Do You Love Me Enough to do This?

(reprinted with permission from Kate's Blog ...because it applies to all kinds of love) 

Letting Go doesn't mean you don't love them anymore. Letting Go doesn't mean you won't miss them anymore. You can never cut the ties that bind two souls together who truly love each other. What you DO need to cut is the Leash of Grief and Guilt that binds them to you and prevents them from doing what is best for them.

As They say, set something free and if it was yours to begin with, it will come back. It's natural law, in Heaven and on Earth and in all the spaces in between life and death and life. Your loved ones cannot come back from a place they have not yet arrived. 

If you are looking for Signs and not finding them, take a look at what you are doing. If your best friend is still on the leash of your grief, your best friend is not yet free to be everything he or she can be. 

Letting Go is the most important thing you can do for both of you. It is the ultimate act of faith... and you will be rewarded for it. 

Breathe. Then Let Go. It's time.

You say you love. Do you love them enough to let them go? 

Do you trust them enough to have the faith that they will never leave?  

"'Do not cling to me,' said Jesus, 'for I have not yet ascended to the Father.'"

John 20:17

(Jesus to Mary Magdalene) 

Special Sale for our Readers! Just $5.99 for a Limited Time!

We are re-releasing our original book, "Reflections on Life with my Master: A Dog's Memoir on Life After Death" with a new cover and updated Afterword information inside! We have reduced the price from $14.99 to just $5.99 during the re-launch period so that our readers can get an updated copy or buy extras for those who may be grieving. 

For less than the cost of a nice greeting card, you can give a great book that will heal the grief in a matter of hours. Jack is the best four-legged counselor in the universe, and he can do it in ways no one else can.  

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Also available on Kindle and in Large Print.  

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Soon You Will Know. You Will Know That I Am Here.

I know you're grieving. I know that when you grieve it can be a dark and unhappy place. 

Do me a favor. Right here right now. Read the brief excerpt below from Book 3. Then put your device down and sit back and take a deep breath. Look around you. You are more than your grief. Look at your family, if you have one. Your pets, if you have them. Your home, Your furniture. Your houseplants. Your view. 

Close your eyes and think of those you love who have traveled on over the Rainbow Bridge. The Rainbow Bridge is simply a passageway to the other side of the "veil". The veil is so thin, thinner than the thinnest fabric or screen. We are just on the other side of your world, right now. See if you can feel us there. Talk with us. We are waiting for you. 

We are all around you waiting for you to smile again. We are continually trying to show you what you still have in your life that is good. You have what you can see, but you also still have what you cannot see. You have me! You have "We"! We are always trying to help you to know that we are never gone, we are just Gone From Your Sight. We live closer to you than your breath! 

Your heart is our home. When your heart is unhappy, we are unhappy too. When you heal and make your heart a pleasant place, then we can be free to live again and love again. But until then, we wait patiently, for you to see the sun shine on your life again. 

It never went away. 

Nor did we. 

"Heaven is all around you. You just can’t see us because we are vibrating at a higher level than you are. It’s kind of like a dog whistle. There is a noise, a pitch so high that the human ear cannot detect it but it is there nonetheless, for don’t you see all the dogs come running!

When we cross Rainbow Bridge we become only love and love is the highest level of vibration; the highest “pitch” so to speak. This is why you cannot see us. We are here, only gone from your sight until one day you are the same vibration as we are.

When you vibrate in love all the time you will not have to ask again if I am here, you will know that I am here with you."

"Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge" Chapter 65

Rainbow Bridge is not a "Real" Bridge...

There is one thing you need to understand in order to heal your grief....and you will understand clearly when you read "Reflections". Heaven is not up in the sky somewhere. Rainbow Bridge is not a long apparatus made of bricks and mortar and steel. Our loved ones live all around us... in the very same space... just on a different level of vibration, like a radio that has different stations and frequencies. Your best friend is right beside you where they've always been. The Bridge is a thin veil of love. Only Gone From Your Sight.

Heaven is all around you. You just can’t see us because We are vibrating at a higher level than you are. It’s kind of like a dog whistle. There is a noise, a pitch so high that the human ear cannot detect it but it is there nonetheless, for don’t you see all the dogs come running!

When we cross Rainbow Bridge we become only Love and Love is the highest level of vibration--the highest 'pitch' so to speak. This is why you cannot see Us. We are here, only gone from your sight until one day you are the same vibration as We are. When you vibrate in Love all the time you will not have to ask again if I AM here; you will know that I AM here with you.

~ Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge 

Available Worldwide on Amazon and through your favorite bookseller

When You Grieve For One Who Grieves

Sometimes it is harder to witness one grieving than it is to grieve for yourself. Sometimes you grieve more for them than they grieve for themselves because you tend to project your own feelings onto them and it distorts and magnifies the grief.

Yesterday she heard the familiar "THUMP" of the bird hitting the window. She ran outside and it was a young adult female cardinal. So beautiful. It had died instantly having broken its neck in the impact.  

She went inside to get a soft towel and returned for burial proceedings. She admired its feathers, its beak, its regal beauty as she wrapped the bird. She prayed for it and spoke with it as she carried it to the fence at the back of the yard, the place where the cardinal and her mate would often frolic and play.  

As she dug the soft hole, she cried softly. She covered the beautiful creature with the dirt which she sifted through her fingers so that it would land gently upon the tangerine-colored wings. 

After she went back into the house, she tried to re-focus on her tasks at hand there. In a matter of moments there was the "CHIRP CHIRP" of the male cardinal. He was at the back fence flitting around. "CHIP CHIP CHIRP CHIRP".  Oh this made her cry again, harder. It was not a happy chirp. She imagined what it must be like for the cardinal's partner to not know what happened. To be confused and lost and alone. She wondered if they had a nest -- of eggs -- or perhaps of little ones who still needed their mother in order to survive. She had hopes that cardinals do not mate for life so that this beautiful red boy would be able to find love again. 

Throughout the day she would hear his CHIRP and she would be so unhappy for him.  

But today, there he was. CHIRP! CHIRP!  Flying around with another girl. Humans take a long time to heal and four-leggeds heal 7x faster. Birds heal almost immediately once they know what's going on.  Mr. Cardinal had seen the whole thing. He knew what had happened. He did not waste any time in grief for as soon as his lady passed, she joined him in spirit.  

Birds and animals know more than you think they do and they are capable of knowing more than you know.  They would say to you this: 

"Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form."  

Jalaluddin Rumi

Read my books and I will help you understand how we go and how we come back and what happens in the middle of it all. 

Jack McAfghan: The Trilogy is available worldwide on Amazon and through all major booksellers.  

The Guilt of Grief

What's typically the first thing you say to yourself when someone you love has died?  "I wasn't there."  "I should've called more often." "I should have loved them more." "I wish we'd ended on a more positive note."  

And when it comes to your four-legged friends? "I wish we'd taken more walks." "I should have fed her healthier food." "I waited too long to take him to the vet."  "I took him to the vet too soon." "I could've done more. I didn't do enough."  It's the human condition to go through this torment in one's mind. 

Some humans try to control so many circumstances in their lives. They think they are responsible for holding their world together. Then they find out in difficult times, that they are not really in control of much of anything at all. It was all a facade and many go through high hoops and spend a lot of energy trying to prove to themselves that they can control everything. It is humbling and eventually it is free-ing for them to find out that they had no power over what happened. You do not have to hold the world together. God takes care of that. Your job is to try to control your mind and let the power of the love in your heart lead the way through the shadows and out the other side. 

Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge

Keep in mind that when you have no control over something, YOU CANNOT BLAME YOURSELF. There are some people who are so controlling that they leave decisions up to someone else so in the event it is the wrong decision they can maintain their "innocence" and blame the one who made the decision! You silly willy humans! It's all such a common and often unconscious game that only goes to keep you apart from each other. 

Guilt and Blame is a common thread for all who grieve and yet there is nothing you could've done or should've done. It was out of your hands. After all, you know what the outcome would have been if you had an ounce of say in the matter...In the Guilt of Grief, you are completely innocent. Higher Powers are at the helm of circumstance and destiny. They know what They are doing and why. There are reasons you cannot possibly know now, but you will someday. What you CAN control is how you respond to what happens to you. It's one more thing we come to teach you. The fact is that You loved and your love is always enough.  

"You can't turn back the clock. You cannot change the circumstances. You never could change them. They were set in Destiny, in the fate of the Rainbow Time Schedule. Even things that might seem to be accidents were pre-destined. You need to love yourself as much as your pet loves you...and forgive yourself for everything. You are not guilty of anything."  
from the book, Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master by Kate McGahan

Flowers Where There Were No Flowers

Have you ever been on a road or a path you have taken many times with your beloved best friend? After your friend has gone to Rainbow Bridge and you are working through your grief, we like to venture back and show you little surprises along the way. Some of you refuse to go back to those special places we shared because you are afraid of your tears and your grief, but we need you to go there. It's where we always went together and it's where we will always continue to go. Even though we are Gone From Your Sight. It's okay if you shed those tears. Tears must be shed to work through the grief. It's our only goal: to heal you, to comfort you, to help to make you happy again. It's all we want. We want you to believe in miracles! We have lots of opportunities to come to you because the rules are very different in the world of Heaven beyond Rainbow Bridge. Just like God created the world, POOF!, we are, each one of us, magicians in a world where scientific rules do not prevail.

Hi! That's Me Saying I Love You! What Cactus Flower Blooms in April??

If you've read my book "The Lizard from Rainbow Bridge", you know how signs and angels can show up in ordinary ways in your life. In our book, Lizard teaches you to recognize a sign when you see one. We can show up in extra-ordinary ways too!  Like shooting stars and funny metaphors. We especially like flowers because we know you like flowers and that you will notice them. Especially in places that are otherwise flower-less.

Kate and I made this path on the Wild Horse Mesa wilderness trail over the years of hiking there. There were never ever any wildflowers there. Just pine needles, juniper brush and red dirt. She eventually spread my ashes under the tiny juniper tree that you see in the photo. We had re-routed the trail to allow my friend the tree room to grow. The trail originally ran along the righthand side of the little tree... and it simply didn't have room to grow. Horses and travelers would graze by the tree each and every time so that it was becoming lopsided.

                     

So now she calls it Jack's Path. The first Spring after I made my passage to Rainbow Bridge, not only did purple four o'clocks pop up to the lefthand side of the path, but the daisies came up in the middle too. Here's the proof.

Jack's Path

By the way, my friend the tree is doing really well, growing balanced and strong now.
And so is Kate.

Love,
Kate

The One Thing That Keeps You Stuck in the Grief

Dear Jack: 

The hardest thing I'm dealing with right now is my guilt. I have lost people in my life, including my best human friend and my mother. Losing my Heart and Soul pet has hit me harder than anything and I miss him more than anyone ever and that is why I feel guilty. I've never admitted this to anyone other than a total stranger I happened to walk into at a doctors appt. who admitted the same thing after telling her about my best friend.

Sincerely,

Lost in Guilt

Dear Lost, 

You are no longer lost because the moment you realize what is holding you back, is the moment you can begin to move forward. It is part of the Acceptance process. 

During our years of working hospice we found that guilt is the #1 grief issue 90% of the time. Have you read my book yet because we address this in detail. That's one of the reasons we wrote my first book. Kate was riddled with guilt. She was stuck in the guilt of grief for six months or more. When you finally accept that guilt in unnecessary, you will emerge from the depths of the darkness, You find out that you are free and you realize that there is plenty of hope for healing and living a normal life again. A better than normal life for what we have taught you by our leaving. 

Guilt is all so unnecessary. Did you know that guilt doesn't even exist except in your own mind? But that might be too much for you to process right now. Please if you haven't already, get my book and let me comfort you on this topic. I will bring your best friend to you and release you both from the chains of guilt. In about 3-4 hours you can be in a totally different place. Please don't be afraid to go there. Your pet's world will open up when yours does. You are both connected and your grief impacts him. Now don't feel guilty about that too! It's a normal and human part of the process. 

Learn about it. Do it for you and do it for your best friend.

Our books are available on Amazon Worldwide. Click here to view my page on Amazon.com!

Love,

Jack

They Sometimes Go Someplace Private to Pass...

Hi, This is Kate. I was recently visiting a group on Facebook where one member criticized another member for allowing her sick dog to be unattended and now unable to be located.  It inspired a memory. 

When I was 6 months old, our purebred GSD came into our family as a puppy. I was the one who cared for her most of the time. She was my first best friend. When I was 16 (and she was 16) one night we couldn't find her. I was especially worried because she was frightened of thunder and lightning storms and a storm was heading our way. I went outside, looking everywhere for her and eventually found her under a dark space under the side porch. She had tragically lost the use of her hind legs. 

I went in the house to get a card table and a blanket. I was going to sit under the table "tent" with her while the storm came so that I could comfort her. When I came out with the blanket she was gone. I couldn't believe it. How could she have gone somewhere when she had no use of her legs?! In the rain I went looking for her. I found her at the front of the house under the spirea bushes. 

She was having difficulty breathing. I stayed with her. it was my first experience with death. She may be part of the reason I went into hospice work.

I also have two friends here in Arizona who do not know each other. They both had beloved cats who were pushing 20 years of age. They both told their cats that they did not want to have to make "the decision". Both of those cats seemingly just walked away from home one day and never came back. 

I welcome any discussion about any of this ...or feel free to share your own stories.

Letting Go: Try To See It From Another Point of View

When Kate and I worked for Hospice, we went to visit a family who had an elderly father at home. They had an old dog that was sick too. Her name was Blanca. I looked into Blanca’s eyes and I saw so much sadness there. It was more than sadness; I can't come up with an English word for it.

While Kate talked to the man and his family, I talked with Blanca. She told me that she was ready to cross over but that her master had begged her not to leave. Her master was asking her to stay, so she was staying. A dog is obedient above all else.

I learned that Blanca felt totally helpless. She was tired of living. She wanted to be free of her cumbersome body. She felt trapped. She loved her family but she suffered from a deep and painful longing to return Home. Her heavenly Master was calling for her but her earthly master was clinging to her. It was painful for her to be pulled in two different directions. She knew that I would understand. I felt very bad for her. I hoped that I would never have to live that way.

Jack McAfghan, Chapter 49

Not a Single Sparrow Can Fall...

"Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it." 

(Matthew 10:29) 

The finches have been building their nest in the eaves of the roof. Today the female flew into the window and Kate found her, still alive. She ran to get a towel and she gently picked up the finch and held it close as a huge amount of heat escaped the tiny creature's body.  It happened the same way when I passed; a great heat went through Kate as I made my transition.  

Heat is energy manifest. The heat is the infinite life force energy that was leaving the bird as it's immortal spirit expanded out into the universe.  I have told you in my book and I will tell you again now: 

Heaven is not somewhere Up In The Clouds high in the sky. Heaven is all around you! The moment that bird took it's last breath, it's spirit left it, in the form of heat, and immediately went out into the Heaven that surrounds all things. This is why I am still here. We are all here, all around you.  
There is no Heaven UP THERE -- HEAVEN IS HERE, ALL AROUND!  

Kate held the bird, cupping her hands around its tiny body, holding it close to be sure that it knew that it was loved as it left. After all, we carry the last moments of life with us into the next one and it's very nice when the transition is made with love. 

Then Kate cried. It was like a Little Journey of Grief for her. She blamed herself because she feeds the birds and if the bird feeder hadn't been there, the finch might not have flown into the window at all. She thought of the nest and she cried as she watched the male finch with red breast flying back and forth at the eave of the roof. She told him what happened as tears rolled down her face. She wondered if there were eggs in the nest and she worried for them too.  She cried slow gentle tears for this tiny bird and it's mate. 

Then she took her little shovel and buried the finch in a soft hole underneath the tree in the side yard. She lined the hole with silken rose petals.  They too were dying and needed to know that they were loved. It's all about the love for every living thing.  

She returned to the scene where a tiny grey feather remained. She picked up the feather and tossed it onto the breeze.  

"Fly free, little girl!" 

The feather wafted and lifted and soon floated out of sight. 

This all happened on the same deck that I used to love. 

Lots of magic and love took place here and it will always hold the energy of these memories. 

I'll be meeting this little bird soon. I will love this bird forever because 
my master loved her and cared for her for just a few moments. We are all connected. I love my master, my master loves me and I will love this bird because she loved this bird.
And just you wait and see; this bird will love me!  

So Do Pets Go To Heaven or Not???

Dear Jack (I can't believe I am writing a letter to a dog):

No animal goes to heaven. St. Thomas stated and the Church approves: "The soul of an animal after death returns to the potency of matter." Anything contrary is simply fiction and nonsense.

Anon E Mouse

Dear Anon, 

Now that I am in Heaven, I join the common mind which knows Everything.  That said, since you are a doubter (much like the St.Thomas who you refer to in your note to me), I will provide a link to a reputable source to reveal the Truth. As an apostle of Jesus Christ, St. Thomas was transformed from doubter to believer. Click here to read more about that.  

I also would like to clarify that we do not "live" at Rainbow Bridge. A lot of people think we do. Rainbow Bridge is just the passageway by which we reach the Other Side. The other side is Heaven.  We cross the Bridge and we wait for you on the other side. When it's your time to cross the bridge into Heaven, we are the first ones waiting at the edge of Rainbow Bridge to greet you. So yes, we live in Heaven.

But 'How do you know that pets go to Heaven?' you ask. 
How do I know? ...

 I know because The Bible tells me so. 

I know because animals have a soul and souls return to Heaven when they are done experiencing life on earth. 

I know... because animals have eyes in which you can see the entire universe. If Eyes Are The Windows Of The Soul, this is further proof that animals have a soul. 

I know this because Pope Francis (like his beloved namesake, St. Francis) tells me so. 

Source: ABC Nightly News and Google Images. 

I KNOW. I mostly know because I know where I am. I am there. I am Here. I am in Heaven. I am in Life Everlasting. I AM Life Everlasting. We all are.

"Life goes on and something is always turning into something else. I now know this for sure: Love is all there is and love never dies. Love is energy and energy does not die; it cannot die. Einstein would tell you that it is a proven scientific fact. If it’s energy, it must live, although sometimes it changes form.

Love does not sleep. I am not dead. I am awake."

("Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" Chapter 66)

Now Kate knows -- without a doubt-- because she wrote my book and she never planned on writing it. She never planned on my reaching out to her to give her a message to give the rest of the grieving doubting world. 

I know because I know.

I'll See You At Rainbow Bridge

Kate made a video the other night and when she learns something I learn something too. After all, we are always connected. So last night I made a video too!  You can view it here. It's just a few minutes long and it gives you a unique view of Rainbow Bridge.

 

Dear Jack: I Didn't Get To Say Goodbye

Dear Jack, 
I still miss my beautiful, loving little girl who I lost a year ago. I came home from work one day and she had passed away in the new dog bed that I just bought for her. That was one of the worst days of my life, she was 14 and a half and had not been sick, but she must have been suffering from something. I horribly regret that I wasn't with her when her time came; that breaks my heart to this day. I feel she's with me all of the time, she is all over my apartment, her pictures, her favorite spots, her bed. This loss has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to accept. I just wish I could see her sweet little face and hold her precious body once again. I feel so terrible that I didn't get to say goodbye. 
Please advise. 
Love, 
Amanda 

Dearest Amanda, 

I would like you to understand that your beloved girl passed in your absence because she did not want you to see her in her final moments. If it had been meant to be another way, it would have unfolded another way. It happened just the way it was supposed to happen. 

We have a friend named Patty who had a beloved cocker spaniel. It was quite old and it was declining rapidly. Patty took the whole week off from her work to be with her Buddy. She rarely left his side the whole week. Then, at about 10:30 one night, she stepped away from him just long enough to go the bathroom. When she came back, she found him. He had passed in the few moments when she had left his side. I believe he was waiting for her to leave so he could leave the way he wanted to. We get very sensitive to our best friends and we know that we don't want those last moments imprinted in your mind. We don't want you to see us until the peace has come to our face... and that peace comes very quickly. 

So often human beings try to maneuver and manipulate everything to control an outcome, but eventually most of them learn that no matter how focused and determined they are, they cannot control much of anything at all. They are not supposed to control things because God is in control. Sometimes God steps into situations like this to prove it to the human.... but the human can be a slow learner and most of them keep trying to control stuff anyway because they think they can.

Kate has worked Hospice long enough to know that people do the same thing. There they are, in their final earthly hours, and their family surrounds them in a 24 hour vigil. The moment the family member leaves the room, the person has the space to breathe their last breath in private peace. Not all of them -- but many do this. 

So rest assured, your girl did things on her own terms to the last second. Please don't worry for another moment! Don't you see she did not want to say goodbye. Why would she? She knows it's not goodbye! 

She is also very grateful that you can see her, feel her, sense her there. Everyone is capable of seeing us, but not everyone is able to do it. Please know that All is Well.

Love,
Jack

For more insights from Jack, click here to order his book on Amazon.