Meet Angela Montano Host of Prayer On The Air Podcast

The value or principle that matters most to me is LOVE. I consider Love to be an omnipresent, omniscient energy that is all-powerful. I believe all that Love needs is my attention. It is very challenging to trust Love when I am thinking of the past or the future. My intention is to remain present to Love. For example, in this moment, love is providing me with all I need. My hands are typing. My green tea is in a beautiful tea cup that was a gift from someone I love and who loves me. The bracelet I am wearing is made by a dear friend.  I could go on and on about how LOVE is showing up for me right now, just by looking at what is right in front of me. If only we’d live consistently in ‘just this’ moment. The reason why love matters to me so much is that it allows me to be free and grateful. This is the journey of my life and work. When I let go and trust the power of Love as all-providing, I witness miracle upon miracle. It does take tremendous courage and stillness to release stressful thinking. The mind comes up with so many reasons why we should be worried and afraid. It can feel almost radical to trust this moment and all that Love is providing.

As I look back on the last 30 years, it is astonishing to me that I have a career that arose from my trusting Love. I know that sounds pretty vague, so here is what happened: I graduated college in 1984 with a degree in journalism and became an on-air television news reporter. It was a good job – fast-paced, very demanding and highly interesting, but it never felt ‘authentic’ to who I am. That began my search for a deeper meaning and fulfillment. At the time, I lived in Columbia, South Carolina. After so much painful soul-searching, I decided to move to Los Angeles and give acting a try. I thought if I could express something deeper regarding the human experience, I would be fulfilled. Studying acting and going out on auditions, doing theater in LA proved to be really fun on one hand but also very difficult for me. I was not succeeding. I felt like a failure. Eventually, my agent dropped me. During that painful time, I started taking classes at The Agape Spiritual Center founded by Rev. Michael Beckwith. I was hoping the classes would help me find my way. I never intended to become a spiritual practitioner, but I finished all the classes, graduated, got licensed and there were three individuals who said they would like to be my client, so I said yes. From those three people, my practice grew from referrals. Within a few years, I was a full-time spiritual practitioner. I found that I loved listening with my heart and providing prayer that is inclusive rather than prayer that is tied exclusively to a particular religion. It has been extraordinary. I am on a mission to serve people in realizing how to pray beyond a religious construct. Just as people meditate and do yoga regardless of belief systems, so can one pray. I see private clients regularly, have a podcast The Angela Montano Hour: Prayer On The Air and I teach online prayer classes. My most popular one can be found on DailyOM.com and it is called 21 Days of Prayer to Change Your Life.

There are so many places I love in Southern California. For a week-long stay, and depending on what friend is visiting, I would want to take them to The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. It is the only place on the planet outside of India where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes are. There is a sense of true tranquility there and it is beautiful. In addition to that, I would visit The Getty Center, We would take in some art and walk the beautiful gardens there as well as eat lunch at one of the cafes. I would shoot over to Topanga Canyon as well and eat at a fabulous place called Endless Color that is both a wine shop, restaurant and record store. Another favorite place I would take them is to Huntington Beach Dog Park, where I love to go with my dog Toby!

Byron Katie, Camille Gietz, Michael Bechwith