WE BELIEVE IN ANGELS

MEET THE ORDINARY SCOTS WHO CLAIM THEY'RE BEING GUIDED THROUGH LIFE BY GUARDIAN ANGELS Every one of us has a heavenly protector says Diana Cooper... you just have to ask it for help

By Katrina Tweedie

IT'S a comforting thought that you might have a guardian angel to watch over you, but in times of crisis most people turn to friends or family for support.

Yet many do believe they have an angel guiding them through the minefield of life.

Angels are part of a multi-million pound business which is over-populated with cherubic ornaments and schmaltzy gift cards. One poll said trhat 72 per cent of the population had felt an angel's presence and Diana Cooper, a grandmother, can verify the popularity of the notion. Since her angelic "vision" 20 years ago when her marriage was on the rocks and she faced a lonely future as a single mum, Diana has become a successful, wealthy, world-famous lecturer.

Dozens of books and sold-out seminars later, she dispels the suggestion she is exploiting the vulnerable who are desperate for proof of the age-old notion of guardian angels.

She was neither religious nor a believer in new-age mysticism until her first angel vision and she insists: "It is not my job to convince people.

"Every single person has a guardian angel throughout their life who will stand by and watch you go off in the wrong direction and make mistakes, unless you ask for help.

"If we just stop and ask for help then they can come, improve our lives and make everything easier. Part of my task is to help people understand this."

Diana believes there is an angel for every problem, from finance to love, and by calling on angel power we can finally take control of our future destinies

There are even "parking angels" that ensure a space will always materialise just when you need one. Diana says she has probably introduced millions of people to the concept of angels.

She says: "Most people say it has changed them, put them on a different level and given them an idea about how they can help themselves and others.

"Instead of spending their and thinking dark thoughts, they start to ask angels to help them achieve that."

Believing in angels brings you luck, but is not an insurance policy against against bad things happening, Diana adds.

"It's the law of attractions," she says. "If you believe in good things, good things happen although I was blind to the idea until I had my own wake-up call."

Devotees report finding white feathers that appear from nowhere - the calling cards of angels - and a sign of an angelic presence could be as simple as a bird fluttering near you or a sign spelling the word angel.

"These things happen all the time but too many people chose to ignore the signs," says Diana, who also believes in Atlantis.

History is littered with angels, from Biblical times to the medieval period, and for some they are a source of comfort but for others a load of ethereal baloney.

Here, we speak to four ordinary people who believe in angels.

Angel expert Diana Cooper will be guest speaker at the Body and Soul Fair on August 18 and 19 at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow.

LAURENCE SMITH

A SUCCESSFUL property developer, Laurence Smith, 66, seems the least likely angel devotee.

But, he explains, so many inexplicable events have happened in his life, he has had to question what he believes.

"I've been in situations where I think an angel - or something - has intervened," says Laurence, from Dalrymple in Ayrshire.

"A few years ago, driving along the road, a voice in my head told me to be ready when I got round the corner up ahead.

"Sure enough there was a lorry careering down my side of the road and had I not had the foresight to get my car on to the embankment, the worst would have happened.

"Something gave me a premonition, possibly an angel."

Laurence also often finds white feathers in his home.

He said: "They float down out of the blue, in the house, and I always check if a pillow has burst. But I have not seen the blinding light that others report."

One event a few years ago convinced Laurence there was a higher power at work.

He said: "I was diagnosed with colon cancer and my surgeon wanted to operate. But I had a sense that I'd probably have a better chance of survival if I tried something else."

He told his surgeon to delay the operation for three of four months and was warned he may not live that long.

Through a special diet of mainly vegetables, and using a meditative technique to think positively, four months later, Laurence's tumour had completely disappeared.

He said: "I do believe that there are angels.

"Some people will think I am odd, but I am sure we all have a power that we fail to use.

"I try to rationalise things, but I have seen things I just can't explain and there is an awful lot out there we have still to understand."

SHARON FEHLBERG

SINGER Sharon Fehlberg was going through a bad time five years ago, with panic attacks, anxiety and feeling unwell.

Then she started finding lots of little white feathers around her flat with a brown tip on their ends.

"This happened for about a year," said Sharon and there was no reasonable explanation, no burst pillows or anything else that could cause the phenomenon.

"Then one night, I woke up and there was what I can only describe as a bright light and really high-pitched singing.

"I went back to sleep and the next morning I thought it had been a dream until I sat up and saw loads of white feathers on the floor where the light had been." Sharon added: "It was a pile of pure white feathers."

It was a shock, she said matter of factly. "was unsure and didn't want to say anything to anyone because I thought they would laugh but I knew it wasn't a dream."

After attending a spiritual workshop, Sharon understood the brown-tinged feathers she initially found signified her ill-health but the white feathers, left by her angel, have helped her regain full health again.

"I'm a normal 26-year-old but this has given me a different view of the world and given me a peace I never had before," she said.

"Now I have a great, happy life."

ELIZABETH ANN MORRIS

ELIZABETH Ann Morris could barely cope 12 years ago.

She was caring for her elderly mother who had Alzheimer's, plus her four teenage children and she worked full time as a training officer.

Elizabeth Ann recalled: "I was in absolute despair.

"One night, my husband Brian was sleeping soundly as I lay awake and upset saying to myself, 'I need help'.

"Suddenly, I felt an amazing light then as though someone was holding my hand. A loving voice said everything was going to be OK.

"It was so beautiful. I felt at peace for the first time in ages. When I woke the next morning my hand still tingled and it did so for a week."

Now a gran of six, Elizabeth Ann, 52, of Glenrothes in Fife, is also aware her tale sounds bizarre.

She said: "I didn't know whether to mention it to people as, if I did, friends looked at me like I was mad.

"But I never doubted what had happened. It was so powerful I couldn't doubt it." Better than that, everything did seem to improve after Elizabeth Ann's "vision".

She said: "The authorities finally offered support for my mum and she went into a nice home."

Elizabeth Ann didn't discuss what had happened, not least because down-to-earth fireman Brian was not into anything unconventional.

She said: "But the experience put me on a spiritual path and I investigated. It was years later when I did a course on angels that I felt OK to talk of it.

"Nowadays people are more open to spirituality. I think everyone has a guardian angel who stays with them for life - but they can't come in unless you ask them.

"Brian is not sure but I wouldn't try to convince him, you either believe or you don't.

"Some friends still think I'm wacky but I have joy in my life - and I always get a parking space."

LAURENCE McEVOY

LAURENCE McEvoy, 53, from Erskine, has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair but believes he has angels that protect him.

"I get little signs all the time, like a small angel-shaped light I keep by the door which will suddenly switch itself on," he said.

"There's no other explanation. I also find feathers and have seen the auras surrounding people." The first time his light switched itself on Laurence was stunned.

"I thought 'what's happening here'. But I've seen enough things, such as feathers dropping from nowhere, to know there are angels," he said. It wasn't until he was in his forties that Laurence accepted the notion.

He said: "I saw a spiritual healer who told me about angels and now it seems perfectly normal to me. I ask them to look after my friends or take care of me. I know people will think it strange and laugh but it makes no difference.

"My belief has made me happier and though I get down days like everyone, I am a more accepting person."

'I have seen things that I just can't explain'

'It's given me a peace I never had before'

'I've seen enough things, such as feathers, to know there are angels'

'I think everyone has a guardian angel that stays for life - but they can't come unless you ask'