Angel Stories

Written by a 'Hospice of Metro' Denver physician.

"I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and
wanted to share it with my family and dearest friends:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in
traffic on Colorado Blvd. The car started to choke and sputter
and then died - I barely managed to coast into a gas station, glad
only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a warm spot
to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I
could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart"
building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a
gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.
When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs
than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked
really haggard with dark circles under her eyes.
She dropped something as I helped her up, I picked it up to give it
to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus: the crying woman,
the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back
(1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95. I asked if she
was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying "I don't
want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the
pump. She said she was driving to California and that things were
very hard for her right now.

So I asked, "Were you praying?" That made her back away from me
a little but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He
heard you, and He sent me."

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump
so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling
walked to the McDonald's next door and bought 2 big bags of food,
some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee.
She gave the food to the kids in the car who attacked it like
wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a
little. She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make
ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had notspoken in about five years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there. So she packed up everything she owned in the car.
She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but
not that they were going to live there.
I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her
for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she
said, "So, are you like an angel or something?" This definitely
made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really
busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."
It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle.
And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right
away and got me home with no problem.
I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the
mechanic won't find anything wrong.
Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the
flutter of their wings...

Saturday, 5 February 2005
REPLACING FALSE THOUGHTS WITH TRUE THOUGHTS.

Another beautiful day.

My holiness envelops everything I see, which follows yesterday's lesson "My mind is part of God's. I am very holy."

These lessons really work if you use them. I especially like yesterday's lesson because healing is the simple practice of the conversion of your thoughts. You have one idea about yourself (I am fearful, I am helpless, I am virtuous, I am charitable, I am imposed upon, I am sick, I see myself as failing) and then you exchange that idea for another BETTER idea "but, my mind is part of God's. I am very holy."

It asks you to use all ego-based attributes, good and bad, positive and negative, grandiose or debased. All of them are equally untrue, because you do not look upon yourself through the eyes of holiness.

This is the ENTIRE practice of a Course in Miracles. You continually replace FALSE THOUGHTS with TRUE THOUGHTS. It's very simple. Every time you have an idea about yourself as limited, simply replace the thought by reminding yourself you are SPIRIT, you are MIND and you are part of God. You are very holy.

Obviously this is not the way you see yourself as you are trapped in body identity. It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this of himself. Yet the reason he thinks he is in this world is because he does not yet believe it.

YOUR MIND IS PART OF GOD'S. YOU ARE VERY HOLY.

YOUR HOLINESS ENVELOPS EVERYTHING YOU SEE.

Today I want to tell the story of how I came to be introduced to my very first Course teacher. It's an astonishing story.

It involves my very first encounter with a real life angel. He looked like a human being but as soon as my request was granted, he disappeared into thin air. My angel told me I could call him anytime I liked, using his cell phone number (of course! In the 20th century OF COURSE angels have cell phones!) and then he disappeared.

Here's the story:

Years ago I was living in NYC and had a copy of A Course in Miracles. This was 1995. I didn't know a single other soul who studied the Course, or who even KNEW of the Course for that matter. It was a hidden part of my life because I didn't want people thinking I was some kind of Jesus freak.

But I really wanted to meet other like-minded people who knew about the Course, and who could maybe (perhaps?) help me understand what it meant. I went online and found that there were many groups in Manhattan, but I made a few phone calls and found they were all in people's apartments. This was too strange beyond words for me.

I was no way going into a stranger's apartment in New York City. I had no friends to take with me for safety because A Course in Miracles was MY BIG SECRET. I imagined these people who studied the Course as metaphysical types, with candles and incense and crystals. For some reason, I imagined chimes and drums. I didn't want that at all. I wanted help but didn't want to end up in a room with a bunch of crazy people, holding hands and hugging and chanting.

I honestly didn't know what to expect. I didn't want any touchy-feely New Age group. I didn't want that at all. There is nothing worse to me than a group of people sitting around talking about their feelings. I also didn't want to get trapped or manipulated.

I simply wanted to understand what the message said, and to find some normal people who could help me.

So I prayed. I said, God, I really want to find a group of people who know about A Course in Miracles and who can help me. But I don't dare go into a stranger's apartments. Can you help me?

And that was my request, and then I forgot all about it.

Meanwhile, I can't believe I'm about to admit this in pubic, but I was online dating, going out on blind dates. I laugh at the irony now that I thought it was too weird to go into a stranger's apartment, but not too weird to meet them for a meal! I had a date with a guy who I'd talked to on the phone several times and who seemed really nice. On the same night, I got invited to party on the Upper West Side, which I declined because of my BIG BLIND DATE. The plan was to meet in Little Italy for an afternoon of fun, sampling all the different cafes, and then we would go out for dinner in the West Village. That was the plan.

Well, BIG BLIND DATE turned into BIG FAT BOMB. This guy was the biggest loser I'd ever met. Horrific. It was like out of a movie. He was divorced and still obsessed with his ex-wife. He was terrifically good looking, but arrogant like I'd never known arrogant before, and creepy. I managed to get through the afternoon, but by the time we got to dinner I'd had enough. He was anxious to get married and he thought I was suitable. He was setting down the terms of how I'd be as his wife, comparing me to his ex-wife at every opportunity. He made it clear he was not comfortable with me having male friends, gay friends or black friends. He continued to talk about his wife, all the while claiming he was over her. He was convinced she'd had an affair based on a big-Slurpee cup he one day discovered in the passenger side of her car and she hates 7-11!!!!!

SHE HATES 7-11!!!! Obviously she is having an affair!!!!!

He began stalking his own wife, listening in on her phone conversations, going through her store receipts. I was sitting across a table from psycho-guy. We had ordered our meal and it had not yet arrived and finally I just had enough. I knew I could not sit through one more minute. I stood up and said:

You know what? You're the biggest asshole I've ever met. Goodbye.

And with that I high-heeled it out of the restaurant! It felt really good.

I wasn't planning on going to the party on the Upper West Side, because of my date, but now the evening was free and it was still early. I hopped on the subway and made my way uptown.

I walked in and was DELIGHTED to find one hundred gorgeous gay men, all being fantastically fabulous. I knew I could relax. It was exactly what I needed at that moment. I got a drink from the bar, snacked on some of the catered food (gay men throw the best parties!). I had a brief conversation with the caterers about the cookies which were ALMOST as good as the coffee cookies I used to eat in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but I couldn't quite remember the name of the bakery. This detail is important to keep in mind for later.

I spotted a guy sitting by himself on the couch, reading a magazine, looking bored.

I sat next to him and asked, why are you sitting on the couch all by yourself, it's a party??

HERE IS THE REST OF THE CONVERSATION:

Chris(t): oh, I'm tired. I don't really want to be here.
Lisa: mind if I join you?
Chris: yea, sure.
Lisa: what are you reading?
C: it's an article on twins.
L: really I'm a twin! Her name is Lori.
C: I'm a twin too! She lives in New Hamsphire
L: really?? Oh my God. I'm from New Hamsphire. Tilton.
C: I'm from Portsmouth!
L: I lived in Portsmouth! On State Street!
C: Oh my God! I lived on State Street!
L: What??? Where?
C: Above the aromatherapy shop.
L: WHAT? I lived above the aromatherapy shop!
C: Oh my God. With Ceres Bakery around the corner??
Wasn't that the BEST bakery ever??
L: I can't believe you just said that!! I was just over there talking to the caterers, telling them how great it was, but I couldn't remember the name! Yes. Ceres Bakery. I can't believe we lived in the same apartment building. I lived on the top floor.
C: I LIVED ON THE TOP FLOOR!! Oh my God. This is too weird. I lived in the apartment to the right, with all the round windows!
L: THAT WAS MY APARTMENT!! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! WE LIVED IN THE SAME APARTMENT!

At this point we were SO EXCITED, like little kids, that people were starting to crowd around to see what was all the commotion.

It turns out that Chris(t) moved into my apartment in Portsmouth, NH when I moved to NYC. He was the next person to move in. I asked him if the stove was clean enough for him because the landlord would not give me back the deposit until is sparkled.

We continued our animated conversation and learned more fascinating facts: that our birthdays were one month apart from each other and that we lived within 3-blocks of each other in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

So we took the subway back to Brooklyn that night, talking a mile a minute. We were definitely old friends and had a million things in common (meanwhile I'm thinking, "just my luck, he's gay! We'd be perfect for each other!").

So we got off at our subway stop and I invited him to coffee the next morning at my apartment. I had a beautiful backyard garden and I knew it would be the perfect setting for us to relax.

He walks in the next morning, spots my Course in Miracles book on the shelf, and says:

"YOU STUDY THE COURSE! I STUDY THE COURSE!!"

Now, remember, I did not know of a single soul who'd even HEARD of the Course, let alone "studied" it.

He says: I know this great group that meets on Wednesday night. I'll take you there.

And that is how I found my first Course in Miracles teacher and I stayed with that group for 3 years. A total blessing.

Chris only came to the group that first night, to introduce me, and then he never came back again. We became friends that summer, meeting out in my garden as often as possible and then one day he said he had to go, he'd gotten a job as a flight attendant. He gave away all his belongings, invited everyone to come to his apartment and take whatever they wanted, for free.

And then he gave me his cell number and disappeared.

Literally, into the friendly blue skies!

We've kept in touch occasionally, I know he's out there, and I've got his number.

And that is the story of my encounter with an angel.

You can truly ask for things, directly from God, and the request will be granted in a form you will always recognize.

Believe me. It's true.

Love,
Lisa