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Swedenborg wrote extensively about his visions of angels in the afterlife. He describes them as having lived life as a human being and hence they know our difficulties. People are born to become angels and, providing we have lived a considerate and kind life, whatever our religion, we can live for eternity doing good works.
I joined 25 other interested participants at a very enjoyable workshop entitled ‘Walking the Angel Way’ at the Swedenborg Church in Leicester Road, New Barnet, Herts.
The morning session was about angels in the heavenly realms. Each member of the group received a card with a different angelic message. Mine said: Notice the Angels who only see the loving child in you! And we were asked to choose a greetings card with a picture of a winged angel and to say something about why we chose it. I chose an Edward Burne-Jones painting of an angel. Our facilitator for the day was the psychotherapist, Helen Brown, and she introduced us to a beautiful yoga meditation which involved taking a ball of energy from the ground and making a ball of energy and sending it in thoughts and feeling and actions to all areas of the world.
Our communal lunch is always special at these church gatherings as we get the chance to talk to other attenders, including those who practise the Swedenborgian faith. After lunch, the session was about how we can make the world a better place and practise being an angel in this world. A leaflet was provided which contained information about how we can do this wonderful work. Then we were given a choice of activities, one was the opportunity to create an artwork using feathers and coloured card, another to get together in small groups to talk about angels and then to watch a video of a conversation between two young women. The video featured the choices of good or bad thoughts that came into the heads of these young women when talking about a third friend. The decision to respond in a caring or uncaring way depends on our closeness to the angels. Our angel event ended with a circle dance where we gathered good energy from the Earth and distributed it to those in need around the world.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable day, made especially pleasant by the company of the Swedenborgians who emit a beautiful calm and caring presence; the exceptional surroundings of the building where I have no doubt angels gather in abundance; a delightful lunch and interesting activities that allow conversation about a beautiful subject, which all combined together to make a day when angels were active!
From the ‘Angelic Ways’ leaflet to help us achieve angelic understanding and wisdom:
Radiate love and unity
Be naturally humble as all has been given by God
Bring comfort and hope especially in times of difficulty
Bring compassion and empathy
Listen to the inner music of the heart
Encourage self-awareness and the expression of good feelings
Have non-judgmental acceptance and focus on what is good and true
Communicate appropriately and with compassion
Watch patiently and be ready to respond
Focus on the positive
Protect from negativity and falseness
Be led by God to the Way to Happiness
Our thanks to all Swedenborgians and others involved in providing everything required for a truly enlightening day.
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