I have discovered with the people I meet a mixture of wistful longing and remembering, all happening at the same time. I meet people who have an experience of knowing something they can’t name. It may be interpreted as something that they remember and can’t remember why they remember. I’ve had that experience. I have been in the midst of a peaceful, glorious sense of creation that is so familiar to me, and I don’t remember a time in my life it was ever like that. Maybe it was when I was a child and the memory is in my cells. I think it’s part of the human experience. There are resonant cells in every living human being that carry that knowing, that memory of how life really works and once did.

Years ago, a friend wrote a book called Memories and Visions of Paradise. There are people who have memories and visions of a time of paradise, a time of Eden, a time when things were working together, where angels knew each other and were creating a murmuration of wonder on the planet.

Here is a quote from the Book of Luke in the New Testament, which is relevant to me in this regard: “I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10) Now, that could sound very religious. But for me, it’s not about repenting from your sins. It doesn’t mean getting on your knees and beating your back with cat-o’-nine-tails.

I used to think repentance meant “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.” There is value in a true apology, but repentance is about turning—in this consideration a turning towards that which is reminding you of something wonderful. It’s the joy of the angels of God when one angel remembers.

Repentance means turning, changing direction. There’s joy in my heart when I am with someone who is having this repentant experience, this experience of longing that results in turning. It’s possible that it is because they’re in the presence of a flock of angels who are living together in the wonder of a murmuration. I am grateful that years ago I walked into an atmosphere where I had an emotional response that had no logical reason. I was in the midst of something that I thought, whatever this is, I’m not leaving; or whoever you are, I’m staying near your side.

This is a powerful opportunity to be able to accept someone’s awakening and say yes. I’ve had lots of people come to me, wanting to connect, where the easy answer for me would be “No, that would be too complicated; I don’t understand how that would fit; I don’t really know who you are; you could ruin everything here at Sunrise Ranch; so no thanks.”

So what’s the most creative and powerful way to say yes? Can you say yes and still care for a container for which you are responsible? Here’s one way: “Tell me more. I am interested.”

I was grateful for those who didn’t turn me away. I was a New Yorker and didn’t seem to fit into the Colorado reality that they were living. When I moved here from Buffalo I was louder, more extroverted than many of the people around me. I worked in a clinic and had people I worked with tell me I needed to change. I am so thankful for those who welcomed me and enjoyed being with me as I was expressing myself at that point in my life. There was a receiving of me that could assist me to get from where I was to where and who I wanted to be.

So how do we do that with grace and invitation? How do we ask the right questions that make a person feel welcomed, that we’re interested, that we see the spark in their eye, we see that they are a part of our family? What can we say or do to remind them that they are an angel? And how do we say, “Yes, I’m glad you’re here; I look forward to knowing more of you,” knowing full well they may come crashing in from a culture very different from our own? They are familiar and comfortable in their old ways of being, while touching something new that they are hungry to know. They have yet to know how amazing they really are inside themselves because they have been working hard to fit in in the outside world.

We’re currently receiving applications for our Full Self Emergence program, which will be starting again this April. I was interviewing a woman on the phone, wondering what are the right things to ask so she can feel my interest in knowing who she is? How can I make her feel welcomed enough to reveal herself? Not because of my curiosity but to satisfy the longing to connect, to feel welcomed just as she is. I could start asking about all her limitations and name some of the challenges she may face in the program. Instead, I asked her the question: “What’s on your leading edge spiritually and why do you want to be here?” I hope she could feel that I’m hungry to know her. I hope she could feel my yes. Yes, come and be in the midst of the angels that you’re seeking to be with.

There is a way to say yes that increases the connection amongst people while still holding and protecting the container they are entering. Do you think you can do that? A lot of people think they can’t, so they just keep saying no. “No, it’s too much; I don’t need any more people.” I have a friend who only allows himself to have three friends. And he’s serious—he says, “I can’t handle more than three, and if I find somebody nicer I’ll drop one of the three I’ve already got.” He says it with humor, and I know he’s got a lot more than three friends. But, in his head, he has a belief that it’s a lot of work to have friends, to encompass them, to like them, to let them know you care about them… And he goes on and on… “I don’t really want to have to remember birthdays or call them and be concerned.” But he has extended himself; he has walked over to my house with irises he’s cut in his yard, because he knows I love them. Maybe I was in the top three that week!

There’s a pattern of power that happens when angels are flying in a murmuration, because the agreement is with something higher. It creates a tangible atmosphere. Friendships, love affairs, marriages that are based on that kind of agreement are an amazing experience. Friendships, relationships, and marriages that are based on earthly agreements are very dangerous, because earthly things change all the time.

I want to reread the quote from Luke: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” There is such joy in my heart when someone comes here and says, “I love what’s happening here.” I know they are repenting; they are turning toward the reality of heavenly possibility. I don’t have to figure out why they love it. There is joy in knowing someone sees something beautiful that resonates in their heart. They acknowledge it by saying, “I love what you’re doing here.” I am now in position to offer them a yes. I can make it easy for them to offer their love, to participate in the flock of angels.

I know that most of you know how much of a female warrior I am about protecting this container at Sunrise Ranch. I’m very interested that there be a field of agreement, a flock of people in agreement, keeping the drum head taut so that the creative Word can come down and be sounded into the world. This is of vital importance to me. But it is also incredibly important to me that people find a way home, which means when they come I can hold the container and let them come in and know we will be safe. I can hold something sacred, allow it to penetrate my world, and hold the response that’s coming back. How do you know that person coming isn’t coming specifically because of the radiation you put out? They may be hearing and remembering, looking for something. You’ve put out the welcome, and then they come and you get to say yes. Just say yes—not yes to everything. Just say, “Yes, I see you. Welcome home.”

I’ve been privileged by being exposed to training for a lot of years. A lot of wise people have held me and loved me and continue to do so in my process. I’m not perfect or finished and I’m not waiting for perfect people. I’m waiting for people. I’m welcoming people.

I’m welcoming angels—people who might be feeling a little longing and yearning for a desire they can hardly name. I still have that longing at times, to experience the entire planet being a home for the spirit of God, the spirit of Creation happening all the time. It’s in my cells—I know it. And I have found home and have the privilege of saying yes to those searching. Yes, it is possible; yes, it is real. Let me assist you to find what you are looking for. Welcome here. Welcome home.