An Angel on My Shoulder - Theresa Cheung

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and for several nights after, and the grocery gift was enough to tide us through a really rough patch financially. A bit overwhelmed by this act of kindness from a stranger, Mum felt that she had not thanked her properly, so she asked Jean for her address so she could send a note of thanks. But Jean had no idea that we had even been in need of food supplies and scolded my mum for not asking for help. She also had no idea who the woman was and neither did anyone else on the street. No one knew of her. I never saw her again.

      Was this kind lady an angel? Perhaps! Probably! Possibly! Mum was convinced that she was. All I can remember thinking was, ‘Why couldn’t Mum have ordered chocolate muffins from the angels?’

      Perhaps you are beginning to understand why I believe in angels, but what I witnessed and assimilated in childhood is only half the story. I’ve also had paranormal experiences of my own as an adult. One of the most dramatic was when the voice of an angel saved my life. I don’t want to go over the whole story again if you’ve already read it in my first angel book, An Angel Called My Name, but for those who have not, here is a mini version. I was driving towards a busy junction when I clearly heard the voice of my mother tell me to take a right turning. She had passed several years previously. Unbeknown to me at the time, if I had turned left I would have faced certain death in a back-to-back collision involving two trucks, a stray dog and several vehicles. The accident killed three people – one of whom would have been me if I had turned left as I had fully intended to do before the angel called my name.

      After this dramatic celestial rescue my life transformed in many wonderful ways. Previously, although my belief had been strong, I had doubted my own psychic abilities because I’d never actually heard, seen or felt the presence of angels for myself, but after hearing my mother actually communicate to me in spirit, a psychic door opened and I had several other angelic experiences, some of which I shared in my first book and some of which I will share in this book.

      Ever since I can remember I’ve been drawn towards the psychic world and it was a lifetime of dreaming come true when I was eventually given the opportunity to research and write books and encyclopaedias about the paranormal. Then, when several of my books, including The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams, went on to sell strongly all over the world, my mailbox started to swell with remarkable stories from people worldwide. The great majority of these stories were so positive and uplifting that it became abundantly clear to me that my calling was to gather them together and share them, along with my own experiences, in book form. I could see that I was gently but surely being led on a journey of gathering contemporary accounts of angel experiences from people who wanted to share them.

      While writing this book I’ve been deeply moved by the stories I’ve read and heard and the generosity of those who have given me permission to share their experiences with you or write their stories up for you. Some of these stories may stretch your belief or even shock you – and in some cases names have been changed to protect identity – but I can assure you that to the best of my knowledge they are all the real deal. In fact, I never fail to be struck by the truth and honesty of the people who send stories in to me.

      Having read and heard countless stories from people all over the world, it has become abundantly clear to me that angels are pure beings of goodness and love and you don’t need to be an angel expert, clairvoyant, psychic or religious person to see them. The only requirement is an open, trusting heart. It took me until my mid to late thirties to realize that important truth. When I was younger I tried so hard to see angels and to sense the presence of spirits around me, but the harder I tried, the more wretched and abandoned I felt. I didn’t realize that all along angels were speaking to me but I was too full of fear, self-doubt and guilt to listen.

      As you’ll see in the thrilling stories that follow, angels speak to us in countless invisible and visible ways: a thought, a feeling, a touch, a smell, a dream, an image or a whisper, book, song, white feather or other astonishing sign. Sometimes they appear in the guise of an animal or a child or in the kindness of strangers. Other times they will manifest through coincidences or through the spirits of loved ones who have passed, and on very rare occasions they also manifest in their familiar form, complete with halo, wings and blinding light.

      Today, angels are making their presence known in the world as never before. The internet features hundreds of sites devoted them and thousands of people access those sites every day. There are numerous angel books, newsletters and magazines as well as angel collectibles and memorabilia. In a word, angels are everywhere, but even though they are being taken into people’s hearts all over the world it’s a sad truth that injustice, poverty, violence and cruelty are still rife. Unfortunately, we live in a world bombarded by images of starving children, terrorists killing innocent people and viruses that can’t be cured. The pain and suffering in the world seem to be spiralling out of control. We urgently need to know that there is goodness in and beyond us and that this goodness is more than a match for the pain and hopelessness we see all around us. Therefore there can be no better time for this book to appear to add its voice to the angel movement.

      There will always be those who find rational explanations for angelic encounters, but to those who believe, no explanation is necessary. No explanation will ever have the power of the wonderful belief they have. Love is all they need to know, because love is the message that the angels bring.

      I truly hope that whether you have had an angel experience or not, reading the amazing stories of ordinary people whose lives have been transformed by angels, as mine was, will be a moving and life-affirming experience. And each time a person is touched or moved by an angel story, the angels fly closer to Earth, spreading more of their pure, unselfish love and goodness in the world.

      Above all, I hope that as you read this book you’ll be reminded that however tough and complicated life gets, your very own guardian angel is always on your shoulder – a constant, loving presence who wants to assist you. All you need to do is open your mind and your heart to the reality that you are never alone and that both in this life and the next, angels will always be there to lift your heart and give you wings.

      But before getting going with these incredible stories, in the first chapter of this book I want to continue a journey I began in my first angel book – the journey of my own psychic adventures. I feel that in order to present, appreciate and interpret the stories of other people not only is it important for me to have had similar experiences myself but also to have understood them. I also feel it is important for my readers to see who I am and where I am coming from.

      While it’s true that I grew up in a family of psychics and spiritualists and that I’ve had angelic encounters myself, it’s taken a while for me to really believe in the eternal power of goodness and love. I’ve stumbled a lot on the way, as you’ll see in the next chapter, but now I truly believe there is magical potential in everyone and everything, both in this life and the next. I believe there is an angel on my shoulder whenever I work, live and dream, and I’m truly grateful for their loving guidance. Ultimately, I believe in angels not because it is what I was taught to believe or because I have had extraordinary experiences in my life, but because I believe in the power of love. Love is the only language that angels speak and they are all around us – above us, below us, beside us, in front of, behind us and within us. All we need to do is look.

       Chapter 1 An Angel on my shoulder

      Angels don’t worry about you.

      They believe in you.

       Author unknown

      ‘If you could just fill out this form,’ my health visitor said with a gentle smile.

      ‘What’s it for?’ I asked.

      ‘I need to get every new mum to fill one out. It’s just a formality. Just try to answer the questions as truthfully as you can.’

      My tired eyes scanned the form. It was an Edinburgh post-natal depression survey. I’d filled out one just like this a year and a half before when my son was born. My health visitor held out her arms to

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