Guardian angels (or spirits)

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[Purplewitch]

When in doubt, use miscellaneous....

One topic that has been generating a lot of thought for me lately is guardian angels, so for starters .... Not just in the angelic winged beings traditionally associated with the name, but as a (possibly) wider ranging entity...
Whether you believe they exist, or not, what form they take, whether we all have them (if we know it/acknowledge it or not), how or what their function? role? might be....

Yes I have my own theory in progress, and yes there's a reason I've been thinking about it but that requires me to word a story in such a way as to not reveal parts that aren't mine to share... and right now, guess what, my demonspawn is awake again.... so for now I'll just throw a hat in the ring and see what, if anything, lands in it.

[Dania]

I believe that guardians/angels/spirit guides do exist, and I don't think they're all winged servants of god(s). Many of them work with/for gods, and some of them are gods themselves. I don't believe that everyone has one, but some people do. Some guardians seem to be "free lancing" and attach themselves to whoever needs them the most at the time.

I know I have one guardian who is pretty much mine for eternity. We've been together for...how many lifetimes now? I have others, too, watching out for me, but he is the main one.

[EverFool]

When in doubt, use miscellaneous....

I don't believe in objective guardians.  I imagine one could artifically create an entity for aid in protection, but I've never found an actual need for one.  If spirits have their own objective existence, I'd imagine they'd have their own agendas, and have better things to do then look after humans.

[Beachglass]

If spirits have their own objective existence, I'd imagine they'd have their own agendas, and have better things to do then look after humans.

Maybe we'd be like pets to them?  Like a fish tank or something; doesn't really serve a purpose but is nice to have around. 

[EverFool]

Maybe we'd be like pets to them?  Like a fish tank or something; doesn't really serve a purpose but is nice to have around. 

Yes, but do you hang around all day to make sure your fish are ok?

[Dania]

Yes, but do you hang around all day to make sure your fish are ok?

LOL actually, I would. I'm a paranoid worry-wort though. So you probably shouldn't give it too much credit.

[WarHorse]

I imagine one could artifically create an entity for aid in protection, but I've never found an actual need for one.

Very interesting.  During the war, I invoked a fictional Familiar as a guardian, and she came through.  After a couple of years, when no longer necessary, she left.

But I still worship her, and her essence is still present.

She was a Dragon, FWIW.

[Celtee]

I believe that guardians/angels/spirit guides do exist, and I don't think they're all winged servants of god(s).

My family has a guardian spirit...He's a big, tall Indian fellow. My mum first saw him, and two others, many years ago when my dad collapsed at the LDS temple in Seattle, Washington. Then, last year (about this time, in fact) when my mum was in the early days of recovering from radiation, I saw him step out the doorway of her room into the hall and stand there with arms crossed across his chest. He was checking up on her so I told him she was fine, that she was done with her radiation and was on the road to recovery. He was in full war regalia that time and that was all he wanted/needed to know.

I've not seen him since but I DO know he's still with my family as mum told me today that he was in the room with her the other day.

[Purplewitch]

disclaimer: purely for the purposes of this train of thought I'm coming at it from the assumption that as an 'entity' they exist - just so you know the context

I believe that guardians/angels/spirit guides do exist, and I don't think they're all winged servants of god(s).

And that, I believe, is where I come at this from... why should every guardian be your white winged typical angel? Doesn't it make more sense for a guardian to take a form that resonates with the person?

I know someone who has absolutely no time at all for religion, and little time for faith, but experience and circumstance/event also leave him in no doubt that there is, or was at that time at least, a guardian angel or something looking out for him. I won't repeat the story since it's not mine. I will say though that at about the same time (just after the experience happened I think) I passed stray comment in conversation about him having a guardian angel looking after him, because as far as I was concerned it was just, a fact. He has a guardian. My comment... made an impact though 

But, while he has never mentioned a 'form' for it, I can't see him doing the angel thing, and if he were ever to ask me I would tell him what I see it as looking like - although he might not agree lol

However, longwindedly, that brings me to another thought on the subject... bearing in mind the disclaimer of working from the assumption that they exist as an entity, do you think a particular guardian would always appear in the same form, whoever was looking at it, or is it possible that someone else might view it as a different form to the one the person themself saw their guardian in?

Do I ever make sense? No need to answer that one

[Tana]

do you think a particular guardian would always appear in the same form, whoever was looking at it, or is it possible that someone else might view it as a different form to the one the person themself saw their guardian in?

I 'believe' in guardian spirits, I'm so not in that 'angel stuff' (can't stand it, so sweet it makes my teeth ache  ) To the question, I think it is really a thing of personal perception. If one believes in angels, he'll see an angel, the spirits I see tend to be four legged, feathered or scaled  (though they can have human form too, unwinged *g*)

The personal reality filters are very strong. If something is not in ones worldview I guess he could hardly ever see it. If one believes the Devil goes horned and hoof-legged, he hardly would see Pan and think that ones a good fellow.

Same thing works for me, I have good access to animals, so this is the way things work best for me. It would turn my world upside down if an angel got caught by my cats  *ok stops posting now, because of sillyness*

[gayars]

One topic that has been generating a lot of thought for me lately is guardian angels, so for starters .... Not just in the angelic winged beings traditionally associated with the name, but as a (possibly) wider ranging entity...
Whether you believe they exist, or not, what form they take, whether we all have them (if we know it/acknowledge it or not), how or what their function? role? might be....

Yes I believe in guardian angels.  I have seen a few before actually!  A long time ago an angel and a demon were both in my bedroom at the same time.  The angel won.  I also saw one one time by a girl giving a speech in church.  She said she had prayed all night long, and he stood beside her the whole time

Now having said that, I think that a lot of what we consider guardian angels arent angels persay.  I also believe in ancestors as guardians/helpers.  I believe you can have all sorts of guardians actually.  Even my pets that have passed on, have been there for me!  Puppy (yes I had a dog named Puppy!) guards/guarded the land where my family and I live now.  Our dog Tiger also guards it.  The crow, as I have said before is guardian of the land, and as such, guards me when I am on the land.  But he is guardian of the LAND itself.  My kids and my husband and my grandfather hang around and help out sometimes.  I can tell when they are there.  I was told in a dream a few years ago, to call upon Archangel Michael, and I do when I feel the need.  Whether I have any other kind of guardian angel at this point in my life, I dont know.  I am sure there are probably those who guide me at times, but I dont believe they stay with me forever, they are there for a time.  I may be mistaken tho.  I dont feel any but family that stays with me on an ongoing basis however.  Now, mind you, my family doesnt stay with me 24/7 either, only when I need them.  My grandfather has been around more since I have had my grandmother live with me.  He keeps freaking her out tho I think.  Oh well.   He is naturally concerned with his wife, esp. since she is old, and stage 6 alzheimers.  Makes me feel better he is here  

Gina

[Purplewitch]

Now having said that, I think that a lot of what we consider guardian angels arent angels persay.  Gina

I think a lot of difficulties with people (general people) come when they ahve the mind frame that says if it's not an archetypal angel then it must be evil and demonic no matter what form it takes or how it acts.
*shrugs*
their problem not mine since I agree with that statement Gina

Actually, had a discussion on the subject of guardian angels with my beloved MiL while I was awy... but, when it comes up again, as it WILL, I have a feeling we're going to disagree AGAIN!
Not in a right/wrong way but in a difference of terminology for a start way.

That and a totally separate argument that she brings into any conversation on guardian angels...

[Aster Breo]

I also believe in ancestors as guardians/helpers.

A week ago, I would have said I was agnostic on the idea of guardian angels, having had no experience with them myself.

But I had a most interesting experience last week.  I work part-time (until I get that "real" job!) with a friend who has a "metaphysical" store in the area.  She brings lots of different people in to give classes and workshops and readings.

Last week, she had a psychic, Allyson Walsh (http://www.psy-denticaltwins.com/), who did a gallery reading.  I've never experienced anything like that in person, but have always been *extremely* skeptical.  The psychics I've seen on TV or heard on the radio seemed to be basing their readings on the information they elicited from the leading questions they asked.

Well, this gallery reading was an entirely different story.  I was impressed at the level of detail Allyson gave to the clients, without asking them any questions.  So, I started to be convinced that she was the real deal.

Then she got to me.  Without asking me a thing, she said to me, "There's someone here for you, but I think I'm getting the name wrong.  It's very unusual, and I think I'm misunderstanding him.  Does the name 'Bub' mean anything to you?"

I almost fainted.  There is absolutely no way she could have known that my whole family called my Uncle Ernest "Bub".  (Long family story about why.)  So, I confirmed that, yes, that name did mean something to me.  She went on to describe him accurately as someone who loved to tease people, and who knew that some people thought he was kind of obnoxious, but that was just who he was. 

Then she asked me if we were working on our house in some way, which we are.  We're doing some painting and renovations.  She told me that Bub said that I should plan to hire professionals to do the kitchen because "my husband could do it but won't have time."  Then she asked if there was some joke about "shoes and shoemakers" because Bub was laughing about that.

Well, my husband is a carpenter (something else I don't think she could have known), and we have a long-running family joke about how he never has time to do much work around that house, and that's like the shoemaker whose children always go barefoot.

Then she asked if my husband collects something.  I said yes.  She said, "He collects something *big*, right?"  I confirmed that he collects VW buses.  She told me he has three (true) and that they're all under tarps (also true).  She said Bub said he needs to do something with them before they rust away (also true).

She said Bub was laughing about another family joke, something about Tom.  Then she corrected herself and said, "No, he's saying Tom-tom, like the GPS system."  Yes, we do have a running family joke about Tom-Tom.  I don't think anyone outside my husband and kids has ever heard us joke about that.

She then went on to ask if Pennsylvania was significant in some way to one of my kids, then asking IF I have any kids.  As it happens, my older daughter is considering colleges in Pennsylvania, and we're planning a trip there to visit the schools.  Allyson then gave me Bub's prediction for my older daughter, going out several years, and involving marriage and children -- specifically twins.

She also knew (from Bub, apparently) about my job interviews.  She said one of them isn't a government job, but has something to do with government (true).  She said Bub said I'll get that job.

I can't confirm the twins yet  or the job, but the detail of the rest of her information really blew me away.  Of all the people in my life who have passed, and who I thought might possibly communicate through her (once I got over being so skeptical), it NEVER occurred to me that Uncle Bub might be the one to come through.

She told me he said he's looking out for me.  And I can always ask him for help.

Now, honestly, I'm not sure what kind of help I can get from someone who is no longer living.  But I'd definitely say that this falls into the "guardian angel" type of category.

And I NEVER would have believed it if it hadn't happened to me personally.  So, I totally understand if people are skeptical about this.

[Elisabette]

I don't believe in objective guardians.  I imagine one could artifically create an entity for aid in protection, but I've never found an actual need for one.  If spirits have their own objective existence, I'd imagine they'd have their own agendas, and have better things to do then look after humans.

I do believe in objective guardians, but I agree that spirits with objective existence have their own agendas. I've had spirits and deities act as guardians for me before, but I don't imagine they spend all or even most of their time hovering over me like overprotective mother-hens.

Moon Ivy's post got me thinking about the idea of dead loved ones as guardians. It seems more plausible to me that a human ghost would take on a more "full-time" guardian role.

Betty 

[Aster Breo]

Moon Ivy's post got me thinking about the idea of dead loved ones as guardians. It seems more plausible to me that a human ghost would take on a more "full-time" guardian role.

I've been thinking more about this, too.  The thing that keeps getting me is: WHY would my uncle have been the one to communicate with me through Allyson?  I wasn't especially close to him, and there are other people I've been much closer to who have passed, including my adored grandmother (who I cared for as she died of Alzheimers).  Why didn't she contact me.

And I think it might be because, when I started the evening, I didn't believe.  So, I wasn't sending out any...ummmm...signals to any of my dead loved ones.  As Allyson puts it, I wasn't "broadcasting" for anyone to come talk to me.

Nevertheless, my uncle showed up.  So, why would he be there?  And the only answer I can come up with is that he's with me a lot anyway -- and that's why he was there that night.  I can't say he's with me all the time, and I'm sure there might be other explanations.  But this is the one that *feels* right to me.

So, I think, if I have an uncle hanging around looking out for me, that qualifies as a guardian angel -- even if he wasn't much of an "angel" in life. 

But I *still* don't understand HOW he can help me.

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