Rainbow Spirit
Over the Rainbow: Flying with Angels
By Peggy Kornegger
Illustration: Alberto Pieruz
Last Christmas I flew from Boston to Evansville, Indiana, to visit my 94-year-old father who lives in a nursing home there. He and I have been on a long, at times extremely difficult, journey together since my mother’s death 8 years ago.
I was very close to her, and she and my father had been married 57 years, so we both felt the loss keenly. For him, life just wasn’t worth much without her, and I spent the years following her death trying to cheer him up in nightly phone calls and periodic visits to Illinois, where I was born and lived until I was 18. The year after her death, he made the decision to move from the Chicago area back to his hometown in southern Illinois. Eventually, living on his own became too hard for him, and he moved to a retirement community in Evansville, where he lived until his health declined to the point where he needed nursing home care.
My relationship with my father these past 8 years has been both a challenge and a source of greater wisdom. I’m sure it is no coincidence that my spiritual path began to deepen exponentially right after my mother’s death. I have learned, and continue to learn, huge life lessons. Compassion, patience, acceptance without judgment, surrender, courage, unconditional love, forgiveness. All the big ones present themselves, one by one, for mastery. I can’t say I am a master at any of them, but I have certainly had intimate experience with each.
So this is the path of a seeker of the meaning of life, and it led not to Tibet but to Evansville, Indiana. I won’t deny that I have journeyed, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, to distant magical places and had extraordinary experiences there. However, interestingly, some of my most moving and deeply spiritual moments have been in my homeland, the heart of the Midwest. Like Dorothy, I found “there’s no place like home.”
Which is not to say that I’m going to move back to Illinois, or Kansas, or Evansville, Indiana. My point is that it can happen anywhere, if your heart is open (Tin Woodsman wisdom).
So back to the Christmas visit. In recent years, as my dad has declined physically and mentally, visiting him has brought up high levels of fear and anxiety in me. I am frequently physically ill several weeks before the trip — migraines, neck pain, back spasms, panic attacks. But something happens on the flights from Boston to Chicago and Chicago to Evansville. The fear falls away, and I slip into a very focused, calm frame of mind, ready to “be there,” for my dad, whatever that may mean. I have a theory that fear opens the heart and soul and lets the higher wisdom come in. I also believe that the angels and guides come close to help us when we most need their assistance.
Case in point: I now refer to the skies between Chicago and Evansville as the “angel corridor.” I have had countless experiences of wonder and tearful epiphany on those small planes, reading whatever spiritual book I have brought with me and looking out the window to see my “insights” played out in the beauty of the clouds and light and quilted landscape below. This from someone who at one time flew in total fright — about flying and about the visits themselves. There is no doubt in my mind that Spirit has helped me through those moments, and helped me in such a way as to affect the rest of my life.
Last Christmas, the U.S. was on orange-alert, and I flew in the midst of it to see my dad. I was a bit nervous, but the calm had settled in by the time I reached Evansville. Our visit was especially poignant. Even though he slept in his wheelchair a lot of the time, he knew I was beside him and would open his eyes periodically and smile with happiness. There was one moment when, gazing into his eyes, I felt we were old souls looking at each other, beyond the father-daughter roles we played in this lifetime. We both cried — wordless — feeling that greater love.
Still, it can be hard to sit through the long days and quietly witness the changes in an aging parent. By the time I left Indiana, on the fifth day, I was very ready to return home to Boston. But Spirit had planned something special for that plane ride from Evansville to Chicago. First, as we took off, the rays of the sun coming down through the clouds were like the holiest of holy pictures — translucent light beaming patterns on the patchwork fields below. Then, as we leveled off above the clouds, I looked down and saw the shadow of our plane silhouetted on the clouds below. And encircling the shadow of the plane, in magical, awesome splendor, was a rainbow corona! I cried. Before the trip, I had asked for the help and protection of my guides and the angels, and they had shown it in many small ways, but this was spectacular! I knew, without question, that they were giving me a visible manifestation of their presence and their protection. I could only say silently, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
A short while later, as the plane circled over Lake Michigan before landing in Chicago, the sun and clouds formed amazing pools of color and light in the air. In the distance, the city looked like an island floating in an aurora borealis. It was stunning. And as I again thanked Spirit with tears in my eyes, the sun flashed its mirror-like brilliance at me for a split second between the clouds in acknowledgement of my gratitude. Every second seemed to bloom into a new miracle manifestation. I was definitely over the rainbow, and flying with angels!
I suppose some people might call all of these just coincidences, but then they would be missing the point — of life. When you see with the heart, not the head, you understand that we are all part of a greater oneness and that there is meaning everywhere in the universe. Then synchronicity and miracles surround you, even in the midst of life’s most difficult dramas. This is rainbow spirit. This is why we are here at this time on this planet — to see that spirit in one another and to pass on the joyous rainbow vision to all who cross our paths.
Note: Shortly after I wrote the above, my father passed away at the age of 94. The final miracle in our mutual drama was that he kept himself alive for almost two days until I could travel by bus from western Massachusetts to Boston and by plane to Chicago and then Evansville to reach his side in the hospital. Within six hours of my arrival, he died. He had waited for me, and that was the greatest gift of love he ever gave me. As I flew out of Evansville for the last time, the plane dipped to one side, and I once again saw a rainbow corona on the ground far below — the angels’ blessing for the end of one journey and the beginning of another.
Peggy Kornegger is a Boston-area writer, editor, and lightworker.
Rise and Shine! Good Morning from the Holy Spirit
By Susan Suarez
“This is the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius.” How many years ago was that song channeled to our collective consciousness? Are you still laying in your bed pulling the covers over your eyes because you can’t face the world? Or even the day? The dawn has come, the Son has risen and the hour is getting late. Wake up! We cannot afford to be lazy children anymore. Wake up! Our parents are sounding the alarm and calling us to feast at their table. Wake up!
I perceive us like a disco ball made of Love and Light. Each aspect reflects that Light out in its own special way. All aspects are equal and all are essential to the others. That is what we are, different aspects of the same self. But different does not mean separate. That, loved ones, is the illusion of the ego. That devil with a small “d,” that great deceiver. It leads us to believe we are separate because we utilize different bodies to experience this world. It is written in Genesis that God put Adam (man in Hebrew) to sleep. While Adam is sleeping, another body is created, and they together create more bodies, as children. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, separated from God, and quite literally, all hell broke loose. Nowhere in the entire Bible does it ever say that Adam woke up. Hell is a dream. Ego is the master of that dream doing everything it can to keep you separate from God.
Lucifer was the most beautiful angel in heaven, but he wanted to be God, so he created his own world. And you live in it. “There will be much pain and gnashing of teeth.” Have you ever seen anyone in pain? Ever been in pain yourself? Ever been inside a hospital? All pain, all illness — physical or emotional — is caused by a feeling of being separate from God. Wake up! The dark night of the soul is over. Morning has come. It is time to go Home. Just choose it. Count yourself in.
While we are humans being/being humans we tend to get sucked into “the daily grind,” the routine things that can make you forget Spirit, forget God — until Sunday morning, of course. Your car breaks down, you hate your job, your bills are past due, and you need a vacation. So you escape into TV, which is a powerful manifestation of the ego. It projects fear, murder, death, poison, poison, poison. It mesmerizes us. “There will be much pain and gnashing of teeth.” See it for what it is — a distraction to keep you from seeing yourself, to keep you from healing yourself and your life. Take a long vacation from television and see what your life is really about. The world is a façade of the ego playing itself out, attacking itself to avert your eyes from the truth. It creates in your mind separation and lack, it makes you believe in illness. It is maya. Illusion.
Resurrection
Many masters have shown us the way to shift our perspective to God, to wake up to the truth. Are you still sleeping? That is the true Easter message. The purpose of the life of Jesus who is the Christ is to show us that separation is illusion. It is just not fact. When you die, what are you separate from? Your body! It is a dream. The only truth is God. And you are that truth. It is you. How can you be apart from yourself? You cannot.
The crucifixion had to be played out on a grand scale, going right to the core of the ego, the most imposing and cruel manifestation of the ego — Rome. The Christ could not have picked a better example of the ego to play out the drama. Ego attacks Spirit. Spirit allows the attack because it knows the ego is illusion. Spirit transcends ego. The mightiest empire in the world could not destroy the Christ energy. In the body of Jesus of Nazareth, or in the body of Joe the garbage collector, or in the body of you or me, Spirit cannot be destroyed, lessened or changed. Shift your perspective to that knowing. Get back in the saddle of your life and let ego be your beast of burden. It is a tool for experiencing being “human;” use it as such, but don’t let it use you. Don’t allow it to distract you from who you truly are. “And then the lion (ego) shall lay down with the lamb (Spirit).”
A good friend once said “There are many Who’s in Whoville but only one What. And what you are is a piece of God.” An aspect of God. A child of God. A spoke on the wheel and the hub is God. If you name it Universal Love, Goddess, Buddha, Allah, Jesus, Spud, it is all the same God. It doesn’t care what you call it as long as you do call. No one can truly go home until we all go. I’m ready to let go of pain and illusion, are you? We are so close; all we have to do is open our eyes. We think we need divining tools like cards and runes, etc., to show us the way, but just shift your perspective to be inside your higher self and you will see you don’t need tools anymore. Quiet the ego and listen to your own voice. It is Spirit. Trust yourself. You are the light of the world and the darkness does not comprehend it. As Christ said, “Get behind me Satan. I am sovereign here.” Ego has only the power you give it. Stop allowing it to mislead you.
Nirvana is now. The kingdom is at hand. They are loading the bus and I want to be on it. I want to go home. Wake up now! War is over if you want it to be. Take my hand and we’ll go together; there is no other way. The Beatles sang, “I am you as you are he as we are all together.” Haven’t we done this pain thing long enough? Choose to see the beautiful truth. Heaven is waiting for us.
Susan is a freelance writer in western Massachusetts.
Connecting With Your Spirit Guides
By Ellie Crystal
There is nothing more powerful than understanding the connection with your spirit guide and sharing your journey together. A spirit guide is a non-physical entity who protects and guides your way. Spirit guides cannot prevent you from making the wrong choices. Those are the dramas you have chosen to play out. Spirit can only guide you through these situations until you are ready to release that which is preventing you from creating balance in your life. At that point, you and your spirit guide will move towards a path of unconditional love, truth and spiritual enlightenment. Spirit guides cannot take away your issues, but they can guide you to the resources that will help you heal.
We all have at least one spirit guide. Once you get to know them, it is fun to communicate. They love to talk and often make jokes. Many of the funny things we say are thoughts we hear in our minds that come from spirit.
Anyone can learn to telepathically communicate with their spirit guides. It just takes practice. You are probably doing it already, but do not recognize that your thoughts are not your own.
You often meet your spirit guides in dreams, meditations, near death experiences, or other altered states of consciousness. Among the best times to hear your spirit guide is just before you go to sleep or after you wake up. You brain is relaxed and moves from one state of consciousness to another. The same is true of meditation wherein your brain goes from alpha to delta states.
You might want to try telepathically communicating with your spirit guide while take a bath or shower. Water represents the flow of information between realities allowing you to hear more clearly. No wonder many of us are drawn to live near water! Spirit guides can also project messages onto a steamed mirror in your bathroom. They can communicate through thought form, visual imagery, touch (feeling sensation on your body or a breeze) and smell, such as floral fragrances. In times of emergency, you raise your frequency and connect more easily with and pay attention to that which is above on a higher frequency, including your spirit guides.
Driving often produces a hypnotic effect allowing your guide to connect with you. Be sure to pay attention to the road if you use this time to chat. When avoiding an accident, it is often your guide whose energies come into your physical body, swerving your car to safety. You may hear a warning message in your head before this occurs. Spirit guides often give messages through song lyrics, coaxing you to turn on the car radio at the exact moment to hear them. They may guide you to look at a billboard or the license plate of the car in front of you, which also brings a personal message.
Messages from spirit guides are everywhere if you watch for the signs. Once you make the connection, you will understand how spirit guides.
Ellie Crystal followed her destiny as guided by Z, her spirit guide and created a website called Crystalinks. Visit http://www.crystalinks.com.
A Rainbow Diet
By Melanie Mendelson
Many people contemplate becoming a vegetarian at one point or another. Some consider a meatless diet because they feel sorry for the animals. Others think a vegetarian way of eating will improve their health.
However, out of those well-intentioned people very few actually follow through and change their way of eating. The idea of completely giving up meat forms a big stumbling block for most.
For some reason, when it comes to vegetarian cooking, most people only see the “extremist” approach: either give up meat completely or you might as well include the meat in every meal. This “all or nothing” thinking becomes a mental barrier that keeps a lot of people from eating more vegetarian meals.
How about finding a happy medium? Drastic changes to one’s diet never last. Do not beat yourself up for eating meat. There is no need to give it up completely. Just try eating a little less of it, that’s all.
Start right now by making one meatless dinner every week. Keep everything else the same. Eating just one vegetarian dinner every week is definitely doable and easy. It will be just a nice change instead of deprivation!
If you think going meatless one day a week would not make a big difference, consider these simple numbers: if everyone ate vegetarian meals just one day a week, it would save one out of seven animals. Out of 92 million animals that are consumed in the United States alone every year, over 13 million animals would be spared. This is a huge impact!
In addition to doing good for our planet, you’ll enjoy great health benefits by including more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, nutrients, anti-oxidants and fiber — all the things that are good for us. They can help with weight loss and prevent diseases. Numerous studies show that diets high in fruits and vegetables reduce the risks of deadly diseases such as cancer, heart attack and stroke.
Also, by trying out new dishes, you will break your food routine and discover new tasty recipes and food combinations. It’s really nice to eat something different once in a while instead of being stuck in a food rut. It’s like enjoying all the colors of the rainbow!
This simple shift of mindset from “all or nothing” to a happy middle ground will do wonders. Vegetarian eating does not need to be a full-time commitment, sacrifice and strive for unattainable perfection. Just do what you can to eat a little less meat, have fun trying new vegetarian meals and enjoy the benefits.
Melanie Mendelson is the author of Vegetarian Main Dishes — Yummy Recipes That Even Meat Eaters Will Love. Visit her website at http://www.vegetarian-recipes-cookbook.com.
