When Time Stood Still and We Were Saved From Falling

My wife and I were on a break away and went for a walk. The route details were on a leaflet. It was about five miles through woods and across fields. Sounded fine for a mild afternoon.

We set off and soon got into our stride, not another soul anywhere to be seen - so perfect for walking and forgetting the rest of the world. For a while the pathway was alongside a small river, which we then had to cross using some stepping stones, and make our way up the side of the valley via some uneven stone steps. A reasonable climb and shouldn't have been any problem.

We were nearly to the top when my wife must have missed the step or slipped on the uneven rocks - whatever - she started to fall backwards. I was a couple of steps behind her ... it was then that time stood still!

Thoughts started flowing through my mind ...

"When my wife hits me I will fall backwards as well ... I'll hit my head on the rocks below. She will land on top of me but will still have a nasty fall ... what should I do for the best ... "

I was working out what to do and the consequences, as my wife was falling backwards so it can only have been a second, if that. I felt my back foot being lowered to the step below and, goodness knows how, I caught her! I didn't fall and neither of us were hurt.

The point is that time did stand still, I can't possibly have had all of those thoughts in a normal, every day, time frame. So, "What is time?"

We got to the top of the steps and looked down. My wife was shaken and in tears thinking of what might have happened and said words to the effect that our Guardian Angel must have been looking after us. I still can't explain how I caught her.

I've only experienced that sort of thing once. Oh, other than when I was riding a donkey backwards - but that's another story!

So can time stand still?

Were the Three White Feathers a Sign That a Guardian Angel Helped Me To Buy a New Car?

I'm writing about white feathers today. No doubt you've heard such stories previously. Some say they are from angels. Perhaps a Guardian Angel. 

I haven't reached a definite opinion about angels and/or white feathers but the following is something that happened to me.

The first time I experienced white feathers was when I bought a new car. There, on a grass verge next to my car, when I went to collect it, were three white feathers, all lined up next to each other. I read afterwards that finding three feathers is supposedly your Guardian Angel letting you know they are about. 

The car purchase was a little odd because, being me, I shopped around for the best price. I took ages deciding and then finally, to my wife's disappointment, reached the conclusion that the car I wanted was slightly too expensive.

That night I tried visualisation, seeing the car at the price I could afford and requesting that this would come about. By this I mean that I sat quietly picturing myself with a new car and buying it at a price I was happy about - cosmic ordering if you like. (Mind you, I should have simply visualised the car being mine without any price tag. I now know better!)

Nevertheless the next day my wife was seeing one of her dressmaking clients. In the general chat my wife mentioned the car I was thinking about buying.

Now by chance / coincidence, or whatever, the client said she had a friend who was a car dealer and sold this particular make. She went on to say he was desperate for a few sales otherwise he could lose his dealership. Seemingly he had to sell a target number of cars each quarter.

She phoned him to see what sort of price he would take for the model I wanted. He gave his 'bottom' price and I said this was still too expensive. He asked what sort of price I hoped to pay. I told him, via the dress making client, and he agreed on a price below what I was willing to pay. He reckoned he wouldn't make any money on the deal - that could have just have been car sales talk. But I was more than happy with the result

So, to sum up, I'd asked the universe / cosmic, or whatever you want to call it, for a car at a certain price and I got it. Then, when I picked up the car, there were three white feathers lying next to it - a message of confirmation perhaps from a higher level? Or just my imagination?

The Number Seven Guardian Angel

From my cuttings an amusing 'Lucky 7' story which also includes coincidences. I believe it was first published in the Daily Mail a while back and was from a Bob Hunt, England.

Back in December 2002, I suffered a severe heart attack and was admitted to hospital.

The following month I ended up at London's Royal Brompton for a major operation which, thanks to the staff, was a great success.

The cardiac surgeon told me the procedure would add seven years to my life. It took seven weeks to recover and get back to normal lifestyle. I am now in my last year of a seven year period!

Not long after the op, my eldest son, Stewart said, "Dad, as you have had a bad time this year and have been a perfect patient, I would like to give you a present."

"Such as?" I asked.

He went on, "I'll get your name in every daily newspaper in the UK at the same time."

I was intrigued and asked, "Would I have to murder someone?"

My son laughed and told me to wait and see. He then asked, "When are you and Mum going to Norfolk on holiday this year?"

I told him we'd be going in the first week of July [the seventh month].

Unknown to me, he contacted Great Yarmouth racecourse and paid £1000 to have a race named The Bob Hunt Family And Friends Condition Stakes (Class C), to be held on July 3, 2003, at 3.35pm. On that day, I came down to breakfast at our hotel and picked up a Daily Mail. Looking through the racing section I saw my name!

My son's prediction was true.

When we met up, he said, "Dad, what's your lucky number?"

I explained, "When playing bingo, the caller always says, "On its own, lucky seven."  So as a bingo addict, I suppose that must be my lucky number.

"That's good," he said, and explained that there were seven coincidences:

# It had been seven months since my heart operation.

#The prize money for the horse owner was near on £7,000.

#The race was over seven furlongs.

#There were seven runners in the race.

#The horse I wanted to back, Tarjman, was number seven.

#The horse was drawn into stall number seven.

#Finally the trainer was a Mr. Stewart, the same name as my son't Christian name.

At the racecourse, just before my race, I dashed over with my son to the bookmakers to place our bet (which was now a bigger stake than normal (oh horse number seven).

There was a queue and incredibly, there were seven people in front of us! They were quickly dealt with and the bet was on.

We anxiously watched the race and, yes! our prediction was right, number seven won.

I was then due to present the winning horse's owner with his trophy. With all of the excitement I felt unwell. My son told me not to worry: he and my youngest son would do the honours. I wondered if my guardian angel had a number seven on her wings.

I was in seventh heaven!

~ Bob Hunt, Hertford.

Other Angel Posts:
The Guardian Angels Waiting To be Summoned
The Guardian Angel Who Saved Her From A Car Crash
The Grandmother Who Became Her Granddaughter's Guardian Angel

A Ghostly Great Dane Saved Their LIves

This makes a change - a black Great Dane dog acting as a guardian angel! Here is Raven's slightly spooky story.

My sister Carolyn and I were travelling from Florida to Georgia. It was dark out, and I will speculate the time to be around 4 a.m. We had recently got on the Florida turnpike and were south of Boca Raton, Florida.

Carolyn, who is a notorious interstate speeder, was travelling well above the 65 mph speed limit at the time.

I heard my sister say, "Now what is he doing out there?" and slowed down the car.

I looked over to the side of the road where she was looking, and asked what she was talking about. She replied, "That big black dog over there."

I could see nothing on the side of the road, but she swore she could see this huge dog, as big as a Great Dane on the side of the turnpike in front of us. She slowed the car down further, and we began to climb a hill. On the way down, there is a curve, and we noticed a bunch of highway workers on the side of the road, setting up signs in order to start work on the highway.

At the speed we had been travelling, we would have collided with one of the highway trucks and possibly killed.

When I later asked her about it, she said she saw a huge black dog, on the side of the road, and he looked like he was about to go into the lanes. She was driving a new Toyota, and knew if she hit the dog at the speed she was travelling, she would have almost 'totalled' her car, so to try to avoid him she slowed down. She claims she saw the dog the entire time she was passing him, and could see him in the rear mirror, I saw nothing,

She credits this 'dog' with saving our lives and looks at him to be a guardian angel.

I don't know what she saw, but I am glad she saw something.

~ Raven

Other Random Posts:
Fate Or Coincidence Brings Two Friends Together Over And Over
4000 Year Old Bird Drips Blood During War Time
The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead

Cilla Black Saw White Feathers Following Her Husband's Death

It's white feathers again today with a story about Cilla Black, who sadly died this week. For those who may not know, Cilla was a singer at the Cavern Club at time of the Beatles and went on to have several chart hits. Later she become a television presenter. She was 72 when she died..

Bobby, Cilla's husband, died previously of lung cancer. She was, at the time, devastated but held a firm belief that she would meet him again when she died. She told Michael Hellicar, a colleague, the following - in Cilla's words:

"Since Bobby's been gone, I've had several little messages from him, so I know he's looking after me. He advised me from the spirit world that it was time to give up Blind Date [a TV show she presented], so I did..

"Gloria Hunniford told me that after her daughter, Caron Keating, died, she'd often find a white feather in the most unexpected places. She believed it was Caron's way of telling her that she's all right..

"So one day I went into the garden, where some of Bobby's ashes had been buried under a willow tree - the rest were scattered at our other homes in Spain, Barbados and on the roof terrace of our flat in Westminster..

"I told him that if he was supposed to be my guardian angel, I needed some proof. Suddenly, I looked down and there were five white feathers. I could swear they hadn't been there earlier.

"It was as though he was saying: 'You want feathers, Cilla? Here they are.'".

Cilla Black Music on Amazon UK

Other White Feather Posts:
White Feathers As Messages From The Deceased
The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
The White Dove As A Messenger Of The Dead

The Grandmother Who Became Her Granddaughter's Guardian Angel

A story today from Elaine about how her grandmother became her Guardian Angel:

"My parents separated when I was eight and over the next few years my mother wasn't around too much so my grandparents started looking after me. At first I wasn't happy about this but gradually I began to get close to my grandmother. I realised I was lucky in some respects as grandmother was kind, patient and would do almost anything for me.

The years passed and I met a young man I wanted to marry. I was just 19 but my grandmother was happy for me and helped me arrange the pending wedding and to choose my dress. I was to be married in mid April 1975 and on April 9th I had a phone call just before midnight while at my fiancé's home. Grandmother had been rushed to hospital. I was in a panic, scared and knew I had to get to see her.

My fiancé didn't have a car at that time and as it was so late I had no way to get to the hospital. The next day I visited her but she was unconscious. All I wanted to do was to tell her how much I loved her and what she meant to me.

I was persuaded by my grandfather and the hospital staff that I should go home in the evening as there was nothing I could do. I went to my grandparents house where I was still officially living and went to bed at about 11:30. I couldn't sleep at first and tried saying a prayer. Eventually I must have dropped off.

I woke up suddenly and it felt as if someone was in the room with me, but I wasn't frightened. I was sure there was someone sitting on my bed. I felt the bed sink as if someone had sat down. I glanced at my bedside clock and saw that it was 4:00 am. It's weird but I remember, as if it was yesterday, how calm and comfortable I felt and I fell into a deep sleep.

In the morning the first thing I did was to phone the hospital ward where grandmother was. The nurse who answered was evasive and the phone was passed to grandfather. He told me that grandmother had died. I asked him what time, but I 'knew' what he would say. He told me she died at four o'clock in the morning.

I am convinced grandmother came to visit me after she had died. She loved me as much as I loved her.

Since then I have sensed her with me, especially when I have been sad or troubled. I'm now 39 years old, my first marriage didn't work out but I know grandmother helped pull me through the difficult times and when I had a miscarriage. It's as if she is my Guardian Angel and is there when I need her.

I'm lucky now, I have two lovely children and a husband I love very much. I don't sense grandmother quite as much now that I'm settled but I'm sure she will be with me on my 40th birthday."

~ Elaine

Other Random 67 Not Out Poists:
The Guardian Angels From Somewhere
A Sighting Of The Bank Of England Black Nun Ghost
10 Ghost Story Posts

The Guardian Angels From Somewhere

Here's a questioning small piece from 89 year old Coralie of Manchester that got me off on a disjointed train of thought.

"The idea of Guardian Angels is interesting, but why does 'religion' have to come into the equation?

"Should there be beings who look like us humans but have wings etc.? Here's another view.

"When we sleep, we leave our bodies and go - where? Into another dimension? Are we being shown what happens when we don't return to our bodies, when we 'die', for want of a better word?

"I'm quite sure that I've been watched and helped all my life. Everything I've needed - not wanted, but needed - be it good or bad, has been given to me.

"Who or what is doing this watching or guiding we cannot possibly imagine because we're only human.

"I've been near death many times, especially during the war, as we all were then. Perhaps we're being experimented with.

"I also know that I return to my somewhat ancient body every morning for some reason. I've lived almost 90 years, seen and done everything, so why do I keep returning? Maybe one day I'll find out."

I agree with Coralie that the subject of Guardian Angels is interesting. A recent survey by the pollster ICM recently found that 31% of British people - and 41% of British women - said they believed Guardian Angels existed.

Gemma Arterton

We also have the likes of actress Gemma Arterton, Hollywood's Denzil Washington and UK television presenter Gloria Hunniford all saying that they believe in Guardian Angels. It's almost the in thing to be part of. Just look at how many angel tattoos are wobbling about on various celebrity bodies.

I've never personally seen such an angel - a real one that is - but I do have the feeling that I am sometimes looked after or helped along the way. Last year when I had kidney surgery it felt like I was being comforted prior to the operation. Karin couldn't believe how I was joking with the doctors and nurses and how relaxed I was. (It wasn't drugs!) Somehow I knew there was nothing to worry about.

I read a few days back that Gloria Hunniford claims to have a parking angel which helps her find spaces for her car. I've got one too! I wrote about this in a post How To Get A Car Parking Space Using Coincidences back in January 2011. It works along the lines of: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find ..."

Books on angels, such as Lorna Byrne's Angels In My Hair are big sellers. I believe it has sold well over half a million copies.

But what do those doubting Thomas experts say on the subject? Professor Of Psychology at Goldsmiths University says:

"A lot of these people are genuinely seeing these things. For example, mountain climbers who have lost their bearings sometimes report seeing a figure guiding them out of the danger.

It may be a psychological defence when faced with danger. Of course, we don't hear from those whose guardians led them off the edge of a cliff!"

Neuroscientists have tried to explain away visions of this nature. In 2005 Swiss researchers found that sending a small electric current through the left temporoparietal junction (a small area at the back of the brain which retains visual memories and sensory information) resulted in patients seeing ghostly figures.

Brain scans taken of Tibetan monks showed mystical experiences tended to occur when sections at the front of the brain were very active, while those involved in navigation and spatial orientation were calm. This led to the assumption that there is a physical difference in the brains of those who experience such visions.

Going back to those celebrities who say they have seen or have a Guardian Angels. Believers often say that the vision ends with the angel passing on a message or sign in the form of white feathers. I've written many posts about white feathers.

Gemma Arterton has been quoted as saying that she has feathers which follow her everywhere.

The televison presenter and author Judy Finnegan says she found white feathers in her house, which she believes were evidence of her friend Caron Keating, who died of cancer, returning as an angel.

Those experts will claim that such phenomena simply reflect the human need to find patterns and significance in otherwise random events. Huh! I can disagree as I have seen white feathers over and over after the loss of loved ones.

It's up to us what we believe and sometimes I'm happy to look upwards and say 'thank you' following some help or even just for finding a car parking space. I must admit though I'm not exactly sure who or what I'm saying thank you to - but I feel it's a power for good.

Other Feather And Angel Posts:
10 White Feather Story Posts As Examples Of Messages From The Dead
The Bird Angel Who Comforts As Someone Dies
The Guardian Angels Waiting To be Summoned

The Guardian Angels Waiting To be Summoned

Nowadays we often talk about guardian angels and, for some reason, I presumed that this idea originated from within Christianity. But it seems other religions have equivalents.

In Islam there is a term al-mu'aqqibat which means those who follow one upon another. Some scholars claim that these are similar to guardian angels

"When I was a child I thought I saw an angel. It had wings and kind of looked like my sister. I opened the door so some light could come into the room, and it sort of faded away. My mother said it was probably my guardian angel."
~ Denzel WashingtonIt is said in Islamic teachings (as I understand it) that God assigns two angels to each of us throughout our lives. One sits on our right shoulder and the other on our left. These are called kiraman katibin and record our actions, thoughts and feelings from puberty.

The angel who sits on the right shoulder records the good that we do while the angel on the left records our bad deeds. So we can't hide much from God! On the Day of Judgement each person will be confronted with this record - and the two angels will be present to tell God of what the person did.

Thinking about this though these angels differ from the popular, more western versions as they do not seem to step in and help the person they are with - they purely record events. But, in saying this the Qur'an states (Chapter 13 Verse 11) "For each person there are angels in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of Allah."

An Irish Blessing:
These things I warmly wish for you: someone to love, some work to do, a bit o' sun, a bit o' cheer, and a guardian angel always near.I have read that Muslims sometimes say, "Peace be upon you," while looking at their left and right shoulders - where the angels reside - as they offer their daily prayers.

If we move on to Hinduism there is a belief that all living things - people, animals, plants - have a deva assigned to them to guard and help 'us' understand the universe and how we can become one with it.

Going back to Christianity I have a cutting (sorry, don't know source) which states:

There must be a convey of guardian angels, working twenty-four hours a day, looking after me ... Like the night I first got to Nashville and laid down in the middle of Broadway, waiting to get run over. It didn't happen ... I could swear they were keeping me alive just to see what I'd get up to next, I'm glad they feel that way.
~ Willie Nelson"In Catholic Christianity, believers say that God assigns one guardian angel to each person as a spiritual friend for the person’s entire life on Earth. The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares in section 336 about guardian angels: 'From infancy to death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.'"

I like the idea of having a Guardian Angel, but then I have my doubts because some of them don't appear to being doing a very good job on behalf of the people they are supposedly looking after. I think the answer to this is that we have to actually ask for help or guidance on matters of life. Maybe if we don't ask, we don't get.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Sounds fair enough!

Random Angel Posts on 67 Not Out:
The Guardian Angel Who Saved Her From A Car Crash
Her Guardian Angels Visited Her In Hospital
The Angel Helpers And White Feathers

A Time And A Place For Death

The crane that was hit by a helicopter on St.George's Wharf, London

There was a nasty accident in London last week. A helicopter crashed into a crane that was on top of a 700ft skyscraper. The helicopter pilot was killed and there was also another fatality. As dreadful as that sounds it could have been so much worse.

For example, two workman should have been working on the crane at the time of the helicopter crash and both would certainly have been killed if they had been there. Maybe it was a 'divine intervention'.

Incredibly the men, Richard Moule and Nicki Biagioni, were late for work. They had both overslept! In the case of Mr Moule this was the first time he had been late for work. He explained; "It was the first time I've been late since starting this job. I just woke up late. Call it divine intervention if you like."

He was supposed to be at his job at 7am.

"I went on my motorcycle and got there at 7.45am. I was in the basement ready to go up when it happened."

Mr. Moule's sister, Charlotte, wrote on Twitter, "Maybe there is a God up there! That was my brother's crane and he was late for work today."

As for Mr Biagioni his wife said, "He overslept that morning, something he never does and was late for work. He was therefore not on the crane when it was hit. I thank his guardian angel."

It's always mystifying when such stories emerge following accidents and the like.

Though I believe in 'free will' it does seem that there is still a pattern behind this. We have things to do or experience prior to leaving earth. There does seem to be a time and a place for everything - including death.

Scene in London following helicopter crash

Other Stories:
Tragic Deaths Illustrate How Fate Has Us At It's Beck And Call
Wrong Number Coincidence Led To Marriage
Anna Laetitia Barbauld And Life

The Guardian Angel Who Saved Her From A Car Crash

A ghostly sighting, or maybe a guardian angel story, today from 67 Not Out reader Gwendoline.

"I have been reading some of your white feather and ghost posts and I thought I would tell you my tale. Most of my friends don't think it's true but this only happened last month.

I had been visiting some old Uni friends in Tiverton and by the time I was ready to drive home to Lynmouth it was getting quite late and dark. Instead of keeping to the main roads I decided to go across Exmoor on the B roads.

At the edge of Exmoor I was on the B3222 and in front of me at the side of the road I saw a man dressed all in white. He stood out as it was so dark. I didn't feel frightened but as I got nearer to him he started to cross the road which made me quickly put on my brakes. I slowed right down. I knew I hadn't hit him but he had disappeared.

As I was about to speed up again a big lorry came round a bend in the opposite direction. He was on my side of the road but had time to turn back onto the left, where he should have been.

As I got to the bend I realised that if I hadn't have slowed down for the man in white the lorry would most likely have hit me head on. This shook me up and I couldn't get the mysterious man out of my mind. It didn't make sense that anyone would be walking along such a road at night and the fact that he simply disappeared was also puzzling.

When I told my flat mate about what had happened she said it must have been my guardian angel protecting me. But he didn't have any wings and was wearing what looked like a suit of trousers and jacket.

My flat mate reckons that guardian angels aren't always with wings and how we see them in pictures.

This is where my story gets more weirder as I'm sure I saw this man sitting in a chair in our lounge when I got up during the night to go to the loo. But by the time my eyes had adjusted properly he was gone.  I'm not sure what to think."
~ Gwendoline

Further Reading:
A Message Of Hope From The Angels
Her Guardian Angels Visited Her In Hospital
The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead

Her Guardian Angels Visited Her In Hospital

A very short story today about a white feather, but it is one that touched me greatly for some reason. It has a slightly differing slant from other posts I have done on the subject. Usually the white feathers seem to appear following a loved ones death - you will find quite a few such experiences on this blog. The following story, however, is different, as you will see. The writer wishes to remain anonymous.

"I just had a serious emergency surgery and felt as if I was all alone in the world.

After returning to my hospital room, about eight or ten hours after surgery, the nurse came to my room to check on me. She noticed a long white feather sticking on me under my gown.

After reading your blog I assume this meant I was not alone. My guardian angels: my deceased husband and father were with me.

Thank you."

And here is another comment, left on White Feathers Comfort The Bereaved
where the white feather may have been a sign from a Guaradian Angel, depending on your beliefs.

"We had a loose paling on the balcony of our two storey house,when our son was 2/3yrs old. We blocked it up, apparently not well enough and my son fell through and off the balcony. He wasn't hurt at all, but rushed him to the doctor's just incase. The only thing I found on him, was a perfect,tiny white feather stuck in his curls. I like to think his angel softened his fall. I still have that feather."

For those wishing more on the subject of how we can reconnect with those who have passed on to the other side I can recommend Trish and Rob MacGregor's book Synchronicity and the Other Side: Your Guide to Meaningful Connections with the Afterlife.

To quote from the introduction of their book:

"You'll see that the walls separating this world and the other side are not insurmountable, that you can obtain messages from deceased loved ones, that guidance can be found, that a larger picture of life and life-hereafter is readily available. In fact, the more contact you make, the more the so-called realm of the dead appears to be buzzing with life, potential, and promise."

Other white feather posts:
The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
Receiving White Feathers From The Dead
A Message Of Hope From The Angels