All along life’s journey we are faced with choices. Isn’t it true that sometimes we are guided intuitively towards a certain direction, but either because of our own stubbornness, or perhaps fear of change, or even because we take the advice of someone else, we take a decision which ultimately takes us away from where we wanted to be? Then, we have to make steps to get back on track, or find ourselves on a very convoluted pathway that leads us eventually to our destination but takes an awful lot longer to get there!

I always say that there are no ‘wrong’ choices, just different lessons. We get better at listening to our own higher guidance, and noticing the prompting of angels the more we practice, but my oh my some of us take a long while to get to that point. I count myself as one of those ‘slow learners’ too, because for years I wasn’t listening, and it took a long time and illness before I made some better decisions about my life.

But how do we know which of these choices, or experiences, from the past were actually right for us in the long run, even though at the time they might not have had the expected out come?

I was struck by how passionately two of the participants at my recent workshop in Dublin spoke of the exercise I call the ‘Time Line’. In my Seven Steps  programme. I advocate this as as an essential part of the first step to Spiritual growth and because of this it is in my book, my home study course, and  I teach it in workshops. As I passed round the hand out sheets for this exercise (you can down load it from my blog page if you wish) both ladies spoke out enthusiastically about how valuable they had found this practical piece of spiritual work. I know I’ve mentioned it before to you but I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to take a review of some of the most significant things in your life and see if your measure of the lasting effect has changed as you mature. It’s as simple as drawing a line across the page and making notes of all the things that are held in your memory as either positive or negative experiences. Things like the birth of a sibling, or the passing of a loved one go on there. Achievements and life changing events all go on your timeline. Positives above the line and perceived negatives below it. What seemed catastrophic when you were say seven or twenty may now seem like an ‘aha’ moment of realisation on reflection. Would you be the same or different had some of those things not happened at all?

it prompted me to look back to some of my own most significant positive experiences. Times when I’ve been given the opportunity for leaps forward – moments of choice. Of course there have been hundreds of memorable events of over sixty years journeying, but It also gave me some moments of deep reflection about one or two of the ceremonies I’ve been hugely privileged to have been party to. And one of the most beautiful and moving was when to my astonishment I was deeply honoured to be invited and ordained as a celebrant with the Essene Network (to which I feel a massive past life connection and I’ve now belonged for over twenty years in this life time).

It was in 2011 during a wonderful week at the annual Essene Summer Gathering at St Katherines in Parmoor, Buckinghamshire, – which is always full of shared experiences of calm meditations, peace, great healing, love and laughter. I was invited and invested as a new minister and it was one of the most life-affirming of experiences and one which I shall treasure close to my heart for the rest of my life. I thought I would share the memory with you.

To set the scene imagine a balmy Summer evening of the ‘Silent Meal’ when the whole group always dress in white, and the chapel, or meeting hall, is set with many tea-lights, a table strewn with brightly coloured fresh flowers and a gorgeous array of colourful fresh food ready for sharing of our mindful silent meal . The purpose is a community experience of awareness and appreciation. Before eating everyone’s hands are washed and a blessing given by one of the celebrants and then beautiful ceremonial words are read by the celebrants, calling in the angels of the Heavenly Father and Earthly Mother, together with the elements of air, fire, water, ether and earth. It is a very beautiful ceremony and one enjoyed by all our participants especially moving to new ones who may not have experienced this kind of silent meal before.

After the meal everyone moved to a circle of chairs and I was invited to sit in the centre. The two remaining founding members of the ENI, who were both ordained Essene ministers of over twenty years, stood one in front, and the other behind me with hands on my shoulders. Anne MacEwen spoke beautifully, in her eloquent way, about all her years as a minister within the network and it’s original founding by Sir George Travelyan, based on the teachings of Jeshua (Jesus) and The Way of the Essenes. She explained to the group that since the passing of Brian Stevenson, a co-founder and our well-loved Chairman, it was time to invite another minister to make up three (considered a special spiritual number). I was asked if I would be willing to accept this role and then in turn group were asked if they would accept me. Everyone said yes! And one of the liveliest even shouted Mazaltov!

Behind me, Jackie Stevenson, spoke of my role within the network and invited Divine Grace and guidance from the angels to bless and assist me further in my work with the angels, and then said a beautiful prayer.  I cannot begin to express the feelings I experienced, especially at the end of the ceremony when a member of the ‘family’ called Peter recited the Aramaic version of the Lord’s Prayer, thought to be the language Jesus would have used often, in his wonderful velvet tones.

There are several translations, so here is the one Peter recited in Aramaic for you to enjoy now:

ABWOON D’BWASHMAYA

NETHQADASH SHMAKH

TEYTEY MALKUTHAKH

NEYWEY TZEVYANACH AYKANNA D’BWASHMAYA APH B’ARHA

HAWVLAN LACHMA D’SUNGANAN YEOMANA

WASHBOGLAN KHAUBAYN AYKANNA DAPH KHNAN SHBWOGAN L’KHAYYABAYN

WELA TAHLAN L’NESYUNA

ELA PATZAN MIN BISHA

METOL DILAKTIE MALKUTHA WAHAYLA WATESHBUKHTA L’AHLAM ALMIN
AMEYN

and one of the many translations:

Through the Breath of our Father/Mother God

May the Divine shine everywhere in All that Is

Let us make a Shrine in our hearts

And unite with our Mother the Earth

Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Give us the Bread of Understanding according to our needs this day and every day

Shine upon and disperse our shortcomings as we forgive and forget the shortcomings of others

Don’t let us embrace that which is false

Or behave inappropriately

From you is born all power and life, the song to beautify all.

For Thine is the essential goodness of all Creation, our Mother Earth, the Life Force, the rejoicing from age to age.

Amen – (True Power to these statements – may they be the source from which all my actions grow).

You can download the Timeline exercise here: 

http://angellight.co.uk/stepsfiles/ChrissieAstell-TimeLine.pdf