1. Most people perceive angels as being a bit esoteric, directing our lives from above. You feel differently. Why is that?

As a child, I, too, believed that angels were enigmatic creatures that lurked among the clouds, but when I first began working with the Archangel Gabriel several years ago, I learned that the angels walk among us humans and are more than willing to directly interact with those who are receptive to their presence and instruction. When the angels first came to me, I was very much a doubting Thomas, thinking at first my sanity was somehow being compromised. But then I became a first-hand witness to their divine work and guidance, and not only saw how they were impacting my life, but the lives of my friends and then later my clients.

After all the years of working with the angels, I am still awed by them. In the beginning when I first began formally connecting with them through the help and guidance of my spiritual mentor, there was no bigger skeptic than I. But time and time again, the angels have proven themselves to me through their wisdom and accuracy of their proclamations. In the beginning, I didn't believe they existed, and I certainly didn't believe in my gift. But I know now that they are very real and I couldn't imagine my life without them. My hope and purpose is to bring others into the awareness of the spiritual world around us and into the realization that Creation is not separate from the Creator. There is no point where one ends and the other begins. We humans are a part of that Creation and very much immersed in the Creator's plans and engineering. As the Conductors of the Cosmos, the angels are right beside us, guiding our every step.

2. How long have you been working with angels? When did you first realize you had the gift of angel communication?
If you had asked me that question about a year ago, I would have said eight years. But before connecting with what I knew to be the Archangels, I was working with my beloved spirit guide, Jake, who first appeared in my life in 1994—though I really didn't accept his presence until around 1997, and even then I was still skeptical. Before that, in 1993, I had my first contact with Jesus. I say "contact" because I'm not really sure what else to call it. I have always been a spiritual person, and as a child I was fervently religious with prayer being a big part of my life. It just so happens that one summer night in 1993—after about six years of being a rebellious teenager—I was in deep prayer when it suddenly became a two-way conversation with Jesus. (I prefer to call him J.C.) Before my connection with Him, I was beleaguered by ghosts, premonitions, and underdeveloped gifts of ESP. So, I've been connecting with the spiritual world since birth, most likely. I would imagine that the angels have been there the whole time. But I would have to say that I really didn't become aware of them until Jake, who was at the time learning to be a spirit guide under the instruction of Archangel Cassiel.

3. Is communication with angels something anyone can do?

I believe that everyone can connect with the angels. The crux of it is figuring out how that person can connect. Everyone is different. While a person might not connect with the angels through clairaudience and clairvoyance as I do, she may be proficient in dreams and premonitions. I tend to shy away from using the word "communicate," instead preferring to use the word "connect." When we say "communicate," it usually evokes a mental picture of one talking directly to the angels. In that respect, I would have to say that not everyone may be able to communicate with the angels, but everyone can definitely connect with them. The fact that I talk with them does not in any way give me bragging rights. It basically illustrates how my nagging skepticism fuels my constant need to see, hear, and feel the angels to be receptive. Another person, more accepting of her connections, may not need all that and will be content with connecting in simpler ways—such as old-fashioned intuition.

4. Your new book, Azrael Loves Chocoloate, Michael's A Jock, takes a humorous (some might even say irreverent) approach to angels. What is your response to those who might feel that this approach is a bit too casual?

Blame Archangel Michael. No, I'm just kidding. As my relationship with the angels has grown over the years, I've discovered that one of the reasons I'm so receptive to them is because they connect with me in a way that I'm comfortable with. I may not like what they tell me or feel comfortable with their guidance—it's a human thing—but they are my family.

"The boys," as my clients often refer to Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, feel like my big brothers. The first Archangel that I began working directly with was Gabriel, and he tends to fit the archetype that the Bible sets for angels—very formal, regal, and commanding. Needless to say, Gabriel's instruction and guidance felt constricting, with more discipline than I was ever used to growing up with my parents. In that, I fought with Gabriel every step of the way. If he said "go left," I'd go right. His rigorous testing of my faith left me heaving in sobs of frustration. Working with him was very difficult because I hadn't worked with an Archangel before—well, to my knowledge at the time. Gabriel did announce messages of news and blessings, but I was so distraught over his militant ways that a lot of the messages fell upon deaf ears.

Raphael came into my life a little bit later and I found his approach vastly different from Gabriel's. Raphael was very tender and nurturing, while Gabriel's attitude was basically, "Suck it up, soldier." After Raphael came Michael, whose jovial, fun-loving spirit made me realize that the angels all have very different personalities just like we humans do. And I say now, after enduring Gabriel, that nothing makes me laugh harder than hearing Michael tease him about being so serious all the time.

I won't apologize for being "too casual," and my clients and colleagues have been calling me "irreverent" since Day One—it's practically my middle name now. But the angels have yet to yell at me about it…much. There has been a time or two when I've overstepped my boundaries. I was gently put back in my place. That was years ago, though, when I was still learning about these beautiful beings of Light.

Despite my casual approach, despite my sassiness, I still love the angels with all I am and they're too awesome of a bunch to keep to myself. I want to share them with everyone and spread the wonderful feeling of what it's like to be embraced by these divine creatures. There's no pomp, no pretense, or Old English to tread through, just God's simple way of being present in our lives every day.

5. Why is it important for us to establish a connection with angels?
I believe it is important for us to connect with the angels because their very purpose is to guide and nurture the human soul. They are here to interact directly with us, not so much to reveal the mysteries of Divinity, but rather to reveal to us the mysteries of everyday human life. Working with the angels brings clarity, courage, and wisdom, the very things that help us to transcend all the human "stuff" that can stunt one's spiritual growth. It is through helping us understand the mundane that the angels lead us to understand the spiritual. By their love and compassion, we are led ever closer to the Source of All That is—God.

I am in no way implying that working with the angels will make one's life easier. Quite honestly, I feel that my life struggles increased ten-fold when I began working with them, but then again, so have the blessings. As I tell many of my clients, the closer one gets to God, the rockier the road. You'll encounter more potholes and ruts than ever before, making the journey more and more arduous. The beauty of that journey, however, lies in knowing that God has not only equipped your car with better struts and shocks, but that his Angelic Automobile Association is on-call 24-7 to come to your aid whenever you need it.

6. For someone just beginning to establish an angelic connection, how would you recommend they start?
The best way to initialize a connection with the angels is to simply ask them to come into your life. Seek them out and they will make their presence known to you. You don't need rites or rituals, a crystal ball, or a deck of pretty cards. What you need is the genuine yearning to connect with them and the courage to surrender to the understanding that you have not been and never will be in control of what happens in your life. God is in control and it takes great courage to say, "Thine will be done."

I tend to say "What will be, will be." I came to this understanding while fighting with Archangel Gabriel. No matter how much I prayed with my list of life's desires or my personal agenda, Gabriel always laid down the law, constantly reminding me that my path was already set. In that, prayers that were aligned with that path would be answered. Those that were not, would not be answered. Then the big question became, "How do I know what to pray for?"

Gabriel responded,"Pray for the wisdom to align your heart, mind and soul with your life's path. Do that and you'll want for nothing because you will know that you have everything you need at the time you need it to fulfill your life's purpose."

Frustrating? It was for me and it is for a lot of my clients.

But while we struggle to understand the notion that you're really locked in for the ride and there's no exit ramp until it's over, life moves on and the angels are ever bringing great insight and wisdom, which are greater than any material items or personal goals we could ever hope to attain. I encourage everyone to go to the angels with an open heart, mind, and soul and they will embrace you with open arms and lovingly guide you every step of the way during your life's journey.

8. What is the most important lesson you've learned from your communication with angels?
That God is like the perfect wife to Mankind.

My parents were older and old-fashioned, and Mother always said that a good wife is really the head of the family. She keeps everything in order and gets things done. Sure, the husband may think that he is the king of his castle or the captain at the helm of his ship, but the perfect wife allows her husband to think he's in control when she's actually the one pulling all the strings. She isn't pushy or demanding. She doesn't abuse her power, but rather works quietly in the background to accomplish family goals, allowing the man to sit comfortably and bask in his glory of being on the throne.

I've come to believe that God does this with us humans, as well. We humans like to think we're in control of our lives. We'd like to believe in free will and choice to fuel our sense of importance as inheritors of the world. But as I've learned from the angels, that is hardly the case. It was a very frightening notion when it was revealed to me, but once they explained to me why exactly we are here as spiritual beings engaged in the human experience, I learned from them that one of the best ways for humans to experience God is through surrender.

Accepting that our Creator is in control and that all emerges is preordained has led me to a great freedom. Instead of worrying about the Unknown, I now find refuge in knowing that whatever comes my way firstly is a part of a life script that I wrote in my spirit form before I was born, secondly is pre-approved by God, and thirdly serves a divine purpose—large or small. With Gabriel's instruction, I live with the understanding that everything that is beset upon humanity—both glorious and tragic—has a divine purpose. There is nothing that happens to us without God's knowing and approval, and while my mind is constantly contemplative of that notion, my soul is comforted.