A Walk In The Rain Turns into an Unexpected Date with Love

It's the anniversary of my crossing. Late this afternoon she went out in the pouring rain. She didn't really know why she went out there, but I think she heard my heart calling her heart. She doesn't always listen she's so busy hearing with her ears and thinking with her head. Humans have to pay attention to that feeling in their gut, in their heart, or they miss a lot. 

She went right to the place where we would sit after a long hike and overlook the wash below. If you've read our book, it's the same place where I sent her the lightning bolt and the hummingbird moth so long ago.  Today as she sat there she was talking with me, tears rolling, but not crying. I covered her with my "signature" goosebumps -- It's as close I can get to hugging her full body from behind. It is always the same. I always send her the same feeling. That's how she know's it's me. She was chilled by the rain, but her back was warm with my love. "I can feel you Jack. I know you're here with me." 

As she spoke to me, she thanked me for all I have done for her and for helping everyone who reads my story. It pleases us so much -- all of us at Rainbow Bridge-- to be able to help so many people work through their grief. Her words made me so happy that I sent a most beautiful amber light that lit up our wash like it was a flood light on a stage set. It was lightning, yes, but it lingered longer than a mere bolt. Like so many miracles from Rainbow Bridge, it can't really be described. As soon as the light came, the thunder rolled from one side of the wash to the other. It rolled long and deep. Then it rolled high above her as it traveled up over the nearby mesa. 

I know she knows the truth. I was the thunder. I was the lightning too. I knew she knew it was me because when she said, "Thank you. Thank you Jack," she was crying because she knew in her heart that it all was my response to her.  

...And the brave mourning dove who usually becomes uneasy with such things and flies away, she remained in the nearby tree and stayed for the whole show. 

So many things can happen when you pay attention... and when you rise to the call.

Do You Love Me Enough to do This?

Letting Go - Balloons

When we are faced with a difficult life challenge there is usually a lesson in it. Most of our life lessons are about Love 

and about Letting Go. 

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 you trust yourself enough to have the faith that if they leave, you will still be okay? 

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

John 20:17

(Jesus to Mary Magdalene) 

"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.

ZIGGY: I Was Guided by My Angel Dog - Guest Post by Jeff Crouse

In the fall of 2002 my wife and I were going through the beginning stages of a divorce and, as you can imagine, emotions were running high. I wasn’t sleeping well and had gotten up very early one Saturday morning with nothing much to do but finish the book I was reading. It was called, In the Company of Newfies and was written by a Newfoundland breeder named Rhoda Lerman.  It’s a great collection of stories about the author’s love of Newfoundlands. At the time I had the privilege of sharing life with a Bernese Mountain Dog I called Ziggy. As dogs can be, he was a constant companion who showed me the highest degree of unconditional love one could hope for. He was also a consummate comedian who could make me laugh out loud with s single look. Lerman describes in her book the life lessons she has learned from these amazing dogs. Her stories can move the reader from moments of tears to those of laughter in a heartbeat. Reading her book at that time in my life proved to be extremely therapeutic – almost as much as having Ziggy. I told him more than once that when I grow up I want to be just like him.  

In the Company of Newfies by Rhoda Lerman

Later that morning, once the sun came up I decided to drive over to the NYS Fair Grounds.  I had noticed in the morning paper that the AKC dog show was underway. I hoped to see the Berners showing. As I was walking around somewhat forlornly with my Big Dog tee shirt on, a woman approached me and told me I looked lost. She very kindly asked if she could help me. She had no idea how lost I was, but just told her I was looking for the Berners. She let me know they had already shown but the Newfies were starting soon and they were a close match. I told her that by coincidence (something I no longer believe in) that while I was more of a Berner fan, I had just finished reading a book about Newfies.  She asked me the name of the book so I told her and asked if she had ever heard of it. She said she had and in fact she was the author!! So there in front of me was Rhoda herself. I actually choked back a tear and resisted the temptation to throw my arms around her and give her a hug. Something to me she might not understand. I did however tell her how much her book meant to me and thanked her for introducing herself to me that morning.

So did Ziggy in his silent way direct my eyes to the article in the paper about the dog show? Or was it his inspiration that led me to wear a Big Dog tee shirt to the show, thus attracting Rhoda to approach me and introduce herself to me? I know I have my answer to those questions and I will let you decide for yourself.     

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff Crouse, Author

Is it a Sign or is it Just a Feather?

Birds have be known since the dawn of time to be the spirits of those who have moved from this world into the next. They flit, they fly, they catch our eye. All birds are angels and they are are all working on Our Behalf.  

Sometimes it's just a molten feather on the trail but regardless, it's there for a reason. Someone is going to come along in this very place, in this very spot. Perhaps they are looking for a sign and haven't seen one in a very long time. Perhaps they are thinking of something that bothers them or maybe they are grieving a loss. Suddenly, "Look! A feather!" and they completely forget what was troubling them.

It's always By Design to shift your mood. To surprise you and to get your mind off of what you were thinking about. If you have hope, the feathers are fulfilling their purpose. If you have no hope, then... they are just a feather. 

There is always more than meets the eye. The key is to keep working on your Hope. Your Faith. It will show you a beautiful new world if you are only open to it. 

Learn to recognize the signs in Book 2, "The Lizard from Rainbow Bridge." 

Open up your world. Find the hope again. 

Click HERE to find Lizard on Amazon. 

All I Have to Do is Dream....

"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."

From: "Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master"

Dreams are awesome, aren't they?  Sometimes they are just a mixed up bunch of "debris" that we are sorting out (we often decide whether to store things in our short term or long term memory when we are dreaming -- so dreams can help us sort through the things that aren't necessary and also help us to process the things that are.) 

Dreaming is like going to another plane -- where your soul joins the souls of others to accomplish what you need to accomplish with them.  

Life is the school, love is the lesson. Dreams are our teachers too.  

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

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" 

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

Coming Soon: Book 3 "Return from Rainbow Bridge"

When you are grieving, you cannot really learn anything new until your mind and heart are healed and open to new information. 

In my next book Jack shares his usual wisdom and inspiration as he helps the reader to walk through the five stages of grief. Then he reveals what life is like on the other side of Rainbow Bridge. Full of love and miracles, his story will tell you how his Master in Heaven allows him the free will to make some very important choices, such as the one to return to earth to love again and be loved again.  

We also share the story of how we found Joey, Jack's little terrier brother, and how Jack was able to choreograph the adoption of Immy, the Afghan Hound who would come to be adopted into the space that Jack left behind. 

Join us as we learn together the power of love and faith. This is our story, it is your story. It is the story of life, love and renewal. Come! Be our friend as we travel this journey together to Rainbow Bridge and back again.

Coming to Amazon in 2016.

                     

"The end of this life is not the end of life." 

Jack's Sequel to be Released Soon!

A pet can never be replaced, but often our loved ones at Rainbow Bridge will lead us to the next best friend when the time is right. 

Jack's sequel, "Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge" is scheduled to be released this holiday season. One of the things he shares in our next book is how he brought Immy into our lives. In the meantime, his original book, "Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life With My Master" will help you to process the grief and "The Lizard from Rainbow Bridge" helps you to recognize signs, angels and messengers when they present themselves in your life. They are there, all around you, if you will only open your eyes, your mind and your heart.  

"Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" is currently On Sale on Amazon Worldwide (US 9.99). Also available in Large Print and on Kindle. Give the best gift of all this holiday season; the gift of healing.    

www.facebook.com/MyJackofHearts

A Walk In The Rain Turns into a Date with Love

Written with love from Jack: 

It's the anniversary of my crossing. Late this afternoon she went out in the pouring rain. She didn't really know why she went out there, but I think she heard my heart calling her heart. She doesn't always listen she's so busy hearing with her ears and thinking with her head. Humans have to pay attention to that feeling in their gut, in their heart, or they miss a lot. 

She went right to the place where we would sit after a long hike and overlook the wash below. If you've read our book, it's the same place where I sent her the lightning bolt and the hummingbird moth so long ago.  Today as she sat there she was talking with me, tears rolling, but not crying. I covered her with my "signature" goosebumps -- It's as close I can get to hugging her full body from behind. It is always the same. I always send her the same feeling. That's how she know's it's me. She was chilled by the rain, but her back was warm with my love. "I can feel you Jack. I know you're here with me." 

As she spoke to me, she thanked me for all I have done for her and for helping everyone who reads my story. It pleases us so much -- all of us at Rainbow Bridge-- to be able to help so many people work through their grief. Her words made me so happy that I sent a most beautiful amber light that lit up our wash like it was a flood light on a stage set. It was lightning, yes, but it lingered longer than a mere bolt. Like so many miracles from Rainbow Bridge, it can't really be described. As soon as the light came, the thunder rolled from one side of the wash to the other. It rolled long and deep. Then it rolled high above her as it traveled up over the nearby mesa. 

I know she knows the truth. I was the thunder. I was the lightning too. I knew she knew it was me because when she said, "Thank you. Thank you Jack," she was crying because she knew in her heart that it all was my response to her.  

...And the brave mourning dove who usually becomes uneasy with such things and flies away, she remained in the nearby tree and stayed for the whole show. 

So many things can happen when you pay attention... and when you rise to the call.

We are Not Gone, Only Gone From Your Sight

When I say we are not gone, only gone from your sight, this is what I am talking about.  

We are like the sun. We are there with you and then we rise up like the sun and even though you cannot see us, we are there. With you. We are always there. We never go away. If it seems we go away for just a little while, we always come back around again.  

Always. Forever. Until we meet again. 

Don't Try Too Hard to Find Me: I Am Here

Oh Ye of Little Faith.... Yes, Even You Kate

I haven't sent her a sign in awhile. 
Last night she put her hands on her heart and asked me to come to her. She thought that it would be in the form of a dream, but she woke up and there had been no dream. I had something else in mind. 

She took Immy and Joey out to the trail as she does each morning and as they approached she saw a small tuft of blonde hair in the middle of the trail. "Hmm." She figured it must be Immy's or Joey's from the walk the night before, but I had left her a love letter on the trail. It was my hair in the shape of a heart. 

Even she didn't believe it at first, but she took a picture of it anyway. On the way back she found that it had been trampled into an "S" shape. She picked it up and held it next to Immy's fur and it was much blonder. She held it next to Joey's fur and it was much coarser. It had little glints of shine in it, like my hair had. 

It may sound crazy, but WHEN YOU HAVE NO LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR SOMETHING, THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT IS TRUE. Magic can happen when you live on the other side of Rainbow Bridge. We do whatever it takes to prove to you that we are still with you. 

She took it home and planted it in the soil of her ficus tree.

That's not the end of the story. When she put my hair in the planter that held the tree, she stopped and looked at the tree. She realized she had not really paid attention to the tree even though she had watered and fed it regularly. Many years ago when someone gave it to her, she tied its many trunks together with landscaping ribbon so that it would stand tall and straight.  She looked at that ribbon today; the ribbon that had been holding the tree together and realized that it was binding it tight. Almost suffocating it. She got her shears and cut the ribbon and the tree stayed bound and tight. We do that for awhile when we do something long enough. We stay bound even when we are set free. It stood there like a petrified soldier.  

She gently pulled the branches apart bit by bit. The breeze was blowing in from the nearby doorway and it blew the leaves that had been compressed inside the tree, inside the branches that he been held so tight. The dead leaves that had been trapped fell all around the floor. The tree was open and breathing for the first time in years.  She looked at the tree with amazement. She was so happy to see it so open and free. 

She will be feeling better soon too because we are ALL connected. All beings. Me with her and her with me and me and her with that tree. She will be feeling better soon too!  Open and free.  There are so many reasons we come to you. You cannot even begin to imagine how we do what we do and why. 

Look around you and your environment and see what it says about you.  

You see I knew she'd share this story with you and that maybe you will feel better soon too. 

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.