Paranormal Article - December 2009

Special Double Article

Guardian Angels / The Third Man Factor

Guardian Angels

Most of us are familiar with the concept of a Guardian Angel regardless of religious upbringing. It is an spiritual being or angel assigned by God to protect and/or guide a person.

The bible references them specifically in Matthew (18:10) inferring that children have Guardian Angels. Apparently, the belief was also common amongst the ancient Greeks. They wrote that "God sends a spirit to watch every individual."

The Catholic Church changes every so often on the subject, but as of 2009, the Guardian Angel Feast Day is October 2nd. Supposedly every person is assigned a Guardian Angel, although some Catholic saints believed whether or not you were given a Guardian Angel had to do with "how great the dignity of the soul."

Islamic angels, record your deeds from two angels that sit on each shoulder, but they do not influence or interfere, guide or protect.

Contrary to medieval belief, most modern guardian angels do not appear with humongous wings and a glowing halo. They appear to people as other common people. Some have been described as so normal and common as to be just another middle-aged gray haired kindly man. Or a just another good looking lady. What makes them stand out as a guardian is the manner and timing of their appearance. It's at a persons lowest point mentally or physically or at the moment of near death.

Sometimes the angel will appear to deliver a few words of comfort and vanish and other times the angel will appear to have stayed and interacted perhaps, but not really, as other people will not have seen the person that is described as helping. Other times, the angel has a direct physical interaction that saves a life from death in a survival situation. Or, sometimes just a voice is heard giving advice to move or not move or whatever it is that in the next few moments can save your life.

There are literally thousands of Guardian angel stories on the Internet. Too many to mention! Here are some slightly whacked out but excellent sites. Enjoy the stories there.


I Believe In Angels.com
Angel Realm.com
Angels-Online.com
Angel Focus.com
Beliefnet.com (Padre Pio's angel story)



The Third Man

* Frank Smythe turned to his companion, an offering of food in his hand, and was shocked to find no one there.

* James Sevingy was alone when he heard the voice telling him he had to live.

* Ernest Shackleton and his two companions, on their long march to survival, swore that they were a party of four, not three.

* Charles Lindbergh alone on his solo flight discussed navigational problems with something aboard his plane.

* Ron DiFrancesco was told to "get up" by a disembodied voice that kept him moving through fiery flames to safety.

All of the above men, and more, experienced what is called The Third Man Factor, during their intense near death fights for survival.

Frank Smythe was alone on Mt. Everest's Death Zone fighting to live when the sense of the comforting presence that kept him going was so strong he tried to feed it!

Sevingy had just suffered a severe fall in a mountain climbing accident. The voice spoke to him for hours, invisibly leading him to water and eventual rescue. Get this - after leading him through the mountains Sevingy encountered 2 people - a nurse and a mountain guide! Who better to rescue anyone hurt and stranded on a mountain?

The Shackleton expedition, a survival story of epic and legendary proportions, was literally on it's last ounce of energy, traversing by foot an entire antarctic island - desperate and starving. All three men literally thought a fourth man was walking with them. Shackleton wrote extensively of it afterwards.

Lindbergh was suffering from extreme cold and sleep deprivation. The beings in his cockpit kept him awake, on course and alive.

DiFrancesco was guided by a disembodied voice from the World Trade Tower seconds before collapse, making him one of only 4 people to escape from above the 81st floor.

This phenomena, The Third Man, isn't common but is recorded most amongst travelers and explorers under extreme duress and survival conditions. Those in dire peril have been inspired to live by this invisible yet strong and comforting presence. Sometimes it is just the feeling of an invisible presence other times it is a clear audible voice that gives critical information for surival.

The name, The Third Man, comes from a poem by T.S. Elliot called "The Waste Land." Elliot, inspired by Shackleton's story penned the following:

"Who is the third who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you
Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded
I do not know whether a man or a woman
But who is that on the other side of you?"

The Third Man Factor by John Geiger at Amazon.com