John Ronner, an author of numerous books on the subject of angels, appeared on Monday night's show. "The angelic world is all around us, waiting to be tuned into," Ronner said, explaining that the spiritual dimension that angels inhabit may co-exist with our physical plane. People may be increasingly aware of this Ronner suggested, pointing out that recent surveys have shown that 75% of the population now believes in angels.

Ronner categorized a number of different angelic visitations. One type he termed the "mysterious stranger," where the angel takes the form of an ordinary human being. This stranger might for example, know your name and details about your life. Ronner also spoke about angelic interventions on the battlefield, such as in the case of Joan of Arc who received key spiritual guidance in war matters.

Looking into near death and out-of-body experiences, Ronner commented on his research into the life of Emanuel Swedenborg, the great 17th century mystic. Swedenborg believed that after death we face a multitude of heavens, purgatories and hells and that these environments were created out of the mass consciousness of their like-minded inhabitants. Along those lines, Ronner postulated that a person might evolve spiritually after death, moving into different realms, rather than staying in a static place.

Guardian Angels

Tonight's guest John Ronner has said that "tens of millions of people have had angel encounters." In some cases these encounters border on the miraculous. One such incident was detailed in an article from the December issue of After Dark. A worker at an Indiana chemical plant, Steven J., describes what happened one afternoon when he was cleaning out a vat, and there was a sudden explosion.

"Everything erupted into this great chemical fire. There was no escape. Horrified, I started calling out to God for help. Suddenly, I saw 'an opening' where there shouldn't have been an opening. A voice inside my head commanded me in a very strong voice: 'Go now!' Without waiting another second I moved towards what looked like an opening where no opening should have been."

"When I recovered, I found myself on the main floor of the plant. Everyone had assembled around me and several company nurses were fussing with First Aid. When I told everyone what happened, they couldn't believe it. I know it sounds too bizarre to believe but it really happened to me. No one at the plant could explain it all. It is just too weird for anybody to accept, but not for me. I know it was a miracle from my guardian angels."

A Tale of Friendship

On Monday night, George read the following story that was sent to him, to celebrate National Friendship Week. Here is the text:

"A Friend"

One day when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all of his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so that he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would never have hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are really gonna build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was Valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous.

Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach�but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. We are here in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.