Month: August 2015

Archangel Michael And His Feathers

My spiritual teacher has told me more than once that I could call upon an Archangel named Michael and ask for his assistance whenever I feel like I needed him. Lately, I’ve actually been doing that very thing quite a bit and truly believe I’ve received many signs of his guiding presence. But the journey to even feeling comfortable doing this has definitely taken some time getting there.

It all started when my spiritual teacher informed me I might find help with my debilitating struggles around my health issues by calling upon this Archangel named Michael. Initially, I was skeptical at best mostly because I was originally taught to only pray to God or Christ and that anything else would be blasphemy. Over the years though, I came to feel that this was too stifling of a view of a God often said to be all encompassing. In my recovery life, Bill Wilson said that God is either everything or he is nothing. For me, I eventually cane to accept the former, and in turn found myself researching and learning about many other ways that God manifests in. At first it was more in notable figures from the bible such as the 12 disciples, of which I did pray at times to some of those like Paul or Peter. But as time moved forward, I learned about the presence of God through other beings such as Archangels from the various books I read. It was said in them that an Archangel was simply one of God’s angels of high-ranking order. I didn’t connect much to this hierarchy at first because it seemed far too military or political and was beyond the realm of understanding I had at the time. But over the past five years, I’ve become open to the existence of God in so many more things, mainly because of where my health and healing processes have taken me.

This is why not too long ago, I found myself researching on the Internet about this Archangel named Michael. Through those studies I learned he helps to release fear and worry so that one can be more open to experiencing the incredible love and light of the Angelic Realm, as well as to live a fun, fulfilling, and passionate life. I also discovered he can help to release negativity, is able to bring the necessary courage for making positive life changes, and can bring comfort to those going through times of great sadness. The most interesting thing I found about Archangel Michael though is that he usually makes his presence known through the use of feathers.

After doing all the research on him and many of the other Archangels as well, it still took me some time to actually feel comfortable enough to call upon Michael with a sincere desire for his help. I’d have to say that the first moment it ever happened was on a particular day when my pain was severe, both physically and emotionally. I can’t remember anymore what I specifically said that day, but the gist was that I truly needed some comfort and reassurance that I was going to be ok.

When I found my first feather, a small white one, shortly after that, I just assumed what my ego was telling me was correct, that it was a mere coincidence. But as time went on, the more I prayed to Archangel Michael, the more it seemed as if feathers of all shapes and sizes were popping up around my everyday life. One morning, there was even a trail of them down my driveway. Another time, I chose a specific place to kneel down in my yard and pray and there in front of me was a small one, but after scanning the ground everywhere else, there were no others discovered. In recent months, they’ve been even more pronounced, some even falling out of the sky from nowhere, landing near or even on me.

As a man who once believed everything could be proven through science, I’m finding that hard to do anymore with the number of times these feathers have so randomly and oddly appeared in my life. I’m sure many might say each were always just a coincidence, but for a man of growing faith such as myself, I take them all now as a sign from one of God’s main helpers, ever reminding me that I’m going to be ok.

So whether you buy into the existence of God or Archangels or anything greater than yourself that’s up to you. But I myself am really coming to accept that there is a Higher Power out there of sorts who does have a team of beings working for him, trying to help us all find greater love and light in our lives. I ultimately feel Archangel Michael is one of those helpers and I’m forever grateful for each one of those feathers he sends me because each bring me a little more hope and a little more joy to help me keep going on all of those days when my ego tells me to give up. Thank you Archangel Michael for not letting that happen…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

“Made A Decision…”

The words “Made A Decision” are quite important when it comes to recovery from addiction, as they are part of what I deem to be the most vital step, which is Step 3. It reads, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God” and thankfully, I made three of these decisions over the course of the past 20 years that have fully transformed my life for the better.

The first of those came on June 10th, 1995. At that point, alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes were ruling my life. In fact, I was totally powerless over them and each was downright causing me to self-destruct on a daily basis. This is mainly why I will always remember the precise moment that day when I kneeled down in my bathroom and prayed to a God I had never spent much time with. All I asked in that prayer was for help because I knew if I didn’t get any, I was going to die from the damage these three things were causing me. Then something amazing happened. I felt a presence move through me, one I had never felt before, and when it was over the compulsion to pick up any of these substances left me. It was then I made a decision to never do any of them again and to this day I still haven’t.

The second time I made a decision to turn my will and my life over was on September 7th, 2007. When that day arrived, I had gone 12 entire years attempting to manage my life without any recovery program. Most would say I had lived the total time as a dry drunk because my behaviors were never much different from when I had been actively drinking, drugging, and chain smoking. But something truly amazing happened that night after calling the only friend who continued to believe in me. He had 14 years clean and sober at the time, but they were far different from the twelve I had, as he had continuously worked his recovery program during each of them. During our phone call he asked me to attend his home group in Alcoholics Anonymous that night, of which I accepted. It was there I spoke at a podium in front of at least 100 people where I said I needed help and was willing to do anything. And I meant it. By the end of that evening, after praying to God, I made a decision to work the 12 Steps with a sponsor for the first time in my life and have been on the recovering path ever since.

The third and probably most significant decision I ever made in turning my will and my life over was on April 23rd, 2012. It was on that day that I realized I had been playing tug-of-war with God on what I thought I still needed. While I had remained clean and sober from alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes for almost 17 years by that point, I had discovered many other addictions that I wasn’t quite ready to give up. While God kept on giving me plenty of signs how none of them were serving my highest good, I never listened and was becoming spiritually sick all over again because of it. I remember waking up early that morning, shaking because of that growing sickness, and knew what I needed to do. I prayed to God for the strength and it came because when a phone call arrived from the last toxic person I was still engaging in addictive behaviors with, I said goodbye to him. It’s then I made a decision to turn my ENTIRE will and my ENTIRE life to God. Since then, I haven’t engaged in any addictive behaviors, not even one.

Nowadays, I wake up every morning and make the decision to ask God to guide all of my thoughts, words, and actions. So far, it seems to be working because my life has been filled with far less drama and instability than ever before, which is why I’m so grateful I made those decisions, three to be exact. As they have guided and shaped my recovery and spiritual life to a place I never could have achieved solely on my own.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 19

Q: What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?
A: SUPPLIES!!!

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure (Chapters 1 to 18)

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 19

“OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, PLEAAASE SOMEONE HELP!” The frantic woman continued to scream and sob.

“Ok, here’s what I want you to do.” Chris said trying his best to tune out the woman’s pleas for help. “First use the Libra power so that no one sees you doing any of this. Next, go around the back of the house and deactivate Libra and then activate Taurus, as then the fire shouldn’t hurt you while you’re in the house looking for Jake and Noah…”

“Hold on a friggin’ second. It SHOULDN’T hurt me? That’s not very reassuring now is it?” I said feeling somewhat concerned.

“LOOK, we don’t have time for this. Just trust me, it’s going to work. Once, you find the kids in there, take them out the back door, disable Taurus after you set them down, and then tell them to run away from the house towards the street and then to the nearest firefighter. Lastly, use Libra again, and then meet me on the corner of the next street.”

“Chris, for both of our sakes, I truly hope your plan works without any hiccups…”

“Have faith my friend…I know you can do it. Good luck.”

I knew I couldn’t waste any more time worrying whether any of this was going to work or not. Every minute I stalled was putting those kids more at risk.

“LIBRA!”

Chris was still staring at me, as I looked over his shoulder and saw the woman’s mouth opened in mid-scream. Just beyond her were the firefighters spraying water from two different hoses, one on the front door and the other through a broken window upstairs. The stream from both now looked rather like a long ice bridge suspended in mid-air. I quickly headed around to the back of the house and wondered if I could make this whole process much easier by leaving time frozen. Maybe fire couldn’t hurt me if time was paused? I decided to try it on a nearby torrent of fire that was coming out one of the lower side windows. It honestly seemed harmless enough, so I walked over to it and reached my hand up into the beautiful orange glow.

“OWWWWWW!” I retracted my hand as fast as possible, but not before it got burned pretty well. I guess that answers that question. Note to self, stick to Chris’s plan.

My burned hand was really hurting now as I reached the back door and lightly grasped its handle, which was surprisingly cool to the touch. Upon turning it, I discovered it was unfortunately locked. I had no other choice but to break it open.

“LIBRA!”

“TAURUS!”

Immediately my burned hand completely healed itself, which was a huge relief. I wasted no time to reflect on it though, as I hastily turned the door handle with next to no effort, breaking the lock mechanism in the process. I then pushed it opened and instantly a wall of flames shot out, yet they didn’t burn me this time. Instead, it almost felt like a warm breeze was passing through me. I couldn’t say the same for my costume though, as small parts of it began to melt. As quick as I possibly could, I sped through the wall of flames and entered the kitchen, managing to stifle the parts of my outfit that were burning.

“JAKE! NOAH! WHERE ARE YOU?” I shouted as loud as I could with hope I would hear them shout back.

There wasn’t any response though. I shouted their names again even louder, but still nothing. The house was rapidly becoming engulfed in fire and I could tell several wooden beams downstairs might collapse soon. Thankfully all the thick smoke surrounding me though wasn’t affecting my ability to breathe and keep a clear head.

Strictly on impulse, I decided to run up the stairs to where the bedrooms most likely were. The first one I entered appeared to be the master bedroom, of which not much was left. The next one seemed to be an office, and there too everything was already fully entrenched in flames. Parts of my costume were now beginning to disappear because of the intensity of the fire and heat and I knew I didn’t have much time left before I’d probably be totally naked. And that was definitely something I didn’t want to happen! I promptly raced into the next bedroom trying to forget any worry of that occurring, but had no success there or with the bathroom across from it. I approached the last room I hadn’t entered yet, except this one had its door closed. I swiftly kicked it open and there in the corner of it next to a bunk bed and some toys scattered about were twins Jake and Noah, huddled together, but definitely not alert. The smoke in the room was so thick I could barely see them through it, but thankfully it wasn’t bothering my eyes. I raced over to them and shook them both, but neither stirred one bit. Shit, Chris didn’t prepare me for this! I had no choice but to try something he hadn’t laid out for me.

“TAURUS!”

“VIRGO!”

I instantaneously started coughing and my eyes burning with the heat just as excruciating. While lying as close to the floor as possible and praying I didn’t pass out, I then reached out to place my hands on both boys at the same time. I really had no idea whether I could heal two people at once, but it was the only option I had. As soon as my hands were firmly pressed upon the chests of both Jake and Noah, that electricity-like feeling began to shoot through me like it had before when I healed Chris. The energy bolts then jumped down my arms and out my fingertips, causing my hands to become super-hot in the process. Suddenly both of the boy’s eyes opened with each taking in deep breaths…

“COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!” Jake and Noah proceeded to hack loudly like I already was.

“Are…you…here to save us?” One of the twins asked me in between coughs.

“Yes, Look, I’m about to do a little magic to get you out of here. Just trust me ok?” 

“OK!” Both twins responded in unison. I could tell they were very scared. I was too, as the smoke felt like fire in my lungs with each breath I took.

“VIRGO!”

“TAURUS!”

Phew. I could breathe again and my watery vision cleared itself up as well. I then hurriedly picked up Jake and Noah and placed one under each arm, as if I was carrying two bundles of wood. They were definitely a few years younger than I, but based upon their size, I would have guessed they were each at least 60 pounds, although it felt as if I was holding onto two kids that weighed next to nothing.

As I flew out the door, both of them started screaming due to the intensity of the heat. The stairs were now completely buried in flames and I knew there was no way I could take them through that wall of fire. I had only one possible exit at this point, the bathroom. It appeared to be the only thing that wasn’t on fire and there was a window in there.

“So do you guys trust me still?” I said to Jake and Noah setting them down near the window in the bathroom I had just entered.

“Yes, why, what are you gonna do?” One of the twins answered while the other started crying pretty hard, apparently quite scared.

“You’re both going to jump out this window one after another, once I’m down on the ground and I’m going to catch each of you.”

“WHAT?!” The crying twin abruptly said in between sobs.

“Please just trust me ok?” I said trying to reassure him.

I didn’t wait for them to say anything else as the flames had now blocked our exit from the bathroom. Both were coughing uncontrollably by the time I got the window opened and had thrown the screen to the ground. I then climbed out and jumped without thinking, finding it almost hard to believe how effortless it was when I reached the ground.

“Ok, come on. JUMP!” I said as I prepared my hands to catch whoever went first.

The twin that hadn’t been crying quickly climbed through the window with no hesitation and jumped. I caught him with ease and motioned for his brother to do the same, except he continued to peer over the edge fully paralyzed in fear. I yelled again for him to jump, but to no avail.

I knew there wasn’t any time left for this so I leaped as hard as I could and reached the window easily. I could see the flames had now entered the outer perimeter of the bathroom, leaving me with no choice but to grab the boy’s arm with one of my hands and roughly drag him out the window. As soon as I did, I let go of the windowsill with my other hand and fell to the ground. I landed on my back while still holding onto him, but thankfully it hadn’t hurt either of us. He immediately then bolted out of my arms and stood on his feet, next to his brother.

“Now run as fast as you can away from your house towards the street and then head over towards the firefighters ok? You mom is there with them now and I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to see you both are safe!” I said as I stood up and brushed myself off.

“Thank you mister superhero,” said the twin who had jumped first. “So who are you anyway beneath that mask and how did you do all that?”

“Don’t worry about any of that. Just run. Your mom needs to know you’re safe.”

“Thanks for saving me too,” said the other twin who had finally stopped crying.

“You’re both welcome, now go!”

I watched as they ran away from the house, making it safely to the street, and then disappear heading towards the firefighters and their mother.

“TAURUS!”

“LIBRA!”

I walked slowly back around the house, amazed I had actually pulled it all off. The rush of helping save Jake and Noah felt incredible. Once I reemerged on the other side of the house where the firefighters were still battling the blaze, I was able to see the teary mother with arms outstretched, and just beyond, the boys running towards her. A television crew had already arrived and was now filming the whole scene, which I’m sure, would make for great headline news later that night. When I reached enough of a safe distance where no one could see me, I unfroze time and saw Chris standing on the corner of the next street over as promised.

“Well?” Chris said in anticipation when I reached him, while handing me my bag of candy.

“They’re safe, but not without a few of those hiccups I’ll have you know!”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll tell you later, let’s just get out of here first. My costume feels like it’s totally stuck to me.”“Well at least most of it’s still on you, especially your mask, which means those boys shouldn’t know who you are right?”

“Yeah, I guess so…” I said, as we began to head down the hill to return to his house.

Little did I know though what was taking place at that very moment back at the still blazing fire…

“I think you’re going to want to see this!!!” said a man wildly shaking his Iphone in the air while racing over towards the filming TV crew and the female reporter.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson