[ Setting: A conservatory looking out on a flower display. ]
MYRA: Oh, this is so nice with all of the pretty flowers. This is very similar to a place my sister and I would go to get away from the world. Now I know what you meant when you said you would meet us in a familiar place.
So you just want me to ask questions?
ALLEGENTIA: Usually humans are full of questions but we can just enjoy the flowers. And if you want to discuss something, we can.
MYRA: Well, I have always been interested in angels. I was a sixth-grade math teacher. My students used to bring me angel memorabilia. By the time I retired I had quite the collection. What can you tell me about angels?
ALLEGENTIA: A great deal, as you can imagine. Let me begin by saying there are a wide variety of beings who range from mostly physical to purely spiritual. Angels are a major branch on the tree of cosmic life. In your language angels are known as Daughters of God, more accurately we are all daughters of the Infinite Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. We are alluded to in the feminine but you should know we are not separated as male and female. Some male personalities, such as Gabriel, are thought, by humans, to be angels but he is a different type of celestial being. The word “angel” has come to be a generic term for any non-human, non-deity being. God has created all manner of personalities, not just humans and angels.
MYRA: I did think angels were the only beings between us and God, but I guess it makes sense there would be others. I’m sure knowing about all the rest of them would be intriguing, but let’s not get sidetracked. Can you tell me what types of angels there are?
ALLEGENTIA: When you get to the other side, the structure of the universe and its inhabitants will be one of your first basic lessons. And you will always have your guardian angels at hand to help clarify things.
As to the types of angels, there are Cherubim, Sanobim, Archangels, Seconaphim, Tertiaphim, and many others. Some of the revealed angels have filled your lore for centuries and have been called by different names with different powers and authorities. Some angels were created for the lower orders of existence and others for the higher. We are also classified according to the service we perform. As you move up the ladder of heavenly progress you will personally meet and get to know the various types of the angels and superangels.
MYRA: I’ve heard some of those names. It pleases me there is so much to learn. I used to tell my students, “Learning is the stairway to happiness.” So, what do all these different kinds of angels do?
ALLEGENTIA: Angels contribute to the welfare of the children of time in many different ways. There are the original angels, the Supernaphim, who were created before there was any time as you know it. They are the essence of perfection and perform all of their duties flawlessly. There are dozens of orders of angels who work on every level from the newest planets, such as Earth, on up to the Isle of Light itself.
MYRA: I take it you are talking about Paradise when you say “Isle of Light.” I understood from your introductory talk we have a long way to go to get from where we are going on up to Paradise. It sounds exciting. So, do you do other jobs in addition to transporting souls?
ALLEGENTIA: The career I had prior to this one was as a Seraphic Companion. This is different from Guardian Angels who worked with you while you were on Earth and will follow you to the other side. The Companions are guides and friends on the Progress Worlds. It was great fun being with newly arriving souls introducing them around, taking them on picnics, sight-seeing tours, and off to nearby planets to visit and play. Companions teach as they go, of course, but there are other angels dedicated specifically to teaching.
Some angels will be recognized as authority figures or wise sages, others as older siblings, and still others as friends and confidants.
MYRA: As a teacher myself I am, of course, interested in teaching. What teaching techniques do angels use?
ALLEGENTIA: You will very much enjoy the education methods angels are using. We first, and continuously, assess the needs of the individual. Do they need humility, self-respect, self-discipline? Are they advanced enough to tackle mercy? Each person needs to know themselves as valuable and just how valuable, qualitatively as well as quantitatively. They must feel lovable, and what better way than to wisely and individually love them.
MYRA: That’s what I did with my young students, but sad to say, some adults turn out to be not so lovable.
ALLEGENTIA: True, so then you love what little is lovable and love their potential even more. Everyone is moving toward perfection. It is natural to give babies the love they need. It may be more difficult to give adult children that same love, but they need it no less. To angels you are all preschoolers – cute, mischievous, immature.
MYRA: I guess by that you mean we have a long way to go and a lot to learn.
ALLEGENTIA: I do. You have just begun a very long quest to discover reality in all of its aspects. You will attain knowledge and acquire values, all the while growing toward God.
MYRA: That’s exciting and I know I have so much more to learn and to give. In the education profession there is always something new to study. And then the best way to know you’ve got it is to teach it to someone else. I enjoyed seeing that light come on in a student’s eyes so much. I would like to continue teaching if I can help.
ALLEGENTIA: You’ve learned one of the most important lessons about growth when you say, “the best way to know you’ve got it is to teach it to someone else.” As a matter of course, we angels step aside and give as much experience to the individual as they need so they can learn by doing. And I know your skills will be greatly appreciated and nurtured.
MYRA: Do you find everyone is capable of learning?
ALLEGENTIA: We know in the first life there were external limitations and internal restrictions. The barriers of a lifetime, real or imagined, have become habits. With patience and attentiveness we do find everyone is capable of learning and growing. But it is up to each individual to be willing to form new habits.
MYRA: But don’t people have certain inherent abilities?
ALLEGENTIA: Yes, they do. For example, an ability to see structure and patterns may be the foundation for a career in architecture, mathematics, or music. Yet, all natural talents are potentials only, unless and until a person chooses to actualized them. Choices develop the qualities each person lives with throughout their life. And you take these qualities with you onto heaven in your soul.
MYRA: We are all certainly unique. Were the angels on Earth helping us develop abilities or qualities?
ALLEGENTIA: A little bit of one and a lot of the other. Quality development, or let us say encouragement, is a fundamental focus of all angels. A person is happiest when they are productive, and they are most productive when their natural abilities are fulfilled. Angels do support the mental leanings which will result in ability enhancement. Of course, angelic aid was personal but some of it was institutional, focused on social needs.
MYRA: Institutional angels? What kinds of angels were on Earth?
ALLEGENTIA: Angels work to enhance the progress of the entire human family. Your literature mentions the angels of the cosmos, nature, and earth. There are also angels of the arts, civilization, home, music, medicine, service, learning, business, history, the Churches, and death. In addition there are angels of contemplation, beauty, peace, power, mercy, trust, joy, relationships, and others.
MYRA: So many categories, and guardian angels too. How many angels attend to earthlings?
ALLEGENTIA: There are more than nine billion and more are called in as needed.
Humans’ primary contact has been with the lower types of angels: seraphim, cherubim and sanobim. These have been assigned as guardian angels whose main focus has been helping you with your spiritual choices. Once we arrive on the other side and you are embedded in your new body, you will have enhanced vision and will be able to see and communicate with them for the first time. They already consider you a friend and are very excited for the relationship to develop into a two-way friendship. You will enjoy the many stories they have to tell you about your life. I have to warn you though, you better have a good sense of humor, they know all of your history.
MYRA: I’m trilled to even think of seeing my angels. I used to have long talks with them. I bet they remember everything I told them and everything I asked them. I bet we will have some good laughs about some of the sillier things on that list.
I knew about guardian angels, of course, but I felt close to all angels. It seemed to me they were all around. Now that I know there were so many kinds, performing so may duties, it looks as if I was right. It has been delightful to meet you and I am eager to meet others. Will I encounter all of the types you mentioned right away? They all sound so fascinating.
ALLEGENTIA: Not on the first heaven, but there are very many levels on your journey to Paradise. Although some angels were created on different planes, many have achieved their exalted state with dedicated service. You will attain parallel levels as you grow. As a matter of fact, you will partially know you have arrived on a new plateau by whom you are able to see.
MYRA: That sounds like a good reward for progress to me. What other types of jobs do angels do for humans?
ALLEGENTIA: There are many, many duties angels help you with. I am doing three of them right now. First, safeguarding your soul (along with your guardian angels); second, transporting you through the vast distances of space; and third, helping you understand how things work. This information is not simply data; it will give you a foundation for the enormous task of transitioning from an earth life to a pre-spirit life. Not only your guardian angels but many different angels will be with you every step of the way; they will explain, interpret, translate, advocate, co-ordinate, and co-operate with you in every way you need.
Let me just mention the angels of the arts. They are not only artists in their own right but are teachers and instructors of artists of all kinds. For example, music is a fundamental language of the universe. On Earth you enjoyed music, but in heaven you will experience how music can speak to you and how to use compositions to communicate with other souls.
MYRA: That sounds wonderful. When you said “translate” did you mean language translation? Will we still speak all of our different languages?
ALLEGENTIA: Most human visions of heaven include some notion of magical gifting. But you will still only know those things you knew before you died. We will be most willing and able to help you learn new things, but angels do not inherently know all universe languages. We need to learn them just as you do. Most Companion Angels know many languages but they do not focus exclusively on learning them all. That is why there are the versatile Celestial Translators and Interpreters. When you meet interesting people from other worlds, and before you learn the local universe language, you will need the Translators for help.
We can give you a gift but it cannot be something you could have acquired yourself, otherwise the so-called ‘gift’ would actually be depriving you of something with much more value. We give you opportunities to learn. We give you guidance on the best course of action to take but we cannot take the steps for you. As you study a new language you will be acquiring the positive qualities it takes to accomplish your goals. For instance you will use focus, imagination, pattern recognition, patience, and camaraderie. And when you can converse with others in your new language the joy of accomplishment will be a potent and permanent reward.
The only things provided are the basics you need so you can proceed on your own.
MYRA: I guess you have had a long time and lots of people to practice on. But I would prefer to learn it on my own anyway. I understand the benefits of doing things myself.
Now it makes sense how angels would have different assignments but how do they do anything on Earth? I mean, although I felt them all around, I did not actually see any angels. They must have been working behind the scenes somehow. How did they actually carry out their objectives?
ALLEGENTIA: Angels work as enhancers of thought and as magnifiers of meaning. We do not coerce. Your free will is sacred and we only act directly when and if humans give us specific permission. And even then, we are wise enough to know what you should do for yourself. For us it is not simply a matter of “do no harm.” It is a matter of doing the most good while not interfering. With your approval, we guide, inspire, encourage, and, in a way, suggest and even council. Neither I, nor anyone else, can deprive you of the journey you choose to take, nor the route you prefer to use to attain your greater good. As you strive to listen to their whispers, you become better at hearing their advice.
Humans and the human condition provide abundant chances to attain many qualities by facing the numerous opportunities and obstacles you find in your way. But when you ask for something, we can see to the heart of it. Then we can direct you to be in the path where an opening will present itself. We can see the currents of human needs and advantageous links. Angels can point the way but we cannot force you to go to your optimum nexus. But with your cooperation we work together to align your minds, energies, and relationships.
MYRA: So if I prayed for guidance it can be given to me? I do appreciate that I need to be the one to initiate any action, but I still do not see how this is accomplished. Would you implant a series of instructions in my mind, or something like that?
ALLEGENTIA: Prayer is very useful in letting us know what you want and need. Angels are beings who are motivated to service, but we do not wish to micromanage your lives. We do not have a handbook of enlightenment yet we understand fully each individual must think, decide, and act for themselves. The plain fact is your state of existence requires you to literally go beyond your boundaries. Stretching and striving is part of the technique built into the system. The more you are open to listen and willing to grow, the more we can offer you.
Let me give you an example of a common technique we use. The human mind is awash with thoughts and feelings. We can read the qualitative nature of these thoughts and can pinpoint those which are of relatively higher value. We then focus some spiritual energy on those specific thoughts and feelings. We shine a light on them, you might say. This then helps to quicken the mind in a more positive direction. You can heed these impulses of your better nature or not.
I need to make it abundantly clear: no angel would perform this or any other helpful technique without your explicit or implied consent. It is most helpful when praying for enlightenment to grant express permission.
MYRA: What if someone does not ask?
ALLEGENTIA: The wind blows where it will. Life on such a complicated planet provides sufficient spiritual opportunities. But when you are faced with something, you often do ask, if for no other reason than fear. Then, we do our best to illuminate whatever qualities and insights the situation requires. Your actions build a larger soul.
MYRA: Well, now that I am going to heaven, I guess prayer doesn’t matter anymore anyway.
ALLEGENTIA: It still matters. You have only taken the first small steps on an eternal journey. You will continue to need faith and God’s help. Angels and advanced mortals are available with advice to direct your steady progress, but your connection with God is still the primary priority.
Your human death was simply another opportunity for you to face a trying situation with grace and aplomb.
MYRA: Okay. I am beginning to see. So that is why an angel was there when I died. I was always taught the last image I would see would be the angel of death, and I was told he would fill me with fear and dread. But the angel I saw filled me with tranquility and warmth. We did not speak but her smile was so kind, I just trusted her completely. She radiated such light and love. I knew she was inviting me to give my love to her. So I did. I remember feeling surprised that I would do such a thing and yet it felt like the right thing to do. Since she was an angel it made perfect sense she could flood my heart with love-light. And my love added a light of its own; a steady stream of light leapt willingly from me to her and back again. It seemed like she enveloped my very soul in comfort and safety. She let me know it was time and it was okay to move on. It was very peaceful. Can you tell me who she was?
ALLEGENTIA: She would have been one of the Transition or Receiving Angels but as you experienced, they are not to be feared. The lore of old was often meant to scare immature souls into behaving. These angels help a dying mortal smoothly release their soul so I, or some other Transport, can take it to heaven. The head of this group is Azriel which means: God’s helper.
This phenomenon, being able to visualize an angel at the end of life, is a gift often (but not always) provided by the attending angel as an aid in making you feel, as you said, “okay to move on.”
MYRA: It was easier to die than I thought it would be. And I know she was the reason. I am surely grateful for her support. It certainly is true what they say about dying alone. I had some family around but, of course, they could not feel what I was going through. It was a singular experience. How would she have come to be an angel of death?
ALLEGENTIA: We are all individuals with unique personalities and varied experiences. Each class of angel has certain innate abilities in common; and we all learn as time goes on, just as humans do. The finite universe is all about growing through experience. The main qualification of Transition Angels is their special ability to sympathize.
MYRA: How long have you been doing your transport duties? How many people have you taken on this trip?
ALLEGENTIA: Normally we commit to a particular job for 8,000 years at a time but I have been doing this run exclusively for almost thirty-eight thousand years. I have taken about five hundred thousand souls to heaven. I am not the only one who has been doing this job and I make only about two round trips per century.
MYRA: I thought angels knew the exact number of hairs on a person’s head.
ALLEGENTIA: I see, okay, exact numbers it is. It has been 37,924 years and 525,373 souls.
That power of precision to know the number of hairs on a person’s head is innate in most orders of angels since it is a fairly uniform and fundamental mind gift, and math is an elemental communication scheme. That is why music and math are so closely linked. Those who you call math savants have a special ability to tap into the cosmic mathematical framework.
And there are other useful innate abilities. For instance, there are angels who have the knack to easily see which personalities, angel and human, will work best together for a particular task. Teamwork is a very important thing for humans to learn. You will, of course, need to learn how to get along with everyone, but it takes awhile for this to be accomplished.
MYRA: Since you have been doing this for so long you must have seen the changes we humans have gone through over the years.
ALLEGENTIA: It is always interesting to see the progress of the ideas and ideals of each generation as I talk with them. I have carried a cross-section of ages, races, cultures, and educational levels. This has given me a comprehensive understanding of who has lived on Earth and how humans have progressed from primitive times to the present. You earthlings have come a long way. You are making wonderful progress but I still wish you had a better vision of the greatness you contain. I particularly enjoy remembering the surges of spiritual bounty after a great teacher has left a mark on the minds and hearts of the populous. The changes in just the next thousand years should be spectacular. Then you will really be on your way to a heaven on Earth.
MYRA: That’s good to hear. I suppose a thousand years is not very long for you. But from what I remember of our history we seem to be slow learners. Will I be able to keep tabs on what is going on back there?
ALLEGENTIA: Visions of progress from all over the System and beyond are available, yes.
MYRA: Brilliant! I guess it is getting close to time to take the big sleep. Thank you for this conversation. I suppose I will never see you again.
ALLEGENTIA: Never is a long time. When I am not transporting souls from Earth to the shores of heaven, I spend time on the Progress Worlds instructing mortals in the joy of existence. I will progress through the universe, learn and grow in the manner of angels and if I do not run into you sooner, I will later. Then we can sit down and have a nice long chat. By then the number of adventures you will have had will be great and varied and you will talk my ear off.
MYRA: That will be nice. I guess the anticipation of things to come makes life more worth living. And for angels, service is the key to progress from lower to higher levels?
ALLEGENTIA: Yes, it is. As an angel finishes one assignment they volunteer for different jobs, or they are promoted to a greater level of service. Our whole purpose for existence is to serve. We delight in it. We thrive on personal service, world service, even universe service. To us service equals abundance, the more we give of ourselves, the more good we are adding to the universe. That is why I say to every person I speak with, “We will help you.”
Almost all of the angels who are born in a local universe stay close to home over the long process of bringing it to the age of light and life. Our local universe was first inhabited by human-types 194,836,883,261 years ago. Individual angels were created at different times as needed. I am 1,984,938 years old. I came to be as a fully conscious being. There are no baby angels. I have worked in our local system of 619 planets my whole life. I have worked in fifty-three different capacities and have been a Seraphic Transport for 107,234 years, although as I said earlier just 37,924 years, three months, and three weeks for your planet. I was going to round those numbers but I know how much you appreciate precision. I could give you the days, hours, and minutes too.
MYRA: How about the seconds?
ALLEGENTIA: Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…
MYRA: Okay, I get it. I can hardly wait to wake up again. It will all be new and exciting.