The purpose of The Virtues Project from the beginning was to make the sacred accessible in everyday life, to help people of all cultures to apply faith in action. The virtues help us to understand "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." (Luke 17: 20-21) Society of Friends, the Quakers, teach that there is a Divine spark within everyone. In Islam, humanity's first priority is developing virtues and moral behavior. In the teachings of the Buddha, there are whole chapters on virtues in life and at work. When Abdu'l-Baha, a central figure of the Baha'i Faith was asked, "Why are we here?" he said, "We are here to acquire the virtues of the Kingdom".

Nothing is more important than growing our inner life – our capacity for love, honesty, trustworthiness, kindness, compassion, excellence and all the other virtues. Nothing is more important and nothing is harder than sustaining our spirituality – trusting in God and life when we are suffering, finding the courage to overcome an obstacle, forgiving someone who has hurt us, not just once but "seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21). These are the biggest challenges to our character, our souls.

As my husband Dan researched the sacred writings of all faiths to learn as much as possible about the virtues, my role was to take those teachings and translate them into useable, understandable words in the books and materials of The Virtues Project. My brother John, a former Disney Imagineer, was our designer. He often looked over at me from his desk across from mine in our garage and noticed I was shaking. "Did you just finish writing about another virtue?" he asked knowingly. I asked Dan one night "What ARE these virtues? There is a power here I don't understand."  He came back to me after diving deep into the sacred texts and said, "I know what you are sensing. The Virtues are the content of the human soul reflecting the image of God. In most faiths, they are also described as a very high order of angels." I shivered with recognition. Shortly after that I was on a book tour in Toronto and my driver insisted on stopping at a Catholic bookstore. A small green book caught my attention. I read it eagerly on the flight home to British Columbia on the west coast of Canada. Suddenly, I jumped so high out of my seat, my head almost hit the ceiling of the plane. It said that among the many types of angels, Virtues are among the highest, higher than the Archangels. So I opened my mind and heart to the possibility that angels are real. I found that if I prayed to the Angel of Patience for help, it was far more powerful than if I told myself I should be patient. A composer in New Zealand, Radha Sahar created a beautiful song about the Angels of Virtue, "Angel of Peace, come help me now, come help me now. Be here beside me, abide with me and guide me, in your way of peace."

I have come to believe that each of us has an "A Team" in the spiritual realm, composed of Angels, Advisors, and Ancestors. This includes Jesus and other Messengers of God as well as family that have passed on. It is the most powerful resource we can ever call on. As Psalm 91:11 says, "For He will give His angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways." Baha'u'llah founder of the Baha'i Faith, says, "Whoso openeth his lips in this Day and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him…[and] the Concourse on High, each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light." The Concourse includes the souls of friends and family eager to assist us. So much light, support, help and guidance is available to all of us. We have only to ask and the door shall be opened. Why waste such a precious resource? Call on your A-Team today!