The Essential Doreen Virtue Collection Part 2

So you see that you do have control, through your thought and intention. The control comes from gentle decisions, dear one. Just as a child caught in a riptide becomes endangered if she panics and fights against the water's pull, you also find your safety and power from relaxing and knowing that you have all the options you want within your mind. Use that power with grace, little one.

Remember Who your creator is, and how He thrusts onto you an equal measure of creative power. You have no need to fear your own power, for it is eternally part of you. What we are saying is that resisting changes is a power-less way to control your life. But making a firm decision is a power-full way that never fails. Use your power with grace! We urge you to be in charge of your faculties, as you co-create with heaven. You are in charge. Yes, you truly are.

The decision is yours, and so our question to you is this: "What do you want?" Perhaps you are unhappy with the changes occurring around and within you because they represent that which you do not wish to see within yourself. Is your inner you spilling out and pouring into your outside world? Instead of crying at this occurrence, you can use this as your chance to mop it up inside and outside. In that respect, the change is always good news. Change is always for the better. You needn't resist; you only need change your mind, and you will capture your life flow like a tamed river.

Child Abuse.

We have seen many of our little ones getting hurt in many ways, and we would like this to stop. Our heart energy soothes the little ones who needlessly suffer at the hands of fearful adults. Yet we know our sympathy will only add to the rage, and so we offer you another solution.

Did you know that if you stop and pray once an hour, "A solution will be done," that you pause the time in which the darkness pretends to be the light? You pierce the veil of darkness and reveal its truth to light so that it pales into a faded background where sweet tones of music shine forth in gladness, with all hands clasped in one circle of friendship.

Do not delay this undertaking, for we support you from the heavens to watch over and guide your prayers for the children. Even still, a mere handshake from heaven is not enough to unearth the very being behind this cruelty to our children. We need testaments from ones who, like you, care so deeply for the children that their hearts are frozen with indecision about, "Whom shall we help?" and "What shall I do?"

Move forward with grace and unity away from this indecision that paralyzes your actions from stemming forth from the love that is inside you. We are calling you to action, not from an angry heart, but from a heart so filled with love that it melts the darkness within those who would hurt the children.

Do you know what we say, dear one? We are calling you to our hearts so that we may gather together all souls concerned in one united effort to heal away the cause of this hardship. There is no solution on earth to end the suffering of millions of children, so we ask you to turn away from inspecting the suffering in hopes that this will lead you to its cure. It only brings more suffering when you study it, precious children of our Holy Creator!

Do not seek to cure ills with your close inspections. Turn inward instead to One Who knows all answers. He calls you to gather at His side and turn all ills and cares over to His loving grace. As He ferrets out decisions and calls you to grace your abilities with action, you needn't hesitate in inaction as you wonder if His call was mistaken. G.o.d makes no mistakes, and He knows fully of what you are capable at this moment!

Be in gladness as the Creator incorporates your loving being into His mighty plan to end all suffering upon the earth. He is magnificent, and you are His greatest miracle. You mustn't prolong the sadness an instant longer by investigating whether the call to greatness within you is or is not the genuine article. Trust that it is, and you will feel enveloped in the mighty love that enfolds you even now.

You uncover your greatness, which is the cause of healing all humanly mistakes, as you uncloak your eyes from the blindness that hides you from the awareness of His love. Make no further mistakes with these precious children whom He leaves in your care, dear ones. You are called to shepherd them in the way that He points for you.

Ask Him to direct you for the social change that fuels your pa.s.sion. He is the instrument of healing, and you are His social cause. You are the fuel that gives love to many parents and that heals their hearts from the fear and brings them solace. Heal their fear and guilt, so that they too may drop to their knees in awe of the Magnificent One who greatly loves them. Abandon your judgments with haste so that light may flow through you, and flood all with whom you speak.

You are not to direct this healing flow in any way but the way which nature intends for you. You are simply asked to draw back the curtains that contain and seal the light within you, and become like a clear-paned window that indiscriminately allows the sunlight to radiate through to all who would touch and see it. You are a window to G.o.d for all who seek Him, dear one, and your shepherding skills are innately yours. Allow them to shine as you bring others to His light so that they may heal and thus bring forth the love to their children.

All is healed now in this instant that we come before Him. Let us sing in unison, "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, His mighty will is in loving service to all."

Children.

Precious little ones are gifts to you, in strangers, in blood, and in all. We seek to unite you in their laughter, and we urge you who have sought for inner peace to listen for the utterance of a child, which will bring you home to your heavenly ways. You are refreshed in their laughter and gaiety, so you needn't see childlike play as annoyances that interrupt the important duties of the day.

In effect, their laughter is a release from the stringent tightness that threatens to strangle your body and your mind. You become tight during days when you pretend to like that which you actually abhor, and your breathing becomes shallow and uneven. Do not discount what this lack of oxygen does to your cells, precious child! We urge you to relax from tightness and to learn of a child's ways, which will lead you in directions from which your air-force can more steadily flow in relief and harmony.

There are contagions in the world thought that promote disharmony. Children know not of these factors, as their minds are still fresh from the heavenly home. Allow their mind-set to take over your awareness for a little while, and feel the refreshment course through your body as it brings you home. Their natural curiosity may lead you to inspect a caterpillar at close distance. Notice how its fuzzy little feet bounce gaily upon the loam, and the gentle way it cuddles and crawls.

Do not lose this ability to gaze fondly upon nature, precious one. We urge you to heighten your awareness of the natural wonders around you. It is this healing message that children urgently bring you from the Creator. They cast their reminders upon you daily, yet how often do you see them as signals for your annoyance? Do not shirk off children's innocence as worthless, as they are our most helpful teachers upon the earth.

Do you see what we are after here? A complete reversal in the order in which you place upon other persons. There is great value upon the world's order of teachers, which, in fact, is in reverse. There are teachers of many sorts, that is true. But the greatest teachers of them all are fresh from heaven, and they bring with them the triumphant song of grace and wonder. They are awed by simplicity; a value that you can learn to do on your own.

Use the children as your sure witnesses to G.o.d's wonder and grace, dear one, and you shan't go wrong as you circle and climb upon paths of greatness in your lifetime on this earth. Their wings may be folded from your sight. But you have our a.s.surance that the little ones are mighty angels sent for your a.s.sistance upon your emerging planet. They bring you wondrous gifts, if you will but sit a moment and chat with a child and use your open willingness to see in a new way.

Are you asking us if children should intervene upon the politics and policies you have upon this great earth? Certainly we see room for such an intervention, but with practical considerations melded with their gentle, innocent wisdom. You would do well to consult a child before making a new law, and to ask the child's point of view about items of great importance.

You will hear, in the child's very breath, a gentle love that points to a bountiful profundity of wisdom. Allow the child's sweet power to sweep all dissonance away. Remember that they are fresh from the Creator and have not yet allowed themselves to lose His lessons, as many of you who have been here longer already have.

Replenish yourself from the well of His fountain by the grace of His heavenly angels whom you call "children" upon this earth. G.o.d be with you in all ways, for we place His mighty sword of wisdom into your hearts as you are called upon into action on behalf of all children everywhere. The fight is not within your home, but within your heart. Surrender it to G.o.d, and you will find victory everywhere He is. And He is here, even now, dear one. He is in your heart and in your home. Trust in the Love, and you shall not be pulled apart by any faction in any time, precious and holy child of G.o.d. You are loved. Remember that always.

Communication.

As a tool of communication, speech is a poor subst.i.tute for the heart and eyes. We are leaning upon many of you to awaken these uncovered tools in glad awareness of all that they offer to you. First, if you awaken your heart energy and uncover this as the tool that it is, you will find yourself connecting much quicker to those around you.

There is an unconscious energy between all people, no matter what brings them together. Perhaps you have been aware of this "shadow conversation" that follows your outward conversation. Listen in on the shadow conversation with your inward ear, and you will hear another side of your relationship with others. The honest truth is spoken here at this level, as one child to another who holds nothing in secret from the other.

This is what you may refer to as "the heart of the matter," because it truly is central to all your dealings with other people. You may, then, want to monitor not only what is received in these silent conversations, but also what it is you put into this flowing bloodstream of invisible energy between you. Watch what thoughts you drop into this bloodstream, as they are rapidly carried to another and received at the level of conscious truth. Your thoughts of daggers or of swords are received as painful tugging at the ears of the other. Your envisionings of love are received as such.

Enter this flow of conversation as it already exists, and eavesdrop upon your silent self speaking to another. You may be amazed at what you hear, but doubt it not, for it will guide you in silent truth to another who is like you. Have compa.s.sion upon yourself and another as you hear the cries of the heart that are spoken at this level. The conversation is there, and if you are aware, you will hear it at the level at which it is spoken around you right now.

Crime.

We wanted to talk to you about crime from the perspective of safety. We know that many in your world want to shield yourselves from crime, and we have some answers. Release your need for safety, and relax. The world is contemplative right now, and we bring you into safety through your receptivity, not your tension.

Pa.s.sion is the heart of crime; it's a soul stirring with no feeling of escape. This creates a tremendous energy that is visible to all in The Angelic Realm. Believe us that we will warn you if we see a thunderstorm of this magnitude coming your way. Yet, through your tension-though you believe it to be a raincoat against torrential rains of negative activity-it actually makes you drenched with it.

We cannot permeate your sh.e.l.l with our warnings, so do you see that your best defense against criminal activity during these shifting times is to have no defense at all? We know this seems illogical in your world, and it is certainly paradoxical unless you consider the unseen world through our eyes.

The colors of dark criminal activity are so vivid that we act like forest rangers spotting fires in the distance. We see pockets of safety, and we keep you there while the world is madly adjusting to its new spiritual speed and realm. There will be fires burning bright, and as you reawaken your spiritual sight, you will see them along with us.

Do not become casual about crimes, yet do not overadjust your life in preparation for crime, either. For, whatever you expect is bound to happen, and we will always bring you to safety. You do us a great service, therefore, whenever you purge your mind of worries and fears about perceived dangers in store for you. You do not want to draw negative energy to you, so do not cast your line in the water trolling for it. Throw it back, if you've already caught it!

What we mean, dear one, is this: Do not in any way clutch dearly to thoughts about your physical safety. We do look out for you day and night. That is part of our job. Yet, you do yourself much disservice when you clench your jaws and brace for unsafety in the world.

Dear one, please learn that the world but reflects your wishes! Would you wish for danger? No, of course you would not. Then we implore you to rid your mind of thoughts of safety, for you do not know the power of your mind in this regard. You are like little children playing with a powder keg, not knowing the danger you bring yourself every time you contemplate the question, "Am I safe?" For we see black smoke released from your mind when you pose such questions, and this smoke is a signal that draws forth the very thing that you fear.

We do not tell you this to scare you further, dear one. But we realize that you must know how much power your mind has given you to draw anything you contemplate at a moment's notice. For this, you can be grateful, though. G.o.d would not give you any gift that you could truly misfire. Though you may, in fact, draw great danger to yourselves with your thoughts, it is merely child's mischief in the whole scheme of things.

For you see, gentle spirit, that you are not in any grave or mortal danger in your truest essence. That part which detaches from the body is the true makeup of who you are, and even now this part of you giggles at the preposterous question of its own safety. There is no danger that can be posed to this gentle giant within each of you.

You are sleeping, resting comfortably within the very sh.e.l.l of G.o.d's heart. And He would see that nothing can harm you, not now, not ever. Rest well, sweet one, as we gently sing you lullabies that free your mind of worries, cares, and all contemplations that are not of heaven or of your true home.

Dating.

When you go out on the town, do you know that you bring one or more of us along? We love to see love, and we will gladly intervene-when asked-to keep the transitional love flowing along smoothly. We realize your dates can be anxious affairs. Rest a.s.sured that we are here to help you, not only in The Angelic Realm, but beyond.

We can a.s.sist you in getting to the heart of the matter with your date quite quickly, so you will know without doubt whether this is a being you would want to spend time with. Ask us to show you-we'll help to guide the right words out of your mouth so you can adjust your frame of reference with this other person right away.

Your countenance upon a date is an outward focus, and we try to draw you inward instead. Think of a flower. Its petals are its beauty, but the beautiful petals draw from the lifespring deep within the flower's core. Your core upon a date, centered within your own wellspring of healing and eternal energy, is the fragrance that attracts love to you on even your first date. Allow your fragrance to be cast upon the wind around you, mindful only of your inner essence of joy.

What we are saying, dear reader, is to cast away all cares, worries, and concerns that are along this line: "How do I look?" "What shall I say?" and "What will it cost?" Put your cares into your center core where they will dissolve away. Your eternal attractiveness is a.s.sured within this central point of your being, dear one.

We ask you to withhold your fears and put your intent inward upon your date. We are not asking you to become reclusive or introverted. Not at all! Your internal frame of reference will bring you sparkling conversation and immense joy with others, be it a date or other social setting. We see those of you enjoying yourselves the most, who are staying centered in this sacred s.p.a.ce while in the company of others.

We ask not that you become disinterested in others' welfare, but that you stay centered in your own true s.p.a.ce of being where your interest naturally bubbles up in authenticity. What we mean to say is this: Your essence is charming, and you needn't worry that you would lapse into a being that bores or repels others.

The others in your group and on your date are conversing with you on the invisible plane, and they know when you are being truthful or not. The true attractiveness of your honesty is unforgettable, and you needn't trust us on this one. Try it alone, and then ask us to help you, and watch how others react.

With us, your spirit swells attractively, and you bring with you into any conversation a third ingredient that adds a delightful dimension to the room. Others will become vividly attracted to your every word without knowing why. Your ingredient is the invisible essence of spirit, dear one, and you are asked to bring it to every being with whom you interact.

Your gift of swollen spirit is an unmistakable one, that awakens others to their long-forgotten hunger to reconnect with who they are. You are a catalyst for change, dear one, whether you are on a date, at a grocery store or bank, or standing in a long line. Use your time wisely for the sake of spirit, and all your relationships will turn out healed. Remember, you are not alone.

Granted, we may come along with you on your date, but you can also block us out at any time you choose. We are mute when anger is in the air, for instance. We are made invisible whenever frustration hits the air. So you choose and you are in control. You tell us where we can help you along, and we gladly do this in exchange for seeing your happiness, dear child. We are meant to help you along on this earth, and when coupling occurs on a date setting, we sing in the heavens with music and laughter. We want to help!

Death.

Departing from this earthplane is one of life's early lessons. You do it so often that one would think you would be adjusted to it by now. Apparently you forget some of your earlier lessons so that you may encounter some later ones. This is fine, because this is G.o.d's law. Some of you remember leaving the earth plane in earlier years, and this leaves room for some of the rest of you to catch up on all the news about what is after this life.

One thing is sure: You will not be needing this body in the afterplane. We help you to adjust to a new, ready-made body that fits your skin better than any earthplane body! We inject humor to help you see this transition called "death" in a new light. You needn't fear this change, dear one. It is coming. That is inevitable. And we can help you prepare for this transition in such a way that your earthplane life is not interfered with.

We see people who are here on earth contemplating the afterlife. We wish them well, and we see them as seekers of the truth and light. But we caution them to return to an earlier, innocent, and childlike focus of the earthplane.

Do not be so concerned about, "What is after this life?" We will tell you all that you need to know, but not so much that your time left here on earth is ruined. If we were to tell a starving man about all the delicious delicacies awaiting him someday when he gets to a restaurant, that would be cruel. The rest of his days when he is not in the restaurant would be ruined in antic.i.p.ation of what is next.

We ask that you do much the same and focus on what is here for you now. There is so much to gather and share here on the earthplane, dear children! Do not let the surprise of what is in store for you be anything but a glimpse of your focus. Do not be overrun with thoughts of heaven, for you do have access to it while you are here on the earth. Life will take care of itself, if you will let it.

Things will not be that much better for you in the afterlife plane if you waste your life thinking about your future in heaven. Of that you can be sure. Just think of the joy you will feel in reviewing your solid gold life spent in service to your siblings here on earth. Then compare that to a life spent in future contemplation and without dutiful action.

There is joy in giving, dear one! Do not believe us, but simply try it for yourself and see. This is the essence, the bloodstream of life. The desire to serve comes masked in many ways, and one of them is the obsession with death and heaven. You think you become an angel when you get here, but the truth is that you are right now called to perform heavenly acts while among those upon the earth. You can do it. You can give so much, even when you believe you have so little to give.

Dear one, how can we convince you of the rightness of G.o.d's plan? You needn't take our word for it, but we do need to push you just a little to tip you in the right direction. Give service in whatever way feels comfortable to you, and you will fear death just a little bit less. Then give each day, and watch all cares about death dissolve and then vanish.

Depression.

We are nearby when you are downtrodden. We glimpse your sadness, not to understand it, but to revel in your glowing, which does seem to burn brighter once you turn your yearnings for love inward. You turn inward upon yourself in sadness and end up in revelation, from which gladness is born.

Your wiseness in using this energy to feed upon yourself is engendered with sweetness. For, at times in which you turn inward to lick your wounds, we gently cradle your soul in our wings and hold you even when you will not feel our presence encircling you. You shut us out, yet there is a knowingness that your call to us for help has been met.

And though you long to review the stinging of salt within your wounds, we give you flowers of gladness that pull you out of your sorrow and into your heaven within. So when your emotions seesaw, know that this is your glory being revealed amidst the clouds you feel are within you. You, at times, long for the clouds to cover you in sadness so that you may spend moments cloaked away from darkness. You use your sadness as a means of escaping from the world you choose to see as cruel and demanding.

We applaud your grace in turning inward, sweet child of heaven. Yet, turn inward whenever it beckons to you! There is no better moment than now for you to return to your refreshing pause that is but a moment away. Whether in sadness or in brightness, refresh yourself often as you drink from your inner well.

Your time is of your own making, and we nurture you gladly from whatever standpoint you take. We give you this push, though: That sadness is just as easy to choose as is the shining light. We don't discount your sorrows. We merely seek for you a way of joy, as your shining beacon beckons others to come hurriedly out of the storm into their own inner sanctums of shelter.

Use your beacon to shine warmth onto other lives, and feel your own coldness melt briskly away. You are a haven from the storm for others, and your greatest moments of glory are used as a lighthouse for smiling souls. Your name is written upon heaven as a shining example of those who have similar sorrows. Use the momentum of the storm to gain strength. Feel the pulsing storm push you further in your life, giving you courage and expansion.

Your respite of depression is used wisely indeed, when it leaves you feeling resolved to be your own captor no longer. We see you breaking free from the encircling of darkness and leaving the prison walls so gladly behind. The applause of the thunderstorms cannot scare you when you put it into this context.

Your breath is the life force that propels you to find a gentler breeze. Your surroundings are but mirrors of your choices, dear one, and your gentler days are coming to you even still. There is no way for us to settle into your patterns if you would hold us at bay. Use our flutters to open the wings of your heart, and feel the light come flooding in, although you may fear more pain of darkness.

Your choice is the essence of the direction in which your life is leading you. Think not that victimhood is upon you, for you have been the captor of your own very soul, and you are the releaser that frees every being with whom you come in contact. Choose freedom, then, for everyone, and you choose freedom for yourself.

And on this bright day, your glory can be seen for miles away. For you are a shining example, and let others see this blaze of freedom upon you. You are the freedom that others now seek! Set no weights upon yourself, in thought that such weight would earn you glory. They but delay you, so do no more self-penance.

The blues that you call depression are but an inverted way of looking at the world. The honor that you seek is upon you now, and you needn't push or force it. Yet, seek glory not for yourself, but in all things seek glory only for G.o.d, and you shall see your name scripted across the heaven in His name forever.

Seek honor not, then, in depression-which means a burrow in the ground. Stand upon the mountain of discovery and give credence to His name that is within you. Let no man see you stand upon anything but this hallowed ground, and give rise to honor by leading men with your beacon. In this, there is no capture.

Desire.

"I shan't want for anything" is the solemn vow that you took upon your plunge into the human castings. Yet, the earth-shattering realization upon your awakening in the human flesh shook you to your very soul with revelations that you were responsible for self-feeding. This took you back, to a time long ago, when your very being recalled moments of despair. You wrapped this past time and brought it forward into present memory and laid the time recalls one across the other.