Tag Archives: angels

Jan 20 2014

Ramana Maharshi “You Do Not Know God”

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“LEAVE GOD ALONE. SPEAK FOR YOURSELF.

YOU DO NOT KNOW GOD. HE IS ONLY WHAT YOU THINK OF HIM.

IS HE APART FROM YOU ? HE IS THAT PURE CONSCIOUSNESS IN WHICH ALL IDEAS ARE FORMED.

YOU ARE THAT CONSCIOUSNESS.”

8th February, 1938
Talks with Ramana Maharshi

I think this is one of the most beautiful and profound things I have ever heard. When I read it, it spoke to my heart, it spoke of Truth, and it was telling me: Don`t speak in the name of God when you don`t know a thing. That is slander, using His name in vain.

We make wars in His/Her name, we enjoy being rightful/righteous by using his name, we press forward our causes by using his name.

But what do we actually know that we can be so sure and full of ourselves?

The best we can do is being humble and pray.

I AM that Consciousness….. I so wish I could know me.

Click on the image to read about Foal and the Angels on Amazon.

Foal and the Angels

Dec 20 2013

Interview with Foal and the Angels, by Denise Barry

wild_garlic_denham_woods Photography by RACHEL BURCH http://www.rachelburchphotography.com/

This post will not be about OBEs, but about my little, beloved book, FOAL and the Angels. After reading it, Denise Barry contacted me and asked me if we could do an interview. I was on cloud nine…it was FOAL`s first interview ever! I really enjoyed doing it and am forever grateful to Denise for this (please go check Denise Barry`s info at the bottom of this page! she is an incredible inspirational writer and children`s books author:-) )

So here is how Denise starts, before getting into the interview itself (I LOVE how she writes!) :

Have you ever met a complete stranger and felt an instant liking for them? Maybe you can’t put a finger on why though. Was it their smile? Was it something they said? Could you have known them in a past life?

Who knows! There’s just a connection we share with certain people, and it doesn’t happen often.

This is how I felt when I met my friend “FOAL”. The crazy thing is that I actually haven’t met her in person yet, since she lives in Japan and I live in New York. We were in an international online meditation group together and chatted via Facebook here and there, so the connection we made was only through the written word. I guess “voices carry” through sheer energy!

As it turns out, she became one of the most influential people in my life.

How can someone I never even met in person have such an impact in my life?

Well, I learned that by following my intuition, I draw good things into my life. Because I felt a connection to “FOAL”, when she asked me to like her Facebook page she had set up for a book she wrote, I did. That was easy enough, of course. What’s one click going to cost me anyway? But I took it a step further, thinking I was being nice and wanting to do her a favor – I actually bought the book from Amazon! And then, I read it!

Wow, this was above and beyond the call of duty from one stranger to another!

By the time I finished reading her book (I couldn’t put it down and read it in 3 nights!) I felt completely humbled. It was she who had done me the favor.

Her book rang of Truth. Make that boomed…it boomed of Truth. I literally devoured every single word, because each one mattered. Each word resonated through me like the vibration of a drum. It was everything I was looking for, without knowing what it was I was looking for. Something within me shifted and I saw Life in a different way. It became much clearer, things made more sense, I felt safe. All the things I was confused about; what It’s all about, why we suffer, are we alone, does any of this mean anything….so many questions! It was a balm for my mind and soul.

I’ve been inspired to step outside of my comfort zone because of this new shift inside of me and am starting a project I’ve only dreamed of in the past! I feel like I have nothing to lose anymore! It involves my first love and will require an enormous amount of work! (I will share soon!).

Like Martin Luther King Jr., “FOAL” had a dream….but literally. And many of them. It is based on her actual experience.

When I asked her why she shared her experience and what she hopes others will gain from it, she said, “you have no idea how I hope for it to be read by as many people as possible. And not because it is self- gratifying, but just because I know I must share it, I know it has an intrinsic power to heal and help, and such power doesn’t come from me. It could be so easily used as a tool to understand life better, to understand oneself better and to realize there is a possibility to communicate with this other dimension that is within us”.

I would like you to hear more about this book as it should be told; in “FOAL’s” voice. My hope is that you will benefit from it as much as I have….

heart of an angel

An Interview with the author of “FOAL and the Angels” 

DB: You wrote a book, “FOAL and the Angels”, based on your own experiences. Kind of a spiritual journey, so to speak?

Author: Yes! Throughout a number of years I had dreams, and in these dreams I was given insights and intensive lessons on the meaning of life.

What I describe in the book is almost exactly how it happened, or at least how it was felt and registered in my mind. Nothing could be truer to me than this experience; nothing could be more real to me. It was an intensive course of wisdom, imparted through dreams, messages, and voices. I call it “Angels School” because I was being guided by what can only be called Angels.

I chose to speak through “FOAL”, a little boy who wants answers to the mysteries of Life! All of his ten thousand questions get answered through the unfolding of his dreams. This is a fairytale. But a true one.

DB: Why do you think you had these dreams? Why were you “the one”? Do you feel special?

Author: No, no, no! I was never the ONE!! That is exactly what I wanted to avoid! That is why I chose the fairytale format and a pseudonym. I didn’t want it to be about the messenger, but the MESSAGE.

I am FOAL. So are you. FOAL can be anyone!

This can sound a bit trite and cliché, but really, and I mean, REALLY, there is such possibility of contact with other dimensions in all and each one of us. It is all about listening, and honing that listening.

At the end of the day, (you don’t even need to give the Angels a name if it doesn’t agree with you), you can call it the voice of your conscience, the little voice inside, that everybody has. Even atheists!

And if it happened to a person like me, not in the least special (a.k.a. FOAL), it can happen to anybody. That is the message I wanted to convey.

As for why I started receiving those dreams when I did, that is something I am still far from understanding. I assume, and only assume, it is for karmic reasons. Some bigger picture that I cant see, I guess.

DB: When you began having the dreams what made you realize they were important?

Author: Well, that was not difficult. When you have these kinds of powerful dreams, they become to you more real than ‘real’ life itself. You don’t just see the dream, you experience it. There is no way you can doubt it.

And there were so many more stunningly beautiful dreams than I could ever put into Foal`s story. At times I would have 5 or 6 dreams per night; it was exhausting, but always exhilarating. I remember a few times I wished I could sleep 24 hours a day just to be able to dream!

On the other hand, the doubt/problems arose with the messages and voices in my head while I was awake. There I had a hard time casting my doubts away. The thought that it could be all just in my head, pure imagination, was always there. Although at the end it didn’t matter anymore. They were real enough to me, and what I was hearing was just too profoundly wise and beautiful to come from me.

But even after making peace with myself, to make the decision of sharing this with others…well, THAT was a big, big obstacle to overcome, and it took me many years to get there.

DB: How has this experience changed you and your life?

Author: Well, although the sense of Bliss and perfection does fade away, the realization of the ‘knowing’ inside stays and this I can’t explain. I don’t think I have any doubt anymore about our true selves or life after death. I see the world in another way now, definitely, and I do feel I have a deeper understanding of Life, but no, I am not saved from my ego. The lessons continue, I will fall again into its daily traps, but there is some more `noticing` on my part, or how can I say…a becoming more conscious about how I want to live.

DB: Are you afraid to die? Were you afraid before these dreams occurred?

Author: Not really to die, but I am definitely afraid of pain. So yes, I do fear a painful dying process, but not death itself. Not anymore.

DB: Who/What do you feel orchestrated these experiences?

Author: How could I know!! Maybe ‘we’ do, before incarnating!

I understand how it would be intriguing to know who orchestrated this, but I don’t feel it is so important to know now. They just happened and that is what I must focus on.

DB: Do you believe in God? If not, what?

Author: Oh, yes! That, I do!

DB: Did you believe in something different before the dreams?

Author: I was raised Catholic, so I shared many of the Church`s beliefs, although I questioned many of those very beliefs for many years. But after the dreams and voices, I felt liberated by many unnecessary rules. All seemed to be so much more simple.

DB: Do you think our existence as a human being is an illusion? Is this life an illusion?

Author: I am in no position to give you a correct answer to that. Maybe a sort of dream?? Or a reverse out-of-body experience?? An ‘into-body’ experience?! Or experiencing existence in another dimension??

But really these are just thoughts, and am not sure I believe them myself.

You know, I am not really that much interested anymore in what I believe, but rather in taking what comes as it comes, and experiencing it and appreciating it. But most of all, in trying not to ‘label’ experiences into beliefs!

Beliefs can change, the experience remains. What I mean is: whatever I (or you or anybody else) may believe about this experience, the experience would not change anyway, would remain a part of my life.

DB: Do you live any differently than before the dreams? Are you calmer, happier, less confused about things? ARE YOU ENLIGHTENED, like the Buddha?

Author: You must be kidding me! Enlightened! NO! But I know now that that is what I am seeking. Or at least to get as close to it as I can. And, yes, less confused, certainly.

DB: The illustrations on your Facebook page are beautiful…did you do them?

Author: No, my friend and artist, Andy Boerger, made them for me. I really wanted my readers to have an idea of how I saw ‘things’ in my dreams, so I thought the only way I could communicate visually with FOAL`s readers was to post on Facebook these beautiful pictures.

I set up a FOAL and the Angels fan page for this reason.

Nevertheless, however good the pictures may be, this reality cannot compare with ‘that’ one. The colors are so much more ‘alive’ in there, with a life of its own. And the sense of Love exuding from everything is ‘unspeakable’ and ‘un-paintable’.

DB: Before we close, is there anything more you want to say to our friends?

Author: OK…I can’t say of course if it will live up to your expectations, but I can say it is an easy read, it will flow smoothly, yet at the same time will make you stop to ponder on the simple “down-to-earth-and-up-to-the-sky” wisdom so gently imparted (of course this is the part which is not mine, the Angels` part!). I do not have such wisdom in myself…). It helped me a lot in living my life, and my greatest hope is that it may help you too in some unfathomable ways.

It is a story of how dreams and ‘messages’ led me on a spiritual journey. I felt this need to put it out in the world, not because it is unique, which it’s not (all these things must have been said over and over again in the centuries), but because it is so un-academic in style, that just anybody can easily read it and possibly gain some drops of wisdom out of it … just as I did. And my final words would be : “Looking forward to your feedback!!”.

DB: “FOAL”, I thank you for touching my life so deeply, with your words and your presence. Much Love, Denise

DENISE BARRY

Denise Barry is an inspirational writer and author. Her new children’s book What Does the Tooth Fairy Do with Our Teeth? is available now.
Denise loves writing for kids because she thinks like one, and what else is there to do during the wintry months in Buffalo, NY where she lives with her husband, two kids and dog?
Denise is also a co-writer in the best-selling book Watch Her Thrive: Stories of Hope, Courage and Strength, and you can find her essays on high traffic websites like positivelypostiive.com, manifeststation.com, notsalmon.com, empoweringparents.com, dirtygirlmudrun, etc.
To learn more about Denise visit her website at http://www.denisebarry.net
Click on the image to read about Foal and the Angels on Amazon.

Foal and the Angels

Dec 1 2013

So how did the Angels come by and whisper in my head ??

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Well, this is a tricky subject, because many people don’t believe in Angels or in the possibility that they talk to us in various ways.
Yet, I must report the experience how it happened or, if you prefer, how it was felt and lived by me.
In my book FOAL and the Angels I wrote about how dreams and messages from the Angels led me on a spiritual path and on adventures (…spiritual adventures :-)) I would never have thought possible.
I called it Angels` school, simply and mainly because I happen to come from a Christian country and tradition, but this is just a word, like many others, and I dare say it is most certainly not how `they` call themselves when they communicate with each other . Besides, if I were Muslim, or Hindu or Shintoist, I would be calling it in a different way anyhow.
I think that every culture on this earth has a particular name for these `essences` or `energy beings` or whatever terminology we may like to use when referring to what/who generally goes by the term of `Angels`.
Maybe they have no name, or maybe they have names that we cannot even actually pronounce, or cannot even start to imagine, because they are so out of our dimension of life that we cannot fathom their true reality…
But however we may call them, my personal experience taught me that they can and actually are willing to communicate with us, if we open our hearts up, and leave the doubts behind.
And this is what is most important of all.

So, going back to our title, ‘How did the Angels come by and whisper in my head ??`, I don’t even remember exactly how it started, but I do recall it was just a few words at first. Then maybe more acceptance on my part made it possible for the deluge of words to start cascading into my sleepy head. And when I say deluge, I actually mean it. I was being overwhelmed with sentence after sentence of such beauty and wisdom I knew it could not possibly come from my own messed-up mind. And these words whispered in my head by unfathomable Beings were literally cascading in my mind at such speed that I had a hard time keeping up writing all down. At times I was compelled to skip words, just to be able to catch the next sentence.
Every night, I would arm myself with pen and paper, and, groggily lying down on my bed, would wait for the symphony to start. And together with the words, the feeling of Love, of great, warm Love would pour in. It was more beautiful than I could ever tell, and yet, more times than I care to remember, I fell asleep on that very notebook with only but a few sentences jotted down, just for waking up in the morning bashing myself for my ludicrous inadequacy. The regret I always felt for having lost some of the angelic words was more than I could sometimes bear.
It was impossible or at least inconceivable to me that all these words of pages and pages and pages of transcended sublime Love could have come from my own little-and-not-so-wise mind. Or well, if they had (and who am I to say ??!!), it must then be from that part of us who is an Angel or close in essence to an Angel, what I hear is often called The Higher Self.

But in spite of all this, in spite of all the beauty, of all the Love and wisdom, doubts found a way in.
Doubts always find a way in, it seems, and inevitably flooded my mind and sometimes overwhelmed my senses. And that was pure misery. I felt lost and afraid I would not be able or allowed to hear the `words ` again. But a pure heart asking humbly for help is never ignored by such Beings. Despite the utmost inadequacy of my meager self, despite all the doubts crippling me at times, `they` still kept coming in.

I did insert many of these messages in my book FOAL and the Angels, yet they are but a tiny fragment of the thousands of pages I actually wrote down in the span of 6-7 years.
That was the time when, together with these angelic messages, I started to have totally unexpected out of body experiences and dreams, dreams, dreams…exquisite dreams, the most impossibly beautiful dreams. It was 2004, and all the wonder I was left with, after the beauty of the dreams and the insanity of the OBEs faded, well, all that wonder led me to a spiritual awakening that changed my life for sure.

Click on the image to read about Foal and the Angels on Amazon.

Foal and the Angels

Jul 3 2013

The Awakening

TITLE : ” FOAL and the Angels ; Wisdom comes through”

Dreams… I thought I knew about dreams. They were dots of entertainment to lighten up my nights; be it a thriller, or a love story or an outright horror movie, or a bizarre comedy completely out of my understanding, they always made my sleeping time an adventure of some sort. And I loved the fading afterglow of a dream. Actually, I loved everything about dreams. They had been a constant companion through my journey on earth, and I thought that I, of all people, would know what a dream was. But I was wrong. This time, it was different. In 2004 my dreams blew me away and shook my world up like nothing I had ever experienced before.

These dreams came out of nowhere, sudden, inexplicable. Some of them were so real, so tangible in every aspect, that I could not bring myself to call them `dreams`. I felt more alive in there than I ever felt in real life. I could feel any object I`d touch in the most detailed and tactile way, but most of all, I realized I could think in such conscious way I even knew my body was in my bed asleep. That is why I felt compelled to make a distinction of term, and so I called them `physical dreams`. *

Some other dreams, instead, were so beautiful, ethereal, so unrelated to my daily life, so vivid, so full of power, of Love, of Life.   Even a thousand hues of colors could not recreate the scenes that were being shown to me in those dreams.  And the immense feeling of Love all pervading them was not possible to translate into any word. Again, they weren`t like anything I had ever experienced before and again, they shook my world up as nothing had before.  It felt like the life I was living in the daytime was only a shadow of the life I was living at night.  And when you have that kind of powerful dreams, they become to you more real than `real` life itself. You don’t just see the dream, you experience it, you live it. There is no way you can doubt it.

There is so much more I’d like to say about the dream experience in itself, and I will, eventually, in later blogs, but since this is my first blog – ever -, for now I want to stay focused and try to illustrate how my dreams pushed me , insistently and in the most subtle way, to write and publish my first book : “FOAL and the Angels”.

Throughout a number of years, starting from 2004, I had these dreams coming to me , like every night, showing me, sometimes in precise details and other times through meaningful metaphors, how to look at what life was bringing to my doorstep in another light. In waking up I knew I was being given insights and intensive lessons on the meaning of life, and also on how to cope with it better. It felt like it was an intensive course of wisdom, imparted through dreams, messages, and voices. I knew I had to write it down, I knew it was not meant for me only.

So why did it take me so long to put it down into words? Doubts at first, and then the fact that I couldn’t find a good thread to stitch up the whole experience into a story without turning it into some kind of personal memoirs. And I knew that was not how it was meant to be, and certainly not how I want it to be. For me this book was all about and had to be about the message and not the messenger. It was simply the sharing of a gift. The idea of writing it in the format of a story, of a fairytale, and of using the pseudo of FOAL finally resolved the issue.

So, what kind of book is FOAL and the Angels ? Well, it is a story told by a boy (FOAL) through the unfolding of his dreams and the impact they have on his life. You may look at it as a fairy tale or an allegoric spiritual journey, or even just a metaphysical fancy, yet what I describe in the book is almost exactly how it happened, or at least how it was felt and registered in my mind. It is a story of how dreams and `messages` led me, a.k.a. FOAL, on a spiritual journey that of course is still on its evolving way .

And, in the development of the story, FOAL`s ten thousand questions get finally answered through his dreams and his adventures with the Angels. I called it “Angels School”. But you can call it however you like, your Super Conscious Mind, your Higher Self, Collective Consciousness, or you can call it the voice of your conscience, the little voice inside, that everybody hears. Even atheists! It is a short story anybody can read, from old to young, from well educated to not so well educated, and what`s more, coming from any religion or belief . So that anybody can have a glimpse of God`s Wisdom exposed in easy words, understandable by all.

I felt this need to put it out in the world, not because it is unique, which is not (all these things must have been said over and over again in the centuries), but because it is so un-academic in style, that just anybody can easily read it and possibly gain some drops of wisdom out of it … just as I did. I tried to keep my focus on making it an easy and quick read. And I hope you`ll let me know whether I have succeeded or not. Looking forward to your feedback!! Please, do let me know your thoughts!

*At that time I had no idea such a phenomenon existed and occurred to other people too. It took me 5 years to find out there was a proper term for it, that is : `astral projection` or `OBE`.

Click on the image to read about Foal and the Angels on Amazon.

Foal and the Angels