Hi Betsy-
I am going to answer some of your questions from my "own" experience. Please accept it as that. This is not my opinion, it is my experience. 1) I call on a collective energy, made up of specific sources, or entities, masters, etc., I have come to know, over time, through prayer, meditation, and study with teachers. There appears to me a strata of levels or dimensions, regarding these spirits, that takes form under God. It is possible to directly pray/connect to god, or access god through these other spiritual beings. There are some masters in this collective that I did know as living teachers. After starting with Spring Forest, I include Master Lin in this collective, and also whoever his teachers are. I don't see the physical part of him , here, necessarily aware of my connection, but I am connecting to an aspect of him, or what he is connected to. Other spiritual entities or sources that only exist in higher realms, or other dimensions, can always be there, and can always be aware of your relationship with them. There was a great Souix holyman/healer by the name of Fools Crow. He carved a likeness of himself, that he kept in his medicine bundle. The purpose was to have an aspect of him, always paying respects to the higher spirits, when "he" wasn't conscious of that connection and relationship, as he went about his day. For him , that created the constant connection to and awareness of the higher spirits (or master's energy). This is sort of the reverse to your question.
2) Some of your second question is addressed in my previous response. My own experience has been that you can create/manifest the best possible future. You can go into the past to heal, or correct, or release...which has an affect on the present and future. If the future is present, it is a possible future,,it can be changed.
Mike, my experience has been different than your point of view. Perhaps I should be burned at the stake as a witch. :-)
