staying connected even after crossing the rainbow bridge
Sarah, who lives in Sioux City, bought How to Meditate with Your Dog: An Introduction to Meditation for Dog Lovers last spring.
She immediately started meditating with her lab/retriever mix, Chuck. (The book is a quick read and you can start meditating right away.)
Sarah was really surprised at the results.
She and Chuck were already close, but their bond got even deeper. Chuck also seemed calmer and more alert (he was elderly) during the day.
Meanwhile, Sarah felt calmer and took things “easier” than she used to. She saw an instant difference in their quality of life as human and dog.
Unfortunately, this summer Chuck passed “over the rainbow bridge” and Sarah was left alone.
Of course, her heart broke.
About a week after Chuck passed, Sarah tried to meditate on her own.
She wanted to get back that feeling of peace and ease she had found in meditation. But it didn’t work as well without Chuck.
Sarah had what might seem like a nutty thought: what if she asked Chuck to meditate with her from the “other” side?
She decided to try it.
She sat down in the same place they always meditated, closed her eyes, and imagined his head on her knee and his body breathing under her hands, just as he had before he passed.
It might surprise you (or maybe it won’t) to hear that she felt Chuck join her in meditation.
She sat for their usual ten minutes, feeling the weight of his head on her knee, his fur under her hands.
But even stronger than the physical sensations (which she admits she could have just been imagining) was her experience of having CHUCK there.
(We all know what it’s like to “feel” our dogs presence. I don’t need to see Maui walk into the room to know she has. Her presence is real and felt with an inner sense, not just my outer ones.)
Tears rolled down Sarah’s cheeks, but they were tears of joy.
Chuck was “with Sarah” as much as he had been in the months before he passed when they started meditating and discovered this new way to bond.
Sarah firmly believes that her beautiful dog is still meditating with her every day, bringing his love and peaceful presence to her life.
In her words, which bring tears to my eyes,
“I would never have known that my bond with Chuck is there whether he is physically present or not, without having learned to meditate with him before he passed.”
This eternal connection to love is the true meaning of this time of year.
No matter what holiday you celebrate, this is the time of year when we all set aside time to remember and celebrate love, peace, joy, harmony, and connection.
Hopefully, setting aside time once per year helps us to remember these things all the way through the rest of the year.
(Just like setting aside time to meditate every day reminds us to find peace in the rest of the day.)
Sarah - and thousands of dog lovers like her - has found a way to bring deep peace, joy, and love to her life through dog meditation. Not just now, but every day, for the rest of her life.
Sarah plans on getting another dog when the time is right. But until then, she’ll continue to meditate with Chuck.
Her story inspired the Remembering Love Memory Journal in our new Remember Love Shop (Molly has been coming up with ideas for tshirts and mugs and all sorts of things for months - I finally told her to go ahead and put them up online).
I’m going to start a journal now for Maui - so I don’t forget a single thing. It’s like a baby book. 
December 12th, 2007 at 2:20 am
just read this and it is lovely to imagine. This for sure does happen between loved ones, furry or human, that closeness does not disappear in death and surely meditation makes it the closer that feeling of connection. I have felt that beautiful feeling with my beloved deceased cat Gizmo as well as human departed. You can feel the physical, spiritual and emotional presence all in one as all these become like one connection the closer you are to your loved one as Sarah’s story shows.
many best wishes to you
Teresa Day
December 12th, 2007 at 5:53 am
the story of meditation with your pet is beautiful. as is do you remember love. we have our pet mikie he’s our boy .dee
December 12th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
I most likely will not get this in time for me to do this with my precious boy. He is terminally ill, and although he has been here longer than they thought, I think his time is near. I will have to help him cross the Rainbow Bridge. This will be the hardest thing, I can imagine. He is my heart dog and always will be. I will read it though, and think of him near me. He has brought me more joy and love than I could imagine. My precious buff cocker spaniel, is one very special boy. I think we will always be connected. I really do beleive that. Thank you for writing this book.
Best of wishes to you,
jan B
December 12th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
this story really touched my heart,i thought i was imagining things because i can still feel my baby peanut with me all the time he passed on halloween .we had a special bond and its good to know he is really with me.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Aloha My Friends: This is just another one of those magical and wonderful things that happen when you spend quiet time in meditation with our four-pawed companions. Every morning (1am) here in Gravenhurst, Ont. Canada) My 3year old Yorkie Islay, lets others,Minty, Iona, and myself know that not only are those Yorkies along with other four -pawed companions who graced our lives joining and looking after us from beyond the Rainbow Bridge, but her soft barks of delight and the wagging of her tail lets us know that our nearest and dearest humans who are also on that far side are here looking after and caring for us not only through the day but in the darkness of night as well. Then she, Minty and Iona cuddle closer to me and we settle in for a warm ,peaceful night. Mele Kalikimaka, Lorna & ‘Girls”
December 13th, 2007 at 6:31 am
What a beautiful and heartwarming story…. I lost my baby Billie after 11 years and always sit and try to meditate as I feel that connection with him always…..he was and still is my boy, and there can never be another Billie, he was my life………..Now I rescued a dog from Katrina - BUffy (a little mut who looks like a terrier and schnauzer - and there is a big shepard mix, he is a rescue dog also, he is Elvis, and there is little poodle who is named Billy and is a joy - I love my pooches, and always think that someday, when I cross the Rainbow BRidge
December 13th, 2007 at 6:31 am
WE WILL BE TOGETHER FOREVER!
December 15th, 2007 at 8:15 am
what a beautiful story!! I have always had 6 or more fur babies in my life at one time and they usually live to be very old…I have 8 now and still feel the prescence of past babies…..always I am very close to all my babies as to me they are indeed Gods gift to us! thank you for sharing! many Hugs to you!