Life with Angels

Love includes me and you too!

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:28:00 -0500

I love to love. It just feels good. Smiling and saying hi to strangers and watching them light up feels like being a fairy godmother. Being kind to a clerk who just dealt with the cranky person in front of me and watching them breathe a sigh of relief reminds me that we can be angels to one another. Holding the hand of a friend in need or touching my dogs helps me feel the spiritual energies flowing through me. It feels good to be kind to other people. The real journey has been learning to be more and more loving to myself.

Over the years as I moved further out into the public eye I've been given opportunities to love more and more. I've been attacked by skeptics, harranged by zealots, and in very nasty emails told I was mentally unstable, unfit to assist others, not courageous enough to kill myself, filled with egotistical fluff, and the list goes on! I used to respond lovingly and kindly to these attacks which was a huge improvement over the stewing and steaming I would have done in my younger years. It just felt better. I thought I was doing well to respond so kindly, and I was, but the angels suggested there was an even more loving way to handle unkind behavior - ignore it. They told me I was being kind to the unkind which was good but if I were to include myself in this equation, the truth was I didn't want to give other's negativity ANY energy of my own.

So now, when a person says something sarcastic or unkind, I remain silent and turn away. When I receive an angry email, I simply bless the person in prayer and delete it. When something unpleasant must be handled (like a computer problem!) I do it with as much patience and love as possible after praying for God to bless the situation and everyone involved.

Everyone on earth is entitled to their opinions, and as the saying goes, "Life happens," but when we bring love into even the so-called negative situations, whether or not the situation is transformed, we will be transformed by our own love. And that is what our journey is all about :)

The little everyday miracles

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:29:00 -0500

We look for God's love in the grandiose things in our life, the big relief we get when we solve a problem or work through an issue, the reward we take after working hard, the appreciation of others, and yet the angels have taught me to see God's love in the smallest of ways. A bee buzzing around a flower is a miracule if you consider the delicacy of the wings, the intricate colors, the mechanics of his little legs, and the way he gathers nectar. The flower is a miracle too with its papery petals, and glorious textures. And how about the sun that shines down on both of them? And the rain that waters them? The angels say we take so much for granted, and yet miracles are all around us. Scientists don't even know all the wonders of the human body yet! And yet we walk around in one every day.

Ask and you shall receive we are told. It is true. Every day I wake up and as the angels have instructed me, add to my prayers, "God I am ready to receive your love. Go before me and make my day smooth. Bring me joy and miracles, and wonderful surprises." When I remember that prayer with sincerity the days are full of unexpected surprises if I listen to my heart, rest when needed, and take time to do my work and chores consciously.

Miracles can even be the unexpected answer to a question. I turned the news on the other night and as always it was rather dismal. I prayed for the world, then asked God if it would ever get better. Forgetting the question I went out back to do a little yard work, just in time to see a beautiful rainbow forming in the heavens... God's promise of dry land after Noah's flood - and in modern days, a promise that light is always present in its glorious spectrum, even amidst the storms. I LOVE it when heaven puts on a display like that.

So ask for your miraculous experessions of God's love and expect the unexpected answers. Life can be magical if we honor the little things - not just the answers to our big prayers, but the wonderful ways in which God's love is always present for us to know.

Cultivating your dreams

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:30:34 -0500

I like to garden. I have a very, very tiny strip of soil on one side of my house. I don't have much time to tend it. Its not an ideal spot regarding light and shade, and the soil had to be augmented with a great deal of sand to avoid flooding when we get our monsoon rains. Nonetheless, things grow there. I don't follow any rules whatsoever, but what I do manage is to listen to my intuition about when to plant, water, weed, and love the tiny plants after I put them in. This spring, even with the arizona soil, I got enough tomatoes to keep me from buying any for months and a few stragglers are still coming in, in spite of the heat. My basil crop promises to provide me with pesto to last the winter months, and an adorable little eggplant is currently forming for my dinging pleasure. I get just enough jalapenos to supply my salsa craving and enough other herbs to make tea and spice up my dinners.

Gardening is a lot like manifestation. When you put a seed in the ground, its like planting your intention. You do it in the dark soil of life. You don't have a clue how your manifestation will grow or when it will pop up to the surface. You water it with love, weed out your beliefs, and wait. If you keep taking God's pulse to see if He heard you its like digging up the seeds to see if they're growing! Doubt delays the process. If you pick the fruits or veggies too soon, its like settling for less than what you want rather than waiting for your manifestation to arrive in its ripe full glory. So gardening, like manifesting, takes just a bit of work, and a lot of patience. The more you water and nourish your veggies, the riper they will grow. The more you water and nourish your dreams with faith, the riper they will grow too. The more you weed the more space the plants have to grow. The more you weed out your negative beliefs, the more ways in which God can make your dreams come true.

So during this time on earth when truly so many feel stuck, plant the seeds of your dreams with intent, water them with faith, weed out the beliefs, and wait for your dreams to come pushing into the light!

Big faith and trust

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:34:36 -0500

Hope you are having a fantastic week. After a rather lengthy round of growth I have come back to center and am feeling absolutely blissfully fantastic. In May I asked to be a conduit of love for three million listeners of a radio show I was on. Oprah once said that when she prayed to have more courage and compassion, God gave her opportunities to be that. Likewise, when I prayed to funnel amazing amounts of love to the planet, I was given opportunities! These rounds of growth are not always easy. Over the course of the last two months I've been asked to love a spirit that hated me and beat me up (I got him into the light); to open to greater love (from the whales) than I've ever felt going through my body; to surrender to a higher will and learn more deeply that I am not in control of the fate of any of God's creatures, and to scour out the depths of my spirit and release some pretty deep seated old unconscious beliefs. Needless to say I've been busy in my spare time.

Spiritual growth is not for the faint of heart. When we ask for a direct experience of God's love, we are opening ourselve up first to being cleansed of all our darkness, illusions, fears, angers, etc. A dear soul whom I greatly respect said recently, "Those who dare throw open darkened doorways are rewarded with great light."

We don't always know we've thrown those doorways open. We pray to God to illuminate our lives and bring us greater manifestation. But before we can have these prayers answered whatever lies inside of us that resists or blocks God's love, concsiously or otherwise must be let go. A example would be when someone prayers for money but believes they must burn themselves out to earn it, rather than allowing God to provide a better solution. Yes, you must do what you know to do, but prayer, faith, and allowing God to guide you will put you in partnership with God rather than operating independent of this love.

God's love is constant but our deep seated subconsious beliefs limit how much of it we can experience. We might be put through lessons to develop greater faith in order to have what we want. We might have to get rid of old sadness, anger, wrong thinking, etc. We might have to cultivate patience and trust. Whatever it is inside of us that blocks the flow of God's love will be revealed so we can receive the manifestations we are asking for. I often hear the angels say to people, when you pray for more, trust that EVERYTHING that happens after your prayer is part of the answer to that prayer.

That is some kind of big faith and trust and yet it IS possible. Two weeks ago, in the throes of emotional turmoil and chaos, the observer in me knew that this routing out of the old was necessary to bring even more light into my life and to help me learn to be stable in that new flow. Its easy to wade in a slow flowing stream. Its harder to be stable in a fast current. That is why, as we go farther along our spiritual path, staying in impeccable integrity with our own hearts is required in order to stay in balance. The greater the flow, the greater the effect of each thought, word, and deed.

The spritual path is not for the faint of heart. It is often misunderstood. The peace, love, light, and joy DOES come if you do your homework, but if you ask for more light, there will always be times of digging deeper, looking inside of self and scouring out all that does not believe in the eternity of life, the support of the creator, and the immsense love around us at all times. Letting go of our human illusions of separation is not easy, and yet it is worth every tear shed, every difficult but honest moment of self-reflection, and every tough lesson learned. To help others deal with their own fears, I must embrace my own. To help others surrender to God's plan I must surrender to my own lessons. In order to assist others who are angry, sad, or feeling ashamed, I have had to look at these things without judgment inside of myself. As we release judgment against ourselves, we release others from judgment as well. As we surrender more deeply to what is in front of us and inside of us, we find a greater appreciation of God's plan unfolding in our lives. It is a time on earth for releasing old illusions and accepting greater light. God does not cause pain. Our illusions do. And they can be pretty tough to get past at times, but we can get past them.

The angels remind me that God has a much bigger perspective than any of us do. They once said that we can, at times, be like children screaming because we can't have a cookie, and yet God is like a mother who is busy preparing our favorite meal - an experience that would be ruined if we got our cookie first. We don't always see the good coming after a difficult lesson. We don't always understand the bigger picture of a trial we undergo. And yet if you can trust that when you are ready to learn it, God will reveal it, and trust that all in life is part of the lessons we came to embrace on this school called earth - then, and only then, will peace return quickly, and eventually prevail. When you become serious about manifesting your dreams, you may face some big challenges to get rid of some big blocks to receiving and sharing God's love. But why not? That is, after all, why we are here!

I'm feeling amazing - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually blissful once again. And you will too if you can surrender to what is in front of you, confront your own fears, illusions, sadness, anger, and see them as the lies they truly are. God loves you. That's the truth underlying all our lessons. Receive it, bask in it, and be blessed by it :)

Slow down, grow fast

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:35:57 -0500

I can vouch for the fact that slowing down helps you grow faster. A few weeks ago after my whale experience I prayed for God to incorporate more of their joy, play, and passion into my life, and prayed for God to remove anything getting in the way of that. I forgot to ask for the growth to be joyful and gentle...oops.

This past weekend I made time in my schedule to 'do nothing' - meaning I had no plans except to sit, read, rest, and contemplate life Saturday morning. I was SO excited, but as often happens when we do something positive, any old patterns inside of us that don't agree come to the surface. And so the first few hours of my weekend off were very blissful but slowly as I started wondering if I shouldn't do something more productive, unbeknownst to me I was damming up a very beautiful flow of energy through my body and my life. As a result my neck slipped off kilter putting me in the most unbelievable pain. This is the same thing that happened to me a few weeks ago. I had a blissful experience with the whales, somehow stopped the incredible flow and my body just hurt! When you ask a river to run through you, its best not to put up the walls of unworthiness!

So there I was in total and complete self pity because I hadn't yet gotten the lesson. I wailed because it hurt so much, crying to the universe that I was JUST starting to do what I wanted with getting more relaxation and now THIS! In total self pity I felt the universe was the one pushing me back everytime I took a step towards relaxation (It has been a pattern!) Of course I knew better, but some tantrum-throwing part of me needed its release first. Then anger came up from within. A mighty rage flew through me as I thought of all the time I spent hurting physically this lifetime. After that ran its course, I realized that some part of ME was angry at ME for putting up with it and creating it by not listening to my spirit. I asked God to get that old anger and old unforgiveness out of me NOW, and all of the sudden my back popped into place, the neck released a bit and I felt better. I realized that deep down within me I had some subconscious old belief that God cared about me spiritual growth but not my happiness as a physical human being. Well as usual when you feel something about God, you can substitute the word "I" and see the truth of it... I was the one who hadn't cared about myself as much at the human level. It wasn't God's fault. I felt better.

The lessons on spirit and flesh were not over yet. The pigeon died this weekend. I had a premonition that he had a destiny for a short life. As I sobbed again, I asked to see his soul, and this white ball of light appeared in front of me and flew straight into my heart where it burst into the most glorious and grateful love. More tears - this time happy ones. The angel that was the little birdie's soul kept coming back to me, this time to nurse ME t hrough my own lessons the next few days. He talked to me about how I had not felt that God cared about my well being in the past and yet look at him - a simple pigeon, considered a vermin by so many, who received so much love in this lifetime. He was mirroring me, and showing me that love and care were always there if you trust God, as all creatures except for mankind, do. He told me that while he knew going out into the yard was a risk of death, it was fun for him, glorious freedom and his life was richer for the experience even if it was shorter. He told me I could stay in my comfort zone constantly working and helping others, or I could take more down time and daydream more about what I wanted in life, not just as a spiritual teacher, but as a human being. He did, while he was alive, begin the process. I sat with him for at least an hour a day at various times, just being silent. I learned to get up earlier and go to bed earlier, something I've not been able to do my entire life. I learned to enjoy simple quiet moments with another being instead of always doing something for them. And while I've done this to a degree for the last many years, this bird really taught me to just 'be' in a deeper way.

I'm embracing more joy as a result. I'm spending a lot less time at the computer which gives me more time to swim and exercise. That makes me feel a LOT better of course. I'm spending time just being instead of running around all the time. I'm able to give more in less time and it feels GOOD. The whale energy is still working with me and I'm waiting to see what comes of being present to such an uplifting and loving consciousness. I'm swimming with them in my sleep feeling their power and grace, and exuberance for life. And my body is feeling a LOT better.

Its amazing what can happen when we sit still! Most of the time we run around fulfilling obligations and such but in our quiet moments God can really work His magic, routing out the old and making room for the new. Growth is not always easy. A the angels were telling a client today, pulling out the roots of old beliefs is hard, and yet... so worth the work! Joy always follows one of these growth episodes - more freedom, and definitely a renewed sense of childlike wonder. As the whales at Sea World teach... Anything is Possible :)

Mystical experience with the Whales

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:36:40 -0500

I am discovering new levels of choice in my life, and new experiences as a result. A dear, dear client gave me airline buddy passes that she couldn't use and two weeks ago the urge to go to Sea World was so strong I called a friend, and rearranged my weekend to fly out to San Diego and honor the urging. As we stood above the whales in between shows, I silently asked the whale if she could merge with my energy. She swam beneath the two of us, turned belly up and began to transmit an energy so breathtakingly blissful and beautiful I can barely put it into words. My friend felt it as well. Energy shot up our spines, adjusted our necks in tandem and as I shut my eyes I was privvy to beautiful visions of what the whales are accomplishing with the work at the park. I melted into oneness and felt such incredible love. A few hours later my body went into such pain I couldn't descsribe that either!! The angels told me I asked for a lot of love to come in and then jammed it up by subconsciously feeling it was too much good for too long. I can't relate with my mind to that but I believe them based on the experience. The angels, through my friend Summer, advised me to imagine breathing through a blowhole on the top of my head. Immediately the pain in my body was gone, I found I had a new motion when I hiked (like a flipper moving in my body!!), and I am breathing better and more deeply than ever before.

The merging experience didn't end there. For a week following the experience I barely felt human. When I was driving, I felt as if I was swimming through the air. I craved fish. I wanted to be swimming in all my spare time. I longed to fly through the air and splash in the water. I even went through a deep and serious craving to quit my entire life as I know it, and start over in order to work with whales - and I mean I LONGED for this, as much as a soul longs for God or a person longs for a long lost love. I even looked into the requirements and figured out that by the time I met the commitments and did the training I could be the first whale trainer to start flying off the whales in my mid fifties. I haven't felt the kind of passion that would turn a life upside down for years - since I first felt Reiki. If I hadn't had my house and dogs, I might have moved already and been enrolled in marine biology classes, and working with a swim trainer. My brain was ticking fast... All I'd have to do is get lasik, overcome my discomfort in cold water, go back to school, move, get in incredible shape, do readings nights and weekends while volunteering with wildlife. It all seemed SO possible. My friends, who are accustomed to my weirdness just waited to see what would come of this.

I know better than to turn my life upside down after an extreme mystical experience. I always wait it out a bit to see what emerges. In time I felt mostly human again and while I long for the feeling of swimming and leaping through the water, and although I know it WOULD be fun to work with whales, I realized I crave the intense and deep experience of oneness, flow, passion, joy, abanadon, and purpose that these magnificent creatures experience as their reality. I thought I had life figured out pretty well - now a whole new window of possibility for joy has been opened up in my awareness.

In the legends it is said that angels from the star system Sirius incarnate in the form of enlightened whales and dolphins to teach us. I can't prove it but I did feel the whales urging us as a human race to BELIEVE that we can be more, that earth can be a paradise again, that if we focus on the good, anything is indeed possible. Merging with them marked a turning point in my inner life. I have known play must be an essential ingredient in my life, now it is not optional. I have known we are always to focus on the solutions we want rather than the problems - now it is easier. I am picturing peace on earth. I am picturing the economy turning around. I feel such JOY in my heart. I feel like their energy has woven into my awareness and has become part of me.

And although I love my work, doing anything day in and day out for thirteen years can become normal. I was praying for renewed inspiration in my life, and it is so much fun to be exploring a whole new world of frequencies in a deeper way than I ever understood it before. I feel like I'm in kindergarten again. I love NOT knowing things, opening up to new experiences, and learning again.

Within two days my entire hard drive on my computer crashed, and had to be wiped and rebuilt - what a metaphor!!! I think my brain's hard drive was erased and rebuilt lately! As the Sea World show Believe says... "There are moments in our lives when we are changed forever - when we stop wondering and start to Believe." This experience has helped me believe how God can create new inspiration and wonder in our lives in just a moment. If you intend, choose, focus, and BELIEVE in God's abundant universe you can indeed tap into any energy you choose. Why not pick the ones you'd love?

All are in God's hands

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:37:14 -0500

I've done a good job at trusting God to take care of me and my needs over the years. He has proved to me time and again that when I need the miracle it arrives, but in spite of thinking I had learned to trust completely God showed me areas where I am still learning to let go of control, and trust that God is in charge.

My lesson the past few weeks has come in the form of a pigeon who was injured in my backyard when the dogs bit him above the tail feathers. I found the poor little guy in my garden bleeding and in shock, so I gently put my hands around him and sent loads of healing energy. At first he was scared but as the heat started to flow, he settled into my hands. We stopped the bleeding and when I gently pulled my hands away to see if he needed to move, he leaned back into them. This little creature was so trusting and I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility to take care of him.

I prayed hard asking God what to do since he couldn't fly and needed healing. I clearly heard God say, "Leave him outside for now. I will take care of him. Give him food and water and the rest is up to me." And so I put some food and water out and sent him remote healing and left him alone, aside from little visits where I checked in. I kept praying, "God if I'm hearing you right, let me know. I want to make sure I do the right thing for this little guy." That night I was on a radio show where the host mentioned that people have to trust more. "For example," he said, "Birds trust that they'll get their food. They don't worry." I felt a wave of God's love wash through me, as if to say, "See, you are hearing me correctly."

Later in the week a monsoon storm was predicted and on my busy office day I got the strong sense that I had to find shelter for the little guy. I told God I needed help since I had all of a half hour to spare. I was sent to the thrift store where for $2.99 I found a perfect little one bird hutch that someone else must have made (I wonder if it was sent by my favorite carpenter!). After dinner I was told to prepare a little box with shredded paper at the bottom, and I did so, just in time for the rain to hit hard. I ran out, caught the pigeon and settled him down in the box for the night. It has become our little ritual. I catch him at night, stow him safely in his box in the garage, equipped with food and water, give him a Reiki treatment,and sing to him till he looks relaxed. In the mornings I take him out again, feed him and peek around the corner where he is now strutting and talking to his buddies. He's not flying yet but I have high hopes he will. As this little bird learns to trust me, I am learning to trust even more that God takes care of all of his creatures great and small, and that I am not personally responsible for each one sent my way, but rather simply there to be the hands, the eyes, the mouth, and the human heart through which God's love flows. That is all that is asked of any of us after all.

So if you find yourself worrying about taking care of someone or some other being, just pray. God will guide you and let you know what your role is to be. The rest must be surrendered to the wisdom of the creator. There is great peace in letting go and trusting that all is according to God's plan. As the book I grew up with says: "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will." Matthew 10:29 ... so true.

Loving an angry spirit

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:37:54 -0500

I have worked hard over the course of my life to master my thoughts and I still work at it. Sometimes I feel so strong and loving and feel God's truth flowing through me in ways I never thought I could, and at other times, I have to remember truth, choose it, as surely as if I am a person learning to walk again, choosing each step with deliberation, care, and precision. I did have to learn to walk again in 2004 after an injury and it takes patience, dedication, and a willingness not to give up. Working on your thoughts in difficult circumstances is very similar!

After my run in with the angry spirit, I worked very hard to tap into positive thinking again and loving thoughts. I grew up Catholic and one of the quotes that always sticks in my head is "Love your Enemies." And while, at the soul level, no one is an enemy, at the level of personality there are those who, according to the dictionary match the definition of "enemy" - "one who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another." So, I've worked hard, as I know many of you have to love those who hate me, to love those who hurt me, and to love those who oppose my interests.

I've had to learn a new definition of love than the one I was raised with. Love is not always a warm fuzzy feeling, but as St. Paul said, "Love is patient," and "Love is Kind." When people or spirits come at me, of course I'm human and may have moments of defensive anger, but underneath that is a sadness... "Why can't we all love," and an admission of truth, "I can't control who chooses to be loving and who does not, “and then a deeper truth from the angels,” and that is not your failure to get them to love." Peace comes when we can finally understand that we are angry with others at times because we are frustrated, because we want to love and be loved. We want others to love and when they do not feel loving to us, in the way we expect them to be, we are made. We want them to 'get it' and when we can't make them love us, or receive our love, we get frustrated. Mastery is learning to accept the fact that not everyone will love us, not everyone will receive our love, and if we can truly get that this is not OUR failure, but rather simply the choice another makes, then we can love them, accept their choices, and move on into kinder realities. I used to stay in difficult relationships far past the point of productivity simply because I wanted to 'make' the other one get how much I loved, and therefore love me back. This spirit that attacked me wanted to 'make' me get how hurt he was when I left him behind in a past life. Yet underneath all of this nonsense, is LOVE!

A higher and more evolved version of love is to accept our own desires to love and be loved at deeper and kinder levels, and at the same time let every other human being in our lives decide for themselves how much love they will accept and how much they will give. I've done well with humans - I'm learning to deal with spirits more, and its an ongoing lesson to allow others to be themselves, while at the same time, allowing me to be me. Love is much more easy when we accept people as they are (or spirits in my case!). It’s nearly impossible when we want someone else to change.

So this past week, I sent this angry spirit tons of love. I told him I understood his pain and wished peace for him but if he didn't want peace, yet he had to leave my space completely because I do want peace, and nothing less than that. I was firm, not at all guilty or fearful, and kind. I stopped focusing on being a victim and tapped in once again to God’s grace. INSTANTLY, my life started becoming magical again. I had a wonderful time with friends last weekend, my life got organized, caught up with office work, and I felt my heart again.

Choosing love isn’t always easy, but don't give up. It is infinitely rewarding. It doesn't make you a doormat, or 'weak'. It doesn't mean you put up with bad behaviors, because you have to choose to include yourself too. It simply means you find the positive in the negative, learn to allow others to be who they are, and honor your own needs and desires as well. This takes creativity, prayer, and deliberation, but just like learning to walk again, with each step you gain strength, and it becomes easier and easier to do :)

A new kind of freedom

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:39:35 -0500

The angels have been imploring people lately to watch their thoughts. The energy is so strong, that when we align with faith, trust, and honor our hearts, miracles are happening. When we fall into gulit, shame, fear, and victimization, its not so fun.

I was in a hugely positive space until I underwent my toughest spiritual challenge to date. After my Coast to Coast interview and hundreds of emails, I got a letter in the mail. Something felt weird about it. I hadn't given my address to the person who wrote me and I felt a little creepy about that. I didn't feel like even opening it. But I felt a tinge of guilt since I am so committed to helping all who come my way when I have the ability and energy to do it and so I opened the letter. I stuck my toe into a stream of guilt, and got sucked into a current of negativity.

In that moment, I got attacked by a spirit so violently I have never seen the likes of it. I got punched in the stomach so hard lost my breath. This thing jumped in me, started choking me from the inside out and I began to gag and cough. It got pretty unpleasant. With great resolve, I cast it out. It left me alone when I was with clients or on the radio, but every night for weeks this angry spirit came back again, causing me a great deal of physical discomfort. My body just hurt. I finally talked to the angels through my friend Summer Bacon because I could not get perspective on my own. The angels told me that this soul was a man from a past life who once loved me. I had apparently turned away from him and not given him his goodbye hug and he let his anger turn to rage and his rage turn into a desire to kill me. The angels escorted him out of me and I got to talk to him through Summer who channeled him for me. After screaming at me and telling me how much he hated me, he finally broke down and sounded like a little boy. "You didn't hug me," he said. "Well let me come on over and do it now, if you'll agree to leave me alone," I said. I flew to him in spirit and hugged him and sent him tons of love, whereby he apologized and left me at long last. The angels have always said that demons are like hurt little children. I saw it first-hand. I think we both healed.

Nonetheless, although I was fine for a few days, my mind couldn't leave it alone. I started fuming. I couldn't shake my feelings of anger and victimization. I felt victimized, unproteced, and seething mad that God allowed for this. I fumed at God, fumed at the angels, fumed at this spirit. POOR me. How DARE this soul from hundreds of years ago attack me. I'm this little 5'3" tall woman and this big male spirit socked me. Its one thing to know the concepts about why God allows pain but when I was the one getting hit and choked, I wanted answers.

And the answers came back - The angels said that of course, I had never caused this spirit's actions, nor had I deserved them, but that I had carried guilt in my heart about turning people away even when I knew it was the right thing to do. And my guilt acted like a magnet for this soul's anger - kind of like a lock and key fit each other perfectly. Martyrdom opens you up to sociopaths. Guilt and shame open one up to anger and abuse. We live in a world of polarities where certain vibrations fit into one another like a hand and glove. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew the angels were right. I've never quite felt safe turning people away because I've had a lot of people who I've kindly and lovingly turned away, attack me with their angry words and energy. "Its time you let go of the fear and find greater faith in God Ann," they told me.

For several days I strove to embrace my role in allowing this. I kept trying to own my part in it, and yet the anger kept coming up again and again. I would choose a good thought and a negative one would try to reassert itself. One night when I was particularly exhausted from my mental weight lifting exercises I just collapsed and cried like a baby. "God heal my heart. Heal my head. Take away my anger. Take away my victimization. Let me forgive this spirit now...please." And then from the depths of my heart of hearts came a cry... "I want kindness. I want a hug... I want a hug." The angels came in droves, hugging me and holding me, and sending me so much love that in that instant my heart melted and I felt God's love again. In that moment I was able to see my part in it, to own it, and to release it. In that moment I understood that I loved this soul but just didn't want to be around him due to bad behavior. In that moment I felt how deeply God cares no matter what I experience. It was one of those life altering ah ha's... Yes God loves me in spite of my upset. Yes I am safe. Yes I used to be willing to be kicked and punched if it would help another work out their own feelings and heal... but not any longer. And the anger is gone completely.

There are times when, in spite of your best intentions, fear, anger, or other negativity seems to grip you. We have to do our part by constantly choosing better thoughts but we can also pray for the help from the depths of innocence within us, and then, be willing, like a child, to put aside doubt and mistrust and receive the love that comes.

We are on earth. It is a school. It is not always easy. My adventures are admittedly, much weirder than most (job hazard!). We all have our trials and we all have our tough classes, and yet God is always with us, encouraging us to love ourselves more so we can feel more of His love. The angels remind me frequently that as we learn to love and care for ourselves we can believe in and experience God's love and care in ever-expanding ways. As we pray for our fears to be removed, we make space to trust and experience more love.

So let's celebrate a new kind of independence - freedom from negativity so we can really receive the embrace of the love all around us :)

Making room for magic

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:40:16 -0500

I loved this week's angel message! They kept showing me pictures as I channeled of the light in our hearts trying to inch its way to the surface of our skins and our lives through all these clouds of disbelief. The angels have asked us to watch our words and our thoughts lately, to be very clear that God is with us and to trust in that more than we ever have before. I continue to receive hundreds of emails from people feeling like they want more but don't know what to do next, people with anxiousness and weird physical feelings and people that feel stuck. It seems to be going around! Yet I know movement is coming for all of us, so we may as well do what they suggest, which is rest up, go within, and trust that God really does care about your needs.

If you want to know what God wants you to do, sit still, breathe deeply, and check in with your own heart... "What do you want me to do now, at this minute, God?” I ask this all the time. And the answer might be a growl in my stomach, which says, eat dinner, a heaviness in the eyelids that says sleep, the desire for support that has me reach out to a friend, or an urge to sit and write one good sentence for a future book. The desire might be to put aside a project I've been struggling with, or to sit quietly, have a good cry and ask the angels for comfort. Whatever small urges arise within my heart, I ask for them to be satisfied and I take the actions I know to take. I know God will give me the next step.

I had a nice long hike with a friend on Saturday. It was like life. We set out with a general idea of our destination but allowed room for spontaneity. As a result, we hiked leisurely and yet covered seven miles. We started out late because we stopped first for lunch, but as 'luck' would have it, if we had arrived earlier, there would have been no parking. Instead, we pulled right into a front row spot. We rested in the creek for a long time, walked slowly in the water, decided to turn back and then changed our minds and went further. We were truly in the moment. That is where the magic happens, not only on nice long walks in nature, but in life itself. If you push yourself, force yourself to make decisions before you feel completely ready, or force life to fit what you want in that moment, it leads to no good. If instead, you know somewhat where you want to go (joy, abundance, love, expression, etc) and you just begin with one step at a time, life has a way of working with you.

Patience is required because you may not get what you want when you want it, but when you do, it'll be better. Faith is required because God doesn't always offer proof that he's working in your life. Surrender is required, because there will be times when in spite of your best efforts, nothing seems to be changing. You may have to wait, or go through a circumstance that doesn't look like you thought it would. However, if you truly place your faith in God and take one step at time, guided by the heart, you'll have miracles that will appear in your life. The angels often say you can do things according to the way of the world (plan, struggle, effort), or you can do things God's way, in God's time, with faith in God. The second one is harder in our own minds, but easier in reality... and a whole lot more fun.

Make room for a little magic. Practice with small stuff. Ask God for something small that you want and trust every movement of your heart and see what happens. You'll develop more faith along the way. This week it was a long leisurely hike in a shorter amount of time than usual for me. And my spirit is full and I am able to serve more because I listened to my longing without giving up on it. Don't give up on your dreams. Just be a little patient as they are brewing.

Surrender to self, surrender to God

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:41:27 -0500

I tried to force the newsletter to come early, but the angels wouldn't budge as I stayed up late trying to hear them earlier in the week. So when I got to Thursday night, and nothing was coming, I surrendered to what I really wanted to do. I ate a leisurely dinner, baked a dish I'd been wanting to try, and then sat with a half glass of wine and watched the news, then finished off the evening by talking to some friends. Bingo - all of the sudden the angels were there and their message spilled onto the page. I am constantly reminded that God wants us all to honor our hearts - in all things, big and small. The angels want me to include myself in their directives to rest and relax more, and to refill my own cup so I can spill God's love over to the world.

I have never ever received so many correspondences from people feeling exhausted, purposeless, directionless, and unable to think clearly. Not everyone is in that space, but SO many are. The angels say that earth is readying itself for more change and that we are feeling that tension that builds up before changes. We are not really stuck, but so many feel that way. I think many people are feeling like a woman who is seven month's pregnant - change is coming but there's nothing we can do to rush the energy to move. All things in God's time. The angels said we must stand in truth. I know from years of experience that my security rests in God, because without faith in that, I'd have a mess in my life. He always comes through. When I have a bill, I give it to God. When I have a problem, I give it to God. When I have a concern, I give it to God. And I know that He hears me and answers, if only I believe without doubt that he will. And when I doubt, I am getting in God's way. I'm still working on that at times... we all are.

God is not only loving creator but the all-that-is. He has access to all of creation. When something seems impossible for me, it is merely because I have tunnel vision. He knows 6.4 billion people, and all possible interactions between them. He knows all opportunities, and He also knows the deepest recesses of our individual hearts as well because He is all that. As we continue to surrender our cares, and act as guided, life flows.

You wouldn't think guidance would involve wanting something as simple as eating a meal, baking a dish, and chatting on the phone with friends, but it DOES. God wants first to help you feel filled and happy so that you can share this with others. Guidance is as simple as going to bed early, or getting out of bed at 3am when you wake up to journal a bit. Guidance is calling someone who pops in your mind, or checking out an opportunity that attracts you. Guidance is simple and easy because you will know that what you are guided to do feels right, attractive, or inspiring. Chopping potatoes inspired me. I needed to be human after a day of helping people through their lives. I needed to feel like an earthy simple female instead of a spiritual leader. As the Buddhists say, chop wood, carry water, get enlightened, chop wood, carry water. Simple guidance leads to profound changes. I can write now. And I feel the energy flowing out of me to all of you as I write. Earlier I was empty. Now I am full.

Try to listen to the simplest urges of your heart rather than what you think you should or must do at all hours of night and day. True, many of us have to work to earn a living but even that is honoring your desire to pay bills. True, you may have family to attend to that is not always easy but deeply you desire to be a loving and caring soul even when others aren't. Its not easy, but it feels better when we can achieve that mindset. I work at it constantly. Being human, in a changing world, it doesn't always come easily but the more you exercise the mental muscle of faith and the emotional muscle of surrender, the more easily they support you.

Deeper levels of integrity

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:40:48 -0500

It seems to have been a wild week in the global energy field. The angels said there were forces clashing on the planet and within us - desire for change and resistance of change, and they were talking more about undercurrents in the energy that out pictured in various ways. The tornadoes were a clashing of weather fronts. The flooding represents the torrents of emotions being washed up from the depths, and the earth continues to shake and quake in various locations. It is not a time for fear they say, but rather a time to be still and rest.

Rest - that word is one I used to be afraid of but not have come to love. In my earlier days, I could not sit still. And so after saying I needed to rest the last two weeks (but not doing it) my body decided it was mandatory. Saturday I woke up out of the blue fighting a case of laryngitis. Not cool. I had two radio shows scheduled Sunday and Monday and was looking forward to them. Moreover, I had a to do list that was a mile long. Nonetheless, when my body speaks, I listen because I know it wouldn't be acting up if I had listened earlier. So, I ditched the to-do list, meditated, and got the hint to go get ginger and make ginger tea. As I was driving to the store, a car with the license plate GINGER pulled in front of me! The tea worked, as did copious amounts of sleep, Reiki, and prayers from friends, and I was better quickly, with a voice intact. I had to go inside and really examine why of all things I created laryngitis because there were many ways the body could insist on rest. It wasn't rocket science - I've been speaking up a lot more lately and more strongly and that has opened me up to both praise and some incredibly nasty criticism. My skin isn't totally thick yet and it still hurts when someone lambastes me as a result of their own pain. And so, some part of me that wanted to shy away from such public exposure almost shut down my voice! Thankfully the angels talked sense into me :)

Integrity happens on so many levels. There is the obvious level - being truthful with others. Two plumbers did hard labor in my yard for an entire day in the heat last month and the bill was steep and therefore ended up on my charge card. However, when the MasterCard statement arrived I was undercharged by $1000. Integrity demanded that I call the plumbing company, point out their error, and pay the balance. If I had not done so, my bank account would have been better off, but I would have been putting my faith in lack instead of God's economy and ability to pay my bills. As is, the split bill gave me a little more time to pay it off, so the universe still gave me a gift. I treat others the way I would like to be treated.

Then there is the integrity of the heart that involves being truthful with yourself. I'm usually good at this one, but I do slip up from time to time. When your heart demands something and you listen, you are in integrity. I was out of integrity by not resting when I knew my body needed rest. I would have been out of integrity with my soul if I let fear of attack keep me from speaking in public. If we are honest with ourselves and take actions consistent with our hearts, life is magical. As soon as I got back on track, life started working wonderfully well again. I reached out to friends and risked 'bothering' them because I wanted some support. I got my ginger tea. I dropped all the chores and did Reiki on myself. And magically what could have turned into a nasty cold that lingered for weeks was gone, and I got my rest.

Watch yourself closely this week and strive to be in integrity - by simply being honest with others and with yourself. And watch how much easier life flows!

Tend to the garden of your life

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:36:03 -0500

I had an amazing experience last Monday. I was asked to be included in an upcomging film entitled, "Gifted Children of the World." My heart sang with this because I adore the children coming into the world. They are amazing angels bringing hope, inspiration, and wisdom, and they teach us who we are capable of becoming. I've had the privilege of seeing many of them and their parents over the years and I love to do what little I can to help them blossom. Filming was funny because the angels took over and tied my tongue whenever I tried to speak on my own! At one point I just surrendered, the words poured through me and I watched the entire room fill with white light and the faces of the people around me turn to pure gold light. It was like stepping into the heavenly dimensions temporarily and I was filled with great passion and joy.

I had the privilege of watching the next segments of filming in which Shannon Lee Simpson was interviewed. She is a child and family counselor whose life changed when she met Pablo. Pablo is now a thirteen year old boy who was originally diagnosed with all sorts of mental disorders and drugged. Shannon diagnosed him with seeing spirits and helped him learn how to dialogue with them. The purity and beauty of this gentle boy was beyond words. He talks to spirits who teach him how they fold the fabric of space and time, teach him how to be centered in his heart, and talk about chakras now. His 'issues' are gone. And in a very touching moment he told us about his encounters with Archangel Gabriel. I was humbled and awed by his grace, and by his family's commitment to understand and support him. His mother is now writing a book about his journey. Shannon is working on a book to help parents discern if their kids are intuitive and how to assist them. And the angels started dumping another book through me the same night. I couldn't stop the flow.

I've been resting for months, other than radio shows and hundreds of emails, dinking away on nearly ten books I've started but not finished but the fire has been lit in my soul and I now have direction again. There have been many times in my life when I've been without direction. There have been many times in the past that I've struggled to find it, but over the years the angels have taught me to do what I know to do, then rest, wait, and trust when I didn't know what to do next. And then it never fails! Inspiration comes when you least expect it. Purposes get clarified in a moment. You get awakened out of bed to jot down an idea and it changes your life.

I think of our growth like tending to a garden. You stir up the soil of your old entrenched belief. You weed out the ones that don't work for you and inhibit your joy. You wait while the seeds that God planted in your heart begin to grow and then you tend to them and enjoy the harvest.

So if you are in a phase in life where you don't know what to do next, do what little you do know and wait for further instructions from God - because when God and the angels want you to know something they will not quit until you get the message. You won't miss God's direction in your life. Its not subtle when He's ready to talk!

Have a blessed week, filled with rest until it is time to create movement,
Ann

For those of you who are interested Shannon's website will be available soon:Intuitive Kids.

Pablo's site is Strength by Love if you'd like to learn more about this remarkable young man.

We're all one heart

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:39:16 -0500

That last paragraph from the angels really struck me again, although they've said it to me many times. When we see unthinkable tragedies, like the schools collapsing on the children in China and the grief stricken mothers wailing outside the rubble, and when we undergo our own personal tragedies, it is easy to forget that we have a loving God. It is hard, thinking judgmentally as we humans are apt to do, to see the light in the dark. And yet through every dark night of the soul, there is a birth, and a greater light emerging if only we give ourselves time to see it. If we judge someone's circumstances, behaviors, or even the state of the world, we may not be patient enough to see the light of God unfolding within it.

I've been really following the news on the earthquake in China for many reasons. First of all I felt the vibration right as it happened, but more importantly our government and theirs has been in such a touchy relationship for years, that the rifts and separations seemed very deep. And yet here we are, human beings on one side of the world, watching human beings far away, and seeing that when it comes down to the basics - beyond ideology, race, religion, or creed, we are one in the same. We hope. We dream. We want purpose, a roof over our heads, protection for the children, opportunity. We want security. We want our loved ones to be safe. And the light in the human spirit is the same no matter where we live or what we believe. We seek that light out in times of darkness, because we must or we will be overcome by despair. That light of God within us is our salvation... for all of us.

I ran across a video by a group of young Chinese singers. It is entitled "Never be Beaten！- MV China Wenchuan earthquake" and the info on youtube.com simply says, "Please pray for all victims in Sichuan." I do not speak Chinese nor do I understand a word in the song, but my heart comprehended what my head could not, and I was brought to tears, because the desire to hope, to prevail no matter what, to love, to reach out and connect was so strong that the language of love beyond the words in this song transcended all cultural, and language boundaries. If you get a chance to see it, your heart will be moved to tears. If you get a chance to comment, tell them we are all praying for them and their loved ones. To connect, even in such a small and seemingly insignificant way, can offer comfort and hope to our fellow human beings so they know they are not alone.

So many have written to me wondering what your purpose is. Although there are many variations on this theme, all of us share one common purpose which is to love. Check out this video if you are inclined and feel the energy beyond the words. If you can, offer a little love today to these souls via your comments - love has meaning and value beyond any wordly accomplishment. This video deserves to be seen.

If you can, please pass this video on to your lists and ask them to offer a prayer too... We can make a differnce. We can be ambassadors of peace and love. Why not start now?

Click here for video.

A different way to succeed

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:37:38 -0500

A big welcome to our new family members and subscribers. I hope you enjoy this newsletter and if not you can unsubscribe easily using the link at the bottom.

I feel like I've lived an entire lifetime this week! As many of you know, I found out on the 15th that I'd be on Coast to Coast AM on the 19th. After preparing my website, my office, and most importantly the food in my fridge, I decided to prepare my spirit. In spite of the gazillion things that called for my attention, I took Saturday off for a beautiful 6 mile hike, and was rewarded with the most amazing weather, red rocks, tall pines, lupine flowers, and ferns, as well as a symphony of birdsong, and the opportunity to sit in the creek deep in a red rock canyon with not another soul around, playing "Amazing Grace" by Cecilia on my ipod. It was pure heaven. I prayed back there in the canyon, just thanking God for my life and asking Him to continue to direct me as he saw fit. I've written to many of you before with my favorite prayer:

God take my life.
Make me love it.
And if you want me to do anything make it so clear I can't miss.

I think I was a bit more eloquent sitting there amidst nature's beauty!

The rest and recreation paid off. Although I got little sleep Sunday night and only a very small nap before the show, I was able to mediate and pray for a half hour prior and ask that God work through me to say whatever He wanted to share. I also prayed that I be a clear vessel for love from the angelic realms to pour out to all the listeners who wanted to tap into that, and to George Noory as well because I figure if God sets me up to talk to anyone, I am there to help them as much as they are there to help me. As I opened up in meditation with the intent to receive God's love and flow it through me I felt like a fire hose had been attached to my spine and I felt the energy flowing through my crown and up through my feet and out through my heart till I thought I was going to burst. It felt GREAT but I was incredibly dizzy and buzzing with energy.

The discussion went well. I felt like I was talking to a friend and the people that called in were incredible. Even one man who felt I was near heresy truly won my respect. I could tell he was scared stiff of sharing his views on the radio and even though I didn't agree with him I wanted to reach out and hug him and tell him God really loves him and he didn't need to be afraid of speaking in public or questioning me. We are all entitled to our views and being 'right' is so highly overrated that if we could just know our truth and our relationship with God in our own hearts, and be loving and kind to one another with respect we could stop wars. I was pondering this the next day when I got stuck behind a Jeep with the logo "There is Only One" written on the spare tire!! Go God! Gotta love the humorous confirmations :)

I've answered over 700 emails personally since Monday night, mailed out CDs, and managed to still speak to friends, do my weekly readings, and eat well. I do not have a clue how this was humanly possible but I do attribute it to living one moment at a time and meditating like crazy to refill my spirit when sleep wasn't possible.

If you have a big dream, don't strategize how to make it work. Don't try to manipulate yourself or life or others. Don't push yourself into doing things you think you must that don't appeal to you. Just BE yourself. Do what gives you joy. Trust each moment. I never strategized about how to end up at conferences speaking with really famous authors. I never sat and tried to figure out how to get on the radio. I put myself out there, introduced myself, and waited until the opportunities that felt good came my way. In the meantime I just work and enjoy my life. Its a different way to 'succeed' than the world teaches, but if I am happy in the moment and able to be loving and kind to others, that is the success that counts and makes my life worth living. I am grateful to have all of you in my life too!

Blessings of surrender and patience

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:35:34 -0500

I have been asking God to guide my every thought, word, and deed in earnest this year. And while I have always done this, I am working to surrender even more deeply to the heart rather than the dictates of my mind. So on Saturday, instead of attending to my huge list of chores, I listened to my heart and took a day off to go on a long, hot, dusty hike up north to one of my favorite emerald green swimming holes. In spite of the fact that the water was very cold, I just HAD to jump off the 25 foot cliffs into the pool below, and marveled at the fact that instead of my usual fear I felt exhilaration and flight of soul. I needed that hike and that leap badly. I have been working non stop and doing repairs around the house and this simple day hike felt like a week's vacation. I felt God was having me refill the well for some serious work up ahead.

Monday night in meditation my body quaked so strongly, I went to the internet to see what was up with the earth and saw that just an thirty minutes prior the quake in China had shaken our planet. The initial reports said 'no casualties reported' but I felt the outflow of souls through the universe. I felt like someone pulled a cork somewhere in my body and a River of energy was running through it so strongly that I was dizzy and could barely focus on this earth. Every time I shut my eyes I saw faces and did my best to direct them into the light. Before bed, I asked God to use me to serve these spirits in transition and awoke feeling the amazing grace that comes from visiting heaven at night, no matter how little sleep I've gotten as of late. What a sharp contrast between the souls' joy in heaven as they reunite with the energy that creates them, vs. the pain and grief of the survivors. I pray that those left behind receive the comfort and guidance of the angels. As I watched the mothers in China and Myanmar, it renders wars and rhetoric senseless - we all love the same. We all grieve the same. We all want the same for the children and ourselves - safety, survival, connection, community, continuity, purpose...

The disasters tugged at my heart and inspired me to want to share God's love in even greater ways in this word - to offer inspiration, hope, and comfort to the masses. Two days later I was in deep meditation praying and telling God that after a long rest period, I was ready to surrender to my path and get out in public once again. During the prayer, my email beeped and there was a letter from Coast to Coast AM radio asking me to be on the show. They had asked once before, at the last minute, but I had promised an out of town friend to take her out for her birthday so I had to pass on that opportunity. This time, however, I was invited to be on the show for an hour on an upcoming Friday and since I was free, I happily agreed. I was glad for the two weeks' time to prepare.

As always my mind started to kick into high gear with all the thoughts of things I had to do to prepare for the influx of visitors to my website, etc. I have been known to go nuts and be prepared beyond belief for various projects. With thousands of listeners accessing a website, previous guests say it overwhelms the site and gets locked up. I momentarily started to be concerned about how to solve these problems, when I caught my mad monkey mind by the tail and stopped it. I went into meditation again two days later and prayed again. "God tell me what YOU want me to do to be ready. Make it clear." Another email beeped in - again, coincident with that prayer!

This time the producer of Coast to Coast told me someone had canceled Monday so they wanted me to be on for three hours. I now have no time to find a web server with sufficient bandwidth to handle the temporary influx of visitors that I'll have. I have no time to create new CDs. I did have enough time after work Thursday to buy a better color printer and create an updated press kit in time to awaken early Friday and fed-ex it as requested. And I felt totally at peace. Whether my website holds up or not is not under my control. Whether I lose book sales or not is not under my control. And what a lovely feeling to know God is in charge. The creator happily jerked the rug out from under my plans and I am happily surrendered! God basically said, "Chill out Ann. Everything is in fine divine order." It always is. I know that, but finally I FEEL it too.

Life gets so much simpler and more productive when we take the time to still the mind and check in with the heart. In this space the flow of energy and information from God/universal mind flows into you unobstructed and you move with the River of God's grace rather than against it. For months I've had no desire to do anything after work except answer emails, write a little, and watch fairy tales. I needed to put positive and lighthearted energy back into my spirit after each day dealing with death, divorce, suicides, lawsuits and the like. I have to fill my cup before I can spill it truly and authentically. And now here is the next step in my life, handed to me on a silver platter, and I am being allowed to share messages of hope and inspiration, as well as information with the masses. I feel very blessed but I know I'm not special in that way - we are ALL blessed. We simply have to stop trying so hard to MAKE things happen and sit still, pray, align with the creator, and ALLOW things to happen. It is the difference between sinking and swimming vs. sailing.

God is in charge, and the angels remind us that God is our deepest truth - the creative force that breathes life into us in each moment. God is the loving intelligence that sustains us, guides us, expresses through us. God is the light and information that make up quantum field, universal mind, or whatever terms we choose to use. To surrender to God is to surrender to the deepest truth of who we are. To surrender to God is to live in harmony with the universe rather than fighting it. To surrender to God is the path of least resistance. The God I speak of is not the grandpa-in-the-sky figure many of us grew up with, but rather the intelligence, love, and creative force in the universe.

It does take intention to align with God, then trust, patience, and surrender to each moment's guidance in the heart. It does take faith and you can pray to have this faith. It does take a willingness to embrace nothingness at times, and a lot of work at other times, but the struggles go away. There is always effort but not the kind that frustrates the spirit.

If you pray and intend to be in alignment with God it is like plugging yourself into a giant internet in which there are broadcasts sent specifically to you, guiding you, inspiring you, and helping you find your way. We are all part of something so much bigger and we are all directed by the love that creates us in each moment.

I appreciate all the love and support that you have poured my way this week and continue to keep you all in my prayers as well.

The gift of the sparrow

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:35:00 -0500

I sometimes live lifetimes of lessons in a week. After my intent last week to have "respectful, kind, competent, reasonably priced, helpful, punctual, honest professionals to come help me with the work I don't want to do and can't figure out" God gave me exactly what I asked for. I discovered the leak in the front yard wasn't the sprinklers and it was beyond my scope to fix. As the water in my 'moat' began to increase, I took a breath, prayed and asked God to help me find the right plumber. I looked at the various ads, focused on the names one at a time and payed attention to my stomach. As I said one name, my stomach felt completely relaxed, and so I called and booked an appointment for the plumbers to come out and see where the leak was. Two men were sent who were "respectful, kind, competent, reasonably priced, helpful, punctual, and honest." They found the problem and spent all day replacing the piping from the city water to my house with new copper piping. The leak was fixed, the yard was restored to order, and one guy even told me he liked digging and landscaping. I felt entirely blessed. True, the bill was rather large to say the least, but I simply informed God and am waiting for my next miracle. Its amazing how easy life gets when we are focused on what we DO want.

Continuing on that theme, I asked God to help me loosen up whatever was holding my body tight. For months my body has felt like a spring coiled too tightly and I hurt. I knew the root cause wasn't physical. I knew I was holding some old emotional stuff, likely from other lifetimes and in spite of meditation and all sorts of other spiritual work, I could not find what emotions were stuck tight inside of me. So this week, I prayed, "Ok God, I know I've got some deep old, old sadness in there. Please get the tears out and help me figure it out and finally relax! If I need to cry, I surrender, just make it as gentle as possible." Not a surprise - God answered my prayer in His own way.

Just before bed Tuesday night my dog got a bird in the yard. I found him playing with the little sparrow whose chest he had punctured and who was mortally wounded. Being a dog he sat there looking at the bird like some squeaky toy wondering why the little fellow wouldn't play. I chased my dog in the house and sat there looking at this helpless creature, laying on my lawn, feeling entirely unsure what to do. I tuned into the bird, and he simply said, "I'm dying," and looked at me with such tender love and complete surrender to his fate, that it touched something deep inside me, and I started sobbing beyond control. I didn't want to wake the neighbors so I went inside and the wails of grief that came from my depths caught me off guard. I cry when someone dies, but not like this. I deal with grief every day in my job. I've held dying animals and the hands and hearts of dying humans, but nothing, no one, not even my own friends and relatives ever uncorked sadness like this. I felt as my clients feel, wondering if the little bird knew he was loved, wondering if he was in pain, wondering all the questions my clients asked me when their loved ones pass. I had never, in this lifetime, doubted God's love and support but all of the sudden I couldn't feel it. All I could feel was a deep, wracking, nameless grief inside myself that was beyond explanation.

I snapped back into the present, and my heart kicked in. I didn't have the heart to leave this little creature alone in the cold, wet night air to die by himself. I went outside, lined one of my hands with soft, fragrant rose petals from the garden, carefully picked up the little sparrow and held him, sending energy and prayer to free his spirit for over an hour, while he slowly died in my hands. The look of love and gratitude in his little eyes as the healing energy started to release his spirit, unleashed another torrent of tears. How could such a tiny creature teach me so much truth. He knew he was dying. He knew it was ok. He was grateful for the warmth and comforting energy. And he passed in complete and utter peace. I placed his little body on my kitchen table in a box lined with rose petals, did some prayers for him and all God's creatures and let his body stay there over night till I could bury him the next morning. I even sang him a little song of thanks for all the songs that he and his friends sang to me each morning and night.

I cried myself to sleep, and awoke the next morning, still sobbing. I buried him and sat in meditation asking God to help me understand WHY these tears wouldn't stop. I KNOW our spirits are eternal as much as I know the sky is blue. I KNOW God loves all creatures, as much as I know I breathe. "So WHY this grief God," I asked? "Why?" And in stillness, as always, God answered. "You have died feeling alone, cold, and abandoned in other lifetimes. You have carried the illusion that you were unsupported and unloved. And you brought that feeling with you, into this lifetime to heal. This lifetime you have imagined that you weren't supported many times. This lifetime you have felt alone many times. This lifetime you have felt as if you were there without someone to hold you when you were in fear. And that has been your illusion. You have healed it in your mind and in your emotions, and now you are releasing the fear and sadness that have been trapped in your body." I heaved one final sob and started coughing and gasping for air, as I felt a deep, old sad energy moved out of my body. I felt empty but also very good inside of myself. I felt a relief and a peace so deep that I can't even remember feeling this relaxed. And I knew once again that God had answered my prayer. I thought of the sparrow and instantly, standing right beside me, was the angel that had incarnated as that sparrow with the sole purpose of teaching me. The angel gave me a hug and looked in my eyes and congratulated me for understanding his message. My dog looked at the angel, and then at me as if to say, "See, we knew what we were doing." This time my tears were tears of gratitude.

No one of us is ever alone. Not one of us is ever unloved. As I have worked over the years to embrace that with my whole heart, the light inside of me started to wash the illusions out of my body and I had to cry those tears to release them. If you send more water through a faulty pipe it springs a leak. If you send more water through a strong conduit, it clears out the gunk. So too, as we bring more light into our minds and hearts it either springs a leak in some fashion, helping us see our own weak spots and illusions or it clears out the gunk inside our spirits.

So now I have strong, shiny new copper pipes in my yard, and a shiny clean conduit of energy in my physical body as well. The adventures never end here upon the earth, and we seek to keep embracing God's truth more and more deeply.

As I watched the news of the deaths from the cyclone in Burma, and the tornadoes in our own country, I felt the peace of knowing each and every soul who passed in these disasters was brought into the loving arms of God and into a peace greater than anything we have the capacity to feel or understand here upon the earth except in states of deep bliss, prayer, and meditation. I ask that we all pray for the families and friends of those who have died, who remain here on earth, because they too are working hard to see the truth beyond the illusinons - that all souls are truly cherished, cared for, and ultimately brought back into the loving heart of God.

Digging roots and fixing leaks

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:34:25 -0500

The angels totally manage to help me learn whatever it is they are channeling about each week. This newsletter was funny in that sense. I was busy doing other things mid-week when I suddenly felt like doing the newsletter. So I dropped what I was doing and easily channeled the angels' message. If I had resisted that desire, I would have been up very late on Friday night and there are a few other things I'd rather do :)

I have been striving for years but especially lately to live every little moment in integrity. I check in often with myself, often sitting down for a few minutes to breathe, and assess what is next on my long list of things to do. When I do that, things are much easier!

Last weekend on a beautiful spring day I was surprised to wake up with a strong desire to get on with the household repair and maintenance items I'd put off forever. And so I flowed from one to the other just listening to my heart to see what was next and managed to unearth three dead trees, plant about 10 new plants, wash two dogs, fix a leaky faucet, and numerous other smaller projects.

Unearthing the dead trees was a lesson in integrity itself! Awhile ago I had asked some helpers to get rid of the dead trees. They just hacked them off at the roots and left the root ball. I decided at long last to dig them up, rather than being patient and allowing myself to get some help. Two came up easily but the third proved to have the biggest root ball I had ever seen. I started going at it with my shovel like some gopher on steroids. Truly it must have been a sight. I am 5'3" tall and heavy enough to get the shovel to cut through woody roots, only if I really jump hard on the thing. And so I went at it. Three hours later, a rootball that looked like a large octopus with wooden tentacles finally gave way. Meanwhile, the moat in my front yard continued to grow in spite of my attempt at repair last week.

I sat there at the end of the day thinking about what worked and what didn't. The day DID go fairly smoothly except for the root extraction and the sprinkler repairs. I realized then and there, that I was SICK of being a short female doing work better suited for strong men. I confess I fell into a little whining about how the help I'd previous hired didn't do a good job, how I was sick of doing a better job than some of the men I hired.... and ... suddenly the angels broke into my little rant and said, "ANN... " When they speak that lovingly loud, they have my attention. "Yes?" I responded? Archangel Michael, bless his soul can ALWAYS talk love and sense into me. "What do you want to create?" he asked. Hmmm. I know better than to rant. I know that it is more useful to focus on what we want rather than what we don't, but being human and all, I occasionally forget :) He reminded me very kindly.

What do I want? I pondered the decision. I breathed deeply, and asked God to help me figure out what I wanted, as opposed to going over again, what I did not. Out came truth... I want respectful, kind, competent, reasonably priced, helpful, punctual, honest professionals to come help me with the work I don't want to do and can't figure out!

"Ok then!" I felt God speaking into my heart. I felt the angels sighing with relief that I was actually going to make my life easier. On Monday the gentleman that help with my yard looked at the sprinklers for free and told me I needed a plumber. A dear friend confirmed it, and I found a good one to come out next week. I feel better already. I found someone who can repair my doors that leak air conditioning and someone to fix the cracked base of the pool pump. And ALL week, I have been surrounded by helpful, kind, competent people who seemed to go out of their way to support me! I marvelled at the fact that I hadn't ever decisively asked for this before. I guess I just assumed I had to fix EVERYONE else's problems even the o nes who were supposed to be helping me :) Silly angel lady!

So the root I dug up so vehemently inside of my own soul was one big old yukky belief with lots of tentacles that said, "I don't receive help when I need it." As always beliefs are total garbagy nonsense, usually not true, but surely as stubborn as that real root ball I dug up and quite often, just as unyielding. I guess I've not only rooted out an old belief but also am fixing a little leak in my psyche that will allow me more easily to tap into the flow of God's grace in the mundane areas of human life. Gotta love the universal humor :)

Choose to focus on things that uplift you

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:33:47 -0500

I have had so many people coming into my office asking about fatigue these past few weeks. I have had days when after work I lay down on the couch and go out of body for two hours, wake up, eat dinner, work for a few more hours, and fall asleep! And somehow, the chores are getting done, the emails are getting answered, and the house is getting maintained. The angels told me a long time ago that if I listen to my body and my inner direction and honor it, I would actually be more productive. This has proven to be true. I can't get a thing done when I'm exhausted. But after I rest, I can accomplish a great deal. Some days rest is a two minute break with my eyes shut and a quick prayer as the angels have said. When I used to work in a corporation, I'd sneak into the rest room, shut the door, shut my eyes and pray for a quick refill from the heavens. There is always a way!

I've also had to pump myself full of positive images and inspiration lately to stay up and inspired for all those I serve. The energy on earth is intense, and I feel it too. Each day I give all that I have to give, and then each night, after swimming around in the enery of others all day, I do what it takes to get back to being Ann and to feeling my own heart. Lately fairy tales have been my way of entering the realms of magic again! I watched one called "Enchanted" and although to some it might be a corny kid's movie, I loved it. The princess in a cartoon fairy tale gets zapped by the evil queen into a human being in New York City. She is, by nature, sweet and kind even when others aren't. And of course, her sweetness transforms lives.

I think that's what God asks of us - that we be sweet and kind and loving even in the face of unkindness, not that we be doormats - but that we remain true to our nature. I know that when I am filled with good feelings, feeling God's love, and ready to share that love with the world, I go out to run errands and get the best parking spaces, green lights in traffic, and run into kind and helpful souls along the way.

Filling yourself with good feelings takes work at times in this world. If we wait for life or someone else to fill us with good feelings, in my opinion, we are wasting time. Life doesn't always fill us with good feelings. When I went out to get the mail Thursday night and discovered a huge leak in my sprinkler system as the sun was setting, it didn't fill me with good feelings! Neither did digging in the soggy mud by flashlight to find and fix the leak. However, I had a choice there to feel sorry for myself, or to just thank God I didn't have a sinkhole, and I did have a flashlight! I had a choice to whine about how hungry I was or to go inside and eat. We always have choices.

Waiting for life to uplift you is a gamble.

Choosing to focus on things that uplift you is a sure bet :)

As I sat there basking in happy feelings at the end of the movie, Jesus came by and filled me with incredible love and sweetness. I was so blissed out. I could barely move for over two hours. I needed to just sit there and fill myself with that love. When we tap into a vibration of love and joy, we open up to feeling more. Who would have thought that joyous feelings from a fairy story about a princess and a prince would bring me a visit from the one known as the "Prince of Peace?" And to make matters even funnier, I found a single plexi-glass slipper in the thrift store the next day and... had to search for the match!! Universal humor! The angels say often, in regards to relationships and all our life's activities, either they fit or they don't :)

We can choose to fill ourselves with good feelings no matter what. We can choose to look at things that inspire and uplift us. We can choose to look for the good in any situation. We can choose activities that bring us joy or unfortunately we can lie to ourselves and choose to do things that arent' authentic and drag us down. When giving is God-inspired it is a total joy. When giving comes from duty, guilt, shame, or other shoulds, it is a chore. The angels have often told me, when you are tired, rest. When you have energy, time, or money to give, ask God where to direct it. We are all the hands, eyes, and mouths, that share God's love on this planet. But we have to consciously and constantly refill our spirits so that we have energy to give. So be honest with yourself and rest if you're tired, focus on the good in the world and seek it out rather than getting spoonfed the despair and depression that seems to run rampant. Seek out the stories that inspire you. Watch movies that uplift you. Fill yourself with good food, good feelings, and take time to sit still and feel the love of God and the angels.

Then, you'll weather the changes in this world, with joy.

Free meditation to heal the earth

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:33:04 -0500

Once again the angels have me near tears as their message pours through me. I have been walking in two worlds as of late and this fact was highlighted in the most humorous way the other night as I flipped between two television channels - one playing the movie, "Ever After," which is a modern version of the Cinderella fairy tale, and the other playing the movie "Volcano" showing scenes of panic, death, and destruction. The angels have often told me that both joy and pain exist at all times on this earth, and it is up to us to choose which one we want to tune into. I tuned into both, because at this time on our earth, both exist.

SO many people have been erupting with their truth as of late. So many people are being more honest with themselves and others about what is in their hearts. So many are being moved around by layoffs, relationship changes, and other life circumstances. So indeed the volcanoes are going off not just in Hawaii, Columbia, Indonesia, but in our own hearts as the truth deep within us comes to the surface. Not only are swarms of quakes shaking the seas near the northwest coast and other areas of the world, but also we are shaking off old beliefs and fears from our past. It is indeed a time of great change in our lives.

I believe in fairy tales as surely as I believe in the destructive aspects of life. In a fairy tale it is always the wicked witch or stepmother or wizard that doesn't believe in magic who tries to manipulate and take matters into their own hands, and work for selfish gain. It is always the innocent, naive child who believes in magic who prevails, and it is always the one who listens to the heart who lives happily ever after. Darkness exists, but so does love, and I for one will always focus on the love in the world.

Take this example - the angels said through my friend Summer Bacon, who is a phenomenal channel, (www.summerbacon.com) that they ask us to pray to strengthen mother earth and bring her together. They said that creatures from the depths of the oceans would be rising up to speak the language of the heart. That's all but I heard volumes in my heart when that was spoken. I saw that there are governments blasting underwater ripping holes in areas of the ocean floor that don't need to be shaken. I saw that the ocean creatures are crying out for reprieve, and the earth herself is shaking and quaking and trying desperately not to fall apart in certain areas. I saw fissures in the matrix of the earth's energy field that really need repair. And I started to fall into a big anger at the systems and individuals who would perpetrate such monstrosities against our home planet. And the angels called me on my hypocrisy. "If you attack anyone with anger, dear one," they said, "you are bombing them as much as they bomb the earth." "If you seek to tear them apart with your thoughts and words, then you perpetuate the ripping of the earth's matrix because all are part of her who live upon her. Love those individuals. Pray for their awakening. Pray for the earth. Mother earth does not want you aiming your own emotional missiles at even the most ignorant of her children. Love them." Needless to say I cried a little as I felt their love flow through to me and to all involved in this. I strive to be loving and I am, but it seems that there is always more to learn about love.

And so I prayed. I prayed for the souls that would think it is ok to blast under our oceans. I prayed for the souls who seek indiscriminately and unjustly to find fuel no matter what the cost of human life or environment. I prayed for the earth's creatures, the oceans and all who live within them, and I went into a deep meditation asking the angels to show me how we could help repair the earth's matrix. I have put up a free meditation on lulu.com for all wishing to join in. All you do is go to this page and download it, then you can listen to it on your computer:

http://www.lulu.com/annalbers

(Scroll to the bottom to find the free meditation)

I know the earth is quaking and spouting right now. I also know that the only thing that can help heal her is love. If those of us on this list could pray for the effects of an asteroid to be minimal earlier this year, I feel we can pray and use the meditation above to help heal the earth's heart too, and in doing so the love that is returned is nothing short of mind blowing. I felt mother earth's love come back to me so powerfully at the end of the meditation that I can't even put it into words. The comfort she offers us is needed by us as well, as we weather these times of change.

So this week, believe in magic, believe in love, believe in innocence, and join with me in that love and magical space of creating a kinder reality for this planet we live upon.

See through the eyes of your soul

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:32:19 -0500

I have been in a deep study of perceptions lately. The angels have challenged me to constantly look at the world with wonder, no matter what is happening in my mind, my body or my life. They told me I'd be challenged this month, and I have been, but at the same time I am persisting in perceiving the world with wonder, and in turn my world is wonderful!

Take Monday for example. I finished up my office work and went out into the yard an hour before sunset to trim the oleanders. I love the oleanders 363 days a year. On the two days I trim them, I can relate to mothers who say that you forget the pain of childbirth soon after the child arrives. I forget how much work it is to trim these beautiful trees that during my bi-annual pruning-fest look more like large weeds. Nonetheless, it was a nice afternoon, bulk trash pickup is scheduled for next week so I only had to haul the branches to the front yard, and since the sun was setting the usual bugs were nicely tucked in bed - otherwise known as 'perfect trimming conditions.' And so I groaned and grunted and stretched and jumped, wielding my 2-foot pruning shears like mighty mouse on steroids, chopping away 2" thick branches that were hanging over the neighbors fence and shading my garden. Things were going along pretty well, when one of the branches fell on my head, and hit me smack in the lips! Normally that would not be a big deal except for the fact that oleander sap is toxic! I forgot that until a few seconds elapsed and my lips started stinging and swelling! In a panic, I ran into the house both cussing and laughing at the same time. I often think my life should be either a sitcom or a freak show and when I was vehemently rubbing the bar of laundry soap that I keep by the sink for just such emergencies over my lips, I figured that if the camera's were rolling this would be a real comedy. So I stood there, head over the sink, kissing the bar of soap and rinsing under running water at the same time till the poison was washed away. And then I sat there, elbow on the countertop for a moment, rolling with laughter. I never dreamt that the first time I got my mouth washed out with soap it would be ME who did it!!! And instead of feeling sorry for myself, I got such a kick out of the incident that I'm still laughing.

It has been a week like that! I took a hike last weekend during which my mind wandered far outside the present moment. I looked up just in time to notice a BEE, BE-lining straight for me. I watched in wonder as it HIT me square between the eyes and bounced off then buzzed around my head insistently, around as if to say, "Wake up and BEE present!" Oh my goodness! A bee bopping me on the third eye? A date with a bar of soap? What a week! I don't think I've laughed so hard in ages.

In the past I would have felt so sorry for myself! Poor me. The only bug on the trail terrorized me. Poor me. I have to do heavy labor. Poor me. A branch fell on my head. Poor me. I had to wash my mouth out with soap. Poor me... And even writing this I'm laughing myself silly because life IS funny, or at least educational, when we can step outside of our preconditioned responses and just observe it from a different angle. (I always want to type "angel" when I type the word "angle" ... and I don't think that's a mistake!)

Even situations that aren't so funny can finally be perceived in a kinder or more lighthearted manner when we step out of our limited human viewpoint and see through the eyes of our soul. Years ago, I dated a man who was a great guy but had a lot of childhood anger inside of him. He'd been pretty abused, and me being me, I made it safe for all that pain to come up and out. He aimed it at me. Everything was my fault, according to him. At first I tried reason. I tried to make nice. I tried arguing back. The angels patiently guided me to let him be him, but also to let me be me. They guided me to see that his anger had nothing to do with me. And one day I got it. We were in the car and he was raging at me for something his mom did years ago, and then all of the sudden the absolute absurdity hit me. I can't even explain how I got this perspective except to say that the "laughing Buddha" is one of my spirit guides and I think he possessed me. Suddenly from this highly altered perspective, I saw a little boy in a man's body throwing a royal tantrum. And for some reason, it was funny. It struck me as such an absurd waste of time not to love, not to communicate, not to heal. And beyond the situation in front of me, the absurdity of the human condition hit me like a brick. Here I was loving him and he was feeling totally unloved! And I knew that in my past I have felt totally unloved when God and others love me like crazy. It just all of the sudden seemed unbelievably ridiculous. I started laughing. I couldn't help myself. The laughter rose up from my depths and the more I laughed, the madder he got, till at long last he burst into laughter too. It wasn't fake; it was the laughter that comes from seeing the truth - this is all just learning , all just education. We are always loved. We are always taken care of. We are eternal and nothing can damage our souls. We ARE love after all.

We get SO serious about things, and yet, everything we've ever worried about we've handled so far. Every horrid thing you feared in your life in the past is behind you now. Every person we've ever worried about is still a soul, beloved by God, yes learning lessons, but in the end, eternal and alright. So are you! I bet right this moment, sitting at your computer, reading this message - in this single moment - life is pretty good. Hopefully you can feel my energy reaching out to give you a little lift and a big hug or a congrats if you're doing well. Not so bad, for this moment :) If you're going through something hard in your life try to take a step back and see it through the eyes of eternity. Pray to see it through God's eyes.

This week, try to make up perceptions about life that are more supportive of the way you want life to be. Ask for a sense of humor and if you can't find yours call on the spirit of the laughing Buddha (the big fat joyous abundant one that teaches us to live life with gusto) to come into your life and help you see the joy in it. Spirit is frequency, and his frequency is totally uplifting.

I hope you don't have bees hit you, or branches fall on you, but if you do, remember - its all love!!
Choose wonder!

The dark before the dawn of new light

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:30:53 -0500

I am feeling absolutely wonderful these days, but I did go through an intense birthing process last November that scared the living daylights out of me. Since so many people have written me this week, in deep pain and wanting to die, I thought I'd share my experience last year with the 'dark night of the soul' so that others can find hope in the midst of the process of pushing through their old reality into the light. After all, there is SO much good rising up within us that it is simply bringing everything else to the surface - the good, the bad, and the ugly. The light IS rising up within us. We want greater quality of life, more authentic relationships. We can't stuff our real thoughts. Nothing less than love feels very good anymore. And to repeat old habits and beliefs feels like squeezing into a tight pair of jeans after a huge meal. Not fun.

Last year I asked God to clear me of any old beliefs that kept me from walking my path in the world and serving in the way that God wanted me to serve. Little did I know, that opened up Pandora's box! While I was fine doing readings and hanging out with friends, in the quiet of my own company, I found some pretty disturbing thought patterns within my mind. Perhaps the ugliest and most untrue went something like this... "I take care of everyone else and no one takes care of me. My personal dreams don't really matter to God." Mind you, I didn't logically believe that, but when I was tired, hadn't taken care of myself, slept well, or eaten good meals, that nasty little old belief wormed its way to the surface in my mind. I started feeling as if there were two of me - the real happy spiritual true self, and the inner victim/whiner/pityparty hostess. (Hm... maybe the pityparty hostess should have served some cheese with her whine!)

Anyway, I prayed, "God help me get these stupid thoughts out of me once and for all." And God said, OK, rolled up his sleeves and dove into the darkness with me. The old beliefs hit me like a ton of bricks, after a hard week with little sleep during which several clients were going through extreme pain and needed extra care; a week in which friends were facing their own trials and I was trying to support them, and worst of all to this Polish girl - a week where I hadn't bought groceries and and was living off leftovers and snacks from the pantry. Needless to say I had forgotten everything I know and preach, and I wore myself out. And so, not surprisingly, I crashed. I sat in my backyard and felt exhausted and it was then that the onslaught of negative thoughts began to possess me. And I mean possess.

At first the thoughts were my own. "I'm hungry. I'm tired. Nobody takes care of me. Poor me." That went on for awhile, but then something else started happening. The energies in the universe that feed off our negativity began to amplify those thoughts in my mind and expand upon them. "If you die someone else will just do the work." "Your dreams will never come true." "God doesn't care about your desires." And it went on and on. I started feeling as if I were under a barrage of attack with Satan (the energy that seeks to separate rather than unify), pounding on my brain. The more I tried not to think those thoughts, the worse they got. A clammy, electrified, static-y vibe gripped my body. "Your life is worth nothing. God doesn't care about you. You're nothing!" The thoughts now felt like they were being introduced and like in one of those sci-fi horror movies they were infiltrating my brain. Something other than me settled in and I felt a darkness unlike anything I had ever experienced. I felt as if I had tapped my own pain into a deep well of the world's pain and it was unbearably dark. I was afraid. I couldn't feel God, and I never ever cannot feel God. I felt separate from everything.

The moonlit night was beautiful. The palm trees were blowing in the wind and glistening silver but the darkness that I has stumbled into made me feel as if I were not a part of this reality but some outsider. "End it now," the thoughts went on. "Why don't you just quit now. Go back to heaven. Life sucks." The 2% of me that was still real grappled to maintain a semblance of control over this hell I had tapped into. And before I knew it the darkness that had taken over my mind was calmly thinking of the practicalities of slitting my wrists and ending my life. The thoughts were cold and impersonal. I felt numb, alone, and insignificant. Again, the 2% of my mind that was still mine, intervened.... "GOD, SOS! Help, this isn't me. This isn't true. You love me. I know it. Get me out of here!"

I realized my own whining had somehow tuned my entire being into the cosmic frequency of despondency and archetypal pain. I was experiencing the deepest illusion that any human being could feel - feeling separate from God, separate from life, insignificant, and disconnected from anything that matter. I was in original sin all over again. And I thank GOD, that I have worked hard on myself to know Truth because it was Truth and grace that called me back into the light that night. The world's pain all seemed too real.

As soon as I started to pray, I tuned myself back into the frequencies of love, support, kindness, compassion, truth, and caring. I realized in that moment that I could no longer afford to nurture any sort of negativity. I could no longer pretend to ever be a victim again. I knew that it was a matter of spiritual life and death to stand in the truth of God's love. I went to bed, exhausted, but exalted because I realized finally how easy it is to slide into a mass consciousness that is anything but heaven, and I also realized that right beside that frequency of hell, heaven always existed waiting for me to simply step into it.

I have striven to be impeccable with my thoughts ever since. When something negative creeps in my mind, I command it. "Go now. Go to your room. You are not allowed in." I immediately focus on something loving and positive. When I am tired, I stop everything and rest. When the flu bug tried to get me this past winter, I thanked it, sent it love, and blessed it for reminding me to rest, immediately put the chores aside and slept in all my spare time for two days. As a result, I did not get sick although I have been exposed to many who were. When my dog ate a splintery wooden basting brush, complete with nylon bristles that he stole out of the dishwasher this past Easter, instead of cursing and freaking out, I breathed, centered, and calmly went to the internet to find a cure. (100% cotton balls ripped up, dipped in half and half cream, and then fed to the dog do indeed wrap around sharp objects and escort them out of the furry kids safely - google "cotton ball remedy" !)

It is now a JOY to give, a JOY to love, a JOY to serve, and an absolute non-negotiable necessity to take care of myself. I feel supported not only by the people who do, and have always supported me, but also by the universe and God itself. I've birthed myself into new light. I am happier and more filled with faith than I have ever been in my entire life. The old beliefs had to go first and although they went kicking and screaming they are gone and I feel amazing.

It is the nature and process of our souls to continually shed the old skin, break free of the illusions and emerge into greater light. It is the nature of life itself on this planet to constantly grow and evolve into something more beautiful.

So at those times when you feel you've slid backwards, consider the fact that maybe its inwards. Maybe you're looking your old stuff squarely in the face one final time to at long last say, "God, get this out of me." And then, you find freedom beyond your wildest dreams. If you are in financial fear, look it in the eye and say, "Ok God get this out of me. I want to be rooted in the truth of your abundance." If you find yourself lonely, pray for the ability to take care of yourself and receive inspiration. I am never lonely when I do this. If you find yourself fearing for another, put them back in God's hands where they belong to begin with and pray that you will know if and when God wants you to assist. If you find yourself feeling unworthy, ask God to help you experience his love for you.

These prayers are powerful prayers. They are affirmations of truth in spite of illusion. The darkness may come and go in your life but with prayer, with belief in a greater truth, it has no power over you, your heart, or your outer circumstances. It can only fool you. I am no longer afraid of the dark, either within or outside of me.

I have faced it head on and that gives me the strength to face it in others when they come to me for help. I have embraced my own fears and calmed them and this gives me the courage to stand up and say we don't have to buy into mass consciousness - that we can have an economy of God in our lives; we can have peace in our hearts even when the world is at war; we can love in a world that wants to judge, separate and hate. We can be who we really are intended to be and there is nothing that can stop us from this expression.

Easy? Not always. Rewarding? Heavens yes!

I wish you a week filled with light, truth and the grace of knowing God's love in your life,
Ann

Love the angry ones

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:56:41 -0500

So many people are experiencing outbursts and upsets as of late. Everything hidden within us is coming up and out. Even mother earth is bursting at her seams as evidenced by the frequency of earthquakes and such going on these days. Growth is in the air. It IS time for a resurrection of our spirits and the death of old illusions as the angels said. It IS time to bring the light within us to the surface. It IS time to choose love - no matter what.

For some reason it has hit me lately how precious and truly how short our lives are, even if we live to be really old. It has hit me how ridiculous and a waste of precious time it is to stay upset for long. Better to fix a situation or move on, choose love or leave. Grow or Go, as the angels say. Choose love. Choose it again and again no matter what. It feels better. This is the blossoming of the soul - to release the sweetness of God's love out into the world without condition.

The reality is we are eternal beings. We come to this school called earth to learn about love. We play these roles for one another that can really hard at times. But in the long run, after we transition, we are thankful for our tough teachers, because they helped us find something deeper within ourselves if we take the lesson to heart. And they help us come to know ourselves as more loving beings if we strive to find the love. If we do our homework, they help us see ourselves as the angels that we truly are.

I know I'm going through a big growth phase lately because people from my past are showing up in either meditaiton or in my life. Its kind of like a mini life review and a completion. It means I'm growing into greater joy and leaving pain behind. I recently did a LOT of work to release old fear and tightness within my body (through prayer, energy work, etc.) because although I do not feel afraid in my mind or emotions, my body still had a tendency to scrunch up when around people I used to find scary. After one particularly intense prayer when I felt huge release and relief, I knew I had finally let something old leave me once and for all. The next day I got an email from a man I had not seen in 18 years. He apologized for sexually harrassing me at work when I was in my young twenties. He had found my website and wanted to make peace. I thanked him, told him truthfully I had let it go along time ago and cried my eyes out with gratitude and relief the love that now flowed once again between our souls. He was a friend before the hurtful behaviors. I'm not talking about feeling warm fuzzies, but rather feeling a respect for the difficult dance we shared and the lessons learned. I was glad for both me and him because it showed that he had grown and found peace, and I had grown and released the old fears.

We are all one human family. We all support one anothers' growth and even the hurtful souls (who are hurting within themselves) are helping us seek out greater love and compassion. They help us acknowledge and finally own that we are worthhy of kindness, and if we dig deep enough, they can also motivate us to find a love and compassion we didn't even know we were capable of feeling.

When Jesus said "Love your enemies" he didn't say you had to like them. Its not ok if people mistreat you or hurt you. You can walk away or create good boundaries at the human level, but LOVE them because they teach you. They teach you that you are capable of greater compassion for yourself. They teach you that you are capable of forgiveness. They help you if you allow for it, look deep within and ask yourself what part of you is in need of healing. They help you find greater love for yourself. And when this life is over you will appreciate the fact that they catalyzed your growth into greater light.

Life is too short to stay angry. If someone has wronged you, let it go. Move one. Make a resolve not to allow that again but let it go. Its time to say no to holding on to anger (ok to feel it, but then do something about it; don't let it fester), and to say YES to love.

Love is, after all, our deepest truth.

Happy Easter, Happy Mayan New Year, Happy Spring,
Happy Full Moon, Happy life!

Surrender to your natural rhythms

annalbers@visionsofheaven.com (Ann Albers) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:55:41 -0500

It never fails. When I surrender to the moment, the angel messages are so much easier to allow through me. This one hit me before breakfast on Thursday morning. I "accidentally" set the alarm clock an hour early and had more time. I was simply answering emails when it dropped in.

I have really learned, per the angels' teachings, to surrender to the natural rhythms within me. For the last many months I've been resting and resting. I told God that I thought I'd be ready to go back out in the world, this time according to His terms, after mid-Feb. I also told God that I wanted to share his love and inspiration with a lot of people in the world without burning myself out. Well, when I have more info I'll let you know but it appears that in the not too distant future I'm going to be on a radio show with over 3 million listeners :)!!! I am beyond excited. I get to share spiritual information with a lot of people without burning myself out!! I had a chance to be on this show, last minute, last Friday but I had an out of town friend in that I had promised to take out for dinner for her birthday and couldn't cancel on her so I've been told they'll get back to me with new dates. I will let you know soon as I know :) It could be a few months or a few weeks. I'm surrendered and excited.

All of the sudden as well I've had this surge of energy to start finishing projects I've started...thus the new CD, and yet one more book on the drawing board. I have no idea which book will be finished next - I cannot seem to write them in any order. I just go with the one that calls me when I sit to write. Sooner or later one emerges as the passionate project and gets finished. This is how I've cranked out four books and numerous CDs in the last few years. Sure it is a lot of work, but as I live according to my own rhythms, its happy work and doesn't feel like struggle.

I know we all have schedules. I have schedules where I see new people every hour several days of the week. There's not much room to give during those times, but it is in my unscheduled time that I allow the rhythms of my heart to surface. If the housecleaning doesn't get done on its usual day because I need rest, I rest. If all of the sudden I feel like doing a project when I had planned to do something else I change gears. My friends have gotten used to me being 'flaky' Ann and not always being able to schedule things till last minute, and the ones that need more rigid schedules have dropped away for the most part because we simply want different things.

This isn't the only way to live, nor the right way, but it is a way that makes life very carefree and guided because in a way, I've given my life and heart over to God and said, "Hey you drive!! I trust you'll get us where we want to go!" and sure enough, my life takes more wonderful turns than I could have planned on my own.

We are individuals and yet we are part of something so much greater - the entirety of God and his creation. And being made in his image and likeness, we are each perfect buds of expression waiting to bloom. Like the bee in the picture above, the more we allow ourselvse to BE who we really are, the more beautiful sweetness we find in life.