Death Is Nothing At All

Today I've chosen to post a wonderful poem that I find inspiring and reassuring. 

Death Is Nothing At All

By Henry Scott-Holland 

Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just round the corner.

All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

You Don’t Need What You Don’t Have

At first this sentence seems nonsensical, even ludicrous. What if you’re starving and you don’t have any food? What if you’re sick and can’t get the medicine that would heal you? Most of us would probably agree we don’t need a mansion, a yacht, or a sports car––even a TV or cell phone. We may want those things, but can get along without them. But we do need housing, right? Transportation? Money? Friends?

If we consider this idea from the perspective of the physical body, living in a material world, we do need food and water and rudimentary shelter to survive. We may need medicine to cure an illness. But when we consider the idea from the soul’s perspective, another possibility arises. What we think we lack may be exactly what our souls have chosen to do without in order to achieve a purpose. What the body needs for physical well-being may be secondary to what the soul needs for growth. That purpose may be to gain compassion, to help others, to develop skills, to increase our awareness, etc. And, we may not know why we’ve chosen to deprive ourselves of something until we leave our physical bodies.

Choosing Your Lifetimes––and Your Challenges

Many people believe we choose to be born on earth for certain purposes. Earth is often likened to a school where we learn lessons to enhance our souls’ growth. If you’ve undergone past-life regression, had a near-death experience, consulted a psychic, or examined this subject in other ways, you may have some idea why you came here and what you hope to accomplish during this lifetime.

If you accept that you’ve chosen this particular path this time around, then you realize you’ve elected to take on some challenges in order to achieve your objectives. For example, Helen Keller, who lacked sight and hearing, became an inspiration for millions. A man I know who lost his leg has gone on to assist other amputees. One of my soul’s goals, I believe, is to help people who’ve “lost” loved ones to understand their loved ones aren’t dead––they’re alive and well in the spirit world. To learn this, however, I had to suffer the devastating “loss” of the person I loved most so I could empathize with other bereaved people.

Your objective may be more personal. In one of his wonderful books (I can’t remember which one), Dr. Michael Newton writes about someone he regressed who described past lifetimes of indulgence and decadence. This person chose to incarnate as a destitute, homeless woman in order to regain an appreciation for the little things in life, such as having food for a day. People who’ve lived many cloistered lifetimes may choose to be reborn into a secular environment where they must make their own way in a dog-eat-dog world. Those who’ve always been surrounded by family, friends, and community may decide to try out solitary lives. What you perceive as deprivation may be exactly what you need.

Rethinking “Lack”

People often report that what seemed to be the worst thing that could happen to them turned out to be the best thing––and their souls probably planned it that way before they came to earth. Those who’ve undergone near-death experiences frequently say their NDEs transformed their thinking. Even people who’ve suffered physical damage as a result sometimes emerge with unexpected “gifts,” as happened to bestselling author Dannion Brinkley whose NDE revealed psychic powers he never knew he had before.

If you feel you are experiencing some sort of lack in your life––you don’t have something you believe you need––you may want to look at this “absence” in a different way. What have you learned (or could you learn) from being without that thing, whether it’s money, a romantic partner, good health, freedom, appreciation, or something else? If you’ve lost something you cared about, did you gain something as well? Even if you can’t ascertain any obvious benefits, you may be surprised when you transition to the Other Side and discover you really didn’t need what you didn’t have––and in fact, having “it” might actually have prevented you from accomplishing what you set out to do in this incarnation.

Animals in the Afterlife

Some religions deny the possibility of animals having souls––or even consciousness––and claim that humans have dominion over other species. Other religions believe that souls incarnate in a variety of forms, not only as humans but as animals and even insects. If you accept the theory that humans evolved from animals (and you believe humans have souls), when did said souls enter into the picture?

Early Egyptian myths include a number of human-animal hybrid deities, such as the jackal-headed Anubis, god of the afterlife. In India, the elephant-headed god Ganesh helps humans overcome obstacles. Native American teachings speak of spirit animals who guide, protect, and instruct human beings (see my book The Secret Power of Spirit Animals for more).

Will You See Your Beloved Pet Again?

For many of us, losing a pet can be as devastating as losing a human family member or friend. If you’ve lived with and loved an animal who’s passed over, you may wonder if you’ll meet your beloved companion again on the other side. If you believe animals have souls and consciousness that continue after their physical bodies die, you may wonder if they go to the same place formerly human souls go. My guess is yes, they continue to live alongside us in spirit form––for if everything is interconnected energetically, as many researchers profess, how could it be otherwise?

During one of Dr. Brian Weiss’s past-life seminars at the Omega Institute in New York, a number of participants received messages from one member’s deceased white dog. Other people’s accounts in his book Miracles Happen describe seeing animals in the world beyond. Dr. Piero Calvi-Parisetti’s course Love Knows No Death also includes accounts of people witnessing animals in the afterlife. Bill D. Schul, in his book Animal Immortality, discusses animal ghosts. My long-time partner, Ron Conroy, who left his physical body in 2013, told me that the world where he now lives is populated with all sorts of animal spirits––not only animals we’re familiar with, but also those who’ve long been extinct on earth, as well as many that have never lived on our planet.    

The Goodness of Animals

If you’ve spent any amount of time living with animal companions or observed wildlife, you can’t help admiring their wondrous qualities and beauty. We hear accounts of animals risking their lives to save other animals or humans; stories of animals traveling vast distances to find their families; stories of animals adopting and aiding animals of other species. We’re awed by the compassion of service dogs, the healing abilities of horses, and the intelligence of dolphins.

Again and again, animals display amazing intelligence, compassion, devotion, kindness, patience, courage, insight, unconditional love, and generosity of spirit. These are the qualities religions and spiritual traditions teach humans to develop. I think we’ve been blessed with animals as teachers, and often wonder if our furry and feathered friends may be bodhisattvas who give so much of themselves and ask so little in return. Can we but wonder if, indeed, they are the higher species and we the lesser? 

Contacts from the World Beyond

When our loved ones pass from the physical world, one of the hardest things we struggle with is the fear that we’ll never see these beloved beings again, that they’re lost to us forever. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thousands of serious, scientific studies and personal testimonies affirm that even though the people we love have shucked off their mortal bodies, they still live on in the nonphysical realms––and they continue to love us, watch over us, and attempt to communicate with us.

Scientific research has shown that approximately half of all people whose spouses have undergone physical death experience some form of “contact” from their departed loved ones. (See my post “Communicating with Spirits” for more.) Often this happens within a few weeks or months after the spouse’s departure from the material world. Those left on earth may “sense” the presence of a loved one who is no longer physical, feel that person’s touch, smell his/her scent, hear his/her voice, or even see an image of the person.

According to a course titled Love Knows No Death (available from The Forever Family Foundation www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org), contacts of this type and/or communication with a loved one through a medium often result in a lessening of grief for those left behind. One study conducted at the Windbridge Institute in Tucson, AZ in 2010, found that bereaved individuals felt such communication was more effective in easing their grief than counseling with mental health professionals.

Some Personal Contacts from the Spirit Realm

In the summer of 2013, three girlfriends and I stayed at the home of a neighbor I’d known for many years, a woman who’d passed peacefully at the age of 101. Only one of my friends believed in life after physical death. During their visit, however, each of them experienced the presence of the elderly lady who’d lived in that house. One saw her ghostly form walk through her bedroom. Another heard the deceased’s footsteps approach her bedside and sensed the woman leaning over her. The third felt my departed neighbor sit on her bed and push her shoulder repeatedly, while other “visitors” in the room chatted and laughed. That summer, I sometimes heard my old neighbor and friend, now in spirit form, call my name and I regularly heard her footsteps in the upstairs rooms when no one else was at home. Even a workman doing repairs on the house claimed to have seen the former resident.

Since my beloved partner, Ron Conroy, left his physical body in April 2013, I’ve frequently experienced his presence in my life. He sings to me, points out things he thinks I should pay attention to, strokes and kisses my head (as he often did while in the physical world), presents me with meaningful visions, and shows up in my dreams. When I drove cross-country, he guided and protected me, and he has made himself known in countless other ways. Once, during a session with Reiki master Anne Schneider, he spoke to me through Anne, directing her to tell me he was here, now. Another time, I picked up a notepad and an old photo of Ron that I’d never seen before slipped out from between the pages. On yet another occasion, I pressed a button on my cell phone intending to listen to some Celtic music and heard instead a five-year-old old phone message from him. Sometimes he fiddles with my computer or makes lights blink. Your own loved ones may choose to communicate with you in similar ways, or in ways unique to you and them.

The most amazing experience of contact for me occurred on March 17, 2014. I was sitting outside on my back porch when suddenly I saw a white-haired man wearing only black shorts standing in a clearing near the road beside my lower property. I hadn’t seen him approach on either the road or through the neighboring properties––he had simply “materialized.” He was looking directly up at me, and I felt a jolt in my heart center, wondering if he might come up the hill toward me. Then he turned and walked about 100 feet down the road.

Just as I’d decided it was a neighbor taking a walk, he turned and started climbing the hill in my direction. I watched for a few moments, until he vanished––in the middle of an open field. For half an hour I watched but he didn’t reappear. A neighbor passed by on the road, walking his dog, but neither he nor the dog registered anything. I realized it was Ron, wearing what he’d had on the evening of his stroke. I sensed him saying he was glad I’d seen him because it took a lot of energy to appear so clear and solid for so long. Since then, I’ve seen him twice more, but neither time for such an extended period.

Techniques for Contacting Your Loved Ones

In the 1990s, psychiatrist Raymond Moody developed a technique to help bereaved people connect with beings who’ve left the physical world. These individuals sat in a comfortable chair, in a quiet darkened room Moody dubbed the psychomanteum after a place the ancient Greeks visited to make contact with the dead. The people seeking contact gazed calmly into a mirror positioned slightly above their heads for a period of time. To the researchers’ surprise, many of the bereaved reported experiencing some sort of contact with their departed loved ones, ranging from touches, smells, and voices, to fully formed images.

Even if you don’t have access to a psychomanteum, you may still be able to communicate with your loved ones who are now in spirit form. Although many people report unanticipated, spontaneous contact from nonphysical beings, you’re more likely to hear from your loved ones on the Other Side if you keep an open mind and believe such contact is possible.

• ·      If you know how to meditate, ask your loved one to make contact with you during meditation (NOTE: It may take more than one attempt before you achieve successful contact).
• ·      Dreams often provide a way to connect with nonphysical beings. Before going to sleep, ask your departed loved one(s) to communicate with you in the dream world. Keep a log of your dreams to gain understanding into their significant themes and symbols.
• ·      Pay attention to so-called “coincidences.” Do you see, sense, or otherwise experience events (large or small) that remind you of your departed loved one, or that seem to convey a message to you? Does a particular symbol evoke a meaningful thought or emotion whenever it appears? Notice your thoughts and impressions, as well as images, sensations, or experiences that accompany them. For me, that’s often music, but for you it could be the appearance of an animal, a scent, a word, or something else you relate to. 

Communicating with Spirits

Has someone you knew on earth contacted you from the “other side”? If so, you’re not alone. According to Canadian sociology professor Ian Currie, “contact with the dead is not rare. It is, in fact, commonplace.” In his book You Cannot Die, Dr. Currie reported numerous studies of people who said they’d been in touch with deceased loved ones. In one, psychologist Dr. Robert Kastenbaum at Wayne State University in Detroit asked 140 people if they’d experienced this type of otherworldly communication; 45 percent answered yes. In another study in Wales, Dr. W.D. Rees asked 300 widows and widowers the same thing––and got a similar response: 47 percent said their departed spouses had contacted them. So did The University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Council; 78 percent of the bereaved individuals said they saw, 50 percent heard, and 18 percent talked with their departed loved ones.

Rather than being scared, most people welcome such “visits” and feel comforted knowing that their loved ones aren’t really gone. Soon after my life partner, Ron Conroy, left his physical body in April 2013, he began talking to me, reassuring me that he was all right and happy now that he’d returned “home.” Since then, he has continued to share fascinating information with me daily about other worlds of experience, what happens in the life of a soul, the purpose of incarnation on earth, and much more.

Why Do Spirits Contact Us?

Spirits contact us for a variety of reasons. Often, disembodied beings want to console the people they loved on earth and let us know they’re okay. They also show up to assure us that they still love us, they are with us all the time, and that we can talk to them whenever we choose. In some instances, these soul entities come to take care of unfinished business, or to bring messages to us from the world beyond. They may offer guidance and protection to mortals, and help us in our own journeys during this lifetime. One reason Ron stays in constant contact with me is to collaborate on our book, The Three Wounds of Wisdom. We both hope that the book––and these posts about the afterlife––will ease the grief experienced by people like me whose loved ones have entered the spirit world, and diminish the fear of death that causes suffering for so many humans.

According to many researchers, beings on the “other side” really want to talk to us––and they go to great lengths to get us to pay attention to them. Often we meet our loved ones in dreams, because when we’re asleep we’re more receptive to the spirit realm. They also contact us through epiphanies and coincidences. Sometimes they present themselves as scents or sounds, such as tinkling bells, familiar perfumes, or music. They may even communicate through meaningful symbols. Once Ron placed a tumbled piece of rose quartz at my feet––a crystal that represents love and emotional peace. Spirits also may move objects, make noises, fiddle with electrical/mechanical equipment, or even show themselves to us.

How Can You Communicate with Spirits?

How can you communicate with entities in the nonphysical realm? Talk to them, just as you would if they were still embodied. Send thoughts to them. Offer them prayers. Pay attention to your dreams. Meditate. A tarot reading or even a Ouija board may provide insights.

The holiday Samhain Eve (October 31) honors those who’ve gone on to other realms. This is an ideal time to try to connect with loved ones in the soul world, for the veil between the physical and nonphysical realms is thinnest on this evening. Light candles in memory of those you wish to contact. Gaze into the flames. Then be still and listen.

Where Do We Go When We Die?

Christians have their Heaven; Buddhists speak of Nirvana; Wiccans go to the Summerland when their earthly lives end. Many people who’ve had near-death experiences (NDEs) report being drawn through a dark tunnel toward a radiant light, emerging in a place where they feel suffused with love and joy. Their deceased friends and relatives, they say, greet them when they arrive in the hereafter, welcoming them back to their place of origin. Spirit guides also show up to usher the recently departed souls into a place of peace after their sojourns on earth. Virtually everyone who’s ever undergone a NDE or been regressed/hypnotized through a prior death describes pretty much the same thing––and what they describe sounds wonderful.

Going Home

Soon after my long-time partner, Ron Conroy, left his physical form in April of 2013, he began telling me about his experiences in the “world beyond.” He calls this place “home” because it’s the energetic realm where souls originate and where they return between lifetimes on earth (or other worlds, which I’ll discuss in future posts). Here, everything is made of light and resonance––nothing is physical. No longer encumbered by dense human bodies, souls feel a delicious sense of freedom. They can move about without restriction, communicate with one another via thoughts, and create whatever they choose instantaneously just by envisioning it.

A beautiful web of pink light envelops all beings here and holds them together in a cosmic “hug.” This light of love unifies everyone through resonance, and reassures souls that no one is ever alone––we only experience fear and loneliness when we are separated into physical forms. In reality, we are all part of an infinite, loving, joyful network that has always existed and always will. When we realize that we all come from the same Source and are all linked energetically––that every being is part of the whole––racism, sexism, religious disputes, and other ego dynamics that divide us on earth quickly disappear after our bodies die.

Cosmic Consciousness

In the late 1980s, I experienced a metaphysical occurrence that Canadian psychiatrist William Bucke called “cosmic consciousness.” Without intention, without doing anything at all to bring it about, I suddenly and inexplicably slipped into an altered state during which I felt myself dissolve into a realm of pure bliss. I lost all awareness of my body and merged with a beautiful, all-encompassing, infinite pink-white light. Everything in my earth-world disappeared. I felt totally immersed in a loving consciousness unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. All suffering, fear, time, and thinking evaporated. I have no idea how long that event lasted. Seconds? A few minutes? But it was enough to transform my understanding forever.

Much later, after Ron’s passing, I realized that in those few moments I’d reconnected with my place of origin, my “home.” This is where we go when we slough off our moral forms and soar back to the realm of love and light from which we emerged and where we will ever abide. This is the home that awaits us when we depart earth.

You Are Eternal

Knowing that this wondrous world now embraces our deceased loved ones can ease the pain of loss. But perhaps even more importantly, this knowledge can lessen our own fear of death. Regardless of what we’ve been taught about the hereafter––and many of us have been taught to fear retribution and suffering, hellfire and damnation––our real destination is a realm of infinite love and peace.

It makes no difference what “savior” you believed in, what faith you followed (or none), or what rituals you’ve enacted. No one gets turned away from the so-called Pearly Gates. The people we loved on earth who’ve gone on before us are reveling in that blissful state right now––and they’ll be there to welcome us back when our time comes. So will our guides and guardians, who’ve been with us since the beginning of time and will remain by our sides, watching over us forever.

You are eternal, and so is everyone else now on earth. Your soul, your spirit form, the essence of who you are and will ever be, is indestructible. As author C. S. Lewis so succinctly explained it, “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”