2. Angela Mailander

Deep Silence Through War, Celestial Experiences, and the Angel of Silver

When Angela Mailander was five years old, she bicycled through hand-to-hand combat in Nazi Germany and experienced something no child should: an unshakeable “deep silence” that permeated the chaos and never left her. That tone of silence — a witness that doesn’t interfere, doesn’t change, and doesn’t sleep — has been with her every moment since.

In this extraordinarily rich conversation, Angela shares her lifelong spiritual journey across six cultures and four languages, the shepherd who taught her to meditate at age six, and why the 16th-century silver angel she saw melting in a coffee can became a turning point in her understanding of reality. She explores the surprising discovery that “a different language is a different self” and how this insight led her to ask a question most people never think to ask: beneath all my shifting identities, what is the constant?

Angela Mailander holds two Ph.D.s — one in English and one in Comparative Studies. Born in Germany in 1940, she has lived in France, Greece, India, China, and seven U.S. states. She is an educator, artist, and writer who has cared for displaced teenage boys and continues to teach and create throughout her 80s.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded 11/18/2009.

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction: Shifting Consciousness and Spiritual Awakening
• 00:03:26 – The First Clear Experience of Witnessing
• 00:06:46 – Riding Through a Hellish Battle
• 00:10:37 – The Silent Battle Experience
• 00:13:22 – The Tone of Silence
• 00:15:32 – Growing up with Multiple Languages
• 00:18:38 – The Experience of Different Personalities in Different Languages
• 00:21:22 – Learning Meditation at a Young Age
• 00:24:55 – A Man Protected by an Invisible Glass Bell
• 00:27:42 – Following the Rocks to the Bottom
• 00:30:43 – Meditation and the Nazis
• 00:33:42 – Reconnecting with the Past
• 00:37:00 – Learning Transcendental Meditation
• 00:39:50 – A Phone Call with Maharishi
• 00:42:57 – A Celestial Experience and Enameling on Silver
• 00:46:55 – The Angelic Silver Experience
• 00:50:16 – Uncomprehended Experiences
• 00:53:12 – Silent Awareness and Spiritual Experiences
• 00:56:10 – Discovering the Bhagavad Gita and William Blake
• 01:00:24 – A Shift in Perspective
• 01:03:54 – Overcoming Gender Bias in Academia
• 01:06:52 – Playing the game and asking unconventional questions
• 01:09:10 – Greece: A Necessary Development and Emotional Trauma
• 01:12:53 – A Journey Through Emotional Pain and Healing
• 01:16:45 – Inner Development and the Journey to China
• 01:20:47 – Lightning Strikes and China Adventures
• 01:23:49 – The Unexpected Turn of Events
• 01:26:52 – A Vision for the Future
• 01:30:01 – Individuality and Universality
• 01:33:12 – Nourishing Others with a Fulfilling Life
• 01:36:05 – Future Developments and Contact Information