angels

Here I am again, after more than a week away from my blog.   I have been to Los Angeles and back since my last blog, visiting my daughter Rachel and my brother Ron and his wife Gail.

Friends are here visiting us this week.   I have discovered that when I am immersed in spending time with people,  writing takes a back seat.   However, now that I am back home here in Sedona, if any of you are still checking my blog, I will once again write it more regularly.   Don't give up on me!  

Yesterday I took our friends Joey and Laurel to a lovely nearby retreat center called Angel Valley.  It is located in a valley surrounded by mountains---four, to be exact.  There is one mountain in each of the four major directions, and they are named for four major archangels of Christian tradition;  Michael (east), Raphael(south) Uriel(west) and Gabriel(north).   I see a parallel in the Native American tradition of the Spirits of the Four Directions, which are often symbolized by animals or birds: for example,  Eagle for the East,  Coyote for the South, Bear for the West, and Buffalo for the north.   Different tribes, of course, have different creatures as their symbols for the directions.  But what all these traditions have in common is the universal human experience of feeling certain power, or qualities, in each of the four directions.  Think of it for yourself.  What comes to mind, and what do you feel, when you face or ponder "north?" 

east? west? south?    Up above?  down below?  within?   Its also kind of fun to associate flowers, trees, animals, birds, and certain virtues with the directions.   Its a good way to integrate qualities and virtues you would like to have in your life with things from nature you naturally resonate with.   For instance,  the eagle represents, for me,  keen sight and insight, vision, seeing the big picture, and flying high.  It naturally symbolizes the east, the direction of dawn, new light, illumination, wisdom, and the like.  

      Speaking of light, back to angels!   It is fascinating to realize how universal the belief in angels is in various religions and cultures.  They may have other names:  devas,  spirits,  jinn,  etc.  but they seem to be a regular feature of human imagination and experience.  Angel Valley focuses on them,  and offers suggestions for exploring their presence in one's life.  There is, for instance, a beautiful very large Angel Wheel, divided into twelve equal sections, one for each of twelve angels. Each of their names ends in "el" or "shining one."  So, am I seeing angels when I see light?  H-m-m-m-m  

After spending a day in Angel Valley,  I am much more aware of angelic presences, which for me mediate the One Presence and Power of The Holy Spirit, The Light of God,  in my life and all life.  And I am pondering again the traditional Christian teaching that each of us has a guardian guiding angel with us throughout our lives.  In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, there are beautiful prayers to this angel.  Is this angel another way of symbolizing our soul or spirit, our divine essence?

Or does it have its own separate personality and being?   Why do angels play such a large part in the Bible?  in other traditions?  Who or what are they, really?   I have a lot more questions than answers.  

What are angels to you?