The Lion of God Archangel Ari'El
...Personal Encounters
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When I was a child, I was taught that prayer was lifting our minds and hearts to God. As soon as I brought my awareness to prayer, I would sense the Sacred Presence. I continue to pray in that way. I am aware of the Sacred, the Spirit. I believe we live in a Spirit-filled reality. The events that I am about to share with you don’t seem odd or strange to me because I live in a sacred reality. This reality is here for all of us. Here is a way to understand this: Whatever you or I see in our daily encounters with others, we don’t consider out of the ordinary. Even if we haven’t seen someone for a very long time, when they show up we expect to see them, experience their presence. We expect to see others every day. We expect to carry on conversations. We expect to use telephones and computers to connect with others. We don’t think any of this is strange or out of the ordinary. It is simply the way it is. The experience of Spirit is so strong for me that I no longer consider it to be outside or other than my reality. It is a continuous tape running in the background of my awareness. When I bring my awareness to the Divine Presence, Spirit manifests. This deep connection sustains me. For me, seeing and talking to entities of the spirit world doesn’t seem strange because in many ways it is simply where I live. They are a part of my daily reality. I believe anyone who chooses can connect with this spirit filled perception of reality. It simply requires openness of heart and mind and trust. Courage dominates fear and excitement banishes boredom. Living in and with Spirit is a life of awesome adventure and becoming in ways I never dreamt possible. I remember a time when I was troubled about something. I called one of my spiritual teachers, Julie Swanson, who was an Ojibway Medicine Woman and an ordained Christian Minister. She was an amazing woman. She taught me so much. I needed some help thinking the problem through. I called Julie. She lived far away in the northern wilderness of Wisconsin Julie answered her phone. After the usual greetings, I asked if she had some time to help with a troubling matter. Before I had the opportunity to say any more she abruptly stopped me. She said, “I don’t know why you are calling me, when you are sitting in a room full of angels who would love to help if you would just ask them. They can’t interfere. They can only respond to your request. So don’t call me. Ask Them. You are surrounded.” At that she hung up the phone and we were disconnected. I didn’t know if I should be hurt by her apparent rejection or thrilled that I was sitting in a room full of angels with so much guidance at my beckoning! That day was a turning point. I began to take seriously the presence of Angels and their deep desire to help if I would, if you would, if anyone would simply ask them. I kept all of this to myself because I thought that everybody would think I was crazy. My spiritual journey with angelic visions and communications began in a shocking, troubling experience. The tradition of praying with Icons led me to an experience that caused me to confront fear, confusion and discomfort. With a courage, I had never known before, I pushed through this distress to come face to face with the ferocious and gracious presence of the Holy. Often in the Scriptures angels began their encounter with the words, “Do not be afraid!” This experience taught me how appropriate this reaction is. However, I did not get the comforting message not to be afraid; I had to confront the fear and pray through it. The result was a deepening of my openness to the fearsome and loving presence of the Angelic. When I first met the Lion of God, Ari’El, I was shaky, unsure of myself and my fear of being crazy was in full bloom. Most people don’t speak of visions for fear of being seen as unstable. Being a Christian pastor, I was very hesitant to share any of this with my congregation(s) or my peers. I wasn’t hearing other pastors reporting such events in their lives. However, what I now know is that I do not have the luxury or the right to keep these experiences to myself any longer. Note this excerpt from the Foreword by Matthew Fox: Ours is a time for people who have encountered spirits and angels to come out of the closet. The modern age is over. We live in a post-modern age with deep needs such as reinventing politics, education, economics, religion and the media. Time is running out for our species. We can be grateful that Carol Vaccariello has had the courage to step up and share her angelic experiences with us. This invites others to follow. This book is an invitation for you. Open your heart to a more complete reality. If you are already doing that, then enjoy these tellings of a sister traveler on the spirit road. Hopefully some day you will share your stories with me. I love to hear how Spirit shows up!
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About the Book
This is a surprising book with a surprising ending. Carol Vaccariello shares ten true personal encounters with Angels. She shares the extent to which the Angels will go to get our attention and to encourage us to allow them into our lives. Carol has collaborated with Archangel Ari’El to share these heart touching stories to encourage you to wake up to the Angels in your life.
About the Author
Carol Vaccariello is very real, very grounded, very hard working; she is a keen serious listener and teacher, a seasoned student and administrator. Through her spiritual coaching practice, she shares and teaches the wisdom of her experience. She is committed to service and lives a simple life style of service to others. Her spiritual path is rich and diversified. She has lived and worked as a Catholic sister for five years; as a wife and supporter of a union organizer in Ohio for thirty years; as a Protestant pastor for thirty-one years; as Director of the Doctor of ministry program at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary for five years; as co-director of the Doctor of ministry program at the University of Creation Spirituality for nine years; and later at Wisdom University; she has served as an interim pastor at a number of UCC and DOC churches, often called in to resolve conflicts or to help heal wounded congregations. Culturally, Carol is grounded in the Italian Strega tradition which informs her Earth based, Wise Woman, Healer, Native knowing of our cosmic home. She practices deep ecumenism and is interfaith embracing a Braided Spirituality(braidedway.org). Carol composes sacred music, chants and dances, touching deep awareness and freeing revelatory inspiration. Her feet are very much on the ground. She is an Elder guiding others on their spirit paths. The fruits of her healthy and giving life are there for anyone to see. She is a woman of courageous spiritual evolution.