ABOUT GUARDIAN ANGELS by M.S.

I have often wondered why so little is thought or written about guardian angels, for, if facts, they are such very important ones. The Roman Catholic Church accepts these angels as realities, but most Protestants of my acquaintance look upon them in the light of charming but poetic fictions. To them, they are subjects suitable for portrayal in sentimental semi-religious art, or to be sung about in hymns.

I have sometimes noticed, hanging on the wall of a bedroom, that well-known, rather "banal” picture of two lightly clad children, wandering near a dangerous precipice, whilst beside them with a restraining hand stands a large and visible angel with a benign countenance.

I once asked a friend who had one of these pictures:

-      “Do you believe in guardian angels?”

She replied hastily and evidently surprised at my question:

-      “Of course not, but it is such a charming idea that children, at least, should be watched over like that.”

People often speak, though figuratively I presume, of a man's “good angel” having saved him, or of a man having listened to his “evil angel” and so gone astray.  If these poetical ideas are given to the world in metre, or in blank verse, they are accepted, but if written down soberly in prose, the world thinks what extremely odd ideas the writer has.

-      "Why should there not be guardian angels?” I once asked a friend.

-      "Too good to be true,” was his laconic reply.

Is anything too good to be true where our Father’s loving care for us is concerned?

Since I came consciously into touch with my own guardian angel (as I humbly believe) I have found it easier to unravel what had before often puzzled me. If one grants that clairvoyance and clairaudience are facts in nature — and I personally, from eleven years’ experience, am convinced on that point — it is much easier to understand a little of the mystery connected with certain well-known historical characters such as Socrates and Joan of Arc.

I notice that in most of the lives written, the biographer, however much he may admire their personalities, half apologizes for their vagaries and hallucinations with regard to the daimon of Socrates and the "voices” of Joan.

I do not think apologies are at all necessary; they were not mad, but spoke the words of “Truth and Soberness.” These two wonderful personalities were utterly unlike each other, one a great and learned philosopher, the other an ignorant young peasant girl, yet both were guided and inspired from the unseen world. There can be no doubt that Socrates not only firmly believed in his daimon, but that he had always the greatest reverence for him and looked up to him for spiritual guidance. The question is:

Did the vivid imagination of the philosopher create this daimon?

Was he, his own higher self?

Or was he (as I am inclined to believe) a separate highly evolved entity, whose mission it was to guide and guard Socrates throughout his earthly career?

Then again, in the case of Joan of Arc:

 

Who were these spirits (mes voix as she always calls them) who helped, warned, comforted and guided her?

That she was directed from the unseen there can be no doubt; how otherwise could an ignorant peasant girl of seventeen have undertaken the command of a whole army, being put by Charles himself over the heads of many war-worn veterans?

In the whole history of the past, surely a more wonderful thing than this never happened before. One at least of Joan’s “voices” must have been an expert on military tactics, even setting aside what was automatically achieved through the superstitious fear with which she was regarded by her enemies. The girl herself believed these spirits to be St. Michael, St. Margaret and St. Catherine, who no doubt were the tutelary saints to whom she prayed at the altars of the village church at Domrémy. Who they really were we cannot now tell, but it may be that her guardian angel or some kindly spirits assumed the familiar forms to give her greater confidence.

There can be no shadow of doubt in any one’s mind who has read the accounts of her trial at Rouen, that no cross-examination, no threat of torture, could shake the girl’s utter faith in her spirit friends and no purer souled, more truthful child ever lived.

The awful, piteous tragedy of her fate, alas! Her friends could not avert, for her hour had struck, and as nothing in our lives happens by chance, her tragic end must in some way and from past causes have become inevitable. "Needs must that offences come,” said the Christ, “but woe unto him through whom the offence cometh,” and for this particular offence, surely the Roman Church was as responsible as the English nation.

In her hours of dread, and even in the flames, Joan was helped and supported by the spirits, up to the moment when her pure valiant soul took its flight, entranced by the Beatific Vision. We cannot doubt that those same spirit friends were waiting near to greet and comfort so that soon her shuddering soul might be soothed into the “peace which passes understanding.”

Socrates, too, if I remember rightly, was guarded and warned of evil on many different occasions, but in the last great danger which finally led to his doom no warning voice was raised by his daimon. When Socrates was asked why this should have been permitted, his explanation was — that his time had come, and that Death, seen from the higher standpoint, was no evil.

In that beautiful, spiritual little book by Father Benson, called The Light Invisible, what struck me most forcibly was the story told by the gentle clairvoyant old priest of the death of the little boy killed, as we say, “by accident.” For those who have not read the book, I will give a brief summary of the facts. The old priest, taking a country walk one day, observed two children, a boy and a girl picking blackberries in the hedge.

After passing along the road some distance he suddenly heard the galloping of a horse accompanied by the noise of wheels, very evidently a run-away horse and vehicle. Instantly the thought of the children’s peril came across his mind, and he hastened back to warn them. He was too late; a driverless cart, drawn by a fear-maddened horse, was gaining fast on the children; the little girl had run back into the hedge for safety, but the boy stood as if dazed in the middle of the road, deaf to all warning shouts.

Then came the remarkable vision which astonished, nay, even angered, the old man at the time.  He saw an angel, with the tenderest, divinest expression of love on his face, standing with one arm round the little fellow, whilst with the other hand over his eyes, he seemed almost to be pushing him down under the horse’s feet. At the sight there was a natural feeling of revolt in the priest’s heart, but later on the remembrance of the look on the angel’s face helped to convince him that in some way unknown to him, the child’s death was necessary, and that his guardian angel was making it as easy for him as he could by comforting and soothing the child in his loving arms after the shock was over.

A friend of mine told me that towards the end of her mother’s life, during her last days on earth, as she sat by her bedside, she saw her constantly smiling up at some one invisible to her. Once she asked her what she saw, and the mother, with a look of radiant content mingled with awe, said:

-      "Don’t you see, Katie, the beautiful messenger in white? He is waiting for me.”

Her “Azrael,” the angel of death, her guardian angel, was no doubt waiting to greet her on the other shore, and in the weakness of the fast-coming dissolution of the body, her eyes were opened to see what had hitherto been veiled from her by the density of the flesh.

In connection with this story, I may say that quite a large number of spirits have told me that they were met when passing over by an “angel with a beautiful face” who "explained things to them.” Some evidently took this angel for the Christ, or if Roman Catholics, for some favourite saint to whom their prayers had been offered in life.  Some spirits again were unconscious for a longer or shorter time after leaving their bodies, so had no personal experiences to relate about their guardians, who, I am told, generally leave the souls under their care, after they have safely piloted them "across the Bar.”

I feel very diffident in speaking of personal experiences, but hope that by doing so I may bring encouragement and help to others. I have often longed to be able to pass on something of the joy, comfort and peace which have been brought into my own life by the knowledge that my guardian angel is always beside me, and that having perfect knowledge and perfect sympathy, he can help me so much better than any one else. A human soul is often very lonely, passing silently through spiritual experiences or struggling against moral weaknesses and limitations.

Think what it would mean for us all to feel there was someone in great interior sympathy, who knew us through and through, all our good points as well as our weaknesses, someone who always sided with our higher selves, who reflected the Divine to us, who encouraged and nerved to further effort, who counselled and warned against danger and whose faithful friendship, we knew, could never fail us throughout our earthly life.

What is the most perfect, ideal marriage on earth compared to such a union?

We all account it a privilege to be brought into contact with some great and good man or woman to whom we can look up with heartfelt reverence, but how much greater is the privilege of being enabled to hear the "still, small voice” of our angel who has been with us from birth and who will tirelessly watch over us till we have passed through those portals we poor humans so often dread, chiefly from the fancied loneliness of the journey.

I have been assured that we all have these guardians, could we only realize the fact. The only exceptions to the rule are very young souls, low in the scale of evolution, who are just out of the animal stage, and those very highly evolved ones who have become one with the great Cosmic Consciousness, and therefore no longer require an angel to reflect the Divine to them, for like the Christ and all great Souls they have learned to say truly, “I and my Father are One.”

I know well that at present psychic powers are not very widespread, but if people would only try to realize that their guardian angels were close beside them, if they would commune with them in their hearts in the quiet of the night time, or in the early morning before the day’s duties commenced, I feel sure that in many cases their guardians would grant their requests and in some unmistakable way impress them with their nearness. Tennyson's lines, though not originally referring to the guardian angel, are applicable and literally true.

"Speak to Him, thou, for He hears;

And Spirit with Spirit shall meet.

Closer is He than breathing,

Nearer than hands and feet."

(Higher Pantheism)

Not once have I appealed to my guardian day or night without an instant response, but never has he interfered with my liberty of thought or action. When I have asked his help or advice in my work at night when away from the physical body, it has always been given, also protection when necessary against spirits of the “baser sort” who tried to frighten or injure me.

For some time past I have discovered a certain power of magnetism in my fingertips to charm away pain and nervous headaches. In this work, also, my guardian is always ready to help by pouring through my head and arm his beautiful pure magnetism. If the patient is sensitive and of a fairly high type, the effects are very remarkable, as then my guardian can pour in stronger magnetism, but if of a lower, more earthy type, he has to exercise great care so as not to injure the coarser astral matter with his very rapid vibrations.

One case my guardian treated through me was that of a woman of very highly developed sensitive nature, who had suffered much from torturing headaches, and who had tried in vain all the usual remedies. This magnetism seemed alone to afford her the slightest relief.

Every alternate day she was treated for half an hour. At first the pain was driven away for a few hours only, then for twenty-four hours, for forty-eight hours, finally as we persevered the headaches were completely cured. On one occasion whilst I was treating this case there entered unexpectedly the chaplain’s wife, whose face was an amusing study as it stiffened disapprovingly at the sight which met her gaze. She saw me sitting close to my friend with one hand on her forehead, whilst with the other I clasped her hand. Feeling the position required some explanation, I said:

-      “Poor Mrs. L.R. has a very bad headache, and I am trying to take it away.”

-      “That sort of thing is very wrong,” snapped the lady severely, "and very bad for the head.”

-      “But for whose head?” asked the patient sweetly. “Mine is ever so much better for the magnetic treatment, and Mrs. S. seems to keep perfectly well and sane.”

The lady departed, metaphorically shaking our wicked dust from off her feet.

The advantages of this kind of treatment are, firstly, the purity and power of the magnetism, and secondly that the operator, instead of feeling depleted and devitalized, is invigorated, for as one is simply used as a channel of communication the magnetism on its way through to help others also fortifies and strengthens oneself.

As this friend knew something of occult matters I could explain why I did not suffer any depletion and could give the praise where it was due, but in dealing with ordinary cases I am perforce obliged to accept the " kudos ” with many silent apologies to my guardian angel.

This power of being impressed from the other side, has also made clearer to me the subject of “inspiration,” which puzzled me for years.  I have so often of later years been helped in my small way by a sudden thought flashed into my mind, by an intuition how best to help and comfort, or by an unexpected argument when trying to explain my religious point of view to some friend, that I feel sure this sort of aid is much commoner than we think.

Of course this sensitiveness to impression cuts both ways, but whether for good or for evil, will depend upon our own characters and upon the usual trend of our thoughts.

Once a sudden warning of danger to a friend at a distance and in grave moral peril, sent me to my knees praying for help, though at the time I knew not what sort of danger threatened. Long afterwards I discovered through a voluntary confession that it was a true inspiration on the part of my kind guardian angel, for the friend in question, at that time sorely tempted and miserable, was only prevented from doing away with herself by the oddly persistent way in which my face came before her mental eyes.

If an ordinary person with an ordinary brain can be thus impressed, what is there astonishing in the fact that poets, painters, musicians, scientists or inventors should draw their greatest inspirations from the unseen world?

The greater and subtler the brain of the genius on this side, the easier it would be for some highly developed entity on the other to inspire him. To be a really satisfactory medium of communication, one ought to be highly and evenly developed all round, spiritually, morally, mentally and physically.  It is also very desirable in my estimation that there should be no personal gain or question of £ s. d. brought into the matter.

Very often when I have asked for the true meaning of some mystery, I have been told that the subject was too abstruse to be explained, because the requisite brain capacity to grasp the idea was wanting; sometimes the spirit has added, by way perhaps of letting me down easily, “You can grasp the idea when away from your body, but not with your physical brain.”

One point more I should like to dwell on before I close. My readers may think there would be considerable danger of becoming invertebrate by depending too much on a guardian angel; danger of losing rather than gaining individuality. This is not the case; the guardian angel is very wise, he knows we are here to evolve, to build up our own characters, to gain necessary experience; he also knows how useless we should be were we to become mere automata pulled by a string, no matter how high the string-puller, and he never interferes. My guardian has often said to me:

"Act on your own judgment and responsibility; even if you do make mistakes from ignorance, do not be disheartened, this is the way you gain experience which means knowledge in the future. Do your best; it is the motive which matters.”

 

 

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If this paper should bring to light other personal experiences of the “guardian angel,” or even help people to realize how much they are shutting out of their lives by denying or ignoring, their guardians, I shall be more than content.

(Occult Review, December 1911, p.329-335)