of a guardian angel at work on either side of the argument. It is only when one person finds the wisdom to back down, let go and reach, somehow, for resignation and acceptance, that both guardian angels are effectively released from the state of perpetual stalemate.
So, if you want your guardian angel to work well for you, you need to make requests that the angel has a chance of fulfilling, keep your angel away from ‘black holes’ like the one I have just described, and work within the limits of what your angel can or cannot do.
Ah! Well spotted. That was very astute of you. I did say, several pages ago, that I existed in a world that was limitless. That’s true. I do. I have the whole of eternity to work with, so if I get caught up in a conflict, it is really no problem to me if it takes a few hundred years to resolve itself.
But while I can wait forever, you can’t.
Actually, that reminds me of a joke. I’ll share it with you now.
There is this person who is desperate to speak to God. They pray and they pray - and they badger their guardian angel for some assistance. Eventually God decides to grant them an interview. The supreme Creator manifests in the form most appropriate to this person’s religion and proceeds to say in a deep, booming voice, ‘What do you want to know, my child?’
Our deeply humbled and awestruck individual gathers their composure and, after making various gestures of gratitude and respect, says, ‘I really want to understand the meaning of time. Could you help me to comprehend something of its true nature?’
The temporary incarnation of ultimate, infinite consciousness replies, in a slightly kinder and rather less booming voice, ‘Okay, try to imagine the passage of a million years. That, to me, is but a second in all of eternity.’
The person stops for a while to consider this mindboggling explanation. Human beings have not been alive on the earth for a million years. Even the Sphinx, in ancient Egypt, is no more than a few thousand years old. Though it is possible to imagine many civilisations that may have come and gone before this, leaving no trace, it is clear that the entire journey of human evolution has taken place in the blink of an eye. One single life, no matter how long it lasts or how much is achieved within it, is entirely insignificant by comparison. A million years is no more than a single second. It’s unimaginable.
Suitably humbled, our seeker of spiritual insight summons the courage to attempt a supplementary question. ‘Dear God, what, then, is the real meaning of this stuff called money…which we human beings seem to value so dearly?’
The Creator, by now, is speaking in a much softer tone and adopting an almost chummy demeanour. ‘Well, try thinking of it this way. From the perspective of supreme spiritual wisdom and knowledge, a million pounds has no more or less meaning or value than a single penny.’
Not wanting to waste the opportunity of a lifetime, our questioner then attempts a third inquiry. ‘In that case, could I have a million pounds?’
‘Sure,’ says the Creator. ‘Just wait a second!’
CHAPTER 2 What can I do for you?
Now, perhaps you are starting to feel disappointed. After all, it must be clear that if even God can’t guarantee you an instant million, your guardian angel stands no chance of organising such a development. But this lottery-winning thing is tricky.
You want to win the lottery. So does every other person who has purchased a ticket. You have asked for my help in this. They, too, have beseeched their guardian angels to do the same. So what do you think happens in the invisible realm, when those numbers come rolling out of the machine? Hundreds and thousands of guardian angels find themselves caught up in that black hole of cosmic conflict. They all have the power to influence the outcome - their power is equal, but they are all trying to influence it in different ways. The upshot is a kind of mass paralysis.
You are right, though. Somebody still has to win it. So, what then, if not a guardian angel, determines who that somebody is? In all honesty, I’m still trying to work it out. It’s one of the things I ponder over while I’m sleeping, in between carrying out your requests. What I can tell you is this. Play the lottery if you want to. Don’t if you don’t. If, though, you are looking for ways to engage the help of your guardian angel and improve your lot in life, try understanding more about how your angel is best able to help you.
Let’s go back to that Koh-I-Noor diamond for a moment. If, instead of requesting the Koh-I-Noor itself, you ask for ‘a diamond that’s rather like the Koh-I-Noor’, you slightly increase your chance of getting one because you are placing less of a limit on what your guardian angel has to do for you.
If you can be even more flexible and request ‘the wherewithal to attain a diamond’, you are definitely helping me to help you. I will always do what I can on your behalf, but I need you to put in some effort, too.
So, even better than, ‘Hey, guardian angel, please fetch me what I require,’ is, ‘Hey, guardian angel…I’ve got a plan that might gradually put me in a position where I could afford a nice big diamond. Could you work with me to ensure that each step I take, along the road to carrying out this plan, is as smooth and successful as possible?’
Now, that’s the kind of question I like to be asked. I can, indeed, help you out there.
Nevertheless, I can only ever get you what’s attainable and if it can’t be had, I can’t get it for you. If there is only a remote chance of it happening, I have a very remote chance of helping to make it happen. And, of course, if it is relatively easy to get, it’s no problem for me to come through with the goods for you. That probably sounds blindingly obvious, but if you really think about it, it is not so simple. From my angelic perspective, I can often identify opportunities to which you are oblivious. Often, too, I can see that some of the things you ask me for are things that you are entirely able to attain on your own.
Imagine a scale - a sort of temperature gauge with numbers climbing higher as you go along. Down at one end, you’ve got cornflakes. Up at the other, you’ve got first prize in a multimillion-pound lottery. You really don’t need my help to get you breakfast, although you are perfectly welcome to ask for it, of course - I have already explained that I never object to being called upon. But unless you have just spent a night out in the wilderness, miles from anywhere, and you have woken up to realise that there is no way of finding any food, you don’t want to sit around trying to summon me, when you can just walk over to the cupboard!
We’ve already dealt with the lottery so we won’t go there again, but somewhere in between those two extremes are some other highly desirable but extremely unlikely aspirations and wishes. The question is how unlikely are they? The answer is, more often that not, they are more feasible than you might think. As it happens, I’m very good at reaching for things that seem impossible to you, but which are actually very easy, once you know how.
You might think, for example, ‘Oh, I’ll never get the really great job that I’ve been dreaming of.’ Or, ‘I’d love to live in a particular kind of house.’ You can look around and see no way to make this happen. But I’ve got an advantage over you. I am excarnate. I don’t live in a body. That makes me a bit like one of those superheroes in the comic books. I can zoom around the whole world in the time it takes to flick a light switch. I can see through walls, I can read minds, I can sense, instinctively, where hidden secrets are to be found. So I can go out looking on your behalf. Very often, I can find exactly what you want and see a clear way to help you get it. Then, all I have to do is wait until you ask me for my guidance.
Ahem…Thankfully, I’m blessed with great patience.
There are times when, if I wasn’t a cosmic being with deep wisdom and infinite understanding, I could get incredibly