We hear so often following the death of an animal friend, that they have "gone to the Light" so much that the mere sound of those words leaves us either accepting that truth or in a state of confusion. We hear from others that "they live on." But where did my animal friend go, we wonder. And how can we know that they actually do live on in another realm of consciousness, without us having the personal experience of knowing that.

I hope to provide some insight that has come through my own personal experience, that will assist you. It may help you to know of my background. I have been a Respiratory Care Practitioner for 27 years. I have worked in Emergency Room situations, critical care and nursing homes. I have also worked with Hospice patients. For 15 years I mentored under Daniel Kirkland, the rider/trainer for Dave Jones, author of Practical Western Horseman and saddle maker. In the 80's I spent my time with Stefan Forsman learning Natural horsemanship and continued that study with Dan at the Dave Jones Training Stable. I have also given readings all over the world, featured in many media outlets and magazines, radio and TV. I was the Keynote speaker for the Florida women's show on "Women and Pets."

It might be difficult for our mentally oriented minds to fathom some of the things I will describe to you here, however, as we open up to other realms of possibilities that exist within us, we can come to understand that what is sometimes described as psychic, ESP or mediumship, is nothing more than our own evolution, and is quite normal. In fact, we come to understand that often purely mental thinking can be limiting. When we open our hearts and discover this sacred truth for ourselves, we start to come into a closer relationship with those parts of us that contain a deep and innate Wisdom. Our dreams become more real, our thoughts become more important than spoken language, our feelings become a system we rely on more than what is being told or said to us. In other words, it is from our open hearts that we communicate with our loved ones who have passed on. We simply need to learn to trust what comes to us in our thoughts and feelings, dreams and visions.

To begin to understand this process referred to as death we need to consider a few things. One is the possibility of the electronic body, referred to as the aura or electromagnetic field. All living things are made up of electromagnetic energy and to understand that better I suggest a brief study of Kirlian photography or read the popular book: Messages from Water. For a deeper explanation and understanding of the four bodies: Take Charge of Your Life by Patricia Diane Cota-Robles at http://www.eraofpeace.org/

I want to say here that I feel it is very important that people access their own truth and that just because I say something, does not mean it may be true for you. But by sharing some of the things I have learned, perhaps it can serve you, can help you through the grief by knowing there is someone who completely and totally believes, and again, this is through my own direct personal experiences with people and animals who have crossed over.

For those that know me personally, know I have made a promise to never tell you anything that I have not directly experienced myself.

We have four "bodies" or aspects of ourselves in the physical world. Those four bodes are: the mental body, the emotional body, the physical body and the etheric body, that together make up our existence in the third dimensional form we call life on earth. The etheric body is the one that is called the electromagnetic, electronic or auric field. It is the etheric body that maintains and lives on following "death." Once humanity understands this, graveyards as we know them will take on a new light, for people will come to know that their beloved one is simply not there.

The etheric body lives on and can move through time and dimensions. That is why you hear so often of people "seeing" their beloved animals and friends following death. Another way to grasp this concept is understanding that energy cannot be destroyed, it can be changed through transformation, but not destroyed. The etheric body is pure energy.

I have lost count of the number of my patients I have talked with about this over the years. I have talked with many who have lost a spouse and in almost every case, they tell me of either seeing, sensing, dreaming or feeling their loved one communicate with them. In many cases, they have told me of seeing their loved one and this has usually been as they were falling asleep or just waking up. Why would this be so?

When we sleep, we enter into different stages of consciousness. We are more relaxed and our mental body, our mind, is usually more relaxed and receptive to multidimensional awareness, to other realms of existence.

Some people have difficulty accepting these ideas because they live a strictly mental existence. If they can't see it, touch it, smell it, then it does not exist to them. But this article is not for them. It is for you. Because if through the law of attraction and the Synchronicity of life, you have arrived here to read this article, then we know it is not by "accident."

Again, in my personal experience there is a transition period following the crossing over or death. If you are having a beloved animal euthanized, talk to you animal friend, out loud and or in your thoughts. Explain to them that they are going to be experiencing a transformation. As you do this, you will be helping yourself also in understanding and dealing with this process. I want to add a word of loving caution here for you at this point.

No one, absolutely no one can tell you when it is time to have an animal euthanized. If you do not make this decision strictly with youself, your animal and the loving care and concern of your animal's vet, you could possibly be setting yourself up for a lot of hurt and questioning your decision for years to come. I have received letters from people who have, at the advice of well meaning friends, animal communicators and others, made this decision. Only you and your animal know when it is time. The loving support from others of your decision, is what you should seek and that is all.

The transition period can last a few weeks. For people and animals who have died from accidents, they may or may not know what has happened at first. As they adapt to this new dimension, there are angelic beings and those people and animals that have gone before them, awaiting them on the other side of the veil. They greet them and show them where they are. They love and support them in their new found electronic body. What you can do to facilitate this is to send them messages, through prayer and sacred time in meditation. In other words, talk to your animals through your thoughts and feelings.

Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. Perhaps a scientist would say gravity is. Love is gravitational. The pull and powerful force it exerts in relationships is beyond description for those of us who have loved animals. Sitting on the floor and holding my animals, I do not believe I have ever experienced such a feeling of the energy of Love ever before. This Love cannot be destroyed through what our culture calls death. It is energy, the purest and most powerful. As animal lovers, we all know this energy is so powerful it almost keeps us from walking out the door to go to work, away from our animals for the day!

During the transition period, the time from when the animal first goes through the process of physical death and is adjusting to the new body, you may see them in dreams. Usually people tell me they see their animal friend looking younger and happy. The same goes with the humans I have talked with. Trust this. And as the veils between heaven and earth grow thinner, we will hear more and more stories from ordinary people who think they have no abilities to communicate with their animals that have passed on, but they will find they are connected to this multidimensional world. Why? Because of the Love. Because their Love will connect them now and forever.

Why the veil? What is it that prevents us from completely and 100% of the time accessing these realms?

There was a time when we, humanity, were responsible for closing the gap between the worlds. This time is coming to an end which is why we are daily hearing more about Heaven on Earth being a possibly reality.

When you close your eyes and silently go within to the deep resources of your heart, and notice I said the deep resources of your heart, truth will be revealed to you through your own Wisdom and communication with the angelic worlds. It will come to you through your thoughts. But we must quiet our minds: "Be still and know"

There is a tape you can order from http://www.eraofpeace.org/ called: Getting in tough with your higher self which will facilitate and assist this process for you.

After your animal has passed from this world can be an extremely difficult period. I heard it best described by one of my clients who said: "there is a tear in the universe, a gap, a hole" and thus that is often how we feel following our loss. Seek any counseling you feel you need. And one of the most important things to know is this: YOU have the ability to LOVE. YOU are special because you CAN LOVE AND DO LOVE.

When you are ready, put that LOVE back into action. There is a person or animal somewhere that needs YOU.

That will not replace your beloved animal that passed, and I grimace when I hear well meaning people say things like: "oh just go get another dog or horse". That is not at all or at any level what I am talking about. I am talking about the fact that YOU are a special person, gifted with the ability to give and receive Love and to actually FEEL love.

So seeking another animal companion to offer that Love to, is serving and giving back to this troubled world. Don't deny yourself this gift because of your loss. Remember your animal friend lives on. Experience with this by Asking the Great Spirit to show you the truth of it, to heal your heart and show you where you can Serve now by giving that Love to one of God's beloved creatures.