Do Old Dogs Die?

These Dogs are all the bravest of souls, and all who came before them, and all who will come later--as they are all here now, with each dream, each relaxing moment, each celebration and with each loving thought!!

Thank you Squidoo and also thanks to all dogs everywhere, and cats, and horses--all animals, Our Guardian Spirits!!

This was quite the Man, this dog. He was such a sweet and perfect dog. He had an inquisitive mind. He never used a lead in the city (of San Francisco!) He was a loyal keeper of the Gate.

His master and mistress was D. D. Delaney and Jala Magick, who are my brother and sister (in-law). I wonder--Do they ever dream about him, even now?

He died 35 years ago!

Yet as I gaze into his eyes, I know he never died. He is a spirit who lives on forever!

Death is just an illusion. No One Ever Dies!

Yet why do we think they do?

Is there a Heaven And a Hell?

There is if you believe there is! But after awhile, those images fade to reveal the reality of Heaven--and Hell--right there in your mind--and my mind--and everyone elses' mind, too!!

Once we let go of the need to know, the knowledge will reveal itself!

Our dogs (and cats, and horses) are right beside us, still!

They are always here, right now. Past Lives, Future Lives--Right Here, Right Now.

Tune In.

Become Aware Of That Which always breathes, always moves and never rests.

This is the cellular, energetic world we live in. Nothing stays the same. It is a constant dance of Beauty and Love!

How do we fearlessly prepare for our own death, and those closest to us?

I believe the most important way to fearlessly prepare is to broaden awareness of all that changes and is changing in our lives. Always the changing of Autumn into Winter affords us the opportunity to grow into an experience of dying and re-birth for those of us who have extreme seasonal changes, as we do here in Pennsylvania.

Ask yourself: What is changing in my life and in what ways am I resisting it? What can I do to go "with it" instead of "against it?" How can I embrace personal changes with the faith that God/ess will take care of me?

Here are some of the ways:

1) Meditate, meditate, meditate!

2) Breathe love into your life.

3) Sit with any and all disturbing thoughts.

4) Sit with your sadness and your grief.

5) Single out the changes you are going through and liken these to the little deaths and resultant rebirths that arise.

6) Sit by the ocean and contemplate the ebb and flow of natural cycles.

7) Cultivate your inner sanctuary, so that it is always available when you need it.

8) Watch Nature and observe the ways that death and rebirth continuously evolve.

9) Choose a change that is happening right now in your life: an illness? a divorce? a death? Practice allowing it to be exactly what it is without opinion or judgment; Practice feeling your resistance to it; Practice surrendering to all of it.

10) Practice living in an Unconditional Loving state of mind, because that's what death and rebirth is all about!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran Theologian, who lost many friends and family in WWII, and was executed by the Nazis, wrote the following about grieving: "Nothing can make up for the absence of someone whom we love and it would be wrong to try and find a substitute; we must simply hold out and see it through. That sounds very hard at first, but at the same time, it is a great consolation, for the gap, as long as it remains unfilled, preserves the bonds between us. It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap; God doesn't fill it, but on the contrary, keeps it empty and so helps us to keep alive the former communion with each other, even at the cost of pain."

We must stay in this gap after a loss and feel all there is to feel about it. And when family or friends tell us to go to a Doctor because they think we are depressed, we know to go back to the gap until we feel ready to reimmerge. In the gap we simply commit to staying there, free of diversion, computer, TV, cell phone; free of expectation, and simply communicate with the person or animal who has died.

Do not worry if your grief makes others uncomfortable.

Simply stay in the gap for however long it takes.

You will know when it is time to re-enter the world. Patience is key here to making this work. And meditation practice. And a willingness to BE exactly who you are.

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