiness Principle.

Is this principle based on some obsessive or fanatical approach to connecting with God? No. It is based on a down to earth, common sense, approach that works well in the world today. If you are spiritual or religiously minded, you may already understand this principle but perhaps you've struggled to make such a connection with God. Maybe you had a good relationship with God at one time but lost it along the way. In either case the following information will help. Finally, even if you believe that your relationship with God is strong, you may still find something here that will further increase that bond.

The following chapters contain an introduction to 12 angelic teachings supportive in achieving The Happiness Principle but like anything else, the application of these teachings takes a little time and effort. Most of us read a book like this one and receive a little information and some inspiration and then we move on to other things.

It is our hope that you will not only be inspired by this book but that you will want to earnestly try to apply these concepts within your life. For those that choose to do this, we have provided a companion workbook that will not only help you delve deeper into these teachings but that will make it possible to functionally incorporate them into your life. The Happiness Principle workbook contains ideas, activities and exercises that are a simple yet effective way to achieve this goal and to ultimately apply the full power of The Happiness Principle in your life. The concepts and exercises found in the workbook are supportive to most Christian religious beliefs and many other spiritual belief systems. The workbook can be obtained online at the web address below:

www.happinessprinciple.net

As mentioned earlier we have gathered together in this book some of the key teachings that our angels have shared with us, teachings that support the attainment of The Happiness Principle. The following are those teachings.

Teaching One

**Belief and Understanding**

The Importance of a Solid Belief in and Understanding of God

A large part of the mission statement of our angelic partners is to establish a strong, fundamental belief in Father while providing an understanding of who this Deity really is. They desire that we comprehend that you can't receive blessings from a God that you don't understand or in which you do not believe.

Belief in God

Now you might say that this first precept is easy for Lilly Ann since she's sat on his lap and associated with Him in person. It's a little harder for those of us that are still living and have to go on faith. Still, if we don't possess a belief in God then we are finished before we start. We live in a world where it seems like belief in the existence of God is on the decline. While this fact is sad, it begs the question; how can you connect with something that you don't believe in? Over our sessions I've become well acquainted with this little angel and I can tell you without hesitation that if someone were to try to convince Lilly Ann that there is no God, she would probably laugh in their face and dismiss them as totally ridiculous. It would be like someone trying to convince one of us that the world is flat. The whole exercise would be pointless because we would never buy it. Yet when it comes to a belief in God more and more of us are allowing the teachings of the world and the opinions of humankind to weaken and even destroy that belief.

In order to make this all-important connection, we must be as staunch in our belief in God as Lilly Ann. Remember in the temporal world you must first have belief before anything can be accomplished. You must first believe there is gold in the ground before you will ever start digging. You must first believe that you are capable of earning a degree before you will ever enroll in the first class. You must first believe that you can reach the pinnacle of the mountain before you ever take that first step. Yes, belief is a necessary part of any accomplishment including a strong relationship with God. So if you already have a belief in God the information in this book should help strengthen that belief. If you have no belief or you have lost your belief, then you have a little more work to do. If you live in disbelief you may feel foolish or embarrassed by the concept of believing in an unseen God. Just remember that it is not necessary to broadcast to everyone you know the details of your newfound attempt to develop a belief in God. In the beginning this can be done in private. Apply the principles found in this book and start acting like a believer today and God will begin to bless you with actual belief tomorrow.

Understanding the True Character of God

Our angels have taught us that you cannot believe in a God that you don't understand. If we hold gross misconceptions concerning the true character of God, a disconnect is created on our end. Within many religious and spiritual circles arguments abound concerning "what" God is. Is He one person or is He three, or is He three in one? Others believe that God is just intelligence consisting of a nebulous energy floating around somewhere in outer space. I have found that it is much more important to know "who" God is than "what" He is. While I believe knowing the actual form and state of God is helpful in making a connection, its importance pales in comparison to possessing a knowledge of the true character of God, or "who" He really is.

For example if someone were to ask "what" Randy Petersen looks like, they might be told that he stands about six foot four, has dark brown hair and is devastatingly handsome. (OK... Maybe they wouldn't add that last part...) Now while this information may be trivially interesting, it doesn't tell the inquirer a thing about my character or "who" I am. It doesn't give a clue as to whether I tend to be an honest or conscientious person, or whether or not I treat others well. It is no indication of integrity or peaceful demeanor.

These qualities speak to character, and "who" a person really is. If you believe that I am untrustworthy or self-serving, then you will probably be guarded around me, and only give a limited amount of attention and credibility to the things that I say. If you think that I dislike you or am against you, you will become defensive and perhaps shut me out completely, esteeming me to be your enemy.

The same is true when we have misconceptions about the true character and intentions of God. If we believe that God is angry and mean, we will become defensive and block Him out. If we believe that He is disappointed in us and doesn't want to have anything to do with us, we will not want to have anything to do with Him. If we feel that he loves others more than He does us; we will withdraw, craving the unconditional love that knows no favoritism. Finally, if we think that He is a deity that is impossible to please or that we just can't live up to His expectations of perfection, then we will withdraw from the light into the darkness.

So in order to crave a connection with God and to actively seek Him out, we really must have a positive impression concerning Him. There must be hope for a working relationship between us and Him. Lilly Ann helps us out enormously in this regard. As a first hand witness she gives us a peak into the true character and demeanor of Father.

Lilly Ann portrays a kind and loving Father, rather than an impatient and indifferent God that is too busy to interact with His children. We see an involved parent that would take the time to place the spirit of a little girl on His lap and play with her, and show genuine interest and affection toward her. He is shown not just as caring but accessible and fun-loving, when Lilly Ann further describes her interactions with Him. She says concerning her visits, "He always picks me up and He swings me around and He puts me on His lap and we talk and talk and talk... I can play with Him... He loves to play. "

Next we see that He is not a demanding God, but a Father that highly honors the free will of His children. Lilly Ann was not ordered to come back and help Natalie, but she was given the choice. Father wanted to make sure that she understood that to which she was agreeing, so He gave her full "understanding", a form of enlightenment that most of us probably possessed prior to coming into this world. This He most likely did out of respect for her and her free agency. We see the qualities of an understanding and non-judgmental friend when she says, "He's Father... You can tell Him anything." This statement indicates a powerful character trait of unconditional love.

So by way of Lilly Ann's eyewitness accounts we learn that God possesses the following character traits:

~ We see a kind, loving and affectionate parent that has great interest in His children, and is very involved.

~ We find a being that is approachable and accessible, one that has time for each of His children, and is willing to individually give them loving care and attention.

~ We encounter a guardian that carefully honors the agency of His children, and understands that they must make their own choices, and make their own mistakes. We see that He does not force anybody to do anything.

~ We find that He is understanding and does not judge, but operates in a space of unconditional love. As a result His children can approach Him with anything; in the confidence that they are accepted in His eyes and that they have nothing to fear.

~ Because of Lilly Ann's eyewitness account, we have confirmation that He is not angry by nature when she says, "I don't think I've ever seen Him mad."

~ We learn that He is sensitive and deeply cares for His children. He hurts greatly as He witnesses their sufferings, and at times sheds tears as a result of His great love for them.

All of these things considered, if you will try to develop an unchanging belief in a God that is loving and accessible, one that you can talk to, as one person talks to another. A God that understands and accepts you and that is reaching out to help, not to judge or punish. Believing He is a loving and kind parent, who honors your right to make your own decisions and your own mistakes, while patiently waiting for you to willingly extend your hand toward Him. If you will do this, in time your connection to Him will grow and you will be uplifted and healed. Getting our attitude straight concerning the character of God is a key part of the quest for happiness.

Within the Workbook

The workbook lesson covering belief and understanding will give you a more in-depth look at this subject and provides ideas and exercises that will help you identify any misconceptions you might currently have about God, and how you might improve your own understanding and belief concerning Him.
Teaching Two

**Spiritual Light**

The Concept of Spirit

If you are anything like me you may have struggled in understanding the concept of "the spirit of God" at some point in your life. As a child I wondered how the process worked. What constituted the spirit of God and how did His presence affect me? I was told that my thoughts and behaviors would either draw His spirit to me or move me further away from His presence. Our angels have helped to clarify this concept. They have given us a better understanding of spirit in general when it relates to spiritual energies and how we interact with them.

Vibrations... Good and Bad

The body is an engine. It takes in varying fuels and turns them into energy for its own use. The body is also able to absorb energy directly through the skin. When exposed to the sun, it can absorb ultra violet light and convert it to vitamin D. There are other unseen types of energy or light that the body can absorb. For instance there are certain types of radiation that when taken in directly can be toxic and even lethal.

The body continues its duties as an energy receiver on a spiritual level as well. It is believed that there are forms of spiritual energy coming from the spirit side of our earth sphere. Some of these energies are ultra low frequency in nature and in excess can be spiritually toxic. Conversely there are ultra high frequency forms of energy that are supportive and beneficial in nature to the human make-up. It's important to remember that these energies are spiritual in nature and are most likely unlike those that we know and understand on a physical level. So when I use the term ultra high or low frequency energies, I am referring to extreme high or low frequency spiritual energies.

I recall that one angelic figure we encountered referred to the low frequency form of these energies as "darkness" and she claimed that it was a type of light. Once again this caused me to recall another comment made by Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount. In the book of Matthew, chapter 6 he states:

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

So Jesus teaches us that our bodies can be full of a form of light that he refers to as "darkness".

Bad Spirit

I recall when I was younger occasionally hearing people make comments like:

" _He brought a bad spirit into this house."_

At the time I didn't fully understand the meaning of such statements. While they most likely intended to portray the subject of the remark, as having carried with them a negative, conscious spirit; I now know that there is another meaning associated with this concept. In more primitive times when people referred to spirit, they were not only using the term to describe intelligent spiritual presences, but the word was also used to refer to non-conscious spiritual energy or light. So as energy conduits, we not only draw in this spiritual energy but it also passes through us, affecting the environment around us. If this energy is ultra high frequency then the environment and those within it benefit, and if it is low frequency in nature then those around us may suffer. The form of spiritual energy that is drawn through our bodies is under our control, if we choose to control it. As our emotional state changes, we become attuned to different frequencies of energy and attract them to us.

Just as hundreds of fireflies will attune to the vibrations coming from each other and begin to "blink" in perfect unison for hours, or as the pendulums of multiple clocks in the same room will naturally over time attune to one another and begin to swing in exacting sync, so too will the emotional vibrations that resonate from a living human match with, and attract like vibrations in the form of powerful spiritual energy.

It turns out that our attitudes and emotions are the very things that dictate what form of energies we draw through our bodies, and into our environments. For example, if we tend to be pessimistic and worrisome, the majority of the time we will be drawing in more of this negative kind of energy, and if positivity and hope rule our lives, a powerful ultra high frequency light is attracted to us.

Just as Jesus indicated in the passage above, if our eye or focus is single or agrees with the character traits and purposes of God, our whole body shall be full of light. But if our eye is evil, focused on negative or destructive things, we will be filled with darkness.

The Power of Creation

But we are not simply conduits for this energy, but rather by utilizing it, we become creators of it. In other words, as this energy passes through us, we convert it into a different form of energy tailored for more efficient use by our spiritual and emotional systems.

This is not an uncommon occurrence on the physical earth plane. As mentioned above, the human body has the ability to turn ultra violet light into chemical energy in the form of vitamin D. Plants through the process of photosynthesis turn solar energy into different forms of chemical energy. When we humans consume this plant matter our bodies then have the ability to convert this chemical energy into yet another form of energy for use by the body. In fact, it is a constant within our universe that energy is always moving and changing forms.

Just as a sculptor takes a raw piece of unremarkable marble and tailors it into a different shape and form, that then may inspire and touch others; we are creators of tailored spiritual energy. So as this raw energy passes through us its characteristics are changed, and it becomes what I call programmed energy.

For example, if I feel a great deal of sincere selfless love toward another person, this higher frequency emotion will draw in raw high frequency energy. As that energy passes through me, it will be encoded with data or information associated with that emotion. So if that programmed light touches the person who is the focus of my love, or anyone else for that matter, a like response is triggered from one degree to another.

Forgive me for boiling down the spiritual/emotional system within all of us to such callous metaphorical terms, but it is much like a computer responding to data or code. As that encoded light makes contact with another, their spiritual system responds to that programming in kind. They too should then be brought to a higher emotional frequency and begin to attune to higher frequency energies; in turn producing their own positive programmed spiritual light.

Now the dark side of this equation is as follows. If I tend to participate in negative emotions, like anger for instance, I will draw in a lower frequency type of energy and program it with data akin to anger and discontent. When this energy touches another, it will tend to encourage them toward anger, or at least a defensiveness and suspicion. If you have ever seen two people in a fight that just kept escalating and could not be stopped without the intervention of others, then you have seen this process. These energies encourage and inspire "like" emotional responses.

The Ultimate Light

The ultimate form of this programmed light comes from Father. This definitive light is most famously known as The Spirit of God. He is the supreme being of light and we are His progenitors. As children of such a being, we follow His lead in the function of energy reception and programming. Of course the light that emanates from Him surpasses anything we could receive or tailor.

His light is perfect and contains the blueprint for total and complete wholeness, and more. So while this light contains energy, which builds and heals the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical systems, it also contains information or knowledge. This information certainly can manifest in answers or intuitive guidance, but it is also like informational updating or programming.

Again like a computer must receive programming in order to function properly, the human spiritual system must receive this data from God to stay healthy, to stay on intended path, and to increase. Within this light is the energy and information of perfect peace, healing, hope, and love. It contains the answer to all issues and problems, and the energy it provides can instantly transform any situation for the better.

So when I talk about helping people get more celestial light into their lives, this is the light or the spirit of God to which I refer. Additionally, when we begin to tap into this definitive form of light and we allow it to flow through us to others, this is when real miracles are witnessed.

Pathways of Light and Darkness

A number of years ago I was giving a blessing to a gentleman, and at the end of the session he jumped up from the massage table and pronounced "We're all connected! Did you know that we are all connected? We are all connected through the earth." I asked him if he had been told this during the session and he said "No... I saw it and I felt it. I was connected to people in England and Iraq and China. We are all connected!"

At the time that this happened, I didn't know what to make of it but since then I have come to believe it to be true. In fact some of us appear to be more spiritually connected than others. Within our work we refer to these connections as energy pathways. This process has been placed there by Father as an interpersonal energy transfer system, and this is how it works:

Spiritual energy pathways are established between living persons. Some of these pathways are created naturally and some (in a sense) we willingly allow to develop over the course of our lifetimes. For example, we all have natural energy connections with our parents. These connections are established at birth and tend to increase over the years. On the other hand, we might establish, of our own free will, energy pathways with a love interest or spouse which may also increase over the years.

These pathways are then used to transfer positive and negative from one living person to another. They are being used at their optimum when God's light is being transferred between the living. You have most likely used this system in the past and were not even aware of it.

If you have ever successfully comforted a friend who was going through a difficult time, you have probably utilized this process. You were most likely in a healthy state and they were probably in a weakened condition. If depressed or scared, they had been drawing in negative spiritual energies for some time. As a result, those energies had accumulated around them, making it hard for them to receive that critical healing light from Father.

So being the kind and caring friend that you are, you visited them, giving reassurance and a shoulder on which to cry. Eventually, your friend tells you that they feel better and that they feel like they have "unburdened" themselves. While happy that your friend feels better, you feel a little blah, and not quite as chipper as you did when you first arrived. A transfer of energies has taken place. The energy pathways between your friend and yourself have been utilized to make this transfer possible. Much of the dark energy that was suffocating your friend has been moved off and away through you, hence the "unburdening", and God's light has passed through you to your friend, since they were struggling to receive it on their own. Your own mood might be slightly affected because you literally took on part of that burden. And all of this occurred, not just because of this wonderful energy transfer system, but because of your kind, caring and selfless nature.

Within healing work we encounter this process once again, but on a more grand scale. When I am doing healing work, I believe that energy pathways are ideally established between myself and the person receiving the blessing. It is through these pathways that light and its accompanying information is transferred while accumulated dark energy is siphoned off, increasing the affect of the light. Because the body can be such a wonderful conduit for God's healing love and light, this is why you will see groups of people participating in a blessing over one individual and it is why in some religions more than one person will pray over the sick and afflicted.

While this energy pathway system was designed for good uses, like all other good gifts, it can be vehicle for destructive works. Bear in mind that all of these pathways are not created equal. Some are more significant than others. Some are small and others are very large, and this affects the amount of energy that can be transferred through them. A connection to an acquaintance might be small and insignificant, while a pathway to a family member might be gigantic. They tend to increase over the years depending upon our willingness to build and participate in a relationship (good or bad) with the individual.

Destructive Family Ties

The following is a practical example of how existing connections might be used to negative purposes, and is a scenario that I have encountered more than once. The energy pathways that we share with our parents are some of the most significant that we will experience during our lives. The connections to our mothers are especially substantial. After all, we were literally connected to her for nine months by a physical energy pathway, commonly known as an umbilical cord. A friend of mine had a daughter that he raised in a Christian religion, and when she entered her later teenage years she rebelled against her upbringing. As a result she began living a contrary lifestyle and dating guys that were wild, possessing opposing characteristics to the standards that her father had provided for her.

She moved away from home and for years continued her rebellion, participating in activities and associating with people whom she knew her father would not approve, eventually marrying one of them. Her father during these years suffered greatly in an emotional sense. He experienced powerful feelings of betrayal, failure and disappointment. I remember him saying to me more than once, "She knows better than this. Why did she do this to me?" His utter disappointment in his beloved daughter was so strong and palpable that you could feel the energy just standing in his presence. Now the natural connection that had been established between this man and his daughter was operating in a destructive fashion between them.

Once they were apart, over the years she could still feel his biting disappointment and conditional love through their connection. So even as an adult, she kept fighting against what she perceived as the control of her father. By way of these energy pathways, he continued to feel her emotions of defiance, and this prodded him into more of the same type of emotional responses. They could have been on opposite sides of the planet and they still would have felt the powerful targeted negative emotions coming from one another.

I helped my friend identify this dynamic and encouraged him to drop his negative emotions toward his daughter. Instead, I suggested that he replace them with projections of unconditional love and acceptance. He was concerned this would send a message that he supported her poor choices, but I reassured him that it did not. He had already told her a thousand times over that he disagreed with her lifestyle, and he had to admit that "one thousand and one" would probably not make any difference. I tried to help him understand that whether he agreed with her choices or not, as an adult, they were hers to make and lecturing her was only going to drive her into more of the same. We also discussed the negative programmed spiritual energies that were being projected and how these dark emotions were sabotaging their relationship. Yeah maybe things were bad, but worrying and obsessing over it was only going to make them worse, and prolong a possible resolution.

In addition to his change of attitude toward his daughter, I suggested that he truly begin to practice what he preached. That when a worrisome thought concerning his daughter entered his head, he would remind himself that there was a kind and loving God with a plan that would provide the best possible resolution to the situation. If he were patient and tried to get in touch with that plan, in time things would work out. Becoming angry and stressed out was certainly not putting him in touch with God's plan, in fact it was most likely hampering it.

It wasn't easy but he applied these suggestions and noticed a change within himself almost immediately. He said that he felt an inner peace that he had not experienced for years and he was truly viewing his daughter differently. Later he told me that in the past he had felt almost an obligation or responsibility to be mad at her for her behaviors, and now he realized that those feelings had been coming from the wrong source. Again this did not mean that he agreed with her behaviors. From the stand point of good sense, some of what she did was irresponsible and at times rather stupid, but it meant that it was not his job to be some kind of avenging angel.

Now, right, wrong or indifferent, within a year of his change of approach, his daughter had divorced the guy she had married, her rebellion seemed to ease, and their relationship got back on track and started to heal. He got his daughter back and she got the unconditional love from her dad that she so craved, and the spiritual pathways between them began to function as they were intended, carrying love and light instead of negativity and darkness.

I believe most of us from time to time, have made connections with certain people; connections that ended up working to our detriment. I have known people that have been in questionable relationships, and when the association ended, they were seemingly emotionally devastated. This happens in part because a detrimental energy pathway was developed during the relationship, and the connection is still operating after the breakup. This pathway is most likely fueling the negative emotional aftermath.

So there is great power within our thoughts and feelings, especially those that are targeted at others, especially those with whom we associate. Excessive and repetitive negative thoughts directed at others can literally contribute to their emotional and personal destruction, not to mention our own. I now marvel at people who believe that they must dislike those that do not like them, or hate the hateful, or "protect" themselves with "anger" against those they perceive as a threat. In reality those same dark emotional energies are being returned to them five or even ten fold or more. But when we are feeling love and positivity toward others, we are actually helping ourselves. If the spirit of love and acceptance is being sent through these pathways, a "like" spirit will most likely be inspired and sent back to us.

Jesus probably knew something of this process as yet again I was reminded of another of His teachings from the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5 he encourages:

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Now while I'm sure that Jesus is not suggesting that we allow these trespassers to continue to use and abuse us, I do believe that he is asking us to try to avoid the ongoing battles and confrontations that bring a destructive and contentious spirit into our lives.

So will we be creators and founts of support and inspiration, drawing love and peace into our homes and our families? Or will we be destroyers, inevitably consuming the bitter fruits of our own labors? The choice is ours to make...

Building a Dark Network

Besides using this system to transfer negative energies from one individual to another, there are indications that over time we can connect ourselves to networks of people, generating certain general types of toxic programmed energies.

So if you are encouraged to connect to a person that is jealous or envious in nature, they too are most likely connected to a group of envious people with whom they associate, and those people are connected to other groups of envious and dysfunctional people, and so on, and so on, and so on... By way of this approach, the amount of negative programmed energy to which we expose ourselves is almost imponderable.

Can we quarantine ourselves from all of the toxic individuals that pass us by each and every day? Of course not. But we can become selective about those with whom we closely associate and those to whom we defer. If we look up to or pattern our lives after those that are not striving to make a connection with God, then we will inevitably be connected to something else, whatever that something else may be.

Remember these energy pathways can be established between enemies as well as friends. They can be created when we become infatuated with another person, or with any other type of intense relationship. Extremely powerful energy pathways are always established through sexual relationships, whether it be a one night stand or a long term relationship.

Our angels have encouraged that if we understand this process, we will become more aware of how our actions not only affect others but how they affect our own lives. It is critical to understand how our emotional state and attitudes and beliefs affect our connection with God.

Within the Workbook

The workbook lesson covering spiritual light will help you identify these spiritual energies as they relate to your own personal relationships. You will learn the steps to indentifying a disruptive spirit within most situations. Instead of participating with such toxic influences, you will learn to become a peacemaker and a pathway for God's healing love and light.
Teaching Three

**Life's Meaning**

Understanding the Plan

Over the centuries many have tried to find or explain the meaning of life. This subject is of great interest to our angels. They know that it is critically important for us to have a basic understanding of the program. We must understand why God has sent us here if we are going to trust and willingly participate in His plan. True to our theme, our angels have made it clear that we are here firstly to pursue joy and happiness, but there is another equally important reason.

The Distinguished Body

It appears that the human body is very important. We are surrounded by billions of people on this planet, so the thought of living humans walking around with bodies is commonplace. But in the spirit world there may be many hundreds of times more souls than this, waiting for the opportunity to be born and have a body. This would mean that the 7 billion or so of us that are on this Earth are not commonplace, but instead a fortunate and select group.

The body seems to be a critical part of our spiritual growth and evolution. There is an indication that there are certain things that we could not have learned as spirits in our pre-Earth existence. There are also indications that we are still in a somewhat childlike state, on the spiritual evolutionary scale. The difficulties in this life are sometimes hard to comprehend. We watch in fear and confusion as the sufferings of humankind flash upon our TV screens. We hear of murders and atrocities, war and starvation, and experience disease and sufferings. What's the point?

The old adage "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" carries a lot of weight here. It is true that resistance is necessary for growth. After all, would you pay for a monthly membership to a gym that had no weight plates on the machines? No, because without that resistance there would be no opportunity for development. So in order to continue our growth, another environment was necessary. An environment that contained challenges and obstacles, one in which we could experience the resistance of physical and emotional pain.

Huh?

So why the amnesia? If we remembered our pre-mortal life and had that "understanding", it would be like going to an important exam holding a cheat sheet, or it would be like doing a crossword puzzle that had all of the answers dotted into the spaces. Life and your spiritual purpose is a puzzle that you have been sent here to put together. So why is it important that we mostly figure it out on our own? Because life creates an environment by which, we can learn to make good choices for the right reasons. A situation in which, through trial and error, we will learn to draw light from the good and healthy source, rather than other less holy sources.

In order to learn this lesson and believe it in our hearts, and accept it for ourselves, we must make mistakes. By making poor choices and receiving the consequences of those actions, in time we should (in practical theory) begin to act in a fashion that is more productive and beneficial to ourselves and those around us.

Our little angel Lilly Ann gave me some advice concerning this topic during one of our visits. I told her that I personally felt regret concerning the mistakes that I had made during my life and that I felt like I had been deceived. In response to this she counseled, "Everybody is... It's part of your walk."

Throughout our visits I noticed that Lilly Ann had the most charming way of phrasing certain things. For instance when she says "it's part of your walk", she is referring to our journey through life. She continued, "Randy, if you think about it, if you're not deceived; how can you make the choice to walk away? Don't have pain in your heart because of it. Just know that you chose to walk away. If you wouldn't have been deceived, then you wouldn't have learned that." This was an impactful moment for me. As a person of conscience, I had spent part of my life regretting past mistakes and issues, many of which I had already repented and overcome. She then began to talk about the people she worked with like Natalie and the regret and issues that many tend to carry through life and beyond, "They just can't let it go. They're just so unhappy and they're so sorry, and they just can't get past the point that; that's why you walk [go through this life]. That's why you come [here]. You're not just tested, because it's already there but to learn, and the only way to learn it is if you are deceived. Because then you have the choice to walk away, and as soon as we can convince them of that, that's when they can open up and start receiving. It has to take the deception first and with deception comes wrong choices."

Almost convinced I said, "I just feel sorry for some of my past mistakes and I guess I need to stop that." In agreement she answered. " A huh... Because it puts you in a place where you can't be open. It's because you're true. The faith is there... the love is there... but if you don't believe in it, in yourself, you can't be open enough to get it from Father."

Here again we see the concept of Father's spirit or light resurface. While we should heed the healthy promptings of our conscience and always work toward overcoming personal weakness and sin in a balanced and healthy fashion, if we excessively participate in negative emotions like regret, guilt and self incrimination, we close ourselves off from the presence and guidance of Father. Of course we are then receiving darker spiritual energies that continue to fuel and grow such negative emotional states.

So we "walk" through this life to learn, but there must be difficulty and deception before we can achieve that learning. Within Lilly Ann's words, we see that how we perceive life is as important as how we live it. We must comprehend that we were sent here to make mistakes so that we could learn to overcome them and grow. If on the other hand, we believe that life's hardships are unfair or that we are victims, or that we just don't have what it takes to make it, we will fall into dangerous territory. If we believe that, as a result of our challenges God has forsaken us, then we close ourselves off to His healing spirit.

Lilly Ann teaches that when we carry regret, excessive guilt, worry, fear, anger, resentment, or any other negative emotion, we shut down the lines of communication with the divine. These emotions replace the authentic trust that we need to have in the power and the plan of Father. That trust or belief "opens" us to His powerful light thus empowering us to overcome life's issues, to learn from our mistakes and grow.

Testing... Testing...

Many believe that this life is a test. This concept angers some. Why would a loving God mistrust His children and feel the need to test them? Isn't He supposed to know all... after all? Remember that if God doesn't force, then you most likely (perhaps enthusiastically) desired and agreed to come here. You had talents and abilities that you were anxious to use and test out. There were people already here that you loved and that you longed to join and help. You may have wanted to come here to prove to yourself, and to the Heavenly Father that you loved, that you could do it.

But what if God is testing us? In this life, we test many people within education for instance. This is not done because they are not trusted. University tests are not intended to be punitive in nature, but they are administered to determine what the student has learned. This is done to ascertain whether they are ready to receive even more advanced information on a particular subject. If students were advanced without this proving, the university would not be doing them or their future employers any favors. What if God is testing to see if we are strong enough to move on to the next, more advanced challenge or lesson? Perhaps these tests are merciful rather than punitive in nature.

It's All in the Family

Another critical reason that we are here is to help others transition into this world. When we get married and start a family, we are helping other spirits come into this world, and receive bodies and learning. As parents we hopefully pass on the spiritual tools and knowledge that we have obtained, so that our children can productively learn from their mistakes and grow. If "we" are the reason that this earth was created, and obtaining a body and navigating life is so important, then the work of "family" is the most important work in the world.

The Freedom of Agency

In closing this chapter, I wish to again stress the strong commitment that God and our angels have to our independence and free agency. Father is there to help us to the extent that we are willing to reach out for His help. He does not come down and insinuate Himself into our lives. A hand is always extended but we must reach up to take it.

During one of our sessions, Lilly Ann reinforced our understanding of Father's commitment to our agency when she commented concerning the boundaries that she and other guardian angels must honor, "My brothers and sisters can step in when Natalie's life is in trouble [literal danger] but that's really the only time that Father really wants them [to forcibly interfere]. We can love her and we can encourage her but we can't make her feel love, we can't make her smile, we can't make her do anything."

So we must understand why we are here. We must choose the spirit that will guide us through this life. We must decide to reach out to make that connection with our Creator, the only true source of lasting happiness.

Within the Workbook

The workbook lesson covering Life's Meaning will encourage you to identify your own personal feelings concerning the meaning of life and what you live for, and how those feelings align with God's plan. You will then be asked to look for ways to bring your lifestyle and purpose more in line with God's purposes.
Teaching Four

**Positivity and Optimism**

Developing a Positive and Hopeful Perspective

Our angels teach that since negative emotions attract negative spiritual energies, then living in as positive and hopeful of a fashion should be a priority.

Hush Little Baby

Do you remember when you were a child and you had a bad dream in the night? You woke up crying and your mom or dad would come to check on you. Once you told them what was wrong, they would comfort and reassure you. They might hold you and tell you that everything was going to be OK. Eventually because of their reassurance and love, you would relax and go back to sleep. Why did their mere presence and soothing words make you feel better? Why did you trust that they could make things alright? You trusted them because they had been your loving guardians since birth. Even if they weren't perfect, they gave you a level of love and care that no one else could provide, and they gave you something in which to believe. They gave you a reason to have hope. If on the other hand, you awoke in the night crying out but there was never anyone there to comfort you, how could you ever believe that things would work out or be alright?

I find a similar dynamic in adulthood. Often I'll work with people that do not have defined spiritual beliefs or do not have a belief in God. Sometimes when they express concerns about their lives and the future, I'll try to comfort them and tell them that "everything will be alright". When I make such statements, they often look at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears. How could I possibly know that everything will be alright? After all, most of them believe that life is just a random series of events. Sure, you can plan and prepare, but then the rest is up to chance. If this is true, they have a valid point. It would make life nothing more than a game of chance. Some will have good fortune and happiness, and some will just plain lose. If this is the case, then being positive and hopeful about life and the future is unfounded, without grounds or justification.

On the other hand, just as the uncertain child in the night relies upon their parent for reassurance and comfort, those that connect with God have a similar perspective. They realize that there is a higher power watching over them and that good will come from whatever happens to them. They know that they are here to face challenges and grow, and that if they stick with it, things will work out. They are also aware that there is a spiritual plan for them, and if they get on board with that program, life will improve. While to the skeptic this may not seem like concrete reason, these individuals believe they have real cause to be positive and hopeful.

So the first step to living a more positive and hopeful life is developing a belief in Father, and then through that belief, establishing a connection through which you build trust in Him and His plan for your life. Without trust in God, any hope or positivity that you may develop is founded on an always fallible and changing temporal world.

Word to the Wise

If we knew the power of our thoughts and words, we might guard them more carefully. Our inner dialogue is especially important. Over time the things that we hear within tend to proceed forth from our mouths. More importantly, that inner conversation contributes to building our belief system, and will in time mold and form the very course of our lives. When we marry this with the concept of our thoughts and feelings being a lightning rod for powerful spiritual energies, the inner conversation becomes another key component in the reception of light and positive spiritual development.

Each person's internal dialogue has a manner of language that is uniquely its own. Some may have an inner language that tends to be very negative in nature, while others have an internal discourse that is more optimistic and forgiving. Some may have a personal dialogue that is a little more naïve and innocent, while still others might hear fiery words of drive and motivation.

Regardless of the general characteristics of our internal dialogue, we must make sure that the dominant trait is one of positivity. If we want to receive celestial light and understand the information that is contained therein, an internal dialogue carrying an overall optimistic tone is required. If you wish to communicate with beings of light, you must speak the language of angels or one which is characterized by a hopeful and loving outlook. Unfortunately, many of us internally speak the language of devils, which is characterized by words of fear, hopelessness, selfishness, anger, hatred, or despair. So identifying the overall demeanor of your internal conversation is the first step to adjusting it. Next you must monitor it heavily to discover the depth of the offending traits, and finally regular adjustments in tone must be made and reinforced.

Watch that Attitude Mister!

Adjusting the internal dialog will in time reshape the overall attitude. When an attitude of positivity and belief is established, things that were once thought to be impossible become plausible. The power of belief accompanied by truthful knowledge is another underpinning of spiritual and personal success.

A few years ago there was a television show on the Discovery Channel called Man vs. Wild. The host of this show, a man named Bear Grylls who is a seasoned adventurer and survival expert, showed viewers how to survive if stranded in remote wilderness areas. The show took him from the swamps of the Everglades to the Sahara desert, to the depths of the Costa Rican rain forest and various other remote locations throughout the world. At some point during each episode, he talks about those that wander into these areas every year unprepared, and that end up becoming lost or killed as a result. So why can someone like Bear Grylls go into such an environment and successfully walk out, while others end up stranded or dead. After all it is the same environment, containing equal resources. The reason lies within the concepts of knowledge and attitude.

Those who perish in these harsh wilderness areas are first and foremost lacking in knowledge; knowledge of the environment around them, and of how to utilize the resources therein towards their own survival.

Second is attitude. Quite often when faced with difficult situations that seem on the outside to be bleak, there is a tendency within the average human to lose hope and just give up.

On the other hand, survivalists like Bear Grylls understand the terrain and how to find their way through it before they ever enter it. They know what is edible and what's not, and they know how to pass through dangerous situations safely, where others might likely perish.

In addition to understanding and experience, these experts have a "never give up" attitude. They strive to stay positive and upbeat, and some including Bear, rely on their spiritual beliefs to see them through. They know that a bad attitude can kill you just as dead as a 200 foot drop. Life is not just similar, but identical to the above analogy. In order to truly accomplish what you came here to do and be happy, you must have accurate knowledge and understanding concerning God's plan and the spirit worlds that surround you, and how your actions affect reactions within these unseen environments.

If you are going to overcome the obstacles that you have come here to face then your attitude will have to be characterized by "can do" optimism. Don't fall into the trap that would have you believe that life's challenges are a punishment rather than an opportunity for growth. Within this book alone, you will gain great knowledge concerning these things, so now resolve today to add to that, a positive and determined attitude. Keep at it and in time it will come.

True and lasting happiness can only be found within the attitudinal boundaries of hope and optimism.

Within the Workbook

The workbook lesson on Positivity and Optimism will encourage you to not only monitor your internal dialogue but also the words that you speak daily. You will be asked to watch for negative or destructive conversational patterns, and then make adjustments that will begin to produce a more hopeful and positive personal outlook.
Teaching Five

**Thankfulness**

The Power of Appreciation

We can't be happy if we are unappreciative of our blessings, no matter how small. Our angels teach that our overall opinion of life and the world around us is an invaluable cornerstone in building and maintaining a positive long term foundational outlook.

Thanksgiving isn't just a Cold Day in November

Back in the 1940's and 1950's the average American lived in a small 800 to 1100 sq. ft. home. It was not uncommon for two or three children to share one bedroom. Some adult occupants would remain in that same house throughout the rest of their lives. Of these some would purchase furniture that would serve their needs within their home for the balance of their lives. On average these households had a "bread winner" that provided enough to be sufficient for their needs and a little to save for the future. Few had any inclination or need to become rich. When the invention of the black and white television became popularized, (if you could afford the price) you probably only had one set, and there were only one or two channels available for it. Families ate dinner together and quite often a main form of entertainment was talking and associating with one another.

Perhaps they would get together to play a board game, or gather around a piano and sing. Most of those that lived during this time and experienced this lifestyle considered themselves happy and fulfilled. Many of these people having experienced "The Great Depression", felt fortunate and blessed to live such a happy lifestyle, which provided for all of their needs. Today things are quite different. If most of us were placed in the above mentioned environment today, we would not feel happy, fulfilled or fortunate but we would think that we were in some kind of hell.

In America, no matter what your income or social standing, we have all become a little spoiled. We gotta have our stuff, and we just can't be happy without more of it. We just wouldn't be able to get by without our flat screen TV's and 472 different cable TV channels, video game systems, central air conditioning, internet, cell phones, MP3 players, our boat and ATV's, and the list goes on and on.

Of course there is still some poverty in America and there are many who struggle, living pay check to pay check. The point is that in general, we are the most prosperous and blessed nation in the history of humankind, and yet many of us (perhaps most) are just plain miserable. Opportunities abound. You can achieve almost anything that you desire, with some hard work and persistence.

If you walk into one of the mega-superstores that dot the landscape, you will have easy access to more selections of food and merchandise than did most of the kings that have ever lived upon the earth. The security and temporal peace of mind that you enjoy is unparalleled in history. You do not have to worry about corrupt governments breaking down your door in an unwarranted fashion in the middle of the night, and you don't have marauding hoards riding through your town plundering and pillaging. Even with all of this temporal abundance and security, many are dissatisfied, fearful and just plain unfulfilled. Why?

Well there are probably multiple why's within this equation, but one of the main culprits is a lack of appreciation. As we compare ourselves and our lives to those of others, our overall perspective is shaped and envious attitudes of ungratefulness are born.

Even though we have a roof over our heads, food to eat, air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter, and most of our other temporal needs are being met, if we fall for the negatively programmed spirit of envy, we will inevitably become resentful of that which we already have, and covetous of the things that we don't. When there are many things in our lives that are very valuable, spiritual darkness can shift our focus to the negatives and the challenges. You may have a wonderful spouse and children but this dark light will push you towards focusing exclusively upon their few negative qualities, while ignoring the many positive blessings that they contribute to your life.

Outside of the home a dark focus might be shifted within your job. Instead of being thankful to have employment and an income that can be used as a stepping stone to something even better, you might be prompted to focus upon all the negatives within your job, and to feel bitter and unhappy concerning it.

On a social and political level, you could be convinced that the sky is falling and that the world is coming to an end. As a result you may go through life angry and fearful over something which you have little control. Overtime this may blind you to the fact that you live in one of the most successful and prosperous sociopolitical environments of all time. All the while to date the sky has never actually fallen and the world just keeps spinning round. If negative spiritual influence devalues within our minds, the many wonderful and unparalleled blessings from which we all benefit, then it will be impossible for us to identify and take advantage of increased blessings and opportunities in the future.

An Attitude of Gratitude

So how does one adopt a thankful attitude within almost any environment? You must start by beginning to identify and value the things from which you benefit every day, and through this you will begin to devalue the things with which you are dissatisfied, or that you unreasonably desire. Now I am not suggesting that you become complacent, and strive to live in a state of mediocrity and misery. We can identify things in our lives that are in need of improvement, without defining our lives exclusively with these issues.

You might begin by standing outside of your house or apartment. Look at your dwelling and try to appreciate the fact that you are blessed to have a comfortable and safe place in which to return everyday, where you can relax, recharge and rest. Step inside your home and look around. Perhaps you have a beautiful home, or maybe your home is small and cluttered, or in need of repair.

No matter what the physical state, again try to appreciate that even if you are renting, this is your home and it is a place from which all of your hopes and dreams can spring forth. It's a launching pad for better things in the future. The mess can be cleaned up, and things can be repaired, but you are going to be less likely to start such projects unless you value the property, and believe that it is worth the investment of your time.

Maybe as you stand in your house there are kids running around like a troop of baboons, shattering your peace and mental tranquility. While you love your children, you are reminded of how many times you'd like to ring their necks. Stop and take another look. Those children represent a great blessing and opportunity. They have been sent and entrusted in your care to be raised as balanced individuals, gaining spiritual knowledge and tools.

Maybe you have struggled to help them in these areas in the past. Not to worry; it is never too late to bring the power of celestial light into your home and the lives of your children. What a great and exciting opportunity you have ahead, in helping your kids transform into well behaved, spiritually positive beings.

Perhaps your health is relatively good. Well then celebrate it by exercising this gift and go take a walk, or play ball with the kids, or any activity that will add to this blessing. Maybe your car is a "cracker box" and you've wished for something more. While you are working toward something better, don't hate on your car but rejoice in the fact that you have a conveyance that takes you from point A to point B every day, quickly and in comfort with little effort on your part.

If you will consciously begin to do this in almost every area of your life, your attitude of appreciation will begin to sprout and eventually lasting positivity will bloom.

Within the Workbook

In the workbook lesson on Thankfulness you will find information and exercises that will help you shift from a problem oriented attitude to one of gratitude. You will begin to count and even itemize your many blessings on a daily basis and this will build a solid foundation for lasting happiness and prosperity.
Teaching Six

**The Soul**

Connecting with the God's Spirit through the Soul.

Our angels have great interest in the wellbeing of the soul. They have taught us that God's connection to us is not made to our minds or to our bodies, but directly to our souls. So an understanding of the function and importance of the soul is necessary to the attainment of lasting happiness.

Window to the Soul

What of the soul? What is it like? How does it function? While many questions will have to remain unanswered, there are a few key bits of information concerning the soul that we have learned through our association with angels, which we believe constitutes an essential step in spiritual understanding and communication.

So when our soul is sent to this earthly existence to join with our body prior to birth, what is the state of that spirit? Clearly that essence has little or no recollection of its pre-mortal existence, or more of us would remember a life prior to this one. Do you recall when our little Angel Lilly Ann talked about being given "understanding"? Within this concept we find a transition between having the knowledge and identity that she possessed prior to earth life, and a state where that information was taken away.

So it appears that we are sent here as a spiritual "clean slate". As with the physical form which is in an infantile state, so too is our spiritual essence made puerile and new. While on a spiritual level we may still retain certain qualities and character traits that we developed in our pre-earth life, our memories of that life and the overall plan have been erased.

As we begin to grow and learn, the spirit side of us is developing along parallel lines to varying degrees with our conscious physical self. When it comes to the physical world, the eternal soul within each of us is looking to take its cues from our conscious self, which has been provided to carry our spiritual self through this earth life.

Now bear in mind that our spirit side has a case of amnesia concerning Father and it has most likely not been pointed in the direction of making that subconscious connection. Certain spiritual light and processes are being sent through the soul that are keeping the physical body alive and functioning. The soul may or may not be aware of these processes, for they are most likely automatic, much like you don't have to be consciously aware of your immune system for it to work.

Since the soul is waiting for direction from the conscious mind, the manner in which it develops varies from person to person. Where the conscious mind is focused, there too will the spirit follow. Although some positive spiritual growth can be obtained through successfully navigating life's challenges, the only way to substantially develop in spirit is for the conscious mind to focus upon such pursuits. Once the conscious self makes spiritual development a priority and begins to actively work in that regard, the spirit self begins to learn as well and is pointed in that direction. In time the soul begins to receive more light and the information within. This enlarges the soul in strength, knowledge and maturity.

The soul eventually will begin to reclaim some of the spiritual understanding that it possessed prior to coming to this earth. While the specific details of its pre-earth life will continue to be veiled, a sense of who the soul is will be revealed and powerfully positive spiritual character traits will begin to be restored.

The spirit will continue to receive the light and knowledge sent from Father more and more efficiently, resulting in greater joy and improved life choices. Ideally in time, the roles of the spiritual and the physical minds will be reversed and the spiritual self will become the more powerful of the two. This will result in the spirit self taking control and guiding the conscious physical self through the remainder of their earth life.

A Twofer

Throughout all of the above explanation concerning the soul, you are probably noticing a duality of sorts or a split personality in a sense. I struggled with this myself, but as I considered it, I came to the following realizations:

• Before I came to this earth life I was an individual spirit.

• When I came here and took on a body and a conscious mind, a blending of two very different dimensional existences occurred. While separate, both become one for a season.

• When I die, I will lay down this body and return to my original spirit form, carrying all of my conscious physical experience back to the spirit world from whence I came.

So in a sense there are two separate and intelligent aspects, one spiritual and one that is physical. They are dependent upon one another in this world, in that the spirit must initially take its cues from the physical, while without the spirit, the physical would cease to exist. One main goal is to see if they can develop together as a cooperative unit, working toward the balanced and healthy edification of both. So if they are separate forms of consciousness trying to productively coexist, then determining whether there is balance or imbalance between the two becomes critical.

In reality this type of duality is not that unfamiliar to us. Even if you have never been interested in things spiritual in the past, you probably were concerned about other dimensions of your person. You may have exercised in order to care for the body, but your concern may not have ended with the physical. You may have also focused on developing your mind; as a result you may have pursued a higher level of education through reading or schooling. It may not have ended there. If you were having emotional issues, you may have visited a counselor or psychologist to learn how to better care for this side of your life. In other words, we are all aware that we are multi-dimensional beings.

The Care and Feeding of the Soul

So how much attention have you given to your soul lately? Perhaps you didn't even know it was there. Maybe you knew it was there and you just thought it could take care of itself, or perhaps you just haven't given it any thought.

If you are like most, you are living in the preoccupation of the physical world and have little time for such things. The hustle and bustle of the physical is counter to the nature of the spirit within, and a balance has to be found. Simply taking a relaxing vacation will not only rejuvenate the physical, but it creates a relaxed environment in which the soul can better do its thing. That thing being: connecting with God and His light.

And yet simple relaxation is passive spiritual support at best. If we want to overcome the mental, emotional and physical issues of life, we must proactively focus on the edification of the soul. Does this involve reading poetry, visiting an art museum, or perhaps going to an uplifting concert? Well yes, this will feed the soul and can be positive support, but it is not sufficient spiritual nutrition to keep the soul healthy and happy.

We must directly and dynamically get involved on a conscious level. Many, who operate during the week in a mostly physical mindset, take time out on the weekend to attend religious services in an attempt to give instruction and support to the soul. Others that may not be religiously minded will develop their own spiritual routine, and study, pray or meditate on their own. Now while this approach is the standard and will continue to be critical in spiritual development, I believe there is an even more powerful and direct method that can be utilized to explosively increase the spirit within.

Look Inside

I set out on the journey to find the soul within myself, at the suggestion from someone else. Again while conversing with our little ministering spirit Lilly Ann during a session; she made a suggestion that would lead to yet another turning point within this work. While we were discussing the "awe" that I felt concerning Natalie's amazing spiritual gifts and light, Lilly Ann asked me, "Have you learned how to look inside of yourself?"

At the time not understanding that to which she was referring, I indicated that I had not. To this she replied, "I think you'll see that same awe". In successive sessions she would always ask if I had looked inside myself yet, indicating that if I did, I would encounter something "wonderful".

In addition to my lack of understanding of what she was driving at, I certainly did not know how to look inside myself. I have never been super visual in my spiritual communications, but instead I am more audient and intuitive in nature. Lilly Ann wasn't much help beyond the initial suggestion. Once I asked her if she had any tips on how one might go about looking inside themselves, to which she replied in her usual precocious manner, "You'll figure it out". In fact, I did not start figuring it out until more than a year after she had dropped the first hint.

As I was reviewing that session one day and heard her suggestion anew, I was suddenly impressed by an enormous positive prompting encouraging me not to look within but rather to focus within. So that evening, all alone, I sat down, closed my eyes, quieted my mind, and tried to focus within. I was surprised when in less than a minute, I sensed a familiar presence and the accompanying words "I'm lonely". Next, just as quickly, I sensed feelings of dejection and sadness. Finally like a ton of bricks it hit me. The presence that I had just sensed, and that seemed so familiar, was my own spirit or soul.

I was shocked. Had my own soul actually reached out in an attempt to communicate with me? Frankly, I wasn't sure what had just happened, but the whole experience brought me to a certain realization. While I had been doing this wonderful spiritual work and seeing great results with those that I blessed, I had not given any thought to my own soul. I like most everyone else, figured that it was not separate but a part of me, and that it took care of itself.

As I considered the information that I had just received it made a lot of sense. Yes I had heard and followed good and positive promptings, and I was on my path, and yet the whole time I had in fact felt lonely and somewhat sad. That wasn't the worst of it. Since my low point I had struggled to find and feel any joy in life, even in the midst of so many wonderful miracles. Were the feelings of loneliness and sadness coming directly from my soul, and could it be a result of neglect on my part?

As I continued to peer within, I sensed an intricate spiritual being with gifts and talents and feelings. At this point the duality of the whole situation was kind of freaking me out. I had never thought of myself as both physical and spiritual in a consciousness sort of way, but now I didn't have the luxury of just thinking it, I was feeling it. So I thought, (Here it comes... the standard clueless demeanor I adopt at all of my crossroads.) "What am I suppose to do now?"

After a few deep breaths and some quiet contemplation, I arrived at the most basic of solutions. I thought, "Well if my soul needed help... maybe I should figure out a way to respond?" So feeling stupid and a bit uncomfortable, I focused on the issues at hand; loneliness and sadness. "What would I do with a flesh and blood person that was lonely and sad?" I thought.

I would comfort them, of course. So (Have I mentioned that I felt stupid and uncomfortable?) I focused my attention deep within once again and began internally telling my soul that everything was going to be alright, and that I was aware of his presence. I then, dazed and confused, got up and went to bed.

The next morning I did it again, focusing within, but this time I felt impressed to apologize to my soul for ignoring and neglecting him. I then felt inspired to express love towards my inner spirit, after which I ended this phase of the experiment.

During the commute to my office, I was singing along with the music coming from my MP3 player, when I felt another prompting concerning my soul. So instead of directing my vocalizations into the air, as I usually do, I directed them inward. Ok, so now I was singing to my soul... Could it get any weirder than this?

Now I know that at this point, some of you are most likely thinking that I am certifiable; but you know what? Something wonderful happened.

When I arrived at my office and began working at my PC, I noticed that I had a stupid grin on my face for no apparent reason, and I couldn't seem to wipe it off even if I had wanted to. Then later that afternoon while driving to a convenience store, it happened. I had almost forgotten what it felt like. After years "missing in action", I felt it rising right in the center of my chest... It was joy! Not pleasure or humor, but real happiness-style joy.

On a level I thought that I would never again feel the type of optimistic joy that I had experienced when I was younger, but there it was practically sitting in my lap. While incredibly thankful and humbled by the experience, I couldn't help but ironically think, "I have joy again and I've started talking and singing to myself... What a day!"

The Child Within

I recall a pop psychological concept that was popularized during the 1980's known as the inner child. It suggested that all of us have a child within; whose emotional needs and issues must be addressed before lasting mental and emotional health can be maintained.

Referred to by some psychotherapists as the true self, it is the innocent child-like part of us. It retains emotional memories of childhood trauma and neglect. It also supposedly is the center of wonderful qualities like imagination, emotional sensitivity, and creativity. It is the part of you that knew how to have fun, and that perhaps felt genuine feelings of joy.

Since the general concept surfaced, many different views and therapies surrounding the inner child have immerged. A couple of standard approaches that focus on the inner child have been used with great success. One approach is to have the patient try to visualize (or look at) the child inside. Another is to talk to the inner child, directing words and affirmations of love, comfort and encouragement within.

Remember that Lilly Ann told me to look inside, and then after I did so, I began to talk to what I encountered there. As a result it seems that there are also similarities between the concept of the inner child and the soul. We have established that the soul comes into this world in an infantile state, and its healthy growth is dependent upon positive outside conscious stimuli. It is also very easy to expect that qualities such as imagination, sensitivity, creativity and joy would arise directly from the soul.

So if there are traumas, it is conceivable that the soul may retreat, or may be scarred or marred in some fashion. If the soul is fearful or crying out for help in our youth, those cries may be perceived as a source of pain, so we might choose to repress the soul or block its communications completely. If this happens the light from our Creator is blocked off too.

It appears that the soul will sometimes retreat and stop developing without positive conscious attention. This may also happen if a child is raised with no spiritual beliefs, or if he believes that the spiritual attitudes that he is being taught are controlling or punitive in nature. As a result emotional maturity is stunted and the affect on all levels is substantial. The soul's growth will be affected if there is little love or affection expressed in the home. This may also manifest in a characteristic emotional demeanor that is divorced and cold.

I LOVE ME!

Love of self has always been a confusing concept for me. Growing up I had heard about this concept and during my more recent spiritual pursuits it had once again surfaced. For years I had my own battles with negative self talk, so I had a hard time believing that I could ever love myself.

Over the years, I remember watching certain individuals that went through life outwardly touting their abilities and perceived virtues. Whether it was their beauty, intelligence, talent, or physical prowess, these self-promoters competitively floated through life, vocally expressing a public love of self, while encouraging others to admire them in a similar fashion. This confused the issue further for me, since I had little desire to emulate such behaviors.

I now believe that love of self is the act of loving the self within. Yes, it is a belief that the self within is something very special. After all, your inner spirit is the spark of God, containing the spiritual DNA of deity, but I believe that it means much more than this. Rather than indicating a high opinion of one's self, it means expressing love or feeling love toward one's true essence or soul.

So it appears that believing in, and staying aware of the soul is a vital piece of our puzzle. I have found it easier to learn to love my own inner spirit by thinking of it as a separate part of me, partnered with the physical. Otherwise love of "me" feels very self indulgent and adverse to an attitude of confident humility.

If You Can't Say Something Nice...

So say something nice to yourself. Quiet your mind, focus inside, and get in touch. Express love to your soul. Comfort your inner spirit with words of hope. Include this all important part of yourself in the "day in – day out" of your life. Feel foolish like I did and sing to your soul. It may take some time for results to be seen, so keep at it.

Now in no way am I suggesting that when you encourage your soul, you wait for detailed verbal style responses. The reply will come in feelings of joy, comfort and peace. What I am saying is that I have found that sending positive and comforting encouragements to your "inner spirit", is a powerful way to bring the spiritual and physical together as a united force.

While you're at it, consider what you are speaking to the souls of those around you. Negative and demeaning comments and tones of voice coming from you may be beating down the souls of those you claim to love.

Additionally, it is very important to monitor what you are feeding your soul through other sources. For example, media containing excessive violence or content that promotes negatively attuning behaviors or attitudes is counter to the positive spiritual development of the soul. Those that are committed to religious spiritual pursuit understand that spiritually oriented praise music is a powerful tool. It is said that it can inspire the participant, thus attracting the spirit of God. Conversely, imagine which other types of negatively programmed energies are being attracted by the various forms of popular music today.

Finally, one more word on the concept of love of self. Within Christian belief the most important thing a person can do to attain spiritual enlightenment and joy is to love God. The second is to love their fellow human being. So if that soul inside of you came from God and was a part of Him, then when you love yourself, you are in fact loving God. If the soul that resides within your fellow human being is that same spark of the divine, then when you love your neighbor, you are in turn loving God. Imagine what might be transpiring if you hate yourself, or you despise most other people in general. This will inevitably cause a disconnect from the otherworldly light and guidance that you so desperately need.

Our guardian angels greatly desire that we begin to care for and value our souls. For proper positive spiritual growth our souls are dependent on the celestial light that comes from Father, and the reception of that light once again is reliant upon our becoming good stewards of our thoughts, emotions and actions.

Within the Workbook

In the workbook lesson on The Soul you will discover how to awaken your inner spirit through the power of the spoken blessing. Unlike empty affirmations, spoken blessings will increase the soul, while calling down the power of God to transform your life and the lives of those around you.
Teaching Seven

**Priorities and Moderation**

Living a Balanced and Moderate Life

A common angelic message concerns the priorities of those that they have come to help. It's usually the case that if someone is having problems of any kind, it initially began as a result of their priorities becoming out of balance. Priorities tend to represent values. Wherever our values lie, is usually where our priorities are shifted. Jesus also taught of values and priorities in Matthew, chapter six when he said:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

He knew that the things that we treasure are usually our greatest priority. Unfortunately the things that we want and desire are not always good for us in the long term, and can end up taking precedent over the things that we claim to care about like family and loved ones, and of course our relationship with God.

Making Our Priorities a Priority

Quite often priorities are a difficult thing to bring in line, but if we can align our priorities with those of our Heavenly Father, then a fine tuning to the gifts within the light will begin to take place. So what are the priorities of God? If we are truly the offspring of this being of light then the answer to this question is quite simple, especially if you are a parent. In order to effectively communicate the answer to this question, allow me to pose another. Let's say for the sake of illustration that you are living "the life". You have a beautifully appointed home with some of the most modern luxuries that money can buy. In your garage sets a stunning, late model, luxury automobile. In addition to all of this temporal wellbeing, you have a gorgeous two year old daughter.

One night as you sleep, you awake to the strong choking smell of smoke. As you get up and open your bedroom door, all around you is aflame. You realize that the blaze is out of control and seems to have spread to most of your home, and you have just a minute or so before escape will be impossible. Now while this scenario is frightening and tragic, you have a real opportunity here to realize where your true priorities lie.

So let's say that you only have time to grab one item from your home, and usher it and yourself to safety. Which item do you choose? Is it your jewelry, or some cash that you have stashed away? Maybe it's your laptop computer? After all, you have often said that your whole world is on that thing. Perhaps you grab your keys and pull your beloved car out of the soon to collapse garage?

Of course the answer to this is obvious. It would take little thought once you had determined that your home was an inferno, to run directly to your daughter's room, and scoop her up and out to safety. So if your first priority is so crystal clear, why would it be difficult to understand God's main and overriding priority? Lilly Ann makes it clear that in the mind of God, we are His greatest creation and priority.

Now this may be hard to understand since there are so many amazing and beautiful things in this world and throughout the universe, but again if you will think like a loving parent, I believe that this will make great sense to you. So if God's priority is humankind then this too should be our priority over all other earthly things.

Pollution Solution

When I was a kid my Mom and Dad taught us not only to be spiritually responsible, but socially aware. We were great conservationists, believing in the need to strive for cleaner air and water, and to care for the earth in a balanced and responsible manner.

I was a member of the Boy Scouts of America, and we would quite often have service projects that were focused toward this goal. I remember developing and protecting natural springs, and maintaining trails in forested areas. There were times that we would participate in roadside litter pickup and other beautification projects.

My dad wrote a poem about his passion for conservation and its place in our lives. As a child I remember that I was so proud of my dad and his poem, that I took it to school and read it for "show and tell".

Now my dad's day job was as a wholesale food executive and he held the positions of Vice President with Certified Grocers of California, and later General Manager of Associated Foods California division. So passionate did my dad feel about conservation that I remember hearing that he included this poem in an opening speech he gave to a large grocer's convention, even though it probably didn't have much to do with groceries.

While my father taught us that conservation and the health of the planet was a priority, he also made it clear that it was not at the core or center of our personal priorities. He taught that our main priority was making a clearer and stronger connection with God, and loving and supporting our fellow human beings in finding and pursuing their own true spiritual paths.

Even in the final verse of his poem which he entitled "Pollution Solution", he comes to the conclusion that the best way to help the planet is to focus on service to our fellow man and woman.

(If you would like to read this poem, it is located in the back of this book in Appendix I.)

Throwing the Baby Out with the Recycled Bath Water

That was then and this is now. Balanced conservationism over the last 35 years has grown into the behemoth known as environmentalism. There has not been an overall national push like the environmental movement of today, since the country united in patriotic fervor and commitment during WWII.

It seems that everywhere you turn there is someone promoting lifestyle and societal changes in the name of environmental purism, regardless of the cost. This creed for a new age is slowly replacing more traditional allegiances such as God and Country or patriotism. This is clearly evident for example, as New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has proposed, to great fan fare, that "Green is the new red, white and blue".

It turns out that saving the planet also translates into big bucks, as just about every corporation of size is now rushing to try to find ways to demonstrate that they are more "green" than their competitors. An onslaught of advertisements can be seen and heard on television and radio, promoting the "Green" agenda as society's greatest priority.

Now I bring up this whole issue here, because it is the most glaring example of the topic at hand that I have ever witnessed in my life. It is an example of a "misplaced priority". A misplaced priority is when you take one very important issue and exalt it above another issue of much greater importance.

So if my main daily focus is on the planet and its well-being; what of God? What of my fellow man and woman? I know that many will say, "When I am caring for the planet, I am caring for my fellow human and their future". So as we place so much of our resources and energy into this lofty pursuit, how exactly is it going to curb the increase in the breakdown of the family, divorce, emotional and mental illness, violent crime, etc.

And as this societal breakdown continues around you, you might just end up being more concerned about repopulating an area of the country with grizzly bears, than you are about the personal deterioration of the people in your own community.

I have to admit that I have never heard of a period of time when American corporations in mass, promoted the importance and urgency of being kind and loving towards one another, or in raising children to have standards and manners.

And all of this boils down to priority. If our priorities are out of sync with those of our Heavenly Father, then we can wander off course, no matter how noble the cause.

You Can't Take it with You

Of course it's not just large social movements that can take us off course, but anything that obsessively takes precedence over spiritual priorities. This life is replete with many entertaining and fulfilling activities. Television, movies, video games, professional sports, hobbies, outdoor activities, food, and travel are just a handful of the countless activities that engulf our lives. One of the main reasons that we exist is to have joy, so filling our spare time with such pursuits is very important. They can provide an avenue for decompression, relaxation, and just plain fun.

Unfortunately for some, these types of activities slowly gain priority over other more pressing concerns. While some get hooked on these pursuits in an addictive fashion, many turn to them in avoidance of the overwhelming responsibilities of life. It's not just activities that can take us off path but other pursuits such as the accumulation of belongings, the acquisition of money or of power or control over others, or the unbridled desire for superficial adoration. Whatever is your "thing", that thing that defines you, that thing that excites you; if it begins to largely take priority over more healthy responsibilities like family, friends and Father, then you will gradually be driven off the path of happiness and toward an uncertain future.

Precedential Pecking Order

So if God's first priority is we humans, and in order to fine tune our connection with Him we must make one another our top earthly priority; how do the human priorities fall into line? First of all, it is important to remember, that you can't micromanage the wellbeing of others, and due to free will and other factors, most of the personal housekeeping is up to the individual adult. This said, our focus should be upon the spiritual support of others through how we treat them and how we carry ourselves through life.

Our priorities will most efficiently fall into the following order:

1) God: If we want perfect guidance and assistance for ourselves and our families, our first focus should be upon Father. I am not talking about the clichéd vision of some cultist fanatical nut, which puts his belief in an extremist God ahead of everything else, and by so doing neglects his wife and children, not to mention his sanity. If you connect with the true loving and caring God, then He will always guide you in the best way to love and care for your family and friends. Remember, if His first priority is humankind, then making Him your first priority should always place your focus upon the best course towards the wellbeing of yourself, your family, and others. This is the embodiment of The Happiness Principle.

2) Spiritual Self: Have you ever heard of the concept that states that before you can effectively help others, you must first begin by "putting your own house in order"? If you are going to be a good and productive support to family, friends, and associates, then you must place making a personal connection with the light at the top of your list. Now it may sound selfish to place any form of "self" at the top of the list, but it is in fact a critical necessity in making that fine tuned connection. If you are in tune with anything other than Father's spirit, you may be a detriment rather than a support to others. By taking this priority seriously, you will stay mentally and emotionally healthy, and in turn be of great help to those around you. Also bear in mind that if you are drawing in God's spirit, you will be inspiring others to do the same.

3) Spouse: If you are in a committed relationship, you cannot be truly happy if your partner is suffering and drawing darkness into your lives. Again it falls to you to strive to be kind, loving, caring, patient and supportive. Your partner must feel like a priority, and should be treated as such. If you have children, they cannot be truly happy and well-adjusted unless you and your spouse get your own personal spiritual households in order.

4) Children: There are those that believe that children should be at the very top of this list. Bear in mind that children tend to be as emotionally healthy and happy in the long term as their parents are, and can be a reflection of them. This is why the parents are ranked "a little" higher. Remember that these are spiritual priorities and if the parents are spiritually healthy and in-tune, the children should thrive.

5) Family and Friends: Our extended families and friends can be a great source of love and support, and we should make it a priority to love and support them in paths that are spiritually productive. Now I know that this is difficult to accomplish with some family members, so you must use your best judgment here. If it is a destructive person, tread carefully. This said, if we all cared for our own, the world would transform overnight.

6) Neighbors: This category includes business associates, acquaintances, and people in our communities. Our general safety, health and wellbeing is a reflection of those around us. We should be the ones that have the most concern and interest in the welfare of those in our communities. Wherever possible we should come to their aid prior to any national governmental agency. Again, if we all cared for our own, the world would transform overnight.

7) Fellow Humankind: Just as the man who had the vision of all humankind being connected, we should envision a connection with all other people on the Earth. We are all spiritual brothers and sisters, and have been sent here on the same general quest. Our main focus here is to strive to support one another in this journey and goal whenever possible.

I think of my main priorities as the center or nucleus of my life. As long as these concerns stay in the middle and more temporal concerns stay on the outside, things will tend to remain in balance. By doing this, I will be placing myself in "fine tune" with Father and the gifts that are within the light that He sends.

So does this mean that you should neglect your job and focus fulltime on the needs of your neighbors and fellow man? No way. By doing so you would be seriously neglecting your children and spouse by not providing them with emotional and monetary support, and remember they are higher on the list. As your life comes more and more into balance, opportunities for service will present themselves that will not interfere with the wellbeing of your family. Does it mean that you have to cancel your family vacation to help your struggling neighbor paint his house. Again, no way! But if you are prompted to help him, and can find time before or after your vacation, then great!

Perhaps it means that you can't buy that new computer that you have been saving up for, but instead should give the money to someone in need? Absolutely not! But it does mean that when you have the right spirit about you, you will begin to be more appreciative of those things that you already have (including your new computer) while placing them in their proper perspective. Perhaps in time you will be inspired to shift a little more of your income, time and focus toward helping others.

Moderation

The angelic prompting toward balance within our lives will lead to better use of our time and improved life choices.

The Road to Heaven is Paved with Moderation

We live in a world that is full of extremes. There are extreme sports, music that is advertised as extreme, extreme television networks, and even our soft drinks have become extreme, carrying names like Full Throttle and Monster. We are being taught that pushing everything to the max and living on the edge is the most exciting and fulfilling way to live, and experience life.

While extreme living may be exhilarating and exciting in the short term, in the long run it is a terrible life approach. Historically spiritual teachings have promoted a different approach. They have taught that lasting peace and true joy are found within a life that is grounded, balanced and centered, or a life of moderation.

This life approach to the extreme seems to be more of an immature marketing ploy than a serious suggestion, after all most of us still understand that extremism is rarely a good thing. Religious extremists are never good, and political extremists are usually viewed negatively, just as any type of social extreme is predictably accompanied by a lack of clarity, reason, and of course balance.

There used to be a concept known as common sense, and it promoted a balanced, down to earth way of looking at life, and approaching issues and problems. Unfortunately, these days, it's not so common so I now refer to it as good sense. Common sense has been replaced by an avalanche of purely emotional responses to life's issues and challenges. This has caused great imbalance, not only in the lives of individuals, but predictably it has caused a negative flux within the family unit, and in turn society as a whole.

There Should be a Law

Balance and stability must be established and maintained within the heart and mind of the individual, before the flow of celestial light and information can be established as a constant. This is accomplished by utilizing "The Law of Moderation".

"The Law of Moderation" is a universal law or tool that was taught to us by one of our angels. When utilized and applied within our lives, a level of balance and stability must follow. The Law of Moderation dictates that:

When operating within reasonable limits or boundaries, rarely to excess or extreme, a balance must always eventually be achieved.

The Law of Moderation can establish boundaries of balance in every area of our lives. I liken it to traveling down a road. If we stay in the center or to the right of the center line (I live in America and we drive on the right.), we travel comfortably and safely to our destination. If we move too far to the left or the right, we will end up in the ditch, off the road, and probably in an accident. So maintaining that moderate path through life will most likely see us safely to our destination.

Balancing Act

Another way to think of balance within our lives is to think of the old fashion balance scale. Weight would be placed on one side of the scale and then in order for it to even out an equal amount of weight had to be placed on the opposing side, seesawing it back into balance.

Any uneven focus can cause personal imbalance. If you're a workaholic then you are probably out of balance, and should strive to weight things a little more heavily in favor of spending time with your family. If you sit around watching TV or playing video games for hours on end, at some point you need to get outside and go for a walk or get active in some manner.

If you get most of your fulfillment from superficial pursuits of pleasure, you might want to strive for balance by focusing on spiritual development, or reading an inspiring book, or attending a cultural event.

Does this mean that we should moderate our love for others or our focus on Father? In a sense the answer to this question is yes. If love for another becomes obsessive or destructive, an extreme has been reached and it should be moderated. If our pursuit to connect with God leads us to extremist or destructive spiritual beliefs or practices, we probably have not made a good connection and through moderation need to try again.

Extremes and the imbalance that they cause are never conducive to a long term positive or happy outlook. With a little introspection and analysis, most of us can find examples of imbalance within our lives, and begin to consciously make adjustments in these areas. Imbalance within our lives can add yet another division between ourselves and God.

Within the Workbook

The workbook lesson on Priorities and Moderation contains exercises and ideas that will bring your current priorities more in line with Father's priorities. You will also be encouraged to look for excesses in your life, after which you will be assisted in moderating them in order to create a greater harmony and balance for you and your family.
Teaching Eight

**Forgiveness**

The Power of Letting it Go

Our angels teach that a vital part of spiritual health and celestial light flow is the concept of forgiveness.

Forgive or Forget

This concept confuses some and angers others. Often when someone has hurt us badly, the last thing that we want to do is forgive them. In reality there is a principle hidden within the concept of forgiveness that will benefit us, more than the granting of forgiveness will benefit the trespasser. There are four components within the concept of forgiveness that I would like you to consider:

First, I believe that we must always forgive those that sincerely ask for forgiveness. If someone is genuinely asking for forgiveness, it tends to indicate that they are working on overcoming certain destructive attitudes and weaknesses, and we should be supportive of such positive personal pursuits. After all, we want others to forgive us as we strive to overcome our own personal issues. This said, some trespasses are bigger than others, and I can't tell you "what time is the right time" to forgive. Those details are something that you will have to work out with the assistance of Father.

Jesus gave an interesting perspective on the subject of forgiveness in the 17th chapter of Luke when He said:

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

Here Jesus seems to be reassuring us that it is alright to stand up for ourselves when others trespass against or wrong us. He also teaches that if the offender sincerely apologizes and tries to make amends or in His words repents then we should forgive them.

If someone doesn't ask for forgiveness, then they probably don't want it. Odds are that they believe that they haven't done anything wrong. So if they are unwilling to receive your forgiveness, then how can you give it?

Second, when most of us think of forgiveness, we think of "letting the offender off the hook". The truth is that the blessing of forgiveness is all about getting ourselves "off the hook". When someone trespasses against us, we tend to feel emotions of betrayal, anger, or resentment. It's not unusual to harbor such toxic feelings for months or even years after the event.

I know people that will sit around and talk about how this neighbor wronged them years ago, or how that family member hurt them decades earlier. Whether it is in conversation or in their minds, they replay these events over and over in living color. This causes all of those related caustic emotions to be reborn in their hearts and their minds, as if it happened just yesterday.

If the emotions of anger, revenge, or even hatred fill your heart because of the actions of others, what will that do to your life? What type of raw spiritual energy will you be drawing in and what type of programmed energy will you be sending out?

So even if you feel at times that you can't forgive others, you must strive to let it go, for the sake of yourself and those around you. Again, some trespasses are greater than others and healing can take time, but don't let it drag on for years and years, because you will only be punishing yourself.

Third, the best way to forgive is to avoid offences altogether. Be proactively forgiving. This is done by striving to not take offence too easily. Don't read too much into what others are saying. Even if someone makes a small pointed comment, instead of becoming angry, in a quiet moment laugh it off. If you will overlook the dumb little petty events in life, there will be less need to go through the trying process of forgiveness.

Finally, forgiveness does not mean you have to become the world's doormat. If someone has hurt you repeatedly in the past, or there is a pattern of abuse, you don't have to keep taking it in the name of forgiveness. Yes, you should strive to let it go but that does not mean that you must go back for more, again and again. Don't let the gift of forgiveness be hijacked and used as a further tool of destruction in your life. Be smart in your forgiveness and it will be a blessing to yourself and those around you.

Pardon Me

When discussing the concept of forgiveness a very important component is often overlooked. I always tell those with whom I work that they must practice this part of forgiveness, if they wish to be successful in the defeat of darkness and the connection with light. When developing the virtue of forgiveness, there is one very important person that you must never neglect... yourself.

Within our work we refer to this as the three B's of personal forgiveness and it is the first rule in achieving individual spiritual success:

• Be kind to yourself

• Be patient with yourself

• Be forgiving of yourself

As we strive to better ourselves we will inevitably face challenges and with those challenges can come resistance from within ourselves in the form of negatively programmed spiritual energies. This destructive mind chatter may tell you that you can't do it because (based on the past) you don't have the strength or skills to succeed or that you don't deserve happiness or that you are inherently incapable of such emotions. When you have small setbacks and failures, you may be bombarded with negative self-talk like, "What an idiot" or "You're so stupid" or "This always happens; why do you keep trying?"

Don't believe these destructive lies. The fact is, you are going to fail. The road to ultimate success is paved with many failures. You must try and fail many times before you will be able to develop the skills to be successful. The difference between failure in the past and failure now is that these failures should be much more productive. You now have powerful tools and a plan, and you are finally aware of the "whats" and the "whys" of that which you are trying to overcome. In order for this to work, you must be kind and patient with yourself. Yes, you will have setbacks but they are not the end of the world; instead they are part of the growth process. So be forgiving of your own personal failures and as soon as you can, get back up and try again.

This is not a license to excuse bad habits and poor character traits but it is permission to learn from, and let go of the past, and to eliminate the devastating trap of regret. To quote an overused phrase "the only people that can call themselves failures in this life are those that stop trying". If you will be persistent and keep at it, in time you will succeed; and that's a promise. Kindness, patience and forgiveness of self are a mandatory part of the process.

We can't achieve true and lasting happiness if we are holding grudges and ruminating over past hurts. Forgiveness releases us from the darkness of regret and revenge, and draws Father's love and light closer to us.

Within the Workbook

In the workbook lesson on Forgiveness we will delve deeper into this concept and apply its redemptive power to past lingering trespasses that may be slowing our personal growth and progress, while learning to use the power of forgiveness to avoid future offences.
Teaching Nine

**Prayer**

Getting Real Results from your Prayers

Direct communication with our Heavenly Father is our angelic companion's number one priority. They know if we successfully make this connection and keep making it that our lives will assuredly be transformed.

Pray Tell

Not all of my initial recollections of prayer as a child are positive ones. I remember being coaxed out of bed in the morning at about 6 or 6:30 AM for family prayer. My father started his commute to work at this time every weekday morning, and we always had a prayer together before he left. As we gathered around the family coffee table on our knees, I remember feeling just miserable, as I nodded in and out of consciousness, with my cheek pressed against the table's cold wood surface. I recall that the only thing that was on my mind was getting back to bed for another hour of glorious sleep.

While I certainly had an overall positive view of prayer growing up, I do recall a feeling of uncertainty and a general struggle at times when trying to make that connection. While praying with eyes closed and head bowed, sometimes the very act of being in that quiet space, devoid of outside physical and mental stimulation, felt painful instead of peaceful. I had been taught how to pray and I had seen and heard others in prayer, and yet I think that I did not truly understand the process. Being in a state of youngness and dumbness, I remember believing if I was a good little boy, that all I had to do was ask and God would deliver to me, whatever I thought (in my own judgment) I needed.

I persisted in this mistaken belief for years, having nothing more than what I recall to be moderate success with the process of prayer. When things in my life were going poorly and I wasn't accomplishing what I thought I should be achieving, other misconceptions concerning prayer would enter my mind. At times I believed that God was disappointed in me because I was not living up to His expectations, hence my prayers were not being answered. In fact the structure of my entire perception of prayer was severely flawed. I was treating it like a "genie in a bottle", thinking that under the right conditions, it would deliver to me all that I desired.

I now realize that prayer is a powerful communication tool, through which we can become reacquainted and better connected with Father. It is not a slot machine through which, if we pull its handle enough, we will eventually get a reward. No, for prayer to function as it was designed, we need to remove "our plan" from the program, and replace it with the plan that Father has for us. We must learn to remove much of our wants and desires from the process.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you would go to the store with your parents. As you walked down the aisles in amazement of all the wondrous treasures that surrounded you, you probably began to bug your parents to buy you stuff. "Mom can I have this toy... Dad can I have some candy... Let's get this cereal... I love this cereal!" If your parents were wise, they would buy you some things now and then, but they had a plan that differed from yours. Your plan consisted of having all of your wants and desires seamlessly fulfilled, and the time frame for that fulfillment was "right now!" Your parents on the other hand knew that some of what you wanted wasn't good for you, and that fulfilling all of your desires was detrimental to your overall healthy growth and development. In most cases if you learned to listen to your parents and follow their counsel, stable and balanced growth would take place; which would carry you through the rest of your life.

Your Heavenly Father operates in the exact same fashion. On the spiritual scale, we are in a childlike state and we must be guided in our development. We might believe with all of our heart that we are on our best life's path, but through poor life choices and a past lacking in good spiritual guidance we may be way off course. In fact, I can say with a "certain amount of certainty", that if you have not succeeded in making a connection with God or you have never even tried, you are most likely off your most productive life's course to one degree or another. So to succeed in prayer, putting off the "gimme gimme" attitude of the spoiled child, and putting on the attitude of the respectful and loving child is necessary. This does not mean that you can't ask for things, but it does mean that getting in-tune with God's plan and priorities is critical.

When you were a child and your parents asked you to do something that you didn't want to do, you may have occasionally asked the infamous question "but why?" If you were very small, they may have been unable to answer your question, because you lacked the maturity and understanding to comprehend the importance of the issue, especially for your future. You may have obeyed them because you loved and respected them, and had faith that they were taking good care of you. It is the same with Father. We are little children and we cannot fully understand the "why fors" of everything that happens to us.

This is where much of the concept of faith and belief originates in traditional religious doctrines. Just as a little child has trust in their parents, we must have faith that God's plan for us will lead us to our most beneficial life destination, even if it is outside of our own child-like wants and desires.

Now does eliminating your wants and desires mean that you will eventually have to live like a celibate monk? Nope. Hopefully it will mean that as you more and more replace your plan with that of your Heavenly Father, you will begin to prosper, not only in the physical world but also in a spiritual and emotional sense. Instead of veraciously craving temporal things, you will begin to crave spiritual things. When you do so the temporal will still come, but your values will have shifted to things spiritual. Your mind will then be attuned to the things that will continue to deliver true joy and fulfillment, rather than those that provide the relentless suffering of never ending want and desire.

Why Pray

When some hear the word prayer, they recoil thinking that it is exclusively a religious practice. While prayer is an integral part of religious pursuit, it is not the sole property of religion. In fact spirituality can exist without religion, but religion is dead without spirituality. Spiritual pursuit is all about making that clearer connection with God's spirit, and prayer is a powerful tool in establishing and maintaining that connection.

When I first encountered Lilly Ann with Natalie, she asked me to teach Natalie how to pray. This seems to be Lilly Ann's greatest priority in helping her make a better connection with God. Later when Natalie had begun to pray on a regular basis, Lilly Ann told us that when Natalie prays "she gets all bright and shiny". This is a wonderful indication that when we pray, the light flow from our Father increases. You can communicate with God anywhere and at anytime, but I personally do not consider this prayer. I classify this as "talking to God" and it is a wonderfully powerful process. Prayer on the other hand is something much more special. It is an exclusive mode of spiritual communication between the individual and God. It is an activity for which you set aside specific time. Personal prayer is done away from the hustle and bustle. In a still place, you close your eyes and quiet your mind, and try to proactively make that connection. If you are surfing the web while you pray, or blow drying your hair, or driving a car, your focus is on other things. In prayer your focus should be upon God and God alone. If you were talking to someone while you were watching TV and cleaning the house, you would only make a partial connection with them, and you would probably get much less, if anything out of the interaction.

Once in that peaceful space, pour out your heart. Tell Him your concerns and problems, and ask for help in hearing and understanding the plan for you and your loved ones. Over time you will want to ask for help in overcoming your own will and in following the guidance that you are receiving from above.

So to successfully utilize the power of prayer, the process should contain the following basic components:

1) True Character of God: Here again, a correct understanding of the true character of God comes into play. If you mistakenly believe, as I did as a child, that God is disappointed with you or is conditionally withholding His help and assistance, then a full disconnect has occurred even before you've started. A belief in anything other than a kind, loving, patient, understanding, and non-judgmental Heavenly Father will hinder the process.

2) Relinquishing Will: You were not sent here to bend God's will to your own. The concept of respecting the program of another is not foreign to most. I know people that worship the ground on which certain mentors walk. Quite often, someone like a university professor will have students that believe everything that they say, and that pattern their lives after them. We must find this level of respect and admiration for Father so that we will become excited about each and every step of His plan for us.

3) Following the Plan: Hearing and understanding Father's plan is comparatively easier than following it. You may be accustomed to overanalyzing things and aggressively using your judgment, where your wants and desires are concerned. You must learn to let go and follow the plan. Now you see the meaning of having faith and belief. God can't prove to you that the things He is asking you to do now will lead you to a better life, so you must just trust Him and listen and follow.

These components are necessary if results from your prayers are to be achieved. God is trying to position you mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically to receive His blessings. I believe that quite often positive things are just passing us by, because we are not in the mindset to identify and appreciate them. This process will take time to develop because you will literally have to do battle with your will and learn to overcome it. So you will probably have small successes at first until you learn to surrender yourself to Father's plan. This attitude is counter to what we are being taught in society, and as a result may be a challenging accomplishment. We are being encouraged to believe in ourselves and our own judgments. A much more effective approach is to believe in our relationship with God, and to have faith in His judgment. Your answers will come in time, in peaceful and comforting intuitive promptings. You will know the right course and then learn to instinctively follow it.

One more thing, once you have received your guidance and have done everything that Father has asked you to do; you must then "stand still". What do I mean by stand still? I mean that you must now have faith that God will do the rest. It may still take some time for your resolution or blessing to come to fruition so you must be patient. If you stress out and worry or if you use your own judgment and start running around doing things that are not part of God's plan, you will most likely mess things up. Father has a lot of free wills out there to navigate and puzzle pieces that he must put into place in order to work things out for you, so trust in His plan and give Him time.

To illustrate this point, imagine that you worked for a company like Apple Computer and they announced that they were going to release a radically new technology that was going to change the world. You would probably believe them because they have done so many great things in the past, even though the technology was months or even years away. You would be asked to do your part, and then have faith that the rest of the project was being well cared for. If you decided to work on the project outside of the duties that you had been assigned, you might slow or even damage its progress. We need to treat Father's projects within our own lives with this level of confidence, obedience and faith as well if we wish to see results from our prayers.

I used to worry excessively about issues or problems in my life, even those that were out of my control. Over time I've learned that after I've done all that I am suppose to do concerning each issue, I need to turn it over to God. So now when I'm stressed about things, especially those over which I have no control, I pray and say to Father, "I am placing this in your hands." I don't excessively ask for a particular outcome but I ask for God's best resolution, the one that will not only suit me now, but in the future. I then work hard not to worry or fear concerning it anymore. Finally I strive to get back to living and enjoying my life. I have found that this approach works wonders and that the blessings and resolutions to life's problems arrive more quickly as a result

Prayer should be done at least once or twice per day, and can be done powerfully in a group, such as a family prayer. Because the structure of prayer differs from belief system to belief system, I will not go into the actual structure of prayer here. For those that have never prayed or are having difficulty making that connection, I have included a section on prayer and its basic structure in the back of this book in Appendix II

Within the Workbook

In the workbook lesson on Prayer you will be introduced to a concept known as The Three Steps of Prayer. This process is the key to powerful prayers that produce wonderfully dynamic results.
Teaching Ten

**The Daily Spiritual Routine**

Strengthening the Connection through Daily Spiritual Practice

A daily spiritual routine is another priority in which our angels have encouraged many of their charges to participate. If we want to keep our connection to Father strong then we must invest a little time every day. They have also shared with us a couple of powerful tools that can make this process explosively productive.

Just Breathe

A few of our angels have discussed the importance of the human breath process in maximizing the reception of spiritual light. This subject like others once again brought to mind a Biblical passage. In the book of John, chapter 20 it is recorded that after the resurrection of Jesus, while visiting His apostles He bestowed upon them a sacred spiritual presence known as the Comforter or the Holy Ghost. This He did in part by the power of spiritual breathing:

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Jesus demonstrated in this action that there is great spiritual power hidden within the process of breath.

Breathwork

I was initially exposed to the concept of breathwork at a health fair years ago. As I sat in a group of about 70 people, the woman leading the class taught us how to utilize a breath technique, which was designed to slow and maximize each breath within the breathing process.

At the time I had never experienced anything like it. I followed along and as I did, I noticed that I was starting to feel a wonderful tingling sensation throughout my entire body. Next I sensed a mix of exhilaration, peace and joy that continued to build within me, until I was literally on the verge of giggling out loud. After a few minutes of this type of breathing, I stood up and quietly left the room, because I could scarcely contain the overwhelmingly positive reaction that I was having to the exercise. This remarkable experience peaked my interest in breathwork.

At first blush it was obvious that part of the effect that I was receiving from this breathing technique, was as a result of increased oxygen being supplied to my brain, and various other areas of my body. Yet there seemed to be much more concerning its effect which I did not completely understand. When I would practice this technique, I could feel an energy surrounding my body that seemed to be the source of the peaceful bliss that I was experiencing.

Since I found that the technique was so helpful in my own personal spiritual pursuits, I decided to begin teaching it to those with whom I worked. Usually I would teach the technique to just one or two people at a time, and every time it was a wonderful experience, because again I would feel bathed in glorious high frequency spiritual light. A few months after I began teaching the technique, I had an occasion to teach a group of about eight people the breathwork process. When I was finished, I felt more of this wonderful energy surrounding me than I had since the day I first learned about breathwork, in that large group at the health fair years earlier.

I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, this breathwork stuff really works" and then it dawned on me... I hadn't been doing the breathwork with this group of eight people. You see when I train others; I don't actually do the breathing along with them. Instead I count out the various stages of each breath so that they might learn the proper pace and rhythm. So even though I had not been doing the breathwork, I was still reaping the benefits. I remember wondering how that could be possible.

This ended up becoming one of the most pivotal personal testimonies that we are powerful energy receivers, and that spiritual energies do not just stop with us, but they pass through us, affecting the environments and people around us. It also convinced me that certain types of breathwork could be used to consciously control this process to an extent.

There appears to be a mechanism connected to the human respiratory system, that not only takes in oxygen, but that also draws in high frequency spiritual light. I believe that this mechanism mainly draws in raw energies from the earth sphere around us, but it may also be used in receiving celestial, programmed energies as well. This being the case, it is still important to note that a breathing technique alone is not sufficient to draw in celestial light, and the fullness of God's spirit. This can only be accomplished through behavioral changes and adjustments in attitudes. This said it appears that the flow of these basic ultra high frequency spiritual energies is a necessary part of wellness on all levels.

I have developed my own streamlined version of this breathwork technique in order to make it a little more user friendly, and it has become an integral part of our work. I call this technique "747 Breathing" (pronounced "seven-forty-seven" like the jumbo jet) and it can be done almost anywhere or at any time. We have had people tell us that this technique alone is so powerful that it has changed their lives, but in most cases it is simply another invaluable tool in the quest for light and peace.

When we teach this technique in person, the basic 747 technique is developed upon by an exercise that assists the student in visualizing the energy flowing through their bodies. The process is completed with exercises that are intended to assist in literally feeling these energies traveling through their physiology.

If this is accomplished, they will become familiar with the actual sensation of positive spiritual light flowing through their body. As a result they will be able to monitor it and make adjustments if that flow is being altered or blocked in any way.

If you have a tendency to get stressed out or to become fearful, you will notice that at these times, your breathing may become shallow or stop altogether for short periods. When this happens your personal light flow is diminished or halted, further compounding the emotional issues. An anxiety attack is an extreme example of this process.

If you would like to learn basic "747 Breathing", detailed instructions concerning the development and application of this technique can be found in the back of this book in appendix III.

Twilight Meditation

One afternoon some time ago, I called my brother Richard who lives in Florida. His wife answered the phone and informed me that he was taking one of his famous "15 minute naps". She told me that he could lie down in the afternoon for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then wake up refreshed and recharged for the rest of the day. I told her that I would call back later and as I hung up the phone a thought occurred to me, "My brother may have made such naps famous but he certainly didn't invent them."

I remember as a child when traveling on weekend outings or family vacations, witnessing the same puzzling process. I recall that in the early to mid afternoon, if the opportunity presented itself, my dad would lie down in a semi-comfortable place, such as the grass under a shady tree, and take a 10 minute nap. I remember asking my mother about it once and she told me that he could lie down for a very short period of time, and then awake, ready to take on the rest of the day. I recall wondering how anyone could benefit from such a small amount of sleep in the middle of the afternoon.

I now realize that during these 10 minute siestas my dad was not sleeping but was meditating. Most likely unbeknownst to him, he was slipping into a natural meditative state. What is even more interesting is that it appears that his spiritual/physical system was naturally guiding him into this process.

I believe our spiritual and physical systems require these natural light to moderate meditative states multiple times a day. Ideally we slip into one briefly, prior to falling into a deeper sleep cycle, when we go to bed at night. We can again find ourselves in this type of meditative state prior to waking. This is popularly known as twilight sleep, and it is a light sleep state in which our dreams are quite often the most vivid and memorable. Again, the third location in our day where the body is requesting that we slip into this state is usually in the afternoon, and this is when many of us get the "drowsies".

But what exactly is our spiritual system up to; and why is it requiring these light medatative states?

To better understand this process; let's look at a process that I have observed during many of the blessings that I have given. When giving a blessing much of the process is silent as I am just trying to allow myself to be used as a pathway for healing celestial light. During many of these sessions that have lasted longer than ten minutes or so, I have noticed that the person being blessed will slip into a relaxed state akin to a light twilight sleep. During further examination of this process one of our angels told us that this occurs in order to remove the subject of the blessing from the focus of the conscious and temporal world, and to move them into the spiritual realm, where such work and changes can be accomplished. In order for productive beliefs and changes to be established, the interference of the critical or conscious mind must be bypassed.

This same process is naturally attempting to take place during these light meditative periods during our day. I believe that these periods are much like our Creator shutting us down for periodic maintenance. So what exactly is taking place during this meditative maintenance? While it is impossible to understand everything about the process, I believe the following is being accomplished:

• Different forms of raw and programmed light are being provided to the system, types of light that might be difficult to receive in a conscious state. Again within the programmed light is information, and this process is similar to downloading necessary data and updating the system.

• In this state where the conscious self is no longer interfering, angelic figures can more easily converse with, and communicate specific messages to our spiritual selves.

• Negative and damaging low frequency spiritual energies are cleansed from the countenance and moved away safely.

• Thought forms, ideas, emotions, developing opinions, and mental images that do not serve the overall wellbeing of the individual, are ideally purged from the system. In part, this is the reason that when in this state, you may recall seeing random and disjointed mental images.

I recommend that you identify these drowsy periods in the afternoon for what they really are, and take advantage of them. In fact you can intentionally participate in, and enhance the process. I am aware that not everyone can go off in the afternoon and nap, so the following is based on ideal circumstances. We call this process "Twilight Meditation" and here is how it works:

1) Once you begin to feel that drowsy sensation, find a quiet location in which you will not be disturbed. The lighting should be diffused or dimmed, but ideally the room should not be pitch black. Some like to play light instrumental music in the background at a very low volume. For this purpose, I personally find music distracting and do not believe it to be conducive to the overall process. Instead I like to add some white noise to the room in the form of a small fan, set on low. This helps keep the mind in a neutral state as it slips into the process, and it also helps cover any outside noise or interruptions.

2) Lie down in a semi prone or fully prone position. This can be done on a couch, a recliner or a bed.

3) Begin breathing in a slow and maximized fashion in order to intentionally start the flow of high frequency light. The "747 Breathing" technique works well here.

4) Next focus within. Remember the angelic prompting to focus within and to make that connection with our spiritual essence? Well now is a great time to do this. You can focus upon any location within yourself that pleases you. I like to picture my soul dwelling within the center of my chest or the heart area, so this is where I place my attention.

5) As you begin to drift into this spiritual realm, release the focus upon your breathing, and allow it to move into a more regular and automatic state. At this point the natural process will take over and you should find yourself in the midst of a perfect twilight meditation.

Bear in mind that this is a natural meditative state and the process does not need any more conscious interactions or interference from you. All we are doing is attempting to help optimize the process but not manipulate it. Most will feel as though they are simply drifting off to sleep, while others will remain aware from one degree to another during the process.

This meditative state should last a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes and no longer than 30 to 45 minutes. If it lasts any longer then this you will slip into the deeper sleep cycles. While you will still receive the benefit from the lighter cycles, the point of this exercise is to restore and rejuvenate, not to sleep the day away.

Additionally, anything longer than 60 to 90 minutes may interfere with your nighttime sleep regimen. You may want to set an alarm that awakes you with pleasant music, but avoid alarms that might rouse you in a jarring and abrupt fashion. A cell phone with a nice selection of ringtones works well in this regard.

You may experience visuals during the meditation, and for most these images will be random and meaningless as they are part of the cleansing process. If you see visuals or hear audient phenomena that you believe are significant, write your experiences down when you awake from the nap. In time the meaning of such events and their intended guidance will become clear to you, through your heightening intuitive abilities.

Now many people because of business obligations and other commitments cannot take this kind of break in the middle of the day. Even so, if you have a lunch break and are feeling the drowsy call of a twilight meditation, do as my dad did; find a shady tree and take a 10 or 15 minute siesta. This can be done in any safe and semi comfortable place. Even if you are not drowsy, you can close your eyes and do your breathing, and focus within. Incorporate some positive self talk or prayer, and you will have a productive substitute.

Remember that when you were a child you took naps most every day. In fact it was a priority, or you were ornery and miserable all the rest of the day. Why did you ever stop this practice? Perhaps now as an adult you are ornery and miserable most days. Well maybe you need a nap?

I remember reading that Thomas Edison, considered one of the greatest inventors of all time, was not a big fan of lying down and sleeping for eight hours per night. Instead he worked off and on around the clock, opting for multiple impromptu "catnaps" throughout his waking "day". It appears that this regimen put him into a position, in which he was poking his head into the spirit world multiple times each day. As mentioned earlier, all positive ideas and epiphanies come from Father's light through the spirit side of life. This means that Edison had placed himself into a constantly heightened intuitive state.

The power of this process is clear when you consider that Edison was awarded 1,368 distinct patents during the course of his life, and he died at the ripe old age of 84 in 1931.

Please understand that I am not suggesting that we remove nighttime rest from our schedules, but I bring up Edison as an extreme example of the power of this process. Today most of us do everything in our power to avoid this blessing, by slugging coffee and energy drinks in the middle of the day. This seems to be another example of how our temporal focus and priorities, outweigh those of a spiritual nature.

I find it ironic that even my cat religiously practices this process, but most of us humans are struggling to get the point.

Daily Spiritual Routine

If acquiring spiritual health has become a true priority in your life, then investing some organized time daily in this pursuit is critical. To illustrate this point, allow me to pose another hypothetical question, "If you wanted to become a world class Olympic ice skater; what would you most likely be doing at 6 am each and every morning? You guessed it... skating."

Unfortunately, more and more of us live in the mindset that I call, "The Magic Pill Attitude". That is, many are constantly looking for a quick fix. If I get sick, I just want someone to give me a pill and make me better. If I get fat, I want to be able to go to a doctor and have him surgically suck it out, so I can be thin again. In this same spirit, many are less and less willing to invest the time, patience, and dedication necessary to truly gain the qualities that will make real and lasting peace and happiness a reality.

In order to build these traits a daily spiritual routine is very helpful. This routine consists of activities and exercises that help to maintain and increase a healthy and productive spiritual connection. I recommend a routine that takes about 15-20 minutes, and that can be accomplished in a simple yet powerful manner. The following three basic components are recommended within the "Daily Spiritual Routine".

_Breathwork:_ While breathwork can be done at anytime and almost any place, this practice is a very effective component within the spiritual routine. It is an opportunity to place all of your focus upon the exercise, as you train your system to more effectively draw down and utilize spiritual light. The breathwork technique used should slow and maximize the breath cycle. Again the "747 Breathing" technique is a perfect addition to any spiritual routine.

_Study:_ Reading books or articles that are supportive in building a better "spiritual you" is an invaluable tool within this routine. Now I'm not referring to pop-culture spiritual books, which you might find in the "New Age" section at your local bookstore. We are trying to focus on the basics here. We are striving to provide our spiritual selves with the necessary attitudes and motivations, so that this part of us might operate at its optimum. While theories concerning your evolving DNA or the latest musings on quantum physics are very trivially interesting, they don't do much for the soul.

Instead I recommend that you find works that promote positive thinking, that are inspirational in nature or that help increase faith and belief in Father. This type of information helps the spiritual self make an increasingly stronger connection with the light and its source.

_Prayer:_ What would a spiritual routine be without prayer? If we want to make this connection, then we should definitely utilize the most powerful tool. A prayer following five minutes of breathwork can be remarkably productive.

The Daily Spiritual Routine can be placed anywhere in your day, although morning is the best time. It is a great way to refocus your priorities and start your day in a peaceful place. I usually allot a little extra time in the morning, and do the routine after I have showered and had breakfast so that I am awake and alert.

If you can't do it in the morning, evening is fine. Some enjoy utilizing this practice prior to going to bed, while others do it both morning and night. If you want to take back your peace, you will need to do so in a relatively peaceful place. The spiritual routine is an ideal place in which to accomplish this and it can be foundational in maintaining a strong relationship with God.

Teaching Eleven

**The Power of Love**

The virtue that opens the flood gates of Celestial Light

Jesus gave only one commandment to His disciples while He was with them. In John chapter 13 He said:

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

As the one and only commandment that Jesus would give to His apostles, it must have been of great importance. Our guardian angels refer to it as pure love and they most anxiously desire that we understand it.

Puppy Love

I know that I have worked the stories from my childhood like a rented mule, but here comes another one... When I was young I recall learning about the concept of love, and realizing that it existed in different forms. I loved my parents and family members, but that wasn't the same thing as the love that I had for my new baseball glove. The love I had for that glove was different than the love (more like infatuation) that I had for the cute little, blonde haired, girl named Mandy in my elementary school class. I seemed to catch on to all of these forms of love quite quickly and felt that I readily understood them, but there was one form that always baffled me.

When we would go to church, they would quite often talk about another type of love... love for my fellow man. They seemed to be asking me to feel love toward acquaintances and even people that I had never met. This didn't seem to fit the model of love as I understood it. Sure there were different types of love, but they all had one thing in common... motivation. I loved my parents for many known and unknown reasons, but one of the most important of these was that they loved me first, and took care of me. I loved my baseball mitt because it was expensive, and it fit my hand perfectly, and I knew few kids that had one as nice, and I loved the little girl in my class because... OK... well... I don't think at that age I really knew why I loved her, but I didn't question it... it just worked for me. So I was supposed to feel love towards my fellow human being, huh? Where was my motivation? Now as I look back, a better question would have been; where was my selfish motivation? It seems that the love that most of us understand, when we first come into this world, is one of a selfish nature.

While I loved my parents genuinely, they had definitely done a lot for me to earn and deserve that love. The baseball glove was all about me. It improved my game and my status on and off the field. As for my little crush? Yes, it was all about how she made me feel and not about what I could do for her, but this other form of love did not appear at least on the surface, to have anything to offer.

I believe it is hard for many of us to grow out of this selfish state of love, and grow into a more selfless place within this emotion, or again as our angels have referred to it "pure love". By embracing and in time understanding this selfless form of love, our relationships with family and friends will improve.

Our relationship with that special someone will deepen and heal, and even our relationship with our baseball glove will be brought into better perspective. The great bonus will be the wonderful relationship that will be discovered with those outside our circle of influence. Oh, and this love will definitely assist in making that connection with Father and His spirit.

Love is Hard to Define

But how is this accomplished? For many the thought of loving their fellow human being is the impossible dream. Let's begin by taking a look at the definition of love as our society embraces it today.

The Merriam – Webster online dictionary's definition of love contains nine entries. The first three cover love of family and friends, romantic love, and the love of places, things and activities.

The fourth entry defines love as:

" _Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another:"_

This certainly seems to fit the profile of the love of which we have been discussing. So it is a love that embodies the "concern for the good" or wellbeing of others. It is unwavering and unselfish, not being motivated by the expectation of reward. The concern that is associated with this type of love is also benevolent. So what is benevolence?

The Merriam – Webster online definition of benevolence is:

" _Disposition to do good a: an act of kindness b: a generous gift."_

So to attain this pure love, one must develop a prevailing tendency or inclination to do good. The word "do" indicates that there is specific action or work required for one to truly attain such love. The examples of "an act of kindness" and "a generous gift" further indicate the need for proactive action, and giving without the expectation of return or reward.

Here we see that pure love doesn't naturally arrive over time like most other forms of love, and it doesn't give obvious returns upfront either. It is a love that requires something from us before it can develop. It asks that we make a sacrifice, or do a good work without any expectation of personal gain.

Well this sounds like charitable service to me.

So if this form of pure love cannot exist without charity, perhaps true charity does not exist without pure love. This must mean that the two are analogous or interchangeable. You can't have pure love without charity, and there is no true charity without pure love. Now the word charity seems to have generally taken on a different meaning in society today. In today's world, "charities" are organizations that collect money and then strive to use those funds to do good works. While these charities are important and worthwhile, they can tend to become a middle man between the "giver and the givey", so to speak. As a result some believe that they are participating in the true spirit of charity, when in fact they are not. There is a difference between participating in a charitable act and having charity in your heart. Of course, if you want to feed the people in Africa, it's probably not going to be feasible to buy some food and then get on a plane. You would absolutely need to contribute to a charity working in such relief, and yes, it would be a wonderfully charitable act. But does it mean that you possess the spirit of charity or have a charitable heart?

Some corporations donate millions every year to such charities, but most have a main goal and purpose that is profit driven. While they participate in charitable acts, they are not by nature charitable. We hear about millionaires and celebrities giving large sums of money to various charities. While this is a wonderful and worthwhile endeavor, does it automatically mean that the person that has made the donation is charitable in nature? If it did then that would seem to indicate that only the wealthy could excel in the area of charity.

When I used to think of charity, I would picture tasks like working at a soup kitchen on Christmas, or ringing the bell in front of a Salvation Army donation kettle, or working a suicide hotline. Many of us think of charity as mowing the lawn of an elderly neighbor or perhaps baking a cake for someone who's down, or caring for someone who is sick. Yes all of these things are charitable in nature, and should be pursued whenever possible, but they are acts of charity, not the attainment of this virtue and its accompanying pure love.

It is through these types of acts overtime that we can attain this powerful form of light and receive the ultimate spiritual gift within. This said, occasional acts of charity or yearly charitable donations, regardless of their size, are not sufficient to bestow this gift upon us, and through such sparse works of service, a true love of fellow man cannot be attained. So am I saying that in order to cultivate this kind of love in your life, you must quit your job and donate all of your time to serving the poor and the needy directly? Not even close. Rather than a change of career, I am suggesting a change of attitude.

Acts and Attitudes

So there are acts of charity, but that differs from an overall attitude of charity. A charitable attitude is an ingrained trait of character, which carries with it certain defining qualities.

So of what does a charitable attitude consist? It is embodied by the following characteristics:

_Patience:_ Charity is marked by the ability to endure the moderate trials and weaknesses of others. It does not get its feelings hurt too easily and does not quickly take offense.

_Kind and Caring:_ Charity is friendly and kind in nature, easy to entreat and not quick to dismiss. Willing to take time to listen; always showing genuine concern.

_Humble:_ Charity is not puffed up in pride and importance. It does not get caught up in title or position. It does not self promote or brag. While it is powerfully confident in its place and purpose, it is never elevated to a level of conceit.

_Forgiving:_ Charity is an attitude that is honor bound to forgive, when forgiveness is requested. When there is no plea for forgiveness, then it is quick to let things go and does not hold a grudge. It is wise enough to learn from such damaging interactions and make the necessary adjustments, but it does not brood or ruminate upon such trespasses.

_Empathetic:_ Charity is sympathetic to the problems and sufferings of others. While it does not try to except or even condone the destructive actions and works of some, it knows that we are all fighting the same spiritual disease, but that we just have different symptoms. This type of empathy is moderate and balanced and does not swing to extremes.

_Merciful:_ Charity is an attitude that is typified by compassionate treatment of others, especially those that are suffering or in distress.

_Selfless:_ Charity does not think of self the majority of the time, but is more concerned for the spiritual wellbeing of family, friends, and others. It knows that if others are cared for, then many of the needs of self will be divinely met.

_Service:_ When moved upon to do so, charity takes action. It participates in acts of love and service, large and small. It knows that just a smile and a warm hello are powerful acts of service.

_Faith and Hope:_ Charity resides within the framework of undying optimism and positivity. It never gives up hope or trust that things will (in some fashion) work out. It sees the good in most situations and works to build upon it. Its belief in the power of God's spirit never falters.

So true charity is not just a series of a few acts of service, but it is an attitude or way of living from which acts of service flow. Unfortunately for most of us, the idea of trying to develop such an overall attitude seems almost impossible. How would a person acquire such a way of thinking, in a world like this one?

Making a Living by Giving

As you have probably already noticed, my dad played a very important role in my life. He was a good and kind man that seemed to always strive to cultivate charity, and it's accompanying pure love. As mentioned previously, I always said that he had a light emanating from him. You would feel comfort and warmth just from merely being in his presence. I think that this was a result of his desire to cultivate this love and operate within it. I remember returning to the area in which we had lived in California, years after his death. I had more than an occasion to run into people that knew him. When they found out that I was his son, their eyes would light up and they would become enthusiastically excited. They treated me as if I was the son of a movie star, because of the love that they had for him.

I recall a few years prior to my dad's death, one day when I was about 12 years old, going to his office with him to see where he worked. He was the General Manager of the California division of a large wholesale food distributor. As the top executive, he was over hundreds of employees and a large warehouse facility. The first thing that we did after seeing his office was to go down for a tour of one of the warehouses. When we entered the building, I was stunned and amazed. It looked like it was longer than a football field and it was stacked almost to the ceiling with case upon case of food. As I wandered through this colossal building with my head craning in every direction, I quickly noticed something even more amazing to me. Many of the workers, truck drivers, stockers, forklift operators, etc. would approach us and talk to my dad, as if they were his friends. They would walk up comfortably smiling, seemingly happy to see him and at ease in approaching him.

Even as a kid, I knew that there was a chain of command in business and that my dad was an important man in his field, and yet he seemed like just one of the guys. What struck me further was that he appeared to be on a first name basis with everyone, and to have a level of personal relationship with most of those that surrounded us.

Later when we returned to his office, we sat and talked as he worked. I watched him as he signed a small stack of checks. When I asked him what the checks were for, he told me that he was paying the speeding tickets that some of his truck drivers had accrued over the last month. I was confused by this, and told him that I thought if they were going to speed, that perhaps they should pay their own tickets.

He explained to me the life of a trucker, and their challenges and difficulties in making deliveries on schedule. While he didn't condone speeding, he said that since they spent so much time on the road, it was bound to happen now and then. He felt it was his duty to take the financial pressure, of this cost of doing business, off of their backs. This was the first time I had ever been exposed to my father's business life and I found it fascinating. I had always noticed that my Dad was different from many other people. When associating with family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers, he always projected a genuinely kind and caring demeanor, and he always seemed to be willing to offer support or help whenever possible.

I had always thought this was just how he operated in his personal life but that in business, he wouldn't have the luxury of being so nice, and yet as result of my visit to his work, I observed that he operated in the same charitable fashion in his business life as well.

It turns out that I didn't know the half of it...

In an earlier chapter I referenced a speech that my dad gave, in which he included his poem about conservation. It was the opening speech at an annual conference of the "Food Distribution Research Society". I would like to share with you now one short paragraph from that speech. To this group of food experts and grocery executives he said:

" _In the past, throughout the industry I have always stated that profit is not the reason for our being. We are in the business of serving others; profit is merely the catalytic agent to encourage us to serve more effectively."_

So it seemed that my dad was not only striving to live charitably in his personal and business life, but he was also consistently preaching the concept of service to others within his industry. As a matter of fact, he proposed that service was the "groundwork" or foundation on which their industry should be built, and that an attitude of service should be their true goal.

He believed that by so doing, high profits and industry recognition would naturally be a by-product of their good works. He must have understood on an intuitive level, the powerful cause and effect of utilizing this extraordinary spiritual gift. His main motivation seemed to be as a result of the pure love that he had for his fellow human being, a love that he had acquired over the years through his continuing overall attitude of charity. Is it possible that he was on to something here? Not just in a business sense, but in the way that we view our very reason for existence. Might we truly tap into the most powerful energy in the universe and transform our lives, by simply making our personal business "the business of serving others"?

So when you head out to work every day; what's on your mind? Where do your priorities lie? Do you predominantly think about your need for more and more cash, and how you are going to go about getting it? Are you thinking of how you might land that next promotion, or are you negatively focused on the person with whom you are competing for that prize? If this or anything like it is the case, you are living in an obsessive state of self, and you are moving further and further away from the light of pure love.

What If?

What if your focus shifted from self to others? What if instead of more money being at the top of the list, improving the product or service for the wellbeing of others was premiere? Wouldn't your customers generally respond in a positive manner, and in turn give you greater support and loyalty. With a shift from personal advancement to service to others, you will be more inclined to want to genuinely assist fellow employees within the company, rather than competing with them, and again the customer benefits.

Of course profit must be on your priority list and you should run your business in a balanced and reasonable manner. After all if you give away the farm, there won't be a farm left for future customers, and that is in no way a service to anyone. Most importantly, as you shift your daily aim from self to others, the pure light of love will begin to flow through you. Those around you will feel it and be inspired by your leadership. That light will not only inspire but it will start to heal them on an emotional level, and they too will be motivated toward better things. You will move away from the painful and addictive low frequency energies of want and desire, and the unquenchable thirst for more. When you shift your ultimate focus from self, the clouds begin to clear, and the light of joy will begin to fill your heart and mind.

A Selfish Habit

But how do we conquer the addiction to self and make the general attitudinal shift toward others. The answer is simple but the application of the answer takes a little work. To illustrate, I will continue with the example of service within employment for the moment. Let's say that you work as a cashier at a discount retail store. You are being paid minimum wage, and you do a lot of repetitive tasks.

You don't really care for your job and you feel that you're stuck in a rut. All day as you stand at your station, your thoughts are on yourself as you dwell upon how miserable you believe that you feel, and how hopeless the prospects for a better future may be. Now, unless you are planning to act soon and get a different job, you are probably going to keep showing up at this one for awhile. So if you are going to continue at your current job, making your moderate income, you have a couple of choices.

• _You can stay in the "mood of self" and keep doing more of the same._

or

• _You can go to work tomorrow with the attitude that you are going to be of service to others, no matter what you are being paid and no matter what you are being asked to do._

Again, you are going to be there anyway and you will still be getting paid regardless of your attitude, so why not give it a try. Start with the attitude that you are a part of a team that is providing necessary goods to others, at reasonable prices. That's what my dad did. When I think about it, he was a part of a food industry that, over the years, provided greater affordability and easier access to these necessary commodities. In fact during his career, he helped feed millions of people.

So let's say that when you get to work, they have you go out and collect the grocery carts in the parking lot. Instead of complaining, be happy that you are providing carts inside the store so that others can conveniently access them, as they shop for the necessities of life. Whatever the task, if you will think in these terms, in time your entire perspective will change.

When customers come to your checkout stand, smile at them and consider how you might make their day better. Give them a happy and warm greeting, and start developing a true basic concern for others. If they seem to be unhappy or in a mood, see if you can't, through your own newly acquired positive disposition, cheer them up a bit. You will find that as you do this, the light of love will begin to flow through you, touching others and transforming their perspective to varying degrees.

Now pay attention here! As you shift your general concern to the wellbeing of others, more of God's light will continuously flow through you, and that light will start to heal them. Do you get it? There is healing in that light. You are the conduit for that light. How do you think that healing light will affect you? How might that increased light affect the environment in your workplace or even your home?

With few exceptions, this attitude can be applied, no matter what you do for a living. If you think in terms of working toward the wellbeing of others, over time your life will transform. Not to mention that such a motivated attitude of service will naturally put you first in line for advancement and pay increases. The power within the light will eventually provide motivation and guidance in the area of finding greater business opportunities, or greater opportunities to serve others.

What about your family life? Are you raising your children in a charitable manner? Are you raising them with your own selfish motivations in mind, or are you doing things that will serve them well in the future? What about your spouse? Are you treating this VIP in your personal life in a charitable fashion; or are the two of you at odds with one another; quite often selfishly battling for control?

For this to work, you must strive to live in a charitable fashion in every area of your life. It will take time but if you will try to begin to operate with a general concern for the wellbeing of those around you, you will in time, achieve and receive the most powerful light in the universe; the pure love of Father.

This becomes easier to accomplish if many of those around you believe in the importance of adopting a charitable attitude as well, and are striving for this goal in their own personal lives. So when the opportunity presents itself, share this powerful truth with others. You will not only be assisting them, but you will be making your own little world a better place in which to live.

I have always enjoyed the work of motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar. Unlike some motivational speakers, who solely promote an intense focus on positivity and upon self, Zig's philosophy is a little different. He believes that we cannot be truly successful and happy in life, without helping others become successful and happy too. His most famous quote that I believe embodies this philosophy and the concept of a charitable attitude is:

" _You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."_

Not Another Secret

There is a lot of talk in the world today of "The Secret" to spiritual and temporal joy and abundance. Well I have a little secret of my own to share with you, and this is it:

The true secret to spiritual and emotional health and wholeness, and personal success and abundance is an unwavering selfless charitable attitude, and it's attending power of pure celestial love. It is the greatest power in existence and it's yours for the taking, but only if you share it with others.

Oops... The secret is out, so now you have no excuses. Get to it and start healing the lives of others, and in turn you will heal your own.

Within the Workbook

In the workbook lesson on The Power of Love you will be introduced to a concept known as acts of love. By way of this simple yet powerful process, you will begin drawing more of God's charitable love into your life, while helping change the lives of those around you.
Teaching Twelve

**Seeing Signs of God's Presence**

Identifying God's Power and Influence in our Lives

As much as our angels desire that we stay aware of their purposes and presence, so much greater is their desire that we watch for and remember signs of God's presence in our daily lives.

Finding God

Throughout much of my life I was a pretty faithful person in the classic sense of the concept. I tried to be a good man. I prayed, went to church and awaited the answers to my prayers as patiently as possible. While I sensed God's spirit at times and saw some minor answers to prayers, I must say that overall, I could rarely see substantial, tangible signs of His presence in my life. I was very blessed in the sense that I had been born into a good family and a culture with many freedoms and significant abundance, but on a personal level I always felt like I was lacking greatly.

I grew up hearing stories about faithful people that saw great miracles and signs of God's influence in their lives. These stories seemed to carry with them a powerful testimony that inspired me and helped prop up my own faith and belief. While I had a few stories of my own, the majority of the time I struggled to find and maintain God's presence in my day to day life.

I now realize that my problem was not primarily one of faith but of understanding.

This may have been a failing on my part because I know there were a lot of good people around me with a lot of equally good information. None the less, my lack of understanding stood like a great impassable divide between myself and God. But when I began to apply the teachings that our angels had given us, that gap began to noticeably narrow. Now these concepts were not new to me, but the angelic approach to these teachings seemed to bring them into better focus. It was as if I already had these tools but had never been properly trained in their use. As my connection with Father improved, I began to see regular signs of His love and presence within my life.

Signs from God

I grew up believing that looking for signs from God was a bad thing. This misconception was probably due to my own interpretation at the time of certain passages from the Bible; one story in particular. Jesus had more than one run in with the Jewish ruling class of his time. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were both religious and political groups that administered Jewish government and law. The Sadducees were the majority party and consisted of affluent members of the Jewish upper class. Since the Jews were under Roman rule at this time, the Sadducees tended to support Roman law and keep the peace between both cultures, mostly because it suited their own financial interests. The Pharisees were the minority party but they were more highly esteemed by the common man. This said, it didn't make them any less corrupt.

When the popularity of Jesus began to rise due to His revolutionary teachings and the powerful miracles that He had performed, these two ruling parties became threatened. The Bible records that on more than one occasion they engaged Jesus in public debate in an attempt to discredit Him. Having heard of His healing miracles, on one occasion they demanded that He perform a great miracle for them as a sign from Heaven that He was who claimed to be. The first verse of the book of Matthew chapter 16 describes their request:

1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.

Eventually Jesus gave a direct answer to this request when He said:

4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it...

From this passage you might assume that looking for or asking for signs from God is a bad thing. I sure did. I thought that looking for a sign from God was a sign on my part of a lack of faith and belief. I thought I had to be an unquestioning "be faithful-be obedient-endure to the end" kind of guy when it came to God. Now these qualities are an important part of the equation, but they're just that... only part of it. You see I was traveling through this world with the mistaken belief that life was just a series of difficulties and problems that you were here to try to successfully navigate (or avoid) and if you did succeed, finding joy was secondary.

The fact of the matter is I had it all backwards. Our angels have taught us that our first priority is to be happy and that we need to learn to make the issues and problems secondary. For years I had focused on my problems and their solutions. Plotting, planning, obsessing and worrying; I had to work harder and smarter to fix things. And of course money was the solution to most of it, or so I thought. Slowly over time as I slipped further and further into this pattern, God not only took a back seat but eventually He was outside walking behind the car. No wonder I didn't feel His presence.

As I shifted from a focus on my problems and on myself, to a focus on God and His power to fix my problems, and as I adjusted my priorities from money and the approval of others back to my family, friends and the wellbeing of those around me, and as I applied the teachings from my angelic mentors, I began to see signs of God's presence in my life.

I learned that God does provide signs to those that are sincerely trying to connect with Him and His plan, but He will not give positive signs to those who are actively trying to fight Him or those that are working earnestly against His will.

Little Big Miracles

The signs of God's presence that began to appear in my life were small at first but over time they began to increase in size and frequency. The miracles that I began to see in my life might not have seemed like anything special to others but for me they were life changing. I began to think of them as little big miracles because what others might think insignificant seemed like a big deal to me.

My wife is probably the best example of this. Standing just 5'3" she is literally a little big miracle and the most important sign of God's presence in my life. We had been friends for years but there came a time when she started working for me at my office in a support role for the work. Over the next six months she became one of my closest friends and my primary spiritual support. We just clicked. We loved working together and talking about things spiritual. Eventually I think we both realized that the relationship we had built was one of the most valuable things we would ever know. Even so the thought of romance never crossed our minds.

Until one day when the subject just came up. Elise told me she felt that we were supposed to be together. She told me that she knew she was supposed to continue to be a support to me and to help build the work. She told me that she loved me. This was one of the most profound signs of my life. I was thrilled and relieved. It felt like God was saying, "It's going to be alright."

I told her that I loved her too. I told her that I couldn't imagine living my life without her. Because our connection was so perfect, I knew that if she found a relationship with someone else, I would inevitably be considered a threat and our association would be forced to end. The thought of this made me feel like I was dying. I just couldn't let that happen.

So we prayed about it for a while and as we did the message just kept getting stronger. So we didn't waste any time and soon thereafter we were married. Now some may ask, "So what's the big deal?" "You spent a lot of time together and eventually you got romantically involved." But there's more to it than that. Before this time we never dated, we never flirted, we never kissed. We never had a courtship in the traditional sense but we built a powerful spiritual foundation and then Father did the rest. Since that time we have seen one confirmation after another that we are supposed to be together. We have never had a single doubt and we have always felt Father's approval and blessing upon our union.

More Little Big Miracles

Our little big miracles continued in the form of heavenly guidance. At the time that all of this happened we were living in Idaho, and I soon began to get the prompting that we needed to travel to northern California. I had family out there and just assumed that I was being spiritually encouraged to go there so that they could meet my new wife. As this prompting became stronger over the next few weeks, I never shared it with Elise because frankly, I didn't think we could afford to do it at the time. From a financial stand point I had decided that such a trip would have to wait. That is until one evening when my beautiful wife returned home from work and walked through the door and announced, "I think we need to move to California."

I was stunned at her pronouncement since I had been receiving similar encouragements but had never told her about them. Although I had grown up in California, neither one of us had any desire to live there but now we were being told that this is where we were suppose to go. Once we decided that this prompting was true and that we needed to follow it, we quickly set out to find a house in northern California. We found a custom home that had been built in 1960, that had recently been remodeled. It was perfect. It had classic styling, hardwood floors, and a big, beautiful gas fireplace. The house was surrounded by a small but well manicured lawn and was adorned with flowering plants such as roses and hydrangeas.

Shortly after moving into our new home, Elise began to look for work and submitted a number of job applications. The economy was very bad at the time. With the unemployment rate in our little town at around 25%, jobs were not easy to find. Eventually she decided to enlist the help of a local employment agency in her quest for a job. The woman in charge of the agency was so impressed with Elise that she offered her a position working at their front desk. She loved this job. It was a professional environment and she enjoyed the people with whom she worked. In the next couple of months another little big miracle occurred. We found out that Elise was expecting and that we would soon be having our first child.

A Heavenly Job Offer

Father's hand was evident in our care and wellbeing. I had income through my business but as mentioned earlier the economy was bad and so we were reliant on Elise's income as well just to get by. Things were tight but by carefully budgeting we lived happily without much want for anything.

One day about eight months after arriving in California, Elise got a call from a local restaurant offering her a job interview. This was obviously a result of all of the applications she had filled out when we first arrived. She thanked the lady on the phone for the offer but declined, telling her that she was no longer in need of employment. She hung up the phone and happily went about her day.

At the end of that very same day, Elise's manager at the employment agency informed her that she was being laid off. The agency had slow seasonal periods and since she was the low woman on the totem pole, she would have to go. As we sat together at our kitchen table discussing the situation that evening, and the fact that with a baby coming we would be in serious trouble without her income, she brought up the call she received from the restaurant that morning. She found it interesting that this was just one of only two responses that she had ever received through all of those applications and the fact that it came eight months later, on the very day she had been laid off seemed like more than coincidence.

Coincidence or not, she was now visibly pregnant and we just couldn't imagine how anyone would hire her at this stage in the game. None the less, Elise called the lady back and set up the appointment. Shortly thereafter she was hired as a hostess. On her first day of work the women that hired her seemed a little shocked that she was pregnant. On the day of the interview, Elise had made no attempt to hide the fact that she was expecting but this woman claimed that at the time, she just didn't notice it. This blew me away. Elise was noticeably pregnant. I mean, you would have to be blind not to see it and yet she didn't.

This was another little big miracle in our lives. Father prompted someone to call and offer Elise an interview even before she lost her job, and on the very same day. He could have encouraged the lady at the restaurant to call two or three days later but we believe He prompted her to call that day, to show us without a doubt that He is there and that loves us, and He doesn't want us worrying unnecessarily. Essentially Father had arranged a new job for Elise before she had even lost the first one. He could have encouraged the woman to hire Elise in spite of her pregnancy but instead He supernaturally veiled the fact that she was expecting. If this isn't God outwardly and obviously wanting to reveal His presence in our lives, then I don't know what would be.

But this miracle doesn't end here. The manager at the employment agency where Elise had previously worked felt so bad about the whole thing, that she made my wonderful wife her personal project and set out to find her an even better job. Within a couple of months, this lady had set Elise up in a management position at a local business with a 50% pay increase over what she had been previously making at the agency.

Now most people would probably be running around in a crazy frenzy trying to fix such a crisis, but because we had followed our teachings and built a strong connection to Father, He had people out there working for us and all we had to do was love Him and trust Him, and love each other and stand still. This was an amazing sign of His presence and power in our lives and of course, of His love.

House Hunting at Night

Elise eventually delivered our baby. It was a beautiful and healthy baby boy. We named him Dale after my dad. About five months after his birth, Dale was showing signs that he might start crawling soon. We knew that a baby crawling on hardwood floors was going to be a problem and when he started trying to walk... well we'd probably need to get him a helmet. So we determined that we had to find a new house. Before we even had a chance to begin our house search, something extraordinary happened.

One night as we slept, Elise was awakened and heard a powerful prompting to go to the computer and look at house listings online. As she began to look at the property management sites, she heard another prompting that encouraged her to instead look at the online classifieds on the local newspaper's website. As she did, just one of the many houses for rent stood out. When she read the ad she felt excited and happy. So she wrote down the information for that listing and only that listing, after which she felt a peace about the whole situation and went back to bed. The next morning she called on the listing and set up an appointment with the owner. She did all of this unbeknownst to me. She knew that the prospect of moving at the time really stressed me out so she didn't want to add to that concern if it turned out to be nothing. After the appointment she came to me and said that she thought she had found our new home. This took me by surprise since I wasn't aware we had even started looking.

That evening we headed over together to meet with the owner in person. As we pulled into the neighborhood, I was surprised to find myself surrounded by such new homes. Most of them couldn't have been more than ten years old. These houses must have been worth 250 to 300 thousand dollars. Our current house was over 50 years old and was worth less than 150 thousand. Did we belong here?

As we entered the home I was greeted by 12 foot vaulted ceilings, a beautiful spacious living room, a large modern kitchen and of course carpeting wall to wall. As we continued the tour we found three nice standard sized bedrooms, a family bathroom and a laundry room which led to a big three car garage. In the master bedroom the ceilings opened up again to a large living space complete with a walk-in closet, a sprawling two sink vanity, and a large tub. As I gazed out the master bedroom window, I discovered a well landscaped, shady backyard that was perfect for our growing family.

As we made our way back to the living room to discuss the possibility of renting the home, all I could think was, "Wow! This is too nice for us. Can we afford it? Do we deserve it?" As we talked, the man explained that he was a college professor and that he had been offered a position at a university back east and that he and his family would be moving there soon. He said that he had been running the classified ad for a couple of months and had received a lot of interest but had yet to find the right family. Since he was going to be so far away, it was important to him that whoever did rent it was responsible, and respectful of the property. He mentioned that he had even received interest from people that he knew and trusted and still didn't feel right about it. Our conversation lasted about five minutes after which he said, "You know, I think you're the right family for the house. I want you to have it." We asked him if we could take 24 hours to talk it over and pray about it and then we would let him know.

As we drove away I was in a daze concerning what had just happened. If this was our new home, that was the easiest house hunt I'd ever experienced. That night Elise and I talked it over. The rent was about $275 more than we were currently paying and I just didn't know how we could swing that. To this my faithful wife simply reassured me that if God was the one that led us to this house, then he must have a way for us to afford it and you know what; she was right.

We did move into that house and we never had trouble making the payment. The money was always there. Another little miracle was the timing of the whole thing because Dale started crawling the day after we moved in. Our landlord is one of the nicest and most honest men that you will ever meet. If we have any problems or issues concerning the property he is right on top of them. He genuinely seems to care not only about his house but about our wellbeing, and he has become more than a landlord as we now consider him a friend. At times I have jokingly referred to him as the landlord from heaven. As I write this it strikes me that this may not be such a joke after all. If Father set this whole thing up then he is literally a landlord sent from heaven.

Now if I had taken charge of our house search (as I had planned to do) I would have probably only looked for rentals with payments similar to the price we were currently paying. I now realize that I had a limited vision concerning our future and an even more limited understanding of God's love for me and my family. And yet through a prompting in the middle of the night and a single phone call, He upgraded us to a better neighborhood and a nicer house with almost double the square footage.

To the skeptic I say; what are the odds that my wife would pull such a perfect choice out of the multitude of online rental listings in the middle of the night? What are the odds that after months of searching for the right family for his rental, he would chose us after just a short visit? He didn't even run a credit check on us or call any of our previous landlords or references. What are the odds of that? We made just one call and we looked at just one house and we ended up with one perfect situation. What are the odds of that? Of course we know with certainty that this was another sign from Father. We believe that because we have put Him first in our lives, He wants us to know that he will take care of the rest.

A Spiritual Expedition

About eight months after moving into our new home we found out that Elise was expecting again. We were thrilled. We were truly living a blessed and happy life. A few months later Elise and our son left one evening to run some errands. About an hour later she called to inform me that they had been in an accident. They were sitting at a stop light and a man rear ended them. She assured me that they weren't injured and that the car was still drivable.

I was so relieved when she finally returned home and I could see for myself that they were alright. Her little white Honda Accord was pretty well bashed in from behind. As Elise discussed repairing the car, I opened the driver's side door and discovered that the seat would no longer slide backwards. At this point I realized that the car's frame had been twisted in the accident and that it would most likely be totaled by the insurance company.

For us this was not good news. We still owed money on the car and since the car was a total loss, any proceeds from the insurance company would most likely go straight to finish paying off the loan. We had no money to buy a new car and were not in a position at the time to get new financing. It looked like we had just become a one car family. As I began to verbalize the hopelessness of our situation my steadfast wife touched my arm and gently assured me that if Father allowed this to happen, He must have a plan to work it out.

I realized that she was right and that I was limiting God again. So I looked on the bright side and thanked God that they were safe and that no harm had come to our unborn child. We then began to pray regularly about the situation and told Father that we realized that most of this was out of our control, so we were putting it in His hands. We then tried our best not to worry about it, knowing that Father would work it all out in His perfect timing.

That's when something amazing happened.

The following week I was notified that there was an unclaimed life insurance benefit in my name and it was for thousands of dollars. I was told that it was a policy my mom had taken out before her death and the insurance company had recently discovered that it had never been paid out. This was incredible! My mom had been gone for over 13 years and I was just now being notified concerning this; in the very week that our car was totaled and we desperately needed a solution. It was hard not to see my mother's involvement in all of this. We believe that she was sent by Father carrying this blessing and perhaps was inspired to purchase the policy many years ago just for this purpose. What a wonderful sign not only of God's presence but of the presence of ministering spirits like my mom in our lives. We were in absolute awe of this development but Father wasn't finished wowing us yet.

Now that we had acquired our celestial financing, it was time to start looking for a new car. Elise felt that with our growing family, we needed something bigger and safer. Since I'm a big guy standing about 6'4", she didn't want me to see me all cramped up in a little car anymore. She told me that she felt like we should get a Ford Expedition. I had driven Expeditions in the past and liked them so I had no problem with this. A number of days later Elise came home and announced that she had seen a beautiful deep blue Expedition with chrome door handles and wheels that she really liked and thought that might be a good color for our next car. It sounded good to me but I knew when looking for a used car, we might not be able to be so choosy.

Finally one Saturday we decided to begin the search for our new car. Elise called on a couple of online ads and set up appointments for later that day. After getting off the phone with one of the sellers, she came running into my office and said, "I've found our new car. I just talked to a man and set up an appointment and I have a really good feeling about it. This is the one." She told me that he sounded like such a nice man and she knew that he had our car. While I was happy that she was so excited, the prospect of getting too attached to a car based on a phone call, a car we had never seen before, made me nervous.

So we headed out to check it out. My wife suggested that we take the cash with us, just in case. I assured her that there was no way I was buying a car today. I lectured that the car buying process takes time and research and you don't just buy the first car you go and look at. She patiently requested that we take the money anyway so I agreed. When we arrived at the man's house, we did find that he was very nice and the car seemed to be in good condition. It was the color that Elise had wanted and everything seemed to be in order. We took it for a test drive and I must admit it felt good. It just had a good spirit about it. We returned and told the gentleman that we needed some time to think and pray about it. We thanked him and told him that we would contact him again later one way or the other.

So we prayed about it and then we went to a nearby restaurant and talked about it. After which we prayed about it again, after which we decided to call the man back and arrange to drive the car one more time. As we drove back to the man's house my logical mind was on fire. Was I really considering purchasing the first car that we had test driven? Had I lost my mind? Conversely, on a spiritual level I had a very peaceful feeling about the whole thing.

When we arrived Elise suggested that I take the second test drive alone so that I would have some peace to think about it. As I drove the car I prayed for some kind of sign that this was the right car for us and if it was, I asked Father to remove my lingering doubts. When I returned Elise was chatting with the seller. I took her aside and told her that I thought it was a good car and if she felt good about it, then I was willing to make the deal.

As we filled out the title and signed the paper work, he mentioned that he used to live in southern California, in the same area where I grew up. When I asked him if he knew my mother or father, he said no and the conversation pretty much ended there. As we gave him the money and began finalizing the deal, I felt prompted to bring up my brother Dennis. My older brother Dennis passed away of congestive heart failure back in the early 1980's. He was such a wonderful and creative guy. He was a musician and artist and he even recorded an album at Warner Brothers Studios back in the late 70's, although it never saw any success. He left behind a wife and four small children. It really was very tragic. He was one of my best friends in the world and I miss him every day.

When I mentioned Dennis this man's eyes lit up and he said, "Oh yes, I knew your brother." He then went on to tell me that he went to the same church as my brother and his family. When Dennis died, he said that one of the leaders of their church gave him the task of taking care of many of the needs of Dennis' little family. This man was handy and could do many small repairs, so he helped out regularly making sure that they were well cared for.

Here I stood at the northern end of a state with a population of over 37 million people, hundreds of miles away from where I grew up. Here I stood buying a blue Expedition with chrome door handles and wheels from the man that had been given the calling to care for my brother's family after his death 30 years earlier. What are the odds of that? As we talked about this amazing connection and finalized our deal, I began to see a misty white light surrounding us all and I felt my brother's presence. I swear to you he was standing right beside me.

Signs from God; are they real? Do they exist? I tell you they do. As I mentioned earlier, my wife Elise is the greatest sign of God's love and presence in my life. She intuited the model of car, right down to the very color that led us to this little big miracle. She knew we were headed to the right place even before we left our house that day. And while our new car is a wonderful blessing, the greatest blessing was this faith building experience and the increased knowledge that it provided.

We saw in this event that Father surrounds us with angels; loved ones that continue to care for us even after they have passed on. And yet the greatest piece of knowledge gained from this experience is the fact that there is a God and He loves us, and if we will learn to put Him first, He will never let us down, no matter what. That's a great sign indeed.

What's Your Sign?

Now I don't place these stories here to brag, but in the hope that they will inspire. These are just a few of the many signs that we have seen. We see smaller signs like this on a weekly basis, now that we have put God first in all that we do. Are you seeing signs like this on a regular basis in your life? What's your idea of a sign? Some have told me that they see signs from God all the time, in things such as a beautiful sunset or in the humming bird that floats outside their bedroom window each morning. Well yes these are wonderful examples of God's handy work and they are definite signs of His existence; but are they personal miracles?

Are you seeing little big miracles; signs that God is moving you and your family along the path of lasting happiness that He has set forth for you? If your answer is no then my answer to that is... you can and you must. Once you begin to apply the angelic teachings that are found in this book and its accompanying workbook, you will begin to regularly experience little big miracles in your own life.

Spiritual Blindness

Once we're on our journey toward God and we start experiencing signs of His presence in our lives, one of the most important things we need to do is notice them. For many of us there's a tendency to over look the signs of Father's influence in our lives. There are times that we enjoy God's blessings and presence without ever noticing Him or giving Him credit. In other instances we might brush off Father's influence as simple coincidence or luck.

Imagine if when we received my mom's life insurance money, my first response was, "Wow! We really needed that money right now. That was lucky." Again imagine if when my wife received the call for a job interview on the morning prior to being fired I said, "Hey that's an amazing coincidence." Can you imagine what might happen? If we ignore God's presence then we will probably devalue the need to continue to pursue a greater connection with Him. Why would we need God if we're convinced that fortune is on our side? If we believe that things are going our way, mostly because we are so smart and talented then Father takes a back seat. It's like anything else in life; if we don't think we are seeing results, we eventually give up the pursuit. If you are working at a job and your paychecks start bouncing, you will naturally stop working as hard and will inevitably start looking for something else to do. Similarly if we believe that our connection to God isn't paying off, especially as a result of ignoring His positive influence in our lives, then His blessings will slow and eventually stop. As we place the credit elsewhere we will gradually shift our focus and efforts in those directions as well, moving us further away from Father and back onto life's destructive temporal merry-go-round.

It's important to remember that we must put Him first in all things, and that every opportunity and blessing we have in this life is due to His good grace and His love for us.

A Good Spiritual Memory

Once we begin to see, next we must remember. Unfortunately, most of us have a short memory when it comes to the good things and a long memory where life's difficulties are concerned. This must change when the power of Father's presence blesses our lives. When little big miracles appear we must remember and cherish them, and use them to gain greater faith and trust in Father.

Keeping a journal is a great way to record and remember your signs from God. You should read them over periodically to remind yourself of Father's goodness in your life. This is a wonderful way to hand down a strong faith to your posterity and leave a lasting legacy of Father's love and blessings. If you're like me and are not disciplined enough to keep a daily journal, you might want to consider keeping what I call a miracle book. It is a place where you write down your little big miracles. If you're not much of a writer, you can use this book to make simple bullet points outlining your miracle. A basic outline should bring these experiences back to remembrance in the future.

However you decide to go about it, don't forget to remember.

Calling Down Fire from Heaven

One of the best ways to notice God's presence is to actively reach out for more of His spirit. In addition to making changes in our attitudes and behaviors that attune us to Father's spirit, there is another way to draw more of His presence into our lives. If you recall, things really took off spiritually for me when I started giving spiritual blessings. This is when I started to see real miracles. Since they are a little different from traditional laying on of hands spoken blessings, I started to call the process spiritual healing work or just healing work.

While I have had a hand in helping many people by way of this healing work, I too have benefited from its power. My wife blesses me with the healing work multiple times each week and I happily return the favor. Much like in the temporal world when red hot light in the form of a surgical laser is used to cleanse areas of the body from disease and dysfunction, this healing work is like calling down a cleansing fire from heaven that helps clear away spiritual energies that promote destructive thoughts and behaviors, while at the same time providing more of God's uplifting and strengthening spirit. While the healing work is supportive in overcoming emotional and behavioral problems and in healing troubled relationships, it is also a wonderful everyday support in the quest for a stronger relationship with Father.

So if you are a member of a church and there is clergy that you trust and that are worthy to give blessings; why not avail yourself of this gift? If the people in your denomination regularly pray over the members; why not ask them to pray over you and your renewed pursuit of a stronger connection to God. You can also receive the same healing work I describe in this book from a Happiness Principle Guide.

What's a Happiness Principle Guide?

That's a good question. I'm a Happiness Principle Guide. I am someone who has the qualifications and ability to help others apply in their own lives, the teachings found in this book. I also can administer the spiritual healing work that is supportive to their success.

In other words, a Happiness Principle Guide or HP Guide is a person who has already gone through the program and that has seen great success in their own lives as a result. They have then made the decision to help others attain The Happiness Principle. It is someone who has been trained personally by the authors of this book on how to guide and support others in this quest. They have also been trained in the spiritual healing technique that is discussed in the book.

While The Happiness Principle concept comes from a place of Christianity, your HP Guide does not promote any particular religion or denomination when they are working in this capacity. They are simply there for one purpose: To help you make a better personal connection with God and His blessings, and then to improve upon or grow that connection. Their support can then be carried over into and should strengthen your own specific religious or spiritual beliefs and pursuits.

If you have access to an HP Guide, I highly recommend that you consider taking advantage of this resource. There is no better way to incorporate these teachings into your life and to attain The Happiness Principle. While you can visit an HP Guide on a session by session basis, they offer a ten week program that takes you through each of the lessons in the workbook. They will get to know you and your individual issues and help tailor each lesson to your personal needs. Most importantly, you will have access to the spiritual healing work. If you wish to find out if there is an HP Guide near you, go to our website at:

www.happinessprinciple.net

Learning the Healing Work

You don't have to be an HP Guide to learn the healing work. This process can be an amazing blessing for each individual and their family. If you are applying the teachings, and dedicated to attaining The Happiness Principle and you are seeing progress, we would be happy to teach you how to do the healing work. Imagine your spouse coming home from work all stressed out and on edge, and by simply placing your hands on them, you're able to release them from some of the emotional burdens that are weighing them down. Maybe it's a child that is struggling through some issues at school and through your love and a simple touch, you bless them with more of God's spirit as a guide through this turbulent time. Perhaps it's a friend who is going through a period of mild depression and by way of the spiritual healing process, you become a conduit through which more of God's hope and peace is delivered. Being a part of such little big miracles in lives of others is one of the most wonderfully satisfying signs of God's presence you will ever experience. Who knows, maybe you or someone you bless will even get the chance to talk to an angel. Take it from me, it could happen. ;) You can find out more about trainings and seminars through your HP Guide or at our website.

Keep an Eye Out

So watch for those signs of Father's presence in your life and never forget them. While you're at it, why not help someone else by pointing out the signs of God's presence in their lives and encourage them to keep looking for more.
Conclusion

**Supercharging the Principle**

Dynamically Increasing God's Presence in our Lives

In conclusion, I leave you with some final thoughts and concepts that have come as a result of our association with angels and that I pray will further assist in the application of The Happiness Principle and in building a strong relationship with Father and His light.

Let Your Light So Shine

I remember a number of years ago a friend of mine who had been striving to apply our angelic teachings to his life, came to me astonished by something which to him seemed unexpected. He said that in addition to the peace and balance that he had gained in his heart and in his life, he claimed that his relationship with others in general had curiously changed for the better.

As if by magic, he noticed that it seemed people were being drawn to him in a positive fashion. Even some of those that had been negative or contentious in the past seemed to have a more softened demeanor toward him now. He told me that one of his business associates came up to him one day and said "I have noticed that I can be having a difficult day and be in a bad mood, and when you walk into the room I instantly feel better".

This didn't seem to be an isolated incident as my friend continued by telling me of another similar encounter. He said that a female acquaintance of his walked up to him recently and gave him a big hug and said, "Lately every time I am around you, I just know everything is going to be alright."

What was happening here? Before my friend was just another face in the crowd and now his very presence seemed to be having a positive influence on many of those around him. The answer is that he has become a more efficient conduit of Father's light. Like many of us, those that are around him are most likely not receiving this light as well as they could be. So when they come in contact with my friend, they respond to the gifts of comfort, reassurance, hope, and guidance that are contained therein.

This wonderful supernatural process and my friend's experience reminded me of another passage from the New Testament. Again from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus teaches that Father's light can shine through us and touch others. It reads:

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

• My friend by striving to eliminate negatively attuning misdeeds from his life, and replacing them with positively attuning attitudes and behaviors had allowed Celestial light to shine through him.

• People around him noticed this light and began commenting on it, and inquiring about it and the good works that precipitated its flow.

• God's greatest priority or "glory" is humankind and their continued growth and progress. My friend is transforming himself into an instrument through which this objective is being encouraged in the lives of those around him. This in turn glorifies or satisfies Father, as my friend becomes a willing tool that helps others make that same connection.

The flow of this light is a splendorous thing. Look at the impact that my friend had on his acquaintances just through periodic exposure. Imagine what might happen within your home if this light were flooding through you 24/7. But please remember that if we want the power of this light in our lives, then we cannot have the luxury of habitually participating in destructive low frequency emotions, attitudes and behaviors. They must be replaced with those of kindness, patience, encouragement, love, and service. This is especially true with those closest to us such as family, friends and associates.

This divine light is real and it can overcome any issue or problem, and it can heal any ill instantly or in time. It is really up to us as to how quickly the light will heal our lives. Will we let go of our plan and trust Father and let it flow; or will we remain on one of the many paths of darkness, reaping nothing but temporal pleasure and pain?

This light is the mightiest positive transformational power in the universe and beyond. It is magical and divine, and it inspires love, hope and endless joy within the soul. The peace that it provides is like a cool afternoon rain on a hot summer's day, and the comfort that it delivers is like a soft and soothing quilt on a bitter winter's night.

It is free for the taking but it will not be delivered to us without any effort on our part. We must begin to travel in its direction. If we wander off course, (and we will from time to time) we must make corrections and keep forging ahead. Eventually we will begin to emerge from the smog of misplaced priorities, despair and confusion, and we will find ourselves in a place of mental clarity and emotional calm, hopefulness, and joy.

Always remembering that we are a pathway for God's guiding light to those around us is an important way to supercharge the principle.

Becoming People of Integrity

If we desire to further supercharge our connection to Father then we should strive to become people of integrity. A person of integrity possesses moral character. Their principles are their most valued possession and they stay true to them at all cost. They strive to keep their beliefs and values in line with God's values, rather than the values of an ever changing world. In Hebrews chapter 13 it states:

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Just as the divine mission of Jesus and the principles that he taught are solid and unchanging so is a person of integrity founded in unshakeable truth. Their integrity is constructed with the building blocks of honesty, kindness and patience, charity and service, and strength and honor. They know that thoughts and behaviors that are opposed to their virtuous attitude will bring a destructive spirit not only into their lives but into the lives of those that they love.

They are not perfect and like others they make mistakes but when this happens they strive to make amends and make adjustments and then move forward. They are trustworthy and they believe in concepts such as chastity and commitment. They are strong believers in the importance of family and the institution of marriage. They take personal responsibility for their own lives and don't envy or covet the successes of others. They strive to be honest in all of their dealings with their fellow men and women.

If they find themselves in need or crisis they turn first to Father and follow His guidance and in time they know that they will again thrive. In the meantime they are able to receive charity as graciously as they give it, as they only look for a hand up, not a handout. They treat charitable assistance like a temporary life-line rather than a long term lifestyle.

A person of integrity refuses to believe those that tell them they can't make it on their own, for they know that all things are possible through the power of God's spirit and the abundance of His blessings. They are tolerant of the weaknesses of others, but they are not accepting of accompanying destructive behaviors. Whenever possible and appropriate they gently support others in personal and spiritual improvement. They work hard to live by the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do to you."

Conscious and Non-Conscious Spirit

So far we have talked almost exclusively about non-conscious positive and negative spiritual energies, and while we have discussed the existence of angels of light and a kind and loving Heavenly Father, we have not touched on the other side of this coin.

During the ministry of Jesus the Bible records that he performed many miraculous healings. It also records that perhaps as many as a third of those healings were as a result of Jesus removing conscious possessing negative spirits from the person being healed. Our angels have probably taught us more about this concept than any other. They have confirmed that there are earthbound conscious or self aware spiritual beings that tend to interact negatively with living humans.

Lilly Ann gave us extensive information concerning this spiritual dynamic and that information was key in helping Natalie in addressing her bipolar tendencies. We don't cover this reality in any detail in this book because the whole concept tends to scare some and anger others. If you don't want to think about it or if the concept upsets you because it seems incomprehensible or ridiculous; that's OK. This said if you believe in this concept it can be extremely helpful in remaining aware of dark spiritual approach and deception. Being conscious of these influences and avoiding active participation with them is one of the most powerful ways to super charge the principle and draw even closer to Father and His light.

The Greatest Love of All

The late Pop and R&B superstar Whitney Houston performed a song called "The Greatest Love of All" on her 1985 self-titled debut album. The single became Houston's biggest hit, topping the music charts for three weeks in 1986. The last six lines of the song's chorus reads:

I found the greatest love of all

Inside of me

The greatest love of all

Is easy to achieve

Learning to love yourself

It is the greatest love of all

It seems that Hollywood celebrities and people in the media are inexplicably becoming more and more revered for their insights in the areas of politics, lifestyle, and spirituality. So as much as I hate disagreeing with the late Ms. Houston and the writers of this song, I feel that I must.

We have discussed the need to identify the soul that resides within each of us as the greatest of all creations, as well as the importance of expressing love and support to this eternal spirit; and yet while very important, it's not the "greatest love of all".

Earlier we discussed the importance of having a charitable attitude and if we do so, we will draw down the pure love of Father, and that power is found in the Celestial light that I have talked so much about. In fact it is the embodiment of that light, and it is the carrier for all other powers and gifts therein. Most of us believe that love is just a feeling or an emotional connection but it is much, much more. The love of God is a powerful energy that is found in all of His creations, and without which all things would cease to exist.

We have established that we are God's highest priority and that He loves us above all other things. So if we want to complete our connection with Him and His light, we must reciprocate.

The greatest love of all is learning to love our Heavenly Father.

This basic concept is at the core of The Happiness Principle. This love must supersede all other things, just as His love for us transcends all else. If you have ever loved someone, you know that your love becomes stronger and more meaningful if the other person has feelings of love toward you. You may have experienced an important relationship with a parent, sibling or friend. You know that the relationship was more meaningful and valued because the feelings of love and devotion were mutual. As a result you may have experienced a great sense of trust and reliability concerning that person, and this perhaps gave you an overall increased feeling of peace and joy in your life.

In this same fashion, when we develop an unwavering love for Father, we become perfectly attuned to the frequency of His pure love and a bond or connection is made that can't be broken. If we want to guarantee peace, hope and joy in our lives, then love of God is a must.

What would this last chapter be without a final quote from our little angel Lilly Ann? When talking about Natalie and how she might continue to personally progress and accomplish her spiritual calling in this life, Lilly Ann said:

"Father wants the choice. Father wants you to love Him because you love him, not because there is something there to make you love Him." "Natalie has to choose to love God and she has to do it.... Father can't make her. That's where things sometimes slip with her and we're here to help her, because what she's here to do is really important, but we can't force her to do it... You know, some things take longer than others but we still have to be with her and help her."

In this segment Lilly Ann tells us that Natalie "has" to love God if she is going to be successful in her true purpose, and she must "choose" to do so of her own volition. Here again we get confirmation that there are angels around all of us, waiting for us to choose to reach out and accept their help. It is comforting to know that they can give us assistance in our quest for developing this love of God, and it underscores the importance of making a clear connection with them through positively attuning thoughts and behaviors. Loving God is another very important way to increase His presence and supercharge the principle.

The Wisdom of a Small Child

It would be hard not to notice that I refer back to my childhood quite often when evaluating spiritual concepts. While I'm not entirely sure why this is; I think it may be because it was one of the happiest times of my life and I believe that my perceptions were innocent and pure at the time. These were truly my first impressions. Our little angel Lilly Ann operates from this perspective and her perceptions concerning God and life are simple and truthful.

In the 13th chapter of the book of Mark, Jesus indicates that certain qualities of little children are the embodiment of those that work and dwell in God's kingdom when He said:

14 ...Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Now if this is a core component of angelic figures and others that work and dwell with God, then it just might be another great way to super charge the principle. So what are these heavenly, child-like characteristics? Well let's see... little children tend to be:

_Trusting:_ Children have faith that their parents and teachers will take care of them and protect them. With the same childlike purity we must have faith that God is guiding us on our best life course. Even if things are still a little bumpy we must trust that He knows where we are headed and that there are smoother roads ahead.

_Teachable:_ Children are open and receiving. Young children don't tend to be as rebellious and opinionated as adults so they by their very nature are teachable. If we will be open and receiving of God's guidance in a humble and pure child-like manner our personal growth and happiness will skyrocket.

_Care-Free:_ Children don't have much use for yesterday or tomorrow because they pretty much live in the now. They don't excessively stress and they don't habitually worry but they are usually focused on the joy of the game or activity at hand. If we follow their lead and resist care and worry, with the knowledge that Father will safely see us through difficulty, we will in time eliminate much of the stress and fear that encompasses many of our lives.

_Innocent:_ Little children are pure and innocent. When we as adults lose all or part of our innocence we have lost a very valuable possession. Without innocence we can tend to become jaded, bitter and untrusting. Innocence is the pure spiritual energy of hope and forgiveness and unconditional love and limitless possibilities. We should strive to be wise through Father while preserving as much of our childhood innocence as possible.

_Loving:_ The love of a little child is almost unmatched by any other type of love. Childlike love is sweet, devoted and unconditional. This is another pure form of love that we should all strive to cultivate.

_Joyful:_ Little children are naturally happy and fun. This seems to be their calling and career, and most work very hard at it. It's a great priority to them and they won't let anything get in the way of it. We should follow their example and make joy a high priority. Even when we are having a bad day, we should strive to find happiness somewhere or in something just as a little child would.

Discerning the Spirit

Learning to discern the spirit that surrounds you is very helpful in maintaining and growing your bliss, and it can be a powerful supercharger. If you find yourself in contentious battles with your spouse regularly, you know that God's spirit is not there and true happiness will not soon be found. If you feel like life just hasn't worked out the way that you planned and you are extremely dissatisfied and just plain stressed out, you are existing in the midst of a spirit that is low frequency and destructive in nature, and true joy is most likely far, far away. If you are dishonest in your dealings with others and selfishly self-serving, you are probably stealing their peace and contentment, not to mention your own.

Understanding the spirit that surrounds others is another important navigational tool. As I write this, mobs of people stand in the streets threateningly screaming obscenities at police officers and passersby. There are others actively trying to cause race riots, pitting one group of people against another. While still others proclaim that our society is broken and that there is no hope for the future and that the blessings of God will not be sufficient for our needs. Is this anger, envy, discontent and hopelessness coming from God and His spirit, or does it originate from somewhere else?

We must refuse to participate with these dark motivators and choose to turn to Father. If you're fighting with your husband, see if he will try to apply the teachings and understanding found in this book and together you can begin to fight the real enemy instead of each other. Any contentious relationship can be improved in this manner.

If you are dissatisfied with life... stop... and look around you. Educate yourself on how things were in the world just 50 or 100 years ago and realize that there has hardly been a better time to live on this earth. Be thankful for the conveniences and abundance that surrounds you, even if you don't have access to all of it at this time. Be happy for the blessings of others and learn from them rather than resenting them. Learn to appreciate the things that you have now, no matter how insignificant they may seem, and apply the percepts that are found in this book and begin the journey toward a prosperous future that you have previously been incapable of imagining.

If dishonesty has been a way of life for you, make a commitment today to strive to become a person of integrity. Make amends to those you have hurt and rather than solely enriching yourself, start investing in the wellbeing of others and in time the blessings of Father will uncover treasure in your life that you didn't even know was there. No matter the issue, if you will walk away from thoughts and behaviors that attract destructive spiritual energies and begin your walk toward Father, never looking back, in time you will be made whole.

The New Angels on the Block

Staying aware of the angels that surround us is my next supercharging suggestion. Our angels have told us that there is a new group of guardian spirits entering the spirit world now. They are our grandparents and great grandparents and in some cases our parents. They are the ones that paved the way for our blessings and prosperity. They were the ones that worked hard and sacrificed so that we might be even more greatly blessed than they. They carry with them in death the same strong ideals they carried in life. They were people of principle and common sense. They were people that believed in God and that respected Him. I remember when I was a little boy all of the stores were closed on Sunday. In fact very little business was conducted on the Sabbath day. This day they set aside to focus upon and honor Father. In general they were honest, moral, trustworthy and charitable people.

We are told that they are now being sent back to earth by the millions carrying with them great gifts of power to assist their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren in finding their true spiritual path and in attaining lasting joy and fulfillment. Our angels have asked us to keep in mind that if we disqualify their beliefs and values as outdated and invalid, as today's societal elite are encouraging us to do, then we will essentially disempower them.

My dad was part of this generation and if I had rejected his principles because of peer pressure and the teachings of the world, I would have never talked to a little angel named Lilly Ann, I wouldn't have received powerful angelic teachings and my life would not have been miraculously transformed for the better. Most importantly I would have never met and married my wonderful wife Elise and that my friends is a truly incomprehensible and frightening prospect indeed. She is now and will always be the greatest blessing of my life and this blessing is directly a result of my dad's guidance. So be thankful for those that have come before you; those that have built the avenues of your blessings.

An extremely valuable way to super charge the principle is to honor them and to avoid dismissing their truths and standards, but instead learn about their values and principles and adopt them. They will then be able to guide you to God's celestial light and the lasting blessings of real happiness and personal abundance.

Turbo Charging the Principle

All of these teachings bring us full circle back to the one simple principle that we must always keep in the forefront of our minds if we wish to be truly happy:

The Happiness Principle = When you make God your top priority and focus, in time all else will be added unto you.

My friends, this I believe to be the most important and powerful principle in existence, and yet there is a way to not only supercharge but turbo-charge the power of The Happiness Principle many times over.

Share it.

Share it with your children, with your family, with your neighbors and friends. You cannot be an island of happiness unto yourself. Remember what my dad said to me years ago, "you must realize that you can't keep such knowledge; such a gift hidden forever." If you attain happiness; how much greater do you think your joy will be if those around you are happy too? Just imagine scores of people surrounding you, drawing in God's love, peace and joy, and flooding your environment with the true spirit of happiness.

So if you're worried about the world in which you now live but don't know what to do to change it, or if you have friends or family with serious personal problems and issues and you don't know how to help them, now you have a way to do it. Share this book. You hold in your hand a testimony of modern day miracles; a witness that God lives and that real happiness can be found through a renewed relationship with Him.

So share it! Share it with your co-workers. Share it with your pastor or priest. Share it with the lady at the grocery store, share it with the guy who changes the oil in your car; share it with your butcher, your baker, your candlestick maker! Happiness was meant to be shared so share it!

My Personal Testimony to You

I would like to close this book with my own personal witness that there is a God; that He does exist. A Heavenly Father that is loving and kind, and that in time, wants to give to us all that He has. He sends angels of light to help guide us to His many blessings. I bear witness to this fact as I have been given the great privilege and honor to interact with some of these heavenly guardians. Many of them are loving family members which have passed into the spirit world before us, and have now returned to guide us through the rest of our lives. No one is more qualified to do this because no one loves us more, save it be Father.

They will stay by our side through thick and thin, patiently waiting for us to accept and follow their guidance. It is my greatest hope and prayer that we will all eventually turn away from our association with darkness and make it our goal to dedicatedly begin the journey toward Father and His light. If we will do this, I know that we and many of those around us will have everlasting joy, peace and true happiness in this world, and the world to come.

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You will be encouraged toward the character traits and good habits that lead to this wonderful prize. Each lesson tailors itself to your life and your individual needs. Eventually as you apply The Principle to your life you will find the everlasting treasure of healing, wholeness, happiness and peace.

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Appendix I:

Pollution Solution

By Dale Petersen

When mankind stumbled from the mire

He also stumbled on to fire.

And by the fire began to choke,

Resulting from the fire's smoke.

This murky problem he did pass

By cooking all his food with gas;

And after gas came other fuels

To operate machine and tools,

That belched out poisons in the air

With no concern--without a care,

To give us all a life of ease,

While killing creatures, grass, and trees.

If man can land upon the moon,

He'll overcome pollution soon,

He'll solve each problem slow but sure

By trial and error--more and more.

Yes, he will overcome the smog

And other poisons in the fog,

As well as water stenchy green

With all its elements obscene,

And beer cans on our roads so fair,

As well as gum stuck on a chair;

And vulgar signs smeared on the walls

Of bridges, houses, buildings, halls;

And broken windows, burned-out schools

By stupid, poor, misguided fools

Unlearned in a craft or guild

Who never learned just how to build.

We'll then commence to win the race

To clean the clutter out of space,

Of all the garbage left behind

By astronauts and all their kind.

It's very hard to understand

A person on the other hand

Who moans and groans continually

About the earth, air, stream and sea,

Yet this same, sad, misguided bloke

Can't wait to suck in clouds of smoke,

Abusing heart and lungs and brain,

Each cell slowly, surely slain;

And then he thoughtlessly assumes

That no one else will mind the fumes

He blows into your startled face,

Unmindful of the human race.

We've wandered far, and what's more, friend,

We think that we're the living end.

Yet all the years of man's resource

Have placed him on a wayward course.

He's drifted far from lofty goals;

His craft is caught upon the shoals.

What's needed most by you and me

Is plain and pure humility.

For with it answers he will find

To rid pollution of the mind.

The blight and rot of lust and greed,

O'er these and more he will succeed,

If he will recognize the force

Of inspirational resource,

The fountainhead of wisdom pure,

Unchanged, unending, evermore,

Man cannot achieve alone;

Pure human logic won't atone

For all the wrongs that must be righted

And problems great to be decided.

In time he'll rid society

Of hate, and war, and bigotry.

Love will cease to be a word

That's not achieved but often heard.

Let's lose ourselves in serving man,

The key to life's eternal plan.

Then, and only then, will we

Become forever clean--and free.

Appendix II:

The Structure of Prayer

Since prayer is such a personal process and the structure of prayer can vary within different systems of belief, in this section I will be giving the general structure of prayer and some helpful components that can be included in this process. Let's begin by talking about basic prayer.

Again prayer is an organized process for which specific time is set aside. Ideally the outside distractions should be eliminated, and the mind and heart should be quieted and focused upon God. Here once again a few minutes of breathwork is helpful in accomplishing this goal. Once you become proficient at utilizing a breathwork technique like "747 Breathing", it can be a great aid in quieting the mind and opening the heart.

Since we are trying to eliminate outside distractions, closing the eyes is an important part of prayer. From this point forward you should begin to talk to your Heavenly Father, as you would someone with whom you have a warm and loving relationship.

While you should be respectful, don't think of Him as someone who is stuffy and unapproachable, but someone who is relaxed, having good humor and warmth of character. While you can pray quietly to yourself, it is always best to pray aloud, and since you are alone and away from others, this should be doable. Praying aloud will help you stay focused and will keep your mind from wandering.

You may want to include some of the following general topics when in prayer:

_Express Thankfulness and Gratitude:_ Express appreciation daily in prayer for the blessings from which you benefit. These may be temporal things, or spiritual gifts, or the people in your life. As you express thanks for these things, your overall sense of gratitude will increase and a clear connection with your Father will be made. This will also help develop your attitude of thankfulness, and you will become better able to identify and benefit from blessings in the future.

_Ask for Assistance in Developing Positively Attuning Attitudes and Traits:_ It is extremely helpful to talk about the areas of your life upon which you are currently working, and that are in need of improvement. Talk about the weaknesses that you desire to overcome, and ask for strength in this pursuit. Include a discussion concerning the positive attributes that you desire to achieve.

_Pray for the Wellbeing of Others:_ If you're concerned about family, friends, or acquaintances, include them in your prayers. Ask for assistance in finding a way to help them receive the knowledge and light that you yourself are beginning to enjoy. If someone that you know is having serious personal problems or is physically ill, pray for them. Pray for their recovery and ask how you might be of help and assistance to them and their family.

Remember that when we show a willingness to step forward and get involved, angels then follow our lead. Try to pray for others in a hopeful and positive attitude, believing for the best. If you will do this, and what you thought would be the best outcome does not come to past, you will be greatly comforted and supported thereafter. You can also pray for your local and national leaders and for your fellow humankind in general. Most mornings when we prayed as a family, I remember my dad would generally ask God to "bless the poor and the sick and the needy, and those that have cause to mourn".

_Ask for Help in Knowing and Understanding God's Plan for You:_ Remember that in order for prayer to become a powerful and miraculous tool in your life, you must abandon your own personal judgment and program, and discover God's plan for you. Ask for help in overcoming rebellious and willful attitudes, and in adopting the trait of humility. Ask for assistance in identifying and accepting the plan He has laid out for you.

_Ask for Assistance in following that Plan:_ Once you begin to intuitively hear and identify God's promptings in your life, you must start learning to unquestioningly act upon them. Fighting your own will can take time, so you will need all the help you can get. Ask for assistance in overcoming your will and in getting with the program.

_Ask for the Things that will Support You in Accomplishing that Plan:_ Once you begin to understand the program, and you feel that you are in need of something that will support it, go ahead and ask for it. Again ask how you might be of assistance in making it happen, and ask for guidance in achieving the goal. While God knows of your need before you ask, it can be important to proactively inquire and be involved in the process.

_Just Talk:_ Finally, the most important suggestion that I can give concerning prayer is to "just talk". Father wants you to reach out to Him, and He looks forward to having you consciously make that reconnection. Again, talk to Him as you would your closest friend. Confide in Him. Pour out your heart to Him. Share your joys and your sorrows with Him. Approaching Him in a very personal and intimate manner is one of the most powerful components you can add to your own style of prayer.

When closing a prayer, Christians will do so in the name of Jesus. If you are not Christian you can simply say amen. If you don't like this, you can close by expressing your love for your Heavenly Father. In fact, expressing love for Him is another important component that should be included in all prayers.

Finally, the following suggestion is not mandatory, but it may help you make a better connection when praying. Remember our discussion about the soul that resides within each of us, and the soul's direct connection to Father. I have found that my prayers have become more productive simply by focusing my attention within myself, rather than projecting my prayers into the stratosphere.

If the eternal soul that is within each of us is directly connected to God, or if He can reside within our hearts (in a fashion) as a result of that connection, then this would make a certain amount of sense. Now in no way should anyone confuse this with praying to your own soul. Instead think of your soul as the telephone receiver that is connected to God or that it is the conduit of communication with Him.

Interestingly, as I pondered upon this idea, I remembered that as a child I was taught to bow my head when I prayed. This I was told was a demonstration of respect. I wonder if it is a coincidence that when our heads are bowed, our focus is aimed directly at our chest, and the soul within?

Appendix III:

The 747 Breathing Technique

I took a chorus class from a teacher named Mrs. Munck for two years when I attended Los Cerros Junior High School in California. She is a wonderful and dedicated teacher, with the talent and ability to inspire and motivate her students. I was always amazed at her ability to lead our choir and play the piano seemingly simultaneously.

As a vocal coach, Mrs. Munck taught us how to breathe when singing. She taught that a full breath did not come just from the lungs but from the abdomen or the diaphragm. So in order to properly learn any breathwork technique, we must begin by learning how to take a basic full breath.

First you must observe how you currently take a deep breath; so begin by doing the following:

1. Sitting up straight, place your hand on your abdomen and look down at your torso.

2. Take a quick breath and then quickly blow the majority of the air out of your lungs through your mouth.

3. Next take a nice slow and deep breath, while watching your abdomen and chest.

If you are taking a proper deep breath, then you should have experienced the following:

• The breath should appear to begin in the area of the abdomen and finish in the area of the chest, with the shoulders rolling backwards slightly.

Now take the breath again and make sure that your breath begins in the abdomen. This is foreign to some people but with a little practice it will become doable. Remember that this is required for breathwork, but not for everyday breathing.

While you can breathe like this all of the time if you'd like, it is more important that you use this approach when participating in deep breathing exercises. Now that you have the basic breath down, there are some other factors that should be identified before beginning to learn breathwork techniques.

When doing these exercises it is best to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Studies have shown that oxygen levels in the bloodstream are increased by 10% to 15% by inhaling nasally instead of through the mouth. If you can't comfortably inhale through your nose, then it is alright to both inhale and exhale through your mouth.

Next, focus on the depth of your breath. While you should maximize your breath, don't overdo it, but instead take in nice deep comfortable breaths. In fact 747 (seven-forty-seven) Breathing on the surface is designed to accomplish two things: to maximize and slow each breath. So as you practice taking a deep breath, make it deep and slow.

One way to begin to establish this is to take a deep breath and then let it out, and then attempt to take the next deep breath twice as slowly as the first. Once you are comfortable with deep, slow breathing, you are ready to learn the 747 breathing technique.

Learning Basic 747 Breathing:

747 Breathing is a powerful yet simple way to draw in high frequency spiritual energies and to prepare a personal environment for the reception of celestial light, and the peace that is found therein. If you will practice it for just five minutes a day, it will help transform your world for the better.

These five minutes of breathing should ideally be practiced away from noise and distraction, while comfortably seated in an upright position; although it can be done lying down as well. Your eyes should be closed and it is helpful to be in an environment with diffused lighting.

I refer to a single breath as "the breath cycle" and I will break down the breath cycle into three stages: the inhale, the hold, and the exhale. I will count out each stage in one-second counts. You may want to place a clock with a second hand in front of you, as you are learning to pace the breath. This will involve practicing the technique with your eyes open at first.

If you are not using a clock then you will need to count out the breath silently to yourself. Using the, "one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand" method of counting seconds will work well here.

To begin, take a nice full breath and then blow it out relatively fast:

_Stage 1 - The Inhale_ **:**

This first stage consists of seven counts. As you begin to inhale through your nose, count silently to yourself, seven full one second counts. Try to spread out "the inhale" evenly over the full seven seconds. If you find that you have fully inhaled at the 4th or 5th count, try it again but more slowly.

Stage 2 – The Hold:

Once the inhale is complete, you immediately hold your breath for a full four second count. So once you hit the last count of the inhale, you begin the first count of the hold.

Stage 3 – The Exhale:

This final stage also consists of seven counts. Once the final count of "the hold" is complete, immediately begin the first count of the exhale, as you slowly release the air through your mouth. Again try to spread the exhale evenly over the full seven second count.

This is the full breath cycle. After the last count of the exhale is complete, immediately begin the first count of "stage one" or "the inhale" again, as you begin the cycle anew. Some like to add a short hold at the bottom of "the exhale", before starting the inhale again, but this is a personal preference that is up to the individual.

So a single breath-count cycle goes something like this, bearing in mind again that these are one second counts:

• In – two – three – four – five – six – seven -

• Hold – two – three – four -

• Out – two – three – four – five – six – seven -

It takes a little under one minute to do three full breaths. Think about how many short shallow breaths you now take during an average one minute period and you will begin to see the power of this technique. In time as you begin to intuitively know and feel the rhythm of this technique, you will probably want to eliminate the counting, so that your mind will be clear to receive the insights and promptings that will inevitably come during your breathwork sessions.

Five minutes of breathing will be approximately 15 to 18 full breaths. While it is important to practice your breathing in a quiet space daily, 747 Breathing can be done at almost any time during your day. You can do it while in the line at the grocery store, or while at your desk at work, or while watching TV. Anytime you feel that the spiritual light around you is diminished or is not flowing well, do your breathing.

Don't practice this or any other breathing technique while operating any type of vehicle. While it would be rare, we don't want you getting light-headed and passing out behind the wheel.

So if you feel uneasy or stressed do some breathing. If you are angry or fearful, do some breathing. You can do a minute of breathing or twenty minutes. This is a versatile and powerful tool, and I cannot stress enough the importance of practicing and utilizing it.
About the Authors

Probably the best way to describe the author of this book is to say that he is "an average, everyday kind of guy". He does not hold any advanced degrees or grand spiritual credentials. Randy Petersen was quietly pulled from a background in business into his current spiritual avocation, through loving intuitive guidance and peaceful celestial promptings. Randy's wife Elise Petersen adds the heart and soul to this work and is the fuel that drives this message of happiness forward. She is spiritually gifted and intuitive, and is an amazing partner in this work. Together they have embarked on a spiritual path, which has led them to a vivid association with angels and the teachings that they carry.

Randy and Elise continue to strive to make improvements in their own lives, utilizing the information and techniques that they have been given. They know that a great part of their own spiritual growth is found in helping others to make a personal connection with God and His healing spirit.

Spiritual Restorative Services

1000 Lincoln Rd Suite H #140

Yuba City, CA 95991

(530) 346-3386

www.happinessprinciple.net
