Excerpted from 'Angel Therapy' by Doreen Virtue, published by Hay House, Inc. Sometimes, I'll see people whom an entourage of angels surrounds. I always stop them and ask whether they purposely called the angels. Always, the answer I hear is, "Yes, I asked to be surrounded by angels." The more we call upon the angels, the more they can come to our assistance.

Angels want to surround us, and they greatly desire to give us help. Our joy brings them enormous pleasure. Yet, they cannot help us unless we ask. A universal law that binds angels says, "No angel shall interfere with a human's life unless asked, with the sole exception of a life-threatening emergency. An angel will not make decisions for a human, but-when asked-an angel may offer advice and different ways of looking at the given situation."

"God and the angels aren't complicated..."

So an angel may nudge you or encourage you, and an angel may create a miraculous coincidence for you. However, an angel cannot help you unless you choose to accept the help, because you have free will.

To ask for angelic assistance, you needn't conduct a formal invocation ceremony. God and the angels aren't complicated, due to their true nature of pure and simple love. Only our lower-self ego believes that spirituality is necessarily complicated, because it cannot believe that something so powerful and great could be accessible to everyone instantly. Yet, it's true.

The angels hear the prayers of your heart, and just by your mental cry for help, they flock to your side. You can also consciously ask for more angels to surround you or your loved one. Parents can ask for angelic baby-sitters to guide and protect their children throughout the day. If a loved one is traveling, ask Raphael and the angels to watch over the journey. Ask the angels to help your friends who are in need of comfort and direction. Some ways to call upon the angels include:

Writing a letter to the angels. Pour out your heart when discussing your confusions, hurts, and anxieties. Hold nothing back, so that the angels can help every part of you and your situation.

Visualizing. Call it your inner eye, your imagination, or your third eye-the term doesn't matter. Visualizing angels is a powerful way to call them to your side. See the angels flying in circles around you or your loved ones. See powerful angels thronged by your side. See the room you are in crowded with thousands of angels. These visualizations are angelic invocations that create your reality.

Angels are glowing with the light of love, so they don't have a physical form. However, angels can take on a physical appearance by projecting a mental image to us, if this will help us. So if you visualize cherubs, large glowing beings, or a beautifully dressed angelic woman, the angels will take on this form to help you recognize them.

Mentally calling upon angels. Think, Angels, please help me, and they are with you instantly. If you are sincere in your call, the angels hear your mental cry for assistance. You can word your request as an affirmation, such as "I have hundreds of angels surrounding me now," or as a petitional prayer: "Angels, I am in pain and need your help now." You can ask God to send you angels, or you can call the angels directly.

Speaking to angels aloud. You can verbalize your request, and sometimes we do this unconsciously, such as when we say, "Oh, God" during distress. You might find that spending time alone in a quiet setting, especially outdoors in nature, is a wonderful opportunity to have a verbal conversation with the angels.