A colleague recently came up to me and asked: “What’s this I hear about you working with the angels? Is it Christian?”

“I’m Christian, but the work I do is non-denominational,” I answered.

“But are your angels from God?” she wanted to know.

Annoyed, I countered: “Where do you think angels come from?”

Wisely, she backed off.

I wish that little encounter had ended differently. There was so much that I could have shared about my beliefs and the spiritual work that I do, yet because I knew it would be difficult for her to accept something that was beyond the boundaries of her Catholic faith, I was loath to try.

If I had the chance to repeat the encounter, this is what I would say:

I love and believe in God. I believe He created the universe and all who live in it. I believe He created the angels, and that they continue to serve Him and help mankind today, as they have from the very beginning.

But I also believe that God has given me gifts that He would like me to use for the benefit of my fellow men. His angels woke me up to that fact, and they now continuously help and work with me to achieve this. In a way, they are my mentors, my guides and my colleagues.

In no way am I implying that I am better or more virtuous than others to merit this position. But I do accept and claim the fact that I am a divine being, created by God in His image.

I still call myself a Christian because my faith in my God hasn’t changed since my spiritual awakening. But my blind acceptance of many of the things that I’d been taught as a Christian has.

I believe that everyone in this world – whatever faith, colour or creed – are children of one and the same God.

God. Allah. Spirit, Yahweh, the Great Mother. To me, they are all names of one loving, all-knowing Creator.

Just as I answer to the name I was born with, as well as the name I was baptized with, and even to the nickname that my family and friends call me by, I don’t see why God shouldn’t or can’t answer to several names, either.

And now that I’ve had time to meditate and think about it, I no longer accept that God is solely male. Or female.

For me, He is God the Father, God the Mother and God the Son. For that is the family nucleus of all living beings, and we are made in His image. God embodies all these aspects, so I believe He is both male and female.

Just take a look at your spouse or partner. Do you honestly think that an all-male or all-female God could create both men and women, with all their complex, complicated thought processes, emotional hang-ups and physical traits, if He didn’t share or understand them at all?

But because I’m not bothered about being politically correct, I don’t see myself beginning a prayer with “Mother-Father God”, just to cover all my bases, anytime soon. It’s just too much of a mouthful for me.

And I’ve gone too many years calling Him God to try to change now, although I totally respect “Spirit” and the “Divine Feminine” that so many others refer to.