2

Opening the Channels

The first step to connecting with the angels is simply having the desire to do so. Approach this new spiritual territory like a daring explorer on a new adventure, with an open mind and a willingness to go with the flow. In other words, I suggest that you don’t approach the angels with the attitude that you already know a certain amount about them or even about yourself, but with the attitude that you know absolutely nothing at all. You want to be a blank canvas upon which they can paint a clear image of what is—according to God’s will—without having to go through your conscious filters of what should be.

In a way, this process is like unlearning much of what you have learned about spirituality and even religion. I understand that doing this may be somewhat disconcerting for those of you who have grown up within constructs that teach us not to question our reality. But if everyone had obeyed those teachings, I wonder if civilization would have advanced as much as it has over the centuries. After all, if everyone had “played nice” and gone along with the program, as it were, we’d all still be swearing up and down that the Earth is the center of the galaxy and as flat as a pancake.

That said, letting go of preconceived notions about the world around you may be one of the most challenging obstacles you’ll encounter when trying to connect with your angels, second only to surrendering. As much as I’d like to say there’s a shortcut or ways around this, there simply aren’t. At least, none that I’ve found. To put it bluntly, I believe it’s either one or the other. Either you want angelic guidance, or you don’t. If you do, then you have to meet the angels halfway. Surrendering to the will of God is the way to do just that.

Surrender. What is it, exactly? Is it about relinquishing control? Is it about taking leaps of faith at every turn? Yes. But do not ever make the mistake of thinking that surrender is an act of weakness. If anything, it’s probably the greatest act of courage you’ll ever undertake. It’s about digging deep into your soul to find the strength you need to face all your fears. You cannot say, “God, I surrender, but don’t take my job, my house, my family, my car, my friends …” Surrendering means that you accept that everything—everything—is a part of God’s Plan for you. Pleasant or unpleasant.

When surrendering to the will of God, understand that to do so also means detaching yourself from desired outcomes. How you feel a situation should be resolved and how the Divine views it are seldom the same. If you cling to the idea that “It has to happen like this! There’s no other way,” that type of thinking will build a wall between you and your spiritual guides faster than you can blink. Your angels’ valuable words of encouragement will get lost in this mental chatter. So begin training yourself now to quiet your mind, shed your desire for a particular result, and be open to guidance from above.

Keep in mind that the angels are benevolent and compassionate creatures who will guide you to where you need to be. They will never berate or belittle you, and they will never tell you to do anything harmful to yourself or others. Because it can be so easy for us to confuse the voice of the angels with the voice of our desires and wishful thinking, I always encourage everyone to test the voices and constantly seek validation of the messages you hear.

While surrender is the key to connecting with the angels, we must exercise discretion and foster rationality as well. Just think about it—our world is plagued with powerful leaders who believe that God speaks to them and them alone, encouraging them to commit horrendous crimes against humanity. This is nothing new; humans have been mistaking the voices of greed and delusion for the voice of God for centuries. But God and the angels never told someone to steal another’s land, enslave a nation, commit genocide, or subject the populace to tyranny.

While I believe that nothing happens in our world without purpose, the horrors of history were set in motion by people and needed no extra push from divinity. God knew what Hitler was going to do long before Hitler was even born, but the voices that pushed the tyrant forward in his grasp for power were nothing more than the voices of his own demented and psychotic whims. They were not the voices of the angels, those beings of light who work to illuminate the world with love and divine wisdom.

Even with this understanding, connecting with the angels still requires constant vigilance and a delicate balance between belief and common sense. It also requires us to be mindful that we are still bound by the Law of Causality. Every action we take has a reaction—every cause has an effect—in our world, and on everyone and everything in it.

Remember, I’m speaking from experience here. When Gabriel first appeared to me to announce the direction my life would be taking, I scoffed. In very polite words, I basically told him to go to Hell and take his announcement with him. What God had planned for me, and what I wanted to do, did not match up in any shape or form. I was young, but I had my mind made up as to how my life was going to be. I had a very clear vision about employment, education, and even retirement. And I wanted no part in what the archangel was trying to sell to me.

In a nutshell, he told me that I’d be helping others connect with angels and spirit guides, and assisting them in balancing their lives through that connection.

My instant response to Gabriel was, “I need something with a much more reliable paycheck.”

You may gasp at my materialistic view, but let’s be honest for a moment. Perhaps I can best make this point through a story—many of you may be familiar with the story in the Bible (Matthew 4:18–22) where Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John drop their jobs as fishermen to become followers of Jesus. But now let’s fast forward two thousand years, and imagine that Simon Peter and Andrew own a fishery in Boston. They have about forty employees. The company is successful, and they have invested their lives and money into their venture. Their portfolios are diversified and lucrative, so they are feeling pretty confident that they can find wives and support their families, put children through college, and later retire to Florida when all is said and done. Meanwhile, James and John have a carpentry business in Phoenix that is going quite well despite the housing bust. They too feel they can finally begin living their lives, now that they’ve put enough money away.

Then along comes this long-haired, tree-hugging, soft-spoken, intellectual community organizer who tells them that the plans they have made for living a life of financial comfort are all wrong. Instead, they should drop their businesses, chuck their 401ks, and join him on a cross-country tour to spread the news of a new kingdom that is soon approaching.

Would you do it? Remember, you’ve got a mortgage, a car payment, a portfolio to maintain, medical insurance premiums, etc. Are you going to drop all of that and hop in a van, to drive across the country telling people to turn the other cheek and love thy neighbor and refrain from judging others?

I don’t care how many fish-stick sandwiches the community organizer could pull out of his magic hat—there is no way I’d just drop everything I’d worked so hard to get.

And that’s what I told Gabriel. “Find someone else with less to lose.”

A few months later, Gabriel found that person. He found her laid up in the hospital, paralyzed from a stroke, and quickly approaching homelessness.

That woman was me. Six months after his announcement, I had lost everything: house, job, family, and health.

I no longer had anything to lose. And being unemployed, I had plenty of time on my hands. When I first cried foul, just days after the stroke, Gabriel’s only response was, “You can come quietly or you can come kicking and screaming, Chantel.” Either way, I was getting dragged along on God’s Plan.

You think I surrendered then? Think again. I became more stubborn than ever and refused to even talk to Gabriel at that point. Angered beyond words, I cursed the heavens and somehow found enough strength one day to wheel myself out of my hospital room and down to the chapel. For two hours I had the small chapel to myself, and for two hours all I did was cry and curse and rock back and forth in my wheelchair while plotting a way to wheel myself up to the hospital roof and plunge myself over the edge. I had never wanted death as badly as I did at that moment, and because I assumed I was going to Hell anyway for cursing God during my rant, I figured I might as well make my journey to the dark side complete and tell Jesus how I really felt.

“You didn’t have to worry about a grocery bill,” I said, glaring up at the crucifix. “All you had to do was wave your hand and voilà, instant seafood feast. You didn’t have to worry about a car payment. You walked everywhere! And you never had to worry about a mortgage. Wherever you went, people gladly opened their doors for you, begging you to lodge with them.”

I was infuriated, but this was the precipice upon which I’d arrived after running away from God for eleven years. No, Gabriel hadn’t been the first to tell me what Heaven had planned for me. Jesus himself had come to me eleven years earlier, back when I was going to church as a born-again Christian. And as soon as he said, “You will teach, and you will heal,” I packed my bags and got the heck out of Dodge. Fear that I might be schizophrenic (after all, I was hearing voices) and anger at my church over a very public but highly inappropriate purchase (a new Jaguar for the pastor when we were supposedly struggling with the “building fund”) proved too much for me. I’d lost faith in my church, in myself, and in God. In that order.

For eleven years I ran. And then I ran right back into Jesus when I was more broken than ever. To say the very least, it didn’t seem fair. When I vented my feelings that day in the chapel, I expected to go back to my room, mull over suicide a bit longer, and then just lie down and die. I had no family, very few friends who could help, no money, and no house. Nothing. I had nowhere to go once I got out of the hospital, and at that point I was convinced that the battle simply wasn’t worth fighting.

What I didn’t expect while sitting there in the chapel was to hear Jesus’ voice again. After my colorful tirade, I felt sure he was going to wipe his memory of me and forget I’d ever existed. But he didn’t. As gently and as lovingly as ever, he responded. I tried my damnedest to keep up my anger, but I couldn’t. His presence diffused it almost instantly.

I still had a bit of a fight left in me, though. “You know, Lord, every time you send someone out to deliver a message from you, they get crucified,” I explained. “I don’t want to be crucified. I have a really low tolerance for pain.” I rambled on, but then desperation welled up in my heart and I looked heavenward. “Why are you punishing me? I told you a decade ago that I didn’t feel I was the right candidate for this.” That was when I was still in college, unsure of what I wanted to do with my life. But JC wasn’t backing down. In a most gentle and fatherly way, he reminded me of our conversation back then, and said that the purpose for which I was born had not changed.

Like everyone else in this world, I was locked into my destiny and there was not a damn thing I could do about it. That notion alone was more disconcerting than the notion that I might be bordering on schizophrenia, so I tested Jesus this time. “Prove it,” I said. “Prove to me that this is really you and that I shouldn’t just wheel myself up to the psych ward right this instant.”

“Go back to your room,” he said simply.

“And?”

“Just go back to your room. You’ll see.” And with that I felt his presence leave me, like a warm blanket being pulled away to expose me to the cold. With a sigh, I begrudgingly did as he instructed.

When I got back to my hospital room, my roommate’s church members had shown up and were holding a Baptist revival that was loud enough to wake comatose patients. I tried my best to kick my wheelchair into reverse to escape the onslaught, but it was too late. One of the women had my chair by the armrests and was pulling me in, like a tractor beam on a spaceship. Resistance was futile, as the holy swarm surrounded me and held me captive. They instantly began interrogating me in ways that made Darth Vader look like Ward Cleaver.

“Looks like someone just had a talk with Jesus and ain’t too much believin’ what he has to say. Don’t you think it’s about time you started listenin’? Don’t you think it’s time you stopped runnin’ all these years and just surrender and do what he put you on this Earth to do?” I’m sure the look on my face was a Kodak moment. It wasn’t shock, but a narrow-eyed, smoldering glare that was directed out the window, as if Jesus was doing the moonwalk after having just scored a touchdown against my team.

I had never seen these women before, nor had I informed my roommate that I was going to the chapel. In fact, I had not even shared my personal problems with my roommate, as I tend to be quite private about such matters while in the midst of them. So, while the moment was hardly funny at the time, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that those women were really Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and the gang in urban-fabulous drag, come to make my life miserable that day.

You may think that after something so profound and irrefutable, I would cast away all doubt and surrender right then and there. Nope. I was angrier than ever! I would have welcomed insanity over a miracle any day. My brain just couldn’t seem to process what I had witnessed, and what I would continue to witness many times over. Miracles just didn’t happen anymore, or so I thought. At the same time, after seeing the angels work in my life and other people’s lives, I realized it was absolutely stupid of me to call all of it a coincidence. Regardless, I remained skeptical. Part of me is still skeptical, even to this very day.

Hey, what can I say? I’m stubborn! Then again, God knew I’d be that way when he put me here, and so I’m guessing that JC and the angels are expecting resistance from me at every turn.

Well, years have passed since that hospital room revival, and though I’m still of the mindset “I’ll believe it when I see it,” I have surrendered. I understand that everything that comes my way, everything that happens in my life—or doesn’t happen—is already predestined. Sure, when JC or the angels come to me now, I question them and may even grumble a bit, but I acquiesce. After all, I’ve endured enough heartache and despair to last lifetimes. I’d be stupid to say no to the Divine ever again.

Now, I’m not telling you this to frighten you. I’m telling you this in hopes that you don’t make the same mistakes I did. Then again, everyone’s experience with the angels is going to be different. Maybe you’re a lot more accepting of fate than I was. Maybe you’re accepting of the angels but you’re not quite there with the surrendering part. Or maybe you’re so connected, you’re sure that if you make a leap of faith, without a doubt God will catch you. I wasn’t so convinced of that way back when, even when I asked Jesus if he’d catch me when I stepped off the edge. His reply: “You won’t have to make a leap of faith off the cliffs. Just take the first step and I’ll build you a bridge.”

Trust me when I say, he has kept his promise.

And I don’t believe that his promise was to me and to me alone, but to all of us. JC is just one of the many voices of God that speak to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and everyone in between, including the nonreligious (which includes myself, even though I consider Jesus Christ the pillar of my faith).

When you first make the conscious choice to surrender, expect test upon test of your conviction. Don’t beat yourself up if you falter, however. JC and the angels know well what it’s like to be human, and they’re here to help us, not judge us. They will support, comfort, and love you unconditionally, even if you’re a stubborn nonbeliever like I have often been.

It is important for us to connect with the angels, I believe, because their very purpose is to guide and nurture the human soul. They are here to interact directly with us—not so much to reveal the mysteries of divinity, but rather to reveal to us the mysteries of everyday human life, to reveal our true human nature. Keep in mind that I am in no way implying that working with the angels will make your life easier. (If my story about Gabriel and Jesus isn’t proof of that, I don’t know what is.) To say the very least, I feel that my life struggles increased tenfold when I began working with them.

But then again, so have the blessings.

I believe that the closer you get to God, the rockier the road becomes. When you begin actively engaging the Divine, you will more than likely encounter more potholes and muddy ruts than ever before, which make your spiritual journey ever more laborious. The magnificence of the struggle, however, lies in knowing that God has not only equipped your car with the best struts and shocks, but that his Angelic Automobile Association is on call 24/7, to come to your aid whenever you need it.

Emergency Room Syndrome

Before I go into detail about ways to connect with your angels and guides, however, let me first cover something that will require your attention more than anything else—your attitude toward engaging the Divine. I’ve talked about this in many of my Angel Galleries. I wrote about it in Azrael Loves Chocolate. I’ve expounded upon it on radio shows, and I’m going to say it again, because this is one of the most common obstacles you’ll encounter when trying to connect. I call it ERS—Emergency Room Syndrome.

We all know that prayer is one of the most basic ways to connect with God. Yet the thing about prayer, and any other forms of connection, is that people usually don’t initiate conversation with their angels and guides until something happens—ranging from the slightly vexing to the full-out cataclysmic. While I try to drill into my students and clients alike the importance of surrender, I also try to reinforce the understanding that they don’t need to wait until the world is crumbling down around them before opening up the channels to Heaven.

The most difficult problem that everyone across the board seems to have is connecting with the Divine when there isn’t a crisis. Effective connections with the angels mean going to them when things are just peachy, as well as when things are a bowl of sour grapes. Go to your angels and guides because you love them and enjoy their company. Don’t wait until something happens … or until you want something … or until you need something … to talk with them.

When people wait until their time of need, they’re usually feeling uptight, upset, anxious, desperate, and all the other wrong things for connecting with the angels. At that point, they are looking for help—a desired result. They’re not looking for a connection. In short, they are suffering from Emergency Room Syndrome.

This is how so many of us approach our angels and guides. We rush to our church or our sacred space, fall upon our knees, cry, plead, beg, and everything short of demand divine assistance. (Well, I’ve lodged demands, too, as I’m sure many of you have.) But when the going has already gotten tough, there’s little room in our minds to actually take in the awe, wonder, and beauty of the archangels. Michael’s usual sunny smile can do little to succor your desperation if you hardly know him. His telling you, “Don’t worry, all will be well” won’t help ease your fears one darn bit. And how could it? Talking to him only when you’re troubled is like trying to get comfort from an automated help line.

But if you take the time to talk to your angels on a regular basis and actually get to know them, their words of wisdom and comfort won’t be lost on you. Once you’ve established that long-lasting relationship, the angels become like family to you, a family that has a vested interest in you and your life’s purpose. So don’t sell yourself short—connect with them as often as you can.

I’m not saying that Cassiel wants you to ask what his favorite goth rock band is or what his favorite Japanese dish is, though he’d get a kick out of it if you did. I’m saying that to go to your angels when you’re not in a panic makes it easier for you to be receptive and accepting of their guidance when you do get in a crunch. So yes, the angels work well in a crisis. But why wait for a crisis when you can engage them and interact with them daily? Embrace them, and be inspired and encouraged by what they can do as companions along your spiritual journey.

While initiating contact with them, learn to trust your instincts and remember one fundamental fact—there is no such thing as right or wrong. You can’t make mistakes doing this, as whatever you glean or discern was meant to be.

The angels work to further your life purpose only. If you interpret a twinge in your shoulder as a message that you should take on more responsibility in your management job, do it. If that decision leads to an unpleasant situation, it does not mean in any way that you were wrong about the message. For example, let’s say you take on more work, which overburdens you in ways you didn’t realize. You find yourself spending less time with your current love interest. You find that you don’t sleep as much or that your stress levels are through the roof. You find your performance suffering so badly there’s a risk you could be overlooked for the next promotion, or even lose your job altogether. You ask yourself, “How could I have been so stupid as to think the angels instructed me to go forward like this?”

Firstly, please know that you weren’t stupid at all. You interpreted the message exactly how the angels expected you to. The point was never to propel you forward in that career, anyway, but to steer you in a completely different direction. Had the angels come straight out and said, “Hey, you need to leave this company,” you’d have sent them packing, especially with all the years you’ve invested in your work. So they took another route and now here you are, out of a job (and probably alone, too, since you ignored your mate for so long).

And this is exactly where you’re supposed to be. These doors were closed so that other doors to other opportunities could open. You may be angry with yourself. You may doubt your ability to connect. You may even rue the day you met an archangel. (I know, I’ve been there myself.) But understand that the angels are here to create the causes that bring about God’s desired effects. It’s all about his plan, and the angels are here to guide you through it.

Eight Ways of Connecting with the Angels

There are various methods you can use to connect with Heaven’s messengers. Many of them draw on extrasensory perception—ESP, or “the sixth sense” as it’s commonly called. The exercises in this workbook will help you discern which techniques you may be strongest in, whether it’s clairaudience (clear hearing), clairsentience (clear feeling), clairvoyance (clear seeing), claircognizance (clear knowing), or basic intuition. You can also connect through dreams and signs. All of these methods, in addition to other practices for contacting angels, are covered in this chapter.

It is a common belief in the New Age community that angels and spirit guides operate at such a high frequency in the spirit realm that it’s difficult for them to connect with us for any extended period of time, hence making any type of connection difficult to establish. My thoughts on that? Hogwash. Once again, we have a case where human beings are trying to place limitations on something that has no limits—the Divine.

Now, while it may be difficult for Aunt Phyllis to connect with you after just having crossed over, it is not difficult for Michael to sit with you during a Super Bowl game and root for his favorite team. Aunt Phyllis could take a week, or a year, or your entire lifetime to acclimate to the spirit realm again, which is why you might not always sense her near. But for the archangels and ascended masters—the conductors of the cosmos—connecting with this world is as easy as breathing is for humans. It is not difficult for Sandalphon to sit and watch chick flicks with you. It is not difficult for Cassiel to go shopping with you at Hot Topic. It is not difficult for Iophiel to help you pick decorations for your baby shower.

By the heavens, I just can’t emphasize enough that if we can’t incorporate our angels into our everyday lives, how in the world can we expect to connect with them when we desperately need them? Ask Michael to your son’s graduation party as well as to your evaluation meeting. Ask him to the park for your family reunion as well as to court for that speeding ticket. Don’t wait until you’re in trouble to connect with the angels. Invite them into your life every hour of every day, and soon enough you will find that connecting with them is just as easy as picking up the phone and calling your best friend.

So have at it! The following pages contain explanations of the various methods for connecting with angels, and then provide worksheets where you can experiment with the techniques. Remember that you may be stronger in some areas than in others, and that you may feel more comfortable with some techniques than with other techniques. This is to be expected. And most of all, remember that learning the Angel Code—how you, personally, communicate with your angels—takes time. But this itself is rewarding, since there will always be something new to learn when an angel comes into your life!

1. Clairaudience

(clair—clear; audience—hearing) The power or faculty of hearing something not present to the ear but regarded as having objective reality.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

Clairaudience is the method by which you hear your angels and spirit guides. The interesting thing I’ve learned about clairaudience is that you usually hear messages from the spirit realm in one ear only—usually the right. This isn’t to say that the angels can’t speak to you in your left ear, just that my personal experience, combined with that of my students and clients, indicates that picking up transmissions in the right ear is much more common.

You may be wondering, at this point, how you will be able to tell the difference between your inner voice (your intuition, your imagination) and the whispered words of the angels. The answer is simple: just ask! If you are connecting with an archangel, he will let you know. For example, when the idea for my Angel Gallery™ reading series first came to me, I was sitting alone at a teashop thinking about absolutely nothing. I heard the words “angel gallery,” and right before my intuitive eyes, I began seeing how the event was to be formatted. After a moment I chuckled and said, “Wow, that sounds like a great idea! I’m glad I thought of this.”

To which Gabriel drolly responded, “Yes, Chantel, we’re glad you thought of it, too.” Today, I tell attendees at my Angel Galleries, “If you enjoyed this, great. If not, lodge your complaint with Gabe—it was his idea.”

And that’s the truth. If you’re engaging the angels and need to know whether they are actively connecting with you, they’ll inform you. Moreover, you’ll always feel that you’re having a conversation with someone else, for an angel’s tone and phrasing will be very different from your own.

That said, the voices of your angels and spirit guides will never—never—tell you to harm anyone or yourself, or to do things that go against the inherent good nature of your soul. They will always speak to you in a loving, supportive manner—even Gabriel and Uriel, as militant as they are.

For those of you who lean toward clairaudience, you’ll quickly find out that each angel and ascended master has a distinct voice, even vernacular. For example, Archangel Michael’s use of American colloquialisms and slang really sets him apart from the rest of the gang—and it also makes for some really amusing moments when he’s talking to his brethren, who have yet to adopt contemporary speech.

Archangel Gabriel, the most stringent of the angels, won’t wax Shakespearian on you, but you can still expect him to be very formal in his approach and talk to you like he’s an army general.

Cassiel, Raziel, and Uriel are angels of few words, and will usually only speak if spoken to first. Even then, good luck on getting an audio response from them early on. Don’t take it personally, however. If there is something they need you to know, they’ll tell you.

Sandalphon and Haniel’s voices are soft and have playful, boyish tones that can be quite comforting when they’re not making wisecracks about their brother Michael. Sandalphon’s twin brother Metatron and the sagacious Zadkiel, on the other hand, have deep, resounding voices (not too unlike God in the movie The Ten Commandments). Don’t worry, it’s not as intimidating as it sounds.

Chamuel, meanwhile, talks like a Hollywoodized kung fu master—softly and often in riddles. Raphael comes across as a wise old sage who prefers to tinker around with plasma orbs and the space-time continuum in his castle tower. His voice is deep and he speaks slowly, enunciating every word as if he’s teaching a new language.

The ever-flamboyant Iophiel and the irreverent Ariel have voices that can coax the sun to rise two hours early. Bright, chirpy, and always up for a conversation about food, fashion, and festivals, Iophiel usually speaks a bit fast, and she has plenty of laughter to share with everyone. Don’t be surprised if you get a case of the giggles when engaging her. Ariel is just as chatty, and is never short on snarky quips.

Ramiel and Raguel are masters at economizing both time and words. You can always count on them being succinct and straightforward. Idle chitchat is not their forte, so if you have a question, you can expect it to get answered, but don’t expect them to lollygag by the water cooler. It’s not that they’re too busy for us humans, it’s just their propensity for efficiency.

And then there’s Azrael. One might expect the Angel of Death to have a voice that would instill fear in the most formidable of warriors. Such is not the case. Azrael has a deep voice that can be soft and comforting as well as effervescent. The Dark Angel has the most beautiful laughter I’ve ever heard. It’s warm, hearty, and genuine, and in all the times I’ve connected with him, he’s always been spirited and uplifting. While his job as the Angel of Death may seem grim, it is just that—his job. It does not in any way define him. Can he be menacing? Of course he can be. Dragging stubborn souls off to the spirit realm is not easy.

We have to remember that, above all, Azrael is an angel of compassion. He only goes to those who refuse to let go of this reality. For the most part, any angel can greet us at the time of death, but if we are desperately clinging to this world for all we’re worth, with no intentions of detaching from it, you can bet that Azrael will be the one to show up. And as I’ve said many times before, you can go quietly, or you can go kicking and screaming. Until then, however, don’t fear the reaper. It’s perfectly fine to engage this angel on a regular basis, especially for those of you who have a fear of death or are dealing with notions of death, be it of a loved one or your own.

I think once you get to know Azrael, you will come to love him as I have and see him as a caring friend who only wants to help make our transition from this world to the next as painless as possible.

If you would like to experiment with clairaudience, see the exercise below. Before you start, look ahead to the pointers in chapter 4 about “Creating Your Sacred Space” (pg. 176) and “Grounding” (pg. 196). Also, you may want to photocopy this exercise for additional practice and keep your completed sheets in a binder.

Clairaudience Exercise

Conversations with Your Angels

Compile a list of questions to ask your angel. The questions don’t have to focus on a situation in your life; in fact, it’d be better if you kept the questions casual in this exercise. Remember, one of the keys to effective communication with your angels is to talk with them during times when you don’t have a crisis that is in dire need of resolving. Keeping the conversation light and informal helps you to be more receptive to your angel’s voice.

Make this a fun exercise. For example, ask Michael about his favorite music or what he thinks about a particular song. Talk about the upcoming football season or ask him to tell you a funny story about his angel brothers and sisters. Ask Sandalphon what he thought about the chick flick you watched last night, or ask Iophiel about ideas for an upcoming celebration you’re planning. The point of this exercise is to see if clairaudience is one of your stronger abilities, and then to help you to hone the skill. So, asking questions that require a bit of elaboration in the answer will encourage you to do more listening and less talking.

The first part of this exercise contains questions about your experience as you make contact with your angel. Once that’s completed, move on to the second part, where you will write down your questions for the angel and the angel’s answers. At the end of your conversation, ask your angel to send you some kind of a sign, later on, to validate that it was indeed his voice you heard and not merely wishful thinking. Don’t ask for anything specific—the angel will decide how best to communicate with you. What’s important is that you request a sign. Whenever the sign manifests, return to this exercise to journal the experience.

Today’s Date _______________________

How are you feeling as you begin this exercise today? Check all that apply.

Making Contact

1. Prepare your sacred space, relax, and ground yourself. Make sure that you are sitting in a comfortable position, and breathe slowly.

2. Voice your intent for this exercise. Example: My intent for this session is to connect with my parent/mentoring angel and to practice my intuitive skill of hearing.

3. Ask your angel his or her name and write it here:

4. What gender does your angel’s voice sound like? Male Female

5. Describe your angel’s voice in as much detail as possible (soft whisper, melodic, etc.).

6. Describe your angel’s speech in as much detail as possible (fast, slow, contemporary, casual, formal, accented, etc.).

7. How does your angel’s voice make you feel? (comforted, happy, curious, etc.)

Q & A with Your Angel

Enter your questions for the angel in the spaces provided.

Q1.

Angel’s Response:

Q2.

Angel’s Response:

Q3.

Angel’s Response:

Q4.

Angel’s Response:

Q5.

Angel’s Response:

Validation Request

Ask your angel to validate this communication by sending some sort of sign. What sign does your angel say to watch for?

How are you feeling at the end of this exercise? Check all that apply and explain.

Validation Update

Date your sign manifested:

How did your sign manifest? Was it different than you expected?

Describe the experience. Where were you? What were you doing? etc.

Additional Notes:

2. Clairsentience

(sentience—feeling) The ability to feel or sense something not physically accessible by the five senses.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

Clairsentience is the method by which you can feel the energy vibrations of your angels. I tend to toss clairsentience, empathy, and psychometry into the same pot when it comes to feeling the spiritual world around us. After all, those with this gift don’t feel only the energies that the angels and guides emit, but can sense the spiritual energy of physical beings as well. It’s an interesting gift, and one that I honed through learning the healing practice of Reiki—a practice in which a person can sense the flow of energies and vibrations in the body, and then facilitate healing by removing energy blockages and recalibrating vibrations to promote harmony and balance.

Everything has a vibration. Numerology (the study of numbers) focuses on the vibrations that numbers give off, which can be either harmonious or discordant. Astrology (the study of planets) talks about the vibrations that planets in our galaxy give off, which impact our personalities and our private lives, social lives, finances, and so on. Crystals and stones have vibrations. Colors have vibrations. Music has vibrations. Plants and wildlife have vibrations. And as a clairsentient—or empath—you will be able to pick up on all of this, in some degree or other.

Connecting with the angels in this manner can be a lot of fun, but for beginners it can be a little disconcerting. You may find yourself forever second-guessing whether that feeling in your gut is Michael telling you no to a question you just asked or merely the burrito you had for lunch. Needless to say, if you’re planning to use this method to connect, be ready to practice, practice, practice.

When working with the angels and spirit guides, clairsentients will quickly find that their entire body is the conduit through which divine messages flow. From your earlobes to your pinky toes, you’ll be a buzzing body of information, but the crux of it is to discern whether the ache in your knee is Uriel giving you a warning to stay still or just an old-fashioned forecast for rain. As with all methods of connecting, the angels will help you to calibrate your skill, but don’t expect to be able to really compare notes with other empaths as to whether you’re doing the right thing. Because you all feel things differently, the angels will communicate with each of you differently.

Long ago, I discovered that crystals and stones are a wonderful way to practice the art of feeling. For a classroom clairsentience exercise, I gave each student five different stones of the same size, shape, and texture—stones that physically felt as similar to each other as possible. I used carnelian, rose quartz, crystal quartz, jasper, and amethyst.

I then instructed the students to close their eyes and pick up each stone, feeling its vibration as I read off a list of words. The students were instructed to select a stone they felt best resonated with the words I dictated. I then wrote down the students’ selections, after which I rearranged the stones for the students to select two more times.

Those who were strong in the area of clairsentience chose the same stone for the same word (carnelian for “sunny,” for example) seventy percent of the time. Furthermore, of that percentage, about sixty percent made the same selections as each other. Meaning that not only did Kate choose carnelian for the word “sunny” each time I asked, but other students chose carnelian as well.

This experiment with crystals is fun to do with friends, and is detailed in Clairsentience Exercise 4 (Optional Group Exercise). Make an evening of it, and be sure keep the atmosphere light. Pressure to do or get things right can interfere with any method of connecting with the spirit world, so don’t feel that it’s all or nothing. After all, even I have off days—we all do. So take your practice in stride and let the angels gently guide you along in a way that only angels can, with full knowledge of what your potential truly is.

But first, let’s practice a few solitary exercises (Exercises 1 and 2) to see where your clairsentience skills may be. Exercise 3 will guide you in connecting with the angels (similar to the exercise in the clairaudience section). Because these exercises are quite lengthy, it is recommended that you only practice one exercise at a time. Please be patient and try to reinforce your skills before progressing from one exercise to the next.

You’ll notice that the exercises focus mostly on the hands, but as you learn to detect vibrations with your hands, the rest of your body will naturally follow suit, eventually allowing you to sense subtle types of psychic energy with your entire being. Where a clairaudient can receive an angel’s message by simply listening to a voice, a clairsentient has to feel out a message through a hyperawareness of vibrational shifts around her.

Those with clairsentience will be able to glean messages and answers based on the emotions, mental images, and/or words that such feelings evoke. These exercises focus on honing the skill of feeling, or empathy, and serve as a journal to help you record, track, and validate your interpretations based on those feelings.

Before you start, look ahead to the pointers in chapter 4 about “Creating Your Sacred Space” (pg. 176) and “Grounding” (pg. 196). Also, you may want to photocopy this exercise for additional practice and keep your completed sheets in a binder.

Clairsentience Exercise 1

Detecting Personal Energy

Today’s Date _______________________

How are you feeling as you begin this exercise today? Check all that apply.

Finding the Vibrations

1. Prepare your sacred space, relax, and ground yourself.

2. Voice your intent for this exercise. Example: My intent for this session is to detect the energy vibrations moving through me and around me, and to practice my intuitive skill of feeling.

3. Sit upright and comfortably in a chair with your feet planted firmly on the floor and your hands resting on your knees.

4. Close your eyes, and slowly lift your hands about three to five inches from your knees, keeping them palm down.

5. Very gradually raise and lower your hands from your knees to this height until you feel a shift in energy. You’re detecting how far your aura—the spiritual energy field that surrounds you—extends from your physical body. You will know when you’ve reached the threshold of your aura when you feel a sensation akin to gently breaking the surface of water or pulling apart two attracting magnets and no longer feeling their pull.

6. With your palms now facing you, try to detect the threshold of your aura again; remain just inside of it.

7. Lower your hands to the level of your pelvic bone and then gradually lift them up to the level of your belly button. You are now detecting the subtle shifts between your chakras, which are spiritual power points of the body. (There is more explanation about chakras in the meditation section in chapter 4, but for now you are simply determining your sensitivity to energy vibrations and documenting what you can sense with your hands.)

8. Return your hands to your lower pelvis and repeat going back and forth between there and your belly button, scanning for differences in how the energy feels between the two points.

9. Linger at your belly button a moment and then move your hands up to your diaphragm, slowly going back and forth to note the differences between the two areas.

10. Next, scan your hands between your diaphragm and the center of your chest. Linger at your chest and take three deep, cleansing breaths before proceeding; pretend you’re infusing the area with love and warmth. This is just to help you clear your mind and relax a bit before moving on to the next power points.

11. When you’re ready, move your hands up to your throat, and note the difference between the energy radiating from there and from your chest.

12. Progress up to your brow, alternating between there and your throat.

13. And finally, move your hands so they are palm down over the crown of your head. Move between this spot and your brow area to detect any variations between the energies that dwell there.

14. Take three deep breaths and slowly lower your hands to your sides, and shake them vigorously toward the ground to promote circulation and clear them of any residual energy accumulated throughout the scanning.

15. Repeat steps 7 through 13 and then answer the questions below (“Self Examination”). When those questions are completed, repeat step 14 above to end your session.

Self Examination

1. When holding your hands over your lower pelvis (root chakra), what type of sensation do you feel? (magnetic, tingling, vibrating, heat, etc.)

What does the sensation evoke? (particular words, emotions, mental images, etc.)

2. When holding your hands over your belly button (sacral chakra), what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

3. Scanning your hands between your lower pelvis (root chakra) and belly button (sacral chakra), what differences do you notice?

4. When holding your hands over your diaphragm (solar plexus chakra), what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

5. Scanning your hands between your belly button (sacral chakra) and diaphragm (solar plexus chakra), what differences do you notice?

6. When holding your hands over the center of your chest (heart chakra), what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

7. Scanning your hands between your diaphragm (solar plexus chakra) and the center of your chest (heart chakra), what differences do you notice?

8. When holding your hands over your throat (throat chakra), what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

9. Scanning your hands between the center of your chest (heart chakra) and throat (throat chakra), what differences do you notice?

10. When holding your hands over your brow (third eye chakra), what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

11. Scanning your hands between your throat (throat chakra) and brow (third eye chakra), what differences do you notice?

12. When holding your hands over the top of your head (crown chakra), what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

13. Scanning your hands between your brow (third eye chakra) and the top of your head (crown chakra), what differences do you notice?

More practice (Choose any two chakras)

Scanning your hands between your _________________ ( ____________chakra)

and _________________ ( ____________chakra), what differences do you note?

Scanning your hands between your _________________ ( ____________chakra)

and _________________ ( ____________chakra), what differences do you note?

How are you feeling at the end of this exercise? Check all that apply and describe.

Clairsentience Exercise 2

Detecting Crystal Energy

For this exercise you will need seven to ten polished crystals or stones, measuring from 2 cm to 3 cm. All the stones must be as close in size, shape, and texture as possible. The stones must also be cleansed and programmed (see the “Crystals and Gemstones” section in chapter 4). You will also need a small pouch or box to hold your stones.

Each time you practice this exercise you are only going to use five of your stones, but try to create a new combination of stones as often as possible.

Today’s Date _______________________

How are you feeling as you begin this exercise today? Check all that apply.

Finding the Vibrations

1. Prepare your sacred space, relax, and ground yourself. Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable position and breathe slowly.

2. Voice your intent for this exercise. Example: My intent for this session is to detect the energy vibrations moving through me and around me, and to practice my intuitive skill of feeling.

3. Close your eyes and withdraw five stones from the pouch. Set them on the table before you and arrange them in a row about three to four inches apart.

4. Similar to the aura detection process in Exercise 1, you are now going to use the index and middle fingers of your dominant hand to detect the aura threshold of each stone. (Rest your opposite hand on your knee.) Begin by lightly touching the leftmost stone, Stone #1, and then gradually lifting your fingers away until you feel that you have moved outside of the stone’s energy field. Repeat this with the other four stones and note if the aura sizes and intensity differ from stone to stone.

5. After examining all five stones, return to your first stone to detect its aura threshold again, remaining just inside of it. You will now begin scanning the stones as you scanned your chakras in Exercise 1, noting differences in the stones’ vibrations.

6. When you complete scanning, drop your hands to your sides and shake them vigorously toward the ground to encourage circulation and clear them of any residual energy from the stones. Relax and take three deep breaths.

7. Repeat step 5 and answer the questions below. When the questions are completed, repeat step 6 to end your session.

Self Examination

List your stones in order from left to right.

Stone #1

Stone #2

Stone #3

Stone #4

Stone #5

1. When holding your hand over Stone #1, what type of sensation do you feel? (magnetic, tingling, vibrating, heat, etc.)

What does the sensation evoke? (particular words, emotions, mental images, etc.)

2. When holding your hand over Stone #2, what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

3. Scanning your hand between Stone #1 and Stone #2, what differences do you notice?

4. When holding your hand over Stone #3, what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

5. Scanning your hand between Stone #2 and Stone #3, what differences do you notice?

6. When holding your hand over Stone #4, what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

7. Scanning your hand between Stone #3 and Stone #4, what differences do you notice?

8. When holding your hand over Stone #5, what type of sensation do you feel?

What does the sensation evoke?

9. Scanning your hand between Stone #4 and Stone #5, what differences do you notice?

More practice (Choose any two stones)

Scanning your hand between Stone #_____ and Stone #_____, what differences do you notice?

Scanning your hand between Stone #_____ and Stone #_____, what differences do you notice?

How are you feeling at the end of this exercise? Check all that apply and describe.

Clairsentience Exercise 3

Sensations of Your Angels

Compile a list of questions to ask your angel. These questions should focus on helping you to get to know him or her, as well as helping you to become familiar with the angel’s vibrations. Make this a fun project and keep the questions casual and lighthearted. Remember, learning to connect with angels when you’re not in the midst of a crisis helps you to be more receptive to their presence when a stressful situation arises.

Today’s Date _______________________

How are you feeling as you begin this exercise today? Check all that apply.

Making Contact

1. Prepare your sacred space, relax, and ground yourself.

2. Voice your intent for this exercise. Example: My intent for this session is to connect with my parent/mentoring angel and to practice my intuitive skill of feeling.

3. Sit upright and comfortably in a chair with your feet planted firmly on the floor and your hands resting on your knees, palms up.

4. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Allow yourself to relax and shift your focus to your hands. How do they feel? Warm, cool? Can you feel your own pulse in your palms or a slight buzzing? Can you feel the air flowing over them? Linger in the moment for a few minutes.

5. When you feel you are ready, ask your angel to connect with you, keeping in mind the following points. At the end of your session, ask your angel to send you a sign, later, to validate his presence. Write it down. Whenever it manifests, return to this exercise to journal the experience.

6. First, turn your attention to your hands. In which hand do you feel a shift in vibrations the most? (circle the best answer) Right Left Same

7. Is a name coming to you? Yes No

a. If yes, write your angel’s name here:

b. Explain how the name came to you (you heard it, saw it, etc.).

8. What does your angel’s presence feel like? (magnetic, tingling, vibrating, heat, etc.)

9. What does the sensation you felt in the previous question evoke? (particular words, emotions, mental images, etc.)

10. Based on what you’re feeling, describe your angel (gender, demeanor, appearance, etc.).

Q & A with Your Angel

Enter your question for the angel in the spaces provided.

Q1.

Angel’s Response (explain the vibrations you sense, where you feel them, what they evoke, and your interpretation):

Q2.

Angel’s Response:

Q3.

Angel’s Response:

Q4.

Angel’s Response:

Validation Request

Ask your angel to validate this communication by sending some sort of sign. What sign does your angel say to watch for?

How are you feeling at the end of this exercise? Check all that apply and describe.

Validation Update

Date your sign manifested:

How did your sign manifest? Was it different than you expected?

Describe the experience. Where were you? What were you doing? etc.

Additional Notes:

Clairsentience Exercise 4
(Optional Group Exercise)

Detecting Crystal Energy

This is a fun and engaging activity to do with friends and family. Be sure to keep the atmosphere light and playful.

For this exercise, each person will need one of each: rose quartz, crystal quartz, hematite, carnelian, and amethyst. All the stones should be polished, measuring from 2 cm to 3 cm, and should also be as close in size, shape, and texture as possible. The stones must be cleansed and programmed (see the “Crystals and Gemstones” section in chapter 4).

1. Prepare the space where you are working the same way you would prepare your sacred space, smudging or offering a prayer to promote harmony and encourage camaraderie among participants.

2. Select a group leader to arrange stones in front of the participants. For convenience, all participants should be sitting at a table with enough space to set their stones before them.

3. Group Leader: Instruct participants to close their eyes and keep them closed for the remainder of the exercise.

a. Group Leader: Arrange each participant’s stones in a row and within the participant’s reach. The order in which the stones are placed for each participant is not important.

b. Group Leader: Instruct the participants to gently locate their stones on the table in front of them. Once everyone is comfortable and able to locate all five stones, you can read off a list of words and instruct each participant to select a stone that they feel best describes the word. Record your results on a pre-made chart similar to the sample provided below. (Use this workbook’s section on “Crystals and Gemstones,” as well as the chapter on “Angel Associations,” to help you compile a list of word/stone associations.)

c. Group Leader: When you complete the exercise, instruct participants to drop their hands to their sides and shake them vigorously toward the ground, to promote circulation and clear them of any residual energy from the stones.

d. Group Leader: Ask the participants to relax and take three deep breaths. Instruct them to open their eyes, and then begin a discussion about the results of the exercise. Remember, there are no wrong or right answers because people interpret words differently (for the word “Tranquility” in the chart above, Amy chose rose quartz because she equates love with tranquility; Sheila chose carnelian because sunlight makes her feel peaceful; and Meghan chose hematite because she associates strength and stillness with a state of calm). Since this is a time for togetherness and sharing in a spiritual atmosphere, encourage dialogue between participants and ask them what they experienced while connecting to the stones’ energy and how they feel about the exercise results.

Variation

Instead of using crystals, have each participant place a small personal item in a box (keys, mirror, brush, pen, etc.). This should be done in a way that no other participants can see or know who the item belongs to.

Group Leader:

1. Place the items in the center of the table. Select one item at a time and ask participants to write down the type of vibrations they feel from the object, as well as the name of the person whom they believe owns the object.

2. Once all the items are examined, take turns discussing each object, but ask that everyone keep their guess about the object’s owner secret until the end of the session.

3. Have everyone collect their item and then have everyone reveal their guesses to see who was correct.

3. Clairvoyance

(voyance—seeing) 1: the power or faculty of discerning objects not present to the senses 2: ability to perceive matters beyond the range of ordinary perception.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

While connecting with the angels may be a bit difficult for many of you in the beginning, regardless of the method you choose, I believe that going the clairvoyant route may prove the most daunting choice of all. As I explain in the “Meditation in Your Sacred Space” section in chapter 4, not everyone can visualize or “see” images in their mind. Because clairvoyance significantly depends on this ability, some of you may struggle with it.

In my years of talking with people about angels, I’ve learned that everyone wants to see an angel—to which I often reply, “So do I!” That statement may confuse you a little, but trust me, I’m not being a smart aleck! It’s just that everyone believes I see the angels with my physical eyes. My God, wouldn’t I love to, but it just doesn’t work that way for me. At least, not often.

The only angel I’ve seen with my physical eyes is Cassiel, and he darn near scared the bejesus out of me. I was young, in my early twenties, when he decided to visit. The moon was full, and shining so brightly into my bedroom window that I could read by its beautiful blue light. As I was preparing for bed, I spotted him there in the corner of my room. At first I thought it was my spirit guide, Jake, as the two have an uncanny resemblance. But I could tell from Cassiel’s aura that he was no former human.

At the time I wasn’t actively connecting with angels, just with my spirit guide. I had read about Cassiel, however, and Jake had introduced me to the angel in a meditation several months prior; but as with all things spiritual, I was leery—especially of an archangel dressed in black from head to toe: a black muscle shirt, faded jeans, combat boots, and a trench coat. Cass looked nothing like an angel to me, but still, his divine radiance got past my defenses. I didn’t invite him into my life right at that moment, but I didn’t scream “Get thee behind me, Satan!” either.

Nevertheless, his appearing to me in this fashion was nothing if not completely alarming. I was frozen in place, and for a millisecond I wondered if seeing him with my physical eyes was an omen of death (especially given the way he dresses).

“You’re not dying.” His silvery gray eyes shimmered at me from across the room. I slowly nodded and took a deep breath, peering at him. He seemed solid enough, and even cast a shadow on the wall behind him.

“So … why are you here?” I asked.

“I just wanted to let you know that your dad says hi.” He smiled a sad smile, and a lump welled in my throat. It had been months since my father had passed away, and at the time I was a lot like my mother—I had a hardened core that didn’t allow emotions to cripple me. He died; I wept; it was over. Father was gone and no amount of mourning was going to bring him back. Cassiel’s words, however, stunned me, and tears instantly flooded my heart and made their way down my cheeks. It was the last thing I’d expected to hear.

“Thanks.” My voice hitched and I covered my face, angry that my reaction was so immediate.

“I’m here when you decide to let me in,” Cassiel whispered in my ear, and I felt his hand on my shoulder. When I looked up again, he was gone. But he left behind such a profound sense of warmth, peace, and security that I wasted no time inviting him back. I wanted to learn more about him and his relationship with God, and what his presence in my spiritual world would mean.

Other than that occurrence, I’ve only seen Cassiel out the corner of my eye, usually standing in the shadows or sitting in a moonlit tree. And as with most apparitions—or with one’s imagination—turning my gaze in his direction meant that I would see nothing at all, since he would instantly vanish.

You may wonder why I just mentioned “one’s imagination,” as it seems to imply that what I saw wasn’t real. We could open a debate about what “real” truly means, of course, but that’s another book for another time. In this case, I mention the imagination because it is by far the most useful tool you can possess when meditating or engaging in clairvoyance. The imagination is a bridge to the inner voice, your intuition. By letting go of preconceived notions and entertaining the miraculous possibilities that can result through connecting with your angels, you are putting yourself in a place of surrender, a place where the mind and soul are open to experiencing what you may have at one point thought impossible. By allowing your imagination to flow, you are engaging in the creative processes of the universe. Because you are moving away from the obstacles of conditioned thought and expectations, you are moving yourself ever closer to direct alignment with the Creator.

Your imagination allows you to tap into your intuitive energies, which in turn fuel your meditative—as well as clairvoyant—abilities. If you can visualize the angels, then you can connect with them. At first you may only be able to see your angels in meditation. Some of you may also encounter what several of my clients call “silent angels”—“I can see Michael as clear as day in my visions, but he won’t talk to me!” they say. When I get complaints of this nature, I sort of smirk and say, “Did you plug your earphones in?” At that point, my clients often cant their heads and give me a blank stare.

They were going for clairvoyance, and they got it. Now, if they want sound with that, they’d best get to practicing clairaudience. Intuitive tools don’t always come to us like technology. Not everyone can experience the high-definition television set with surround sound. Some of us will get images only. Some of us will get sound only. Some of us may get the images, the sound, and the interactive features as well. What you get depends on what you signed up for in your contract with God for this lifetime. The point is to be grateful for what you have, and not begrudge what you don’t have.

While I now take it for granted that I am clairaudient, clairsentient, and clairvoyant, I’ve found myself to be seriously lacking in the claircognizant arena. At first I was snippy about this, but hey, three outta four ain’t bad. One out of four isn’t bad, either. So before you start banging on your television set wondering why you’re not getting sound with your picture, try to remember why: simply put, your learning style is more visual than auditory. But that does not mean you are any less capable than the next person of receiving messages.

You’ll just have to read lips. No, I’m kidding.

You won’t have to learn how to read lips (though now that I think about it, it might not be such a bad idea—someone try it out and get back to me on how it works). In the meantime, though, you’ll have to learn how to read your angels’ body language to get clues into the messages they’re conveying. Luckily, the angels are happy to supply other visual cues to help you along. For numerous examples of body language and visual cues, please see the “Helpful Hints for Using Clairvoyance and Dreams” section at the end of this chapter (pg. 115). You can consult chapter 3, as well, for icons and images commonly associated with specific angels.

A quick note, though, before you commit such images to memory. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times (no exaggeration): the angels speak to us in languages we understand. What I’ve listed in this workbook is based on what the symbols have generally meant for me, along with what I’ve gleaned from talking with students and clients. For me, a pink rose has always meant a mother’s love or divine love. However, if somewhere in your past pink roses were attached to a very unpleasant situation, the angels may not use that image for you, and instead choose another one.

It’s because of these variables that working with the intuition can never be an exact science. As the skeptic I am, I wish there were substantial scientific data to support metaphysics. But such is not the case, and each and every one of us is basically left with trial and error as we journey down the intuitive road. As I’ve mentioned, the format of this book reflects this view—since what I’ve experienced and what you will experience could be two different things. In essence, I’m just showing you where to start your journey. You’re the one who ultimately has to fill in the map.

In chapter 4, you will find a detailed walkthrough meditation designed to help you connect with the angels. Of course, once you’ve established your connections, you may no longer need to use meditation to see your angels. Instead, you may simply be able to close your eyes and instantly get results. Better yet, you may eventually arrive at a point where you will be able to see your angels even with your physical eyes wide open.

If you would like to experiment with clairvoyance, I encourage you to browse the “Helpful Hints for Using Clairvoyance and Dreams” section (pg. 115) before or soon after you do the exercise below. Before you start, look ahead to the pointers in chapter 4 about “Creating Your Sacred Space” (pg. 176) and “Grounding” (pg. 196). Also, you may want to photocopy this exercise for additional practice and keep your completed sheets in a binder.

Clairvoyance Exercise

Visions of Your Angels

Compile a list of questions to ask your angel. These questions should focus on familiarizing yourself with his appearance and icons. You’re getting to know your angel on a personal level, so have fun with this. The more familiar you are with your angel, the more receptive you’ll be to his manifestation, and to messages he sends during stressing times.

Today’s Date _______________________

How are you feeling as you begin this exercise today? Check all that apply.

Making Contact

1. Prepare your sacred space, relax, and ground yourself. Make sure that you are sitting in a comfortable position, and breathe slowly.

2. Voice your intent for this exercise. Example: My intent for this session is to connect with my parent/mentoring angel and to practice my intuitive skill of seeing.

3. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Allow yourself to relax and shift your attention to the center of your brow, commonly called the third eye. It is through this eye that you will peer into the realm of spirit to see your angel.

4. Ask your angel to allow you to see him, so that you may connect with him and receive his guidance.

5. When your angel reveals his presence to your mind’s eye, examine his form and appearance, keeping in mind the following points. At the end of your session, ask your angel to send you a sign, later, to validate his presence. Write it down. Whenever it manifests, return to this exercise to journal the experience.

6. Ask your angel his or her name, and write it here:

7. In what way did he reveal his name to you? (presented a scroll, wrote on a blackboard, etc.).

8. What gender does your angel appear to be? Male Female

9. Describe your angel’s appearance in as much detail as possible (clothing, build, etc.).

10. Describe any icons your angel may have been holding when he appeared (sword, scroll, roses, etc.).

11. How does your angel’s appearance make you feel? (comforted, happy, curious, etc.)

Q & A with Your Angel

Enter your question for the angel in the spaces provided.

Q1.

Angel’s Response (describe in detail what the angel has revealed to you and your interpretation of his message):

Q2.

Angel’s Response:

Q3.

Angel’s Response:

Q4.

Angel’s Response:

Q5.

Angel’s Response:

Validation Request

Ask your angel to validate this communication by sending some sort of sign. What sign does your angel say to watch for?

How are you feeling at the end of this exercise? Check all that apply and explain.

Validation Update

Date your sign manifested:

How did your sign manifest? Was it different than you expected?

Describe the experience. Where were you? What were you doing? etc.

Additional Notes:

4. Claircognizance

(cognizance—knowing) The ability to suddenly know information without prior reference or knowledge of how the information was acquired.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

Those of you blessed with claircognizance are said to have a direct connection to the legendary akashic records, the library of the cosmos. It is said that everything that’s ever happened in the universe is recorded in this heavenly database, and some references go so far as to call it “the mind of God.” I once thought, like many others, that the akashic records were a nineteenth-century myth, a story that somehow got attached to ancient Egypt. But when I encountered these records during a meditation tour with Archangel Gabriel, I was not only shocked that the library existed, but awed by its immeasurable size. The akashic records are a never-ending labyrinth of information—I saw towering walls, encrypted digital data streaming along them at warp speeds.

Very few people can access the akashic records—in fact, when I first saw them, Gabriel whisked me away so fast it made me dizzy. When I protested and asked to get a closer look, he simply said I wasn’t ready yet to view the records. I eventually gained access to them several years later, but what’s the use of having access to a library where all the contents are written in a language you can’t read?

I expressed my frustration about this to Archangel Metatron, the keeper of the akashic records. He informed me that I need to read with my soul, not my physical eyes. Well, if that sounds abstract and obscure to you, you’re not alone. I had absolutely no clue what he meant by that, because I was in fact in a meditation, with my eyes closed. I thought I was using my spiritual eyes! But the eyes he was talking about are the “eyes” of claircognizance—the eyes of knowing.

Claircognizance, however, is itself generated through a link to the akashic records. While I still attempt it from time to time, I know that since this gift relies on a library that few have access to, one cannot consciously “choose” claircognizance as a way of connecting with the angels. It’s a skill that chooses you. Or rather, Metatron chooses you, since access to Heaven’s mainframe is by invitation only.

In essence, those of you who have the gift most likely already know it, for you have the uncanny ability to know things without having to use normal channels. It’s like pulling accurate information straight out of thin air. In actuality, you’re connecting with Archangel Metatron, or his library assistant Archangel Ramiel, who allow you access to the most comprehensive database in all of Creation.

That being said, it won’t hurt to test the waters and see if you have the gift. If you would like to experiment with claircognizance, see the exercise below. Before you start, look ahead to the pointers in chapter 4 about “Creating Your Sacred Space” (pg. 176) and “Grounding” (pg. 196). Also, you may want to photocopy this exercise for additional practice and keep your completed sheets in a binder.

Claircognizance Exercise

Knowledge from Your Angels

Today’s Date _______________________

How are you feeling as you begin this exercise today? Check all that apply.

Making Contact

1. Prepare your sacred space, relax, and ground yourself. Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable position and breathe slowly.

2. Voice your intent for this exercise. Example: My intent for this session is to connect with my parent/mentoring angel and to practice my intuitive skill of knowing.

3. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Allow yourself to relax and shift your attention to the crown of your head. It is through the power channel of the crown chakra that you will connect with Heaven’s database, otherwise known as the akashic records.

4. Ask Archangels Metatron and Ramiel to connect with you, so that you may receive their guidance through the labyrinth of this immeasurable library.

5. When you gain access, take a tour of the records with Heaven’s resident librarians. Allow curiosity to be your friend and don’t hesitate to ask questions. If there is something you aren’t supposed to know, the angels will most assuredly inform you of that. Otherwise, enjoy the adventure and log your experience below. If, on the other hand, you can’t seem to access the library, don’t fret. Try other methods proposed in this workbook and try testing your claircognizance at a later time.

6. Upon leaving the library, don’t forget to thank your host(s).

Review Your Experience

1. Who guided you through the library?

2. Describe your angel’s presence.

3. How did your angel’s presence make you feel?

4. Describe your visions, if any, of the library. Or describe any feelings or impressions you received about connecting with the akashic records.

5. Detail your discussion with your guides, and/or any information you gleaned while touring the library.

6. How will you be able to use this information in the human realm and apply it to your life or circumstances?

Validation Request

Ask your angel to validate this communication by sending some sort of sign. What sign does your angel say to watch for?

How are you feeling at the end of this exercise? Check all that apply and explain.

Validation Update

Date your sign manifested:

How did your sign manifest? Was it different than you expected?

Describe the experience. Where were you? What were you doing? etc.

Additional Notes:

5. Intuition

1: quick and ready insight 2a: immediate apprehension or cognition b: knowledge or conviction gained by intuition c: the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

Based on the above definition, intuition sounds a lot like claircognizance. But I consider it to be slightly different, in that intuition involves a combination of some (or all) of the extrasensory perception skills I discuss above. Instead of being confined to one distinct skill, intuition is a subtle amalgamation of clairaudience, clairsentience, clairvoyance, and claircognizance. While one person may have a full conversation with her angels during meditation, or another may have clear visions of his guides, a person relying on old-fashioned intuition receives her messages much more subtly. When working with your intuition, you may hear the slightest of whispers or have a premonition, but for you, this is more than enough information.

If your inclination is intuitive, then you probably already know to go with the first thought that comes to mind when seeking messages from the Divine. Still, don’t fall into the trap of overanalyzing how you got the information, or the information itself.

I tell all my students and clients that everyone is intuitive in some capacity. Everyone. It’s the feeling a mother gets when her child is in danger. Or the chill that runs up your spine when you encounter a stranger with ill intentions. It’s that inner voice telling you everything is going to work out just fine, even as you sit in the midst of a crisis.

If you would like to experiment with intuition, see the exercise below, which is formatted as a log. The Intuition Log is simply a journal where you can keep track of your daily “hits”—your accurate perceptions or predictions—as you consciously and actively engage your intuition. There is no preparation for this. You are simply recording your spiritual experiences in the field, as it were.

For example, when you get an inkling about something at work, something in your relationship, or something in the world around you, jot it down in your log and wait for things to manifest. You could have an intuition about something as simple as knowing who is on the phone before looking at the caller ID, or thinking of a friend you haven’t talked to in a long while, only to hear from them out of the blue. Or you could discover, after the fact, that your unease about stepping into a business partnership was on point and helped you avoid a financial upset.

Keeping track of these types of experiences will help you become more aware of your intuitive abilities and how to fine-tune them. You may even discover that you have new strengths or abilities, related to the other methods of connecting, that you weren’t previously aware of.

As you chronicle your intuitive moments, don’t be discouraged if you have more misses than hits. In other words, don’t consider it a failure if a gut feeling or a sudden thought does not manifest in any sort of outcome. Remember, this is about practicing the art of intuition. Learning about the cues that your body and your physical and spiritual environments send to you will help you better understand how to develop this skill. You may want to photocopy the log for additional practice and keep your completed sheets in a binder.

Intuition Log

Angel Whispers

Today’s Date _______________________

How are you feeling today? Check all that apply.

What were the circumstances surrounding your intuitive insight?

How did your intuition figure into the experience? What information did it provide?

Did you have a specific query in mind at the time you engaged your intuition? (should I go to the office party or skip out, take the long way home instead of the freeway, etc.) If so, write it here:

Did you experience an extraordinary outcome as a result of following your intuition? (I got the chance to meet an influential executive, avoided a multicar pileup, etc.) If so, write it here:

What would you consider this intuitive experience? Hit Miss

If you encountered a miss, what do you think hampered you? (emotions, desired results, etc.)

Additional Notes:

6. Dreams

Archangels Raphael and Cassiel love weaving in and out of dreamscape, but that does not mean that you dreamers out there won’t ever catch a glimpse of Iophiel’s latest fashions or hear Sandalphon’s latest symphony. Because our human minds are most impressionable when we’re asleep, the angels can and often do use dreams as a vehicle for delivering their messages.

If you look at the many stories found throughout the world’s religions, you will find that someone is always dreaming. From the ancient Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel to Queen Maya, mother of Gautama Buddha, dreamers have always painted our religious and spiritual landscapes. Why should we be so foolish as to believe that in the modern age, dreams are no longer a viable way to connect with the Divine?

However, unlike in the days of old, we don’t exactly have a court of prophets we can run to that can decipher our dreams for us. Sure, there are dream interpreters out there, but I promise you that if you go to ten different interpreters, you’re going to get ten different interpretations. The same can be said for dream interpretation books. Interpreters and books both claim to have an understanding of how dreams work, but as I mentioned in the discussion of clairvoyance, no one can tell you what a rose means for you. You have to decipher that for yourself. Yes, we all can tell you what symbols commonly mean, but it’s purely subjective. If you ask a Fundamentalist Christian what a dragon represents, she will more than likely say that it represents Satan. If you ask someone from China, he’ll likely tell you that a dragon foretells great fortune.

The same goes for colors and numbers. White represents purity in the West, but it represents death in the East. The number five in Western numerology is a “bad luck” number to be avoided, while in the East it’s one of the most fortunate of all numbers.

You could also go to someone who specializes in dream therapy. At that point, however, your dreams are going to be interpreted through the filters of psychotherapy, by a person who will most likely think you should be committed if you tell them you’re trying to connect with your angels.

So, where does this leave you? It leaves you with the one thing you’ll ever need: yourself. Trust your own natural intuitive skills when deciphering what your dream means. While I’m in no way telling you to avoid interpreters or books, I’m saying that to rely solely upon them defeats the purpose of getting to know and understand your angels and guides on your own terms.

And to be perfectly fair, the same goes when it comes to this book. My purpose in being an author and angel medium is not to keep you coming back to me every time you encounter a life crisis. Not to sound harsh or cruel, but my task is not to hold my client’s hand. Rather, it’s to guide them to their angels, who will do the hand-holding. I’m merely a telephone operator who can help you connect to your angels, but once you figure out how to dial them up yourself, my job is done. There are plenty of clients and students who can attest to this—I’ve no hesitation whatsoever to tell someone they don’t need a consultation. And if the angels shake their heads no, that means my clients and students need to figure out a particular issue for themselves, anyhow. It may take a long time to fully understand some of your dreams, but that just might be the challenge the angels have set for you.

One dream that took me years to understand occurred when I was just beginning college. I dreamt that I was standing in my driveway looking up into a starry night sky. Suddenly, all these ghostly blue faces appeared. Their lips were moving as if they were talking to me, but I couldn’t hear a word. I remember being more awed than afraid, but I quickly grew frustrated since I desperately wanted to know what the faces were saying. Perturbed, I growled and stamped my foot. Big mistake. A chill went up my spine, and I looked up at the second-story balcony of my neighbor’s house. A large black dragon was perched there. His gaze narrowed on me and he let out a roar that shook the ground beneath my feet. He then belched a stream of flames in my direction, and I instantly awoke.

The dream didn’t frighten me, but it left me vexed and wondering what it meant. Roughly five years later, when I began encountering one archangel after another, I figured out what that dream had portended. The archangels, I believe, were represented by the faces peering down at me from Heaven.

I also eventually encountered the dragon. His name is Black, and he is one of Archangel Uriel’s pet dragons. This dark and brooding beast is a lot like Uriel, who doesn’t stand for nonsense or insolence. Black’s reprimand, that night in my dream, was meant as a warning for me to tread lightly, yet dutifully, while under the direct tutelage of the angels. Unfortunately, it was a warning that I didn’t bother to heed when I first met the angels, and I wound up getting singed on many occasions. But you live and learn and lick your wounds, while pondering the missteps you won’t be making again anytime soon.

Given the time it sometimes takes to fully grasp the meaning of dreams, this method of connecting with the angels can be a bit slower than clairaudience or clairvoyance. Don’t despair, however, for you will receive your message and its meaning exactly when you’re supposed to. So, don’t mull over possible interpretations of your dreams for too long, since it may be years before your dream makes sense.

I know that some of you may already be cringing at the notion of using dreams to connect, because dreams can be difficult to remember. Remembering takes a lot of practice, and one of the best ways to practice is journaling. To that end I’ve provided a Dreams Log, below.

Regardless of how you approach your dreams and this log, please be sure to do so with an open heart and mind. Some of you may dream in black and white. Others may dream in Technicolor, with surround sound and smell-o-vision. But no matter how you dream, do your best to get the most out of it by keeping track of your sleepy-time visions as best you can. It helps to write your dream down as soon as you think of it—otherwise, it can evaporate. If you’re looking to use dreams as a primary method of connecting, assiduous practice in remembering them is of the essence.

Working with dreams can be a challenging task. Based on my personal experience, along with what clients and students have told me, it’s a bit difficult to get answers to questions you’ve asked before going sleep. Of course, this is not the case for everyone—I’ve had a handful of clients express joy that Raphael came to them in a dream just as they’d asked.

But not all of us are going to be that successful.

You’ll notice that the Dreams Log does not require you to ask questions before entering the dreamscape. You can if you wish, but I believe that when it comes to dreams, it may be prudent to let the angels have control of the messages they deliver. After all, they know best, and this approach will help us avoid feeling disappointed if we don’t get exactly what we ask for.

While trying to connect with your angels this way, some of you may even get the pleasure of experiencing lucid dreams—dreams in which you are fully aware that you’re dreaming. If there was ever a time to take advantage of dreams, this is it. So, if in a dream you suddenly realize that you’re dreaming, don’t hesitate to call upon your angels and guides. Some of the best visitations I’ve experienced were during lucid dreaming sessions when I had enough wits about me to call on my spirit guide. Within a heartbeat, he appeared, ready to talk.

Along these lines, I’ve found that the mere appearance of angels during a dream can often jar you into the lucid state. Their presence can turn an ordinary dream into one in which you are self-aware and in control of your visions. In this lucid dream state, you are able to better engage your angels and guides—your critical mind is accessible, now, and you’ll be more likely to ask them questions, as well as remember the answers when you wake.

I encourage you to make additional copies of the Dreams Log, to keep in a binder. Remember to read back through your log every now and then to see if the meaning of any of your dreams has manifested.

Dreams Log

Angel Vistas

Today’s Date _______________________

Before you went to bed, how did you feel? Check all that apply.

When you went to bed …

You fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow.

You watched a little television. What did you watch?

You did some reading. What did you read?

You talked with your bedmate. Care to elaborate?

You stared at the ceiling/tossed and turned.

Other. Please specify.

Did you ask your angels to connect with you in your dreams?

No

Yes

Did you request to see a specific angel? Yes No

If yes, who?

If you asked them to address a certain issue, write it here.

Describe the dream, if any, that led up to your meeting with your angel.

Which angel/guide appeared to you in your dream?

How did you know who it was? (he told you, wrote his name in the clouds, you just knew, etc.)

What gender did your angel appear to be? Male Female

Describe your angel’s appearance in as much detail as possible (clothing, build, etc.).

Describe any icons your angel may have been holding when he appeared (shield, crystal, flowers, etc.).

How did your angel’s appearance make you feel? (serene, concerned, curious, etc.)

Describe here what transpired, if anything, between you and your angel during this encounter.

Describe here what transpired, if anything, after you and your angel parted.

Was this a lucid dream? Yes No

If yes, how/when did you become self-aware in your dream?

When did you first remember your dream?

The moment you awoke.

A few minutes later.

A few hours later.

Other

How did you feel when you first awoke?

How did you feel when you first remembered your dream? (if different)

What do you think this dream could mean for you, if anything?

If you are consulting dream interpretation books, list their interpretations here.

Validation Sign

Did your angel tell you of a sign that would be validation of this communication? If you don’t remember one, don’t fret. Write down the most significant things you remember about your dream—are there other signs you could watch for?

Validation Update 1

Date your sign manifested:

How did your sign manifest? Was it different than you expected?

Type of validation:

Angelic validation (the manifestation of a sign your angel instructed you to look for).

Dream validation (the manifestation of a sign that appeared vividly in your dream).

Personal validation (the manifestation of a sign that appears to support your original dream interpretation).

Book validation (the manifestation of a sign that correlates directly with an angelic icon listed in this book or with a dream interpretation from another dream book). Write the book title here.

Describe your experience. When your sign appeared, where were you? What were you doing? etc.

Additional Notes:

Validation Update 2 (if applicable)

Date your sign manifested:

How did your sign manifest? Was it different than you expected?

Type of validation:

® Angelic validation (the manifestation of a sign your angel instructed you to look for).

® Dream validation (the manifestation of a sign that appeared vividly in your dream).

® Personal validation (the manifestation of a sign that appears to support your original dream interpretation).

® Book validation (the manifestation of a sign that correlates directly to an angelic icon listed in this book or with a dream interpretation from another dream book). Write the book title here.

Describe your experience. When your sign appeared, where were you? What were you doing? etc.

Additional Notes:

7. Signs

By now, you’ve most likely figured out that I’m a skeptic and a cynic when it comes to all things spiritual and religious. Having endured painful disillusionment brought about by institutions of church and education, it’s very difficult for me to simply follow along blindly. Even when Jesus began talking to me, I didn’t believe it and sought to explain it away as a momentary lapse of sanity. But what finally made me stop and take notice were the many strange and mysterious things that were occurring in my life—in other words, the manifestations of signs that validated much of what the voices in my head were saying.

A good test for all of us who are journeying down a spiritual path is to seek out signs confirming that our communication with the realm of spirit is real, not a mere play upon the psyche. Since the archangels, as well as JC, are well aware of my Doubting Thomas nature, they are merciful enough to humor me in my disbelief. Though I’ve desperately tried to tamp down my skepticism, it still often gets the best of me. Whenever the angels have a message for me, I tend to cross my arms over my chest and say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

I admit, this stubbornness is getting old. After all, you would think that after my stroke I would be more malleable. And in many ways, I am. Instead of fighting the angels and going left when they instruct me to go right, I now simply acquiesce with a grumble or two and go along with the program. It’s much easier for me this way.

Since the release of Azrael Loves Chocolate, I have gotten a slew of emails asking how I can be so skeptical of the angels when they have clearly proven their presence in my life. The answer to that is easy: I never expect the past to predicate the future. This is a turbulent spiritual road to travel, to be sure, but the moment I start believing things blindly is the moment I need to stop what I’m doing as an angel medium. With this gift comes great responsibility, so what you may see as doubt or faithlessness on my part is merely my way of keeping myself in check. After all, my doubt is not in God or his messengers, but in my own humanness.

And of course, it’s only natural to believe what we can witness with our five senses, right? Well, sometimes we refuse to even believe those!

For example, the Bible tells the story of how Egypt was plagued by the wrath of God before Pharaoh allowed the Jewish slaves to leave the kingdom. When the Jews were released, they found themselves trapped between the Red Sea and the pharaoh’s armies. Despite what they had seen transpire in Egypt, they feared for their lives. Then God parted the sea, allowing them to pass while drowning their pursuers.

The Jews wandered the desert for what seemed like an eternity but never hungered, for God allowed manna to rain from the heavens to feed them. Even then, they still doubted that Moses would return to them from Mount Sinai, where he’d gone to receive God’s instruction, and they were quick to turn their worship toward a golden calf.

See a pattern here?

If you read through Exodus, you’ll see that God gave the Jews one miraculous sign after another, and still people doubted. We all have our moments of doubt—even JC had his moment of doubt at his crucifixion (do you blame him?). But when I catch myself doubting an angelic message, I shake my head in shame and say, “I may have my doubts, but I’m not gonna build a golden calf … yet.”

Of course, in this day and age we don’t get to witness the parting of great seas or feel grain rain down from Heaven. Most miracles today are a little subtler, to the point where many of us, myself included, are quick to call them coincidences. May we bite our tongues! I always ask for signs, not just for myself but for all of my clients, students, and readers who are beginning to establish connections with their angels. Seeing such signs pulls us up out of blind faith and elevates us to a more resilient faith—one backed by the understanding that God is in control. I don’t base my faith on the fact that God previously bailed me out of a tight situation, but on the fact that God is guiding my every step.

Everyone can say they talk to God. Everyone can say that God talks back to them. I won’t argue that one bit, but I personally find it comforting to have validation that it’s truly God I’m communicating with, not the voice of my own desires and agendas. That said, expect to encounter quite a few surprises as you embark upon your spiritual endeavor. You may find that some of the things you’ve learned in life up to this point aren’t as they seem. They may be misconstrued, outmoded, or outright false. Not to minimize the issue, but it’s like Yoda once told Luke Skywalker: “You must unlearn all that you have learned.”

When you go through life believing one way, and then the Creator and his messengers come to you and say, “Well, it’s not exactly that way, it’s more like …”, they don’t expect you to simply take their words at face value. Or, depending on who you are, maybe they do, but I have always tested and retested these messengers before accepting what they had to teach.

I can only implore that you do the same, especially in the beginning. Regardless of the method you use to connect with your angels and guides, don’t hesitate to ask for signs as validation. Write down what the angels communicate to you, and then wait for the signs to manifest.

For those of you just starting out, however, working with signs can be frustrating as well as exciting. I always like to use the “dove” analogy when explaining this: If you’re connecting with Archangel Raphael and you ask for a sign, he may whisper or show you a white dove. This doesn’t mean that you should run outside to search the skies all day. Doing so would distract you from the convoy of Dove ice cream trucks rolling by.

You may wonder why the archangel didn’t just simply instruct you to look for ice cream trucks. For some of you, he may very well have been that specific, but for those of you just learning how to train your senses to recognize an angelic presence in your life, the word “dove” is all you really need. Besides, “ice cream” isn’t really Raphael’s style. Archangel Sandalphon, who loves sweets, would most likely say “ice cream.” Warrior Archangel Michael might use “convoy.” But from the wise and gentle Raphael, you would hear the word “dove.”

A client once shared with me her experience with clairaudience, and we were joking about the Dove ice cream truck analogy. Her take on it was that we humans simply hear what we want to hear. Raphael may have said “Dove ice cream truck,” but the only thing that got through all the human filters and walls we’ve spent a lifetime building was the word “dove.” In this way, connecting with the angels can be a lot like trying to talk to your friend on a cell phone … while driving through a tunnel. The difference between the angels and your friend on the phone, however, is that the angels know which words you’re going to pick up, hence taking the randomness out of the message they’re sending—whereas your friend has absolutely no idea what you’re picking up, in between the static and the intermittent silence.

Another interesting thing about looking for signs is that they never turn up in the place where you expect them to. For example, I was experiencing a tense situation with a colleague, and there was a lot of stress between us. Metatron happened to be the angel “on call” that day. Or rather, he was the one who answered when I looked heavenward with tearful eyes, pleading for help. He assured me that everything would work out, but I was so distraught over the situation that I didn’t want a pep talk—I just wanted him to do something. (Remember, angels don’t fix anything; they merely help us to go through the challenges we’re supposed to face in life.) I could feel him smiling down upon me as he reassured me again, and like the curmudgeon I was that day, I replied, “Yeah, sure. This situation is fubared. Nothing is going to fix it at this point.”

“You will find a resolution,” he offered lovingly.

“Oh? Could you give me a little sign, then? I just really need to know that this too shall pass.”

“Look for elephants.”

Elephants. Elephants! Was the archangel kidding? I scoffed at this supposed sign, but all morning I hoped I’d come across a picture of elephants on the Internet or something. As the day progressed, I completely forgot about elephants and headed out to a doctor appointment. As I crossed the hospital lobby, I suddenly remembered that I needed to buy stamps, so I hightailed it to the gift shop. And there, in the gift shop window, was a family of elephant statues. There wasn’t one or two, but at least a half dozen. And these statues weren’t small, either. They were floor statues, made of carved wood, with a huge sign in front of them that read New Arrivals. Stupefied, I stood there gazing at the carvings.

At that point, I could only throw my hands up in surrender.

“You got me,” I whispered heavenward. Needless to say, the situation with my colleague smoothed right out, just like Metatron had said it would.

But not everything is so black and white when it comes to deciphering signs. That’s evident in the emails and phone calls I receive from clients and students who get a sign from their angel and then don’t know what to do with it.

Too many times the conversation goes something like this:

Client: Michael showed me red balloons in my meditation, and when I got to work today all of our cubicles had red balloons tied to them. So, what is Michael telling me?

Chantel: Well, it’s definitely a sign that he’s with you and connecting with you, but did you ask him anything?

Client: I really want to put my name in the hat for a promotion, but I’m not sure if I want to put up with the management games. I asked him to give me a sign and he showed me red balloons.

Chantel: Okay, I hear you, but what did you ask him?

Do you see where the problem is here? This actually happens quite often. Someone will get excited that their angel gave them a sign that manifested, but the sign is confusing because the person didn’t specifically ask for anything. For our sake, not the angels’, our questions must be as concise as possible. Don’t ask questions like, “Should I or shouldn’t I go for that job promotion?” Simply ask, “Should I?”

In some ways, this seems to be falling into the trap of fortune-telling. While I too have found myself pining to know the future, we have to practice restraint, because the decisions that we’re asking for help with have already been made. Before she was born, my client had already made the decision whether or not to go for the promotion. Her asking Michael if she should or shouldn’t is completely irrelevant, for she’s locked into her destiny just like the rest of us. Regardless of how the archangel answers her or the signs he gives, her soul already made the decision years ago, when she was scripting her life to be included in God’s Great Equation.

Let me give you an example of how the conversation with Michael would go if it had been me in my client’s shoes:

Chantel: Mike, I really want that job promotion. It means more money, a bit more creative freedom, and I wouldn’t have to answer to my supervisor anymore.

Archangel Michael: True, but it also means you’re going to be salaried and you’ll be working some weekends. You’re already a workaholic. Do you really want the added stress?

Chantel: (Whimper.) But if I stay in this position, there’s no telling when another promotion will come my way.

Archangel Michael: Chantel, you already know the answer to this one.

Chantel: I know. I just like talking it out with you.

Archangel Michael: You can’t make a wrong decision. Whichever route you take will bring with it lessons to be learned.

Chantel: Some easier than others.

Archangel Michael: No, not necessarily. You’re going to complain either way.

And he’s right about that. After a few cleansing breaths, I would decide to go for the promotion. The next day, however, I’d most likely chicken out. But that was supposed to happen. The promotion wasn’t meant to be, which then raises the question of what staying in my current position could mean.

Only time will tell, and eventually, the whys will make themselves known. At that point, you can begin to understand the reasons why you made the decision you did. Life is never about making decisions, but about learning from them.

The purpose of every decision we make is to teach us lessons. For my client, it was never about applying for the promotion or not, but gaining wisdom from whichever path she chose. And so it is for you, me, and everyone else in this world. Because of this, I ask that you look for signs casually, with an open mind, and not become obsessed with trying to find them and dissect what they mean. At the very foundation, they really only mean one thing—that your angels are walking beside you every step of the way as you journey through life.

I would be remiss at this point not to include a note about “Not Signs.” Many of you may have seen things (orbs, shadows, floating and twinkling lights, bodies of fog, apparitions) that you may be tempted to take as “evidence” of angelic presence. I receive many inquiries regarding such sightings. While this may come as a surprise to you, given my enthusiasm for validating angelic presence through signs, I must also ask that you exercise caution when encountering phenomena such as those described above. Because we are so desperate for contact with the angels, we often rush to believe that unexplained occurrences or sights indicate an angelic presence. I think that this belief is naïve at best and reckless at worst—the human eye is very easy to trick, and susceptible to external elements such as lighting and movement that can contribute to “seeing” something that may or may not be present.

Because such occurrences can cause a lot of excitement and heightened emotion, make sure you’re grounded before you form any conclusions about what you saw. Once you’ve taken a few breaths, tap into your spiritual self. Ask yourself how the sighting made you feel. Did you truly feel an otherworldly presence? If so, did it feel calm, loving, comforting, and peaceful? Truly search your feelings and try to remain objective.

While the angels love to have fun just like we do, they’re not in the business of wowing us with sideshow antics such as roaming shadows or furniture that skids across the room. So let’s not get too caught up in Hollywood theatrics. The angels tend to have a much more subtle approach. If they want to connect with you, they can clue you in without causing chaos.

Another way to discern whether unexplained phenomena somehow indicates an angelic presence is the question of consistency. Michael, for example, will give off small flashes of light to let you know he’s around, but he will also let you know he’s there by using connections that you’ve already established with him, be it clairaudience, dreams, etc. It is much better to foster this kind of relationship with your angels, seeking out connection through personal, intimate experiences every day, rather than relying on spectacle.

Spirituality is personal. I can’t emphasize this enough. Get to know God, the angels, Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Ganesh, and so on for yourself. It’s not about rites and rituals. It’s not about pomp and ceremony. And it’s certainly not about spectacles like apparitions and séances, most of which, I believe, are contrived merely for the sake of entertainment.

Because I am unwavering in this belief, I keep my Angel Gallery events limited to a very small number of people (usually a dozen or fewer), and I prefer to conduct consultations in private settings as opposed to reading for large audiences. The connections that we establish with the Divine are something to be cherished, and approached as opportunities for reflection and self-discovery, not entertainment. This isn’t to say that the angels aren’t a fun bunch to hang out with—they are. But they make their company enjoyable so that humans are more accepting of them and more receptive to their messages. They’re not trying to boost ratings on some cable channel broadcasting from Heaven.

To begin deciphering and understanding how signs manifest in your Angel Code, please turn to page 245 and complete a Life Log. You will have the opportunity to record the validation signs you receive. Let your own experiences with the angels renew and fortify your faith in them … and in yourself.

8. Other Methods of Connecting

And speaking of entertainment, I’ll complete this chapter by discussing a few popular methods of connecting that clients have asked me about, over the years, in their quests to make contact with the realm of spirit. These methods include, but are certainly not limited to, things of an occult nature such as pendulums, crystal balls, mirror or water scrying, tea leaf reading, automatic writing, table tipping, planchettes (Ouija boards), and the always popular tarot cards.

My thoughts on these methods? Basically, I think that many of them are a crutch; once you tap into your own natural intuitive skills, you’ll quickly realize that you don’t need any of this stuff. Methods such as the planchettes and table tipping I have other reservations about (although for different reasons than you might expect).

But first, let’s talk tarot. To be perfectly honest, I admit that I used tarot cards during much of my youth (often while listening to Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”). At the time, I was seeking to predict the future, not establish any contact with the realm of spirit. Once I became a born-again Christian, of course, the cards went into the garbage can. But when I left the church years later, my curiosity led me right back to them.

It wasn’t until I met my spiritual mentor a few years after that, however, that I discovered tarot cards based on angels. For the longest time, I had been using a set that I’d created myself, but when I first discovered the different types of angel cards sold in the bookstores, I immediately took to them. Fortunately, I quickly discovered that the power was not in the cards, but in me.

Let me tell you a story about that …

One Sunday afternoon, I stopped by to visit my mentor, Ella. Being her usual cheery self, she announced, “In a few weeks we’re having Angels Day here at the tea shop. Another store in the complex is sponsoring it, but I thought it’d be nice if we participated, too.”

“Angels?” Ugh, I thought. Even as much as I loved Ella and felt grateful for her guidance in my life, I couldn’t say I was all that excited about the news.

“Yeah, we’re going to have readers up here that weekend.” She beamed.

“Cool!” Okay, now I was interested. “I’ll come up and get a reading.”

Ella’s eyes leveled sternly upon me. “No, you don’t get it, kiddo. You’re one of my readers.”

All right, Ella was pretty much my adopted mother by this point. And I had quickly learned that you just did not tell this determined sage “no.” So I swallowed hard, forced a smile, and politely informed her that I hadn’t really worked with my tarot cards in nearly two years.

“Well, Angels Day is in two weeks. I suggest you get practicing.” By her tone, I knew the conversation was over. In any discussion, Ella was almost always the ruling majority. Pouting, I agreed just to hear myself agree, and left to go and consider her request. As I wandered through the stores adjacent to her shop, I finally stumbled into a little gift store specializing in angel figurines. Obviously, I had found the store sponsoring Angels Day. I gave a quick glance of spite heavenward and walked grudgingly inside.

I browsed the shop with a sour face, fighting with my inability to believe in these winged creatures. I couldn’t help but think that a spirit guide had more time to help me out than an archangel did.

I would soon discover that this notion was completely wrong.

As I meandered through the aisles and past tables upon tables of angel trinkets and figurines, I came to a card display and picked up a deck of popular angel divination cards. My jaw hit the floor. I had no idea angel cards existed. I curiously flipped through the display, finding them alluring and their energy inviting. So, naturally, I introduced myself to the store’s owner as one of Ella’s readers, bought the cards, and took them home to practice.

Two weeks passed, and I found myself waking up that brisk January morning with a sense of defeat. My new deck of angel cards sat on the nightstand, barely touched, since my eagerness to use them had waned about a week after purchasing them. It wasn’t the cards, though; I just didn’t want to be a reader.

With a growl, I sat up and stared at the clock. I drew my hands over my face and looked to the ceiling, hoping God would tell me I didn’t have to go if I really didn’t want to. I honestly wanted to call Ella and tell her I couldn’t make it. Yep, I was planning on calling in sick, but then felt a twinge of pain in my rear end and heard Ella’s subtle but stern voice in my head.

Get your butt up here.

“All right, I’m coming!” I glared at the ceiling. Ella was always an early bird, and she had sent her message to my telepathic inbox so that it was there and waiting when I awoke. With much trepidation, I drove forty minutes north to the teashop where Ella, as expected, greeted me with a smile and a tight hug.

“You get my message?” Her eyes were bright with amusement. Once you enter the company of someone as powerful as Ella, things such as telepathy and precognizance become the norm. In the years I’d known her, I’d come to expect them of her, so I simply growled back in response to her gloating.

“I can’t do this. I haven’t read for many paying customers before. What if I’m wrong?” I was shaking as I followed Ella around the store. When we entered the room where I was to give the readings, she took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

“The day you learn to surrender, Chantel, is the day the entire universe will open up for you. You’re like a frightened little girl who keeps testing the waters, as if they’ll get warmer each time you test. Well, news flash for you, kiddo: you’re just going to have to take the plunge and let your soul acclimate to whatever God has in store for you.” She said those words so sincerely and lovingly that I found myself holding my breath while listening to her.

“Surrender.” She shook my shoulders. “Surrender and you’ll be just fine.”

“But what if …” I was still trembling, just terrified of disappointing her and her customers.

“There is no what if. ” She headed out of the room. “We’re booked solid today. Your first client arrives in about ten minutes.”

Nervous, I sat down in my chair and pulled out my cards and cute gypsy props such as candles and crystals. None of which had any meaning at the time. I had read for a few paying customers before, but nothing near the scale of what Ella would bring in that day.

In exactly ten minutes, my first customer stuck her head in my room to see if I was ready. I sat there with a smile plastered on my face and a bit of sweat on my brow. I offered her a seat and had her shuffle the deck of angel cards. While she shuffled, I jotted down the word “surrender” on the back of a business card and propped it up so I could glance at it every now and then. By that time, the client handed the deck of angel cards back to me and, with a smile, I began to place them one by one on the table.

I looked at the cards for about two minutes, and quickly came to the conclusion that I had absolutely no idea what the spread meant.

After about two seconds of panic, I took a deep breath and reshuffled the deck. I tried not to acknowledge the confused expression on my client’s face and laid the cards out again. Still they made no sense. It was then that I glanced at the business card with the word “surrender” scrawled on it. I closed my eyes.

Within seconds I saw a beautiful, angelic face. It smiled warmly at me, and then the image zoomed out a bit to reveal a young woman with soft brown hair and even softer eyes. She gazed at me a moment and my fear disappeared completely.

Mother Mary? I spoke to her in my mind. Her eyes twinkled as she adjusted her veil, which was aglow with golden light.

Why are you here? I’m not Catholic! I tensed.

No, but she is. The Virgin Mother pointed to my client. I am not concerned with what religion you believe in, child. I’ve a message for her and you will be my voice. The beautiful Queen of Angels spoke some more, and I relayed the message as fluidly as it came to me.

After the message was delivered, I saw a swirl of colors, and it only took me a few seconds to realize that I was seeing my client’s aura and chakras. I could see a haze in her heart chakra, and her root chakra looked like raw ground beef. I relayed this information to the client, and then realized that I had to quickly translate what I saw into laymen’s terms. I warned her of breathing problems, and that it seemed she was either getting over them or starting them. I also noted a brick wall around her heart and then the shielding of what was left of her shredded root chakra. After thirty straight minutes of talking, the images began to fade and I was left sitting there thinking, this woman is going to ask for a refund.

When I opened my eyes, the woman’s jaw was on the table and she had been weeping. She told me that she’d just finalized her divorce, was getting over a bad bout of bronchitis, and was fighting irritable bowel syndrome as well. We then began discussing a philosophy that the acclaimed medical intuitive Dr. Caroline Myss has coined: “Your biography is your biology.” We talked about how the stress of a poor marriage had taken its toll on her physical health, and spiritual exercises that she could use to help alleviate that stress. That’s when I recommended a few books on meditation and spiritual healing and sent her on her way.

I sat in the room a minute in silence, just staring at the business card and the word “surrender.” But what had happened didn’t really dawn on me yet. I just thought it was beginner’s luck, and that the first client was a fluke. Well, if that was the case, I had nine more flukes that day.

At the end of Angels Day, I was still oblivious to what had happened, but admitted to Ella that the day wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. She simply smiled, patted me on the back, and bid me a good night. I know she wanted to say, “I told you so,” but Ella had what I’d like to think of as an elevated spirit. Well, that, and the fact that she also had four children, and most likely knew that such gloating would be met with rebellion, a tantrum, or both.

On the way home, I tried my best to process the day and what it meant to me, but I found myself slipping into doubt as easily as I would an old pair of comfortable jeans. The rest of my night was spent mulling over all the readings I had done, trying desperately to debunk them. What I couldn’t chalk up to merely luck or coincidence, I tried to blame on the clients and their “naive willingness” to just piece together the information I gave them to suit their needs.

My analyses were like those of the skeptics and critics who are eager to debunk psychics, and I was playing both sides of the fence only to arrive at an impasse. In one breath, I was simultaneously awed and scared by the gift that had been given to me. In the next, I felt that I had skipped by on sheer dumb luck. In the following breath, I contemplated how much further I could take my gift, connecting with even more people. In the next breath, I felt like a fake, a phony, a fraud. Would I be one hundred percent accurate all the time, or just a tenth of the time? Would I be appreciated for my gifts, or burned at the stake? Would I be known as an oracle, or a heretic?

So many thoughts went through my mind as I tried to fall asleep that evening. I simply didn’t know what to make of the fact that out of ten readings, ten people left with answers and information they could weave seamlessly into the intricate tapestries of their lives, all of it validated by references I had absolutely no way of knowing beforehand.

While this story illustrates my tendency to not believe my own eyes (and in this case, the successful readings), it also shows how my prop—the angel cards—were not really the source of my insights into my clients’ lives. As months passed, I got to the point where using cards seemed laughable. Then Ella told me something that stunned me, and still stuns me even unto this day. She said that intuitives walk a fine line between spirituality and business, and that whether I actually used the cards or not was irrelevant. Since people who go to psychics often want to see cards laid out on a table and have their fortunes told, doing so can be a good business decision. But like a magician’s magic top hat, the cards are just props—merely there for show.

And so it is in your life, as well. The power is within you, not within whatever prop you may be using.

The issue of fortune-telling is something I war with more than anything. How can people be so obsessed with career, finance, love, and family when the messengers of God are looking over their shoulders? I once had a client who had not one, not two, but a choir of angels standing behind her, and all she could do was complain that her daughter was making the wrong choice about the man she was about to marry.

Is this painful to endure? You bet it was. For years I had to begin each consultation with a preamble: “I’m not a fortune-teller, more like a telephone operator that helps you to connect to your angels and guides.” Still, no matter how often I say that, people only want one thing, really—for the angels to fix their lives for them in the course of forty-five minutes.

No amount of tarot cards, angel cards, or poker cards is going to do that. And remember, the angels aren’t here to do that, either.

Yet people wander New Age stores looking for the next tool that will do the job, when in reality there’s nothing that needs fixing. We’re all children of God and all created perfectly in his image. You can’t fix what isn’t broken.

And no matter how often I say this, I still get calls and emails asking my opinion about one occult trapping or another. So, to continue with the list, let me briefly touch on the pendulum.

The last time I used a pendulum was when Archangel Gabriel first made contact with me. At the time, I was foolishly trying to connect with a spiritual mentor who had passed away months prior, but the pendulum didn’t seem like it wanted to cooperate with my questioning that day. As I neared the end of a long yes/no session, I heard a soft female voice calling my name. At first I thought it was my mentor, but I was quickly corrected.

“My name is Gabrielle.” The voice seemed to flow all around me.

“Gabrielle who?” My brow arched as I looked about my empty bedroom. It was then that the archangel appeared to me and placed her hand upon mine, where the pendulum was swaying lazily.

“You don’t need this. Put it away,” she instructed, but my defenses went up immediately. I’d never seen this spirit before, and she was coming into my spiritual space uninvited.

“Who are you?” I asked again, ready for just about anything. I inched my hand toward a bag of sea salt, which is a great deterrent for unwanted spiritual energy.

“You know who I am, Chantel. And salt won’t make me go away.” She smiled knowingly.

I grumbled, “I only know of one Gabrielle and that’s Archangel Gabriel. I thought he was a guy.”

“Well, if you prefer that, I can make it so.”

“Yeah, I prefer that.” I looked her over with skeptical eyes.

The angel nodded politely and began to fade from my vision. “You don’t need pendulums to connect with the realm of spirit, only your heart and pure intentions.” I can’t remember what I said in response to that, but I’m sure it was something smart-alecky.

Gabriel didn’t return until later that night, and when he did, he wasn’t wearing a soft, placating smile, but a stern glance that could rival an army general. (Lesson here: be careful what you ask for.) Our talk lasted a while, the main focus of it being my ability to connect with the angels—without the use of tools, of course. This was the conversation where he reminded me that JC had a job for me, the same job JC had proposed nearly a decade earlier. I wanted nothing to do with that job or with Gabriel, and had no qualms expressing this.

Needless to say, I lost that argument. But if I learned nothing else, I learned that we all have intuitive gifts, and such things as pendulums, crystal balls, scrying bowls, and tea leaves tend to get in the way, if not hamper our spiritual growth altogether.

After all, the power is in you, not the tools you’re using.

Then there are the methods that offer theatrical results, but you might want to question whether they actually bring you closer to establishing a long-term relationship with the Divine. A connection may be established via these methods, but the chances of you connecting with an angel or ascended master are slim. Two methods that come instantly to mind are the planchette (the heart-shaped piece you use on a Ouija board) and table tipping.

I’ve had experience with both. And I have my reservations.

Now, some of you reading this are probably expecting me to say, “Stay away from Ouija boards! They only conjure up demons.” That’s not the case at all, actually. My reservation with the planchette, table tipping, and even pendulums, now that I’ve become a bit older and wiser, is that I believe they tend to attract energy that is more earthbound—in other words, the spirits of those who have yet to move on, for whatever reason, and are just looking for someone to talk to. That said, these spirits will say anything, and are either confused or in it for the thrill, much as you are. These spirits are looking for a bit of entertainment, which you provide with your squeals of excitement or screams of terror.

Could you contact Raphael through a pendulum? Probably. But why would you want to do that when he’s willing to teach you how to connect with the angels without the use of such tools? After all, that pendulum’s going to be pretty darn useless at thirty thousand feet if the plane’s engines suddenly stall. I apologize for such a graphic and horrifying image, but the point is to drive home the importance of tapping into your own intuitive skills. Do that, and the only thing that can come between you and the comforting presence of your angels is you, something you have much more control over than, say, a planchette on a wobbling lap tray.

To sum it all up, these methods are fun and can be a great way to enjoy a night with the friends and family—heaven knows we need more togetherness in this age of computers, anonymity, and isolation. So don’t be so quick to discard your tarot cards or I Ching set, as I think they provide great entertainment and even some cultural or historical insight into why people believe the way they do. But don’t rely on these methods to fix your life or provide for you the wisdom you need to navigate your spiritual journey.

Get to know the angels for yourself and cut out these middleman methods. And yes, that even includes me—I won’t take it personally. After all, I’m only here to show you how to connect with the angels. You’re the one who has to engage them.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following FAQs may come up when you’re experimenting with any methods of connecting with the angels, but they’re particularly relevant when practicing clairaudience, clairsentience, claircognizance, and clairvoyance.

When I ask my angel a question, I don’t receive a response.

The angels aren’t ignoring you, so don’t fret if on the first few tries you don’t receive a message. Remember that these exercises are to help you discern which method you may be strongest in, and if after several attempts the angels still seem silent, experiment with the other methods until you get results.

Now, let’s say you discover that you lean toward clairsentience. This doesn’t mean that you should give up on clairaudience. Never hesitate to revisit a method or an exercise at a later date to see if the angels have opened up this channel to you. After all, they know best which methods you’re most receptive to, and the order in which you should discover them.

What if my angel sounds (looks, feels) different than what is described in this book?

It’s perfectly fine if Michael uses a gentle, poetic whisper instead of the boisterous contemporary colloquialisms I’m used to hearing from him. The angels will always present themselves in ways you are comfortable with. Furthermore, variations from what this book lists could also be attributed to your angel’s way of introducing himself to you; when you feel more at ease talking to him, he may appear in a form that’s closer to what’s described in this book.

What if my validation sign doesn’t manifest?

Because you may not always receive a validation in the next day or the next week, it’s easy to become discouraged and believe that you were only having a conversation with yourself, not with the angels. Sometimes, signs of validation can take a very long time to manifest, which is why I am so adamant about keeping these exercises playful and lighthearted.

Asking for validation, of course, is strictly about establishing contact with your angels, so don’t be tempted to give up. Even if your sign doesn’t appear, keep connecting with the angels. If the signs don’t manifest after several attempts, explore other methods of connecting to see if another one will yield quicker results.

My validation sign appeared; what do I do now?

So, your sign manifested. You probably think you’re ready to start barraging your angels with more hard-hitting questions, such as “So, just how much truth is there to The Da Vinci Code, anyhow?” Right? Well, not quite. You’ve still got a lot of training ahead of you.

Understand that the sign you receive not only validates the connection you had with your angels in that particular exercise, but indicates where your intuitive strengths lie. Continue practicing the exercises, seeking validation, and letting your angels guide you. Allow them to help you mature spiritually and prepare you for the moment when you’re ready to discuss headier topics. Only your angels know when that moment will arrive, and when it does, they will most assuredly inform you.

Until then, don’t hesitate to practice all the methods listed, to see if you can enhance your communication experience.

Helpful Hints for Using Clairvoyance and Dreams

The lists and discussions below address what you might “see” when interacting with an angel. Remember, of course, that all these symbols and icons are subjective. The Angel Code is the personal language you share with your angels; they will communicate with you in the ways that you best understand. And to better enhance your connection and receptivity, the angels may even guide you to make amendments to this section—so don’t hesitate to make changes if something presented here doesn’t feel right. Trust your intuition and make this book your own.

Angel Poses and Positions

The list below describes common poses that an angel may assume when connecting with you visually. As with humans, an angel’s body language can speak volumes, enhancing the clarity of the message being conveyed.

Your angel is standing shoulder to shoulder with you.

Your angel is reminding you that he’s walking beside you. But this pose means even more than that, for if you are dealing with some sort of struggle at the time you connect with the angel, this stance is his way of saying he has faith in you as a reliable comrade on the battlefield. This is a time when you have to believe in yourself. Accept that you have the skills and strength to fight side-by-side with your angel—you’re not some tiny, helpless human, but a very formidable contender against your adversaries. This position is a powerful one, because it’s your angel’s way of saying, “If this was a full-out war, I’d trust you to watch my back.” Do not take this position lightly. The emphasis of this position is trust, in yourself as well as in your angel.

Your angel is walking ahead of you.

This position indicates that your angel is guiding you to where you need to be. The road may prove arduous, but don’t forget that your angel is leading you through obstacles—whatever obstacles you’re supposed to face—for a reason. This journey is one of learning and self-discovery, so pay close attention to the details around you.

Your angel is standing before you, facing you.

It’s time to talk. Or, in a clairvoyant’s world, it’s time to play Pictionary. Your angel is asking for your attention at this point, and will start sending you visual messages soon. Grab your workbook and start writing down what you see, for later deciphering if needed. When the angel appears in this position, the images can range from the very specific to the very abstract. He could be holding his hands up, telling you to stop, or giving you two thumbs up in approval. He could also be handing you an item, or pointing to a blackboard upon which he might write or draw something.

Naturally, from a professional medium’s perspective, this is the best position to see an angel in. It means that he’s in a mood to chat; the more the angel conveys, the more information I can get for my client. On the other hand, it could also mean that the angel is about to pull down the infamous window shade. Archangel Raphael has appeared this way in plenty of consultations, then left me stammering because when he draws the window shade, it means he’s not going to divulge a single thing.

There are many reasons why the angels won’t answer specific questions, but one of the more common reasons is simply that the time isn’t right for the question to be answered. Another common reason is that prior knowledge of a situation could lead to more headache and heartache. For example, if one of my clients knew ahead of time that her spouse was going to serve her with divorce papers, she’d be doing everything within her power to launch a preemptive strike. Well, in her case, doing so would prove even more disastrous than remaining reactionary, because no matter what she did, the outcome is set in stone. Trying to intercept or divert God’s will only leaves us weary and winded.

The client might have an inkling of a possible divorce, but the angels are mum on the subject, focusing instead on her health. They encourage her to get ample rest and make sure that her house is in order. Needless to say, when she can’t get an answer to her main question, she’s probably none too happy with me or the angels.

It’s not easy for me as a medium in this respect, since I have a deep and genuine interest in helping my clients navigate life with the help of the angels. And while I fully understand that sometimes no answer is the answer, trying to get someone who may not be as angel-savvy to understand this can be daunting, to say the least. After all, the angels will only tell us what we need to know, not what we want to know.

Your angel is walking behind you.

Right now, your angel is taking a passive role and allowing you to go about your journey without any input from him. I’ve seen this position many times, and nothing seems to be more frustrating than wanting an angel’s guidance only to find him hanging back as you bumble and trip your way along. The angel isn’t doing this to be cruel, though—he’s allowing you a moment of self-discovery.

Believe it or not, the answers we often seek from our angels are already contained within us. The angels, in their vast wisdom, know whether speaking or silence will be the best teaching tool, so don’t beleaguer them with demands. If they’re not conveying anything, just go about business as usual. Eventually, when the time is right, they’ll send some visual communication your way.

Your angel is standing behind you.

This is a position of support and comfort. Whenever I see an angel standing in this position with a client, I know that the client is in a time of mourning or going through a serious crisis, one that usually involves a loss of some sort. If there is distance between my client and her angel, however, it immediately tells me that she’s not willing to listen to what the angel has to say and will only be receptive to what she wants to hear. This goes back to the issue of surrender and detaching oneself from desired results. Don’t allow your desire to have things be a certain way build a wall between you and your angels and guides. As the mothers of the church I once attended used to say, “Let go and let God.”

Your angel may wrap his arms around you to comfort you. He may even wrap his wings around you. Either way, let yourself melt into the moment and feel the closeness—this is your angel’s way of letting you know that he understands what you’re going through, and that he’s there to offer a shoulder to cry on. His wings will protect you from all the fears that may be roiling through you at the moment. This is an intensely warm, loving, and sheltering position, one to be welcomed when you find yourself in that darkest hour.

Your angel is cradling or carrying you.

This is another position of comfort and protection, but it also represents healing and transition. Allowing yourself to be carried by someone is a gesture of trust; when you see yourself in the arms of your angel, know that healing is on the way. Just as importantly, this position can portend a significant life shift—be prepared, for the life you once knew may be ending. Yet fear not, for a new beginning is upon you. This whole notion may seem frightening, but remember that your angel is literally carrying you through this. Trust in him and in your Creator, and know that everything that happens is a part of God’s Great Equation. If you couldn’t handle it, you wouldn’t be going through it to begin with.

Visual Cues

If you work with your angels on a regular basis, you’ll get to know them so well that you’ll recognize them no matter what form they take. And to help you better understand the messages they’re conveying when they visually appear, I’ve drawn up a list of common images that the angels have used during my consultations. Keep in mind, this list is short and general for a reason—as you work with the angels, you’re going to eventually create a visual database that is uniquely your own. So, as the angels present new images, don’t overanalyze; just follow your first thought. (In chapter 3, each angel’s entry includes space for you to add your own visual cues. But until you build your personal database, here are some images to get you started.)

Arena

Empty: It’s just you and your angel in the arena, and it’s training season. Expect internal changes (shifts in how you view yourself, your friends, the world, etc.).

Full: You’ve got spectators and the game is on. Go forth and give it the old college try. The angels are rooting for you!

Beach

This is Michael’s way of saying that it’s time to rest and have a little fun. Take a vacation and leave your work at work.

Cave

I often call this the “healing cave.” This is where Raphael—and most likely two Native American or Aboriginal spirit guides—will meet with you to perform a healing and/or purification ceremony. In the ceiling of this cave is a skylight, through which God’s holy light beams down. You may be asked to sit or lie within this beam of light while Raphael and his helpers perform their tasks.

Seeing the image of a cave indicates that now, more than ever, is a time for you to seek rest and meditation to help your mind and body heal. Many clients who have received this cue have said to me, “Wow, but I feel fine,” only to wind up flat on their back days later. So don’t take this cue with a grain of salt. Work with your doctor to keep yourself in tip-top shape, and make sure that stress is kept at a minimum.

Children’s Games

Sandalphon is in the foreground, urging you to tap into your inner child and allow yourself time for play and laughter. Have a fun pillow fight, go to a baseball game, visit a carnival, or draw on your sidewalk with chalk—whatever it takes. The point is that you’re in need of healing, and laughter is the medicine this angel is prescribing.

Dolphin

This is one of Raphael’s many signs that indicate spiritual healing is underway.

Dove

Raphael usually gives this visual to ask you to seek a peaceful and calm approach to your situation. This also indicates that he is bringing his own soothing presence into your life, and that this is a time for quiet reflection.

Lion

This is Michael’s symbol, indicating that he is present and protecting you. There is nothing to fear.

Lotus

This is a time for meditation and self-discovery.

Moon

Full: This is a time of magic and discovery. New knowledge is approaching.

New: This is a time for stillness and reflection.

Red: Beware the ego that often comes with newfound spiritual growth. Just because you’re enlightened doesn’t mean you can look down upon those who haven’t quite gotten to where you are just yet.

Ocean (bodies of water)

Rocky: Turbulent emotions are only going to worsen matters.

Calm: This is a time to relax and reflect on your current situation.

Rainbow

This is a time of happiness. Allow your inner child to come out and play for a while!

Rose

Pink: Mother’s love; divine love.

Red: Romantic love.

Yellow: Happiness; friendship; apology.

Black (withered): Significant transition.

White: Surrender; pure intentions.

Scroll

Gabriel often uses this visual to indicate he’s coming into someone’s life as a mentoring angel, to take them to their next spiritual level in this lifetime.

Snow Globe (shaken)

Michael usually uses this visual to warn you that the environment you live in is about to undergo significant change (change in employment, housing, family/friend dynamics, etc.).

Volcano

It’s time to take a warrior’s stance and stand up for what you believe in.

A Note on Angel Icons and Physical Appearance

If you look at angels in art—from Michelangelo to that pretty angel card deck you might have sitting on your bookshelf—you’ll notice that the accepted Western image of angels really hasn’t changed much over time. Angels are usually portrayed as human figures dressed in white robes or medieval battle armor, with feathered wings, halos, swords, trumpets, or even harps. These symbols and their connotations are rooted in the ancient cultures of Babylon and Egypt, long before Judaism, Christianity, and Islam came onto the scene. The white robes symbolize light, holiness, and purity; the wings and halos, which were common among the ancient Egyptian gods, are symbols of divinity. Musical instruments have been considered symbols of the angels’ unyielding praise of God, while swords, and later, battle armor, represent cosmic and spiritual warfare, as well as God’s wrath manifest.

As I worked more and more with the archangels, however, I came to realize that not all of them subscribe to traditional Western iconography. Not all of the archangels flash big billowy wings. Not all of the angels wear white. And not all of them wear robes and sandals. Rather, each angel has his own set of icons.

You’ll notice that in the Angelic Associations entries in chapter 3, while I describe what the angels wear, I don’t prescribe what they physically look like. I don’t list hair color or eye color or even skin color, because the angels will appear to each of us differently. They’ll incarnate in ways we’re comfortable with. As an angel medium, I’ve been able to see the angels in different manifestations. Since they don’t often change appearance when visiting me for me, whenever they do appear with a new look, I consider it a sign that at some point in a consultation, my client is going to ask, “So, what does my angel look like, anyway?”

One time, for example, Michael threw me completely off balance in the middle of a consultation. To me, this general of the angelic armies appears as a tall, buff, tan blond with vibrant green eyes. When I tell people this, I’ve gotten all sorts of responses ranging from “Wow, really? That’s nothing like what I envision” to “That’s exactly how I see him.” But during this very memorable consultation, Michael strutted into the room in a form that made me look twice. If it weren’t for his energy signature, I might not have recognized him. His tunic was ripped away, and he was wearing only his white skirting. Gone was his sword, as well as his blond hair. And his tan had deepened—by about five shades. Before me was a Michael with skin the color of deep, rich chocolate. His head was bare and he toted a javelin that made him look every bit the ancient African warrior. To say the least, he was as beautiful in this form as in the other form I was used to seeing, but unfortunately, it caused a huge dilemma for me.

My client was Caucasian.

And this is where our human “junk” can get in the way of our spiritual growth. I was sweating bullets the entire consultation, praying she wouldn’t ask me what Michael looked like. I simply didn’t know how she would feel about having an ebony archangel by her side. Well, the inevitable happened—she finally asked. I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and glared at Michael, who merely grinned back at me.

“Well,” I said, wincing, “you know that angels often take on forms we’re comfortable with, so he can be whatever you want him to be.” I was doing my best to hedge, but my starry-eyed client was insistent. Admittedly, the consultation had gone well up to that point, as she had validated much of what the angels were saying. Needless to say, because of this she was eager to finally meet them for herself.

My eyes darted back up to Michael, who was standing behind her looking like an African Mr. Clean, and I just wanted to punch him for putting me in such an uncomfortable position. But I knew better than to filter or censor anything that was coming across the spiritual channels, and with the way my client was pressing to know what her warrior angel looked like, I had no choice but to tell her the truth.

I was not at all prepared for her reaction. I was ready for her to scoff and accuse me of projecting my own perceptions into her reading, but that wasn’t the case. Never in all the years I’ve given consultations have I seen anyone smile as wide as this woman did that day. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes twinkled, and she glanced over her shoulder a moment before returning her gaze to me.

“Really? Are you serious?” she said. I couldn’t chisel that grin off her face.

But I still felt tense and tried to downplay it. “Well, as I said, he can take any form you find appealing …”

Her hands sprung up, interrupting my nervous back-pedalling, and then she leaned into the table to whisper to me, “Trust me, Chantel, you just made my day.”

My jaw nearly hit the table. I sat back with a sigh of relief and chuckled dryly, first at her reaction and then at my own fear that she’d find the information offensive.
Naturally, this says more about me than anything else, and from that day on, I stopped questioning the angels and second-guessing myself in a consultation. Whatever they channel, that’s what I report, whether it makes me feel uncomfortable or not. After all, it’s not about me, it’s about my client.

Beyond the superficial things such as skin color and physical appearance, the angels can also switch gender. As I’ve mentioned, when Gabriel first came to me, he was in his female form, but my life circumstances at the time just wouldn’t allow me to listen to a female authority figure. So he shifted to his male form.

I’ve also seen Michael in his female form—she reminds me of a red-headed Xena who could singlehandedly put a hurting on Sparta, Persia, and all the warriors in between. Pair her up with another hot-tempered warrior angel, like Uriel, and we could very well have an apocalypse on our hands. Where Michael’s male form is sunny, bright, and jovial, his female side is fierce and deadly. Frankly, she makes me shudder just thinking about her, but some of my clients have her as a mentoring angel, and rightfully so. One memorable client who has her is an activist for women’s rights. Another is a female police officer from New York City.

But I’ll pass on Xena and keep the sun-kissed model of male physical perfection, thank you. That’s what I’m comfortable with, and I’m sticking to it.

Because the angels can change their appearance at the drop of a hat, then, it’s good for those who rely on clairvoyance or dreams to take note of their angels’ icons, visual cues, and body language. Even though I drew on clairsentience to learn that the ebony angel in the consultation was Michael, there were also visual clues that I could have used had my empathetic skills been lacking that day. For example, the polearm that Michael carried was a dead giveaway. While this is not one of his usual icons today, we have to remember that Michael, above all things, is a warrior angel—this is how he carried himself when he entered the room. Another clue to his identity was the signature ripped tunic. You can count on Michael to show just how able he is to lead the angelic armies into battle. And a last clue, which couldn’t be mistaken, was his sunny smile.

It helps to document the icons you come across when visually connecting with your angels, so that you’ll be able to recognize that angel’s presence no matter what form it takes. After all, an altered appearance or form can provide further clues to the message the angel is trying to convey.