Sonora Sunrise cabochons cut by Gary WilsonSonora Angel Necklace and Earrings
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You may have noticed that this necklace was called "Sonora Eagle" when I released it right before the Contemporary Crafts Market. However, everyone who looked at it called it an angel so I must defer to higher wisdom and rename it!
Many religions recognize and honor angels which surely suggests that they all share an understanding of the underlying truth of angelic existence. Angels are often depicted with wings which poses a problem for some hopelessly literal biologists because there is no evolutionary precedent for chordates to have wings and arms. Wings in iconography express the angel's sublimity and not necessarily their true form. Someday if we ever get around to perception we might want to consider how allies appear before and after one loses the human form and how that might (or might not) relate to our perception of angels. And what are those creatures who bring us omens? Are they sometimes angels in disguise, or are they members of the animal kingdom at one with Awareness who therefore show up when it is timely?
Angelology is a subject so vast we could never begin to do it justice here. There are some references on angels below you might enjoy... and don't neglect the long list of scripture which speaks of angels. (The wiki article on angels gives a basic introduction to angels in various scriptures.)
References are fine but we must have an angel story! Let's tell one from the Old Testament. It's a story I don't believe I ever heard from the nuns when I was growing up. To me it is an important story, and much of it stumped me for a long time. Teaching stories are like that, they pose problems which can't be "solved" by the calculative mind. When we work with them, we might become lifted up to a new level wherein we understand the story in a new and deeper way. That does not mean we have exhausted the teaching of the story. Teaching stories can prove inexhaustible fonts of wisdom as Seven Arrows asserts. At any rate, we'll just mention the story about the angel and the talking mule. The much reviled Balaam (Numbers 22) set out on his faithful mule to do something he thought God wanted him to do, but which he apparently wasn't doing in the right way. The mule perceived an angel of the Lord in their path with his sword drawn, and she turned off the path to avoid him. Balaam failed to ask why she did this. He must have realized this was very unusual behavior for her. However, he was on a mission from God and she was misbehaving! Full of himself instead of simple Awareness, her action made him angry and he hit her. How often have we been so cock sure of ourselves we have mechanically forged ahead and failed to heed prominent warnings? So they continue and a second time the mule saw the angel. This time there was no way to turn off so she ran into a wall, crushing Balaam's foot. Oh boy, now he's really mad and he smote her again. A third time the angel was before them in a very narrow passage, there was no way for the poor mule to avoid the angel so she fell down in front of him. You may know that it is almost inconceivable that a mule would fall down unless it had been injured. They are incredibly smart and sure footed. Balaam surely knew this but he got so mad he commenced to whack the poor mule in earnest. "And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" Balaam, far from questioning himself, started arguing with the mule. One might have thought that a powerful wizard like himself might have wondered how it was that the mule was questioning him, but no. In fact, he's so furious he tells her that he wishes he had a sword to kill her! It appears his anger had completely taken him over, and this while he's on a mission from God. Fortunately for the mule and for Balaam, the Lord opened his eyes and he saw the angel standing in front of them and he fell down and repented. The angel said that if the mule hadn't turned away he would have slain Balaam and saved the mule... It's a fascinating story, you might want to ponder it some time.
You may have noticed we didn't speak of "higher consciousness" here. My teacher always sought the truth underlying various spiritual traditions. So for example we studied the Advaita tradition and St. John's Gospel and let each illuminate the other. Today it seems many begin teaching without much grounding in the wisdom of the ages. So for example we are told to seek "higher consciousness." While there is no necessary problem with expanding or elevating one's consciousness, we have to look at the word carefully. The prefix 'con-' means 'with' hence con-sciousness is incorrigibly dual. The calculative mind requires two to think after all. It's great to think about stuff, but there is something else, that is, non-dual Awareness. If "I am the vine, ye are the branches" (John 15:5) my teacher used to say, "where does the vine stop and the branch begin?" He was pointing to something beyond what we can manipulate with our calculative mind.
To return to the necklace and earrings, the stones are called Sonora Sunrise, a beautiful combination of Chrysocolla and Cuprite. The earrings are siblings but not twins. Melody mentions that Chrysocolla can assist one in communication with the spiritual forces of the earth. She says Cuprite provides a grounding effect. Perhaps old Balaam should have been wearing it! Please order this colorful angel and if you wish, let it remind you to be open to Awareness.
