John: With the astrological alignment of the Grand Cross, the solar eclipse and the millennium approaching, what' can you tell us about what's currently happening from an energy perspective?

Trudy: This eclipse has touched people in ways that has really surprised all of us. There have been so many Earth events that have been occurring. The droughts here in the East and yet there are things happening all over the world. A lot of people are leaving the planet at this time. Many people have looked at this eclipse as a time of "hitting the wall," which is the term that they (the Angels) are using. We read about other people's experiences, but each one of us is having our own personal experience of transformation. The millennium is approaching, and this is a major event in our lives. Many people are being challenged at this time. Many are asking "what's going on in my life?" and, in many cases, they are feeling shook up and a little lost.

For others, it's like the brakes are finally off and things are starting to move forward. Each one of us has our own way of connecting, but one thing's for sure, we are all being affected. We're hearing more and more stories of people saying "my child seems to be having such a hard time," or my husband, or my parents. People of all ages are having to open up on levels that they never have before, and that's what forcing this movement forward, sometimes whether we like it or not. Here's the millennium, and we keep thinking it's coming, it's going to be happening. The fact is we're living in the millennium and the shift, and the changes, are happening right now.

So often, as humans we'll say "Well, I want new things in my life, and I want change, and I want growth," and then it starts, but things happen in our lives that are so different from what we thought they would be. When we say we want change, we think, "Okay. I want it to be this way, this way, this way." And then it starts to happen in God's way. And that is so different from what we ever imagined it might be. Then we start backing up, or backpedalling, and we say, "Whoa! Wait a minute! I didn't want it to be that way! I didn't mean that!" Yet if we open up to the greater good, if we open up to all the changes that are happening here on earth, we have to be ready to experience whatever God has in mind. We've often said, God doesn't give half a gift. He doesn't bring you all this way and then drop you flat on your face. The rest of the gift, the rest of the pieces will also be brought to you. Very often people say, "Let's bring on those changes, let's have those things happen," and then they get nervous or feel like this isn't exactly what they wanted, but we have to learn to trust that everything is happening for our greatest good in the correct time.

John: What of the doom and gloom scenarios that are so prevalent today?

Trudy: Well, we all have choices about how we look at what's happening in life. I had a class recently where the Angels wrote to a woman and said to her - and by the way, this woman had been asking the Angels, "when can I leave my job?" They always wrote to her before and said, "be patient." Well, this particular day when she asked, they said, "This is the day that is yours. Things are changing with your job. This is a time when you can begin to put the pieces together for moving on because your work is done at your job. Initially, it might take more time to reposition yourself than what you had thought, but just know that we are with you and it's time to move forward." This woman was panicked! I asked her why she was so afraid? She said, "The Angels are telling me that I'm going to lose my job and that I'm not going to find another one." She was so scared, and yet, that was exactly what she had asked for. The Angels were saying to her, "Yea, the time is finally here!" We would have thought she would say, "Hallelujah!" Instead, she was saying "Oh, oh, oh no!"

So how do you hear what comes to you? What's your perception of information as it's given? We can take it as doom and gloom, or we can take it as "It's here! This is good!" I think we have to be careful what we take on. Many times people say, "well how do I know what to believe?" "How do I know if you're right, or this person is right?" And the answer is, you'll know from listening to your inner guidance. Everybody seems to have the right answer, but the only right answer for each of us comes from within. So process on your own level whatever comes to you, keep what you like, and leave the rest.

John: How do we open ourselves to our inner guidance?

Trudy: What a good question. You know, I remember when I was a young girl people would say to me, "you need to listen to your own good advice." And I kept thinking I don't have any good advice! (Laughter) What I've learned to do is listen to my inner guidance through my solar plexus. Within each one of us there is a place of truth, or a place of Œknowing' as I call it. And it just seems that it's a spot within you that makes you go, "yes, that's right!: For me, it's in the solar plexus, the "gut" area. As long as that area feels balanced, and smooth, and right for me, then whatever I'm receiving I consider to be truth. And yet, if that area of my being starts jumping and getting tied up in knots and I get afraid, then I know there must be something else happening here. And I either give myself some time, or I just realize that maybe that's not quite right, and that when the time is right, the correct things will come to me. Some people say they get a tingling in the back of their neck, or in their heart. We all have our own places of Œknowing' or discernment. Wherever that is for you, recognize it and respect it, and listen to it. But it does take time to establish that within you.

John: I'm still working on it. I'm sure most people are. With all the thoughts and possibilities in my head, how do I know which is the right one to act upon?

Trudy: If we find ourselves confused and torn, or tormented, we have to say "I'm not clear enough yet. I have to give myself a little more time, because, boy, when it's right, it's right." We have a series of basic spiritual Angelspeake principles that we live by, which contain some basic truths. One of them is, when the time is right, you cannot not do it. To some people that might sound like double talk, but the fact is, when everything is synchronistically positioned in our lives, we'll know what's right and what's not. We'll know what step to take next. Until that sense of knowing and correctness is there, then don't do anything.

Another thing my sister and I say is, when you come to the fork in the road and you don't know which direction to go in, then sit down. When the time is right, you'll know which direction to go, you'll get yourself up, dust yourself off, and move in the right direction. You know, some people want this spiritual thing to be all neat and tidy and in little precise answers, but your spirituality is your process. That's why they call it a spiritual process. We have to be patient with ourselves, not too hard on ourselves. It's very easy to go "clunk." Why didn't I know that, or why did I decide to that? Well maybe it's part of your learning. Maybe you're all set and ready to walk on that path or go in that direction. If you're still questioning it though, then maybe that's because the timing is wrong. Maybe the whole process of the next step is not part of God's plan at this time. So we get all the way to a certain point,and then we just have to just wait. So the process does take time and we have to respect that.

John: That sounds rather existential, as though we're waiting for our destiny, for our life to happen to us. Others say that we are co-creators, able to co-create what we want in our lives. It seems like a very fine line.

Trudy: It is a very fine line. I do know that we all have a purpose for living and being on this earth. We're also here to carry out a larger plan. It is what the Angels teach. Of course, God is the keeper of that larger plan, whoever your God is. This isn't a talk about religion. This is a talk about each person's God, whomever that may be, and where they're headed this lifetime. I do know this: When I try to control my life too strongly, when I am looking for too much approval, or when I want to be too separate from God, I am so far off my path, I am so unhappy, and I am the farthest away from my sense of rightness. Yes, I have many, many choices this lifetime, and yet, it's when I realize that if my purpose is aligned with God's, if we can be of a like energy and mind, that's when my life works the best.

I was watching Oprah the other day. She had given a commencement address, and said to these newly graduating college seniors moving into the new world that failure, of course is a very necessary part of our life plan, of our life's learning. Failure is God's way of saying "Excuse me, but you are moving in the wrong direction." And I thought, isn't that a beautiful way to think of all of this? So, going in the same direction that God is going in is what really puts us on our path, with our purpose, and keeps us really loving life and making a difference in the world. Isn't that really what it's all about? I feel the happiest in my life - and I think most everyone would agree - when they feel like they've made a difference in someone else's life, or when they have touched another life in some way, either through body, mind, spirit, with a kindness, a sharing of love. There are so many ways to touch a life. That's the best of all.

I hope that answers your question. I believe that we do have free will, but if we can be in alignment with God's will, our life is generally the very best.

John: So if you're continually banging your head against a wall and not getting anywhere, odds are that what you want is not what's best for you, at least not at that moment.

Trudy: Absolutely. You know those times in your life when you had wanted something to happen and it just didn't seem to be coming together? Then, all of a sudden, one day it seemed like the right people were there, and the door opened and you walked through, and the pieces were fitting together and you felt good about what was happening? That's when we're going in the right direction and it's happening in the right time. It's when we want to do it our way and control it, when life doesn't move forward with joy and synchronicity that we are off track.

John: Okay. So now we're on track. We're affirming that our personal goals and desires are in accord with God's will. We're listening to our gut feelings, our inner guidance. What's taking so long?

Trudy: (Laughter) I know. It does sometimes feel like it's taking forever. That's because it isn't on our time frame. We are such a unique part of God's bigger plan, and for many people it takes time to really get that concept. I think we're all in the process of getting that on an ongoing basis. We're as important to God's greater plan as a blade of grass or the most great that ever walked the earth. There is this plan happening. We might be totally ready for the next phase of our lives, and yet, happening all around us are people, circumstances, and events, and sometimes we just have to be patient and wait for the pieces to come together, many of them that we can't see or even know. When it's right, it is right. Things open up, and that's when, as co-creators, you're saying, "that's a great expression." Then it does come together in the right time and the right way. Living our spiritual life, this process involves a lot of stopping and starting . At least, that's how it feels. Of course, it's never really stopped... it's always going forward. But if we get the sense that we've got one foot on the brake, one foot on the accelerator, and why isn't this thing racing down the track in the way I want it to go? we just have to take a deep breath and say," in God's right time."

John: Perhaps at that point we should focus less on the periphery, and more on what's going on within us.

Trudy: It really is all about listening to our inner guidance, keeping that alive. We very often push our bodies and all aspects of ourselves too fast and too hard, saying yes when we really want to say no, trying to be true to ourselves, and yet being available to others. It's quite a juggling act, isn't it? I feel the greatest secret to keeping your balance is to really pay attention to what's going on inwardly. Listen, listen, listen, to what's happening. You will find your balance. It's a juggling act sometimes. Especially when you take in all the aspects of your life. You have not only your personal self, but also your spiritual self. Then you have your family and your work, and your friendships. It's so easy to take our eye off the ball, and the fact is that the ball is right within us, that being of our Godself, or our greatness. I believe that within each of us there's a blueprint that God planted. It's referred to as a blueprint, but it's who you are meant to be this lifetime. We can come into our greatness, but only when we have balance in all aspects of our life. When we can allow all these parts that we have worked hard on to come forth and flourish, and we nourish the pieces of ourselves, they help us to open up to our greatness. Our lives change dramatically. John: Now for those who have yet to read Angelspeake, how do we best go about getting in touch with the Divine within us?

Trudy: We have a team of Angels, or spirit guides, or...

John: Whatever you want to call them.

Trudy: Whatever you want to call them. It really doesn't matter, because they're part of a divine team that is working for our highest good. We've got a support team that is on the other side that we can access, and ask for help, information, perspective, and clarity. They've been with us our entire existence, from the time our soul was made. Those beings know what we want to accomplish while we're here on earth, and where we're at, and not only where we've been if you happen to believe in other lives, but also where we're going. We can open that channel of communication. It has always been there. They've been with us our entire life. I'll just refer to them all as Angels.