BAGGAGE CLAIM

I’m building a wall that I don’t want to build

A stockade ‘round my heart and soul

All because those before you filled

My life then left a gaping hole.

You pay the price of baggage carried

On and off throughout my years.

Some cast off and deeply buried,

Some I keep to tote my fears

Of failure, guilt, abandonment, 

Which pull me down and hold me back.

These fears are much like bricks and mortar

Weighing down my heavy sack. 

I’ve always had the tools I need

To ward off enemies unknown

Always ready to defend

By erecting walls of stone

Impossible to penetrate!

They kept me sound

They kept me safe!

They also sheltered me from love.

I’ve paid the price of seeming brave.

It’s time to cast those things aside

That I no longer need because

Not only do they weigh too much,

They sheltered me from what life WAS.

My life is very different now

How wrong of me to utilize

This defense when I’ve no cause

To doubt your word or your advice.

I feel exposed as I toss out

The huge amounts of sand and stone…

Afraid to be wounded without my “shield,” 

I await the pain as I stand alone. 

Only to find that the pain doesn’t come!

I tentatively discover

That warmth and tenderness surround

Me as I start to now uncover

The parts of me I’ve saved for you,

The one who taught me it’s okay

To be myself and share my truth

Knowing you’ll meet me halfway

With respect and courtesy.

I learn life is a paradox.

Tear down the walls with kindness and

  Build gates of love, not walls of rocks. 

from "One Heart's Journey: Lyrics of an Imperfect Life"

Sharing 35 Years of Hospice and Spiritual Work and Study

I'm thinking of those who grieve as the first day of Spring arrives. Some of you still have snow and are living in the seemingly relentless cold shadows of winter. Some of you have floods. Some of you are still grieving the loss of a loved one.  Spring should be a time of renewal but for those who struggle, it can have the opposite effect. Winter can seem relentless. While the rest of the world celebrates the sunshine on the crocus and the daffodil, those who grieve often remain in the shadows.  

My latest book, an adapted version of my pet loss book by the same title, is designed to guide you through the grief related to a human loved one. Whether you are missing a partner, spouse, child, parent, other family member or friend, this book will give you what took me 35 years working with hospice and end-of-life to learn. It is a spiritual book that speaks to you from your loved one on the Other Side. It might just be the one thing that can bring the thaw to the winter of grief within your heart.   

The Kindle version is currently On Sale for just 99 cents until this weekend.  If you are nervous about reading an EBook, I want to reassure you that if you can read this email on your device, you can read my EBooks on your device too. It's really easy! You'll see!  

 Have you read any of my other books?  Did you enjoy them? If so, please consider rating them on Amazon to let others know they are worth the read. Reviews mean everything to me. I am not allowed to give anything in exchange for a great review, but if I could I would give you the world. Prayers going out to all who struggle. It sounds cliche but this too shall pass. Nothing lasts forever but Love. 

Find Book 6 HERE.  Start healing your heart in a matter of minutes.  

A Ripple to Eternity

A ripple on a silent pond can reach eternity.  

The water becomes calm again but 

forever holds the memory.  

Butterfly wings across time, across space, 

the gentle vibration cannot be erased.  

The power of one, as small as those wings... 

Small as the red-throated hummer spinning 

eighty beats per second! 

Too small you say?  

Wait 'til the mosquito comes to your bed tonight 

and never again say you are too small!  

Yes, one can make a difference but wait!  

Put two sticks together and then try to break them!  

The effect of the butterfly wings ... 

only possible because it has two.  

And the power of many small loving hearts 

can swell like a tsunami wave, 

all because of 

one ripple 

on a silent pond.

"Why Did You Doubt Me?"

When you are positioned, when your mind is clear, you can receive Messages from Heaven.

In The Bible Peter showed his faith and he walked upon the water. Until he started thinking about it....when down he went, into the waves of chaos. The chaos of his mind. 

Such as it is with dreams and visions that come to you from us in Heaven. In an unexpected moment, you see the one you've been longing to see. Oh you’ve been waiting so long to see me! I am finally bringing you proof that I have never left your side! 

You see me when you least expect it, when your mind is not quite fully engaged. I slip through the space in the “tween times” of your thoughts. I am there with you! "Oh Look!" you say, "He is Here!" 

You are in awe for the moment. You see me! You feel me!

She can balance on the high wire because she doesn't let her mind interfere with what is happening in this moment. 

Then you begin to look at yourself seeing me and feeling me and your mind kicks into gear. 

"Am I crazy?" "Is this really happening?"  

(Of course it is, it’s happening, isn’t it???)  

Very suddenly I begin to fade away. I fade because you question it, like Peter questioned walking on the water. I am fading in the very moment you are saying to yourself, “This can’t be happening.”  In the moment you are denying me. 

POOF!  I am gone. Gone again from your sight. Gone again until next time when maybe you have learned what you need to learn to connect with me in a whole new way.  When you have learned to grow through your grief enough to see that there is another way. A way that defies the limitations of earth. A way inspired by faith and trust. A way that's paved with your love for me. A way that makes that love more important than your fears. A way that brings you closer to the miracle that is heaven. A way that is the bridge. Don't you see? It's made of my love for you and your love for me. It's the bridge. It's the Rainbow Bridge. 

Read Book 1, "Reflections" where I will help you understand so that we can be together again. Our story is your story too. 
Click here. Change your life in a matter of hours: https://amzn.to/2MdPxOb

This guy is learning! We are so proud of him! There is always a net beneath you when you take a risk. The balancing pole is your faith. The weights on the rope are those of us who are looking out for you. We want you to reach the other side so that we can be together; so that together we can build a bridge -- a rainbow bridge - across the canyon that divides us. 

Read Reflections on Life with my Master to work through your grief.
Read our book The Lizard from Rainbow Bridge to learn recognize the signs.

Borders Cafe

We laugh together over froth; 
Aromas of fresh ground sweetness
In the space that divides
You
from
Me.

We ponder and philosophize
On musings most ignore.
Music, research, books and love.

We share and teach

And stretch our minds

To accommodate new vision;

Adding to each repertoire, 

Although you know

Much more than I. 

It seems we could go on like this

For hours on end had we the time,

But obligations

Break

This spell; 

They send you your way

And me mine. 

Picking Up The Ashes: Entering the Twilight Zone of Grief

Excerpt from Book 3, Chapter 20 "Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge" Click HERE for actual video footage of the scene which will open in a new window.

"It was the first time she went to the park without me. She had just been to the vet to pick up my ashes. It was raining that day; pouring just like it poured the morning that I passed. I knew right where she would go. She would always go to Grandfather Tree when she was having a bad time or needed to sort things out in her head. She sat down under the mulberry, which was thick with big leaves, so thick that the rain rolled right off of them while she remained dry underneath. She thought of me, her mind playing like a cinematic movie, reviewing the fun times we had shared. Her thoughts began to crescendo as she remembered the suffering of our final hours together. I did not want her to go to those memories.

Suddenly a car pulled up into the parking lot behind her. She heard a door open and close. It made her stop sniffling a little bit but she was kind of upset because she really just wanted to be alone. Who in their right mind would be out in this rainstorm? A moment later she turned her head and her tear-filled eyes to watch as they walked by.  It was a woman walking with her Afghan Hound under a big red umbrella. What kind of person comes out to the park and walks in the pouring rain, she asked herself again. And an Afghan Hound? Kate had never seen an Afghan Hound in these parts. None of it made sense and she wondered if she was dreaming, but she wasn’t. I sent the rain. I sent the woman. I sent the Afghan Hound. I sent the red umbrella. Remember what I said about things that make no sense?..."  

The Jack McAfghan Trilogy will heal your grief. Available on Amazon Worldwide and through your favorite bookseller. Visit http://amzn.to/2vSuPwb to see our five star reviews. Start feeling better in a matter of hours by starting with Book 1 "Reflections" 

Anger Is Part of Grief

Who has been the source of your anger? 

Yourself? 

Do you blame yourself? 

The vet? 

The people around you who seem not to care? 

God? 

Anger is a part of the grief process and it can be very scary, especially if you were never allowed or encouraged to express anger. 

Feel it. Heal it. Let it go. 

My book will show you how. 

http://amzn.to/2ipa4zE

Planning for the Inevitable: Learn to Communicate Ahead of Time

Hi Jack, 
It has been a long time and when it is too hard for my human brain to know, I must come back to you. My Balto is 12 years old. He still looks like a baby but he is having increasing issues with osteoarthitis. His Vet asked me if I wanted to try laser treatment to ease the pain. I wonder if this will work? I just want to be sure he will let me know ahead of time so I do not let him suffer...On the other hand I want Him to have a quiet life.  I don't know much about his life before he came to me. He was 9 years old when we met in a shelter. I really hope I will understand his signs when they come to me. Sometimes Veterinarians are only doing their job but in the same time I want to try everything to ease his pain. I am a little bit lost. Anyway I can at last feel his love now. I am sorry if this message is not clear. And as I told Kate I have your Book close to me...... ♡♡♡♡
Love, 
Balto's "Mom" 


Dear Mom, 
The energy of your message is very clear because you write from a place of love and I always understand love. Please say Hi to Balto for me. If you can get a product called Dasaquin, it helped me a lot. I was struggling a bit moving around too and once we went on that I was like a puppy again -- all the way till the end. I don't know if it will work for Balto but it worked for me. Start with that... and then the laser if it doesn't work. 

I am glad you keep my book close to you because that is where I can always remind you that everything is okay, even if it doesn't feel like it is at the moment.  

I must tell you that the most important thing you can do these days is to sit quietly with Balto. Put your hand on his heart and the other hand on yours. Tell him that you want to learn to communicate with each other through your hearts and that you may need his help with this. This is where he will communicate with you when he is "gone from your sight" one day.  Sit quietly with him, breathe with him, feel your hearts together. It will be good for both of you.

Whenever the world gets to be too much, with your hands on your hearts everything always seems better because it reminds you that your power is in your heart, not your head.

Love, 
Jack

My Poem About Squirrels

I think that I shall never see 

This squirrel come down from this tree. 

A squirrel whose tail goes east and west;

She teases me! She is a pest! 

She sits and looks at me all day, 

And waves her furry tail to say 

She'll never let me win this game. 

I must forfeit; she is to blame! 

The tree protects with limbed terrain. 

Her sheltered home, it's her domain. 

Only God can make a tree, 

Or a squirrel... or fools like me. 

~ by Jack McAfghan. 
Based on the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer (1914)

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

Your Book Has Healed Me In Ways Nothing Else Can

Hi Kate, 
My Sat. Morning has been consumed by "Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" and it is with red and swollen eyes I commend you on this lovely book about a lovely dog, love being the operative word throughout. With my Maggie's head on my lap, her big eyes begging me not to cry I would have to put it down as the pages and words blurred. You certainly struck a nerve in me as I am sure you will many others who have ever loved and had to make this choice. I would love to buy a copy for my daughter-in-law and son who have just said goodbye to their beloved Faith, I think it would help them in their journey to heal as well. I told my her it was a book about healing not dying to get her to read it she is grieving her big beautiful black lab. I am sure she will love it! Many Thanks! 
Karen Petit

Dear Karen, Thank you! I love what you say about the book being about healing, not about dying.  I would like to use that quote -- maybe quote you, in a Facebook or blog post sometime soon. Most people say "I'll read it, but I already know how it ends, " but they don't know what's in store. I'm sorry you cried so much over it, but there is a method to my madness because every tear you cry you are releasing something from your own past that needs healing. Thank you so much for writing.  xo   Kate

Do You Ever Get Goose Bumps?

Tonight she was out walking the dogs, Immy and Joey. It was a cold high desert night but it felt good to walk, so they walked a little farther than usual.  Just as they turned to head for home, she looked up and saw a bright star in the western sky. 

“I remember that star,” she said aloud. “I used to look at that star from my living room and from our front porch.”  She had a smile when she first said that.  She had built the house and loved the house. She and I had lived most of our years together there. She remembered looking out over to the western horizon as she watched the sunsets come and go, and then the bright star appear every night when the night was clear. Suddenly her “view” was interrupted by the memory of the neighbors at the house across the street.  It blocked her line of vision and took the star away from the sky in her mind. The neighbors had been very mean and they did some things that indirectly caused and ultimately brought us financial ruin.

“It was all so beautiful,” she said as the tears began to sting her eyes.  I sensed I might have to intervene.  “It was all so wonderful,” (Was she sad? Was she mad? Her emotions were intensifying) “...until they came along and ruined everything.”  She was starting to get upset about it again. I had to do something. I did not want her thinking those negative thoughts. There was nothing she could do about those circumstances now. It did her no favors to be dwelling on it.  After all, she had had such joy when she first saw our star.    

She was startled when she felt my goose bumps from the back of her neck down to her lower back, radiating with warmth. Everyone has their own “signature” goose bump. This was mine... and she knew it.  

“Okay Jack,” she said to me, “You’re right. I know it doesn’t matter now.” 
She had learned when to identify me and she had received the message I had intended for her! “Thank you Jack.  Thank you.”  
She was so pleased that she had not missed a beat and she knew that it was me. 

I radiated out my warmth and love and covered her again, so proud that she could learn to set her pain aside and live in the moment with me, just like I taught her to do.  She thanked me again. She could tell from my warmth and intensity that I was happy and that made her happy too. That’s how soul mates are. Connected on such a deep level that everything they think and feel affects the other.  

Do you ever get goose bumps? Who do you think it is? When do they come to you? What are they telling you?  Pay attention. Goose bumps are not just a random occurrence. They are how we reach out to you in vibration. It’s how we touch you when we no longer can be in your view. 

                                                                                                            

  Love,  Jack

Can You Feel Us? We Speak To You Through Energy

Dear Jack, 

I've been told to look for "signs"... That my baby is still with me and he will come to me somehow to let me know...

The day Gotti gained his wings I had the vet come to the house. I wanted him to be comfortable in his own bed..the familiarity.. His appointment was scheduled for 6pm...  Last night my bedside clock stopped… This is a sign, is it not? 

Love,

Tina

When humans speak to one another they speak with their voices in words that they have defined.  Do you realize that the words people speak are just a small percentage of their communication? When you take away the voice, the speech, the words, there is still a great deal of communication taking place. The words are shaped in the mind; in the brain. The inspiration for speaking the words comes from the heart.  The heart is the true center of genuine communication and Love is the greatest inspiration in the universe.

You may not realize it but you are communicating with us all the time, even when you aren't speaking. We watch you. We hear you. We feel you.  We observe your body language. We look into your eyes. We watch your gestures and listen to your tone of voice.  These are more revealing than the words that you might speak.

"Like words that sound the same but are opposite, sometimes I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying. They kind of seemed the same. I would have to look very carefully at her eyes and her mouth. I assessed the tilt of her head and her breathing pattern. I got good at deciphering her, but sometimes even when she was laughing, tears would come out of her eyes. Humans are strange that way. They live such a dichotomy." 
(Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master, Chapter 29)

You can learn to understand us too.  We do not use words, but we communicate in very similar ways. We can't smile but we can wag our tail. We can't speak our joy in words but we can jump and squirm and wiggle when you come home from work.  You can get hot under the collar because you are angry. We can get hot under the collar too and we might growl when we feel that way.  Most of all, we speak from the heart. Our heart to yours.

After we cross Rainbow Bridge we are all magicians!  We can speak in amazing and unique ways by using the power of energy connected to tangible things. While some of you can pierce the "veil" between Heaven and Earth and see and hear and know things through the power of the psyche and intuition, we know that most of you can only sense things in the physical realm, if you are aware of us at all. So we find ways to reach you.  Clouds, rainbows, dreams.  Lots of times things that are associated with power and energy like lightbulbs, clocks, electronics and appliances.  Electricity is the closest thing on earth to what we become when we cross Rainbow Bridge. We are energy and electricity is energy so it's easiest for us to reach you through energy circuits.

Life between the worlds is much like the world of dreams. Get yourself a dream dictionary so you can refer to it when you see things in life on earth that get your attention. Metaphors and symbols are the universal language.  It's how we speak to you because we can't typically express through the spoken word (although sometimes we put you in a place where nearby people will speak the words we want to say to you --- or a book will fall off a shelf whose title is something we want to tell you).

You can learn to communicate with us if you can translate what you see into what we are telling you. You can learn to speak to us not only through your words, gestures and body language but also through your heart. It is through the heart that we see, hear and feel most clearly.  If you think you might have seen a sign from me, chances are you have -- or you wouldn't have even thought of signs from me. If you have goosebumps (the electricity of the skin) -- observe your thoughts and look around. It is probably me.  All of us in Heaven have a goose bump "signature" and you will learn to recognize mine.

Back to our Letter to Jack. What is Gotti saying to Tina through the stoppage of the clock?  Yes, 6:00 got her attention because that is the moment the vet had arrived to assist Gotti over Rainbow Bridge. "6:00" was designed to get Tina's attention so that she would share this with us so that we could teach her further how to read the signs.

Dear Tina, 
There is more to this than you realize. Look at the time. The minute hand stretches to Heaven. The hour hand points to Earth. The alarm is set for a time in the future... perhaps to let you know that you are not finished "sleeping" yet.

Love,

Jack

Pay attention to the signs.  Tina is tuned in.  This event might have come and gone with a wave of the hand or even a grumbled complaint that one needs to get a new battery for the clock. Be calm, still, attentive to the signs for they are everywhere.

I am everywhere. We are everywhere -- in constant contact with the ones we love.

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.

 

Preview the first 10 Chapters in "Jack McAfghan" for FREE

Written from beyond Rainbow Bridge, the canine Jack reveals the secrets to living a life full of love and methods of coping with life after loss. As he teaches what to expect from the grieving process, he gently guides the reader from grief into healing.  

Read "Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" by Kate McGahan today. 1000's of readers have been healed by the time they turn the final page. 

Our story is your story too.  

Download at Amazon.com or at other Amazon locations worldwide

I Come To You in Dreams 🐾

She had a dream last night. In her distress she turned and I was there and then she knew she'd be okay.

We use dreams to connect with you. We find our way into your unconscious mind to remind you that we're always there. I know it's hard to believe right now, but someday you will find that nothing of the world was really worth being so upset about. One day you will wake up in Paradise just like she woke up from her dream today. You will see that it was all just a silly ride!

Hang in there. It will fly by in the blink an eye. Don't simply endure it; find a way to enjoy it. I'll see you in your dreams... and on the other side when the time is right for you to return to me.

Love, Jack 🐾

Do Like Dr. Doolittle -- You Must Talk to the Animals

Dear Jack, 
My beloved Barney crossed the Rainbow Bridge a few nights ago. My sister says that I should "tell" my other two cats, but this seems a little weird to me. My sister's always been a little "out there" so I thought I would ask you what I should do.
Thank you Jack.
Belinda

Dear Belinda,
ABSOLUTELY you must tell them. You must share everything that is going on. They live with you, they lived with Barney, they loved him too. They know what life is all about and they remember Where They Came From and Where They Are Going.  Humans may forget this, but this is no surprise to them.  Do not withhold information from them that will help them grow too. 

Have you learned from reading my book how alert and aware the four-leggeds are? Sometimes they are more alert than humans are. Sometimes they even care more than humans do. They want to know. They need to know. They sense clearly that something is going on and they will be very confused if you don't tell them what it is. They feel your emotions and your vibrational energy and they can become quite distressed if you do not help them to understand what's going on.  

Once you do tell them, they will need your care, comfort and compassion, so treat them gently and with understanding because they are grieving too. Their lives move much more quickly than yours do in the scheme of things, so you can go into it knowing that they will probably work through their grief rather quickly. Typically they will be resolving their grief by the time you get into the thick of yours. Then they will be there to help you with yours... because they understand.

This was a great question.  Thank you for asking it so I can share with others because some of them probably have the same question too.  

Love,
Jack

Why Can't I See or Sense My Pet After All This Time?

Dear Jack, 
Why is it that can't I see, hear, feel, sense my pet who is at the Rainbow Bridge? She has been gone two years now.  What am I doing wrong?
Mitzi's Dad 

Dear Dad, 

You aren't doing anything wrong. You may just be trying too hard or you could still be overwhelmed with your grief. Keep in mind, humans are used to listening with their ears, but it's important to try to listen with your heart instead. When we speak to you we speak from our heart to yours. Start paying attention to your heart and how it feels so you can recognize when Mitzi speaks to you there.    

It's also possible that you have had signs from Mitzi but you missed them. They don't always come as clouds and jingling tags. Sometimes they come in overheard conversations, songs that play on the radio, commercials on TV, rainbows in the sky.... just keep an open mind. Don't be afraid to ask Mitzi to come to you in a way that you can experience her. There's nothing wrong with having a conversation with her -- she would love to know that you still believe in her!

Hope this helps both of you! 

Love,
Jack