The process where by a spirit of light and beauty, an angel, enters ones body and mind to manipulate one into doing good deeds. This is similar to demonic possession, where an evil spirit or demon enters into one to do evil deeds.
This definition may work in fairytales written for children and dogma following spiritualist but it doesn't sit too well with me. There are a few problems with the whole: possession scenario.
The concept of possession lacks culpability or reward for one's actions since it is the angelic/demonic agents that are supposedly responsible. The Humanist view being: we, as humans, must reject the notion of a "higher" power and ultimately own up to being the masters of our own fate. Possession may simply be a fiction we tell ourselves to avoid taking responsibility.
However, there are these unaccountable acts of random kindness. Many times in my life, I have been blessed by the generosity of others. I've seen it happen to others also. A sympathetic stranger helps an elderly person get on the bus. Someone makes an anonymous donation to charity. People banding in groups to help make the lives of disabled children a little more bearable. I have seen professionals go above and beyond the call of duty and be not just competent but caring as well.
How does one account for such behaviour?
I feel that there is a tapestry to life. A pattern that blends so perfectly into reality that no one even notices it. The pattern is one of balance and beauty. It resonates like the ripples on a pond when struck by a pebble. Where there is a need, instinctively, there is an agent to fill that need. Sometimes there is a momentary imbalance, like the crest of a wave, where we perceive that the need exceeds the power of the counterforce that fills it. But in the fullness of time, balance is restored and the pond becomes calm once again.
In my more spiritual moments, I see God's handy work in the tapestry. The skilled hands of the Master have woven the fabric of reality with an unbreakable thread. We as agents merely nestle ourselves in the fabric. The deeper we bury ourselves the more we find ourselves moving with the heaves and sighs of the motion of the tapestry. Once we detach ourselves, only then can we objectively stand back and admire the work as a whole. I have had several opportunities to be partially detached from reality (call me crazy) and the small portion I saw from my altered perspective was awe-inspiring.
I find the motives of angels (or those possessed) directly connected with the movements of the tapestry. The tapestry twists and bends with the progress of each individual's life. Angelic people act as they do because they happen to be closely in tune with the rhythms of those around them. Acting out in an instinctive way knowing intuitively what is right and wrong.
The reward for angels is that their own life becomes calm. By smoothing the ripples in the tapestry around them, their own small part of reality becomes smooth and calm as well.
A word about the agents of chaos: devilish behaviour seeks to disturb the peaceful calm that angels bring to the tapestry. They are motivated by the energy of change. Without them there would be no action at all. All would be calm all the time. God bless the troublemakers for without them the actions of angels would be unnecessary. And then reality would be nothing but a bunch of immortals sitting around wondering, "Why is it so quiet here?"
You ultimately have a choice: good or evil. God doesn't really care. He set the whole thing up so the teams will equal, fair and balanced. But beware: the choice you make will determine if you live your life on a stormy sea or a calm little puddle. It's up to you.