I discovered, for example, that it’s usual to have a looking-back process or ‘review’ of the physical life that is over. That’s when we assess how well we succeeded in whatever we set out to achieve in our lives. Of course, we may find ourselves disappointed by our efforts. It’s not intended to be a guilt-inducing exercise but, rather, an objective look at our progress on earth. Margaret Anna emphasised the fact that there is no pressure; we judge ourselves when we feel ready to do so. In fact, no one forces us to do anything at all, which would be interfering with our free will.
Although a review can be a positive experience, I did wonder if people might be anxious about looking back on past performance. Certainly it’s a far cry from presenting ourselves for judgment, as is often traditionally taught, but nonetheless it can be a daunting prospect. Margaret Anna’s experience was bound to be helpful, so I asked her whether she felt that she had achieved what she set out to achieve when she looked back at her earthly life.
She answered that, on the whole, she did. In her later years on earth she didn’t experience much of a sense of achievement. She had written a lot and talked a lot; she had raised a considerable amount of money to help people in need. She had consistently served in as loving a way as she could. But she had also been a source of dissent, and many of her projects had collapsed. She was often disillusioned and she see-sawed between religions. At the end, very much alone apart from a few stalwart friends, she couldn’t see herself as anything other than a failure, well-intentioned though she was. But, she told me:
‘In spirit there was – there always is – a very different perspective. It’s a futile and altogether pointless exercise trying to judge a life’s expression within its time span. When I looked at that earth life from the much broader vantage point of spirit I saw that, through my writings, my talks, my contacts with people, the ideas I put into motion, my passion for equal opportunities for everybody, I had opened doors to the raising of consciousness outside of the limits of a particular time scale. In other words, I had made a contribution – the effects of which would live on after I passed on. Once I had taken that on board in spirit I was able to forgive myself for all the human failings I had manifested and let myself enjoy the freedom I now had.’
Love after death
One of the major tragedies in our lives is when we lose our loved ones. I have come across this sort of situation many times and it can be heartbreakingly sad. Margaret Anna mentioned how much in love she had been with her fiancé Charles Holmes, her devastation when he died, and how different her future life would have been had he lived. But the good news is that they have resumed their relationship. She says, ‘We love each other in a more complete way than would have been possible on earth.’
So, while the pain of physical separation is very hard to bear there is great comfort in the thought that we will not only see our loved ones again, but also resume our relationships with them in a more profound way. Anything that is possible on earth is possible in spirit.
Communicating with guides
As I mentioned earlier, as a child I found great comfort in the idea of guardian angels, who were always helping me in a loving way. There was no fear associated with them. They helped me in ways too numerous to mention, and my belief that they were there, by my side, protecting me and my family from whatever I believed might endanger us, made my childhood infinitely calmer.
As I grew up into adulthood, I continued to believe in guardian angels – long after I had discounted most of the other elements of the belief systems of my youth. It was not something I actively thought about; rather, they were constantly there, on the periphery of my thoughts, and very real in many senses. In fact, I didn’t dwell on the angels much until I was dramatically reminded of their existence later in life. The most significant outcome of what I might call my reawakening was my acceptance not just of the reality of guardian angels, but the fact that it was possible to have conscious communication with them. Perhaps it was my earlier, unconscious acceptance of their existence that made me believe entirely that the voices I was hearing were those of spirits; it was, however, a mind-blowing experience to discover that I could interact with them – and they with me. For many months I experienced a mixture of exhilaration and confusion, until it all settled down. Once I was able to keep the voices at bay until I needed assistance, the relationship became peaceful and utterly comforting.
More than anything I want people to understand my own experience of working with guides, so that they can benefit in the same way. I had a significant process of adaptation in adjusting to the spontaneous way of spirit, which contrasted with the structured physical way we normally operate.
I wondered if guardian angels and spirit guides are the same, or are they distinct entities? Throughout the ages, angels have been pictured wearing wings, which, as a child, I found to be a comforting, sheltering image. I presumed the wings were meant to represent the traditional role ascribed to angels as messengers of God, the means by which they flew around delivering the messages. I like the quotation from G.K. Chesterton which says: ‘Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.’ I now know that they do; this is something we all need to do. We can only truly soar when we are light enough to do so.
My understanding, in accordance with the information I have been given by my spirit guides, is that we are all soul – part of God, or ‘unconditional love’. In that sense there can be no distinction between angels and guides. Although I prefer the description ‘guardian angels’ myself, I got into the habit of using the word ‘guides’, partly because it was shorter but mainly because it had no obvious religious connotation. Anyway, I couldn’t imagine Margaret Anna flying around with wings attached to her! The word ‘guide’ is fitting, too, as their role in our lives is to guide us through both our darkest and our brightest days.
Way back in the 1960s, I was one of the first training officers in the Irish Civil Service. Essentially, my job was to teach effective communication, including writing, talking, negotiation, and explaining the workings of the different institutions of government. I needed to use whatever technical aids were available to me, such as blackboards, flip charts and overhead projectors. I also used to prepare ‘how-to’ handouts on a variety of subjects for distribution. That all added up to a structured form of working, with clearly defined objectives.
When my life was transformed and I began to develop my communication with guides, I had to adapt to a totally different style. In the early stages I was inclined to try to pin things down in the ‘how-to’ formula with which I was familiar; however, I soon found that this was like going down a blind alley. My usual organisational skills were useless; for example, I discovered that there was no point in trying to prepare for individual meetings or talks by making notes. I needed to use a different form of preparation that involved relaxing as much as I could, and then asking for help from my guides. Each individual meeting had to be totally spontaneous, and I had to be absolutely relaxed and open-minded for them to work.
When I spoke to the public, my talks lasted about ninety minutes. I might have some ideas in my head – or a story or stories that I could tell, if I found they were relevant – but I never used notes. At all stages I needed to be in tune with my guides and with the audience. I’d have made that impossible if I had a prepared agenda. Accordingly, my talks were always spontaneous within the realm of communication with guides and how the members of the audience could be helped to do that for themselves.
Systems and detailed planning and organisation are needed in day-to-day life on earth. However, trying to extend that approach to direct communication with guides will inevitably leave us open to frustration and disappointment. One of the most important and wonderful features of life is that we all have our own individual styles. It is through those ‘styles’ that our guides try to communicate with us. For instance, in my own case communication mainly happens through feelings or impressions, rather than pictures or words.
An undiscovered land
A participant at one of my courses shared this little story with the group:
‘An