Wake Up

Angels Among Us

• Douglas James Cottrell PhD • Season 2 • Episode 10

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Have you ever been helped by a mysterious stranger who appeared exactly when needed, then vanished without a trace? You might have encountered an angel in human form.

Dr. Douglas James Cottrell takes us on a fascinating journey exploring angelic encounters throughout history and in his own life. Drawing from decades of metaphysical experience, he reveals the subtle patterns that distinguish genuine divine intervention from ordinary coincidence – and warns about the entities that might imitate heavenly messengers for nefarious purposes.

Through vivid storytelling, Dr. Cottrell recounts his extraordinary experience in India where two men appeared from nowhere to guide him, then vanished impossibly over open terrain. He shares another powerful account of being protected by an invisible guardian at a gas station in Spanish Harlem – a being his wife couldn't see despite looking directly at it. These encounters follow a consistent pattern: angels appear unexpectedly, know precisely what you need, help without seeking payment, and disappear mysteriously.

Angels don't always take human form, though. Sometimes they manifest as shimmering light, gentle breezes carrying messages, or distinctive fragrances like the roses often associated with appearances of Mother Mary. Most commonly, they speak through that "still, small voice" – the intuitive nudge or warning that's easy to dismiss but proves critically important. This subtlety, Dr. Cottrell explains, respects our free will while still offering divine guidance when we need it most.

Why does help from beyond come in whispers rather than shouts? Dr. Cottrell suggests that spiritual beings honor our autonomy and cannot forcefully intervene without invitation. Contrary to what many assume, loud, commanding voices are more likely to come from lower astral entities attempting to manipulate through fear.

The key to receiving angelic assistance? Simply ask. Whether you pray to God, Jesus, Buddha, or any divine figure that resonates with your beliefs, sincere requests for help open the channel for divine intervention in your life. Listen carefully for the response – it may come in unexpected ways.

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Announcer:

Welcome to Wake Up with Dr Douglas James Cottrell, your source for helpful information, advice and tips to live your life in a mindful way in this increasingly chaotic world. For over four decades, Dr Douglas has been teaching people how to develop their intuition and live their lives in a conscious way. His news and views of the world tomorrow, today, are always informative and revealing. And now here's your host, Dr Douglas James Cottrell.

Douglas James Cottrell:

Welcome to the Wake Up, a broadcast where curiosity leads to deeper understanding. I'm your host, Douglas James Cottrell, and my good friend and co-host Les Hubert is here with me, along with editor Jack Bialik, as we delve into the fascinating realms of life, metaphysics, spirituality and the pressing questions that shape our world. Good morning, Les. What's on the menu today?

Les Hubert:

Hi, Doug, I have an interesting question for you, today. There seems to be a worldwide phenomenon concerning the appearance of angelic beings, or angels. Why now? And if they do appear, what might they look like?

Douglas James Cottrell:

Wow, that's a really good question. Usually you can't tell. If you go back to the Middle East: why are they so attentive when strangers come to their door? Because they're of the belief in their religion that angels show up kind of testing you and they look like strangers. So you better take care of strangers, because if you don't, you might be offending an angel, and that's a no-no for sure.

Douglas James Cottrell:

In the Christian world we have the story of the Good Samaritan, where a poor man got robbed and beat up and left to die and a Samaritan came by who turned out to be an enemy of this particular tribe, where this man was a member and took good care of that person. Bandaged his wounds, took him to the local, I guess, I'm going to say pub or hotel or whatever and paid the innkeeper for his keep and said if it's more than what I've given you when I come back, I'll settle with you, but take care of this man, feed him and get him healthy.

Douglas James Cottrell:

So on that sort of sidetrack there, it's kind of like what do they look like? They look like us. They look like flesh and blood. But in my experiences they appear with two, two people, two men. At least the ones that I've seen have been mostly men. Not that there's not women, don't get me wrong. But they show up, one does the talking and the other one just listens. Or they just stand in front of you and they, you know, they appear to you and then later on you say to somebody, did you see that person in front of me, waving their arms and blessing me, making the signs of the cross or whatever? And the person who's with you said, I didn't see anybody, I just saw you. So sometimes they appear to us only we think they're real people, we think that we know who they are, meaning that the image that they are, and they turn out to be invisible to everybody else. So what does that say? We perceive them and they allow us to see them. So they can appear like ordinary people. You should be aware they usually know exactly what you need, they help you and they don't want any payment, and as quickly as they came into your life they disappear.

Douglas James Cottrell:

I was in India with my friend Ramesh. We were walking down a road trying to find our way to the bus station. It was a long road. On both sides of the road there was no bush, just sand. There was a pavement of a roadway and then on one side that we were on was a sidewalk. And then far around on the outskirts were bushes and we could see activity of animals and people. So I'm saying to my friend Ramesh, like how far is it? You know we've got to get to the bus so that we can get to the airport. And behind me and Ramesh, two people are suddenly there. They catch our attention. I turn around, one taller, one shorter but fairly tall man, and the one says, Saab, you look like you're lost. And we said, well, yes, we are, we're looking for the taxi or the bus station. He said up there, Saab, come, I take you. Now he knew exactly that I was lost, we were lost, we were looking for a taxi or a bus and he volunteers to take us, but he stays behind us, he and his companion. So we're walking along and walking along, and you know, I'm kind of, like, sort of, you know, looking over my shoulder, just to make sure, you know, a little apprehensive. I didn't say a word. We get up near the corner and the man said, there, Saab over there, and he pointed to the corner which was about, say, 100 yards away. So with that I thanked him and I offered him money and it was just wave his hand, no. And so Ramesh and I started to continue our walk to the corner and I said, that was very kind of those men, you know, to show us the way, to assure us we're on the right street. And as with that I turned around, they were gone, they just vanished. There was no way, in that short period of time to when they said goodbye to when I turned around that they could have disappeared over empty space which was all but sand, on either side of us and behind us. They just vanished.

Les Hubert:

That's amazing.

Douglas James Cottrell:

So this is how, this is how it works. I mean, any other time you would dismiss it. So that's where I learned that these people, angels that come to you, they know what you need, they help you without question, they arrive spontaneously and they exit likewise mysteriously. So is that the only way they come? Not at all. Sometimes people will walk up and they'll say something to you and walk away. It'll catch your attention and again, that's something you need to know, or they will assist you with something that you need right away.

Douglas James Cottrell:

The thing is that they come unexpectedly and they disappear, in the world. The unworldly or the spiritual, traditional entities or angels, they can appear like a shining light. They can appear shimmering, like a person with shimmering outfits on them. Sometimes they --- whoosh -- come in like a breeze, say something to you and -- whoosh -- disappear, or sometimes they just appear in front of you and they smile and then they vanish.

Douglas James Cottrell:

So these are different things that have happened to me and other people I know, including avatars and saints. Like part of the Holy Family. They'll appear and sometimes there's a fragrance. Mother Mary, the mother of the Messiah, is reported to appear and a sense of roses or lilac, but mostly roses accompanies that appearance. Nothing is said, just a feeling of love and comfort comes over you. Now other spiritual beings have appeared and they have different scents. Maybe you hear some music, maybe there's something like a Sunday school chime or a word that you hear, something that makes it like an announcement. I can say Les there's no trumpets, there's no fire, there's no flags, there's no booming voice although I've heard a booming voice once, but usually it's kind of like that quiet, still small voice. So one has to pay attention. How many times, I wonder, have our viewers that, y ou know, I know what he's talking about. I heard a little voice. I didn't pay attention to it. I was driving along the highway and I heard a little voice that said slow down. I was the only one in the car and all of a sudden lights were flashing. I met one of the local uniformed people who was very kind and gave me a ticket to slow me down. But I heard the voice.

Douglas James Cottrell:

So hearing voices like a little word, like a warning, that's very common. Having a scent or a smell of something that you recognize as a saintly person is very important. Yeah looking with your eyes and seeing people that are out of place. They know exactly what you need and they help you without payment. Pay attention. And at one time I was in Spanish Harlem late at night and I went to a gas station at the corner and there were all kinds of shadowy characters all around. My wife was with me and we were out of gas. We had to get some gas at the. And and so I bravely got out of the car and I went up to the booth and the man put a big drawer out where I had to put the money in, and they were looking at like, like you're out of place here buddy, buddy you know, know what's going? on. Looking I noticed that when I got out of the car to walk up to pay for the gas, a man came over to the front of my car and he just stood there and he was blessing, blessing my car. He was a street person. So I said, how are you? And I'm thinking, okay, I'm going to have to give him some change when I come back. You know the regular. Anyway, I filled the car up with gas and I went back. Sorry, I filled the car up with gas. It came to $15, but I had put $20 in the gas station drawer. So now I said, do I get in the car and drive away or did I go get some change? So, knowing me, I went to get the change and the two fellows they had their noses pressed against the glass, they couldn't believe it. They were watching and they put the $5 in for my change. I said thank you very much. Their jaws were, they had dropped. They were looking at me like I came from outer space. So I went back and I got in the car. Karen was there the whole time. It was pretty scary. There were people all around that we didn't know. And I got in the car and I said, okay, I guess we'll go here, we'll go up the FDR freeway and whatever. And I said it was pretty strange seeing that fellow in front of the car the whole time. When I came back the second time, he had vanished. And when I said to K aren, did you see that fellow in front of the car and she was looking right out the window and she said to me I didn't see anybody. Did you see that man the whole time, me filling up the car, going to the attendant and coming back. You didn't see the man. ., I had to walk by him, you see,. so So I I was in plain . view And and so we sat there, we went, thank you, thank you. None of those spooky characters came around to rob us or bother ., Because because whoever that street person in Spanish spanish Harlem harlem was, I think he was an angel, because the whole time he was just making crosses in front of the car and he was mumbling . That's a that's true story, and I know of other other people have had similar experiences, where where somebody does, has has had an experience where something like that has happened. But for me that was like really a powerful time. We were in need and somebody showed up, or some spirit showed up.

Douglas James Cottrell:

So I'm sure our viewers would have similar experiences and we'd like to know about it. But what kind of experiences have you had, Les les, or what do you think about that?

Les Hubert:

question is why is God in the subtleties? I mean, if God really wanted to get a hold of us, or an angel, you know, hey,. you You know know. you You, wake up . or Or listen listen, I've got a message. Why is it always not-- not all the time, but many times -- why is it always a very subtle little voice?

Douglas James Cottrell:

That's a really good question. Because that's the way it's supposed to be, because we have our vanity, free will and free choice. How many times have we gone to help somebody and they say, no, no, I don't need any help. Get away. Apparently, that's the way it is in the spiritual world. They are inhibited from interfering in our life. Intervening is okay, and so that's why it's a still small voice. But what if it's like that voice takes a lot of effort to get through the different layers, dimensions, vibrations, to where we are in this low-level Earth plane that we live? It's like somebody at the top of an apartment building, in the penthouse, seeing us down on the sidewalk, yelling at the top of their lungs, look out. But by the time that voice gets down to where we can hear it, it's (whispering) look out.

Les Hubert:

It's lost in the din of life.

Douglas James Cottrell:

That's the image I have in my head as I'm describing that. So the din of getting all the way down to us might be what it is. But also, that they don't want to scare us. Conversely, when you hear loud, booming voices, and they're in a clairaudient way and they're telling you -- they, whoever they are -- to do things, they give you big, long, let's say, paragraphs of words. Those are not divine beings, those are astral levels, t hey are lower level beings and they're trying to do one thing: make you afraid. And if you are afraid, you will listen to them. You'll be worried that you don't want to offend them because you think they're God or something like that. No, those are lower realm entities who are preying upon you. This is where the term vampire comes from.

Les Hubert:

So why do you think there's such a propensity for sightings these days as opposed to, let's say, like you know, 20, 30 years ago? There seems to be a worldwide phenomenon going on right now.

Douglas James Cottrell:

Well, the worldwide phenomena is the same then as it is now, only we have communications of the event. Oh, media, right, right. We hear more about it. It's happened all the time, it's always been there, except that when somebody recorded it in the book at the local temple or monastery, it stayed there until somebody read it years later. But what we have now is instantaneous communication and people have digital cameras and they can take pictures of orbs or ectoplasm, or some sort of apparition. And so that's why we hear more of it, maybe because we have better communications, and instantaneously, there's that communication all around the world.

Les Hubert:

Oh, okay. Well, that's nice to know that it's always been there and probably always will be, as long as we need them, that's great.

Douglas James Cottrell:

Well, it's just like having mommy and daddy or uncle and auntie. They're always there, but we have to go over to their house and say, can I have a sandwich? I want to go roller skating. Can I have a couple of dollars? I'll mow the lawn, you know. But you have to ask. The secret to being with the divine is you have to pray, you have to ask, and when I mean prayer, it's nothing convoluted or in a ceremonial way. You just have to say, God Almighty, please help me, or Yahweh help me, or Yeshua help me, or Mother Mary help me, or Buddha help me, or Mahatmama Gandhi, or whatever the saints and avatars are, including the third incarnation of the Babas, there's Shirdi Sai Baba, Sathya Sai Baba and another one I have a little difficulty pronouncing. It's like Purdi Sai Baba, who is now in the world. I had a visit or a visitation of him a couple of weeks ago. He's now in his own temple and he's administering to people in India.

Douglas James Cottrell:

So you can approach these beings, you know, and even to seek out the Prophet Muhammad, you can ask for his help, or you ask Allah to help you. And I guess you're supposed to say peace, be upon him to be proper. But I'd like peace upon everybody, because that's the best wish you can give anybody in the spiritual world. But again, you're asking a meaningful, divine and advanced being for assistance or help and they will give it. But you first have to ask.

Les Hubert:

Thank you you Doug, that was a great podcast and hopefully this information will go out and help a lot of people out there, and I'm sure it will.

Douglas James Cottrell:

Well, until next time, Les peace be upon you and me. Okay.

Announcer:

Thank you very much for listening to Wake Up. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe so you'll be notified when a new episode is posted, and we'd greatly appreciate your review of our show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts to let others know about the great content we're producing. For more about Dr Douglas' self-development classes, books and other related products, please visit his website, douglasjamescottrell. com. Until next time, we wish you all of God's blessings: health, wealth and peace of mind.